Having good conversations with consumers will be key if farmers want to build long-term trust in today’s food system. That was the message attendees of the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 96th Annual Convention and IDEAg Trade Show heard from Charlie Arnot, CEO of the Center for Food Integrity (CFI). “Farmers are accustomed to fixing things in the next production cycle. …
FAPRI Analyst Provides Crop Outlook at AFBF
The bumper corn crop this year means lower prices for the grain, but feed demand will continue to be strong… while demand to turn grains into biofuels will stagnate. That’s the mixed bag of information attendees of the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 96th Annual Convention and IDEAg Trade Show heard from Patrick Westhoff, director of the Food and Agricultural Policy …
Grain Shippers to Benefit from Rail Investment
Billions of dollars to improve service on one of the most important railroads for grain producers looks to resolve problems that hurt the grain industry last year. Attendees of the recent American Farm Bureau Federation’s 96th Annual Convention and IDEAg Trade Show heard from Greg Guthrie, director of ag products for BNSF, who updated them them on a $5 billion …
AFB Women’s Leadership Program Elects Chair
Members of the American Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Program elected Sherry Saylor, an Arizona row crop farmer, to a two-year term as chair of the American Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee. Saylor and her husband, Rick, are partners in R&S Farms, where they grow cotton, wheat, alfalfa, and barley. Saylor, pictured here on the right with outgoing chair Terry Gilbert …
ARC Reinstates Ag Comm Scholarship
The Agricultural Relations Council (ARC) is pleased to announce it is reinstating its scholarship program for college students studying ag communications. The organization, through its foundation, will grant one, $1,500 scholarship for the 2015-2016 school year. ARC conducted a scholarship program up until about 10 years ago. Through the financial contributions of recent Hall of Fame recipients Richard Howell and …
Farm Foundation Forum Topic is Ag Research
Farm Foundation is sponsoring another one of its conversations on topics affecting agriculture. The next free forum, “Tools to Fund Agricultural Research,” will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 28, at the National Press Club in Washington D.C., with a live audiocast also available free of charge for those who can’t be there in person. For more than a decade, constraints …
‘Farmland’ Star: Perseverance Makes All the Difference
One of the farmers featured in the documentary “Farmland” says being willing to step forward for agriculture can make all the difference when it comes to connecting with consumers about food and feeding their families. That thought comes from Georgia farmer Leighton Cooley. “We take every chance that comes along to let visitors see our farm,” Cooley told Farm Bureau …
Introducing The Uganda Community Farm
The answer to extreme poverty in Africa could be Africa itself, if a new agricultural initiative lives up to its vision. The Uganda Community Farm (UCF) aims to create a prototype for self-sustainability within Uganda’s poor rural communities. Pursuing a comprehensive agricultural program, it intends to set a precedent for Africa’s rural poor to tread their own path out of …
American Agri-Women Leader Joins Advisory Committee
Doris Mold, First Vice-President for Resolutions and Vital Issues for American Agri-Women, was recently appointed to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Agricultural Advisory Committee. Mold owns and operates a dairy farm in Wisconsin and an agricultural consulting business. She also teaches farm and agri-business management courses at the University of Minnesota. Mold has served on numerous agricultural committees on …
USFRA Brings Food Dialogues to Dairy Forum
The U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance® (USFRA®) will assemble a range of voices to discuss animal care and animal care standards during The Food Dialogues®: Dairy Forum; Animal Care and Consumers’ Emerging Expectations. The event will take place at the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) Dairy Forum from 9:30 – 11:00 a.m. ET on Wednesday, January 28, 2015 in Boca …