Farm Foundation Sponsors Food Safety Regulation Forum

John Davis

farmfoundationforum3Our friends at Farm Foundation are at it again, sponsoring another discussion on the pressing issues facing farmers and those in ag-related businesses. The latest discussion… which always presents both sides of the issues, not just everyone agreeing with what everyone else is saying… will feature the “Future of Food Safety Regulation” on Tuesday, April 7.

Presenters will be:

* Carol Tucker Foreman of the Consumer Federation of America’s Food Policy Institute
* Jim Hodges of the American Meat Institute
* Scott Horsfall of the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement
* Margaret Glavin, an independent consultant working on food safety policy issues

A representative of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency will also participate to discuss Canada’s experience with a single food safety agency.

There’s no charge for the forum, and Farm Foundation says those with an interest in agricultural, food and rural policy, including members of Congress, congressional staff, executive branch officials, industry representatives, NGO representatives, academics and members of the media should attend.

The discussion runs from 9 to 11 a.m. on April 7th at the National Press Club, 529 14th Street NW, in Washington D.C with coffee served starting at 8:30 a.m. If you can make it, RSVP by noon CDT on Friday, April 3, to Linda Singer, Farm Foundation.

Don’t forget, Farm Foundation is also holding the fourth in the series of “Transition to a Bioeconomy” conferences… this time focusing on global trade and policy issues… March 30-31 at the Westin Washington D.C. City Center Hotel. If you can’t make that one, just tune in to Agwired.com for the latest updates from the discussions.

Farm Foundation

Say Happy Birthday To Dr. Borlaug

Chuck Zimmerman

There’s a great post on I Am Biotech about birthday boy, Norman Borlaug. He’s a Nobel Laureate and 95 years old today. Visit the post and leave him a message in the comments (you may comment here too).

Today is the 95th birthday of Norman Borlaug, an agricultural scientist who is widely known as the father of the Green Revolution. Dr. Borlaug, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his work on world hunger, is credited with saving over 1 billion lives from starvation through his tireless efforts to improve world food production through biotechnology. Dr. Borlaugh is one of only five people in history to have won the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal.

Biotech, Video

Win An HP Mini Netbook or Desktop Speaker/Dock At NAMA

Chuck Zimmerman

AgWired HP MiniThe ZimmComm New Media booth is going to be hot and sizzling at this year’s NAMA Convention! We’re celebrating 5 years in business!

How would you like to have your very own HP Mini Netbook computer? Stop by our NAMA booth and get something tweet (you’ll understand when you get there) and register to win.

We’re providing some hot incentives to stop and see us at booth #102 in the Connection Point at the 2009 Agri-Marketing Conference. Since I’ll be leading a workshop on social media Cindy and I thought a tool to help you with yours would be a great giveaway at this year’s convention.

This HP Mini has bee tried and tested and upgraded to 2GB of RAM and has a 16GB internal SSD with an additional 8GB SD card and additional HP 2GB memory card!

You will get looks of envy when you pull this out on the plane or in the airport. It’s a cool little machine.

AgWired Cube II speaker/dockWe’ll also be giving away a Cube II desktop speaker/dock for your iPod or iPhone. We’re all about non platform specific media content and even we don’t know how many audio files we’ve created in 5 years that have been distributed all over the world via internet, broadcast, email and mp3 player. A desktop speaker is an ideal must have for your office.

You’ll have to stop by booth #102 to register though and you won’t have to be present to win.

This is shaping up to be a very interesting NAMA convention since marketing and media have changed so rapidly in just the last year and it’s changing the way we do business. Stop and visit with us to learn more about how new/social media can help you and your clients reach customers where they are now.

We’ll also help you with your gadget wish list!

NAMA

Small Oil Well

Chuck Zimmerman

I don’t know how many of these little oil wells I’ve seen driving around the countryside. Coming back from Kentucky this week I got up close and personal with one at a highway rest stop in southern Indiana. It was very windy out but you can get a good sense of what it’s like being close to one.

