With planting season in full swing, growers and dealers alike are working around the clock to get the crop planted. At the Ag Leader training center, folks are staying plenty busy as well, as they prepare for the summer training season. In the midst of planting most do not think of harvest. However, Ag Leader is excited to announce that …
Seed Industry Revved Up at ASTA Meeting
American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) outgoing chairman Craig Newman of AgReliant Genetics is pleased with the turnout and the mood of at the 131st ASTA annual convention this week in his home town of Indianapolis. “First time it’s ever been in Indianapolis and this is kind of the crossroads of America, plus it’s the crossroads of American Seed Trade Association …
BASF Ag Moving into Next Century
BASF itself will be 150 years old next year, but the ag products sector of the company is just a century old this year. “So we are the younger part of BASF but it’s obviously two important milestones for BASF,” said Markus Heldt, president of the global crop protection division, who adds that the future is very bright as BASF …
Understanding Farmer Attitudes
The Seed Leadership Program was held just before the start of the 131st Annual American Seed Trade Association Annual Meeting in Indianapolis. During today’s Green Flag Session, Brent Gloy, Purdue University professor discussed the key themes from the 2013 Large Commercial Producer survey. He says they survey helps both farmers and agribusinesses better understand where the commercial farm segment is going. …
ASTA Annual Meeting Kicks Off
Industry leaders and seed experts are in Indianapolis this week for the 131st American Seed Trade Association’s Annual Meeting. ASTA CEO Andy Lavigne says much of the discussion this week will focus on innovation and technology in the seed industry. The meeting kicks off Thursday morning with Purdue University president Mitch Daniels. Lavigne says Daniels will focus on innovation and that will set …
BASF Ag Solutions Through Innovation
BASF – The Chemical Company – will be celebrating a pretty significant milestone next year. The company was established in 1865, which means it will be 150 years old in 2015. Andreas Kreimeyer, member of the board and Research Executive Director for BASF, says innovation is the reason they have survived so long. “Innovation is our life blood,” he said …
BASF Highlights North American Investment
At the BASF Ag Media Summit today, BASF North America Crop Protection Senior VP Nevin McDougall outlined the continued R&D investment his company is making to bring new agricultural products to market. “Our global investment is upwards of $2 million a day in agricultural research,” said McDougall. “Many of those research projects have direct application to North America.” That translates …
AFBF Not Happy With Clean Power Plan
Last week the Environmental Protection Agency made history when it released its Clean Power Plan proposal – an attempt to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from utility plants by 30 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. The EPA already has other pollution regulations (greenhouse gas emissions) on the utility sector. According to the EPA, utility plants are the single largest source …
BCAP Funding Application Period Opens
One energy and ag program that was saved by the 2014 Farm Bill was the Biomass Crop Assistance Program or BCAP, designed to provide financial assistance to mainly farmers and ranchers who establish and maintain new crops of energy biomass or harvest and deliver forest or ag residues to a qualifying energy facility. Farmers who harvest ag residues such as …
Crop Scouting – Using All Your Data, Part 2
Last week, we discussed utilizing your precision ag data while crop scouting. While it’s important to have access to that reference data in the field, you may ask yourself how can I use GPS technology to precisely and more efficiently record crop and pest observations? Or how can I precisely map and integrate my crop sensor readings into precision scouting …