Syngenta Seeds launched a new NK® seed selection tool at the Farm Progress Show that combines artificial intelligence, two decades of agronomic information and a simple user interface, to provide farmers with data-driven seed recommendations. The NK® Seed Analyzer allows retailers and farmers to proactively plan for weather volatility, soil variability and planting specifications by seeing actual results from numerous …
US and Japan Shake on Trade Deal
During the G-7 summit in France Sunday, President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shook hands on a deal “in principle” that involves agricultural products. “(We) have excess corn in various parts of our country, with our farmers, because China did not do what they said they were going to do,” said President Trump. “And Prime Minister Abe, …
USDA Updates Acreage and Production Forecasts
In the August Crop Production report released today, USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) revised planted acres downwards, while at the same time increasing corn production to 13.9 billion bushels and raising the average national yield by more than 3 bushels to 169.5 bushels an acre in the latest World Agricultural Supply and Demand (WASDE) report. NASS noted that survey …
Farm and Biofuel Groups Dismayed by EPA Refinery Waivers
Small refinery waivers will continue to take a chunk out of the gallons of biofuel that should be blended into our nation’s transportation fuel supply under the Renewable Fuel Standard, thanks to the Environmental Protection Agency’s announcement late Friday that granted 31 more exemptions, representing 1.43 billion gallons of additional lost RFS demand. Only six of the requests for 2018 …
Wyffels Aims to Serve Those Who Served
A new program from Wyffels Hybrids gives farmers an opportunity to support America’s military veterans. The program, launched in July 2019, is called Serving Those Who Served. For the 2020-21 growing season, the initiative will benefit Homes For Our Troops. For every bag of W5086RIB sold, Wyffels Hybrids will donate $2 back to the Homes For Our Troops program. In …
Coalition Goes to Court Over Biofuel Waivers
A coalition of seven agricultural and biofuels organizations is seeking court action to force the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to account for lost biofuel volumes resulting from small refinery exemptions granted by the agency. The coalition consisting of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE), Growth Energy (Growth), National Biodiesel Board (NBB), National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), …
Companies Partner to Expand Corn Hybrid Choices
Benson Hill Biosystems has entered into a partnership with Brownseed Genetics, a Wisconsin-based seed breeder of new corn hybrids that are higher in both oil content and essential amino acids. The new Brownseed hybrids, developed through conventional breeding methods, yield about 9 percent corn oil – nearly triple the normal production – and are rich in the amino acids lysine …
Corn Growers Continue Call for #NoMoreWaivers
The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) is continuing to call on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to follow President Trump’s commitment to farmers and stop giving Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) waivers to big oil companies. NCGA is re-running a television ad that first aired last month after President Trump visited an Iowa ethanol plant and heard from NCGA first vice …
Consider Corn Challenge Winners Announced
The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) announced the winners of the Consider Corn Challenge II this week at the BIO World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and AgTech in Des Moines, Iowa. Three winners were chosen, each with a unique technology to improve a product or process using field corn to produce biobased materials. ExoPolymer, Inc. intends to create a new …
Biofuels Groups Blast EPA for RFS Proposed Volumes
The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday (EPA) issued proposed volume requirements under the Renewable Fuel Standard program for calendar year 2020, leaving them basically unchanged and not reallocating gallons lost due to small refinery exemptions. Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) president and CEO Geoff Cooper says the proposal “completely betrays President Trump’s commitment” to uphold the integrity of the RFS by …