Green Acres was the place to be yesterday. That’s the name of the Novus International research farm near Montgomery City, MO. Our media group piled into a van piloted by Captain Jeremy Lutgen and off we went to see how the project is coming along.
Novus purchased the 15 acre farm and has been constructing new buildings while renovating existing one. Pictured on the left is Skip Hampton, Novus Manager, Product Research. He told us all about their plans and says they hope to have the initial construction finished by the end of this month. He says they’ll have a multi-functional facility that will allow for research on swine, poultry, ruminants and equine. Their headquarters building is Leed certified and the home on the site for the on-site manager will also be Leed certified. The whole farm will have sustainability in mind and in my interview you’ll hear Skip describe how they’ll utilize water resources and energy. He says they may be looking at a combination of a wind turbine with solar panels.
Novus International Media Day Photo Album
You can listen to my interview with Skip here:
Someone mentioned to me the other day that because there are more farm shows being developed in other countries and due to the shape of our economy we probably will see fewer international visitors to shows here in the U.S. However, at this year’s Farm Progress Show I saw lots of them. While I was in the 
The first presenter this morning at the 
It became official today that Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa will become chairman of the Senate health committee, replacing the late Sen. Edward Kennedy. The move means that Harkin will no longer be chairman of the agriculture committee, but says he will remain as a member of the committee which he has been on since 1985. “My dedication to the Agriculture Committee dates back to my first year in Congress when I served on the House Agriculture Committee in 1975,” Harkin said. 
The new chairman of the ag committee is Sen. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, who has served on the committee since 1998. “As a seventh-generation Arkansan and farmer’s daughter, I know my father is smiling down on me today,” Lincoln said. “I thank Senator Harkin for his tremendous leadership. As Chairman, I will work with my colleagues to build upon the Committee’s strong record and devote my full energy to producing forward-looking, balanced priorities on behalf of all families and communities. I will continue to fight for the hardworking farm families and rural communities who provide the safest, most abundant and affordable supply of food and fiber in the world.” Lincoln is the first woman ever to chair the committee.
Although I didn’t get to attend the Novus Media Day dinner last night, Jeremy Lutgen helped me out so you can actually hear the guest speaker. He’s 
The National Agri-Marketing Association is calling for entries for its annual “Best of” competition.
Let’s welcome these newcomers to the 
It’s been a few weeks since I have had the chance to sit down and blog on AgWired. I can’t believe how crazy busy the summer got, and how quickly it is fading into fall. In the past two weeks, I was at the Minnesota and South Dakota State Fairs with cattle in tow, and it’s amazing how much time and effort goes into taking a few head of cattle to display at livestock expositions! Anyway, I thought I would share some of the highlights of the last couple of weeks, and now, it’s time to get back in the saddle and get down to the business of blogging!
While at the fairs, I took in cattle shows, Century Farm Awards, Beef Cookoffs, speech contests, town hall meetings, carnival food, concerts and more. In the upcoming weeks, I will share all of it with you. So, get ready for a fun recap of my state fair adventures. And, while we’re at it, why don’t you tell me some of your state fair stories? What have you been up to lately? What fairs did you attend, and what did you do while you were there? Can’t wait to hear all about it!
