At the 2014 Animal Agriculture Alliance Stakeholders Summit we’ve heard a lot about food and what millennials like and what triggers their choices. However, I liked a comment by Jason Clay, World Wildlife Fund, who said we’ve got 7 billion food experts in the world. So really, regardless of what generation you’re in we all have opinions about food. An …
College Cafeteria Confidential
It might sound like something secret but a panel of college “Millennials” talked about “College Cafeteria Confidential: Millennials in the Lunch Line.” Our moderator was Rob Morasco, Sodexo USA. During his session I heard some terms like sustainability and food justice from the George Washington University students participating. I got some contrasting views from two of our panelists. First up …
African Seed Industry Dominated by Local Start-Ups
Locally-owned African seed companies participating in a program to offer high-yield crop varieties to smallholder farmers across the continent have collectively become the largest seed producers in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a new report released today at the Grow Africa Investment Forum alongside the World Economic Forum on Africa. The analysis by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa …
ASA Pushes for Broad Land Grant Coalition
In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack this morning, the American Soybean Association (ASA) and six other national farm groups urged USDA to consider the needs of soybean growers and growers of all crops when awarding funds included in the 2014 Farm Bill to land grant universities for the development of websites and web-based tools to assist producers in …
Graphic Recording Going On
The photo albums we create at events become a pretty good graphical representation and documentation of what we see and hear. However, there are other ways to do it. Jim Nuttle is here at the Animal Agriculture Alliance Stakeholders Summit doing graphical recording. He’s writing and drawing on huge sheets of paper taped to the walls of the conference room. …
Moderating a Millennials Discussion
Moderating the 2014 Animal Agriculture Alliance Stakeholders Summit is Andy Vance, Feedstuffs. Andy has a millennial ribbon on his name tag but I’m not sure he’s really a Gen Y-er. Why is this important? The theme of this year’s conference is “Cracking the Millennial Code.” Our first panel discussion is a good example of why we have millennial ribbons. The …
Farm Bureau Provides Farm Bill Help
If you have questions about how the new farm bill works, American Farm Bureau has answers. The American Farm Bureau Federation has produced a new series of videos and launched a website to help farmers, landowners and other stakeholders better understand the provisions of the 2014 farm bill. “We have distilled down a massive and complex piece of legislation – …
Soy Checkoff Request for Referendum
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will conduct a request for referendum on the Soybean Promotion and Research Program (soy checkoff) during a four-week period, from May 5 through May 30, 2014. This referendum is authorized under the Soybean Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act. The request for referendum will determine whether U.S. soybean producers want a referendum on the …
AAEA Announces Award Winners
The American Agricultural Editors’ Association (AAEA) Legacy Committee has announced that three heroes of agriculture will be honored as the 2014 Distinguished Service and Lifetime Achievement Award recipients. The winners will be feted at an awards banquet during the Agricultural Media Summit, to be held July 29 at Indianapolis, Ind. The AAEA Distinguished Service Award (DSA) recipient is Joe Martin, …
Ag Specialist Uses Communication to Promote Biotech
The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) announces that the prestigious 2014 Borlaug CAST Communication Award goes to Alison Van Eenennaam, an honored faculty member at the University of California, Davis. Nominees must demonstrate an ability to communicate by written material; public presentations; and/or the use of television, radio, or other social media. Van Eenennaam excels in all three …