Eight agriscience innovators are getting some monetary recognition for their efforts, courtesy of American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF). AFBF, in partership with the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation, presented the awards and research funding to scientists, teachers and high-school students for exemplary innovation in the field of agricultural science. “The winning candidates from each category have demonstrated a hunger for forward-thinking …
New Research Shows BASF Headline Yield Advantage
A new research summary shows that BASF Headline® fungicide effectively controls a broad spectrum of corn and soybean diseases, provides Plant Health benefits, and maximizes crop yields. The Headline Fungicide Yield Research Summary demonstrates that the BASF fungicide provides corn growers approximately a 3 bu/A yield advantage over other available fungicides. “Growers are constantly weighing the practices and inputs they …
Atrazine Ban Would Cost Jobs
A University of Chicago economist says banning the herbicide Atrazine would add to the current unemployment level in the United States. According to University of Chicago economist Don L. Coursey, a ban on the herbicide atrazine would cost between 21,000 and 48,000 jobs from corn production losses alone. His findings were presented today at a National Press Club briefing sponsored …
Farm Workers Wanted
Unemployment is at 9.5 percent – which means in human terms that about 14.6 million Americans are looking for work right now. That’s a lot of people collecting unemployment. A couple of weeks ago, United Farm Workers (UFW) launched a campaign called “Take Our Jobs”, urging Americans to sign up for farm labor jobs that are normally done by migrant …
Fallout from Ohio HSUS Deal
Two days after it was announced, the consensus in the animal agriculture world seems to be that Ohio farm groups made a “deal with the devil” in the agreement with the Humane Society of the United States to drop its animal rights ballot initiative in the state. Initially, the HSUS watchdog website HumaneWatch was jubilant about the agreement and called …
HSUS Drops Ballot Initiative in Ohio
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has reached an agreement with Ohio Governor Ted Strickland and state agricultural leaders to drop a proposed animal rights ballot initiative. At a hastily called press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Governor Stickland stood with Ohio Farm Bureau executive vice president Jack Fisher and HSUS CEO Wayne Pacelle to make the announcement, which …
USDA Planted Acres Report Lowers Corn
USDA’s new planted acreage report out this morning says corn acres are two percent higher than last year, but that is down a point from the March report with more acres are going to soybeans. Corn planted area for all purposes in 2010 is estimated at 87.9 million acres, up 2 percent from last year. Acreage is up in Illinois, …
Farm Foundation Spotlights Zoonoses
I have to admit, I have never heard the word “zoonoses” until today. Up until now, I would have thought that “zoonoses” were the prominent part on the faces of animals that are primarily used for smelling. But, no – actually, the definition of zoonoses would be those infectious diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans or visa …
New Soybean Federation Officers and Affiliates
The year-old U.S. Soybean Federation (USSF) has two new state affiliates and new officers to announce. According to a news release, the Minnesota Soybean Federation (MSF) and the Oklahoma Soybean Federation (OSF) have joined USSF as state affiliates. They join the Nebraska Soybean Federation, Missouri Soybean Association, Oklahoma Soybean Federation and the Minnesota Soybean Federation as part of the group …
Farm Bureau Outlines Farm Bill Principles
The House Agriculture Committee has been holding hearings already to get input on the 2012 Farm Bill. Last week, the committee heard from representatives of major agricultural organizations about farm safety net programs. Among those testifying was Illinois Farm Bureau President Philip Nelson on behalf of the American Farm Bureau Federation, who noted that farmers in every state rely in …