Food for thought this Independence Day from former Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack: “America has to understand and appreciate what it has in agriculture. American consumers walk out of the grocery store with still more money in their pocket and their paychecks and their incomes than virtually anybody else in the world. That creates great flexibility in our economy directly …
Expanded Portfolio Includes New Enogen Varieties
Among fans attending the NASCAR Xfinity Series Iowa 250 presented by Enogen at Iowa Speedway on Father’s Day was Craig Ehlers, a farmer and Golden Harvest dealer from northwest Iowa. Golden Harvest is expanding its 2019 portfolio with 37 new corn hybrids and 17 new soybean varieties. Among the new offerings are seven new Enogen hybrids for use in selected …
Precision Ag Bytes 7/3
Monsanto Company and Corteva Agriscience™, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont, announced the companies have reached an agreement on an expanded license for Roundup Ready 2 Xtend® technology for soybeans. Through this non-exclusive, royalty bearing license, Corteva Agriscience™ will offer U.S. and Canadian growers additional weed control flexibility through broader access to Roundup Ready 2 Xtend® technology across its North America seed …
AMVAC Purchases Bayer Bromacil Business
AMVAC Chemical Corporation recently announced the purchase of the Bromacil herbicide business in the United States and Canada from Bayer Crop Science. The transaction is unrelated to the acquisition of Monsanto by Bayer, and financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. I spoke with Greg Warren, Marketing Manager, AMVAC, about the transaction and what it means to the company. …
Increasing Profit Margins for Ethanol
Ethanol production has become a key market for U.S. corn, but margins are often tight. New technology would allow existing ethanol plants to convert a part of their production into making plant-based chemicals that have higher values, with profits that could be passed along to corn growers. “We know that ethanol today is a commodity that has been really pressed …
Planted Acreage Report Surprises
USDA’s planted acreage report out Friday contained some surprising numbers for the trade. The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) estimates 89.6 million acres of soybeans planted in the United States for 2018, down 1 percent from last year, and corn area planted is estimated at 89.1 million acres, also down 1 percent from last year. All cotton planted area for …
Timac Agro USA Introduces Fertiactyl®ST Seed Treatment
Timac Agro USA, a provider of crop nutritional solutions, introduces Fertiactyl® ST, a liquid seed treatment suitable for any crop started from seed. This formulation was developed from Timac Agro’s Fertiactyl® GZ to help farmers battle environmental stress during spring planting. It is the newest addition to an extensive portfolio developed from 20 years of research and development in the …
Adding Value with Identity Preservation
Identity preservation (IP) is a popular way to add value to a grower’s corn crop, but it takes some attention to detail. “Identity preservation is a mindset,” said Chuck Hill, specialty products manager for AgriGold Hybrids. “You’re not producing corn. You’re producing an ingredient that goes into a variety of things, and that’s what the buyer wants.” Hill presented at …
GROWMARK Wants More Interns to Stay
GROWMARK would like to see more of their interns to choose a full-time career at the cooperative after completing the internship experience. The Exploring Agriculture program is geared towards community college students and those with an interest in the operational side of GROWMARK’s business. This year a total of 32 interns joined that program, being placed throughout the cooperative’s core …
Precision Ag Bytes 6/27
The Soil Health Partnership embarks on its fifth year of participating in dozens of field days across 12 states this summer and fall. For a list of field days and to register, visit www.soilhealthpartnership.org. The 14th International Conference on Precision Agriculture (ICPA) is wrapping up in Montreal, Quebec. The conference is presented by the International Society of Precision Agriculture. The …