October is National Cooperative Month and once again the nation’s agricultural cooperatives set a new sales record for 2013. According to USDA, total business volume in 2013 surpassed $246 billion, exceeding the 2012 record by $8 billion or four percent. This is the third consecutive year of record sales by ag cooperatives, reflecting increased sales in the overall farm economy …
Next USFRA Dialogues to Feature CAST Winner
The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) is presenting the Borlaug CAST Communication Award this year to Dr. Alison Van Eenennaam, an Animal Genomics and Biotechnology Cooperative Extension Specialist in the Department of Animal Science at the University of California-Davis. The award recognizes individuals who are actively excelling in communication of agricultural science and technology. She will receive the …
Corn Stocks Up, Soybeans Down
There’s more corn in the bins than there was a year ago at this time. USDA’s newest Grain Stocks report shows 1.24 billion bushels of old crop corn in all positions as of September 1, up 50 percent from the same time last year. The report from the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) found less soybean stocks than a year …
Holland Picks New Holland
The T6 AutoCommand™ tractor, from CNH Industrial brand New Holland Agriculture, has won the ‘Boerentrekker of the Year Award 2014’ in the Netherlands by leading Dutch farming magazine Boerderij. The title recognizes the ‘Best Farmer’s Tractor’ for the year in Holland and was conferred at the Agrotechniek 2014 trade fair by the magazine. First published in 1915, this weekly independent …
GROWMARK Encourages Proactive Nutrient Management
This is the third of a four part series on Nutrient Management sponsored by FS/GROWMARK There are lots of good reasons to be proactive about nutrient management in agriculture, not the least of which is the threat of government regulation and litigation. “If we aren’t part of the solution, regulations and legislation will define agriculture and how we farm,” says …
GROWMARK Makes VP Announcements
GROWMARK has made two new Vice President appointments for the cooperative’s executive team. Barry Schmidt has been named GROWMARK Region Vice President effective Nov. 1, 2014. Barry will report to GROWMARK CEO, Jim Spradlin, and will serve on the senior management team Schmidt will support FS member companies in the northern portion of the Central Region. GROWMARK CEO Jim Spradlin …
NACD Meets With EPA on WOTUS
Representatives of the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) met with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials last week to express concerns on behalf of member conservation districts regarding the proposed “Waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) rule. “We thought is was a very good meeting and we appreciated the opportunity to express some concerns,” said NACD President Earl Garber, a licensed …
USDA Unveils New Risk Management Programs
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today unveiled the new programs included in the 2014 Farm Bill to help farmers better manage risk. The new programs, Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC), represent the end of direct payments by offering farmers protection when market forces cause substantial drops in crop prices and/or revenues. Producers will have through early spring …
Canadian Farm Writers Conference Preview
This week on the ZimmCast we are previewing the upcoming Canadian Farm Writers Federation 2014 conference in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island October 2-5. That’s just a week from now, but if you have ever wanted to learn more about eastern Canadian agriculture, this would be the event to do it – and they would be happy to welcome more attendees! …
New Global Alliance for Climate Smart Agriculture
The inaugural meeting of the Global Alliance for Climate Smart Agriculture was held this week in conjunction with the UN Climate Summit in New York City. “I am glad to see action that will increase agricultural productivity, build resilience for farmers and reduce carbon emissions,” said United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. “These efforts will improve food and nutrition security for …