Monsanto officials held a press call on Friday regarding “suspicious” evidence in the investigation of genetically engineered wheat plants found in an Oregon field last month that suggests it was possibly intentionally planted. “The evidence now collected, the fact patterns established and the original Roundup Ready CP-4 event appearing suddenly after 12 years, out of nowhere in a single field …
Connecting Beef Checkoff Funds With LMA
Everyone involved in the beef industry understands the importance of the beef checkoff program. And what better time to inform producers of this beef promotion tool then during the 2013 Livestock Marketing Association’s Annual Meeting & World Livestock Auctioneer Championship. Jimmy Maxy, Secretary/Treasurer for the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and cattleman from California, took in the event and spoke with Chuck …
Immigration Policy Forum in Kansas City
With the Senate poised to vote on comprehensive immigration reform this week, USDA held a forum on the issue Friday in Kansas City, featuring Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, former Kansas City mayor and current Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, and representatives of the nation’s dairy industry. “We are blessed by the most productive, most innovative and most hard-working farmers and ranchers,” Vilsack …
Montgomery Stockyards Hosted LMA Event
The 2013 Livestock Marketing Association’s Annual Meeting and World Livestock Auctioneer Championship recently took place in Montgomery, Alabama. The Montgomery Stockyards took the honor of hosting the convention and sponsored the Friday night meal and entertainment. Jerry Etheridge with Montgomery Stockyards met guests at Union Station where the event was held and Chuck met up with him there. The team …
Honey Bee Health at Bayer
Time to add bee care to the endless list of projects Bayer has taken on. During Bayer’s 150th Anniversary attendees had the opportunity to take in the mobile bee exhibit that is touring the country through trade shows and meetings. Robyn Kneed is the project lead for Bee Care at Bayer. She manages the bee camp programs throughout North America. …
Farm Bill Blame Game
The shock over the defeat of the farm bill in the U.S. House of Representatives had barely sunk in Thursday when the blame game began. It started on the floor of the House when Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) was giving an update on next week’s schedule and Minority Whip Steney Hoyer (D-VA) asked whether the student loan program would …
Seed Advocate Program Launched at ASTA Meeting
The American Seed Trade Association introduced their new seed advocate program at the 130th ASTA annual meeting. The intention of the program is to help grow grassroots leadership to communicate with policy makers about the seed industry. “We will provide them with the information and tools they need so they can continue that interaction with their government employees for positive …
House Farm Bill Goes Down in Defeat
Despite an impassioned plea by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas to “move this bill forward” the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013 (FARRM) failed on a vote of 194 to 234, with 60 Republicans joining the majority of Democrats to defeat the House version of the farm bill. “If it fails today, I can’t guarantee you’ll …
Bayer Supports Project in Honor of 150 Years
As part of Bayer’s 150th Anniversary celebration the Bayer Care Foundation has donated $790,000 to 150 projects from around the world. Nine of them are from the United States and three of them are based out of Bayer CropScience’s home state of North Carolina. The projects were chosen based on employee volunteer projects from across the country. The North Carolina …
IFAMA Student Competition Winners
A team of MBA students from Santa Clara University won first place in the IFAMA Student Case Competition Wednesday at the World Forum in Atlanta. The competition consists of teams representing universities worldwide who simulate a fast turnaround analysis and presentation which they make to a panel of senior management judges on a corporate hot topic. This year there were …