Two potential presidential candidates who received a lot of media attention at the Iowa Ag Summit on Saturday were Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. Cruz, who has introduced legislation to repeal the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), was honest about his views, even though he said the “easy thing to do” would be to tell the …
Iowa Summit Generates National Coverage
The first Iowa Ag Summit featuring nine possible GOP presidential candidates put the spotlight on agricultural issues in the national media. Comments made by at the event by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, former New York Gov. George Pataki, former Texas …
Seed Education Campaign Taking Root
Registration is now open for the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) 132nd Annual Convention which will be in Washington DC this year, June 17-20, where members will be sowing seeds of information inside the Beltway. “One of the focuses there is going to be on advocacy,” said ASTA CEO Andy LaVigne at Commodity Classic, who adds that it will be …
Presidential Possibles Take on Ag Issues
Nine potential Republican presidential candidates were asked their opinions on various agricultural issues at the Iowa Ag Summit in Des Moines on Saturday. Each taking a seat on a stage with agribusiness entrepreneur Bruce Rastetter for 20-30 minutes were former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, South Carolina …
Iteris Signs Precision Ag Weather Agreement
Iteris, Inc. has signed an agreement with AgRenaissance Software LLC to integrate Iteris’ ClearAg™ Select high-resolution, field-level weather information into AgRenaissance’s FieldX™ suite of software for agricultural producers, agronomists and applicators. Iteris’ ClearAg solution provides agribusinesses with actionable field-level weather and soil information needed for the data-driven decision making required for efficient crop management, resource allocation, and risk reduction and …
ASA Awards at #Classic15
The American Soybean Association (ASA) presented several awards during the annual banquet at Commodity Classic last week. Steve Berger from Wellman, Iowa received the 2015 National Conservation Legacy Award, designed Along with ASA, the program is co-sponsored by BASF Crop Protection, Monsanto, Corn & Soybean Digest magazine and the United Soybean Board/Checkoff. ASA presented Dr. Jim Specht, emeritus professor of …
BASF Xanthion In-Furrow Info at #Classic15
BASF Technical Marketing Manager Caren Schmidt had 10 minutes to tell the Commodity Classic attendees at a Mini WIN session last week about Xanthion™ In-furrow fungicide, which received Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registration in October in time for use on corn this season. “Xanthion is our newest in-furrow fungicide for corn, and it’s the first in-furrow fungicide to combine a …
Record Breaking #Classic15
The 20th annual Commodity Classic was one for the record books. Total attendance was 7,936, more than 600 over the previous record, 7,325, set in 2014. Other records broken were the number of growers, at 4,328 (compared to 3,874 in 2014); and the number of first-time attendees, at 1,409 (compared to 1,261 in 2014). Additionally, the trade show featured an …
Interest in #Propane at #Classic15
Farmers were showing quite a bit of interest in propane power at the 2015 Commodity Classic – everything from irrigation engines and grain dryers, to greenhouse heat and lawn mowers. “There’s new propane equipment on the market that’s very efficient,” says Cinch Munson with the Propane Education and Research Council (PERC), who adds that the benefits are numerous. “Propane engines …
USTR Update at #Classic15
U.S. Trade Representative Chief Agricultural Negotiator Darci Vetter updated farmer leaders and the media on trade issues at the 2015 Commodity Classic last week, particularly on the need for Trade Promotion Authority to move current negotiations forward. “There are groups on the right and on the left that would say that Trade Promotion Authority is not the way to go,” …