The U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance® (USFRA) recently surpassed 80 affiliates with the addition of nine new industry partners, but board members Mike Geske of Missouri would like to see that grow even higher. “We’re all affected by this same food conversation in the United States,” said Geske during an interview at Commodity Classic. “People want to know their food …
Ag Secretary and EPA Chief at NFU
The heads of both the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency spoke to the National Farmers Union (NFU) convention in Wichita Monday. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced $97 million in programs to support the continued development of farmers markets, farm to school efforts and rural economies and will also expand risk management tools for specialty crops and …
EPA and USDA Heads to Keynote NFU Convention
Members of the National Farmers Union will hear from both Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and EPA administrator Gina McCarthy on Monday at their convention in Wichita. NFU’s Chandler Goule says registration is open to anyone for the organization’s 113th annual meeting. “We’d love to have more people come, listen to our grassroots debate,” said Goule. In an interview at Commodity …
Agri-Pulse to Kick Off Ag Day Activities
Agri-Pulse will be getting a head start on Ag Day activities in the nation’s capitol next week on St. Patrick’s Day with a discussion on “Farm to Fork Politics: Unleashing Innovation in Agriculture.” “This is a terrific opportunity to learn from the people who are on the leading edge of agricultural innovation – improving crop, livestock and egg production and …
Agri-Pulse Open Mic with NFU President
Agri-Pulse Open Mic this week features National Farmers Union President, Roger Johnson. As the group prepares for their 2015 convention, Johnson shares his support for current farm bill and opposes any attempt to return to open policy debate. NFU members oppose Trade Promotion Authority for the Obama Administration, but support liberalizing trade with Cuba. Johnson and the NFU are strong …
Corn Yield Contest Winner Keeps Pushing
It got a little repetitive at the Commodity Classic corn banquet announcing the national winners of the Corn Yield Contest when Randy Dowdy of Valdosta, Georgia won six of the 18 categories. But Dowdy did make history last year with nearly 504 bushels per acre in his irrigated plot using DEKALB DKC 62-08, and he thinks he can do even …
USFRA Holds Research & Food Industry Workshop
I had the opportunity to catch up with U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) chairwoman Nancy Kavazanjian during the Commodity Classic to find out about their Research & Food Industry Workshop which was held just prior to Classic. “We’ve been doing research because to talk the talk we need to know what the consumers want to know, the messages that …
BASF Invites Stakeholders to Discuss Food Future
As part of activities to mark 150 years, BASF hosted a two-day “Creator Space” jamming event in Washington, D.C. last week to discuss the future of food. The event brought together more than 30 stakeholders from the entire food value chain including farmers, academics, food manufacturers and logistic companies to discuss long-term challenges and trends that may impact the food …
Walker and Cruz at Iowa Ag Summit
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 …