The Agricultural Relations Council (ARC) is hosing a webinar on Thursday, March 16th from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. (EDT). The topic is FMD Crisis Planning and offers advice to PR professionals in their role of communication in the event of a crisis. Cindy Cunningham with National Pork Board, and Daren Williams from National Cattlemen’s Beef Association will be presenting.
Registration is online through eventbright.com.
Since the renegotiation of the Standard Reinsurance Agreement in 2010, private crop insurance company returns have significantly decreased, says a new study by the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA). Current returns are inline with standard established by the USDA’s Risk Management Agency, averaging around 1.5 percent- a decrease of 12.6 percentage points.
“The federal crop insurance program is the cornerstone of farm bill risk management programs, and it is more important than ever given the state of the farm economy,” said Steve Ebke, chairman of the NCGA Risk Management Action Team and a farmer from Daykin, Nebraska. “We commissioned an independent analysis of the crop insurance industry’s performance to determine whether criticisms against the insurers’ returns have merit. What we discovered is that the returns private crop insurance companies receive are much smaller than opponents claim, and they are well within the standards set by RMA.”
The Agriculture Council of America winners of the 2017 National Ag Day video, written essay, and photo contest winners and the 2017 Charles Eastin Outstanding Service Award will be recognized next week on March 21, the 44th anniversary of National Ag Day, at the National Press Club.
Hadassah McKinley from Bella Vista, California earned the video essay title and the national essay winner is Bridger Gordon from Whitewood, South Dakota. Both will receive $1,000 prize as well as the trip to Washington D.C. and the opportunity to meet with industry representatives and media. Their entries can be viewed online as at https://www.agday.org/2017-contest-winners. Tana Elliott of Etna Green, Indiana, was selected as the winner of the photo contest. The contest theme this year was “Agriculture: Food for Life.”
Sue Tebow from Moses Lake, Washington is receiving the 2017 Charles Eastin Outstanding Service Award. The award is given to an individual who advocate accurate communication between rural and urban audiences. Tebow’s unique Facebook page, agri.CULTURE showcases her photographs of life on farms and ranches. In less than a year since it’s start in April of 2016 Tebow’s Facebook page has reach 27,000 people with more than 5,000 followers.
National Ag Day was founded in 1973 to encourage Americans to understand agriculture’s role in modern society. For more information about National Ag Day visit www.agday.org.
Mike Howell spent time at the Mid-South Farm and Gin Show telling growers about the benefits of Agrium‘s ESN smart nitrogen. ESN is a polymer-coated urea that slowly releases nitrogen over a period of 60-90 days while preventing loss from volatilization, leaching or de-nitrification
It can work with nearly any grower’s program and with any crop Howell says. Whether a farmer wants to put nitrogen on at the beginning of the season or come back and apply with a side dressing later, Agrium has research data for pretty much any geography in North America. The company has plans for even more research this season and will be hosting field days in conjunction with research at the University of Arkansas, with dates and information coming soon.
Howell recommends growers wanting more information visit smartnitrogen.com. The site offers an “Ask the Agronomist” section where questions get answers in a timely manner.
You can also learn more in Chuck’s full interview with Mike Howell here: Interview with Mike Howell, Agrium
The Agricultural Relations Council (ARC) has announced this year’s Golden ARC Awards contest is now open and public relations professionals may submit their 2016 work by April 15, 2017. Entries may be submitted in their entirety through the online portal with an entry fee of $175. Both ARC members and nonmembers are eligible, but non-member prince is and additional $190 with the first entry to become a member of the organization. Those who have not submitted an entry in the past will need to contact ARC to set up a profile at least 24 hours before entries may be accepted.
There are 46 revised categories, reflecting the evolution of agriculture and with an added focus on social media. Winners will be honored a the ARC annual meeting on June 20-22 in Sacrament, California.
Peter Fleming of Triple Creek Farms in Yadkin County, North Carolina loves growing sorghum.
“I love to watch it grow, I love to harvest it, it’s a beautiful crop,” said Fleming, who was the National Non-Irrigated Food-Grade winner in the National Sorghum Producers 2016 yield contest with almost 123 bushels per acre.
