NCGA Joins USB, Taking Action on Weeds

Jamie Johansen

The National Corn Growers Association has added a new “Take Action on Weeds” section to its website as a resource of farmers combating herbicide resistance issues. This resource, developed by the United Soybean Board through its Take Action program, offers a wide array of information developed over several years to help farmers combat weed resistance through best management practices. “The …

Ag Groups, Corn, NCGA, Soybean, USB, weed management

Lotz Wins World Livestock Auctioneer Championship

Jamie Johansen

Blaine Lotz of Edna, Kan. proved his world-class talent as a livestock auctioneer at the 51st anniversary of the Livestock Marketing Association’s (LMA) World Livestock Auctioneer Championship (WLAC) in Knoxville, Iowa, on Saturday, June 21. As a third-generation auctioneer, the world champion was quite familiar with the livestock marketing industry. When he was 15, Lotz attended auctioneering school at Western …

Ag Groups, Beef, Livestock, LMA

Advocates at World Conservation Congress for Ag

Jamie Johansen

During the upcoming World Conservation Congress for Agriculture you will hear from outspoken advocates for conservation agriculture from around the globe. The event will take place June 22-25 in Winnipeg, Manitoba and it’s the first time being held in North America. DAY 1 – David Montgomery, author of Dirt, sees no-till farming as “the hope for a new agricultural revolution …

Ag Groups, Conservation

Tomato Growers get Expert Help from Doctor App

Jamie Johansen

Home gardeners needing some quick, expert advice about their tomato plants will find it right in their pockets with Purdue Extension’s Tomato Doctor mobile app. The app will help gardeners diagnose problems and offer solutions to get their plants back to a healthy condition, said Janna Beckerman, a Purdue Extension plant disease specialist and content specialist for the app. “Even …

Ag Groups, Apps, Vegetables

AgriLife Extension’s Recipes, Videos & Cooking Schools

Jamie Johansen

The idea of a family sitting down together for a meal may seem passé in today’s fast-paced, drive-through society, but a statewide initiative by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service is helping families eat healthier — and together –at mealtime. “The percentage of the food budget spent on away-from-home food has increased steadily since the 1970s and so has the …

Ag Groups, Food

USFRA Communications Committee Work

Chuck Zimmerman

The live streamed Food Dialogues events get all the publicity when they take place with high profile moderators and panelists. However, there’s a lot of work going on “behind the scenes.” In Chicago recently that work included a regular meeting of the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance Communications Committee. I visited with two members of the committee. First up is …

Ag Groups, Audio, Food, USFRA

Students Honored for Research at ASTA

Jamie Johansen

College students from across the country had the opportunity to enter American Seed Trade Research Foundation’s Operation Student Exchange. The winning student was announced during a Future Seed Executives 10th Anniversary Reception at ASTA’s recent annual meeting. Leah Ruff’s poster presentation and research was selected this year’s winner and she received the Roger Kruegar Scholarship. The scholarship honors the late …

Ag Groups, ASTA, Audio, Education, Seed

United Fresh Awards Highlight Innovation, Creativity

Jamie Johansen

Attendees to the United Fresh Produce Association’s annual convention and expo in Chicago cast their votes throughout the show for fresh produce innovation and recognized this year’s New Product Awards in five categories. More than 40 fresh fruit and vegetable innovations competed in the categories of Best New Food Safety Solution, Best New Fruit Product, Best New Packaging, Best New …

Ag Groups, Food

NAMA Happenings and Update

Chuck Zimmerman

The Executive Committee of the National Agri-Marketing Association met yesterday and even though I could not make it thanks to plane problems and weather I got all caught up with President Kenna Rathai this morning. So this week’s program is our conversation in which Kenna talks about what the committee discussed or did during the quarterly meeting. First up is …

Ag Groups, Audio, NAMA, ZimmCast

Dairy in the Food Dialogue

Chuck Zimmerman

The CEO of the International Dairy Foods Association, Connie Tipton (pictured on right), took part in the USFRA Food Dialogues in Chicago. The topic was Integrity in Food Marketing and as with other panelists I asked her what this means to her personally. Connie says, “You know every company has to figure out how to position their product but to …

Ag Groups, Audio, Dairy, Food, USFRA