The Animal Agriculture Alliance, a member of the Alliance to Feed the Future, is kicking off a new initiative called, “Real Farmers Real Food.” The initiative has special support from 2011 Miss America Teresa Scanlan. See her video below and feel free to share out links via your networks! Want to tour a farm but too busy to travel? Check …
American Hoggers Debuts This Week
Here’s a show that is already set to record on my DVR, “American Hoggers.” The trailer was more than enough to convince me it’s worth watching. So I’m hoping it lives up to the hype. Imagine, an entertaining show about a serious problem – the effects of the feral hog population in the United States! Lifelong Texan Jerry Campbell has …
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 …
John Deere Opens Olathe, Kansas Facility
John Deere officially opened a sparkling new LEED-certified sales and marketing center in Olathe, Kansas on Friday with the help of employees, government officials, and other special guests. “This 126,000 square foot facility has been laid out to enhance the work environment for employees and has the most up-to-date technology so we can communicate and train work groups around the …
Strong Winds Making Harvesting Hazardous
Strong winds, dry weather and heat all combined to create some treacherous harvesting conditions in Iowa yesterday. Here’s an interesting video I found on YouTube that shows one fire and gives you an idea of how extensive these can be. Our sales manager, Dave, sent me a note yesterday that they had 160 acres burn on their family farm. Fortunately …
Giant Views In The Seed World
Seed World magazine has produced a series of video interviews that are now available on their website. These are part of their Giant Views of the Industry series and contain interviews taken at the International Seed Federation World Seed Congress, the American Seed Trade Association annual convention and the National Association of Plant Breeders annual meeting, as part of its …
Canadian Wine Tasting
One of my tour stops during the 2011 IFAJ Congress was Jackson Triggs Vintners. We had an excellent lunch and wine tasting that included some of their icewine. One of the take-aways was that Canada produces more than just good ice wine. We had a nice red and white wine during our sampling. Following lunch we toured the wine making …
Canadian Cooperative Thriving With Dry Beans & Edible Soybeans
Hensall District Co-operative welcomed IFAJ members last week. Here’s CEO, Earl Wagner, who gave us an overview of the various business units of the co-operative. Before we settled in for his presentation and a tour of the facilities in Hensall, ON, we were treated to a variety of foods made with their products. They are known for their dry beans …
IFAJ Visits Claynook Farms
IFAJ members learned about the dairy business in Canada this week right on the farm. In this case we were at Claynook Farms visiting with Wayne and Dennis Wagler. The conversation with the dairy operators covered just about every topic you could imagine from genetics to marketing. I recorded part of a conversation with reporters in which I asked about …
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 …