West Central Expands SoyPlus Plant in Iowa

Jamie Johansen

West Central celebrated a big announcement this morning at their headquarters in Ralston, Iowa. The manufacturer of SoyPlus, an industry-leading high bypass protein dairy feed, made public their plans for expansion of the SoyPlus plant to increase production capacity by 50%. The $27 million investment will include an additional line of mechanical presses, soybean storage, soybean oil storage, finished product …

Agribusiness, Audio, Dairy, Nutrition, Soybean

World Pork Kicks Off with Positive Forecast

Joanna Schroeder

World Pork Expo kicked off this morning in rainy conditions but the weather is not hampering the estimated 20,000 attendees coming through the gates this week for the largest international trade show dedicated to all things pigs. With more than 400 exhibitors plus dozens of educational events, this year is sure to be a winner. The National Pork Producers Council …

Agribusiness, Audio, NPPC, Pork, Swine, Trade, World Pork Expo

Agvocating for a Thirsty Land

Chuck Zimmerman

Conrad Weaver just announced a collaboration with the AgChat Foundation on his latest documentary project, Thirsty Land. The AgChat Foundation is the in-kind “Fiscal Sponsor” and fundraising partner of “Thirsty Land” film. The Foundation will provide fundraising support as a 501c3 non-profit organization, enabling Weaver to receive grants, and other tax-deductible donations for the film project. Weaver is launching a …

Ag Groups, Audio, Water, ZimmCast

Carbon Footprinting Gives a Market Edge

Jamie Johansen

No matter what business you are in, having an edge on the market only makes sense. A company’s carbon footprint is very important in today’s marketplace. Are you being a REBEL and identifying your’s? Alltech ECO2 collects farm information, calculates the carbon footprint and then helps put plans into place to reduce that footprint. Andrew Wynne, Business General Manager for …

Agribusiness, Alltech, Audio

New Holland Finalist Celebrates with Florida Georgia Line

John Davis

One of theNew Holland Voice of the Next Gen Contest winners got a special way to celebrate her birthday. Rachel Markwiese of Chicago, Illinois, celebrated her 23rd birthday as one of the five finalists in the contest who traveled to Hershey, Pennsylvania, to meet Tyler Hubbard and enjoy a Florida Georgia Line concert. “This is the best birthday present ever!” …

Agribusiness, Audio, New Holland

Growing the Farmers Business Network

Chuck Zimmerman

In a very short amount of time the Farmers Business Network (FBN) has not only registered a lot of farmers as members but also millions of acres. This means there is a big and growing amount of data in the system. In this week’s ZimmCast you can listen to Charles Baron, co-founder, talk about what the Farmers Business Network has …

Agribusiness, Audio, data, Farming, Precision Agriculture, ZimmCast

Antimicrobials in Livestock – A Thing of the Past?

Jamie Johansen

Dr. Karl Dawson, Chief Scientific Officer and VP at Alltech, talked antibiotics at the recent REBELation in the beef breakout session. Companies like McDonald’s and Costco have said no to antibiotics. Is it time for the industry to be a REBEL and say no too? “The term antibiotic is somewhat controversial. I prefer to talk about antimicrobials. The use of …

Agribusiness, Alltech, Audio, Livestock

Pharmacist is New Holland ‘Next Gen’ Finalist

John Davis

A pharmacist from Canada might not know a lot about blue tractors, but she knew enough about the song to be a New Holland Voice of the Next Gen Contest winner. Melinda Lee is from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, and was turned on to the contest by a Facebook friend. “They didn’t want to sing themselves, so they sent it to …

Agribusiness, Audio, New Holland

Administration Finalizes WOTUS with Few Changes

Cindy Zimmerman

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army finalized the Clean Water Rule that has become known as the Waters of the United States or WOTUS. According to EPA, the rule “ensures that waters protected under the Clean Water Act are more precisely defined and predictably determined, making permitting less costly, easier, and faster for businesses and industry.” The …

Audio, EPA, Water

Agri-Pulse Open Mic with Rep. Adrian Smith

John Davis

Agri-Pulse Open Mic this week features U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith. The Republican representing Nebraska’s 3rd District outlines a challenging agenda for House members following the Memorial Day break. As a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, Smith expects a great deal of debate over Trade Promotion Authority, tax reform, and identifying financial resources for the Highway Trust Fund. …

Agri-Pulse, Audio