The recipients of the 2012 PrecisionAg Awards of Excellence were honored during the International Conference on Precision Agriculture. Thanks to Paul Schrimpf, group editor of the CropLife Media Group, for the photo since I could not stay for the luncheon at which the awards were presented. Pictured are the award winners with Elliott Nowels (l), Director of the PrecisionAg Institute, …
FMC’s Anthem to Slay the Dragon of Waterhemp
Weed control and management was a big topic of discussion during the recent Anthem Field Plot Tour in Ames, Iowa, and one weed seems to be standing out this summer more than the rest. “Waterhemp is currently THE dragon,” said Dr. Mike Owen of Iowa State University. “It’s the one that is the big problem. It’s the one that’s going …
Ag Leader Technology Good Fit with Wyffels
Over the past few days, we’ve been talking a lot about how the seeds from Wyffels Hybrids are important for producers to get the most out of their land. With a high-quality product like Wyffels, you also need to combine it with the right kind of technology that helps make sure you are getting the right amount of corn in …
USDA: Conservation Project Tour a “Real Gem”
You can’t underestimate the value that an event like the recent Indian Creek Watershed Project Field Tour. “It’s a real gem,” Ivan Dozier, Illinois State Conservationist with the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) told Chuck during one of the stops on the tour. He said he’s been involved in water shed planning for a long time, and it makes …
Drought Drawing National Attention
The widespread drought is now garnering national attention, with Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack today meeting with President Obama on the situation and giving a press briefing at the White House. Calling it the “most serious situation we’ve had in 25 years,” Secretary Vilsack said the president is fully informed about the damage being inflicted by the weather on crops …
NCBA Comments on EPA Dust Standard
The Environmental Protection Agency agreed with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and withdrew its proposed Livestock Reporting Rule late last week. Now, NCBA is hoping EPA will also agree on the dust standard. NCBA testified at an EPA hearing in Philadelphia Tuesday in opposition to any attempt to lower the coarse particulate matter (PM) standard as part of the …
Producers See Performance, Flexibility of Anthem
Not only are the folks at FMC anxious to see the release this fall by the EPA of the herbicide Anthem, but if the reaction at the recent Anthem Field Plot Tour in Ames, Iowa is any indication, so are the producers who showed up at the tour. Dean Getting, Retail Marketing Manager for FMC, said people were able to …
Below: 300-Bushel Corn is No Accident
Getting 300 bushels an acre out of corn takes careful planning and doesn’t happen by accident. That was the message from Dr. Fred Below of the University of Illinois gave to those attending the Wyffels Hybrids Corn Strategies event in Vincent, Iowa heard this year. “[Farmers] have to select the best hybrids; they have to feed those hybrids with the …
Ag Lender Sees Value of Conservation Tour
Who better than a person who makes long-term investments in the land, an ag lender, to offer an evaluation of the long-term conservation efforts on display at the recent Indian Creek Watershed Project Field Tour? “It’s a wonderful thing. It’s trying to let others know that farmers are being very responsible stewards of the land,” Gary Bressner, an ag lender …
Corn Growers Heading to Hill With Message
Corn growers are heading to Capitol Hill this week with a message – they want a farm bill NOW! “All of the NCGA corn farmers, 127 delegates are in Washington DC, and we’re going to present our message that we want a farm bill now,” said National Corn Growers Association president Garry Niemeyer of Illinois. “And hopefully we’re going to …