Last year at the Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau annual meeting, we heard about the first class of the organization’s Emerging Leaders Program. The program was so popular that the second class has almost twice the members and I had a chance to talk with two of those emerging leaders at the meeting this week. Chock Hefner started his crop …
Farm Economy Update at #CIRB2017
The team of Gary Schnitkey and Jonathan Coppess from the University of Illinois gave an update on the farm economy during a presentation at the Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau annual meeting this week. “We’re seeing deteriorating financial conditions on many farms and we’re likely to continue to see that as long as we have corn prices below four dollars …
Meet the New USPOULTRY Chair
New officers for the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association (USPOULTRY) were elected this week during the International Poultry Expo, part of the 2017 International Production & Processing Expo. Jerry Moye, recently retired president of Cobb-Vantress, was elected chairman of the organization. Moye has a degree in economics from Washington College in Maryland and spent 16 years in integrated chicken production …
#CIRB2017 Gets Legislative Update
Lower farm income may not seem like a good thing for farmers right now, but it might make getting a good farm bill a little easier than it was last time, according to American Farm Bureau’s Mary Kay Thatcher who gave members of the Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau a legislative update at their annual meeting this week. “Certainly farmers …
“Make #Ethanol Great Again!”
The president of the Renewable Fuels Association took a line from the new president of the United States at the 2017 Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit Tuesday, encouraging the industry to “make ethanol great again.” “I believe we are on the cusp of making ethanol great again,” said RFA president and CEO Bob Dinneen, who added that support for ethanol has …
#CIRB2017 Faces Change, Challenge, Opportunity
The 53rd annual meeting of the Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau is officially underway with the theme of Change-Challenge-Opportunity and record attendance, according to Executive Vice President Michael Torrey. “I think it reflects the theme,” said Torrey. “Obviously a transition is going on, there’s going to be a lot of new people, and we’re going to have a lot of …
Joining @CIRBdc in Florida for Annual Meeting
Change, challenge and opportunity are the three words chosen by the Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau (CIRB) for their annual meeting this year, being held in Bonita Springs, Florida and they seem pretty appropriate given the new political climate in Washington DC. This will be my first time attending this event so I am looking forward to what crop insurance …
No Date for Ag Secretary Confirmation Yet
Confirmation hearings for Trump administration cabinet members have been moving slowly, so it may be toward the end of February before Sonny Perdue is confirmed as Secretary of Agriculture, but he has been meeting with lawmakers in the meantime. Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) “had a good conversation” with the former governor of Georgia on Tuesday where they discussed “regional differences …
#Seed has Spot in Epcot Flower and Garden Festival
The 24th Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival will feature a special place of honor this year for that which makes it all possible – the seed! During the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) 56th Vegetable & Flower Seed Conference this week at Disney’s Epcot Center, festival coordinator Eric Darden announced that they will feature an ASTA garden at this …
I Am @USFRA – @AgRetailers
The Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) represents the people who supply farmers and ranchers with the products and services they need to produce food, fiber, and fuel for the world. Many members are also farmers who sell seeds, nutrients, crop protection products, farm equipment, precision technology and agronomic services, so ARA has a strong interest in educating the public so those …