The tradition of Commodity Classic emcee Mark Mayfield interviewing the presidents of each organization continued this year. Left to right are Mayfield, National Sorghum Producers chairman JB Stewart of Oklahoma, National Association of Wheat Growers president Paul Penner of Kansas, American Soybean Association president Wade Cowan of Texas, and National Corn Growers Association president Chip Bowling of Maryland. Listen to …
Former Ag Secretaries Urge Congress to Pass TPA
A bipartisan group of former U.S. Agriculture Secretaries, representing all past administrations since President Jimmy Carter, issued an open letter on Friday urging Congress to pass Trade Promotion Authority (TPA). The former secretaries note that TPA has been given to all previous presidents since Gerald Ford and is critical for successfully negotiating new trade partnerships that boost exports and create …
Astronaut Stresses Need for Science at Bayer Forum
Among her many accomplishments Dr. Mae Carol Jemison is a dancer, a doctor, an actress, an astronaut and a strong advocate for “Making Science Make Sense.” She’s done more in her life so far than most of us even think about doing! Jemison talked to the Bayer CropScience 10th annual Ag Issues Forum on Tuesday about why scientific literacy is …
Commodity Classic Groups Meet the Press
Trade, taxes, biotechnology, farm policy and government regulations are the main issues of concern to the commodity organizations who make up the Commodity Classic. Leadership of the American Soybean Association (ASA), National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG), and National Sorghum Producers (NSP) all held press conferences Thursday to talk about their top priorities. Under the …
Propane Power Pays at #Classic15
If you are a farmer at Commodity Classic this week and you might be in the market for propane-powered equipment, you definitely should stop by the Propane Education and Research Council (PERC) booth at the trade show and get incentivized. When I visited with PERC opening day, I met Tom Uhlman of Nebraska who took advantage of the propane incentive …
FARMLAND at Walmart March 3
The U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) was pleased to announced at the 2015 Commodity Classic this week that the feature-length documentary FARMLAND will be available on DVD beginning Tuesday, March 3rd, at Walmart and Walmart.com. “It’s been available on iTunes and other ways to download or stream it but now you can physically own and have your own DVD,” …
BASF Awards SOY, Corn and Wheat Scholarships
BASF Crop Protection made 10 students pursuing agricultural degrees very happy today with the presentation of scholarships at the 2015 Commodity Classic, in partnership with the American Soybean Association (ASA), the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) and the National Wheat Foundation (NWF). “Investing in the future is how the agricultural industry can sustain success,” said Neil Bentley, Director of Marketing, …
BASF Survey Says Farmers Concerned About Risk
No doubt farming is a risky business or everyone would do it, but this year more than ever farmers are concerned about managing financial risk and worried about potential commodity price fluctuations. According to a survey of over 200 farmers, BASF Crop Protection found that farmers are very or extremely concerned about managing financial risk in the coming season, and …
Learning More About BASF ecovio®
You might recall that we first told you about BASF ecovio® compostable polymer after the ASTA CSS meeting in December. That was the first we heard about this amazing material that has a variety of agricultural applications and at the Science Behind event on Wednesday agricultural media got to touch and feel it and learn more about it. Ruth Watts …
BASF Celebrates 150 Years of Science
Since 2015 marks the 150th anniversary of BASF, our friends with BASF Crop Protection are pleased to kick off this anniversary year in the U.S. with the 9th annual media symposium, the Science Behind the Right Chemistry, prior to the official start of Commodity Classic in Phoenix, Arizona. Opening the big event was Technical Crop Production Specialist AJ Woodyard and …