Seven has always been considered to be the perfect number, so it’s no surprise that there are seven factors that make up the combination for consistent high yielding corn crops. A new website looks at “The Seven Wonders of the Corn Yield World,” based on the research of University of Illinois plant physiologist Dr. Fred Below. Dr. Below has been …
Boehringer Ingelheim Treats Clients Like Family
It is always a pleasure to cover the Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica (BIVI) Swine Health Seminar in North Carolina and see so many young swine producers with their families. Makes me optimistic about the future of agriculture. The big barefoot kid in this photo surrounded by smaller kids is BIVI’s Dan “The Man” Johnson, who is organizer of this great annual …
Update on BIVI 3FLEX
It has been on the market for less than a year, but Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica’s 3FLEX™ swine vaccine is already gained wide acceptance among producers. At the BIVI Swine Health Seminar in North Carolina last week, Dr. Greg Cline gave an update on the acceptance of the 3-way vaccine to combat Porcine Circovirus, Mycoplasma Hyopneumoniae AND PRRS. “The acceptance and …
International Joint Commission Chair Attends CTIC Tour
One of the participants on the 2011 CTIC Conservation In Action Tour in northwest Ohio last week was the chairman of the International Joint Commission (IJC), Lana Pollack. The IJC was established by the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty to monitor the rivers and lakes along the border of Canada and the United States and aid the governments of the two …
PRRS Vaccine Reduces Viral Shedding
New results from a trial done in Minnesota show that the PRRS modified live virus vaccine appears to reduce viral shedding. The trial results were presented at last week’s Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Swine Health Seminar in North Carolina by Dr. Joel Nerem of Pipestone Vet Clinic. “What we found was that vaccinated pigs shed virus for fewer days and for …
See the Difference Between Tilled and No-Till Soil
One of the stops on the 2011 CTIC Conservation In Action Tour in Ohio last week was the farm of Todd Hesterman in Napoleon, Ohio. Todd has employed continuous no-till on his 450 acre corn, soybean and wheat operation for 22 years and used yield mapping for more than 14 years and is a strong advocate for doing what he …
Have You Registered for NAFB Convention Yet?
Sure, it’s still the sweltering summer of 2011, but the cool days of November are just around the corner – so it is time to get that registration in for the 68th Annual Convention of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) November 9-11 in Kansas City, if you haven’t done so yet. Here are the important links: Preliminary Agenda …
Swine Health Updates at BIVI Seminar
The Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Swine Health Seminar in North Carolina offered updates in two important swine health areas – mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and PRRS. Dr. Erin Strait with Iowa State University talked about getting the most out of diagnostics for M. hyopneumoniae. “The biggest issue I usually see is over-interpretation of diagnostics and not understanding that those diagnostics are often skewed …
Hog Economics in the Biofuels Era
“Hog Economics in the Biofuels Era” was the topic of a presentation by Purdue University economist Dr. Chris Hurt at the Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Swine Health Seminar in North Carolina. Dr. Hurt says government policies like biofuels and even food stamps were built upon a “psychology of surplus” to increase prices. “We continue to see a psychology of surplus in …
Checking Out the Soil on Ohio Farm
The 2011 CTIC Conservation In Action Tour in Ohio this week included an in-depth look at the soil on a northwest Ohio farm. USDA resource soil scientist Frank Gibbs likes to dig in the dirt a lot. He is a certified professional soil scientist and classifier and chairs the Ohio Soil Scientist Certification Board for the Soil Science Society of …