As a hush came over the theater last night and the lights went down for the opening scene of the documentary Thirsty Land, the sound of rain pounding on the roof served as background noise. A bit ironic. Especially in light of meeting a community in California that has run out of water. Thirsty Land, directed and produced by Conrad …
Bayer Awards $150,000 Grant To National Ag Center
Bayer CropScience has announced increased support of the National Agricultural Center & Hall of Fame, through a $150,000 Bayer USA Foundation grant. This three-year grant will help create a new children’s exhibit within the Ag Center’s Children’s Agriculture Science Center. The new exhibit is set to open in 2018. Located in Bonner Springs, Kansas, the mission of the Ag Center …
Used Equipment Calculator from Iron Solutions
Iron Solutions has announced a new online product. The company that created IRON Guides®, IRON HQ® and a full suite of equipment data and software products has now launched the IRON Guides Residual Value Calculator® for Used Equipment. This new offering will be sold separetly from their current lineup of products. With historically high levels of used agricultural equipment being …
Alltech Acquires Ireland’s Keenan
Alltech has agreed to acquire Keenan, a leading farming solutions company in Ireland. Keenan is the 14th acquisition for Alltech globally since 2011. “The Keenan group has long been a friend of Alltech. This is a story about two great Irish; globally-minded companies coming together. As an Irishman, I am delighted to welcome Keenan to our family, because together we …
Monsanto Announces Farm Mom Winners
A new crop of “Farm Moms” has sprung up at Monsanto. Five outstanding women have been selected as regional winners in the 2016 Farm Mom of the Year contest. “Once again we are so honored to have read nominations for hundreds of the strongest, kindest and most passionate women when it comes to their families, farms, communities and agriculture,” says …
Rhea + Kaiser Bring On Seven New Staff Members
Rhea + Kaiser (R+K) has added seven new staff members to their Naperville, Illinois integrated communications agency. Dustin Gerdes will serve as the Manager of Analytics and Customer Engagement, growing the field to better target and engage R+K’s clients. He comes from Groupon and earned an undergraduate degree in marketing and psychology from Eastern Illinois University and an MBA from …
Will FSMA Produce Regs Prove Costly to Small Farms?
Most of us involved in agriculture have become familiar with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) that was introduced in 2011 as the FDA’s new method of regulating the growth, harvesting, and processing of agricultural goods. While the aim of this new regulatory system is to increase food safety and reduce the prevalence of foodborne illness, there are some aspects …
AEM Debuts Smartphone Game
“I Make America” is the new smartphone game from The Association of Equipment Manufacturers. The app was created to engage and educate the public on manufacturing issues that affect this election cycle. The game can now be downloaded through the Apple Store, Google Play and the Windows Store. Users participate in ag equipment-themed challenges, followed by multiple choice questions that test …
Extension Services Keep Farmers Farming
The purpose of the federal cooperative extension program was to provide research for agriculture, helping individual farmers by serving the industry as a whole. Now a new study from Penn State University has taken a look at the effectiveness of those programs. Stephan Goetz writes in his paper that an estimated 137,000 farmers in the last 25 years would be …
NCC Disputes Results of Turkish Investigation
Turkey is the second largest export market for U.S. cotton, but now that is being threatened by what the National Cotton Council (NCC) maintains are false allegations. The government of Turkey has claimed the United States dumped cotton into the Turkish market, injuring their domestic prices. They have now released their final decision, based on their investigation of the incident. …