BASF and WinField® United, the crop inputs and insights business of Land O’Lakes, Inc., have announced a new digital farming collaboration. The two companies will establish a single sign-on connection from WinField United’s ATLAS® platform to the BASF xarvio™ digital platforms, starting with xarvio SCOUTING, a mobile application that can quickly identify weeds and diseases with a click of a …
New National FFA Officers are Elected
The 2019-20 National FFA Officer team was announced Saturday at the conclusion of the 92nd National FFA Convention in Indianapolis. Each year at the National FFA Convention & Expo, six students are elected by delegates to represent the organization as national officers. Kolesen McCoy, an agribusiness and applied economics major at Ohio State, was elected national president. Kourtney Lehman, an …
Biofuels Groups Express Concerns at EPA Hearing
Representatives from multiple ethanol and biodiesel stakeholder organizations and companies delivered basically the same message to the Environmental Protection Agency during a hearing Wednesday on the proposal to make up for volumes lost under the Renewable Fuel Standard due to small refinery waivers – nice try, but you still need to follow the law. Here is what some had to …
USDA Deputy Secretary on Trade Mission in West Africa
U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Steve Censky is on a trade mission to West Africa this week to help United States exporters unlock new opportunities in a region where strong economic growth is driving demand for imported food and farm products. He is joined by representatives of more than 40 companies and organizations seeking to increase exports of U.S. agricultural …
USDA Unveils Domestic Hemp Production Program
On Tuesday, USDA officials announced the establishment of the U.S. Domestic Hemp Production Program to create a consistent regulatory framework around hemp production throughout the United States. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue made the announcement in a pre-recorded video. “At USDA, we are always excited when there are new economic opportunities for our farmers, and we hope the ability to …
BASF and NRGene Collaborate for Accelerated Crop Breeding
BASF and NRGene have announced a new collaboration that includes the adoption of NRGene’s cloud-based artificial intelligence (AI) GenoMAGIC™ technology into BASF soybean research projects to allow for more comprehensive evaluations to accelerate trait discovery and breeding across diverse crops. “This collaboration will explore the power of digitalization to improve and accelerate agricultural research, and aligns with our soybean crop …
Precision Ag Reviews Launches Web Resource for Farmers
Precision Ag Reviews has launched a new website as a resource for farmers on precision ag equipment. The program was started by the Ohio Soybean Council and soybean checkoff in 2017 and is a public site that strives to create a “farmers helping farmers” community by collecting reviews for all brands and models of precision ag equipment so farmers can …
China Reportedly Willing to Buy $20 Billion in US Ag Products
News reports today say China is willing to buy at least $20 billion of agricultural products in a year, and possibly twice as much or more in the future. President Donald Trump talked about China buying agricultural products during a cabinet meeting on Monday. “If we could get $20 billion a year from China — that China purchases $20 billion …
USDA Deputy Provides Farm Bill Update
The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry held a hearing Thursday to hear from USDA Deputy Secretary Stephen Censky regarding implementation of the 2018 Farm Bill. “At the Secretary’s direction, our implementation cadence and priorities corresponded to the conditions testing the resilience of the American farmer,” Censky told the committee. He gave updates on implementation of the Dairy Margin …
Global Ag Innovation Program Launched
During the World Food Prize activities this week in Des Moines, America’s Cultivation Corridor™ announced the launch of the Cultivo Global Ag Innovation Program™ for startup companies and entrepreneurs. The new program will bring international start-ups to Iowa for a 10-day immersion experience, training and networking. “Iowa producers feed and fuel the world, making us the perfect host for the …