Update on John Deere Acquisitions

Chuck Zimmerman

Earlier this month John Deere announced a couple of big acquisitions that include Precision Planting and Monosem. During the NAFB convention I got an update on those from Barry Nelson. The Monosem purchase allows John Deere to expand their planter lineup on a truly global basis when included with the Precision Planting purchase. The brand names will be continued according …

Agribusiness, Audio, Equipment, John Deere, NAFB, Precision Agriculture

Agri-Pulse Open Mic with Rep. Mike Conaway

John Davis

Agri-Pulse Open Mic this week features Ag Committee Chairman Mike Conaway. Conaway discusses what promises to be a frantic start to December as the U.S. Congress faces a deadline to approve omnibus appropriations legislation. Chairman Conaway is intent to see protection from budget cuts for the farm bill and crop insurance. In this interview, Conaway calls for administrative changes in …

Agri-Pulse, Audio, Cotton

USFRA Educational Initiative – Discovering FARMLAND

Chuck Zimmerman

The U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance has announced a new education initiative that will provide high school students a first-hand glimpse into modern agriculture. The project has been created in conjunction with Discovery Education. Titled Discovering FARMLAND, the interactive resources allow teachers and students to experience the industry through the eyes of six young farmers and ranchers, all while learning …

Ag Groups, Audio, Education, USFRA

Propane Expansion is Good News for Ag Producers

John Davis

Propane is expanding in production and the options for its use. During the recent National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) convention in Kansas City, Missouri, Cindy caught up with Cinch Munson from the Propane Education and Research Council (PERC) who said that there are 102.4 million barrels of propane in storage right now – a nearly 30 percent increase from …

Audio, NAFB, PERC, Propane

Update from @Better_Seed at #NAFB15

Cindy Zimmerman

It’s always a pleasure for me to catch up with the sweet and lovely president of the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA), Risa DeMasi. We’ve been friends for three years now since she started her journey in the leadership of ASTA and it’s been really exciting to watch her grow into such a great spokesperson for such an important industry. …

ASTA, Audio, NAFB, Seed

CFI Study on Consumer Trust in Food

Cindy Zimmerman

New research from the Center for Food Integrity (CFI) shows that improved transparency increases consumer trust in food. CFI CEO Charlie Arnot says they surveyed 2,000 people to discover which attributes are most important to consumers when it comes to trust-building transparency – policies, practices, performance or verification. “What consumers really want to know more about is practices,” said Arnot. …

Audio, Food, Research

New NAFB Officers

Chuck Zimmerman

Congratulations to the new slate of National Association of Farm Broadcasting officers and board members elected during the convention last week. President: Brian Winnekins, WRDN Radio, Wisconsin President Elect: Tony St. James, KDDD and KFLP Radio, Texas Vice President: Tom Cassidy, Ag Radio Network, New York South Region VP: Lorrie Boyer, KSIR Radio, Colorado West Region VP: Sabrina Hill, AgNet …

Audio, Media, NAFB, ZimmCast

#NAFB15 Last Trade Talk for AFBF President

Cindy Zimmerman

It’s been 16 years that Bob Stallman has represented the American Farm Bureau Federation as president and he’s been at NAFB Trade Talk for most, if not all, of those years. But this year was his last as president since he announced in July that he will be retiring from the post – to do whatever he wants. “I told …

AFBF, Audio, NAFB

BASF Crop Protection Aids Growers in 2015

Cindy Zimmerman

2015 was a challenging year for growers with low commodity prices, weird weather and heavy disease pressure, but fungicide products from BASF Crop Protection definitely helped farmers get the most from their crops. “The one thing farmers can do when markets look like they do is increase yield,” said Dr. Megan Andriankaja, BASF Fungicides Technical Marketing Manager, during an interview …

Audio, BASF, Crop Protection, Fungicide, NAFB

EPA Official at #NAFB15

Cindy Zimmerman

EPA agricultural counselor Ron Carleton was at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting Trade Talk last week to discuss ways the agency is working to partner with farmers and ranchers for the benefit of all. “I understand that the relationship between EPA and agriculture over the years has not been necessarily been warm and fuzzy,” said Carleton, who was appointed …

Audio, Environment, EPA, NAFB