National Corn Growers Association CEO, Rick Tolman took the podium on his farewell tour to address the general session at the Fuel Ethanol Workshop in Indianapolis this week. It’s the 30th year for the workshop and during his remarks he commented on how things have changed in the last 30 years from the acres of corn planted and bushels harvested …
Farmers Dialoguing About Food
Two farmers got to discuss food on the panel for the USFRA Food Dialogues in Chicago this week. I visited with them and am sharing my conversations in this week’s ZimmCast. First up is Chuck Wirtz, a pork producer from Iowa. With the topic being “Integrity in Food Marketing” I wondered what that meant to the panelists so I asked …
BASF Ag Solutions Through Innovation
BASF – The Chemical Company – will be celebrating a pretty significant milestone next year. The company was established in 1865, which means it will be 150 years old in 2015. Andreas Kreimeyer, member of the board and Research Executive Director for BASF, says innovation is the reason they have survived so long. “Innovation is our life blood,” he said …
BASF Highlights North American Investment
At the BASF Ag Media Summit today, BASF North America Crop Protection Senior VP Nevin McDougall outlined the continued R&D investment his company is making to bring new agricultural products to market. “Our global investment is upwards of $2 million a day in agricultural research,” said McDougall. “Many of those research projects have direct application to North America.” That translates …
PEDV 101 From ISU’s Dr. Phillip Gauger
The talk of the 2014 World Pork Expo town: PEDV and the emergence that took the U.S. by storm. According to Dr Phillip Gauger, with Iowa State University, Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, between April 28 – May 4, 2013 they had four separate ISU-VDL submissions – one from Indiana and three from Iowa – from farms with no relationship. He and …
Elizabeth Leamy Moderates Food Dialogues
The moderator for today’s Food Dialogues in Chicago is Elizabeth Leamy, a journalist currently working as a correspondent for the Dr. Oz Show. At the conclusion of this morning’s live webcast panel discussion I got to talk with her about the experience. The topic of the discussion was Integrity in Food Marketing and my first question was what that means …
Dr. Dane Goede’s PRRS Swine Health Update
During a media dinner hosted by Boehringer Ingelheim (BIVI), during the 2014 World Pork Expo, attendees had the opportunity to learn a lot about what the industry is coining the 20th anniversary of PRRS (Porcine Reproductive & Respiratory Syndrome). The dinner kicked off with Reid Phillips, DVM PRRS technical brand manager for BIVI who gave the group a quick 20 …
DOT Grants Livestock Haulers Exemption
On Friday, the U.S. Department of Transportation granted a one-year exemption for truck drivers hauling livestock and poultry from an hours-of-service rule that took effect last July 1. The regulation requires truck drivers to take a 30-minute rest break after eight hours of service, which for drivers transporting livestock and poultry includes the hours of service loading and unloading animals. …
COOL Update at World Pork Expo
The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) provided an update on mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) during World Pork Expo this week. “We’re very concerned that if the current rule later this summer is ruled out of compliance by the WTO, the Canadians and Mexicans will then have a right to retaliate,” said NPPC Vice President John Weber of Iowa, …
Iowa Congressman Visits WPX
Rep. Steve King (R-IA) paid a visit to World Pork Expo last week to talk with producers and learn more about the issues they are facing right now. The congressman represents the 4th district of the state in the northwest corner, bordering Minnesota, South Dakota and Nebraska, and he is a strong advocate for livestock producers. During the farm bill …