Last week was a busy one in Washington, DC with National Ag Day Activities, the Agri-Pulse Ag & Food Policy Summit and American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) annual Fly-in. It was a week of crazy weather, including six inches of snow the second day of spring, but all events went as planned and were all very successful and well attended. …
Ag Day Essay Contest Winner
Some 400 young people from around the country entered the National Ag Day written essay contest and the winning entry was Rio Bonham from Tishomingo, Oklahoma. He received a $1,000 prize and travel to Washington, D.C., for recognition during the National Press Club Event this week. With the theme Agriculture: Food for Life, Rio’s essay highlighted job opportunities in an …
Administration Shows Support for Ag Day
The Trump administration went out of its way to show appreciation for the nation’s farmers and ranchers on National Agriculture Day Tuesday, with proclamation at USDA featuring the vice president, and an address by Sec. Sonny Perdue during a Ag Day at the National Press Club. Introducing Vice President Mike Pence, Perdue commented that he was happy to be able …
President Proclaims National Ag Day
This morning U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, along with Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, presented a proclamation signed by President Trump naming the first day of spring National Ag Day. Cindy was attending and will have more to add later today. The photo is courtesy of @SecretarySonny‘s Twitter account! Also pictured with the proclamation is Spencer Flood, Minnesota FFA. This …
Outstanding Young Farmers Recognized
As part of National Ag Day, John Deere welcomed four new inductees to the Outstanding Farmers of America (OFA) Fraternity as National Outstanding Young Farmers at the OYF Awards Congress. This year Jessica Niederer spoke on behalf of the inductees. Niederer is an organic grower who sells all of her 57 varieties at farmer’s markets in New Jersey. Selling at farmer’s markets offers her a …
Tebow Wins 2017 Charles Eastin Award on Ag Day
Sue Tebow was the recipient of this year’s Charles Eastin Award, presented on National Ag Day. The award honors advocates who communicate between rural and urban audiences; Tebow’s Facebook page, agri.CULTURE, certainly does that job. She credits her vantage point as an outsider to the industry with shaping the message that has allowed her to reach thousands of people. “I realized it is a …
Bridger Gordon Wins Ag Day Essay Contest
Bridger Gordon is more than just junior from South Dakota. He is one of the bright, enthusiastic youth who are part of bringing the message of agriculture to the world. Gordon’s message rang loud and clear as he read his winning essay to the attendees of last week’s National Ag Day. “I think about the many families, like mine, who …
Bridging the Farm/Food Policy Gap at #FarmBillSummit
The “Bridging the Gap Between Farm and Food Policy” panel hosted by Agri-Pulse during their Farm Bill Summit was moderated by Agri-Pulse Senior Editor, Phillip Brasher. The panelists were all veterans of past farm bills and familiar with wrestling issues like SNAP. “I think the alliance between farmers and people who work in the nutrition field or people who worry …
What Works, What Doesn’t in Conservation
As part of the Agri-Pulse Farm Bill Summit, Sara Wyant moderated the panel “Conservation- What Works, What Doesn’t.” Panel participants included: Tina May, Sr. Director of Sustainability, Land O’Lakes; Eric Lindstrom, National Manager of Agriculture Policy, Ducks Unlimited; Suzy Friedman, Sr. Director of Agriculture Sustainability, Environmental Defense Fund; Dave White, Co-Founder/Partner, 9-B Group; and Anne Simmons, Democratic Staff Director, House …
Sugar Farmers Address #FarmBillSummit
Galen Lee, President of the American Sugarbeet Growers Association, addressed the audience at Agri-Pulse’s Farm Bill Summit last week. The sugar industry is currently dealing with lower sugar prices than when Jimmy Carter was in office, so the importance of a strong safety net can’t be understated. “While we are smaller than other crops we still support 142,000 jobs in …