With the Senate Agriculture Committee set to start writing a new farm bill on Tuesday and the House Agriculture Committee ready to follow a day later, Congressman Collin Peterson offers his views on how a new farm bill can hopefully get passed by both chambers this year. As the ranking Democrat, he talks about the compromises he’s worked out with …
Supreme Court Rules for Monsanto
The Supreme Court today ruled unanimously to protect the intellectual property rights of Monsanto‘s genetically modified soybean seed. The U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Bowman v. Monsanto, a case regarding an Indiana farmer who planted saved Roundup Ready soybean seed, ruling that “patent exhaustion does not permit a farmer to reproduce patented seeds through planting and harvesting …
Syngenta Builds on Garst® Seed Legacy
Even as the Syngenta-owned Garst and Golden Harvest® brands are being launched under the revised Golden Harvest brand, Syngenta intends to uphold the quality, reliability and legacy that have become synonymous with the Garst brand and the Garst Seed Advisor. “Roswell Garst’s commitment to customers – to be a trusted advisor in addition to a seed dealer – is the …
BASF to Produce Renewable BDO
BASF plans to begin production of 1,4-butanediol based on renewable feedstock (renewable BDO) using the patented process of California-based company Genomatica. The one-step fermentation process is based on sugars as a renewable feedstock. BDO and its derivatives are widely used for producing plastics, solvents, electronic chemicals and elastic fibers. The starting materials for the production of conventional BDO are natural …
Wells Fargo Moving Into New Ag Territory
The name Wells Fargo is forever linked with the image of a six-horse stagecoach thundering across the American West, loaded with gold. The California-based company, founded in 1852 by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, also has a rich history in agribusiness. In fact, Wells Fargo has extended more credit to U.S. food and agribusiness than any bank, mostly in …
Meet Our First Agri-Blogger Intern
We are so pleased with the response to our new agri-blogging internship program. It was tough to choose just one for the summer semester, but we finally decided on Maggie Seiler – a sophomore at Kansas State University dual majoring in agricultural communications and journalism and animal sciences and industry. Maggie grew up on a dairy operation outside of Wichita …
Coca-Cola Supports Florida Citrus
Orange juice is the “Real Thing” in Florida and Coca-Cola is helping the industry keep brightening our days with glasses of sunshine. The Coca-Cola company is committing $2 billion to support the citrus industry in Florida by planting of 25,000 acres of new orange groves in the Sunshine State. Under the agreement with with Cutrale Citrus Juices and Peace River …
USFRA Appoints New Vice President of Development
Our good friend Randy Krotz has a new position with the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance® (USFRA®) as vice president of development. Krotz will lead initiatives which deal directly with industry partner relations, ensuring that USFRA will have the necessary short- and long-term resources to communicate and engage consumers, influencers and opinion leaders on a range of key crop and …
Warrant® Herbicide Offers Flexibility, Residual Weed Control
Farmers seeking the flexibility of an early preemergence or postemergence herbicide application combined with residual control of resistant and tough-to-manage weeds in soybeans and cotton have a “go-to” solution: Warrant herbicide from Monsanto. I talked with Monsanto Selective Chemistry Manager Tyler Hackstadt (HOCK-stet) about Warrant and how it might provide some advantages for growers facing planting delays this spring. “We’ve …
USDA and EPA Release Honey Bee Health Report
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today released a comprehensive scientific report on honey bee health. The report states that there are multiple factors playing a role in honey bee colony declines, including parasites and disease, genetics, poor nutrition and pesticide exposure. “The challenges are complex and there is no smoking gun,” said …