This evening I was proud to be the skeptic in an episode of HuffPost Live titled, “Who Cares About Drought?” A drought of historic proportions continues to grip much of the U.S. We discuss the impact of drought and how innovative water supply solutions can create jobs and stimulate the economy. I actually don’t think I was really a skeptic, …
Nutrient Management with Late Planting
Planting progress continues to be slowed by wet and cold weather in most of the major corn producing states. According to USDA, just 5% of the U.S. corn crop was planted as of Sunday, only a percentage point of difference compared to the previous week. Last year at this time, nearly half the crop was in the ground and normally …
Weed Scouting Critical for Resistance Control
Scouting is more popular than ever to help farmers to be prepared. A recent BASF poll showed nearly 80 percent of growers are changing their weed management programs to head off herbicide-resistant weeds – and with resistance confirmed across 31 U.S. states, a good scouting technique is a must for every field. “Understanding the biology of the weeds already present …
VAULT HP Fixes More Nitrogen for Soybeans
One of the biggest concerns for any ag operation is getting the most out of your inputs. During the recent tour of BASF‘s newly acquired Becker Underwood St.Joseph, Mo. seed facility, Russ Berndt, product manager for legumes and northern crops for Becker Underwood, talked about the symbiotic relationship soybeans have with the living organism rhizobia, a soil bacteria that fixes …
The Latest from AgFanatics
Check out the latest AgFanatics podcasts, for your listening pleasure In episode #27, the AgFanatics talk with Dr. Gary Schnitkey with the University of Illinois to get his analysis on the American Farm Bureau Federation’s farm bill proposal. Episode #28 discusses the reason behind the recent market failure. Also, is there some debate as to how much grain is actually …
An Earth Day Message
Got an email today from an employee of GROWMARK with a great message that I wanted to share for Earth Day week. I’m sure you’ve seen email signatures saying something like “Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail!” This one is a little different. Notice: It’s OK to print this e-mail. Paper is a biodegradable, renewable, sustainable product made …
Coalition Pleased With Immigration Bill
Representatives from both agricultural employers and farm labor are pleased with guest worker provisions included in the Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Modernization Act introduced in the Senate yesterday. Leaders from the Agriculture Workforce Coalition (AWC) held a press conference yesterday to highlight the stake American agriculture has in immigration reform. Late last week, a landmark agreement on immigration …
Earth Day Skeptic Says Get Positive
My “Face of Climate Change” says, “Why all the hysteria?” At least that’s what I would be thinking if you took a picture of me after mentioning the theme of this year’s Earth Day. I’m a skeptic when it comes to man made global warming or that man can and should try to change it. I’m not a skeptic of …
Get Your FarmOn
Hey folks let’s FarmOn! Now, I know that’s not real easy these days, especially for young people who want to get started. Here’s an organization that’s trying to help. The FarmOn Foundation is compiling a number of online resources while also conducting social media awareness campaigns like #FARMVOICES. We’ll learn all about it in this week’s program. I had a …
Telling the Story of The Great American Wheat Harvest
Here’s a great looking group of custom harvesters. This is from the U.S. Custom Harvesters booth at Commodity Classic. I met another one of these road warriors that will be featured in the upcoming film documentary, “The Great American Wheat Harvest.” He is Dan Misener, second from the right. Dan’s business is Misener Family Harvesters which has been in business …