Deere & Company has announced the launch of a new Startup Collaborator program in the Intelligent Solutions Group. John Stone, senior vice president of Deere’s Intelligent Solutions Group, says the purpose of the program is to enhance interaction with startup companies whose technology could add value for John Deere customers. “Innovation has been at the heart of John Deere for …
BASF Seed Solutions Focused on Seed Treatments
The recent ASTA 2018 CSS and Seed Expo was a great venue for BASF to showcase its Seed Solutions business, including the launch of Vault® IP Plus seed treatment and Obvius® Plus fungicide seed treatment. “We decided we were going to create a whole new business unit in North America … a seed solutions business really focused on seed treatments,” …
ZimmCast 605 – ASTA CSS and Seed Expo
ZimmCast #605 is the last one for 2018, featuring interviews from the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) 2018 CSS and Seed Expo, our last event for the year. This ZimmCast includes comments from ASTA president and CEO Andy LaVigne, Bayer seed treatment tech service rep Chip Graham, BASF Seed Solutions U.S. marketing lead Kerry Grossweiler, and Wheat Pete, a podcaster …
FMC Working on Soybean Gall Midge Control
A new pest is popping up in soybean fields across the country – the orange gall midge. “It’s a very tiny fly that lays its eggs in the stem of a soybean plant,” said FMC Agricultural Solutions subject matter expert Bob Hooten during an interview at the annual NAFB Trade Talk last month in Kansas City. Bright orange maggots develop …
USGC Releases Latest Corn Harvest Quality Report
A warm and moist growing season resulted in near-record yields and good quality for the 2018 corn crop, according to the U.S. Grain Council’s (USGC) 2018/2019 Corn Harvest Quality Report. The report revealed the majority of 2018 corn crop conditions were rated as good or excellent during the growing season, leading to strong plant health, good kernel size and a …
Latest AEM Ag Tractor and Combine Report
The latest Association of Equipment Manufacturers’ (AEM) Ag Tractor and Combine Report from November shows overall sales remained positive. U.S. Sales of self-propelled combines gained 9.2 percent in November compared to last year, and U.S. sales of 4-wheel-drive tractors increased 60.7 percent month-over-month. November year-to-date U.S. sales showed a 16.6 percent growth for combines and 15.9 percent growth for 4-wheel-drive …
Beltway Beef on Farm Bill, Water Rule, and Trade
The latest episode of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s Beltway Beef podcast features comments from the association on all the news that came down last week, including the new water rule and the new farm bill. Allison Rivera discusses the final 2018 Farm Bill that is on its way to the White House for President Trump’s signature, Scott Yager discusses …
USDA Launches ReConnect Program
USDA is offering up to $600 million in loans and grants to help build broadband infrastructure in rural America. Telecommunications companies, rural electric cooperatives and utilities, internet service providers and municipalities may apply for funding through USDA’s new ReConnect Program to connect rural areas that currently have insufficient broadband service. “High-speed internet e-Connectivity is a necessity, not an amenity, vital …
Ten Years of Ethanol Market Growth
Growth Energy is celebrating ten years of advocating for ethanol since it was created in 2008. This edition of the Driving Ethanol podcast is the final installment of our series on the 10 year anniversary of Growth Energy and how the market for U.S. ethanol has grown in the past decade. When Growth Energy was first formed in 2008, U.S. …
Former Agriculture Secretaries Meet
Just days after the passing of former Secretary of Agriculture Bob Bergland, four former secretaries met with current Secretary Sonny Perdue to discuss the latest agricultural issues. Those in attendance included former Secretaries John Block (1981-1986), Dan Glickman (1995-2001), Ann Veneman (2001-2005), and Mike Johanns (2005-2008). The Secretaries discussed several issues including trade, wildfires, agriculture research, infrastructure, cell-based meat, and …