Too often we hear about all of the negatives in agriculture – bad weather, bad markets, opposition from groups that really don’t understand production agriculture. But attendees of the recent Wyffels Hybrids Corn Strategies 2010 held in a tent on the Cummings family farm just outside of the eastern Iowa town of Malcom heard that there is tremendous potential in …
Wyffels Brings Producers, Developers Together with Corn Strategies
Hello from Texas, where the family and I have been spending the last few days trying to get roots set down. Just getting caught up after the last couple of weeks of packing up the moving truck and searching for a home in this region. It’s been quite a process (picture the Clampetts, loaded down vehicles, but using a 26′ …
Corn Farming While Protecting The Environment
Not all the farmers I met during the Conservation in Action Tour were making presentations. One of them was Wayne Kirby, Virginia corn farmer and Chairman of the Virginia Corn Board. Wayne says a lot of people are interested in agriculture in their area and especially what’s happening with the Chesapeake Bay restoration effort. Wayne says he’s glad to be …
Wyffels Corn Strategies: Part Family Reunion, Part State Fair
It’s an effort to bring high-quality information to corn farmers so they can improve their bottom line. But Bill Wyffels, who is the President and owns Wyffels Hybrids along with his brother Bob, likes to describe the Wyffels Hybrids Corn Strategies 2010 held in a tent on the Cummings family farm just outside of the eastern Iowa town of Malcom …
Grains Council Elects New Officers for Golden Anniversary
The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) is moving into its second half century with a brand new slate of officers and directors. At the U.S. Grains Council’s 50th Annual Board of Delegates meeting in Boston this week, Terry Vinduska, a corn farmer representing the Kansas Corn Commission, was elected chairman for the 2010-2011 fiscal year. Other officers elected include Wendell Shauman, …
Family Farmers Get Networking Opportunity at Wyffels Corn Strategies
One of the great things at the Wyffels Hybrids Corn Strategies 2010 meeting in Malcom, Iowa is the opportunity farmers are getting to talk to each other, as well as hearing from the experts on the agenda. It’s even better when family farmers are able to get together. I caught up with a pair of brothers, Jayson and Matt Willimack, …
Wyffels – A Personal Touch in Corn Planting Strategies
So what kind of company is Wyffels Hybrids? Well, the approximately 600 corn farmers who have gathered on the Cummings farm just north of Malcom, Iowa for Wyffels Corn Strategies 2010 are finding out firsthand (and have known for quite a while) that it is a family-owned seed company located in the heart of the corn belt in Iowa and …
Controlling the Crop Controllables
The opening session at today’s Wyffels Hybrids Corn Strategies 2010 focused on controlling what you can control. Steve Johnson, a farm and ag business specialist with Iowa State University, told the tent full of about 600 corn farmers that too many of their colleagues are too focused on the things they can’t control, whether it is politics, oil spills or …
Welcome to Wyffels Corn Strategies 2010
Hello from Malcom, Iowa, where I’m spending the day with the good folks from Wyffels Hybrids, who are putting on Corn Strategies 2010. This gathering is expected to draw about 600 corn farmers from throughout the area, especially Eastern Iowa, where they will get to see and hear more about this independent company… a company where you can still talk …
Corn Congressmen
Corn growers are in Washington, DC taking care of business. It’s the semi-annual Corn Congress. Corn farmers from across the country will gather in Washington the week of July 12 for a series of team and committee meetings, Capitol Hill visits with lawmakers and the semi-annual Corn Congress, where grower-leaders from 28 states will elect four new members of the …