In the August Crop Production report released today, USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) revised planted acres downwards, while at the same time increasing corn production to 13.9 billion bushels and raising the average national yield by more than 3 bushels to 169.5 bushels an acre in the latest World Agricultural Supply and Demand (WASDE) report. NASS noted that survey …
Farm and Biofuel Groups Dismayed by EPA Refinery Waivers
Small refinery waivers will continue to take a chunk out of the gallons of biofuel that should be blended into our nation’s transportation fuel supply under the Renewable Fuel Standard, thanks to the Environmental Protection Agency’s announcement late Friday that granted 31 more exemptions, representing 1.43 billion gallons of additional lost RFS demand. Only six of the requests for 2018 …
Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider Appreciates Ethanol
Dee Snider, lead singer for Twisted Sister, known for the popular bikers song “Ride To Live, Live To Ride”, served as Captain for the 12th annual Legends Ride at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, sponsored by the Renewable Fuels Association and the Sturgis Buffalo Chip Campground. The “We’re Not Gonna Take It” singer had some nice things to say about ethanol …
Data Drives Sustainable Solutions
Farmers are being challenged to grow more food more sustainably with less resources moving forward, and the key to making that possible is data. An Ag Media Summit panel focused on how companies are working to help growers collect and analyze the right data to enhance their sustainability efforts. Willie Vogt, Farm Progress, moderated the Newsmaker panel on “Data Drives …
IFAJ Congress Hears from Reporters Without Borders
Here in the United States we tend to take freedom of the press for granted, since it is specifically guaranteed in the First Amendment. But it’s not so free in many other countries. The 2019 IFAJ Congress last week featured a presentation from Daphne Pellegrino with Reporters Without Borders, more properly known internationally as Reporters Sans Frontieres or RSF, which …
Trump Announces Deal to Expand U.S. Beef Exports to EU
President Donald J. Trump congratulated members of the nation’s beef cattle industry Friday as the United States and the European Union signed an agreement that is expected to nearly triple the duty-free access for high quality U.S. beef exports to Europe. . “This is a tremendous victory for American farmers, ranchers, and, of course, European consumers because American beef is …
NCBA Launches Cattlemen’s Call Podcast
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association launched a new podcast this week during the 2019 Summer Business Meeting to focus on the stories and producers that make the beef industry great. “Cattlemen’s Call,” hosted by Montana rancher and farm broadcaster Lane Nordlund, will provide an inside look at the issues cattle producers are facing while sharing the stories of their lives …
IFAJ in the USA
Some members of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) are continuing their U.S. journey today with tours in California, South Dakota and Minnesota, but most are on their way back to their home countries after the 2019 IFAJ Congress officially concluded Tuesday evening. The international gathering was held in conjunction with the annual Ag Media Summit this year in …
InfoAg Featured Exhibitor – Iteris ClearAg
As a global leader in applied informatics for transportation and agriculture, Iteris ClearAg is in the “e-intelligence business,” according to Joel Lipsitch, vice president of sales for the company’s Agriculture and Weather Analytics. “That means we bring data and analytics of weather and soil to help our customers understand how to manage those variables and optimize their business around those …
Coalition Goes to Court Over Biofuel Waivers
A coalition of seven agricultural and biofuels organizations is seeking court action to force the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to account for lost biofuel volumes resulting from small refinery exemptions granted by the agency. The coalition consisting of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE), Growth Energy (Growth), National Biodiesel Board (NBB), National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), …