Executives from DuPont Pioneer, Elanco and Monsanto all participated in a panel discussion at the World Food Prize Borlaug Dialogue last week on “Research and Returns: The Future of Agricultural Technology and Investment.” “In general, we’re talking about the importance of continued investment and innovation and taking it even further to consumer acceptance,” said panelist Rob Aukerman, President of US/Canada …
Farm Size Depends on Many Factors
The Boston Food Dialogues are underway here at The Station. Getting us started with opening remarks was Dr. A. Richard Bonanno, farmer and President of the Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation. I visited with him before we got started and asked him about his thoughts on the the topic here today of farm size and does it matter. He says “Everyone …
House Passes Water Resources Bill
The U.S. House of Representatives proved Wednesday that it can agree on some matters and get legislation passed in a bipartisan way. By an amazing 417 to 3 vote, the House passed the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA), a bill that includes provisions to update locks and dams on the nation’s transportation waterways critical to agricultural trade. The …
People Who Love Bugs Who Eat Bugs
The past president of the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation, Tamara Leigh, shows off her Bekina Boots in this photo with several researchers. Tamara was presenting them with a thank you gift for taking time to meet with us. We were assembled in the Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre during a stop on our CFWF farm tour. The Centre conducts research into …
What You’re Not Being Told About Food Production
Today the Animal Agriculture Alliance hosted a teleconference with various third-party experts to discuss industry improvements presented in the report “Advances in Animal Agriculture; What the Center for a Livable Future, Pew Commission and Others Aren’t Telling You About Food Production.” (pdf) Third-party experts on the call included: Dr. Richard Raymond, former Under Secretary, Food Safety Inspection Service, United States …
NCGA Chair is TATT Roundable Alumni
I was happy to see National Corn Growers Association Chairwoman Pam Johnson of Iowa at the World Food Prize symposium last week and interested to find out that she was a Truth About Trade and Technology Global Farmer Roundtable alumni. Pam had a seat at the global roundtable in 2010 and she was pleased to reconnect with some of her …
Commodity Classic and AG CONNECT Expo Join
The Association of Equipment Manufacturers, the National Corn Growers Association and the American Soybean Association today announced a new collaborative venture that joins two leading industry trade show experiences – Commodity Classic and AG CONNECT Expo & Summit – “to provide an even better world-class experience and gathering place for all segments of agriculture.” Commodity Classic is a joint venture …
Kenyan Researcher Honored at World Food Prize
Brilliant, well-spoken and pretty as a doll, Dr. Charity Kawira Mutegi was everyone’s darling at the World Food Prize symposium last week. The 38-year-old researcher from Kenya received the 2013 Norman Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application, endowed by the Rockefeller Foundation, in recognition of her efforts to find the cause and a solution to a deadly outbreak of …
Australian Farmer on TATT Roundtable
Australian farmer Andrew Weidemann along with his wife and youngest son attended the Wold Food Prize with Truth About Trade and Technologies (TATT) Global Farmer Roundtable. While chatting with Andrew outside of his roundtable role, I learned more about life on his farm in Victoria. He and his brother are in a partnership along with their families. They are also …
Understanding Agriburbia
Have you heard of the term agriburbia? If not then this panel discussion that took place during the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation Conference will be helpful. The panel was titled, “Fraser Valley: is there room for big agriculture in a small setting?” This tied in with the theme of the conference. Our panelists were Dr. Lenore Newman, Canada Research Chair …