As part of National Ag Day, John Deere welcomed four new inductees to the Outstanding Farmers of America (OFA) Fraternity as National Outstanding Young Farmers at the OYF Awards Congress. This year Jessica Niederer spoke on behalf of the inductees. Niederer is an organic grower who sells all of her 57 varieties at farmer’s markets in New Jersey. Selling at farmer’s markets offers her a …
More Beans and Cotton, Less Corn and Wheat
The first estimate for crop plantings this year by USDA is calling for less corn and wheat but more soybeans and cotton. The 2017 Prospective Plantings report based on farmer surveys estimates that corn planted area for all purposes in 2017 will be 90 million acres, down 4 percent or 4.0 million acres from last year. Soybeans planted area for …
Tebow Wins 2017 Charles Eastin Award on Ag Day
Sue Tebow was the recipient of this year’s Charles Eastin Award, presented on National Ag Day. The award honors advocates who communicate between rural and urban audiences; Tebow’s Facebook page, agri.CULTURE, certainly does that job. She credits her vantage point as an outsider to the industry with shaping the message that has allowed her to reach thousands of people. “I realized it is a …
FMC to Acquire Portion of Dupont Crop Protection
In an early morning call FMC and DuPont made a major announcement: FMC Corporation (NYSE: FMC) and DuPont (NYSE: DD) today announced the signing of a definitive agreement for FMC to acquire the portion of DuPont’s Crop Protection business it must divest to comply with the European Commission ruling related to its merger with The Dow Chemical Company. Additionally, DuPont …
Bridger Gordon Wins Ag Day Essay Contest
Bridger Gordon is more than just junior from South Dakota. He is one of the bright, enthusiastic youth who are part of bringing the message of agriculture to the world. Gordon’s message rang loud and clear as he read his winning essay to the attendees of last week’s National Ag Day. “I think about the many families, like mine, who …
Can the Farm Bill Help Bring Back the Next Generation?
Agri-Pulse‘s final panel discussion at their Farm Bill Summit covered “How the Farm Bill Can Help Bring the Next Generation Back to the Farm Through Investments in Infrastructure, Research, and Rural Development.” The moderator was Spencer Chase, Agri-Pulse Associate Editor. Krysta Harden, Vice President of Public Policy and Chief Sustainability Officer, DuPont; Laura Batcha, CEO, Organic Trade Association; Travis Medine, …
Crappie Fishing and Ethanol
We went fishing for this edition of the ZimmCast and caught it on Grenada Lake, Mississippi at the Mississippi State Championship, one stop on the 2017 Crappie Masters All American Tournament Trail. The Renewable Fuels Association is a title sponsor of the tournament, along with Bass Pro Shops, and it has the support of Missouri Corn Growers and American Ethanol …
Bridging the Farm/Food Policy Gap at #FarmBillSummit
The “Bridging the Gap Between Farm and Food Policy” panel hosted by Agri-Pulse during their Farm Bill Summit was moderated by Agri-Pulse Senior Editor, Phillip Brasher. The panelists were all veterans of past farm bills and familiar with wrestling issues like SNAP. “I think the alliance between farmers and people who work in the nutrition field or people who worry …
What Works, What Doesn’t in Conservation
As part of the Agri-Pulse Farm Bill Summit, Sara Wyant moderated the panel “Conservation- What Works, What Doesn’t.” Panel participants included: Tina May, Sr. Director of Sustainability, Land O’Lakes; Eric Lindstrom, National Manager of Agriculture Policy, Ducks Unlimited; Suzy Friedman, Sr. Director of Agriculture Sustainability, Environmental Defense Fund; Dave White, Co-Founder/Partner, 9-B Group; and Anne Simmons, Democratic Staff Director, House …
SMART Farmer Lauren Schwab
This edition of the SMART Farmer podcast comes from National Ag Day in Washington D.C. last week where USFRA Faces of Farming and Ranching representative Lauren Schwab talked about SMART Farming. Lauren, who is known as FarmGirlWCurls on Twitter and Facebook, loves sharing her love of piglets on social media and educating non-farmers about the business. She talks about how …