Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall got together to discuss the benefit of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) for agriculture as AFBF released an economic analysis of the pending trade agreement. “Until today, we didn’t have a specific documented review or study of that benefit,” said Vilsack, said in thanking Farm Bureau for doing the …
New Holland Launches Marketing Technology Platform
The AgNerd in me was very interested in the announcement by New Holland about launching a new dealer marketing services platform created by SproutLoud. The cutting-edge new platform features a highly-advanced tool loaded with preapproved messaging and images to ensure brand consistency—which equips its US and Canada dealers with expanded options for advertising and marketing and increases the agility and …
FMC in the Biologicals Market
Biological controls are the new frontier in crop protection and FMC Corporation has made a strong commitment to expand its portfolio in that arena. “We’ve got a number of projects in play right now that are biological controls,” said FMC portfolio manager Rick Ekins at the National Farm Machinery Show. “This is about expanding the level of control, it’s about …
USDA Secretary at #Ethanol Conference
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack visited the National Ethanol Conference this week for the last time in the position he has held under President Obama for both terms. During his appearance, Vilsack announced some good news for the ethanol industry – new research showing significant improvement in ethanol production efficiency. According to the study, between 1991 and 2010, direct energy use …
FMC Highlights Ethos XB at #NFMS16
All farmers want to protect and nurture every seed from the moment they place it in the ground, and that is exactly what FMC’s Ethos XB is designed to do. With planting season just around the corner, FMC portfolio manager Rick Ekins was telling growers at the National Farm Machinery Show last week about this insecticide/fungicide in-furrow solution that offers …
Pollinators Part of @GROWMARK Endure Program
Protecting pollinators is part of the GROWMARK sustainability initiative called ENDURE. “Sustainability is a very hot topic in the world today,” said GROWMARK Director of Strategic Agronomy Marketing Lance Ruppert. “As a company we’re trying to look at our internal actions to be sustainable as a system and get that message out.” Because pollinator health is so critical, Ruppert says …
USB Educates Growers on Global Markets
The United Soybean Board (USB) invites soybean farmers with a desire to take a look at their customers beyond the elevator and to learn more about the soy checkoff’s role in marketing U.S. soy, to take part in their See for Yourself program. Tina Holst, Chilston, Wisconsin soybean farmer, took advantage of this opportunity last year and I caught up …
FMC Herbicides Part of #LibertyLink Rebate Program
Soybean growers looking to extend their weed control this season can be eligible for rebates when they link up LibertyLink® soybeans with FMC Authority® and Anthem® herbicides as part of the Soybean Residual program with FMC. At the National Farm Machinery Show last week, I talked with Mark Howard, FMC retail market manager for central Illinois, about the rebate program …
Remote Irrigation Monitoring Saves Time
Tanner Oliphant, with AgSense, shared the latest with AgWired while at the National Farm Machinery Show last week. AgSense is a web-based service that gives growers access to their pivot and irrigation information through their smartphone or computer. AgSense released a new product this year that integrates specifically with Valley digital panels. Remote monitoring allows customers to see where a …
Our Important Voice
From the time Roger Rickard was 13 years old he was driven by causes and has been politically minded ever since. His experiences along the way lead him to start Voices in Advocacy and write a book, “7 Actions of Highly Effective Advocates.” He brought his expertise to the stage addressing attendees of the 2016 National Young Farmers & Ranchers …