Syngenta wasn’t the only company on hand at their Learning Centers program in Milford, IA. So was John Deere and their Central Insecticide System. Here’s Ron DeFauw, John Deere Seeding Group, talking about a brand new way to apply Force Insecticide. Think of the box version of wine that you put in your refrigerator and you’ll have a pretty good …
New Soybean Varieties
We talked a lot about corn at the Syngenta Learning Center program in Iowa but soybeans were also a major topic of discussion. One of the presenters was Gene Kassmeyer, Head of Soybeans, Syngenta Seeds. Gene says that soybeans are a crop that’s changing rapidly. For one thing he says there are a number of new pest problems to deal …
Growing Fuel For Indy Cars
Growers attending the Syngenta Learning Center in Milford, IA might have wished they could drive this car but they were content to grow the fuel that’s powering it around the track this season. The #17 Rahal Letterman show car was accompanied by Al Jentz, Amaizing Energy. Al is also on the board of the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council which …
A Media Perspective of the Syngenta Learning Center
Farm Industry News editor Karen McMahon was one of the media representatives attending the Syngenta Learning Center in Milford, IA. Here she’s taking notes during our media briefing. (Me, I take pictures) Today when we were out in the field I interviewed her about what we’ve seen and what she thinks about attending a very personal, just for the media, …
Corn After Corn Ideas From Dr. Fred Below
One of the more entertaining presenters at today’s Syngenta Learning Center in Milford, IA was Dr. Fred Below. He’s a professor of crop physiology at the University of Illinois. The main focus of his comments was mitigating the effect of yield loss when planting corn after corn. His research offers a number of suggestions for growers and you can hear …
A View of Today’s Syngenta Learning Center
There was a nice breeze out on the Johnson farm where the Syngenta Learning Center was held today in Milford, IA. You’ll hear it at the beginning of this overview video from the site. Syngenta Learning Centers Photo Album
Learning On Bruce Johnson’s Farm
The Syngenta Learning Center in Milford, IA was located on a farm just south of town. The owner of that farm is Bruce Johnson. Right after lunch today I got to talk with Bruce about his farm and why he decided to work with Syngenta to hold this major event on his property. He says that about 59 acres is …
Syngenta’s Science of Corn
One of the presenters at the Syngenta Learning Centers media briefing is Bruce Battles, Agronomy Marketing Manager, Syngenta Seeds. He talked about the science of corn from the standpoint of what Syngenta is working on with new varieties. He says that there are a lot of options and challenges for growers. For example he says they’re working on solutions to …
Welcome to Syngenta Learning Centers
The Syngenta Learning Centers got off to a great start today as everyone was divided up into groups and then rotated between different program stations. Right after having some donuts and coffee we got an overview of the property and what we’d see. You can hear what that sounds like in the following audio file. Welcome to the Syngenta Learning …
Milford, IA Syngenta Learning Centers Underway
The Syngenta Learning Centers program in Milford, IA is underway on a nice and cool day. The area had a little bit of rain overnight but we got lucky and haven’t had any this morning. There are hundreds of farmers out here. Enough to be divided into 8 groups. Each group is attending a session on a particular topic. When …