Like many farmers, Sean Arians also has a job that sometimes takes him away from his agriculture operation. Arians needed an easier way to manage grain marketing activities, so he developed the GrainCoat application. “Cloud spreadsheets and shared spreadsheets are sometimes tough to keep up to date and I really wanted an application that I could take with me on …
American Butter Institute: ‘Fake’ Butter is Mislabeled
More plant-based products are entering the marketplace labeled as butter, and the dairy industry wants to put a stop to that practice. American Butter Institute Executive Director Tom Balmer said these products are mislabeled based on the standard of identity that exists for butter. “The butter standard of identity, which is the only federal food standard established by an act …
Study Shows Economic Impact of Grain Exports
A new study commissioned by the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) and the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) points to the importance of export markets to U.S. farmers. The study highlights the total economic impact of U.S. grain exports to be $55 billion in 2016 and also shows grain exports supporting 271,000 jobs directly or indirectly, according to Kimberly Atkins, vice …
ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference Preview
ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (#ONE19) has some big name keynote speakers but the biggest is Dr. Mark Lyons, President and CEO, Alltech. I spoke with Mark to get a preview of this year’s conference. I’ve been attending this annual event since 2007 and it has continued to grow with an expectation of a record attendance this year according to …
VP Talks Trade with Minnesota Farmers
Vice President Mike Pence talked trade Thursday with Minnesota farmers and FFA leaders at R & J Johnson Farm near Glyndon. “Farmers need the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) done now. U.S. agriculture needs strong trade agreements to access 95% of the people in this world who live outside of the United States. Our number one and number two customers on …
Ethanol Report on Higher Gas Prices
The summer driving season is getting closer and gas prices are just expected to get higher, but don’t blame ethanol. A recent analysis by the Renewable Fuels Association found that gas prices have been getting higher mainly because of a surge in crude oil prices since the start of the year, combined with normal seasonal gasoline pricing, as well as …
ZimmCast 615 – Interviews From #Water4Food
My first Water for Food Global Conference was a learning experience which included meeting some interesting people from around the world. This is the third time we’ve worked with The Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska to create a virtual newsroom on AgNewsWire. This episode of the ZimmCast features interviews from the conference that provide …
Stay Strong Nebraska Helping Farmers and Ranchers Rebuild
The flood waters may be receding, but the damage from them still remains and Nebraska farmers and ranchers will need help for some time yet to rebuild. “Stay Strong Nebraska” is an initiative created to do just that, providing easy access to the Nebraska Farm Bureau Disaster Relief Fund and Nebraska Cattlemen Disaster Relief Fund with all donations remaining in …
U.S. Grains Council Board Names Next President And CEO
U.S. Grains Council (USGC) Director in Mexico Ryan LeGrand has been named as its next president and chief executive officer, effective next month. LeGrand joined the organization in Mexico in 2015 and has served as the director of the Council’s Mexico City office since 2016. In this capacity, he has overseen the expansion of the Council’s programming in that country …
Nebraska Strong Working to Rebuild
It was ironic that the Water for Food Conference this week was held in a state that is still drowning in water from the disastrous weather events in March. Nebraska Farm Bureau president Steve Nelson gave an update on the situation at the conference. He says damage is estimated at about $1.4 billion – including crop land and livestock losses …