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 …
I AM USFRA – Dawn Caldwell
Dawn Caldwell is a very busy woman. Besides helping to run her family’s cow-calf operation in north central Kansas, not far from where they live in Clay County, Nebraska, the wife and mother of two works as head of governmental affairs for the Aurora Cooperative. In addition, she serves on the board of the Federation of State Beef Councils, and …
#LibertyLink Seed Still Available
Spring has sprung and planting has already begun in some areas, but there’s still time to include Bayer Liberty® and LibertyLink® soybeans this crop year. At the recent Bayer AgVocacy Forum, we talked with Al Luke, Bayer U.S. strategic business lead for row crops, about the LibertyLink system. “We’ve had great uptake this year, we think our sales will be …
Strong Interest in Agricultural Careers Says AgCareers
A recent survey conducted for Land O’Lakes suggests that there is very low interest in college grads to pursue a career in agriculture. However, AgCareers.com sees a very different trend. AgCareers has a 33% increase in the number of visits to their website in the last year. I just spoke with Eric Spell, AgCareers.com President. He says that enrollment at …
New @JohnDeere 9RX Tractors Arriving for Spring
The John Deere 9RX tractor, which was launched last year at Farm Progress Show, was a big hit at the recent Commodity Classic. The new tractors are being delivered to customers in time for planting season and John Deere Senior Marketing Representative Kevin Lowe says one feature farmers appreciate is the undercarriage, since it is 20% larger than the nearest …