Brilliant, well-spoken and pretty as a doll, Dr. Charity Kawira Mutegi was everyone’s darling at the World Food Prize symposium last week. The 38-year-old researcher from Kenya received the 2013 Norman Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application, endowed by the Rockefeller Foundation, in recognition of her efforts to find the cause and a solution to a deadly outbreak of …
Genscape’s New Corn Forecast: 13.3B Bushels
Using NASA satellite data, Genscape has released an updated October corn yield forecast of 13.3 billion bushels. The company has noted that other analysts, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), have wide gaps in their predictions ranging from 13.2 billion bushels of corn produced during the 2013 growing season, to 14.2 billion bushels of corn. Genscape said a unique …
TATT Global Farmer Roundtable visits Couser Cattle
During the Truth About Trade and Technology (TATT) Global Farmer Roundtable we went to the Couser Cattle Company. Bill and Nancy Couser with son Tim produce corn and cattle just outside of Nevada, IA. When Tim graduated from Iowa State University, mom and dad strongly suggested that he spend some time in the corporate world before returning to the …
World Food Prize Winner Visits TATT Roundtable
One of the 2013 World Food Prize Laureates stopped by to visit the Truth About Trade and Technology Global Farmer Roundtable and talk about the importance of helping farmers around the world produce food more efficiently. “I’m always reminded by what Dr. Borlaug used to say, that hunger never sleeps, and that means we can’t sleep either,” said Dr. Robert …
Monsanto Increases Corn Rootworm Research Dollars
Monsanto Company is ponying up an additional $3 million in corn rootworm academic research which will extend the program, started earlier in the year, to 2016. Research projects that are rootworm-based will be able to receive up to $250,000 per year for three years. Areas of research include; economics of corn rootworm management, the development of predictive models, the …
Corn Grower Voice on Climate Change
The president of the National Corn Growers Association provided a voice for American farmers Monday at the Opening Ceremony for Climate Week NYC 2013 along with leaders from business and government all over the world. Iowa farmer Pam Johnson, who spoke alongside international notables including former United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair, President of World Bank Jim Kim, U.S. Special …
USDA September Crop Forecast
Despite a slowly maturing corn crop impacted by late summer heat, USDA upped its production forecast for the crop this year by a little bit instead of lowering it. Corn production is forecast at 13.8 billion bushels, up less than 1 percent from the August forecast and up 28 percent from 2012. If realized, this will be a new record …
Livestock is Big in Entre Rios Province, Argentina
I think my European twin son of a different mother, the AgroBlogger, said it best in a tweet upon returning from the 2013 IFAJ Congress in Argentina: “Back home for almost two days, but mentally still in this Gaucho-rhythm: Meat, Malbec, Mooh, Meat, Malbec, Mooh… #ifaj2013” For those of us who went on the livestock tour we were really in …
Talking Chemicals with Bayer
Bayer’s Media Luncheon during last week’s Farm Progress Show was a great opportunity to talk with experts in both fungicide and herbicide products. Randy Myers, Fungicides Product Manager for Bayer, was on hand to talk fungicides at the recent farm show. He covers fungicides across the board, but we specifically chatted about Stratego YLD and Prosaro in regards to corn, …
Corn Communicators Talk Maizall in Argentina
Communications directors of three major grain grower organizations in the United States were among those attending the IFAJ 2013 Congress in Argentina this week. It was the first time for Mindy Williamson with the Iowa Corn Promotion Board, Marri Carrow with U.S. Grains Council, and National Corn Growers Association Communications Director Ken Colombini to attend the international meeting of agricultural …