If you’re like me, then you have been watching closely the progress of the Estate Tax Relief Bill. As the average age of the American farmer or rancher nears 60, agriculture businesses will start switching hands, and unfortunately, poor succession planning can result in the end of a long-standing family tradition. Here is a release that was published in Hoosier …
Farm Credit Takes Ownership of Superior Livestock Auction
Superior Livestock Auction, Inc., the largest livestock auction company in the U.S. and the number one in the livestock marketing industry, is now owned by SLAI, LLC, a wholly owned entity of Farm Credit West, ACA. According to company materials, Superior Livestock is the nations’ leader in marketing load-lots of cattle via satellite and the Internet, and pioneered video cattle …
Food Fight Underway
A FOOD FIGHT got underway today with dairy farmers and beef producers joining forces to fling facts in the face of food foes. The main message is to Give Thanks for food and farmers as we prepare for the holiday season. Giving thanks can even get you a steak – actually, an Omaha Steaks Ideal Gift Collection of steaks and …
Boehringer Ingelheim Closes Fort Dodge Deal
Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc. (BIVI) has closed a deal with Pfizer to acquire a significant portion of the Fort Dodge Animal Health business. The acquisition, which includes products in the U.S., Australia, Canada and South Africa, as well as two manufacturing and research facilities located in Fort Dodge, Iowa, significantly increases the size of Boehringer Ingelheim’s companion animal and cattle …
Vermeer Rolls Out the Rancher
Vermeer had cow-calf producers in mind when they designed the new Rancher 665 round baler. According to Vermeer Forage Marketing Manager Dan Belzer, the new Rancher 665 baler design fills a niche many cow-calf producers have been asking for – basically, the ability to produce bigger bales with a “right-sized” baler that requires less horsepower. “Now, with a minimum 60 …
Ag Students Key to Correcting Food Critics on Campus
College students with agriculture backgrounds are finding the need to defend modern agriculture and correct misinformation about food production that is being worked into class curriculums. Some classes are now requiring students to read books like “Omnivore’s Dilemma,” watch movies like “Food, Inc.” and see presentations by critics of modern agriculture like Michael Pollan. Sarah Downing, a junior at the …
Consumers Trust Farmers, Still Hold High Expectations
Consumers still trust farmers; they just need their confidence restored in some aspects of the food system. Those were some of the conclusions from a “consumer trust” survey commissioned by the Center for Food Intregity. Highlights from the survey were presented last week at the 4th Annual 2009 Food System Summit in Kansas City. Geni Wren summed up the conclusions …
CLEANmp Provides Help With Nutrient Management Plans
Helping livestock and poultry producers develop and implement plans to limit their environmental impact is the goal of a program called Comprehensive Livestock Environmental Assessments and Nutrient management plans, or CLEANmp. The program, which is managed by the Missouri-based Environmental Resources Coalition, is designed to provide services to all types and sizes of livestock and poultry production operations west of …
TIME for Yellow Journalism
If you look up the definition of “yellow journalism” you should find a picture of last week’s TIME Magazine cover story – which was renamed “Getting Real about the High Cost of Cheap Food” – after first being headlined “America’s Food Crisis and How to Fix it.” Wikipedia gives several characteristics of yellow journalism that fit this attack on modern …
New Book on Animal Rights vs. Animal Welfare
Hot off the press, this book is one you aren’t going to want to miss! I’m ordering my copy right now, and I’m looking forward to a thought provoking read. If you are interested, you can order a copy from the Animal Ag Alliance at a discounted price. Check it out, and happy reading! Can’t wait to discuss it later… …