The title makes it sound more like a morality play than a government hearing but “How a Broken Process Leads to Flawed Regulations” is what the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is calling the hearing on Wednesday morning to look into government over-regulation. One of the scheduled witnesses is Colorado cattle producer Robbie LeValley and you can bet …
National Corn Growers Unveils Farm Bill Proposal
The National Corn Growers Association has officially unveiled its idea for a new disaster assistance title in the next farm bill. NCGA is proposing the Agriculture Disaster Assistance Program (ADAP) “that will modify and replace the existing Average Crop Revenue Election Program and provide a more effective and responsive safety net for growers.” “Responding to a charge by our voting …
Tweet the White House About US-Korea FTA
The US-Korea FTA Business Coalition is tweeting the White House for free trade this week. The coalition is sending out messages on Twitter this week during the “White House Office Hours on the American Jobs Act” to address the importance of the US-Korea FTA and other pending trade agreements in creating American jobs and they are urging other supporters to …
Burton Eller Retires From NCBA
Burton Eller was fighting for the rights of cattle producers when Ronald Reagan was president, but now he plans to finally ride off into the sunset and spend more time on the ranch. Burton has served the cattle industry in many capacities, most recently as National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Senior Vice President of Member Services and Industry Affairs. He …
Rhea + Kaiser Adds Technical Writing Emphasis
Rhea + Kaiser is expanding its areas of agency services to formally include technical writing. “We have always valued and embraced technical writing at R+K,” said CEO Diane Martin. “It’s time to use our expertise in this discipline to garner greater value for both the agency and our clients.” This new area of emphasis allows R+K to accomplish several core …
Find the Data Offers Crop Comparisons
Here’s a cool on-line tool that offers yield and production comparisons of various crops by county. I received an email a few weeks ago from the guy who built the tool for a comparison engine called “Find the Best,” and also FindtheData.org. Woody Robinson is a recent graduate of the University of California Santa Barbara who now works for FindTheBest, …
Heat Beats the Corn Crop
The hot, dry summer has taken a toll on the corn crop, according to the latest USDA forecast. The estimate for corn production this year is now 12.5 billion bushels, down 3 percent from the August forecast but still more than last year and would still be the third largest corn crop in history. Yields are expected to average just …
Pioneer Offers Local Resources to Improve Profitability
Pioneer Hi-Bred’s big announcement at the 2011 Farm Progress Show was a new program focused on evaluating innovative production practices on a local basis through a national network of agronomy trial managers (ATMs). “The focus is really local,” says Curt Clausen, Pioneer agronomy sciences director. “It’s really about local crop management, innovation and knowledge.” Pioneer is doubling the number of …
Growers Learn From Illinois Soybean Challenge
Some of the high yielding innovators in the 2010 Illinois Soybean Yield Challenge were at the 2011 Farm Progress Show to talk about the program and what they learned. The Shipman Elevator Team, sponsored by BASF, took first place in District 6 last year and also won the Novel Practices Award in the challenge funded by the Illinois soybean checkoff. …
NASCAR Driver “Blown Away” by FPS
There were quite a few race cars mixed in with the tractors and combines this year at the 2011 Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Illinois. In addition to the American Ethanol NASCAR Sprint Series car at the Growth Energy exhibit, over at the Illinois Corn Growers exhibit, the Illinois Family Farmers NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Kenny Wallace was signing autographs …