GROWMARK Celebrating 85 Years

Cindy Zimmerman

GROWMARK has two reasons to celebrate this year – the International Year of the Cooperative and GROWMARK’s 85th anniversary. “The cooperative obviously has evolved a lot over those 85 years,” says Dan Kelley, Illinois farmer and president of the GROWMARK Board of Directors. “Energy is still a main part of GROWMARK’s product distribution. Nearly half of our sales continue to …

Audio, Cooperatives, GROWMARK

BASF Father and Son Great Growers

Cindy Zimmerman

BASF Great Grower Kip Tom of Indiana and his son Kyle were at the recent BASF Agricultural Solutions Media Summit, so I had the opportunity to get an update on their crops and find out more about them. “We’re dry, there’s no question about it,” Kip told me. That was two weeks ago and they are still dry. In fact, …

Audio, BASF, Farming

Winners and Losers in the Senate Farm Bill

Cindy Zimmerman

Most groups are saying very nice things about passage of the Senate Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2012 and especially the quick work done by the Senate on the legislation. “The bipartisan farm bill approved today by the Senate (S.3240) provides farmers improved risk management tools consistent with Farm Bureau’s core principles,” said American Farm Bureau Federation president …

AFBF, Farm Bill, NCGA

Senate Passes Farm Bill

Cindy Zimmerman

Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) calls it not the best possible bill, but “the best bill possible” – the Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2012 passed the Senate this afternoon by a vote of 64 to 35. Both Roberts and Senate Ag Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) stressed the bi-partisan cooperation involved in getting the bill crafted and passed. …

Audio, Farm Bill

ASTA Members Hear from House Ag Leaders

Cindy Zimmerman

Members of the American Seed Trade Association were on Capitol Hill today getting updates on farm legislation from Congressional leaders, including House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK) and Ranking Member Collin Peterson (D-MN). Chuck was there with them today during a busy day for progress on the 2012 Farm Bill, with the Senate whipping through amendments at lightning speed. …

ASTA, Audio, Farm Bill

Senate Cuts Farm Bill Amendments

Cindy Zimmerman

The number of proposed amendments to the Senate farm bill shrank from nearly 300 to 73 yesterday as senators struck a deal to get debate back on track. “This is not a great agreement, but it’s a good agreement,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announcing the deal late last night. The good news is that the “rotten egg …

Farm Bill

Record-Setting World Pork Expo

Cindy Zimmerman

The 2012 World Pork Expo was another one for the record books. The Expo set records for the number of pigs in the Junior National show and the quantity of meals served at the Big Grill, and featured the creation of the world’s largest pork burger during its well-attended MusicFest. The WPX Junior National broke another record for the number …

Boehringer Ingelheim, NPPC, World Pork Expo

New Holland “Race With the Winners” and Win

Cindy Zimmerman

If you love NASCAR and are in the market for a new compact tractor or utility vehicle, New Holland has just the ticket. New Holland Agriculture has partnered with several of the race tracks hosting NASCAR events in 2012 to create the “Race with the Winners” program. Five finalists will be selected during pre-race activities for a chance to win …

New Holland

Egg Amendment is Top Priority for NCBA

Cindy Zimmerman

As the amendments to the 2012 Farm Bill are piling up in the Senate, one of the more than 240 stands out as causing the most concern to many agricultural organizations, including the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), and that is the rotten egg amendment. A “dangerous piece of legislation” is what NCBA calls amendment #2252, put forward by Senator …

Beef, Farm Bill, NCBA, Poultry