The Surface Transportation Board (STB) heard about how agricultural and biofuels producers are being impacted by rail service challenges during a two-day hearing last week. USDA Deputy Secretary Dr. Jewel Bronaugh told the board how rail disruptions are impacting farmers, ranchers and consumers. “Elevators are full and therefore cannot purchase more grain from farmers, and livestock operations are unable to …
Agri-Pulse Newsmakers Focuses on Cattle Hearings
The newest edition of Agri-Pulse Newsmakers is out and this week the focus is on cattle hearings and beef politics. The House and Senate Agriculture Committees both convened hearings to examine the beef sector this week. Now, Congress is left to determine its next steps and whether or not to pursue big reforms to the nation’s cattle sector. Newsmakers interviews …
NCBA President Testifies on Cattle Market Policies
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association NCBA President Don Schiefelbein of Minnesota testified before a House Agriculture Committee hearing Wednesday on cattle market policy issues. Schiefelbein urged House members to support key policies with broad, unified support across the entire cattle industry including a cattle contract library, Livestock Mandatory Reporting (LMR) reauthorization, and investments in small regional processing capacity expansion. “The only …
National Grange Recognizes Rural America Champions
The National Grange presented its 2022 Champion of Rural America Awards this week to four recipients who exemplify the mission of the family-focused organization founded in 1856. The 2022 Champions of Rural America are Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA), Sara Wyant, founder of Agri-Pulse Communications, and patient rights advocate Nona Bear. “This is one of the most …
Yara Establishes Potato Incubator Farm
Yara has established a Incubator Farm in the Columbia Basin of Washington with the goal of determining how a complete potato crop nutrition program that drives productivity and grower profitability can simultaneously lead to a reduced carbon footprint. The 260 acre trials will analyze the role of crop nutrition and practices such as 4R nutrient management in supporting the industry’s …
NCBA Opposes Mandate on Cattle Sales
Two bills designed to address transparency and oversight within cattle marketing were the subject of a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on Tuesday where the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association expressed opposition to a “government mandate on cattle sales.” The hearing was specifically on the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act sponsored by Sens. Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and …
CropTrak Adds Digital Contracting and Settlement
CropTrak has released a new platform update that adds digital contracting and settlement creating the ability to digitize grower contracts into a single supplier management system. The updates provide multi-stakeholders complete visibility of the financial transactions across their ingredient supply chain so that for the first time, food and beverage companies managing grower contracts and settlements can do so in …
Agri-Pulse Newsmakers – Dan Glickman and Food Security
The newest episode of Agri-Pulse Newsmakers is now live and features former Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman on what global food security means for the U.S. New figures released this week by the International Monetary Fund were cause for concern around the world as the potential for increased food costs is weighed against potential political uncertainty that might result. Dan …
CUTC is Back in Person
The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) will once again host its biennial Corn Utilization and Technology Conference (CUTC) in person, June 6-8 in Chesterfield, Missouri. The conference answers the question of how can the industry produce more quality corn, build new markets and continue to create opportunities for agriculture. While the ag industry can often be the target of unfavorable …
DDGS Mistaken for Bird Poop on Biden’s Lapel
The ag story of this week may be what hit President Joe Biden on the lapel during his appearance at an Iowa ethanol plant Tuesday. Video of the moment went viral since it appeared to be bird droppings, but instead of being by-product of a bird, turns out it was a co-product of an ethanol plant, the high protein animal …