Joe Swedberg is Vice President of Legislative Affairs of Hormel Foods Corporation and currently chairman of the Minnesota Agri-Growth Council, the coordinators of the gala AgNite event held in the Twin Cities on the second night of the Republican National Convention. Joe was also on hand earlier Tuesday during a potato-packing event held at Second Harvest Heartland to highlight the …
FFA Helping Educate at AgNite
The primary purpose of AgNite was to showcase and educate attendees about agriculture. What better way than to have your state FFA officers on hand? One of them was Sydney Place who is Minnesota FFA State Reporter. Sydney had an exciting day because she not only attended AgNite but it was also her first day of college. She says, “It …
Agribusinesses Proud to Sponsor AgNite
CHS is a Minnesota-based, farmer-owned, diversified agribusiness that was a proud sponsor of the AgNite event held on the second night of the Republican National Convention in the Twin Cities. CHS Governmental Affairs Director Jim Bareksten is a board member of the Minnesota Agri-Growth Council, which coordinated the gala event celebrating food, agriculture and bioenergy – all of which are …
Former Ag Secretary Attends AgNite
One of the thousands who attended the non-partisan AgNite event held in the Twin Cities on the second night of the Republican National Convention was former agriculture secretary John Block, who is currently serving as co-chairman of John McCain’s Farm and Ranch committee. Block was impressed and proud at the turnout at the event. “To me that suggests that agriculture …
THE Big Event at the RNC
There is no question that AgNite is THE “go-to” event in the Twin Cities this second evening of the Republican National Convention. Organizers were expecting 3-4,000 and that expectation has been surpassed. As someone said, “What if you threw a party and everyone showed up?” It sure seems like that has happened here. One of the people responsible for making …
AgNite Will Help Hurricane Relief Efforts
The Minnesota Agri-Growth Council is the organization hosting AgNite in Minneapolis. Their President is Daryn McBeth, seen here being interviewed by Cindy. This was at the Feeding America food packing event held at their local network affiliate, Second Harvest Heartland. Second Harvest Heartland is also a member of the Council and Daryn says the unique partnerships between the food bank …
Second Harvest Heartland Potato Packing
Second Harvest Heartland of Minnesota pulled in volunteers from the Republican National Convention Tuesday to help pack close to a million pounds of potatoes at their headquarters warehouse in St. Paul. Executive Director Rob Zeaske says the potatoes are supplied by a generous donor from St. Cloud who prefers to remain anonymous. “Last year they gave us 750,000 pounds of …
More Monsanto Sustainability
The potential for increasing yields exists everywhere if you ask Michael Doane. Michael is the Sustainability Team Lead for Monsanto. He spoke at the Monsanto discussion on sustainability on the 2008 Farm Progress Show last week. After his speech, I caught up with him and we spoke more about how he thinks the world will answer the global food demands …
Biotechnology Feeds Sustainability, Feeds the World
Thirty-three percent of the land’s surface is used for food production. That’s the figure that John Hoffman, Iowa farmer and President of the American Soybean Association puts out there. He says that 33 percent makes up 55 percent of the land that’s arable. So, we’re already using more than half the arable land out there to feed the world. Much …
Farmers get FIT with Mapping
Pioneer is offering a new, free service that it says can give farmers more: more information and more uses for that information. Pioneer Hi-Bred’s FIT mapping combines GPS data with a free mapping service offering farmers detailed information about their crops, where they’re growing their crops and whether they’re growing them in way that maximizes their resources. Did I mention …