During the recent NAFB convention, AgriTalk recorded a panel discussion about new research on Atrazine. This herbicide, which has been on the market for more than 50 years is very beneficial from an economic and environmental standpoint in the production of corn, sorghum and sugar cane according to this new research. I interviewed one of those researchers, Dr. Mike Owen, …
Study Shows Strong Agreement Between Farmers and Consumers
Consumers’ interest in agriculture and personal respect for farmers is high, even in countries where less than two percent of the population works in agriculture, according to the BASF Farm Perspectives Study, which surveyed 1,800 farmers and 6,000 consumers. Yet farmers and consumers also agree that farmers’ reputations remain low. The study, which outlines the way farmers and consumers view …
WTF? Where’s the Food. Without the Farmer?
Hey farmer and food lovers. Here’s a head’s up about a coordinated effort by college students to help do some agvocacy and reach out to other students to help them better understand food production and where it comes from. Student volunteers from colleges and universities nationwide have joined the agricultural advocacy group, I Love Farmers…They Feed My Soul to promote …
FS PARTNERS Pioneering QR Codes in the Field
FS PARTNERS in Ontario is pioneering a new use for QR codes in the field so farmers can access updated information about test plots. In case you are not yet familiar with them, QR is short for Quick Response and they are those bar code looking things you can read with a smart phone that are starting to pop up …
Real Farmers Real Food
The Animal Agriculture Alliance, a member of the Alliance to Feed the Future, is kicking off a new initiative called, “Real Farmers Real Food.” The initiative has special support from 2011 Miss America Teresa Scanlan. See her video below and feel free to share out links via your networks! Want to tour a farm but too busy to travel? Check …
American Hoggers Debuts This Week
Here’s a show that is already set to record on my DVR, “American Hoggers.” The trailer was more than enough to convince me it’s worth watching. So I’m hoping it lives up to the hype. Imagine, an entertaining show about a serious problem – the effects of the feral hog population in the United States! Lifelong Texan Jerry Campbell has …
Agribusiness Soldiers in Afghanistan
The U.S. Army pointed me to this great story about our soldiers in Afghanistan doing agribusiness duty. The photo comes from Staff Sgt. James McDonnough. In it Sgt. 1st Class Randy Wright, a pest management specialist with the Illinois Army National Guard’s 1-14th Agribusiness Development Team, takes the reigns on a team of draft horses during a visit to an …
Strong Winds Making Harvesting Hazardous
Strong winds, dry weather and heat all combined to create some treacherous harvesting conditions in Iowa yesterday. Here’s an interesting video I found on YouTube that shows one fire and gives you an idea of how extensive these can be. Our sales manager, Dave, sent me a note yesterday that they had 160 acres burn on their family farm. Fortunately …
USFRA Releases Consumer/Farmer Survey Results
Today the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance released the results of a survey they conducted in July/August. They surveyed 2,417 consumers and 1,002 farmers/ranchers, both on a nationwide basis. The graphic below shows a comparison of the top five things consumers want more information about with the top five things farmers/ranchers think are most important to educate consumers about. You …
IFAJ Visits Claynook Farms
IFAJ members learned about the dairy business in Canada this week right on the farm. In this case we were at Claynook Farms visiting with Wayne and Dennis Wagler. The conversation with the dairy operators covered just about every topic you could imagine from genetics to marketing. I recorded part of a conversation with reporters in which I asked about …