Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack is confirmed to once again be the keynote speaker for an expected crowd of more than 4,800 corn, soybean, wheat and sorghum producers and guests during the 2012 Commodity Classic, March 1-3 in Nashville, Tenn. “The secretary’s return for a third straight visit is testament to the value of our grower constituency in Washington,” National …
Soybean Harvesting
It is very dry here in mid Missouri. At times you can’t even see a combine as it moves through a soybean field. I saw these guys hard at it while I was biking along the Katy Trail yesterday. So I shot a couple of video clips with my phone. The interesting part was when I looked at the video …
Fall Burndown Will Help Start 2012 Off Right
To say that 2011 has been a rough year is an understatement, but the combines are rolling and the soybean harvest is underway. The first harvest figures for the season were reported by USDA this week and it is running behind schedule with just 5% complete so far. Nearly every state is behind both last year and the five year …
Biodiesel Falls Under Minnesota Ag Marketing & Development
Fields of soybeans surround the newly re-opened Renewable Energy Group REG Albert Lea biodiesel plant in southern Minnesota, serving as a reminder of where the renewable fuel is rooted. Christina Connelly with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s Ag Marketing and Development Division attended the grand re-opening Monday of the 30 million gallon a year plant, which was shut down in …
Minnesota Biodiesel Plant Means Jobs
The one four-letter word we hear more than any other these days is “JOBS” and that is what the re-opening of a southern Minnesota biodiesel plant this week is all about. At the opening celebration of the Renewable Energy Group (REG) REG Albert Lea facility on Monday, Minnesota state representative Rich Murray (left) and local Chamber of Commerce Executive Director …
Biodiesel Adds Value to Minnesota Soybeans
The Renewable Energy Group (REG) celebrated the official grand opening of REG Albert Lea biodiesel plant in Minnesota on Monday, with representatives of the state and local community and agriculture industry. REG President and COO Dan Oh (right) says the plant was shut down in 2008 when economic woes hit the biodiesel industry, but REG felt it was a significant …
Minnesota Soybean Growers to Celebrate Biodiesel Plant Re-Opening
Minnesota soybean growers will be in attendance Monday at the grand re-opening of a soy biodiesel plant in Albert Lea that was shut down in 2008. The Renewable Energy Group (REG) acquired the former SoyMor production facility earlier this year, which is now known as REG Albert Lea, LLC. The company will be celebrating the grand re-opening of the plant …
Biotech and Trade on Minds of Soybean Farmers
One of the many farmer leaders who stopped by the media tent at Farm Progress show was Steve Wellman, a soybean producer from Syracuse, Nebraska who is First Vice President of the American Soybean Association (ASA). I chatted with Steve about some of the issues on his mind these days. At the top of the list is approval of biotech …
Heat Beats the Corn Crop
The hot, dry summer has taken a toll on the corn crop, according to the latest USDA forecast. The estimate for corn production this year is now 12.5 billion bushels, down 3 percent from the August forecast but still more than last year and would still be the third largest corn crop in history. Yields are expected to average just …
Growers Learn From Illinois Soybean Challenge
Some of the high yielding innovators in the 2010 Illinois Soybean Yield Challenge were at the 2011 Farm Progress Show to talk about the program and what they learned. The Shipman Elevator Team, sponsored by BASF, took first place in District 6 last year and also won the Novel Practices Award in the challenge funded by the Illinois soybean checkoff. …