This year’s entires into the National Corn Growers Association 2016 National Corn yield Contest showed some of the highest results ever, with a record five entries surpassing the 400 bushel per acre mark. Six production categories mean there is no overall winner, but the top three entries in each of the six categories averaged more than 375 bushels per acre. When …
4-H and AFBF Partner for Ag Education
The American Farm Bureau Federation and the National 4-H Council have announce a new partnership to support agricultural education. The partnership will highlight the impact of agriculture on our everyday lives, as well as encourage youth to be excited about the industry and empower them with opportunities to improve the world around them. “For more than a century, 4-H has …
IL GROWMARK Essay Contest Winner Announced
Jill Sackville from Aldeo, Illinois has been announced the Illinois winner of the 2017 GROWMARK essay contest for FFA students. Sackville wrote an essay to answer the prompt: “What value do cooperatives provide to today’s farmers?” “Today’s cooperatives still play a pivotal role in farming, allowing members to obtain high quality seeds, fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, and many more essential agricultural needs. …
Monsanto Shareowners Approve Bayer Merger
Monsanto Company held a special meeting of shareowners earlier this week to vote on the merger of Monsanto with Bayer Aktiengesellschaft. The agreement states that Monsanto shareowners receive $128 per share in cash. “We are pleased we received such strong support from our shareowners,” said Hugh Grant, Monsanto Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “This is an important milestone as we …
Ag Coalition Signs Agreement with NRCS
Agribusiness and agricultural associations from across the nation, including the Agricultural Retailers Association, have joined together to promote and expand federal conservation programs. Members of the group signed a memorandum of understanding with the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service to expand the reach of technical and financial assistance to extend conservation adoption and increase the overall sustainability of farming, ranching …
USDA Sends Agricultural Classification Survey
The U. S. Department of Agriculture is seeking assistance to find all active farms and ranches in the United States. To do this they are sending nearly one million potential farmers and ranchers a National Agricultural Classification Survey (NACS) during the month of December to find any place that produces and sells or could sell $1,000 or more of agriculture products in …
Review of #ASTACSS from President LaVigne
President and CEO of ASTA, Andy LaVigne, breathed a big sigh of relief at the success of this year’s conference. After planning and scheduling the largest seed conference of it’s kind in the world, all you can do is hope people show up– and show up they did. “We had to bring in tables and chairs,” LaVigne told Cindy Zimmerman. …
Beck’s & Benson Hill Partner for Corn Genetics
Beck’s Hybrids is one of the largest retail seed companies in North America, and now thanks to a partnership with agriculture technology company Benson Hill Biosystems, they’ll be able to accelerate their corn breeding program in the future. Using Benson Hill’s CropOS cognitive platform, Beck’s will gain yet another tool to enhance the ability to offer farmers improved traits. The …
New Products for the New Year at John Deere
John Deere is announcing several new solutions for 2017. For producers looking for additional in-cab display, the Gen 4 Extended Monitor has the ability to monitor multiple machines, implements and precision ag functions and allows for easy movement of pages and display functions from one monitor to another. It’s easy to install, easily customizable and offers more information during key times. The …
Trump EPA Pick Pleases AFBF
President-elect Trump has selected Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) President, Zippy Duvall, responded positively to the announcement that the Oklahoma Attorney General who challenged the California caged hen law, investigated the Humane Society of the United States, and sued the EPA on more than one occasion, will now be in a …