GROWMARK Executive Director for Corporate and Government Relations Chuck Spencer heard some clear messages at a farm bill listening session during the 2017 Farm Progress Show in Decatur. Spencer says agricultural producers in the Midwest have strong opinions about the need for crop insurance and how to improve current options. Farmers shared the desire for a strong safety net, hoping …
John Deere Acquires Blue River Technology
Farming just keeps getting smarter thanks to new technology like that being developed by Blue River Technology. It certainly caught the attention of John Deere which just announced acquisition of Blue River. To learn more about what Blue River Technology does and what this means to John Deere and its customers I spoke by phone with Willy Pell, Director of …
Achieve Your Personal Best Yields with Bayer’s Delaro™
Bayer understands the need for chemistry that covers a broad range of environmental conditions. They also know the best way to do that is with a product that has two modes of action focused on advanced formulas with unique movement the entire growing season. We spoke with Bayer’s Dr. Randy Myers during the 2017 Farm Progress Show who provided us …
John Deere Expands 9RX Tractor Lineup
John Deere launched the new 9RX Narrow Track Tractor at the 2017 Farm Progress Show. The tractor is available in 420, 470 or 520 horsepower, with 18- or 24-inch wide belt tracks. Farmers looking to work within a track spacing of 88 or 120 inches can do that with these tractors, says Tiffany Turner, John Deere product marketing manager for …
John Deere 2025R Compact Tractor Gets Complete Overhaul
The completely redesigned John Deere 2025R Compact Utility Tractor has a Final Tier 4-compliant diesel engine providing customers with an easy-to-use, versatile machine designed to tackle a variety of jobs. Jon Schebler, product manager for the 2025R series, took us through the specs of the redesigned tractor at the 2017 Farm Progress Show. “When we think of this kind of …
Bayer Campaign Focuses on Rural Health
Bayer is partnering with American Heart Association to encourage wellness in rural communities. Statistics show 600,000 people die annually from heart disease, and about 20 percent of those people live in rural America. People in rural communities also have a 50 percent higher likelihood of having preventable heart disease. In 2017, for every bag of LibertyLink soybean seed purchased, Bayer …
FMC Offers Freedom Pass Program
FMC has introduced a new program for Very Independent Purchasers called the FMC Freedom Pass. Farmers are pretty independent and want freedom of choices as much as possible. According to Mike Harper, industry relations manager for FMC Agricultural Solutions in the U.S. and Canada, the company is giving them that opportunity. I visited with Mike in the Illinois Soybean Association …
No Weed Left Behind with DiFlexx DUO
Challenges with resistant weeds were still seen across the country this season. However, Bayer CropScience believes these resistant weeds have met their match with a new herbicide introduced before the 2017 season. We visited with Frank Rittemann, selective corn herbicides product manager at Bayer, last week at the Farm Progress Show to learn more about the key benefits of DiFlexx® …
Deere 0 Series Baler + Accumulator = Efficiency
John Deere’s 0 Series Round Balers are the first North American-built round baler precutters with the industry’s first 5-foot precutter baler. The eight models that comprise the new series build upon the popular 9 Series Balers and include several new features that improve hay pickup and overall baling speed and productivity in the field. During the recent Farm Progress Show, …
Dow-DuPont is Done Deal
The “merger of equals” between The Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”) and E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company (“DuPont”) became official on Friday, now operating as a holding company under the name “DowDuPont™” with three divisions – Agriculture, Materials Science and Specialty Products. Moving forward, DowDuPont intends to separate the divisions to stand within their own legal entities by the …