Monsanto is encouraging farmers to “Follow-A-Field” in order to learn more about the next innovation in soybean and cotton weed control. The Follow-A-Field initiative from Monsanto is an interactive experience featured on XtendFollowAField.com that follows three farmers as they take their Roundup Ready 2 Xtend™ soybean fields from burndown through harvest as part of the Monsanto Ground Breakers® Field Trials …
Selling House Water Bill on Social Media
The chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is using social media to promote the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2013 (WRRDA) introduced last week by the committee. Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA) narrates a whiteboard-doodled YouTube video on why the legislation to improve our nation’s waterway infrastructure “matters to every American, the Nation’s economy, jobs, and our …
Argentine Cowhide Sledding
What do Argentine gauchos do out in the pampas when they are bored and maybe have had a little too much Quilmes to drink? They tie dried cowhides to their horses and drag each other around in them. Seriously. I don’t know what it’s called – there must be a name for it – so I just call it cowhide …
USDA September Crop Forecast
Despite a slowly maturing corn crop impacted by late summer heat, USDA upped its production forecast for the crop this year by a little bit instead of lowering it. Corn production is forecast at 13.8 billion bushels, up less than 1 percent from the August forecast and up 28 percent from 2012. If realized, this will be a new record …
IFAJ VP Reports and Rocks
International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) Vice President Owen Roberts, Director for Research Communications at the University of Guelph, had some great news to share about the organization’s outreach efforts during the IFAJ 2013 Congress. IFAJ has 33 member country guilds, but Owen says they have been working on expanding that to become even more global. “That has started a …
Cattle and Ethanol Debating RFS
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Executive Director of Legislative Affairs Kristina Butts is live right now on AgriTalk in a debate with Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Bob Dinneen over the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The Great RFS Debate is being co-hosted by Agri-Pulse. Pictured here, left to right, as the debate begins – Bob Dinneen, AgriTalk host Mike …
IFAJ Master Class and Boot Camp
One of the great things about the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) is the professional improvement it offers for up and coming ag journalists all over the world. Alltech sponsors a Young Leader award program that offers an intensive journalistic boot camp-style workshop for 10 promising new journalists from ten different countries. This year’s young leader from the United …
Reaction to Court COOL Decision
A U.S. district court judge today denied a request for a preliminary injunction blocking a final USDA regulation mandating country-of-origin labels (COOL) on meat sold in retail stores until a lawsuit filed July 8 is concluded. That decision made COOL supporters happy but disappointed the plaintiffs, which include U.S. and Canadian meat packer and livestock organizations. “We disagree strongly with …
NFU Fly-In Features Big Names
The National Farmers Union held a star-studded press conference on the first day of its Legislative Fly-In in Washington to highlight two important issues for agriculture – passing a farm bill this year, and maintaining the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Rock star of the event was Grammy-winning artist Neil Young, pictured here with NFU President Roger Johnson. Young, who was …
Americans Score IFAJ Awards
American ag journalists were honored for their work in the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) Star Prize contests, results of which were announced last week at IFAJ’s World Congress in Rosario, Argentina. A Progressive Farmer team of American Agricultural Editors’ Association (AAEA) members Gregg Hillyer, Barb Baylor Anderson, Charles Johnson, and Howard G. Buffett – took home the IFAJ-Yara …