The U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance® (USFRA®) has elected three new board members, representing the American Farm Bureau Federation, Cattlemen’s Beef Board and Indiana Soybean Alliance. Scott VanderWal, a third generation family farmer from Volga, SD, is vice president of AFBF and president of the South Dakota Farm Bureau. His family operation includes corn, soybeans, beef cattle feeding and custom …
I AM USFRA – Jeanette Merritt
Like most farm women, Jeanette Merritt wears many hats. A wife and mother of three, the 4th generation Indiana hog and soybean farmer is a Purdue University graduate who serves Hoosier State agriculture in a variety of ways. Jeanette is a former farm broadcaster and agricultural journalist who has put her experience to work as a public speaker and PR …
ASA Seeks State Policy & Communications Coordinator
The American Soybean Association (ASA) is ready to accept applications for the position of State Policy & Communication Coordinator based at Gordley Associates, ASA’s Washington office. This position has multiple responsibilities in two work areas. The first is to work with ASA’s 26 state and regional association affiliates to help achieve national soybean policy priorities, as set by ASA. This …
EPA Opens Comment Period Regarding Dicamba
The EPA has opened a 30 day comment period to the public covering the topic of dicamba herbicide use with Bollgard II ExtendFlex cotton and Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans. This step is an important move forward for growers hoping to gain access to dicamba weed-management tools. A limited commercial introduction of Bollgard II XtendFlex Cotton took place in 2015 …
Corn Up, Soybeans Down in #USDA Report
The 2016 Prospective Plantings report out today from USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) shows farmers expect to plant more corn and less soybeans this year. U.S. corn growers expect to plant 93.6 million acres to corn this year, the first increase in corn planted acreage since 2012 and, if realized, will be the third largest corn acreage since 1944. …
Agronomist Authors Children’s Book on Soybeans
In honor of Soy Foods Month this April, an agronomy professor has created an interactive book to help spread the message of Coolbean the Soybean and teach youngsters in grades 3-5 how to think like scientists about the important field of agriculture. “I wanted to develop a fun, yet educational, tool to help teach today’s youth about where food comes …
#LibertyLink Seed Still Available
Spring has sprung and planting has already begun in some areas, but there’s still time to include Bayer Liberty® and LibertyLink® soybeans this crop year. At the recent Bayer AgVocacy Forum, we talked with Al Luke, Bayer U.S. strategic business lead for row crops, about the LibertyLink system. “We’ve had great uptake this year, we think our sales will be …
Renewable Soy Warms Houses
Most people first notice cabinets, light fixtures and paint colors when they walk into a home, but one of the most important remodeling or new home building decisions is what is hidden behind those features– insulation. And now soy foam insulation is becoming an accepted choice, like wind or solar energy says Tom Decker, owner of Chicago Green Insulation. Decker’s …
Research Confirms Yield Advantage for LibertyLink
For the second year in a row, field tests show LibertyLink soybeans yield better than Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybeans. A collaboration between multiple university researchers and cooperators planted side-by-side field trials across various soil types. The trials were designed to measure a yield comparison of both herbicide systems. “We wanted growers to be able to look at the two …
#RealYield Game Was a Winner
There were lots of winners in the Bayer LibertyLink® Real Yield Game that you might recall us promoting at the end of last year. Among them were five farmers who were instant winners, receiving 500 acres of LibertyLink soybean seed and Liberty herbicide, and one grand prize winner who gets a year’s lease on a John Deere 8320R tractor. Even …