One of agriculture’s biggest frustrations is sustainability; not because we aren’t doing it, but because others are defining it for us, says Katie Heger, a farmer serving on American Farm Bureau Federation‘s Dirt on Sustainability panel. “We have a market that is trying to define what [sustainability] means to us and how we’re supposed to respond to that. Sustainability, really, …
#AFBF17 Young Farmer and Rancher Awards
Young farmers and ranchers from across the nation competed in three categories: the Young Farmers and Ranchers Achievement Award, Discussion Meet and Excellence in Agriculture. Winners were announced during the American Farm Bureau Federation‘s 2017 Annual Convention & IDEAg Trade Show. Sarah Cyphers representing the Commonwealth of Virginia earn the Excellence in Agriculture Award. Now she’ll get to choose between a …
#AFBF17 Honors Entrepreneurs
The American Farm Bureau Federation Entrepreneur of the Year is Vertical Harvest Hydroponics of Alaska and team leads Linda Janes and Dan Perpich. Janes and Perpich came out the winner over three other finalists and took home a total of $30,000 in prize money, including $15,000 from sponsor Farm Bureau Bank to produce hydroponic vegetables housed in 40’ insulated shipping …
Meet New @FarmBureau YF&R Chair
Kalena Bruce of southwest Missouri was elected as the 2017 chairperson of the American Farm Bureau Young Farmers & Ranchers Committee during the AFBF annual meeting in Phoenix this week. Bruce will take over as chair in February, at the end of the committee’s leadership conference, and serve for one year and will also serve on the AFBF board of …
ZimmCast Looks Forward to Cattle Industry Convention
The week of January 30, 2017 is going to be a very busy one for the ZimmComm Team. One of the reasons is the Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show. Jamie Johansen will be covering the event for us. To get a preview Jamie interviewed Tracy Brunner, 2016 National Cattlemen’s Beef Association President. Tracy is a 4th generation cattleman …
Crop Outlook from #AFBF17
Dr. Pat Westhoff of the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) at the University of Missouri brought attendees of the American Farm Bureau Federation‘s Annual Convention and IDEAg Trade Show an outlook for the 2017-2018 crop demand. Overall, he says, look for 2017 to follow a similar trend of 2016, with prices continuing to be below average. “Lots of pressure …
Agri-Pulse Announces Farm Bill Series and Summit
At the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) annual meeting this week, Agri-Pulse announced a new partnership with multiple agricultural organizations for an in-depth editorial series on the next farm bill and a Farm Bill Summit to be held at the National Press Club on March 20. Agri-Pulse Editor Sara Wyant says the series will be called “The Seven Things You …
Continued Growth @NufarmUS
Before this year’s Potato Expo ended I got to visit with Brian Rund, Nufarm, to get an overview of some of the projects and products that the company has been working on. The picture has the team that was attending the event with Brian in the middle. To start with, Brian says that Nufarm offers a full set of solutions …
Exploring the New Political Landscape at #AFBF17
The election of Donald Trump as president of the United States has ushered in a whole new political landscape, which was discussed during one of the sessions early Monday morning at the American Farm Bureau Federation 2017 Annual Convention. “What we thought was impossible politically is now possible,” said Stan Barnes, President, Copper State Consulting Group in Phoenix. “We’re not …
Monsanto Moving Toward Bayer Merger
Monsanto is still on track to become part of Bayer AG by the end of the year, but in the meantime it is business as usual and that business continues to expand to offer more solutions for farmers. “We look forward to updating you on the status of the deal as we move through the year,” said Monsanto Chairman and …