Here’s the current street scene here at Farm Progress.
It may seem like I haven’t gotten far away from the media tent yet. That’s because I haven’t. Besides pouring rain all morning I’m now waiting for the mud to settle down so I don’t do a disgraceful fall with my equipment hanging off me.
Besides my own coverage I’ve also been helping out reporters with internet issues. In the course of developing the new media skills needed for today’s agcricultural communicator I have learned a lot about troubleshooting my own technical problems. My IT guy usually tells me on the phone that I know enough to “take care of it myself.”
Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Monsanto: 
The golf carts are in high demand here this morning. I wonder how much they’re getting for them today.
while it was raining this morning the media was nicely cooped up in the media tent. I’m sure this didn’t disappoint Monsanto since they had the first press conference. One of the their representatives I met was Steve Peterson, Monsanto business manager for their Processor Preferred program. Steve’s pictured here (right) during an interview with WITY. In my interview with Steve he describes how this program has developed about 90 varieties of corn that are yielding up to 2 to 4 percent more ethanol per bushel than conventional hybrids. He says this helps corn growers get a premium for their crops.
The incoming 1st Vice President of the
Earlier this morning, Monsanto had their first Press Conference. The topic being discussed was the Sticky Trap Program.
Speakers Glenn Stith, Vice President of Monsanto U.S. Branded Business, Clint Pilcher, Corn Technology Development Manager, and Wayne Natress, Executive Director were present to speak about the Sticky Trap Program! The Sticky Trap Program was an experiment to determine the amount of rootworm variance across the cornbelt. In order for Monsanto to enroll the program, they asked local FFA Chapters across the cornbelt to help them out. The following states were involved in the experiment: Illinios, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. In the state of Iowa, all 99 counties participated in the event and for their contributions, Monsanto has donated $50 for every Sticky Trap the Chapter recorded information on. 
The main topic we talked about was rootwarms and what Monsanto is doing to prevent/solve that problem. Monsanto recommends using YieldGard Plus to prevent rootwarms and the outcomes of using YieldGard Plus have been outstanding!! The roots grow deeper, being able to recieve more moisture and have had better consistant yields! 
We just heard the raindrops start falling here in the media tent. 
It’s opening day here at the Farm Progress Show. Kelcy and I are getting set up and she’s waiting on her first interview. She’ll be covering the first press conference of the day which is being conducted by our sponsor, Monsanto.
The media tent at Farm Progress Show is sponsored by