AGCO recently celebrated the grand opening of Intivity Center and the 75,000-square-foot expansion of its Jackson, Minn., manufacturing center. The Bayer Group recently released a new 68-page Sustainable Development Report, which contains countless facts and figures. Soybean farmers and other agriculture stakeholders interested in global perspectives on sustainability are encouraged to attend the first-ever soybean sustainability symposium and panel discussion …
Precision Laboratories Celebrates 50 Years
It’s golden anniversary time for Precision Laboratories this month. In 1962, Chicago entrepreneur Jim Wohlner left his sales position with a national chemical distributor and founded Precision Laboratories. The new company specialized in private-label maintenance chemicals for industrial applications. Jim would often spend four days on the road selling, and then return on Fridays to fulfill the orders. As the …
“Decade of the Bean” Focuses on Higher Yields
Building on the successful launch of Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield trait technology, Monsanto Company is poised to deliver a dozen new soybean traits in the next decade, helping farmers boost yield to meet the growing global demands for soybeans. The 2010s have been coined the “Decade of the Bean” because Monsanto has a mix of 12 biotech and breeding …
The CTIC Cheerleader
I think he’s the head cheerleader for the Conservation Technology Information Center. He’s board member Ron Olson, Mosaic Company, Eastern Region, Senior Agronomist. Ron is seen announcing door prize winners during our lunch at the 2012 Conservation in Action Tour. Ron told me that the actions and work that CTIC has exhibited over many years is what has kept them …
“In My Barn” Online Game Launched
A new online game developed for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students is now available on MyAmericanFarm.org, the popular agricultural gaming site. “In My Barn” is the first game for a pre-K–K audience on My American Farm. Students use math skills to help Farmer Faye, a character in the game, care for her animals. As they play the game, students earn points …
AGROTAIN Efficiently Using a Limited Resource
Thanks to Koch Agronomic Services (AGROTAIN) I was able to attend the 2012 Conservation in Action Tour again this year. I visited with Greg Schwab, Director of Agronomy, during the Conservation Technology Expo which is held after lunch on the tour. Greg is in the photo at their booth in the expo. We talked about how farmers are proactively investing …
World Pork Expo Introduces Mobile App
For the first time, people attending World Pork Expo, June 6-8 in Des Moines, Iowa, will be able to get the latest Expo information with a customized smartphone app. With half of today’s mobile subscribers owning smartphones and National Hog Farmer reporting that about 30 percent of its readers access the Internet using their phones, this new app is designed …
Maximizing Yields in Corn-on-Corn
As the economics of corn drive more farmers to move toward corn-on-corn production, they are often faced with additional challenges not typically encountered in a traditional corn-soybean rotation. In order to maximize the potential for high yields in corn-on-corn, farmers need to focus on several agronomic factors. This summer in heavy corn rootworm pressure areas Monsanto plans to host a …
Grocery and Restaurant Executives Surveyed
Results of a recent survey of grocery and restaurant executives signals an opportunity for the supply chain to provide retailers better support and alignment to address challenging issues in animal agriculture. Conducted by the Center for Food Integrity (CFI), the survey asked questions of QSR and procurement managers from 10 leading food industry retailers, including Walmart, McDonalds, Burger King, Marsh …
Molding the Future of Agriculture
Wrapping up our tour at Locust Trace AgriScience Farm, I had the opportunity to chat with one of five agriculture education instructors at Locust Trace, Mr. Todd Harp. He had the students eating out of the palm of his hand as he discussed artificial insemination and quizzed them on reproduction in dairy cattle. This hands-on approach to learning is just …