America’s Renewable Future (ARF) is less than one year old, but has already made an impact when it comes to educating presidential candidates about the importance of agriculture and renewable fuels. Eric Branstad, son of Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, was one of the main organizers of the coalition which just launched in January of this year. “Since then we’ve been …
NORA Spurring Bioheat, Biodiesel Production
John Huber is the President of the National Oilheat Research Alliance (NORA), the checkoff program for the oilheat industry. NORA has been helping spur the growth of Bioheat and ultimately biodiesel production. This week Huber was in Mankato, Minnesota participating in the Biodiesel & Bioheat Forum. His organization does research and development to create new equipment and new products for …
Grains Council Chair Stresses Excellence in Exports
Nebraska farmer Alan Tiemann was recently elected chairman of the U.S. Grains Council and he is excited about the work they are doing to expand exports of ethanol and the co-product Distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) used for livestock feed. “For this coming year, my theme is ‘Excellence in Exports,’” said Tiemann during an interview after his address to …
NAMA Boot Camp ZimmCast
This week the National Agri-Marketing Association’s annual Boot Camp is taking place in Kansas City, MO. The Chair for the conference this year is Michelle Jones, Iowa Soybean Association. During the conference Jamie Johansen spoke with her about this year’s schedule and how the conference was going. So, I’m sharing that interview in my ZimmCast this week. In case you …
Perry Says Americans Fed Up with DC
Former Texas Governor Rick Perry’s main message on the Des Moines Register soapbox at the Iowa State Fair this week was about getting America back to a constitutional country. Citing the 10th amendment, he stressed that power and decision making needs to go back to the state and to the people, as intended by our founding fathers, and taken away …
Biodiesel 2015 and Beyond
The Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council is conducting a first ever event today in Mankato, MN. The event, “Biodiesel 2015 & Beyond: A Biodiesel/Bioheat Forum,” brings together biodiesel industry market developers, researchers and a number of representatives of east coast oil heat and fuel companies. The open forum is providing an educational look at what’s going on in the …
Kasich Supports #Ag But Rubio Stays Silent
During the question portion of Ohio Governor John Kasich‘s time on the soapbox during the Iowa State Fair he stressed that he supports agriculture. Due to rain, Florida Senator Marco Rubio cut his remarks short and did not directly address the topic. Ohio Governor John Kasich shared his “bootstrap” story and shared other antidotes rather than really hitting hard on …
#Ag Not on Republican Soapbox Agenda
Apparently agriculture is not a main agenda item during the Iowa State Fair for many Republicans. During the Des Moines Register’s Soapbox series speeches, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and Senator from South Carolina Lindsey Graham failed to discuss any ag issues in detail and only Walker and Fiorina made comments but only when answering crowd questions. I …
Debt was Focus for Carson and Pataki in Iowa
Republican presidential hopefuls Dr. Ben Carson and former New York Governor George Pataki took the Des Moines Register Soapbox during the Iowa State Fair Sunday with a common message of reducing America’s debt. Dr. Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, focused much of his remarks on personal stories yet engaged the crowd with lessons learned. For example, he said, “The person who …
No #GetYourAgOn From These Candidates
There are a lot of candidates vying to be the next president of the United States floating around the Iowa State Fair, but for being in Iowa, many are missing the boat on two very important issues to the state – energy and agriculture. This weekend, presidential candidates Rick Santorum, former U.S. Senator of Pennsylvania (Republican); Lincoln Chafee, former Governor …