Summer Interns Begin Work at GROWMARK

Kelly Marshall

GROWMARK57 college students are beginning summer internships with GROWMARK.  Participants will learn accounting, marketing, communications, and product and service-related activities at cooperatives in Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Ontario.  Orientation was held in May, June will mark a business tour, and project presentations will take place in August.

The interns hail from:

Delaware Valley College
Illinois State University
Illinois Wesleyan University
Iowa State University
Kansas State University
Monmouth University
Northwest Missouri State University
Pennsylvania State University
Siena Heights University
Southern Illinois University
University of Guelph
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Wisconsin – Madison
University of Wisconsin-Platteville
University of Wisconsin-River Falls
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Western Illinois University
Willamette University

“We are excited to celebrate the 56th anniversary of the GROWMARK internship program!” said Allison Stephey, GROWMARK university relations manager. “The program continues to be a key component in identifying and retaining top talent into the GROWMARK System. Students engage with industry professionals on important projects and have the opportunity to clarify career goals; while we get exposed to the most talented university students.”

The program began in 1959 with three participants.  Currently over 1,000 students have taken part in the internship.

Agribusiness, GROWMARK

Seed Industry Heads to DC

Cindy Zimmerman

asta-dc-15The 132nd annual meeting of the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) is being held this week in Washington DC where members of the industry will be talking with lawmakers about issues important to them.

ASTA president and CEO Andy LaVigne says it is a chance for them to raise awareness about the seed industry with elected officials. “We will be talking about the pollinator issues, which are obviously very hot right now,” said LaVigne. Trade and GMO labeling are also hot issues and will be a big focus for ASTA this week. “The trade issues are always very important to us, we need to be able to move seed globally. And we continue to work with a very large coalition of agriculture and food industry representatives on GMO labeling so that we have a consistent policy across the country driven from Washington DC instead of a patchwork across the country in individual states.” ASTA CEO Andy LaVigne previews annual meeting

While ASTA is visiting DC this week, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health will be holding a hearing on “A National Framework for the Review and Labeling of Biotechnology in Food” focused on legislation proposed by Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) and Rep. G. K. Butterfield (D-NC).

ASTA members will be visiting with their representatives in both the House and Senate this week and will also hear from Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack on Thursday. We are heading that way tomorrow and will bring you all the sights and sounds from the meeting.

ASTA, Audio, GMO, Seed

Wheat Foundation Photo Contest

Chuck Zimmerman

Wheat FoundationHey, agricultural photographers, here’s a contest for you. The National Wheat Foundation is sponsoring a contest to recognize wheat farmers and this year’s wheat harvest.

Entering the photo contest is simple. Email your best 2015 wheat harvest picture to kbullerman@wheatworld.org. Photos will be posted on the National Wheat Foundation’s Facebook page. The Foundation directors will vote to determine the winning photo. All photos must be received by August 28, 2015. The NWF Directors will be awarding four winners. First place will receive an iPad and three runners up will receive a 50-dollar gift card. The winning photos will be displayed in the Wheat Growers office in Washington, D.C.

Contest Rules: Photos must have been taken during the 2015 wheat harvest. Entries must be submitted by email to kbullerman@wheatworld.org before August 28, 2015. There is no limit on the number of entries. Entrants must be located in the United States and be at least 14 years of age.

Ag Groups, Wheat

Farm Progress Show Expanding

Chuck Zimmerman

Farm Progress ShowThe Farm Progress Show is growing and exceeding projections for the permanent locations in Iowa and Illinois. This year plans are to expand the show in Decatur, IL by adding three new streets. This will allow for more than 100 new exhibitors and give current exhibitors more space as well.

Penton, Farm Progress Show’s corporate parent, is funding the million dollar plus investment that adds more than 400,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space to the show site. The new streets will have hard surface roads and storm sewer drainage.

The show has had an exhibitor waiting list for several years and this new exhibit area will allow the show to meet current exhibiting demand with a few additional spaces for even more growth. The new phase adds 96 booths, 118 regular lots and 16 Jr. lots.
“The new area will hold everyone on the existing exhibitor wait list with room to spare,” said Matt Jungmann, Penton Agriculture show director. “Current plans are to provide space for more than 100 new exhibitors with outside lots and a new South Varied Industries Tent. Additionally, everyone who had a 2013 lot assignment and requested more exhibit space for 2015 will be accommodated.”

