More Democrats than Republicans voted against the conference committee farm bill this week in the U.S. House, mostly because of the nutrition program reforms, but 89 did vote in favor despite that and one was Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO), former mayor of Kansas City. In an interview today, Rep. Cleaver said it’s not a perfect bill, but it’s the …
Novus International Connects at IPPE
Despite inclement weather conditions, the 2014 International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) this week had more than 24,000 poultry, meat and feed industry attendees from all over the world and 1,148 exhibitors, including our show coverage sponsor Novus International. The theme for Novus at the expo was “Understanding the Connections” according to Samson Li, vice president for global business. “We …
Propane Worries for Poultry Producers
With feed prices lower now than they were in 2012, there is a lot of optimism in the U.S. poultry industry, but now producers are contending with another high input cost – energy. U.S. Poultry and Egg Association president John Starkey says the propane shortage and resulting higher prices are having a great impact on the poultry industry nationwide. “Particularly …
Expo Not Just For Poultry Anymore
Once it was just the International Poultry Expo in Atlanta this time of year, but with the addition of the feed expo a few years ago and the meat expo last year, it is now a much more breed inclusive show and pork was center of the plate in the Pig Pavilion. I had the chance to watch North American …
Novus Celebrates ALIMET Anniversary at IPPE
It was 30 years ago this week that the first load of ALIMET® shipped out of the Chocolate Bayou Manufacturing Facility near Alvin, Texas and Novus International was celebrating that at the International Production and Processing Expo (IPPE) in Atlanta. As an 88% active source of methionine, ALIMET® feed supplement has become the liquid methionine source most frequently used by …
Farm Bill Could be Final This Week
Agricultural groups hailed passage of the compromise farm bill by the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday and look forward to swift action in the Senate. National Corn Growers Association President Martin Barbre of Illinois observed the floor vote from the House gallery while visiting the Capitol. “This legislation provides an adequate and flexible farm safety net, as well as …
IPPE Show Goes On Despite Weather
The International Production and Processing Expo (IPPE) carried on Wednesday in Atlanta, despite the few inches of snow that nearly paralyzed the city. Attendance was still pretty good today considering and with so many flights cancelled lots of people are actually staying longer for the show than they planned. “Our crowd has held up today in spite of very severe …
North American Meat Unhappy With Farm Bill
Members of the North American Meat Association (NAMA) here at the International Production and Processing Expo are disappointed to see that Congress is likely to pass a farm bill this week with no changes to the Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) law being challenged in the World Trade Organization by Mexico and Canada. “It needs to be fixed and Congress …
Snow Hits the IPPE in Atlanta
For those of you who were in Atlanta in 2011 for the American Farm Bureau annual meeting and AG CONNECT expo, you know what Atlanta is like when it gets very rare snow. We have it again here for the International Production and Processing Expo. Restaurants closed, transportation not running, skeleton crews at the conference center, flights cancelled and communication …
Farmers in the SOTU
It is rare for agriculture to even be mentioned in a State of the Union address, but President Obama brought attention to the hardworking farmers of our country in the opening minute of SOTU 2014. “A farmer prepared for the spring after the strongest five-year stretch of farm exports in our history,” said the president, with a split screen image …