Like most farm women, Jeanette Merritt wears many hats. A wife and mother of three, the 4th generation Indiana hog and soybean farmer is a Purdue University graduate who serves Hoosier State agriculture in a variety of ways. Jeanette is a former farm broadcaster and agricultural journalist who has put her experience to work as a public speaker and PR …
Study Shows How Farmers are Dealing with Downturn
J.L.Farmakis, Inc has just released a new research study conducted in February by Millennium Research that shows plans farmers are making this year in reaction to lower commodity prices. Among the findings of the “Farmer Speaks Study” are: • Half of the farmers surveyed are seeking off-farm employment • 74% will switch to generics or change brands of crop protection …
Zimmie the Zebra Looking for New Home at #NAMA16
Meet Zimmie the Zebra. This rare pygmy zebra has been homeless for some time as habitat in her native land of Zambia has been disappearing. When I found out about this I called Brian Rund, Nufarm, because he and I had worked on a zebra home placement project during Potato Expo earlier this year. During that show we helped Chip, …
IFAJ Congress 2016 Early Registration Extended
The organizers of the IFAJ Congress 2016 have extended early bird registration to April 10. So you have a little more time to look at the programs for the pre and post tours as well as the main Congress. This morning I Skyped with Mark Moore, freelance agricultural journalist and photographer who is helping the Congress committee. Mark has been …
Ethanol Trade Mission to Peru
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) took part in a recent trade mission to Peru led by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack which included discussions about increasing cooperation with that country when it comes to ethanol production and exports. In this edition of the ZimmCast, RFA General Counsel Ed Hubbard talks about the March 13-15 trade mission which visited Lima and the …
ScoutPro is Growing
AgWired first introduced us to ScoutPro back in 2011 but the company has come a long way since then. ScoutPro co-founder Stuart McCulloh says the company started by three entrepreneurial Iowa State University students is now full service crop scouting program. At the recent Commodity Classic the company announced the apps are now a free download because, as McCulloh points …
Corn Up, Soybeans Down in #USDA Report
The 2016 Prospective Plantings report out today from USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) shows farmers expect to plant more corn and less soybeans this year. U.S. corn growers expect to plant 93.6 million acres to corn this year, the first increase in corn planted acreage since 2012 and, if realized, will be the third largest corn acreage since 1944. …
Candidate Trump Addresses #Farm Labor Issues
Like Sen. Ted Cruz, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump also had the opportunity to address the issue of immigration as it relates to farm labor during a CNN town hall forum Tuesday night. Wisconsin dairy farmer John Pagel explained to Trump that the state’s dairy industry “is being challenged right now by having a labor force dependent on an immigration …
Candidate @TedCruz Addresses #Farm Labor Issues
Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas had the opportunity to address the issue of immigration as it relates to farm labor during a CNN Town Hall forum Tuesday night. Jason Vorpahl, who operates a 2800 head dairy farm in Wisconsin, questioned Cruz about the issue. “We offer a competitive wage and offer full benefits to all our employees,” …
Tweet a Bee, #FeedABee
Bayer is gearing up to make a significant impact on pollinator health in 2016 by planting more forage and spreading the word about the importance of pollinators with the debut of the Feed a Bee song and video and new social media initiatives to help keep pollinators healthy. We talked with our favorite Queen Bee Becky Langer, Bayer Bee Care …