If you’ve got one of the only Platinum LEED certified (by the U.S. Green Building Council) buildings in the state of Missouri and even in the nation then you should be congratulated for the accomplishment. That happened today at the official ribbon “release” for the new Novus International global headquarters in St. Charles, MO when Missouri’s Governor Jay Nixon took the stage.
Nixon said, “We’re all proud to have Novus in Missouri. This is exactly the type of company that we want to attract, grow and keep in our state.”
The 90,000 square foot facility consolidates the Global Headquarters and International Research Center into a single facility. In addition to office space, the building includes 10 research laboratories, state-of-the-art employee and customer training center, a fitness center and cafeteria.
You can listen to Governor Nixon’s remarks here: novus-nixon.mp3
You can also download the remarks here: Governor Nixon Remarks (mp3)
I also have a photo album from today’s ceremony: Novus Ribbon Release Ceremony
IDEA stands for “Immobilized Digestive Enzyme Assay” which Dr. Brad Lawrence says helps understand the digestibility of lysine and other amino acids in dried distillers grains (DDGS), the livestock feed by-product of ethanol production. “Distillers is one of the few ingredients that we have that does come from multiple manufacturing facilities with different methods that could impact amino acid digestibility,” Brad says. “We run this laboratory procedure that looks at all the digestibility of all the amino acids which gives us a tool to compare the economic value of distillers from different sources.”
The nation’s pork producers have recommitted themselves to the 
“Trust is not granted, it must be earned,” said NPPC president Don Butler of North Carolinaduring a press conference at Pork Expo Wednesday. To earn that trust, Don said the industry needs to prove to the public that they abide by ethical principles. “Everyone of us has a part in the overall effort to tell the positive story of pork production in America.” He outlined a five-step action plan for the industry – uphold the ethical principles everyday, obtain PQA Plus certification, register for premises identification, schedule PQA Plus site assessment and encourage TQA certification.
Nearly 31,000 pork producers have already been certified under the PQA Plus program that was announced two years ago. NPB president Steve Weaver of California says they are urging all producers to commit to the program and participate in the “We Care” initiative by December 31, 2010. “Through their participation, producers would abide by the statement of ethical principals, become Pork Quality Assurance Plus certified by June 20, 2010 and achieve PQA plus site status by December 31st,” he said.
Sustainability is the buzz word in the livestock industry and 
Do you have a Facebook Page? This is a popular way to connect with fans of your business or cause. Now, Facebook Ads for your Page will now get you even more Fans. You are now able to create ads that will allow users to become a Fan of your Page directly from the ad. Users can also click anywhere on your ad to access your Page. I haven’t tried creating these ads, but it looks pretty simple. Now, the question is whether your readers will appreciate ads on their profiles or not. Have you noticed the growing number of ads on this social networking site? What do you think about these targeted marketing tools?
Despite a year of plunging profits and flu fears, attendance is still expected to be pretty strong at the expo this year, according to general manager John Wrigley, who stopped by the 
Having planted my own garden for the first time this year, I can relate to the promise this “GOOD FOOD GARDEN” has in the eyes of Washington D.C. students. This press release was provided by 
After missing it the last couple weeks I got to participate in tonight’s