Does anybody know how much oil one of these things can produce?

Farming, Video

USDA Staff Appointments

Chuck Zimmerman

USDASec. of Ag Tom Vilsack has made a number of staff appointments including:

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

John Berge-White House Liaison to USDA.
Lindsay Daschle-Confidential Assistant to the Secretary.
Max Holtzman-Senior Advisor to the Secretary.
Grant Leslie-Senior Advisor to the Secretary.
David Lazarus-Senior Advisor to the Secretary.
Sam Liebert-Staff Assistant to the Secretary.
Rohan Patel-Director of Advance for the Secretary.
Denise Scott-Executive Assistant to the Secretary.
Karen Stuck-Confidential Assistant to the Secretary.
Beatina Theopold–Advance Staff for the Secretary.

OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS

Bobby Gravitz-Director of Speechwriting and Research.
Nayyera Haq-Press Secretary.
Chris Mather-Director.

You can read more about their backgrounds online.

USDA

Monsanto Announces Beachell-Borlaug Scholars Program

Chuck Zimmerman

Monsanto Beachell BorlaugFor Norman Borlaug’s 95th birthday today, Monsanto has created a $10 million grant to establish the Beachell-Borlaug International Scholars Program, which will “help identify and support young scientists interested in improving research and production in rice and wheat, two of the world’s most important staple crops, through plant breeding techniques.”

Monsanto is funding the program, which will be administered by Texas AgriLife Research, an agency of the Texas A&M University System, for the next five years. The program honors the accomplishments of Dr. Henry Beachell and Dr. Norman Borlaug, who pioneered plant breeding and research in rice and wheat, respectively.

Applications will be reviewed by an independent panel of global judges chaired by Program Director Dr. Ed Runge, who is also a professor and Billie B. Turner Chair in Production Agronomy (Emeritus) within the Soil and Crop Sciences Department, Texas A&M University at College Station.

Students interested in applying to the program can find more details at www.monsanto.com/mbbischolars. Applications will be accepted until May 31.

Announcement of the first year’s winners is planned to correspond with the World Food Prize held in Des Moines, Iowa, on October 15, 2009.

Agribusiness, Biotech, Wheat

Corn Wipes Out Competition

Chuck Zimmerman

Corn Toilet PaperSome students at Purdue University came up with a whole new way to look at corn and, umm . . . toilet paper. Glad they’re using the (Nature’s) silk. Better than the cob methinks.

Three teams of Purdue University students that created new uses for corn and soybeans – melt-away cupcake liners, biodegradable cork and toilet paper – took top honors Monday (March 23) in the Student Soybean and Corn Innovation Contests.

The competition, sponsored by the Indiana Soybean Alliance and the Indiana Corn Marketing Council, focuses on teaching students how to become innovative entrepreneurs. The awards were presented at an unveiling at the Indiana Roof Ballroom in Indianapolis.

“These contests are about more than just creating new products,” said Bernie Tao, Indiana Soybean Alliance Professor of Soybean Utilization at Purdue. “The future success of our country depends on our graduates’ abilities to innovate and market more sustainable products. That’s something that can be hard to teach in a classroom. These contests help the students take what they’ve learned in class and apply that knowledge to solve real-world issues.”

In the corn-only portion of the contest, members of team Nature’s Silk came up with a process for biodegradable toilet paper. The product earned a cash prize of $10,000.

“We were sold on the idea of Nature’s Silk from the beginning,” said Jessamine Osborne, a senior from Evansville, Ind., double-majoring in cell molecular development and genetics. “The idea is simple, but perfect. We couldn’t figure out why this product wasn’t already on the market.”

Ag Groups, Corn, Soybean, University

FMC Launches New Tools for Growers

Joanna Schroeder

brent-neuberger-fmcFMC Corporation has launched several new products for the upcoming growing season including Capture® LFR™ a liquid insecticide that mixes with a starter fertilizer. “This year is shaping up to be rather challenging with fertilizer prices and we have a product, Capture LFR, that mixes very well with a starter fertilizer, said Brent Neuberger, Technical Specialist with FMC. “This product does an excellent job providing control of seed and seed insects such as wire worms, grubs and corn rootworm,” explains Neuberger. “It is valuable for both refuge acres and GMO crops.”

