Pope Francis is calling on humankind to take better care of our home. The Pope, like those before him, has been vocal about climate change and the role humans have played. In LAUDATO SI’ On Care of Our Common Home, Pope Francis writes that our lifestyle of a “throw-away” society – consumption and waste – must change or humans will …
Toledo Food Dialogues Tackles Water Issues
All things water were discussed this morning during the Food Dialogues: Toledo event. On August 2, 2014 a toxic algal bloom caused nearly 500,000 people to be without water. The event led to discussions around how to balance the need for clean water with the need for food. The conversation was continued through two panel discussions with the first panel, …
Industry Pleased with White House Pollinator Plan
Last June, President Obama called for an interagency Task Force to create a Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators. Tuesday, the Task Force released its strategy, under the joint leadership of EPA and USDA. Industry reaction to the plan, which outlines actions to be taken by more than a dozen other federal agencies and departments, …
Sustainability Education at Animal Ag Summit
A panel of industry leaders shared their thoughts and research concerning sustainability during the recent Animal Ag Alliance Stakeholders Summit. Dr. Roger Cady, Sustainability Lead, Elanco Animal Health, said he liked to divide sustainability into the three pillars of environment, economic and social. “Farmers are the natural environmentalists of the land. Key to this is preserving our land, preserving our …
High School Students Win Environmental Video Contest
The Population Connection has announced the winners from their “World of 7 Billion” video contest. The competition encouraged high school students around the world to create and enter videos on population growth relating to one of three topics: universal education; diminishing farmland; and the sixth mass extinction. Over 1,600 high school students participated in the contest and submitted a total …
The Growth of Eco Agro Resources
As we’ve seen in two big announcements this week alone, Eco Agro Resources, which was founded in 2013, is on a fast-paced growth curve. I talked with Andrew Semple, President/CEO, about how his company is having so much success. By the way, Eco Agro Resources’ home office is located in my hometown of Sarasota, FL, although they already have offices …
Soil Health Partners Work Together
The Soil Health Partnership (SHP) was launched just shy of a year ago with seed funding in part from Monsanto and technical support from The Nature Conservancy (TNC). That may seem like a case of strange bedfellows, but everyone has the same goal of healthier soils. At the first Soil Health Summit last week in St. Louis, Monsanto Sustainability Business …
Young Farmers & Ranchers to EPA: ‘Ditch the Rule!”
Producers who will be the future of agriculture are telling the federal government to keep an unpopular water rule from having a future of its own. This news release from Farm Bureau says the group’s Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee wants the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers to ditch the proposed Waters of the U.S. …
Weed Management for Soybean Sustainability
Farmers can face a series of fights these days, whether it’s fighting regulations, fighting weed resistance or fighting to preserve their land from erosion. During the recent Bayer CropScience Corn and Soybean Future Forum in Germany, Chuck spoke with Ray Gaesser, President of the American Soybean Association, about his presentation on sustainability, weed resistance and cover crops. He said ASA …
GOP Ag Commissioners say “Ditch the Rule”
Members of the Republican Agriculture Commissioners Committee hosted a conference call Monday to discuss the impact of federal overreach on agriculture in the United States and back the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) in calling for the proposed “Waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) rule to be withdrawn. Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture Mike Strain says regulation of resources …