Farm Progress Show, Farm Shows

Agri-Pulse to Travel Rural Route to White House

Cindy Zimmerman

agri-pulse-rural“The Rural Route to the White House” is a new series being launched by Agri-Pulse Communications and sponsored by American Farm Bureau Federation to cover the 2016 presidential campaign with a special focus on issues important to agriculture and rural America.

“The 60 million hardworking farmers, ranchers and rural Americans who produce and process our food deserve to know how the man or woman who will be our next president stands on their issues,” explained Agri-Pulse Editor Sara Wyant. The Agri-Pulse editorial team will follow each candidate through the primaries and into the general election, providing an in-depth look at their respective positions on issues like farm programs, conservation, immigration, renewable energy, trade and taxes.

“Farmers and ranchers, in general, and Farm Bureau members, especially, are informed on policy issues and individually engaged in the political process,” said AFBF president Bob Stallman. “We are pleased to sponsor Agri-Pulse’s coverage of the presidential campaign, to help ensure that rural voices are heard during this campaign season.”

Starting in July, readers will be able to find profiles on each candidate on Agri-Pulse.com, as well as a series of articles addressing the changing politics of Rural America and a closer look at how rural leaders are interacting with the candidates. In addition, Agri-Pulse will conduct two national opinion polls in conjunction with this project.

AFBF, Agri-Pulse, politics

Nebraska Governor Concludes European Trade Trip

Cindy Zimmerman

neb-gov-novozymesNebraska Governor Pete Ricketts wrapped up his first agricultural trade mission this week with a visit to Novozymes world headquarters in Denmark, where a company tour showcased the production of unique enzymes and microbial products used in the animal nutrition, agriculture, and biofuels industries. The visit marked the end of the trade mission with agriculture industry representatives that also included stops in Italy and Belgium with a major focus on beef, biotechnology and biofuels.

Among the topics discussed with EU representatives was the need to standardize approvals of biotechnology traits for trade. “One of the things that we are finding that there’s a lot of consensus about using the science to make decisions in the EU,” said Ricketts. “Talking about the innovations in bioscience is one of the more important things we did to educate people about what we do in the United States.”

Ricketts says there is definitely a bias against crops developed through biotechnology and there is also a strong perception that American agriculture is all big corporations. “That couldn’t be further from the truth with 98 percent of our farms and ranches being family owned,” he said. “Part of what we have to overcome to get our products more accepted in Europe is to get past that notion.”

Neb. Gov Pete Ricketts on trade trip wrap up
Audio, Biotech, International, Trade

Farmfest to Feature Minnesota’s 1st Rural Broadband Day

John Davis

ideaagfarmfestUnderscoring the need for high-speed broadband access for farmers and ranchers, this year’s Farmfest will feature Minnesota’s first Rural Broadband Day. This news release from Farm Bureau says the farm show’s opening on August 4 in Redwood Falls, Minnesota, makes the case to the public that with the rise of precision technology in agriculture, producers need the broadband to increase their efficiency, communicate with their customers and reach new markets around the world.

“Minnesota Farmfest is the perfect platform for discussion about rural broadband,” said Ray Bianchi, senior director of expositions and events for the American Farm Bureau Federation and IDEAg Group. “Farmfest has been produced for the past 30 years and our event has grown because of the commitment of farmers to the latest innovations in seeds, equipment and technology. Broadband is an essential part of this complex of new ideas.”

The Governor’s Task Force on Broadband will kick off the day. The task force is committed to crafting policies that expand broadband access throughout the state to ensure that all communities, businesses and citizens have access to vital resources.

“Broadband Internet, like the interstate highway system of the 1950s or the railroads of the 1880s, is the backbone of today’s economy, helping expand opportunity and improve our quality of life. Expanding access to broadband is crucial for expanding opportunity for all,” said Margaret Anderson Kelliher, president and CEO of the Minnesota High Tech Association and current chair of the Governor’s Taskforce on Broadband. “As Minnesota looks to maintain a growing, competitive economy, and a high quality of life, we must continue to make progress to ensure that the state has access to broadband, from border to border. Rural Broadband Day is a great venue to highlight the progress that we’re making and look forward to the future of broadband.”

