Yesterday, at the South Dakota Cattlemen’s Association’s Annual Trade Show and Convention, I had the opportunity to listen to Terry Gompert, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln Educator with a speciality in grazing. His presentation was titled, “Money Saving Ideas Including Extending the Grazing Season,” and he offered up tips for producers to consider in cowherd management, improved grazing systems and evaluating calf performance.
One of his points was derived from a book he is currently reading titled, Dirt, by David R. Montgomery. He discussed how the book showed him the importance of good soil to societies. An interesting thought? Yes, but I think this book looks like it might be worth checking out. Here is a description of its contents:
“Dirt, soil, call it what you want—it’s everywhere we go. It is the root of our existence, supporting our feet, our farms, our cities. This fascinating yet disquieting book finds, however, that we are running out of dirt, and it’s no laughing matter. An engaging natural and cultural history of soil that sweeps from ancient civilizations to modern times, Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations explores the compelling idea that we are—and have long been—using up Earth’s soil. Once bare of protective vegetation and exposed to wind and rain, cultivated soils erode bit by bit, slowly enough to be ignored in a single lifetime but fast enough over centuries to limit the lifespan of civilizations. David R. Montgomery sees in the recent rise of organic and no-till farming the hope for a new agricultural revolution that might help us avoid the fate of previous civilizations.”
Will you be reading this book?
The Morocco portion of the U.S Grains Council Corn Mission has concluded. The final step for the team was to sit down at our hotel and discuss the visits we’ve made and what we learned. We were asked to submit one observation and action step.
The Morocco Poultry Association is 
The U.S. Grains Council Corn Mission team visited a nearly new poultry operation today. The owner is pictured on the right. With the assistance of Morocco’s Green Plan for agricultural development Ahmed Addioui has built several of these poultry farms to raise chickens for the market. Each building houses approximately 15,000 birds.
The Deputy Minister of Agricultural Production for Morocco is Ahmed Bentouhami, pictured on left, who met with the U.S Grains Council Corn Mission team for dinner.
BIVI has taken an active role in the challenge of managing PRRS (Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome) for the benefit of the swine industry. I talked with BIVI’s Stephan Lange who told me the purpose of today’s seminar is “to get the swine industry together to talk about a ‘game changing’ approach to PRRS control, meaning you step away from individual farm control and really go into area control.”
Morocco is nearing completion of a major new port facility south of Casablanca. The El Jaddah Port was one of the stops for the U.S. Grains Council Corn Mission.
Let me introduce you to the David Asbridge and his United Soybean Board, 
I attended the 61st Annual South Dakota Cattlemen’s Association’s Convention and Trade Show this week in Sioux Falls, S.D. where we discussed