A giant in the plant breeding and genetics world was honored by the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) and the National Council of Commercial Plant Breeders (NCCPB) during the CSS 2015 and Seed Expo last week in Chicago. Donn Cummings retired from Monsanto after 30 years as a corn plant breeder, spending the last eight years of his career developing …
#ASTACSS Taking Cover Crops Mainstream
A diverse panel covered the topic of cover crops at the ASTA CSS 2015 and Seed Expo this week, exploring how the practice is starting to hit the mainstream. David Pearl with the CISCO Companies in Indianapolis, who serves as chair of the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) Cover Crops Working Group, says this was the first full cover crops …
Iowa Corn Gets Bio Process Patent
The Iowa Corn Promotion Board (ICPB) has gotten a patent application accepted for a production method using corn in the industrial manufacturing of a raw material called monoethylene glycol (MEG). “Patenting this research will lead to advances in the production processes for corn-based bio-MEG eliminating the need for the petroleum ethylene derivatives currently used and creating demand for Iowa corn,” …
Corn Growers Talk Sustainability at Climate Change Talks
American corn farmers were talking about just how sustainable U.S. agriculture is during the recent COP21 United Nations climate talks in Paris this week. The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) says the group shared U.S. corn farmers’ perspectives on a wide array of sustainability and environmental issues. The event, hosted by Field to Market, Business for Social Responsibility and Pepsico, …
TPP Big Topic for Ag Groups at #NAFB15
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is no doubt the biggest issue for ag groups at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting convention in Kansas City this week. Representatives from six national farm groups joined USDA Foreign Agricultural Service Administrator Phil Karsting in Kansas City Wednesday for a press event to discuss the TPP. The event featured farmer leaders from the American …
ArmezonPRO Receives EPA Regislation For Use in Corn
Armezon PRO herbicide, from BASF, has received full EPA regislation. Armezon® PRO herbicide provides long-lasting residual control of emerged grass and broadleaf weeds. “Growers want flexible options to control weeds based on their farm’s needs,” said Daniel Waldstein, Technical Market Manager, Ph.D., BASF. “Armezon PRO herbicide has a wide application window and low use rate, resulting in time, storage and …
Senate Disapproves of #WOTUS
By a vote of 53-44, the U.S. Senate passed a joint “resolution of disapproval” of the EPA Clean Water rule known as ‘Waters of the United States’ (WOTUS). Resolution sponsor Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) says the action would “put an end to” the expanded EPA rule. “Our resolution stops the EPA from continuing to act as an unchecked federal agency …
DOT Announces Registration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced that recreational users of unmanned aerial systems, or drones, must register their systems with the federal government. A task force will be created to develop recommendations for a registration process for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said, “Registering unmanned aircraft will help build a culture of accountability and responsibility, especially …
RFS Uncertainty Hurting Farm Income
The uncertainties around the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) are threatening farm income and hurting the economic stability of rural economies. A new white paper from the National Farmers Union (NFU) and the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), using recent USDA data on net cash income for American farmers and ranchers, states that income is expected to decline by 26 percent …
Growers Adopting Enogen Corn for Ethanol
Growers are adopting Enogen corn for ethanol production and acres are expected to exceed 400,000 in 2016. Syngenta said there were 225,000 acres in production during the 2015 growing season and with the expected expansion and 16 ethanol plants utilizing the biotech corn designed specifically to enhance ethanol production, 1 billion gallons of ethanol per year will be produced. “This …