During a visit to a farm in Moline, Illinois Monday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the award of $15.7 million in Conservation Innovation Grants (CIGs) to 47 organizations that will help develop and demonstrate cutting-edge ideas to accelerate innovation in private lands conservation, funded through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Almost half of the grants announced support the agency’s …
Missouri Right To Farm Prevails in Recount
The recount is complete for Amendment 1, the Missouri Farming Rights Amendment, and the very close Aug. 5 election results have been upheld. “It changed slightly but the original result does stand,” said Mike Deering, Missouri Cattlemen’s Association executive vice president. “Amendment One has passed in the state of Missouri, forever guaranteeing Missouri farmers and ranchers the right to do …
New Anhydrous Applicator from John Deere
The recent increase in continuous corn acres requires rugged nutrient application equipment that keeps pace with today’s intensive crop production. The tough new John Deere 2410C Anhydrous Applicator gives customers in the anhydrous ammonia applicator business exactly what they need. John Deere engineers designed the 2410C Applicator from a field-proven frame design to meet the specific needs of operators, including …
What’s New with Bayer Stratego YLD
Bayer CropScience’s Thorsten Schwindt and Randy Myers both work in the company’s fungicide department. They shared with us during the Farm Progress Show what was going on with Stratego YLD, how growers can utilize it to get greater return on investment and what we can see coming out of Bayer’s research and development labs when it comes to fungicides. “Stratego …
Farming in Scotland
The President of the National Farmers Union in Scotland is Nigel Miller. farms 550 hectares in partnership with two of his sons in the Scottish Borders. His upland hill farm supports 175 cows and 950 breeding ewes. He was one of speakers at the IFAJ Congress in Aberdeen. Nigel is not shy about expressing his opinion and shared some statistics …
Big Crops Getting Bigger
USDA has increased its estimate of both the corn and soybean crops this month, building on already forecast record highs. Corn production is forecast at 14.4 billion bushels, up 3 percent from both the August forecast and from 2013. Based on conditions as of September 1, yields are expected to average 171.7 bushels per acre, up 4.3 bushels from the …
John Deere’s New ExactEmerge Planter
John Deere is breaking the planting speed and accuracy barriers of traditional row-crop planting with the introduction of a new seed delivery system. With the launch of their ExactEmerge row unit for the most accurate planting at speeds up to 10 mph and the new industry-leading MaxEmerge 5 row units for planting at traditional speeds, customers can now plant with …
Food Prices Not Following Corn Down
Just two years ago when corn prices were up due to the drought, critics were blaming higher food prices on the use of corn for ethanol. Today, corn prices are lower than the cost of production, but food prices are still rising. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) has released a new report that shows how false food versus fuel claims …
2014 IFAJ Congress Wrap
I’m calling on all AAEA, LPC, NAAJ and NAFB members to put the annual IFAJ Congress on your calendars. In October 2015 it will be in New Zealand! But let’s take a listen to some information about last week’s Congress in Scotland. First up in the program is opening remarks from the British Guild of Agricultural Journalists’ Jane Cragie. Then …
Bayer CropScience Expanding R&D
The opening of the new Bayer CropScience research and development facility last week in Sacramento will allow the company to better leverage its full capabilities by consolidating and expanding its global R&D organization. “The investment into this state-of-the-art facility creates an environment where our researchers and experts can find the best possible conditions to discover solutions that growers across the …