It was great getting to see Ryan Hunter-Reay yesterday while promoting American made ethanol in Des Moines. Thanks to Claire Masker, Iowa Corn Growers Association, for taking the photo. Ryan is very happy to be driving for ethanol again. He did so for a couple years back when it was known as Team Ethanol and now as Ethanol USA Team …
Kum & Go Welcomes Indy Car Drivers To New E-85 Location
Teammates Marco Andretti (left) and Ryan Hunter-Reay were on hand to promote American corn ethanol today at the grand opening of another Kum & Go E-85 pump location in Des Moines, IA. For two hours this today you could fill your tank with 85 cent/gallon E-85 and a lot of people came out to do just that. Today’s promotional event …
Off to the Pig Races
Apparently I’m the last to know about the sport of pig racing. While I was at the World Pork Expo (WPX) last week, I watched a few of these cute little pigs race to the finish line. The motivation to race? A Fig Newton. I must say, these are my kinds of pigs! The pigs are trained at the Hedricks …
John Deere Gator XUV In Action
You can’t get enough Gator. Most of you know that I graduated from the University of Florida, so a utility vehicle called a Gator has always held a soft spot in my heart. Last week’s unveiling of the new line of John Deere Gator XUV’s included getting out in the wild and riding them. I’ve got two video clips to …
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 …
AP Systems Hams it up at World Pork Expo
The folks at Automated Production Systems really ham it up every year at World Pork Expo, and this year the theme was Fiesta for their showcase roasted pig. AP – which offers a complete selection of swine production equipment including feeders and waters, ventilation and heating equipment, feed storage and delivery, flooring, confinement and more – has been dressing up …
John Deere Military R-Gator
John Deere not only makes Gator utility vehicles for farm, commercial and recreational purposes but for the military too. This is one of the new Military R-Gator (Autonomous Unmanned Ground Vehicle) which is rigged to be completely remote controlled and is equipped with a camera to send back what it is “seeing.” In the video clips I’ve posted you can …
Mexican Fiesta Iowa Style
The torrential rains cleared out just in time for the annual pig roast at World Pork Expo. Automated Production Systems (AP) were the culinary experts of all things pork during the show. Yesterday, I watched as they prepared the pig, which was roasted for more than 24 hours. First, they seasoned the pig with sea salt and then they added …
Kids, Hogs, Horses & Tractors
I spent a majority of the morning today at World Pork Expo hanging out in the swine and cattle barns. While I was there, I had the opportunity to see my first pig showing competition. The World Pork Expo Junior National’s was in high gear and several hundred people were in and around the show ring supporting the competitors. There …
World Pork Expo Attendees Entertained by Local Marching Band
In an earlier post, John wrote about the National Pork Board’s (NPB) celebration of its Pork Quality Assurance Plus program and the milestone of having nearly 60 percent of all hogs in the U.S. and nearly 50,000 producers certified. This announcement was made during a morning press conference, as part of the World Pork Expo in Des Moines, IA. This …