“Everyone” has a Facebook page (or Twitter account or LinkedIn page, etc.), but is it the right social media decision? That’s the question Steve Hershberger, principal and co-founder of the social media company ComBlu, posed during one of the breakout sessions at the 2013 Agri-Marketing Conference recently in Kansas City. “One of my favorite tools in my toolbox is the …
More R&D from BASF Acquiring Becker Underwood
The recent acquisition of Becker Underwood by BASF is more than just putting the two companies together. It means more research and development as each is able to look at the other’s advancements and see how they might be able to combine products for maximum efficiency “Both companies are bringing together a lot of existing technology that we’re starting to …
Keeping Seed Treatments Where They Belong
You’ve spent some good money to treat those seeds before you plant them in the ground. But the dust that forms when the treated seeds rub together and rub off those expensive treatments is more than a loss of protection and an irritant for workers – it’s like money blowing away in the wind. Charlie Hale, marketing strategy and support …
VAULT HP Fixes More Nitrogen for Soybeans
One of the biggest concerns for any ag operation is getting the most out of your inputs. During the recent tour of BASF‘s newly acquired Becker Underwood St.Joseph, Mo. seed facility, Russ Berndt, product manager for legumes and northern crops for Becker Underwood, talked about the symbiotic relationship soybeans have with the living organism rhizobia, a soil bacteria that fixes …
Emerson Heading Rural Electric Coop Association
Former Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson is now heading the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA). The group welcomed Emerson’s wealth of experience in both the legislative and association management arenas, serving nine terms in Congress from rural Southeast Missouri and working for the National Restaurant Association and the American Insurance Association before her legislative career. “I am so honored to …
Farmer to Head Wells Fargo Food & Agribusiness
A man who has deep ties to farming has been tapped as head of Wells Fargo’s National Food & Agribusiness Division. This company news release says Rob C. Yraceburu, a fourth-generation family farmer who holds both a bachelor’s in agricultural business and a master’s in agricultural economics from California State University Fresno, will lead the group’s expansion to untapped markets …
Vilsack: “Farm to Fly” Rural Job Producer
Two members of Pres. Obama’s cabinet have signed their names to an agreement that will extend the administration’s commitment to the production of biofuels for use in airplanes, and that should be good news for the rural economy. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood have extended by five years the “Farm to Fly” program, an initiative …
BIVI Panel: Observe, Be Patient & Help Others
All this week we’ve been hearing from some of the presenters at the annual Boehringer Ingelheim (BIVI) Swine Health Seminar for swine vets held in San Diego. A panel session that featured Dr. Darin Madson from Iowa State University; Dr. Jim Lowe, a private livestock veterinary consultant in Illinois; Dr. Edgar Diaz, associate director of swine for BIVI; and Dr. …
Pigs Start Coughing Long Before Our Brains Hear It
Understanding how early in the production chain a disease actually starts will give veterinarians a better chance at stopping it before it becomes a problem. “Twenty percent of those pigs are coughing before our brain will let us hear that,” Dr. Jim Lowe, a private livestock veterinary consultant in Illinois, told attendees of the annual Boehringer Ingelheim (BIVI) Swine Health …
Vaccination Sharply Lowers In Utero Disease Transfer
In utero transmission of Porcine Circovirus Associated Disease (PCV2) is more common than we might think, and vaccinations can make a world of difference to lower those transmissions from sows to their unborn piglets. That was the message veterinarians at the at the Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica (BIVI) Swine Health Seminar heard in San Diego. Dr. Darin Madson, Assistant Professor of …