The #Plant16 hash tag has been burning up Twitter in the past week as corn planting jumped up to 13% compared to the five year average of eight percent. According to USDA, planting progress is now ahead of average by 37 percentage points in Missouri, which at 58% planted nearly a quarter of its crop last week. Iowa, Kansas and …
#NAMA16 @Brownfield Beach Bash
It was a perfect night for a Brownfield Beach Bash last week in Kansas City at the National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) convention. Brownfield Ag News carried on its annual tradition of the Thursday night part at NAMA and this year the venue was the Shark Bar in the Power and Light district. Guests sported flowered leis and carried tropical drinks …
I AM USFRA – Corn Farmers
The National Corn Growers Association was another one of the original organizations to help form the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) and current CEO Chris Novak was with another founding group at the time, the National Pork Board. “I made a trip to St. Louis in 2010 and sat down with Rick Tolman who was CEO at NCGA prior …
Remembering Merle
Back in the early years of the biodiesel industry, Merle Haggard was one of the stars who came out in support of the American-made biofuel. The country music legend who died last week at the age of 79 made a legendary appearance at the 2007 National Biodiesel Conference, holding a press conference and performing for those in attendance. During the …
New Insecticide Coming from @BASFAgProducts
BASF Crop Protection is seeking regulatory approval for a brand new insecticide active ingredient called Inscalis™. Inscalis is the pioneer solution from a novel chemical class, the pyropenes, offering an alternative mode of action for the control of key insect pests and providing an essential tool to farmers for use in resistance and integrated pest management programs. Inscalis controls critical …
I AM USFRA – Jeanette Merritt
Like most farm women, Jeanette Merritt wears many hats. A wife and mother of three, the 4th generation Indiana hog and soybean farmer is a Purdue University graduate who serves Hoosier State agriculture in a variety of ways. Jeanette is a former farm broadcaster and agricultural journalist who has put her experience to work as a public speaker and PR …
Study Shows How Farmers are Dealing with Downturn
J.L.Farmakis, Inc has just released a new research study conducted in February by Millennium Research that shows plans farmers are making this year in reaction to lower commodity prices. Among the findings of the “Farmer Speaks Study” are: • Half of the farmers surveyed are seeking off-farm employment • 74% will switch to generics or change brands of crop protection …
Washington State Billboard Causing Uproar
The chairmen of two Senate committees are calling for an investigation into billboards in Washington state that blame agriculture for polluting waterways because they apparently were funded by a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, and Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), chairman of the Agriculture Committee are requesting an …
EPA Proposes Dicamba Registration for GE Crops
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has officially proposed the registration of dicamba to control weeds in cotton and soybean genetically engineered (GE) to tolerate the herbicide. The proposal outlines a Herbicide Resistance Management Plan which includes monitoring and reporting any suspected resistance, grower education and remediation. Additionally, EPA is proposing to limit the registration to 5 years, which would further …
Ethanol Trade Mission to Peru
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) took part in a recent trade mission to Peru led by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack which included discussions about increasing cooperation with that country when it comes to ethanol production and exports. In this edition of the ZimmCast, RFA General Counsel Ed Hubbard talks about the March 13-15 trade mission which visited Lima and the …