Benson Hill is celebrating the 2021 harvest of its proprietary soybean varieties, including the first commercial plantings of its Ultra-High Protein (UHP) soybeans and so far results from the field show the advantage of the company’s closed-loop supply chain and crop performance. “The insights we have gained through this harvest demonstrate the combined power of CropOS® with our integrated supply …
Truterra Carbon Program Reports Successful First Year
POST UPDATED with audio Truterra, the sustainability business of Land O’Lakes, Inc., is reporting high farmer interest and participation in its inaugural carbon program, launched in February 2021 and plans for 2022. Truterra’s 2021 offering made more than $4 million in cash payments upfront to participating farmers, who sequestered over 200,000 metric tons of carbon. Designed to be the most …
EPA Administrator Pledges Transparency in WOTUS Rule
U.S. EPA Administrator Michael Regan spoke to the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) hybrid annual meeting this morning and pledged to work with them on rewriting the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule. “Normal farming, silviculture and ranching activities, as defined by the Clean Water Act, will not require a permit,” said Regan. “We are pledging …
Illinois Farmer Mental Health Grant Announced at #FPS21
During the 2021 Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Illinois this week, state officials led by Gov. JB Pritzker announced a grant award of $500,000 to increase farmer stress-related mental health initiatives statewide. The Illinois Department of Agriculture applied for the grant in coordination with Southern Illinois University Medicine Center for Rural Health and Social Service Development and University of Illinois …
Benson Hill Launches Food System Innovators Program
Benson Hill, Inc., today announced the launch of the Benson Hill Food System Innovators Program to collaborate with leading farmers and evaluate its technologies in commercial production environments. Insights from the FSI Program will further expand the capabilities of the Company’s proprietary CropOS® technology platform and optimize field-specific product outcomes and quality traits. One near-term focus of the FSI Program …
Hearing from Large Producers About Technology
Former USDA Under Secretary and previous Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey gathered a group of large-acre farmers from around the state for a discussion about what they seeking in technology during last week’s Tech Hub LIVE conference in Des Moines. Joining Northey were Iowa farmers Scott Henry, LongView Farms; Kyle Mehmen, MBS Family Farms; and Ben Riensche, Blue Diamond …
The #2021SPGC is Back and In-Person
Peanut growers from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi are gathered together again live and in-person for their annual Southern Peanut Growers Conference at Panama City Beach, Florida. After having to cancel the popular event last year due to COVID, everyone is thrilled to be back on the beach. As has been the tradition, we start off the conference by interviewing …
Daugherty Water for Food Podcast Episode 9
This episode of the Daugherty Water for Food podcast features Babak Safa, a postdoctoral research associate with the Water for Food Global Institute who specializes in agricultural meteorology, micro-meteorology and vegetation-atmosphere interaction. Safa analyzes eddy covariance flux data from installed systems to support remote sensing based model verification and water productivity estimates for several agricultural and natural ecosystems and projects …
Report Shows How U.S. Farmers Can Fight Climate Change
A new report commissioned by Farm Journal Foundation finds U.S. farmers have the potential to significantly reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and become part of the global solution to climate change. U.S. agriculture contributes about 10% of the total greenhouse gas emissions of the entire national economy, but farmers could greatly reduce those emissions if they were provided with the …
Corn Farmers Launch Campaign to Open Minds
In an effort to provide information about corn farmers and their accomplishments to constantly improve their farming practices, especially as it relates to the environment, a campaign was launched over the weekend. This Saturday, key public policy influencers in our nation’s capital met the corn farmers of America’s Heartland in their homes, at the airport, and even while listening to …