Farm Bureau officials went on to say this effort is just part of the group’s larger work to strengthen rural communities.

AFBF, Ag Groups, Internet

Agri-Pulse Open Mic with Canadian Ag Minister Gerry Ritz

John Davis

Agri-Pulse Open Mic this week features Canadian Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz.

open-micRitz says the US is out of options and out of time with regard to Country-of-Origin labeling. He discusses the retaliation timetable and the billions of dollars in tariffs that could be placed on U.S. goods. In addition, Ritz says Canada is closely watching the Trade Promotion Authority vote in the U.S. Congress and working closely with Secretary Tom Vilsack to overcome other tough trade issues.

Click here to listen to Agri-Pulse Open Mic with Canadian Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz.

Agri-Pulse, Audio, International, Trade

New Location for Southern Peanut Growers

Cindy Zimmerman

spgc-2015After being held in Panama City Beach since it began in 1998, the Southern Peanut Growers Conference is heading for the hills – actually the mountains – and a change of venue this year.

The 17th Annual Southern Peanut Growers Conference will be held July 23-25, at Callaway Gardens, Pine Mountain, Georgia. This year’s conference offers farmers an opportunity to learn more about legislative issues, market growth and production issues. The keynote speaker this year is Krysta Harden, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture. The conference will also offer a timely update on U.S. trade issues from Congressman Ted Yoho (R-Florida).

callaway-pnutsThere are a number of activities for families at Callaway Gardens ranging from relaxation to recreation, including an award winning spa, numerous beautiful gardens to explore and the Cecil B. Day Butterfly Center. Callaway Gardens also offers two 18-hole championship golf courses, tennis courts, bicycle and nature walking trails, as well as the tree-top adventure zip-lining course and much more.

We will be there once again posting photos and interviews on the SPGC blog for the eighth year. It’s a great event and we encourage you to attend. Registration deadline is June 30 and you can find out all the details here.

Peanuts

Bipartisan Bill To Protect Ag in Commodities Markets

Kelly Marshall

senate committee on agU.S. Senators Pat Roberts, R-Kan., and Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., introduced bipartisan legislation to protect farmers and ranchers from a reinterpretation of a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).  The regulation currently allows sufficient time to send payments to their Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) and will repeal a requirement that impedes international data sharing.

“As the Senate Agriculture Committee works to reauthorize the CFTC, I am prioritizing the protection of end-users, like the folks at the local grain elevator, from over-burdensome or unrealistic regulations,” Roberts said. “This legislation ensures that the CFTC rules work as well in rural America as they do on paper.”

“For our farmers, elevators, and businesses to effectively do their jobs, they need to be able to hedge using futures markets,” Heitkamp said. “And they should know that any oversight of those efforts supports and protects them, rather than unnecessarily burdening them. Our bill would provide farmers and grain elevators with the time they need to meet their margins, while protecting customers and the markets from fraud or other reckless behavior by bad actors. The recently-enacted rule by the CFTC was an important step, and our bill would play an important role in providing permanent certainty for farmers, elevators, and businesses that they will be protected.”

At issue is the rule from the CFTC, which requires futures customers to fully cover the margin of their futures contracts by the end of the day following a trade. The CFTC correctly addressed the concerns of farmers and ranchers by removing the automatic termination of the phased-in period, which would have resulted in the time frame being at the end of the day of the trade.  This legislation ensures that the time frame stays at the end of the day following a trade and prevents a future rule reinterpretation by the CFTC.

This legislation also addresses problems with access to swaps data needed for regulators to monitor risk or detect market manipulation.  The Dodd-Frank mandated indemnity agreement prevents a swap data repository (SDR) and the CFTC from paying the expenses that arise from any litigation relating to the market data. Many countries do not recognize the concept and will not accept an agreement. Neither the SDR nor the CFTC can then share reported data with them, leading to an inability to monitor and access risks.  This legislation repeals the Dodd-Frank provision to allow for information sharing among both jurisdictions and market participants.

data