Yesterday I posted the picture of Indy car driver Ryan Hunter-Reay getting the green flag in a pedal tractor race with Dick Gallagher, Iowa Corn Promotion Board Chairman. Here’s Ryan getting the checkered flag. I’ll see him race in the upcoming Iowa Corn Indy 250 at a speed somewhat higher than was exhibited in this tractor race and spoke with …
Iowa Corn Growers Compete With Indy Car
The Iowa Corn Growers got competitive with Indy today at the Iowa Speedway. In the photo Indy car driver Ryan Hunter-Reay competes on pedal tractors with Dick Gallagher, Iowa Corn Promotion Board Chairman. Waving the green flag to start is Shannon Textor, Iowa Corn Growers Market Development Director. Today was a promotional event that included Indy Car drivers, Iowa corn …
Promoting Iowa Corn Indy 250
Tomorrow I’ll be on location at the Iowa Speedway for an advance promotion for the Iowa Corn Indy 250. There are teams that will be competing made up of Indy Car drivers, media, Iowa corn growers, Iowa Speedway folks and coaches from Iowa and Iowa State. That’s about all I know right now. But by sometime tomorrow afternoon we’ll both …
Farmers Suing Army Corps Over Levee Breach
Over 100,000 acres of prime southeast Missouri farmland is under water today after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers blew up a levee on the Mississippi River Monday night to save the town of Cairo, Illinois from flooding. The action was taken after attempts to stop it were exhausted by Missouri officials. The picture is a screen shot of the …
Rural America Key to Energy Security
“I am a great believer in American ingenuity,” began Vilsack during his speech in Shenandoah, Iowa where the only first generation ethanol plant is co-located with an algae plant. “I’m a great believer in the capacity of the American farmer and rancher to literally meet any challenge.” Vilsack recently went on an “energy” tour of the Midwest where he visited …
Get Your Corn Refuge In An FS Bag
The whole refuge in the bag concept is a great one and now GROWMARK is making it available. This spring there are two FS Seed corn varieties that have the Refuge In Bag (RIB). They are FS 54VX1 RIB and FS 61BX1 RIB. Each bag contains the correct blend of traited and non-traited seed needed to meet refuge requirements for …
American Ethanol Racing In Texas
Another way farming will be showcased on the race track this weekend is when American Ethanol heads to Texas this weekend for the NASCAR Nationwide Series race, the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at the Texas Motor Speedway on April 8th beginning at 8:30 pm EST on ESPN2. While the ethanol logo is on all the race cars, keep your eye …
Republican Budget Would Cut Farm Spending
The FY 2012 Budget Resolution unveiled by House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan (R-Wis) includes reforming current farm programs. The Republican budget plan would cut farm program spending by $30 billion over the next decade to “reflect the economic reality of record-high farm income by restructuring farm programs, saving taxpayers money and increasing farmer independence.” Net farm income this year …
Farmers’ Share of Food Dollar
I have been meaning to do a post on the recent report from USDA’s Economic Research Service about the farmers’ share of the food dollar, but I just can’t top the simplicity of a post that NCGA’s Ken Colombini did on Corn Commentary, which he titled “The 88% Solution.” It just says it all. The USDA now tells us that …
USDA Releases 2011 Prospective Plantings Report
USDA expects more corn, wheat and cotton to be planted this year, but slightly less soybeans, according to the Prospective Plantings report released this morning. Corn growers intend to plant 92.2 million acres of corn for all purposes this year, up 5 percent from last year and 7 percent higher than in 2009. If realized, this will be the second …