The opening general session at the American Farm Bureau annual meeting is always awards time and there were plenty presented on Sunday, starting with the Distinguished Service Awards which were presented this year to to Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) and Dr. Abner Womack. Sen. Lugar served in the U.S. Senate for 36 years and was a member of the Agriculture …
Drones to Increase Profitability
Kansas State University’s Dr. Kevin Price was one of the presenters at the 2014 American Farm Bureau Federation Convention. His presentation was titled Drones: Turning Technological Controversy into Profit. The use of using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV’s) to fly over crops and livestock to maximize profits is one of the hottest topics entering the agriculture sector. He shared how this …
What’s New Sessions at Commodity Classic
Agriculture’s newest, most innovative products and services will be showcased at the What’s New sessions at the 2014 Commodity Classic. The 19th Annual Commodity Classic is Feb. 27-March 1, along the banks of the famous River Walk in San Antonio, TX. “If you’re coming to Commodity Classic hoping to learn and gain some new ideas to take back to your …
Farm Bureau Priorities
Welcome to another day at the American Farm Bureau Federation Convention live from San Antonio. I want to give a shout out thank you to Case IH for being the sponsor of the media work room this year and to Monsanto for sponsoring our wonderful media reception last night. I’m in our general session room getting caught up on some …
Bob Stallman Addresses AFBF Convention
This morning American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman gave his annual address to members during the 2014 Convention. Stallman is a rice and cattle producer from Texas. As you might guess, the farm bill was a key topic of his remarks. He called on Congress to get a farm bill passed. He used Farm Bureau members themselves as an …
2014 AFBF Convention Underway
The 2014 American Farm Bureau Federation Convention is underway in San Antonio. It’s my first stop on the agriblogging highway of the new year. Over the next several days we’ll find out what the largest general farm organization is working on and I’m sure a farm bill is at the top of the list. There are a lot of activities …
AFBF Convention Social Communicating
An estimated 7,000 farm and ranch leaders from around the country are heading to San Antonio this weekend for the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 95th Annual Convention (Twitter hashtag #AFBF14). The meeting begins January 12 and runs through January 15 in San Antonio. Numerous speakers will be on hand to address topics, ranging from crop and livestock outlooks to farm …
2014 Golden ARC Award Deadline Approaching
The Agricultural Relations Council (ARC) has issued a “call for entries” for the 2014 Golden ARC Awards. The competition includes 35 categories for agricultural public relations activities conducted in full or partially in the year 2013. All entires are due to contest headquarters on or before February 28th. Get on the ball and have your entires postmarked by January 31st …
2016 Will be International Year of Pulses
We’re not talking about your heart here. We’re talking about I Heart Pulse Crops. Well, at least the United Nations has by voting voting to declare 2016 as the “International Year of Pulses.” The American Pulse Association has responded. “Pulse” is a term describing the edible seeds of several leguminous plants, such as dry beans, dry peas, lentils and chickpeas. …
Ag Weather Advisor Keeps Farmers Up to Date
The “polar vortex” seems to be a hot topic the last couple of days and that means farmers have to work extra hard to stay updated on what to expect while they prepare for planting. The NCGA-FMC Ag Weather Advisor, prepared by Blue Water Outlook, is a special free member benefit that can help growers stay a step ahead. “The …