Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) is very proud of the work that the Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska has been doing for the future of sustainable agriculture by encouraging the involvement of young people in the industry. “Agriculture has become cool! I never thought I would see that,” said Fortenberry at the recent Water for Food …
Manito Transit Acquires Lobdell Transportation
Manito Transit of Bloomington, Illinois has acquired the assets of Lobdell Transportation, Inc., a family-owned trucking company based in Lena, Illinois. The acquisition comes with 21 tractor units, 22 fuel tankers, and eight pressure vessels capable of hauling propane and anhydrous ammonia, as well as a two-bay maintenance shop. Manito Transit now operates 120 trucks, serving customers in 13 states. …
Alltech Research Leads to Changes in Mineral Management
Mineral management is changing, thanks to research in nutrition and genomics. Butch Whitman is an Alltech beef nutritionist who was at the 2018 Cattle Industry Convention and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Trade Show in Phoenix. Whitman said research at Alltech’s Center for Nutrigenomics and Applied Animal Nutrition looks at how nutrients impact the expression of genes. That includes what nutrients …
John Deere Dealers Develop Applications to Help Growers
Some of the John Deere dealers who attended this year’s Develop with Deere conference are also developers. Ryan Hutchison with South Country Equipment in Regina, Saskatchewan, has been working on the John Deere Field Connect application. The app takes data, applies agronomic knowledge from the grower and the agronomist, and incorporates weather information to develop what he calls “crop intelligence.” …
Senators Speak Out to Approve Northey Nomination
After nearly four months of having the nomination of Iowa’s Bill Northey to the U.S. Department of Agriculture held up by Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) brought it up on the floor Wednesday and called on other colleagues to back him up. Northey was nominated to be USDA Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation in September …
ZimmCast 573 – Cattle Convention and Classic
While at the Cattle Industry Convention last week in Phoenix, Jamie decided to hijack the ZimmCast and chat with her sister and business partner Joanna Wilkinson, who is also the creative director for ZimmComm. Jamie introduces us to Joanna and talks about the convention and the customized virtual newsroom that we built for that event. I proceeded to hijack the …
Third Class of CIRB Emerging Leaders
The third class of the Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau’s (CIRB) Emerging Leaders Program is the biggest yet, bringing the total number of program alumni and participants now to 17. The program is designed for professionals in the crop insurance industry that seek to increase their knowledge and hands-on experience with key issues with the goal of building the next …
NCBA Recognizes Arizona Ranch for Environmental Stewardship
A third generation Arizona rancher is working hard to leave his ranch land better than he found it for the next generation. The Jim O’Haco Cattle Company is this year’s winner of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association National Environmental Stewardship Award, presented during this year’s Cattle Industry Convention in Phoenix. O’Haco owns two ranches totaling nearly 90,000 acres. “We have …
Perdue Discusses State of Rural Economy
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue briefed members of the House Agriculture Committee Tuesday on the current state of the rural economy and USDA’s farm bill priorities. “We’re in a very different situation than when you last contemplated a farm bill,” said Perdue in his opening remarks. “The state of the rural economy is fragile.” Secretary Perdue was asked about a number …
Scouting With Aerial Precision Imagery
While many farmers have embraced the technology available to scout fields with unmanned aerial vehicles, Jeff Buyck with C&B Operations has taken things a bit further. The John Deere dealer from South Dakota uses manned aircraft to scout fields and help area farmers identify problem spots more quickly. “It’s really being able to detect an issue before you can see …