Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack addressed members of the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) last week and thanked them for the work they have been doing on the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), which is helping to set the stage for 45Z tax credit guidance. The RCCP started in South Dakota in 2021 and recently received a $35 million investment through …
Would Vilsack Serve Another Term?
At the end of the current administration, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack will have served in that role for 12 years under two different presidents. But that’s only second best. The record – actually for any cabinet member – is held by James “Tama Jim” Wilson, the fourth secretary of agriculture who served for 16 years under three presidents. First …
USB Launches New Land Use Change Initiative
As agriculture’s role in climate solutions becomes more critical, a new Land Use Change Initiative (LUCI), funded by the United Soybean Board (USB) in partnership with Carbon A List, is leading efforts to standardize definitions, metrics and methodologies for quantifying land use change. LUCI hosted its first Land Use Change Summit at McDonald’s International Headquarters in Chicago on July 29-30, …
Truterra Includes Dairy in Summer Carbon Programs
Truterra is announcing a new carbon program created specifically for dairy producers is among the options to help farmers adopt climate-smart practices. The 2024 Truterra® dairy soils carbon programs reward pre-qualified dairy producers who adopt sustainable farming practices on the crops they use for dairy feed – including silage and alfalfa. Sustainable practices include the use of cover crops, strip-till …
USDA Forecasting Record Corn and Soybean Yields
The latest Crop Production report from USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is forecasting record corn and soybean yields this year, with higher total production for soybeans and slightly lower for corn. Corn production is expected to be down 1% from last year at 15.1 billion bushels while soybean production is forecast to be 10% higher than 2023 at a …
EPA’s Ag Office Head Steps Down
The head of EPA’s recently-created Office of Agriculture and Rural Affairs announced he was stepping down this week, after only five months in the new position. Rod Snyder became senior adviser for agriculture at EPA in October 2021 after serving as president of Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture for seven years. EPA Administrator Michael Regan announced the …
ACN Awards at Ag Media Summit
So many awards are presented at the Ag Media Summit it gets hard to keep track of them all! The Agricultural Communications Network presented awards for writing, design, photography, MarComm and digital & social media. All of the photos can be found here. Of the Year Winners: Communicator of the Year: Katrina Huffstutler, Grant Company Designer of the Year: Rachael …
The Greg and Gregg Show at AMS
The 25th anniversary of Ag Media Summit was celebrated this week and it was interesting to take a walk back through the history of the event with a couple of guys who have been around for awhile – Gregg Hillyer, Editor In Chief at The Progressive Farmer, and Greg Henderson, Editorial Director at Drovers/Farm Journal. Henderson says AMS basically began …
Alltech Honors Young Leaders at Ag Media Summit
Four students currently studying agricultural communications were honored for their excellence, professionalism and leadership earlier this week at Ag Media Summit (AMS). The Livestock Publications Council (LPC) Student Award Program, sponsored by Alltech, provides travel scholarships for four students to attend AMS. “Alltech is proud to support the next generation of agricultural communicators as the ambassadors and voice of our …
Feedstock Management Group Debuts at Tech Hub LIVE
The North American Bioeconomy Data Alliance (NABDA) is a new working group focused on feedstock management that debuted at the recent Tech Hub LIVE event in Des Moines. Spearheading the group are Joyce Hunter with Mission Critical and Kathleen Glass with AquaSpy, who also led a Roundtable Discussion on the topic at THL. NABDA is engaging industry partners help the …