I met Neil Dierks, CEO, National Pork Producers Council, in New Orleans and got to talk with him about issues facing swine producers this year. A big one has to do with food security. He says, “The world is shrinking. Globalization is real which means pathogens can cross borders very rapidly which can raise questions on health in the herds.” …
Record Year At Mid-South Farm & Gin Show
The 64th Annual 2016 Mid South Farm & Gin Show was held last week at the Cook Convention Center in Memphis, Tennessee. The event has been held in the same location since its beginning, and is sponsored by the Southern Cotton Ginners Association(SCGA). The spacious facility offered the 17,000 attendees a four-story trade show, hosting 400 exhibitors from around 40 …
Swine Vets Learn from Other Animal Ag Vets
Prior to the start of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV) in New Orleans, a group of swine vets heard from their counterparts in cattle, poultry and aquaculture during a Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica (BIVI) seminar. Dr. Nels Lindberg of Kansas belongs to a team of veterinarians known as Production Animal Consultation. For him, the most important controllable factor for …
BIVI Starts Healthy at #AASV2016
Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc. (BIVI) got the 2016 American Association of Swine Veterinarians meeting off to a healthy start Friday with a twist on their traditional pre-AASV Swine Health Seminar, hearing from vets in other animal agriculture fields. “It was a very unique program, different than what we’ve had in the past,” said Dr. Nathan Schaefer, BIVI Professional Service Veterinarian. …
Senators Cochran & Thune Honored by Ag Retailers
The Agricultural Retailers Association recently recognized two legislators who have lead efforts to defend the industry’s freedom to operate: Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.). Both were named ARA’s 2015 Legislator of the Year. ARA recognized Sen. Cochran, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, for his determined efforts on behalf of the agricultural industry during his years …
Largest Indoor Ag Trade Show Meets Expectations
The National Farm Machinery Show continues to be one of the largest-attended events at the Kentucky Exposition Center. Held Feb. 10 – 13 this year, attendees, exhibitors and agribusiness professionals totaled 295,258. Our team has brought you audio and photos from the event and want to once again thank our sponsors New Holland Agriculture and FMC. You can find our …
AFBF and USDA Team to Unveil TPP Benefits Report
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 …