In response to the need to protect pollinators and support sustainable livestock farming, Grassland Oregon has introduced a new seed mixture called Pastures for Pollinators that will benefit bees, livestock and sustainable agriculture. Risa DeMasi, co-founder of Grassland Oregon and immediate past chairman of the American Seed Trade Association says proceeds from the sales of Pastures for Pollinators will be …
Deere and Monsanto End Precision Planting Deal
Under pressure from the Department of Justice, an agreement between Deere & Company and Monsanto to purchase Precision Planting LLC was terminated Monday. The department filed suit on Aug. 31, 2016, to block the acquisition, alleging that the transaction was a merger-to-monopoly in high-speed precision planting systems, an innovative technology that enables farmers to accurately plant corn, soybeans and other …
#SecretarySonny Moves to Make School Meals Great Again
Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue started out his second week on the job by going back to school and eating lunch. Perdue visited Catoctin Elementary School in Leesburg, Virginia to announce that USDA will provide greater flexibility in nutrition requirements for school meal programs in order to make food choices both healthful and appealing to students, beginning the process of …
Passing of the NAMA Gavel
Just back off the agriblogging highway from the 2017 AgriMarketing Conference in Dallas Texas where we talked a lot about podcasting and agriculture’s virtual newsroom AgNewsWire. We also did a lot of Facebook Live video from NAMA this year – the first time Best of NAMA and Student NAMA finals have ever been broadcast live. The annual conference marks the …
First Next Gen NAMA Winners Honored
The National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) honored the first winners of the Next Gen NAMA Award at the 2017 Agri-Marketing Conference in Dallas last week. This new award was developed to celebrate the next generation of agribusiness marketing industry leaders. Honorees were nominated by their company supervisor or through chapter or national leadership and must be NAMA members. The five recipients …
Agribusiness Leader and Marketer of Year Honored
The recipients of NAMA’s Agribusiness Leader and Marketer of the Year are announced months in advance, but they receive those awards and the recognition that comes with them at the annual conference. Mike Stern, CEO of Monsanto’s The Climate Corporation, received the 2017 Agribusiness Leader of the year award, which is NAMA’s highest honor, recognizes outstanding industry leadership. Mike Stern …
Herm Edwards Addresses #NAMA17
On his way to Philadelphia yesterday to do commentary for NFL Draft Day, former NFL coach and ESPN analyst Herm Edwards visited the 2017 Agri-Marketing Conference to provide some game winning tips for life. Edwards emphasized teamwork, integrity and effective communication and talked about his career as one of five head coaches in NFL history to take two different teams …
Future of NAFTA to be Determined
President Trump agreed Wednesday evening to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Canada and Mexico, and “not to terminate NAFTA at this time” after a day of speculation that he might sign an executive order withdrawing from the 23-year-old agreement. “It is my privilege to bring NAFTA up to date through renegotiation,” said Trump in a statement. …
Trump Puts Agriculture in the Spotlight
President Trump welcomed new Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue on his first day in office for a White House “Farmers Roundtable” and the signing of an Executive Order establishing an Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity. During the signing, President Trump commented on the current trade dispute with Canada over dairy product pricing. “(w)here the dairy farmers up …
#Plant17 Makes Progress
Some dry days last week helped farmers make up for slow progress the week before as corn planting gained 11 points to almost be at the average for this time of year at 17 percent, according to the latest crop progress report out Monday. Illinois and Missouri jumped ahead last week in corn planting progress, planting over one quarter of …