His family farm has been growing sorghum – or milo, as they call it in the south – off and on since 1975, starting with hog feed and more recently moving into the food grade market with Sorghum Partners Powered by Chromatin. “We’re wanting to be able to produce good quality food grade sorghum for popping, for making beer, for making flour,” Fleming says and he loves working with Sorghum Partners because they are one of the few companies specializing in food grade varieties. “When you’ve got a company that is strictly sorghum, that means a lot to me.”
Listen to my interview with Peter here: Interview with Peter Fleming, North Carolina sorghum farmer
2017 Commodity Classic Photo Album
Our latest SMART Farmer podcast episode – and the first of three from Commodity Classic – features Illinois farmer and U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) board member, Roberta Simpson-Dolbeare. In the craziness that is Classic, Roberta and I found a quiet corner to sit down and talk about what being a SMART farmer means to her.
Roberta says she and her husband are first generation farmers, with their daughter and son-in-law recently joining the operation, so farming smart is important to them. “We’ve had to buy our own (land) so it’s nice to think of passing that on to a next generation,” she said.
Listen to the podcast here: SMART Farmer Podcast with Roberta Simpson-Dolbeare
Dr. Becky Langer attended last week’s Bayer #Advocay Forum and we caught up with her there to get more details on Bayer’s latest Feed a Bee announcement.
To promote their new goal of providing pollinator forge in all 50 states, the Bayer Bee Care program is offering a total of $500,000 for grant projects over the next two years. Proposals should come from organizations and request either $1,000, $2,500, or $5,000 for innovative and creative projects. For example, a 4-H club may request money to put in an orchard, or a utility company could submit a proposal to plant forage in their power line right of way. Everyone qualifies for this grant, Langer says. Proposals are judged on what they can do for pollinators.
To learn more Langer suggests heading to FeedABee.com and checking out the “Impact” tab, or listen to her interview here: Interview with Becky Langer, Bayer Bee Care
While weed and pest management remains a priority for growers across the country, the latest and most comprehensive crop protection technologies are not cheap to purchase or implement, and many growers have begun to question whether or not it’s going to be possible to see returns on the costs associated with seed treatments, especially with prices remaining so low.
Shawn Conley, State Soybean and Small Grains Specialist from my home state of Wisconsin, spoke during the Bayer #AgVocacy Forum on the many reasons why crop protection is an investment worth spending and what growers could stand to lose financially without a strong investment in weed management.
“Even at eight dollar beans we’re seeing a seventy percent probability of return on investment (ROI) from utilizing seed treatments,” he said in an interview during the Forum. “It’s an opportunity for growers to possibly cut back on their seeding rate, save some dollars there, and re-invest those in seed treatments and multiple modes of action to deal with the glyphosate resistant weed problem we have in Wisconsin.” Interview with Shawn Conley, University of Wisconsin Read More
Southwest cotton growers will benefit from a new $16.7 million Bayer breeding and research station near Lubbock, Texas that celebrated its grand opening this week. The facility will focus on developing drought-resistant cotton varieties and traits for limited-input situations.
Pictured in the ribbon cutting photo are:
Tom Speed, Bayer cottonseed and traits; Tim Timmis, Bayer project execution; Margaret Shields, US cotton breeding manager; Cory Mills, Bayer station manager; Steve Oswalt, Bayer station manager; Lee Rivenbark, head of seeds, Bayer North America; David Becker, global cotton breeding lead, Bayer; Dan Pope, mayor of Lubbock, Jason Wistehuff, Bayer Product manager; and Mike Gilbert, Bayer global breeding and trait development lead.
The facility builds on the Bayer history of developing premium quality varieties for Southwest cotton growers through the FiberMax® and Stoneville® brands. The grand opening of the facility, which began operating in October 2016, is being celebrated as researchers prepare to plant the facility’s first research crop. The Lubbock facility will employ about 25 people as well as many area residents who will be hired each year to assist with planting and harvesting activities.
In addition to the Lubbock Station, Bayer also built a cotton breeding station in Dawson, Georgia and multi-crop research and development facilities in Marion, Arkansas, and White Heath, Illinois last year.
Learn more in this interview with Margaret Shields, Bayer Cotton Breeding Manager, about the new facility and what it means to cotton growers: Interview with Margaret Shields, Bayer Cotton Breeding Manager
