Hurricane Irma traveled straight through Florida and Georgia cattle country. An assessment of damaged areas is still being tallied. Florida dairies are running on generators, still struggling to keep cows milked and forced to dump tons of milk for various reasons. Less impacted appears to be the beef cattle industry, as most fences remained intact and kept cattle from getting …
Communicating with the National Association of Wheat Growers
This week’s ZimmCast continues my series visiting with farm organization Directors of Communications. At the Farm Progress Show I sat down with Caitlin Eannello, National Association of Wheat Growers, to talk about her career choice and what the challenges of the job are. Caitlin does not have a farm background but does have a passion to help farmers and a …
Wisconsin Sends 17,000 lbs. of Cheese to Houston
Driven by online conversations shortly after Hurricane Harvey, Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board’s (WMMB) Social Media Specialist, Lizzy Schultz, wondered how they could help. After a team meeting, the idea became a quick reality. Wisconsin’s cheesemakers were contacted and more than 17,000 pounds of cheese was sent to Houston to help the victims of the hurricane. “We are deeply saddened by …
Rice for Today and the Future
Dr. Chrisitan De Guzman, Southeast Missouri State University, spoke to attendees of the Missouri Rice Council Field Day about varieties in the trial plots answering their questions about his research. “I believe they are looking for which varieties are most suitable to them because most of our resourceful research here- they try to evaluate it and see if it is …
Secretary Sonny Visits Farm Progress Show
It was a packed house for our Secretary of Agriculture as he was hosted by WGN and ADM during the 2017 Farm Progress Show. Sec. Sonny Perdue visted with ag and local media prior to taking the stage. Naturally, trade was a hot topic followed by Hurricane Harvey and an update from D.C. Listen to or download the complete press …
Missouri Rice Council Hosts Field Day
The Missouri Rice Council hosted their annual Rice Field Day August 24, at the Rice Research Farm in Campbell, Missouri. Research personnel from Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) and the University of Missouri Fisher Delta Research Center were on hand to provide area farmers a chance to see and learn about recent developments in rice research and other agricultural related …
U.S. Grain Inspection – What to Expect
One of the breakout sessions during the 2017 U.S. Soy Global Trade Exchange provided an overview on how the soy and grain inspection system operated. This gave U.S. growers a better understanding of how their grain was managed once it left the farm and more importantly provided international buyers with the information needed to ensure they were getting a quality …
Nebraska Proudly Hosts #USSoyExchange
To kick off the 2017 U.S. Soy Global Trade Exchange, Nebraska Lieutenant Governor Mike Foley provided opening remarks to the international and domestic soybean audience. I was able to speak with the Lt. Governor who shared how proud the state is of its agricultural industry. He said, “It’s really the backbone of our economy. We like to grow things.” “It’s …
NCBA Encourages Comments on WOTUS
The comment period for the repeal of the Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) ends Monday, August 28, 2017 and members of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) want to encourage farmers and ranchers to participate. The organization has released a video featuring Scott Pruitt, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Pruitt urges farmers and ranchers to let their voice be …
Drive to Feed Kids Combats Childhood Food Insecurity
The Missouri Farmers Care (MFC) launched the Drive to Feed Kids on the opening day of the Missouri State Fair in an effort to combat childhood food insecurity and showcase Missouri agriculture. Funds from the Drive will leverage food bank distribution networks to deliver kid-friendly meals to hungry children across Missouri. The Drive is led by Missouri Farmers Care, Feeding …