Many growers are starting to see resistance issues starting to creep up. Capture LFR is showing solid results with a 10-15 bushel increase in refuge acres and 3-5 bushel increase on GMO crops. “We’re seeing a 2-3 return on a single dollar investment,” said Neuberger.

In 2007, FMC introduced HERO® insecticide which boasts a dual mode of action. When you add HERO in with a fungicide you get some additional late season pest control. It helps to fight off pests that are attacking the ear and ear zone. “Again, it’s all about yield benefit. If we’re spending $8 on an insecticide, we need to see an $8 plus return on investment,” said Neuberger.”So when a grower gets $20 that a good return on investment.”

Soybean growers have not been left out of FMC’s product line-up. They recently introduced the Authority Soybean Herbicide Portfolio, a  line of products that includes Authority First DF, Authority Assist and Authority MTZ. “These are pre-emergents that fit very well in front of that GMO event,” said Neuberger. He went on to explain that we’re seeing a movement toward pre-emergents for two reasons. First, to control early season weeds and second as another mode of action. “When you have multiple modes of action it will help to slow down resistance and this is a problem that many growers are beginning to see,” concluded Neuberger.

You can learn more about FMC’s products here in this interview with Brent from Commodity Classic. cc-09-joanna-fmc-edit.mp3

Commodity Classic, Corn, Soybean

A Special Cause: Vote for ACMA Entertainer of the Year

Amanda Nolz

george_strait_2005_croppedI need your help. The Humane Society of the United States is working to vote Carrie Underwood in as ACMA Entertainer of the Year to launch her as a better spokesperson for their agenda to abolish animal agriculture. I’m challenging everyone to head over to the ACMA website and vote. Read the following excerpt, and tell me you don’t want to stand up for agriculture today! It only takes a minute to register, and I voted for George Strait because he is a great singer, a PRCA member, a team roper and a true friend to agriculture! You should too! Word-of-mouth is definitely agriculture’s best marketing tool, no? Make a difference and cast your vote today!

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the most radical animal “rights” and anti-hunting organization in the country, has been quietly trying to get Carrie Underwood voted Entertainer of the Year via the Academy of Country Music. The problem is, a large percentage of country music fans are also gun owners and hunters who do not like Carrie Underwood’s active support for HSUS. And HSUS knows it.

Underwood and American Idol have already listed HSUS as a beneficiary of the proceeds of one of her songs and now HSUS is enlisting their radical animal rights supporters to vote for her in the Entertainer of the Year contest. But they are trying to keep it quiet. In an e-mail sent out to supporters by Kathy Bauch, the HSUS Senior Director for Corporate Relations & Promotions, she asked people to vote for Underwood, but added, “Feel free to distribute this to friends and family, but please don’t post to lists, twitter, etc.–anything that would identify that HSUS is urging people to vote for her, or it could just breathe life into the opposition.”

Oops, too late! Perhaps someone should tell the folks at HSUS that e-mails are not exactly the most secure way of communicating their “secret” agendas. Country music fans who do not appreciate Underwood’s support for HSUS should go and vote for an entertainer who shares their values and supports America’s hunting heritage. Please share this with every meat-eating, freedom loving American you know and then VOTE!!!

Social Networking

Cloudy Afternoon

Chuck Zimmerman

Missouri CloudsI drove through a pretty impressive storm coming home this afternoon. The skies mostly cleared up and the sun came back out. It made for some interesting cloud formations like this one.

I was mostly off the grid except for my iPhone yesterday and today. That’s the way it goes sometimes when the hotel internet is out, there’s a weak AT&T signal and you’re out at a rural country fairgrounds all day or in the car.

So, it’s back in the saddle the next couple days.

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