U. S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack was an opening speaker at the Biodiversity World Tour stop on the campus of Iowa State University. It is being webcast live right now and I believe a recorded version will be available later. If you’d like to hear the Secretary’s comments I have them posted below. The theme of the town hall …
Touring Conservation In Action
I am going to find out how agriculture protects water quality and improves soil health at this year’s Conservation Technology Information Center, Conservation In Action Tour. The tour will take place in the Virginia/Maryland area and looks like it is at capacity. Yesterday was the last day to get registered but you can probably still get in if you call …
BASF and One Hungry Planet
Sustainability was the focus of the 2010 BASF Agricultural Solutions media summit held last week in Chicago and as part of that event BASF released a new survey on attitudes toward farmland stewardship, and a new YouTube video highlighting how farmers are feeding a hungry planet. I talked to Paul Rea, VP of BASF U.S. Crop Operations, about the survey …
Panelists Share Sustainability Insights at BASF Summit
“Holistic” and “durable” were two definitions for sustainable that were set forth by representatives of the food value chain, from farmers to food companies, who took part in a panel discussion at the BASF Agricultural Solutions Media Summit on Sustainability last week in Chicago. Nevin McDougall, BASF senior vice president for crop protection in North America, was part of the …
Why BASF Cares About Sustainability
Defining and improving sustainability is important for all of production agriculture around the globe, which is why BASF has taken a keen interest in the subject. Markus Heldt is president of crop protection for BASF global, located in Germany, a position he took last year after serving for many years as head of crop protection for the company in North …
BASF Introduces Sustainability Analysis Tool
Sustainability has become a challenge to the agriculture industry because everyone seems to have a different definition of the word and ways to objectively measure sustainability are seriously lacking. BASF announced an Eco-Efficiency Analysis tool during the 2010 Ag Media Summit in Chicago today that examines the entire lifecycle of a crop to measure and manage sustainability. “When we look …
BASF to Host Sustainability Summit
Sustainability is the buzz word for agriculture these days, but what it really means on the ground is a matter of perspective. That’s why BASF Crop Protection is bringing agricultural thought leaders and media together in Chicago June 8-10 to discuss a grounded approach to agricultural sustainability. Participants will focus on collaboration between producers and industry stakeholders to improve agricultural …
Become An Urban Farmer
If we can have urban cowboys then I guess we can have urban farmers. Following the astounding growth of Urban Farm magazine, and the burgeoning interest in urban farming, BowTie, Inc. announced the launch of UrbanFarmOnline.com. “The sustainable lifestyle is of interest to a growing number of people,” said June Kikuchi, Vice President Chief Content Officer. “People want to live …
Enhanced Efficiency Fertilizers Improve Sustainability
When it comes to sustainable food production, enhanced efficiency fertilizers are starting to play a role. At the Enhanced Efficiency Fertilizer Conference Charlie Walker, Incitec Pivot Ltd., Australia was on the program to talk about how they’re using urease and nitrification inhibitors to accomplish this. If you like a good Aussie accent then you’ll enjoying listening to Charlie. He’s a …
Syngenta Announces New Sustainaiblity Team
Syngenta made two announcements during Commodity Classic last week – a new sustainability team and that their water optimization technology is on track. I spoke with Terry Stone who is heading the new sustainability team as well as Tracy Mader, Project Marketing Head who is working with the team developing the water optimization technologies. I asked Stone to tell me …