The inventor of Schmacon, Howard Bender, accepted a challenge to do better than the turkey bacon he and a friend were eating one day. So he invented “Beef’s Answer to Bacon – Schmacon.” If you attended this year’s American Farm Bureau Federation convention you might remember being able to sample it. You can read his full story here (pdf). Smokey, …
Corn Yield Contest Winner Keeps Pushing
It got a little repetitive at the Commodity Classic corn banquet announcing the national winners of the Corn Yield Contest when Randy Dowdy of Valdosta, Georgia won six of the 18 categories. But Dowdy did make history last year with nearly 504 bushels per acre in his irrigated plot using DEKALB DKC 62-08, and he thinks he can do even …
Annual Commodity Outlook w/ Richard Brock
While at the 2015 Mid-South Farm & Gin Show, Richard Brock, of Brock Associates, gave his annual Commodity Outlook update to conference attendees. Brock’s session was packed with attendees hoping to gain insight into commodity markets. When asked about key takeaways for producers, Brock encouraged growers to shift acres to cotton if they’re in a cotton producing area as he …
USFRA Holds Research & Food Industry Workshop
I had the opportunity to catch up with U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) chairwoman Nancy Kavazanjian during the Commodity Classic to find out about their Research & Food Industry Workshop which was held just prior to Classic. “We’ve been doing research because to talk the talk we need to know what the consumers want to know, the messages that …
Bayer Issues Forum Shows Evolution of Innovation
Agribusinesses are reaching more and more into the innovation realm to help farmers stay at the top of production and meet the needs of a growing world population. Some have even characterized the process as an “evolution of innovation.” “The ag companies, and in particular, Bayer, have been very good at innovation in the past, and we’re very good at …
Smart Sensors & Cheap Connectivity Future of Ag
A combination of more, cheaper smart sensors and more connectivity could make the future of agriculture and food production pretty bright in this country. During the recent Bayer CropScience 10th annual Ag Issues Forum in Phoenix, Michael Rogers, who is an author, journalist and futurist, spoke to those gathered at the event about some of these global trends driving food …
Walker and Cruz at Iowa Ag Summit
Two potential presidential candidates who received a lot of media attention at the Iowa Ag Summit on Saturday were Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. Cruz, who has introduced legislation to repeal the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), was honest about his views, even though he said the “easy thing to do” would be to tell the …
Iowa Summit Generates National Coverage
The first Iowa Ag Summit featuring nine possible GOP presidential candidates put the spotlight on agricultural issues in the national media. Comments made by at the event by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, former New York Gov. George Pataki, former Texas …
Seed Education Campaign Taking Root
Registration is now open for the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) 132nd Annual Convention which will be in Washington DC this year, June 17-20, where members will be sowing seeds of information inside the Beltway. “One of the focuses there is going to be on advocacy,” said ASTA CEO Andy LaVigne at Commodity Classic, who adds that it will be …
Presidential Possibles Take on Ag Issues
Nine potential Republican presidential candidates were asked their opinions on various agricultural issues at the Iowa Ag Summit in Des Moines on Saturday. Each taking a seat on a stage with agribusiness entrepreneur Bruce Rastetter for 20-30 minutes were former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, South Carolina …