The 2012 Annual Meeting of the Agricultural Relations Council takes place this week in Charleston, SC. I’ll be on site starting Wednesday afternoon and will bring you all the sights and sounds that I can. To get a preview of this year’s ARC annual meeting agenda I spoke with ARC President, Mace Thornton, AFBF. Mace says more people are attending …
FMC Stand Up and Be Heard Anthem Contest
How would you like a chance to sing the National Anthem on national tv? It’s possible if you win the FMC “Stand Up and Be Heard Anthem Contest.” We’re investing in farming’s future with our new Anthem™ herbicide (coming soon—EPA registration pending) and $25,000 in college scholarships as prizes in our Anthem Singing Contest. Beginning soon, enter by submitting a …
Pioneer FIT® Harvest Mapping System
During Commodity Classic Pioneer Hi-Bred was talking about farmers getting FIT®. At first I thought this was a new exercise program but it is actually the Pioneer FIT® Harvest Mapping System. I got the full explanation from John Chism, Pioneer Senior Marketing Manager. He says FIT stands for Field Information Tool. As farmers look to 2012 planting John says the …
Multiple Pathogens Multiply Costs for Pork Producers
When it comes to pathogens in swine, one plus one amounts to more than just two, according to Dr. Tom Painter, Director of Veterinary Health Services for Cargill Pork. He told other swine vets at the Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica (BIVI) Swine Health Seminar in Denver last week about a study they did on the economic costs of different combinations of …
Midwest 2011 Farm Mom of the Year
During the Commodity Classic I met April Hemmes, 2011 Midwest Region winner of the Monsanto Farm Mom of the Year contest. Thanks to Janice Person for taking the photo. April is the farmer in the family. Her husband works at a job in town. She was nominated by her daughter. Here’s an excerpt of the essay she wrote for the …
BASF Personality Profile – Neil Bentley
We’re starting a new series here on AgWired to tell you more about the people behind the products at BASF Crop Protection. Our first BASF Personality Profile features Neil Bentley, Director of Marketing for BASF’s U.S. crop business. Neil started his career in retail agriculture in northwest Illinois and became a sales rep for BASF and American Cyanamid (dating yourself …
Outstanding Young Farmers Attend Ag Day Activities
During National Agriculture Day activities we heard from 2011 National Outstanding Young Farmer Chad Budy and his wife Danielle from Oklahoma. They were introduced during our Meet & Mingle lunch. Chad and Danielle were introduced by Orion Samuelson. Both Chad and Danielle come from families with five generations in farming. They have a diversified farm of row crop and livestock. …
The Expanding World of Hog Feed Choices
Once upon a time, commercial hog diets consisted mainly of corn and soybeans, but the menu has greatly expanded out of necessity since commodity prices increased a few years ago. That expansion has brought with it both opportunities and challenges for producers, according to Iowa State University Professor of Animal Science Dr. John Patience, who spoke to swine veterinarians last …
Increasing Productivity Through Innovation
I met Lykele vanderBroek, Global COO, Bayer CropScience, during the 2012 Ag Issues Forum. He was on the welcoming committee to all the media who attended this event. When it was my turn for an interview with him I asked him what take away message he wanted us to have. He says that global trends like increasing population, higher affordable …
Important Issues to Sorghum Producers
During Commodity Classic I got to visit with Terry Swanson, Chairman, National Sorghum Producers. I asked him what his message is to not only sorghum producers but all the farmers belonging to the four commodity groups at Classic and he says, “We have to be unified.” He says that altogether they’re still a small group of people that need to …