The Senate Agriculture Committee on Wednesday took a look at the proposed sale of Smithfield Foods to Shuanghui International, which would be the largest acquisition of an American company by a Chinese company in history. Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) says the sale raises many questions about issues such as food safety, protection of intellectual property, and increased foreign ownership …
Max Armstrong is Tractor Boy
Veteran farm broadcaster and vintage tractor lover Max Armstrong has come out with a new music video. Yeah – you read that right. It’s called “Tractor Boy” and Max is ready to show those Peterson Boys just how it’s done. Our friend Marilyn Cummins with Martinez Creative Group sent us the link just now. Max produced the video with MCG …
Agri-Pulse Open Mic with NFU President
New on Agri-Pulse this week: Roger Johnson is president of the National Farmers Union. and a past Commissioner of Agriculture in North Dakota. NFU, as an organization, has shown an affinity toward small farmers and democratic party views, however In this year’s farm and immigration debates, they are in step with a broad coalition of farm and labor organizations who …
Farm Bill Split Could Happen
Momentum seems to be building for a vote in the House on a farm only farm bill – but only if the votes are there. During a town hall meeting in Oklahoma over the July 4th recess, House Ag Committee Chairman Frank Lucas indicated that he expected leadership to split the bill but he would rather not see that happen. …
AFBF Files Suit to Protect Farmers’ Privacy
The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) is taking legal action to stop the Environmental Protection Agency from publicly releasing personal information about thousands of farmers and ranchers and their families. The lawsuit was prompted by the expectation that EPA will be responding this week to several Freedom of Information Act requests, so AFBF is seeking a temporary restraining order before …
Celebrating Our Founding Farmers
We often refer to our founding fathers when we talk about the signing of the declaration of independence, but they could just as well be called the founding farmers, since that was the primary profession of so many at the time. There is a poem on the internet that I came across written by a California organic farmer by the …
Groups Call on House for Farm Bill Now
The American Farm Bureau Federation and more than 532 other organizations today called on House leadership to bring the farm bill back to the House floor for a vote as soon as possible. The groups also urged against splitting the nutrition title from the legislation. In a letter to Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), the vast group encompassing agriculture, conservation, nutrition, …
Agri-Pulse Open Mic with Shirley Bloomfield
New on Agri-Pulse this week: Shirley Bloomfield, the CEO of the NTCA – Rural Broadband Association says rural customers want the same speed, clarity and quality of service as other Americans, but her members face several challenges delivering 21st Century technology, in part because wireless still needs a wired network. Her association is working with farm groups and others on …
GROWMARK Sees Demand for New Grain Dryers
Almost a year ago, GROWMARK’s Total Grain Marketing (TGM) location at Neoga, Illinois completed installation of a groundbreaking mixed airflow grain dryer. with the help of Chief Industries, United Kingdom. Now, GROWMARK Commercial Grain Systems Project Manager Paul Brooks says they are working on constructing another one in Kearney, Nebraska where it will be used for drying organic grains such …
Surprising Acreage Report from USDA
Despite the challenging planting conditions this spring USDA is saying that farmers have planted even more corn than last year and the most acres in 77 years, according to Friday’s Acreage report. Corn planted area for all purposes in 2013 is estimated at 97.4 million acres, up slightly from last year. This represents the highest planted acreage in the United …