House Ag Member Still Optimistic for 2024 Farm Bill
Republican Congressman Frank Lucas of Oklahoma still thinks it’s possible to get a farm bill before the end of 2024.
“I don’t want to wait personally for January to do the farm bill… I want to do the farm bill as soon as possible,” the senior member of the House Agriculture Committee told the Southern Peanut Growers Conference on Friday morning. “Let’s get it done now. Let’s get it done. The best we can. And with a new policy in place. We can tweak on things during the appropriations process next year.”
Listen to his remarks and answers to questions from growers and the media.
SPGC24 Rep. Lucas remarks 31:36SPGC24 Rep. Lucas interview 5:03
SPGC24 Rep. Lucas press 6:00
Chancellor Perdue Seeks Grower Input
The former Governor of Georgia and former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture came before the Southern Peanut Growers Conference Thursday in his newest role as University System of Georgia Chancellor.
Sonny Perdue was named UGA Chancellor in 2022, a role which provides leadership in higher education, extension, and research priorities within the state university system, so he wanted to hear what peanut growers think is important. “I need to hear from folks on the ground what’s going on out there from a Georgia perspective,” said Perdue. “As Chancellor, the land grant mission and extension model is one where we’re able to disseminate knowledge out to the field and I think that’s been one of the strengths of our agricultural productivity over the years.”
Perdue said he often gets asked about Donald Trump and what he was like as president. “I didn’t understand fully how somebody that grew up in Queens could have such a genuine affection for people of the land like Donald Trump had,” said Perdue. “What I finally concluded was, in the American farmer and rancher he saw the embodiment of the American spirit.”
Would he be willing to serve as agriculture secretary again if Donald Trump returns to the White House. “I flippantly tell people right now, if the opportunity occurred, I’d rather be married,” he joked.
SPGC24 Chancellor Perdue listening session panel 33:57SPGC24 Chancellor Perdue press conf 4:42
House Ag Vice Chair Addresses Peanut Growers
Many of his Republican colleagues are in Milwaukee this week for the convention, but Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia put peanut growers and his family ahead of attending his party’s big party.
“It’s not that I don’t want to be there, it’s that I have a six year old and a ten year old and I had four other things scheduled in the district,” said Rep. Scott.
Scott, who is Vice Chair of the House Agriculture Committee and Chairman of the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities, addressed the conference about the current state of the delayed farm bill. “It’s harder now to get anything done in Washington D.C.,” said Scott. “We’ve got to get a farm bill and that farm bill has got to take care of American production agriculture.”
Several of Scott’s priorities to ensure a strong farm safety net were included in the House version of the farm bill, which passed out of committee in May, and he considers it the best bill for production agriculture. While there is a possibility a bill could pass before the end of the year, he expects it will be put off until 2025 when he is optimistic things might be better.
“I certainly hope that President Trump becomes the president of the United States and he selects someone like Sonny Perdue to be the secretary of agriculture who actually cares about production agriculture,” said Scott.
Listen to Scott’s remarks and press conference below.
SPGC24 Rep. Scott remarks 12:44
SPGC24 Rep. Scott press 5:18
Ready to Roll on the River
Peanut growers and industry representatives from Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi are in Savannah, Georgia this week Rollin’ on the River for the 2024 Southern Peanut Growers Conference.
The three-day event is sponsored by the Alabama Peanut Producers Association, Florida Peanut Producers Association, Georgia Peanut Commission, and Mississippi Peanut Growers Association. Leaders of the state organizations, pictured here, gave us an update on the condition of their crops this year and what they are expecting as far as a farm bill after the 2018 law was extended last year and looks to be delayed again this year.
Listen to comments from each state director below.
Libby Johnson, Executive Director, Alabama Peanut Producers Association
SPGC24 Libby Johnson, AL 2:00
Ken Barton, Executive Director, Florida Peanut Producers Association
SPGC24 Ken Barton, FL 4:32
Don Koehler, Executive Director, Georgia Peanut Commission
SPGC24 Don Koehler, GA 6:26
Malcolm Broome, Executive Director, Mississippi Peanut Growers Association
SPGC24 Malcolm Broome, MS 4:05
2024 Southern Peanut Growers Conference Photo Album
Check out all the content from the Southern Peanut Growers Conference on the SPGC Blog where you can also find past years events going back to 2008.
Precision Ag News 7/17
Taranis Introduces AI-powered Agronomic Assistant
Taranis today announced the launch of the industry’s first AI-powered agronomic engine, Ag Assistant™.
Using multimodal AI, Ag Assistant promises to revolutionize service and management opportunities for ag retailers and the growers they serve by providing unprecedented timeliness and accuracy in addressing in-season threats. The advancement introduces a new approach to AI-powered farm management.
Jason Minton, Chief Commercial Officer for Taranis, explains, “Ag Assistant is the culmination of years of data collection, analysis and development. Our GenAI model was trained on a growing library of more than 500 million leaf-level data points, collected exclusively by Taranis, along with relevant, vetted industry information. Ag Assistant will enhance the speed, accuracy and quality of service agronomists can provide growers.”
In addition to Taranis’ ever-expanding proprietary agronomic data library, Ag Assistant also captures, analyzes and contextualizes information from weather maps, machinery data, university research, crop input companies, and other peer-reviewed, credible sources. The Taranis multimodal Ag GenAI model then cross-references and applies all gathered information to the detected threat(s) in the grower’s field. Culminating is a report that categorizes and summarizes all identified threats, providing the agronomist with a recommendation for remedy. This solution is delivered to the Taranis platform, where both the agronomic advisor and enrolled grower are alerted to management opportunities in hours rather than days.
Industry Ag News 7/15
Rivulis Announces Josh Dixon as New CEO
Global irrigation leader Rivulis has announced industry veteran Josh Dixon will become Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in September, replacing Richard Klapholz who has served as CEO for over a decade.
With over 25 years of industrial experience, Dixon is a proven leader and strategist who has guided market-leading public and private companies through periods of rapid commercial growth and strategic business development in highly competitive global marketplaces.
During the transition, Dixon will work alongside outgoing CEO Richard Klapholz, whose deep institutional knowledge and steady hand have guided the Company over the past decade. Dixon begins as CEO effective September 16, 2024.
Dixon is the former president of Valley Irrigation, an international subsidiary of publicly traded Valmont Industries, Inc., and he spent more than nine years with the Company. He previously held business development and operational, commercial, and industrial manufacturing roles at Belden, Danaher Sensors and Controls, and General Electric.
Precision Ag News 7/11