During the CTIC Indian Creek Watershed Project field tour we heard a presentation from Cristina Negri, an agronomist with the Argonne National Laboratory. Cristina told us about a project they are working on in the watershed to see what types of agricultural production will work best for biofuels. They’re looking for marginal land that doesn’t lend itself to growing corn …
Wyffels Corn Strategies Strategy
2011 marks the seventh year for Wyffels Corn Strategies and it just continues to get bigger and better. I talked with event coordinator Matt Barnard and Wyffels Hybrids director of marketing Jeff Hartz, pictured here together enjoying the Illinois event on Wednesday. The concept for the event started in 2005 when the company gathered a small group of growers at …
Illinois Farm Family Hosts Wyffels Corn Strategies
The Wyffels Corn Strategies 2011 event in Illinois this week was hosted by one of the best looking farm families you’ll ever see. Pictured here, starting with Bill Wyffels on the left, are Mike and Susan Pratt, Peter and Emily Pratt, Andy and Katie Pratt, and the absolutely adorable Natalie and Ethan, who are the 5th generation in the Pratt …
Wyffels Corn Strategies is Learning Experience
The farmers who attended the Wyffels Corn Strategies 2011 event in Dixon, Illinois on Wednesday were challenged to “learn at least one new thing” to help improve their operations, but most probably got lots more than that out of the day. Dr. Mike Boehlje, agricultural economist with Purdue’s Center for Food and Agricultural Business, shared his thoughts on “All Things …
Corn Grower Perspective On Conservation Project
One of the participants on the CTIC Indian Creek Watershed Project Field Tour was Mike Plummer. Mike was representing the Illinois Corn Growers who are one of the stakeholder group supporters of the project. I sat down with him to get his perspective on the project. Mike says that the Illinois Corn Marketing Board is working with the project in …
Stage is Set for Wyffels Corn Strategies 2011
The stage is set for the Wyffels Corn Strategies 2011 in Dixon, Illinois. The official event gets underway bright and early on Wednesday morning, but the pre-event kicked it off Tuesday evening at the Pratt Family Farms. The festivities included a delicious steak dinner, homemade ice cream, an opportunity to hear from some of the event partners, and the recording …
Growing Connoisseur Corn
There was a lot to learn from Spence Farm on the CTIC Indian Creek Watershed Project field tour. Specialty corn varieties for connoisseur chefs is another lesson we learned last week. Iroquois White Corn has an unusual earthy flavor and a varied texture that chefs love and it’s worth about $840 a bushel for Marty and Kris Travis of Spence …
Anthem From FMC
The Midwest Technical Lead for FMC Agricultural Products is Gail Stratman. He conducted one of our FMC Summer Plot Tour classes both inside and outside today. I sat down with him afterward to learn what’s new with FMC. Gail says Anthem is what’s new. Anthem is a new pre-plant, pre-emergence and early post herbicide currently being developed by the company. …
FMC Summer Plot Tour
Hello from York, NE and the first of a series of summer plot tours by FMC. Today we’ll be learning what’s new with product names like Capture, Cadet, Anthem and Authority. Our day starts inside with several presentations before departing for the fields. This is my first opportunity to work with FMC and I’m looking forward to learning more about …
Iowa Corn Farmers Love IndyCar Promotion
Iowa corn farmers who attended the Iowa Corn Indy 250 got an exciting race, a sold out crowd and a nationally televised platform to showcase the performance value of ethanol. Over 2,500 growers were expected to be in attendance. I didn’t speak to all of them but I did speak with several. These are the people who are investing their …