Potential presidential candidates for 2012 were already testing the waters in the all-important Hawkeye State this week, appearing at the 5th annual Iowa Renewable Fuels (IRFA) Summit. Former speaker of the U.S. House Newt Gingrich spoke to a full house of more than 700 at the summit in Des Moines on Tuesday. Gingrich supports all types of energy and strongly …
State of the Union Talks Trade and Biofuels
President Obama made some folks in the ag industry happy with his State of the Union (SOTU) address Tuesday talking about the importance of both biofuels and free trade agreements. Corn farmers and representatives of the renewable fuels industry were especially pleased to hear the president say that America needs to “break our dependence on oil with biofuels.” “The success …
Big US-Chinese Soybean Deal Signed
As the president of China was flying in for a quick visit to the Windy City on Thursday, representatives from China’s 10 largest soybean crushers were signing agreements to purchase 110 million bushels of U.S. soybeans during a ceremony held in Chicago. The purchase is worth $1.8 billion and more bushels are expected to be committed tomorrow. A similar purchase …
NCBA Sets Policy Priorities for Convention
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) has set it’s 2011 policy priorities in preparation for the upcoming Cattle Industry Convention being held Feb. 2-5 in Denver. According to NCBA Vice President of Government Affairs Colin Woodall, they identified five major priorities for the organization that will be discussed in great detail during the annual meeting – trade, transportation, environment, competition, …
Support for “Corn Sugar” Growing
Support from corn grower organizations to use the term “corn sugar” instead of high fructose corn syrup is growing. The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) recently sent a letter to the Food and Drug Administration supporting use of the term ‘corn sugar,’ and other state organizations such as the Texas Corn Growers have also voiced their support. “We are calling …
BASF Headline and Kixor Named No-Till Products of the Year
BASF Crop Protection products Kixor® herbicide technology and Headline® fungicide were named top no-till products of 2010 for weed and disease control at the 19th Annual National No-Tillage Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio last week. This was the first time that Kixor was eligible for the award, and marks the fifth consecutive year Headline has been selected as a product of …
AGROTAIN Hosts Corn Yield Expert at AGCONNECT
According to University of Illinois professor Dr. Fred Below, there are “Seven Wonders of the Corn Yield World,” and one of the most important is nitrogen. Dr. Below developed the “Seven Wonders” as a tool to teach farmers the relative importance of management factors that can impact corn productivity, ranking the top seven factors that can positively impact corn yields. …
AgriSolutions Offers Financial Producer Education Sessions
AgriSolutions® is offering “Producer Education Sessions” this month and next to help farmers achieve their 2011 financial goals. According to Valerie Bates, AgriSolutions Training and Education Manager, AgriSolutions’ coursework is designed with the company mission in mind – to help agricultural producers become more effective business managers. Sessions are instructor-led in a classroom setting at AgriSolutions’ offices in Brighton, IL. …
Alltech Kicks off Lecture Series at AG CONNECT
2010 was a big year for Alltech, what with hosting the FEI World Equestrian Games and all, but in 2050 the company is talking about having 9.3 billion people for dinner. “Feeding the World – 9.3 billion people for dinner in 2050” is the theme of Alltech’s lecture tour this year that kicked off during AG CONNECT Expo on Saturday. …
USDA Outlook Board Chair at AFBF
Appearing at the American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting in Atlanta this week almost cost USDA Outlook Board Chairman Gerald Bange a 28 year perfect record. Gerald Bange has not missed a lockup prior to the release of a crop report since 1983, but it was a close call getting out of the snow-bound south in time after his crop …