During the 2021 Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Illinois this week, state officials led by Gov. JB Pritzker announced a grant award of $500,000 to increase farmer stress-related mental health initiatives statewide. The Illinois Department of Agriculture applied for the grant in coordination with Southern Illinois University Medicine Center for Rural Health and Social Service Development and University of Illinois …
Day Two of the 2021 Farm Progress Show
Hello from Decatur, IL and the second day of the Farm Progress Show. It’s another beautiful day with some cooler temperatures and lots of excitement in the air. The Golden ZimmComm Microphone got off to a great start yesterday with the current president of the National Corn Growers Association, John Linder, a farmer from Ohio. Linder and other association leaders …
Preview of 2021 Farm Progress Show
It is time for the 2021 Farm Progress Show. The activities kick off Tuesday morning and I’ll be on-site. To get a preview of this year’s live and in-person event I spoke with Show Manager, Matt Jungmann. Conditions in the fields look great, the exhibitors are finalizing set up and it looks like a big crowd will be on hand. …
Pro Farmer Estimates Top USDA Forecasts
Prior to this week’s Farm Journal Field Days, Pro Farmer, a division of Farm Journal, conducted it’s 29th annual Pro Farmer Crop Tour. To learn about the results I spoke with Brian Grete, Pro Farmer, about the data they collected across seven key midwestern states for corn and soybeans. You can listen in here. Interview with Brian Grete, Pro Farmer …
Field Notes from Koch Agronomic Services – Episode 13
The Field Notes podcast series from Koch Agronomic Services (Koch) breaks down the science and technology behind agronomy to help growers do more with less. The experts we’ve heard from on our previous episodes have covered topics ranging from how different crops use nitrogen to the 4R’s of Nutrient Stewardship and how growers and retailers work together to choose the …
USDA Adopts Market Transparency Policies Backed by NCBA
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association continues work toward and support policies that will help those working in all areas of the cattle industry. “There is no such thing as a silver bullet, one size fits all, policy solution to these issues. It’s going to have to be a multi-faceted broad approach where we kind of take little chunks out of …
Minnesota Ethanol Champion Addresses ACE
Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) may be from a more suburban area of Minnesota, but she clearly recognizes the value of agriculture and biofuels to her state. “I care about ethanol because I care about good ag and energy policy in this country,” said Craig during remarks today before the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) conference. “Ethanol drives rural investment, it …
NCBA Tackles Environmental Issues
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) continues to advocate on behalf of cattle producers when it comes to environmental policies regarding climate change and the nation’s waterways. “At the end of the day it’s opposing overburdensome regulation of the cattle industry, and supporting the science,” said Scott Yager, NCBA chief environmental counsel. “Making sure we have good common strategy and …
Taxing Concerns for Cattle Producers
One of the biggest concerns of cattle producers meeting last week at the Cattle Industry Convention is the potential negative impact imposing new transfer taxes would have on them. “Everybody’s talking about it being a death tax, but it actually occurs on gifting as well,” said National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Vice President Todd Wilkinson of South Dakota. “If they …
ZimmCast 676 – Ethanol and Sturgis Motorcycle Rally
Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast. Last week I attended the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, working primarily in the Buffalo Chip Campground with the Renewable Fuels Association. This is the 8th time I’ve had this opportunity to work with a group of great people, creating content during the various sponsorship activities. It is both an educational as well as promotional effort, …