The 2012 Census of Agriculture released today by the USDA reveals less farms and new trends. The census reveals there are now 3.28 million farmers operating 2.1 million farms on 914.5 million acres of farmland across the United States. Those numbers are all lower than 2007 when the census reported 3.18 million farmers, 2.2 million farms and 922 million acres. …
RoboFlight Offers Affordable Ag UAVs
RoboFlight is a global company that deals in data acquisition including UAV platforms as well as full scale aircraft and satellite systems. Beyond the agricultural industry, RoboFlight also works in security, search and rescue, utilities, mining and insurance. Chuck interviewed Phil Ellerbroek, Global Director of Sales for RoboFlight, and he shared more about the company. RoboFlight acquired Aerial Precision Ag, …
REPREVE Launches New Biomass Crop System
A North Carolina-based biomass company has launched a brand new system for the production of high-yielding energy crops that can be used for renewable, bio-based products. REPREVE® RENEWABLES LLC is collaborating with farmers and landowners across the country to use the innovative biomass crop system grow giant miscanthus grass on marginal and underutilized land. REPREVE developed a comprehensive solution to …
More on IFAJ and the FAO Agreement
As announced earlier this week, the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists has signed an agreement with the FAO. Signing for IFAJ was current President, Marcus Rediger. This morning I spoke with Marcus via Skype and we talked about the agreement and what it means to IFAJ members (AAEA members here in the U.S.). Information from the FAO will be featured …
Walmart Highlights Ag Sustainability Pledges
Kicking off a new Sustainable Product Expo this week, the CEOs from more than a dozen global companies gathered at Walmart headquarters in Arkansas Tuesday to pledge to increase sustainable food production. Eight of the largest food companies announced pledges to help ensure that tomorrow’s food supply is affordable and sustainable for the nine billion people projected to inhabit the …
Farm Bureau Urges Ditching of EPA Water Rule
The Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed “Waters of the US” rule was published in the Federal Register last week – all 111,000 words of it. The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) responded with just three words – “Ditch the Rule”. AFBF Public Policy Director Dale Moore says the “ditch” part comes from the fact that a reading of the rule indicates …
New Center Strengthens Bayer Bee Commitment
Bayer CropScience has a long history of commitment to pollinator health and honey bees in particular and the new North American Bee Care Center builds on that foundation. “There’s been so much interest in pollinators over the last few years,” says Dr. Ian Kelley, Bayer Bee Health Issues Manager, who says they came up with the idea for the center …
New Ethanol Jobs Report
A new industry report shows how the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is creating jobs and significant economic impact. The Fuels America coalition has released an economic impact study by John Dunham & Associates showing that the industry supports more than 850,000 American jobs and drives $184.5 billion of economic output. Renewable fuels now represent nearly 10% of America’s fuel supply …
Bayer Bee Care Center for Canada Too
The new Bayer Bee Care Center opened last week in North Carolina is for all of North America, and that includes Canada where Murray Belyk is manager of scientific affairs for Bayer CropScience. “We share a lot of similarities with our U.S. colleagues,” says Murray. “We have similar crops, similar pests, similar tools – the concerns of beekeepers as well …
Queen Bee of Germany Bayer Bee Care Center
We already met the queen bee of the new Bayer CropScience North American Bee Care Center, now meet her counterpart at the first Bayer Bee Care Center in Monheim, Germany – Annette Schürmann. The German center opened at the global headquarters for Bayer CropScience in 2012. “We built it upon the research work that had been over the last 30 …