At the start of USDA’s 2020 Agriculture Outlook Forum on Thursday, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced the Agriculture Innovation Agenda, a new initiative to stimulate innovation so American agriculture can achieve the goal of increasing production by 40 percent while cutting the environmental footprint of U.S. agriculture in half by 2050. Secretary Perdue outlined the four components of the …
Catching up with NCGA President Kevin Ross
It’s not always easy to catch up with Minden, Iowa farmer Kevin Ross who has spent a lot of time in the past few months at the White House as president of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), mostly celebrating new trade agreements beneficial to American farmers. Most recently, Ross attended a White House ceremony last month commemorating the signing …
Ag Groups Form Farmers for a Sustainable Future Coalition
More than 20 farm and ranch groups representing millions of U.S. farmers and ranchers are launching Farmers for a Sustainable Future (FSF), a coalition committed to environmental and economic sustainability to serve as a primary resource for lawmakers and policymakers as they consider climate policies. The coalition will share with elected officials, media and the public U.S. agriculture’s commitment to …
NAMA 2020 Agribusiness Leader of the Year is Scott Druker
The National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) 2020 Agribusiness Leader of the Year is Scott Druker, General Manager, Arm & Hammer Animal and Food Production. Now in its 20th year, the award will be presented at the 2020 Agri-Marketing Conference, April 15-17, in San Diego, California. Druker joined the Arm & Hammer Animal Nutrition business unit of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. …
2020 #RFANEC is a Wrap
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) just concluded an annual meeting that will be remembered for many reasons, including an appearance by the 43rd President of the United States, and the celebration of recent significant victories for the ethanol industry as it focuses forward on the future. RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper says there is a lot of optimism and …
Energy Ag News 2/18
Minnesota’s ethanol industry contributed $2.31 billion to the state’s gross domestic product (GDP) last year, according to a new study by ABF Economics. In 2019, the industry produced 1.31 billion gallons of ethanol, 3.6 million tons of dried distiller’s grains with solubles (DDGS) and 327 million pounds of corn oil. This generated $6.7 billion in gross sales for Minnesota businesses …
Cotton Council Annual Meeting News
News from the National Cotton Council 2020 Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. NCC Survey Suggests U.S. Producers to Plant 13.0 Million Acres of Cotton in 2020 – U.S. cotton producers intend to plant 13.0 million cotton acres this spring, down 5.5 percent from 2019 (based on USDA’s February 2020 estimate), according to the National Cotton Council’s 39th Annual Early …
CIRB Still Growing Together After 56 Years
The 56th annual Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau (CIRB) ended on a high note Friday after an informative two days of presentations on important industry topics such as the farm economy, trade, climate change, and hemp. The theme of the meeting this year was “Together we Grow” and CIRB Executive Vice President Mike Torrey says one area where the organization …
ARC Webinar on Virtual Newsrooms
The Ag Relations Council (ARC) webinar this Thursday is all about Virtual Newsrooms For Companies and Organizations with ZimmComm president Chuck Zimmerman. In the webinar, Chuck will answer these important questions – and more! What is a virtual newsroom? How can it be used in marketing, communications, and PR? What are the resources needed to run a virtual newsroom? In …
Bayer and BASF Intend to Appeal Dicamba Decision
Both Bayer and BASF intend to appeal a court decision in Missouri resulting in a total of $265 million in damages awarded to a Missouri peach farm over alleged dicamba drift. A federal jury in Cape Girardeau awarded plaintiff Bader Farms $15 in compensatory damages and $250 in punitive damages on its claims of design defect, failure to warn, negligent …