The Fresno Center for International Trade Development’s 2008 World Ag Expo symposium “Doing Business in Global Markets” focuses on five of the hottest topics in agriculture today: The World of Biofuels; U.S. Free Trade Agreements; China’s Food Quality; Global Competition to U.S. Growers; and The California-Brazil Connection: Ethanol, Biodiesel, Electricity and Beyond. Each topic will feature opinions, panel discussions or …

FCS Financial’s Board of Directors announced that they will return $3.7 million to their member-owners in cash patronage for the 2007 calendar year. Patronage payments will be based on a member’s loan business activity with the association. All eligible members will receive a minimum of $20. Each eligible member’s patronage check will be available at his or her local FCS …

PureSense, recently named a Top 10 New Product by World Ag Expo, has unveiled an upgrade to its Irrigation Manager software. The upgraded Irrigation Manager software takes a cost-saving and money-making product one step further by making the system even easier to use with more powerful analysis in the background. Improvements include access to information simply by dragging the pointer …

Syngenta Crop Protection and No-Till Farmer magazine honored three outstanding individuals and one outstanding organization during an awards ceremony held Jan. 10 at the 16th annual National No-Tillage Conference in Cincinnati. The 2007 No-Till Innovators are: Don Hoover, Lititz, Penn., Binkley & Hurst Bros. – Business and Service; Bill Richards, Circleville, Ohio grower – Crop Production; Clearwater Direct Seeders – …

CDMS, Inc. and ZedX®, Inc. announced the formation of a technology and marketing agreement resulting in the combination of technology and services associated with CDMS’ Advisor System and ZedX’s AgFleet® product line. Under this agreement, CDMS and ZedX will integrate and incorporate components of their current and future information technologies into a single solution serving the various sectors of the …

Trimble introduced its Web-based Agriculture Manager™ asset management system which combines GPS, machine sensors and automated wireless communications that allows farmers to more efficiently manage and operate large machinery fleets. The new Trimble Agriculture Manager system is designed to help farming operations, agriculture retailers and others automatically track their fleet’s precise GPS location, operating status and real-time productivity — all …

Protecting pigs against enzootic pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae has just become more flexible. Ingelvac MycoFLEX® from Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc., (BIVI) has been approved to aid in the reduction of enzootic pneumonia, providing quick immunity and long-lasting protection. Enzootic pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae is a widespread swine disease that can affect pigs of all ages, but is primarily …

The Institute of Barley and Malt Sciences announces its first barley day titled Barley Production and Management for Profit to be held on Monday, Jan. 28 at Holiday Inn in Minot North Dakota. Registration for the event will begin at 8:30 am with the program beginning at 9 am. Presentations from research and extension personnel and domestic and international marketing …

Ten outstanding students pursuing careers in the beef industry have each been awarded a $1,500 scholarship provided by the CME Group and the National Cattlemen’s Foundation. Each scholarship winner wrote a 750-word essay that identified key issues confronting the beef industry, and suggested possible ways of dealing with those issues. The overall scholarship winner, Rebecca Tokach of Manhattan, Kan., was …

The Organic Trade Association (OTA) reiterated that meat, milk and other products produced from cloned animals will not be able to be sold as organic in the United States. OTA issued the reassurance after the FDA announced its conclusion that foods from cloned animals and their offspring are as safe as those produced from traditionally bred animals. FDA posted a …