Following President Obama’s directive last week to take additional steps to support struggling producers, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack today announced new measures that will help livestock and crop farmers in drought-stricken areas of the country. Vilsack announced new flexibility and assistance in USDA conservation programs to get help to livestock producers as the most wide-spread drought in seven decades …
Sustainability in Bayer CropScience Expansion
During the Bayer CropScience Greenhouse 5 grand opening, Chuck took a few minutes to sit down with James Blome, president and CEO for Bayer CropScience LP and head of Crop Protection for the North American region. Sustainability was the goal for Bayer CropScience as plans came into place in building Greenhouse 5. “Greenhouse 5 is our lastest expansion with 62,000 …
Agvocating With Kenny Wallace
Illinois Corn Growers got to hang out with “The Agvocate” Kenny Wallace at Chicagoland Speedway today. It’s NASCAR racing weekend and Kenny will be driving in tomorrow’s Nationwide STP 300 race. Kenny attracted a big crowd to the exhibit area outside the grandstands this afternoon. He talked to them and signed autographs for an hour. I heard one fan say …
House Ag Committee Chair at Peanut Conference
Peanut growers are very happy with House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK) for his work in crafting a farm bill that is very different than the Senate bill in that it addresses the needs of southern farmers. Speaking at the Southern Peanut Growers Conference in Panama City Beach on Saturday, Rep. Lucas (R-OK) went through the process of how …
Bayer CropScience Greenhouse 5 Grand Opening
The ribbon has been cut to open the Bayer CropScience Greenhouse 5. This massive facility will be the home to corn/soybean/cotton/canola research as soon as the company can get “moved in.” This morning we got a tour of the facility and you can see photos just as soon as I get them uploaded to the photo album. To learn more …
Other New Products Promoted During Anthem Tour
While the focus of the recent Anthem Field Plot Tour in Ames, Iowa, has been on FMC‘s new herbicide, Anthem, farmers are also hearing about some other new FMC products in the works. One of those is Marvel. “This is a combination of two PPO products,” Brent Neuberger, Senior Technical Sales Manager for FMC, told Chuck during an interview. Neuberger …
Bayer CropScience Opens New Greenhouse
Bayer CropScience is about to cut the ribbon on the grand opening of Greenhouse 5 in RTP, NC. I’m here for the grand opening and will be conducting interviews and learning more about this new facility and the kind of work Bayer is doing in the seed and trait area. To get a preview I spoke with Scott Kohne during …
Drop in USDA Estimates Talk of Wyffels Event
Some significant drops in USDA’s expected corn and soybean yields due to the drought have been the talk of the recent Wyffels Hybrids Corn Strategies event. “USDA took 20 bushels off of its yield, end of July, and dropping the soybean yield down to 40 and a half bushels… that makes a huge statement, and USDA probably thinks it’s smaller …
Peanut Growers Gather to Work and Play
The 14th annual Southern Peanut Growers Conference kicked off Thursday with the usual scoop of southern hospitality at the ice cream registration reception. Georgia Peanut Commission Executive Director Don Koehler is very excited about this year’s meeting of the Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi peanut producers. “It’s our biggest conference we’ve ever had, largest attendance. We’ve got more sponsors, we’ve …
GROWMARK: Uniting for Conservation is Refreshing
Different groups coming together for a common good… that’s the name of the game on the recent Indian Creek Watershed Project Field Tour. Chuck caught up with one of our good friends from GROWMARK, Howard Brown, manager of agronomy services and one of the participants during the tour. He said it was refreshing to see various groups coming together to …