Fifteen agriculture students have been selected as the second class of recipients of the GROWMARK Foundation scholarship. More than 170 students from across the United States and Ontario, Canada, applied for the award. Applications were evaluated by a panel of agribusiness professionals, and the funds are available for the fall 2019 semester. “Each scholarship is worth 1500 dollars,” says Karen …
Farm and Biofuel Groups File 2nd Suit Against EPA
A coalition of biofuel and agriculture groups have petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to change its regulations to “account for lost volumes of renewable fuel resulting from the unprecedented number of retroactive small refinery exemptions from Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) obligations recently granted by EPA.” The petitioners are the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE), Growth …
Earning Consumer Trust in Food Production
The Canadian Centre for Food Integrity exists to help the food system earn the trust of consumers. Its U.S. counterpart has been working towards the same thing since 2007. “To really earn trust, it has to start by doing the right thing – having trusted assurance systems – and then communicating. And you can’t do one pillar on its own …
CCA Institute 2018
Cooperative Communicators Association president Nickie Sabo, AMPI, conducted the new member orientation at the start of this year’s CCA Institute in Fort Worth. The last time I attended this conference was in 2010 but I’m here this year as a new member so I’m learning a lot and will be collecting some interviews to help us all learn more about …
Alltech Focused on Fish Nutrition, Sustainability
Scientists in the field of aquaculture are working to produce a premium product sustainably, and nutrition is a key part of that goal. At ONE 18: The Alltech Ideas Conference, Dr. Philip Lyons shared some challenges and successes of the aquaculture industry with participants. “I think the biggest challenge is that at the moment a vast majority of feeds for …
Preview of the 2018 CUTC
The 2018 Corn Utilization and Technology Conference is about to start in St. Louis, MO. This event is held every other year and features technical presentations on various topic related to corn and uses for corn. The theme this year is, “Increasing efficiency across the supply chain to enable new products.” On the CUTC Planning Committee as Co-Chair is Nathan …
John Deere Introducing Updated Harvest Equipment
A new track system and a new draper lineup are among updates to harvest equipment coming from John Deere. A new track system is now fully suspended, offering the ability to transport up to 25 miles per hour from field to field. Track widths are available in 30-inch or 36-inch options. The company now also offers seven draper headers to …
Poultry Researchers Tackle Woody Breast Syndrome
A growing problem for the poultry industry is woody breast syndrome, a muscle myopathy that affects the most popular cut of poultry. While it doesn’t pose any harm to the consumer or the bird, it results in a product that is not palatable. In 2017, woody breast syndrome cost the U.S. poultry industry an estimated $200 million. Due to changes …
Bytes: Tech That Feeds Us
KEENAN CEO Robert Walker explored the future of technology and data as it relates to agriculture and the food chain at ONE 18: The Alltech Ideas Conference. “Ag tech is shrinking the food chain,” said Walker. “It’s making communication up and down the food chain a lot better, quicker, and ultimately that is going to be to the benefit of …
China’s Impact on U.S. Beef Demand
China reopened its borders to United States beef in 2017, but that historic decision sparked both challenges and opportunities for American beef producers, according to Ian Lahiffe, Lead of Operations, Allflex Livestock Intelligence. Lahiffe said beef consumption has almost doubled in China over the past 10-15 years, but Chinese consumers are accustomed to grass-fed beef primarily from Brazil or Australia …