Yesterday following the Iowa Hunger Summit, several nonprofit organizations including Feeding America, Bread for Life and the Iowa Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church, launched the Vote to End Hunger Campaign. The initiative is to hold presidential candidates’ responsible for ending hunger and poverty in the U.S. and globally. The campaign was launched in Des Moines, Iowa they day before …
Vote to End Hunger Launched at #FoodPrize15
The Iowa Food Summit took place today in Des Moines, IA leading up to the opening of this year’s World Food Prize. Following the Summit, several national nonprofits launched a new campaign, Vote to End Hunger (VTEH), an effort to urge 2016 presidential candidates to focus on ending hunger, alleviating poverty and creating global opportunity. “Throughout the world, countries such …
Borlaug 101 Focus on Global Food Security
To celebrate the 101st anniversary of the birth Dr. Norman Borlaug, the 2015 Borlaug Dialogue has gathered an outstanding “faculty” of international leaders, experts and scientists for Borlaug 101 a 3-day “course” on The Fundamentals of Global Food Security. The Borlaug Dialogue is being held October 14-16 as part of the World Food Prize events next week at the Des …
RFS Uncertainty Hurting Farm Income
The uncertainties around the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) are threatening farm income and hurting the economic stability of rural economies. A new white paper from the National Farmers Union (NFU) and the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), using recent USDA data on net cash income for American farmers and ranchers, states that income is expected to decline by 26 percent …
Growers Adopting Enogen Corn for Ethanol
Growers are adopting Enogen corn for ethanol production and acres are expected to exceed 400,000 in 2016. Syngenta said there were 225,000 acres in production during the 2015 growing season and with the expected expansion and 16 ethanol plants utilizing the biotech corn designed specifically to enhance ethanol production, 1 billion gallons of ethanol per year will be produced. “This …
New Verdesian Seed Treatments
Verdesian is taking seed treatment to the next level with the latest, tweak if you will, of Take Off ST and Tuxedo. To learn more, I visited with Jim Pullens during the Farm Progress Show. He explained they have adapted Take Off ST to fit their seed treatment philosophy by getting the rates down so low that it doesn’t overload …
Screaming For John Deere Ice Cream
I scream, you scream we all screamed for John Deere ice cream during #FarmProgressShow. Ok, there is really no, “John Deere” ice cream, per se, but during the show, there was homemade ice cream for sale made from vintage John Deere tractor parts. Crowds were lined up for hours for vanilla, chocolate and strawberry goodness to get a bit of …
EDF to Help Reduce Emissions from Ag
The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and partners have been awarded a $960,000 Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) from the USDA to help almond and corn farmers increase fertilizer use efficiency, improve soil health, reduce nitrous oxide emissions, and expand the potential of fertilizer protocols to generate carbon credits from agriculture. “This project will demonstrate how growers implementing enhanced nitrogen management processes …
Study Finds Illinois Land Values Down
According to a new study released during the Farm Progress Show last week, prices being paid for farmland across Illinois are continuing a softening trend following prices being paid for commodities with decreases between 2-7 percent. The “Snapshot Survey” is commissioned each year by the Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers (ISPFMRA) and conducted by Gary Schnitkey, …
Illinois Farm Bureau Celebrates 100th Anniversary
The Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB) is celebrating its 100 anniversary in 2016 and during the Farm Progress Show, kicked off its celebrations with a press conference where President Rich Guebert discussed some of their milestones, upcoming celebratory events, and highlights of key areas of emphasis for the organization. Guebert noted that one reason they were formed was to help Illinois …