Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue testified at his first hearing as the new head of USDA. The House Agriculture Committee welcomed Perdue to Capitol Hill Wednesday to testify on the “State of the Rural Economy.” Perdue acknowledged that the current state of the rural economy is challenging. “Our farm economy is down about a 50 percent drop in net income …
Hollinrake Named President for Syngenta Seeds
The next time David Hollinrake is interviewed with the Golden ZimmComm Microphone he will be working for a different company, as he has just been named President for Syngenta Seeds, LLC and Syngenta North America Region Director. In this role, David will strengthen Syngenta’s North American seeds business by driving improvements already underway to ensure maximum focus on customers with …
Brownfield Livestock Market Reporter to Retire
Veteran farm broadcaster Jerry Passer is retiring – for real this time. Jerry already retired once after almost 20 years at WMT Radio and TV in Cedar Rapids, Iowa but he came out of retirement in 2002, signing a six month agreement to cover livestock markets for Brownfield Ag News that turned into almost 15 years. “For almost 35 years …
Nebraska Governor Praises Grain Trade with Mexico
Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts asked grain industry officials from Mexico and the United States join him Tuesday for a press conference to highlight the importance of Mexico to U.S. agriculture and how the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has benefited both countries. “Bilateral trade with Mexico has helped grow agriculture in our state over the years,” said Governor Ricketts. …
NAMA Reflections From Lynn Henderson
The National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) is celebrating 60 years as a professional organization dedicated to the business of agricultural marketing. Lynn Henderson with AgriMarketing Magazine has been involved with NAMA for the last 41 of those 60 years so we sat down with him at the recent annual conference to hear some of the history of the organization and how …
Undeniably Dairy Campaign Launched
The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, in partnership with Dairy Management Inc., have launched Undeniably Dairy, the first industry-wide campaign of its kind to grow consumer confidence in dairy products. “Through the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, the dairy community has worked together to establish common ground on our top priorities and values, from responsible production and sustainable nutrition to …
Nothing Official on Northey
Lots of buzz over the weekend about Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey being nominated to a post with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to the point that he had to put a post on Facebook that nothing is official – yet. I appreciate the kind comments and support from so many friends here in Iowa and across the country as …
America’s Farm Mom of 2017
Mother’s Day was extra special this year for Susan Brocksmith of Vincennes, Indiana who was named the 2017 America’s Farmers Mom of the Year. The program, sponsored by Monsanto, honors the significant contributions farm moms make in their communities and beyond. Susan, a farmer, agribusiness professor, mother and active agriculture advocate, received the most online votes to be awarded the …
U.S. Beef Regaining Access to China
Following one more round of technical consultations, China is to allow imports of U.S. beef on “conditions consistent with international food safety and animal health standards and consistent with the 1999 Agricultural Cooperation Agreement, beginning as soon as possible but no later than July 16, 2017.” The announcement was welcome news for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA). National Cattlemen’s …
Three for FMC
FMC Agricultural Solutions has added three team members to its marketing and communications team in Philadelphia. These new team members will support the FMC agricultural crop protection portfolio in the U.S. and Canada. Christina Coen, a veteran agricultural marketer, has been named marketing director for the United States and Canada. Coen will have responsibility for the marketing of the FMC …