Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced USDA is making $20 million available for agricultural water conservation efforts throughout California to combat the effects of drought. “This $20 million will be directed to drought mitigation, focused on improving irrigation efficiency, providing producers resources to stabilize fallow ground and to assist with watering facilities and grazing distribution,” said Vilsack during a press …
Agri-Pulse Open Mic with Sen. Roberts
New on Agri-Pulse this week: As the U.S. Senate prepares to approve a new farm bill this week, supporters and critics are still weighing in on key provisions in the 949-page package. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, understands the difficult dynamics involved with gaining approval of complex food and farm legislation, having served as chairman of the House Agriculture Committee in …
Texas Cattle in Super Bowl Ad
There was a lot of social media buzz surrounding the 2014 Super Bowl commercial for Chevy Silverado featuring a Hereford bull on the make for some sexy ladies. Texas A&M University reports the cattle in the ad belonged to one of their board regents. Regent Jim Schwertner’s ranch was the set for Chevrolet’s “Romance” commercial, which is slated to be …
Novus Sponsors Poultry Science Student Lunch
Keeping with the Novus International dedication to supporting scientific careers, the company this year sponsored the Poultry Scientific Forum student luncheon this year as part of the activities at the International Production and Processing Expo in Atlanta. Bob Buresh, North American Technical Services Manager, says the founding societies sponsoring the student events at the forum set up the luncheon a …
Novus Endowed Poultry Professorship
In 2003, Novus International inaugurated a new Endowed Professorship in Poultry Science at the University of Arkansas and the first recipient was poultry nutrition professor Park Waldroup. Last week at the International Production and Processing Expo, Novus honored professor Waldroup for his work and endowed a new professor with the honor – Dr. Casey Owens, who specializes in Poultry Processing …
Climate Corp Adopts Data Privacy Standards
The Climate Corporation today announced principles and commitments related to data use and privacy published on-line in a Guiding Principles on Data and Privacy statement. “The application of data science in agriculture is relatively new, and with the development of new technologies comes some level of uncertainty about its potential implications. In our experience, farmers are more likely to embrace …
Why One Democrat Voted for Farm Bill
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 …