I’d like to thank New Holland for sponsoring the media room at Commodity Classic once again this year. And I’d especially like to thank them for being one of our sponsors for AgWired coverage of the event again this year. New Holland was one of the first companies to support our unique brand of “live” event blogging. This is the …
Know Your Farmer Know Your Food Compass
I couldn’t participate in today’s USDA webinar about their latest project but did get this information to share. Today, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan unveiled the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food (KYF) Compass, an interactive web-based document and map highlighting USDA support for local and regional food projects and successful producer, business and community …
BASF Science Behind the Future of Weed Control
For the 6th year BASF is holding a “Science Behind” event prior to Commodity Classic. This year the theme is The Science Behind the Future of Weed Control. A Grand Ole Opry studio is the perfect venue for this event where ag media are hearing from university researchers as well as product specialists from BASF. The event is providing a …
Challenged To Think Beyond Yield Growth
Challenging the ag journalists attending the Bayer CropScience Ag Issues Forum to think about global food security differently was Gawain Kripke, Director of Policy & Research, Oxfam America. He started his presentation by saying that he would bring up some provocative ideas and he did. For example, he says Oxfam wants an end to “excessive” speculation in commodity markets, for …
Entertainment By Josh Turner
As you might have expected, Josh Turner was a big hit as the evening entertainment for the Bayer CropScience Ag Issues Forum. We had a full afternoon of provocative speakers and lots of interviews were conducted. Then it was time for some good food and relaxation with our friends at Bayer and in the ag media. Then Josh Turner took …
We’ll Be Planting More This Year According To ZimmPoll
In our latest ZimmPoll we asked, “What will be planted this year?” It’s that time and everyone seems to have their own idea about what it will be. 45% of respondents said More of both, 32% said More corn less soybeans and 12% each said More soybeans less corn and Less of both. USDA is estimating corn acreage will be …
The Growing Problem of Food Waste
Food waste is a growing problem. That was the message from Kai Robertson, Director, Food, Beverage & Agriculture Practice, BSR, during the Bayer CropScience Ag Issues Forum. I visited with Kai right after her presentation. She startled many of us attending when she presented a statistic from EPA (estimate) that more than 67 billion pounds of food end up in …
Welcome From Bayer CropScience
One of our first speakers at the 2012 Ag Issues Forum is Dr. Mathias Kremer, Head of Global BioScience for Bayer CropScience. He says he wanted the takeaway message from his welcoming remarks to be an understanding of what Bayer CropScience stands for which is “an organization which sees itself as one of the solution providers to the global problems …
Bayer CropScience Gathers Ag Journalists
The Bayer CropScience Ag Issues Forum is underway. We’ve got a full house of agricultural journalists of all “types” here. This is my first time at the event and it is a very broad spectrum (sounds like a herbicide) “media” event. It’s always interesting to see the publication folks shooting video and the broadcast folks taking notes. Hmmm . . …
Bayer CropScience Ag Issues Forum
The Bayer CropScience Ag Issues Forum starts today in advance of Commodity Classic. Cindy and I are on the agriblogging highway and this will be our first stop today upon arrival in Nashville. Topics for the forum include: Food Waste: A Growing Problem; The State of Ag: Domestic and Global Trends; Global Food Security: Thinking Beyond Yield Growth; Feet on …