Pending trade deals, particularly the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), will be among the topics on the plate – along with lots of barbequed pork! – at the World Pork Expo this week. Just last week, the National Pork Producers Council joined with dairy, wheat and rice organizations in calling on the Obama administration to conclude the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations …
NCGA President Kicks off CUTC
The 2014 Corn Utilization and Technology Conference is underway today in Louisville, Kentucky and last night National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) president Martin Barbre welcomed attendees to the semi-annual event that this year focuses on wet and dry milling technologies and new uses. Barbre says the event brings together researchers with the common goal of facilitating the next ground-breaking technologies …
Promoting Kentucky Bourbon
If you’re going to have a Corn Utilization Conference why not start with America’s Native Spirit – Bourbon? That’s what got us kicked off for the 2014 CUTC. Our keynote speaker, Kristin Meadors, Director of Government and Regulatory Affairs for the Kentucky Distillers Association, told us all about bourbon and how important it is to the Kentucky economy. She brought …
The New AgWired and New AgWired App
You have probably noticed that AgWired looks “different.” It is. Very different. The ZimmComm team has completely re-built AgWired with hard work from our webmaster. This project was undertaken to consolidate our news network under the AgWired brand and provide a growth platform for the future. We still have some tweaks to do as we get comfortable with a new …
“New Era in Conservation” Launch
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) this week launched “a new era in American conservation efforts with an historic focus on public-private partnership.” Vilsack and Stabenow announced the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) Tuesday during a visit to the Saginaw Bay watershed of the Great Lakes agricultural region. “This is an entirely new approach …
Oregon GMO Bans Hurt All Farmers
Last week, two Oregon counties voted overwhelmingly to ban the cultivation of genetically engineered (GE) crops. The initiatives in Josephine County and Jackson County, which border California, passed by as much as a two to one margin. “This isn’t Monsanto or Syngenta, these are local farms that have been farming the way they have chosen here in the valley for …
Africa: Land of Opportunity
Africa: Land of Opportunity was a very popular session during the Alltech International Symposium. The session was chaired by Aidan Connolly, Alltech, who opened the session with some remarks about the African marketplace. Following that opening the session included multiple panel discussions like this one featuring, Fu Wenge, Chinese Ministry of Agriculture; Mark Lyons, Alltech; Julie Borlaug Larson, Texas A&M …
Alltech Scientists Speaking Out
The agricultural media covering the Alltech Symposium this week heard from several key scientists during a lunch session. This provided an opportunity to meet them and ask them questions in an informal setting outside of their on stage presentations. First up was Becky Timmons, Alltech Global Director of Applications Research and Quality. Becky loves to talk about algae and the …
School Lunch Food Fight
A school lunch food fight is underway between House Republicans and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The House Ag Appropriations Subcommittee FY 2015 bill approved this week would establish a waiver program for schools having trouble with provisions of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. Subcommittee chairman Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL) says the program is resulting in rising costs for schools …
Alltech Precision Agriculture Philosophy and Vision
Chief Scientific Officer for Alltech, Dr. Karl Dawson, caught my attention with his presentation at the Alltech Symposium titled, “What if we put true precision in “Precision Agriculture?” The focus was on animal agriculture, something most people don’t associate with the term precision agriculture. But as you’ll hear him say in an interview I conducted with him it is a …