Zimfo Bytes

Talia Goes March 18, 2015

Agnition announced that it has launched Commence for Soybeans, a microbial catalyst seed treatment for soybeans that stimulates microbial activity for healthier soil and a superior growth environment.
For the first time since the organic regulations were introduced in 2000, the National Organic Program (NOP) plans to substantively address the issue of animal welfare.
The Dow Chemical Company is proud to join leading public and private sector companies in the fight to revitalize our nation’s aging and underfunded water infrastructure.
Pinnacle Agriculture Holdings, LLC recently launched a new retail location in Edson, Kansas, that will operate as part of Pinnacle’s Performance Agriculture brand, providing seed, fertilizer, crop protection chemicals and precision agriculture services to area farmers.

Rep. Lucas on Protecting Ag

Cindy Zimmerman March 18, 2015

Sara Wyant with Agri-Pulse and Rep. Frank Lucas

Former House Agriculture Committee chairman Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK) stopped by the Agri-Pulse Ag Day kickoff event Tuesday evening and commented on the budget plan unveiled by House Republicans would protect 2014 Farm Bill programs.

“The 2014 Farm Bill is primarily mandatory spending for the next five years but there’s a certain amount of discretionary spending, like day to day operations at USDA,” said Lucas, explaining that the annual appropriations bill for that spending is where farm bill programs are at risk. “So this is the first step in a long process of protecting the resources that the House and the Senate and the president agreed should be available for production ag and rural America.”

Lucas says events like National Ag Day help agriculture stay visible in Washington and to educate new members of Congress. “The turnover in membership in the U.S. House and Senate in the last decade has been nothing short of incredible,” he said. “Literally half the House wasn’t here six years ago.”

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Rep. Lucas here: Interview with Rep. Frank Lucas, R-OK

Agri-Pulse Farm to Fork Politics Photo Album

Coverage of National Ag Day Activities is sponsored by

Ag Day, Agri-Pulse, Audio

House Panel Hears Testimony on WOTUS

Cindy Zimmerman March 18, 2015

Representatives of agricultural organizations unanimously condemned the proposed Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule during a hearing held Tuesday by the House Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry.

American Farm Bureau Federation General Counsel Ellen Steen told the panel that “unless dramatically altered,” the rule will create enormous uncertainty and vulnerability for farmers and ranchers nationwide.

“It is impossible to know how many farmers, ranchers and forest landowners will be visited by [EPA] enforcement staff or will be sued by citizen plaintiffs’ lawyers—and it is impossible to know when those inspections and lawsuits will happen,” Steen said. “But what is certain is that a vast number of common, responsible farming, ranching and forestry practices that occur today without the need for a federal permit would be highly vulnerable to Clean Water Act enforcement under this rule.”

National Cotton Council (NCC) Chairman Sledge Taylor of Mississippi said the rule “creates confusion and risk by providing the EPA and the Corps of Engineers with almost unlimited authority to regulate, at their discretion, any low spot where rainwater collects, including common farm ditches, non-permanent drainages and agricultural ponds in and near farms across the nation.”

Taylor, who also grows corn, soybeans, sorghum and peanuts, stressed that if the agencies make significant changes to the rule it is important that the revised rule be released again for public comment.

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Past President Steve Fogelsong of Illinois testified that Congress should act in order to prevent the rule from being finalized.

“Let’s be clear – everyone wants clean water,” said Fogelsong. “But, expanding the federal regulatory reach of the EPA and Army Corp does not equal clean water. After reading the proposed rule, I can say that only one thing is clear, the proposed rule and its definitions are ambiguous.”

Using aerial photos, Fogelsong pointed out places where tributaries to the Illinois River run through his property. “I don’t see the EPA or the Corps on any mortgage that I’ve got that says they’ve got jurisdiction there,” said Fogelsong.

Listen to the testimony of these three witnesses at the hearing, as well as Jonathan Gledhill on behalf of the Waters Advocacy Coalition and Russ Biggica with the Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association: House Ag Subcommittee hearing testimony on WOTUS

Next week, the full Senate Agriculture Committee on Agriculture will hold a hearing on WOTUS, 10:00 am, Tuesday, March 24.

AFBF, Audio, Cotton, EPA, NCBA

USDA Census Highlights Family Farms

John Davis March 18, 2015

The family-owned label applies to the vast majority of farms in this country. The latest information from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) agriculture census shows that these farms are the backbone of the ag industry, making up 97 of the farms in the U.S.

“As we wrap up mining the 6 million data points from the latest Census of Agriculture, we used typology to further explore the demographics of who is farming and ranching today,” said NASS Statistics Division Director Hubert Hamer. “What we found is that family-owned businesses, while very diverse, are at the core of the U.S. agriculture industry. In fact, 97 percent of all U.S. farms are family-owned.”

The 2012 Census of Agriculture Farm Typology report is a special data series that primarily focuses on the “family farm.” By definition, a family farm is any farm where the majority of the business is owned by the operator and individuals related to the operator, including through blood, marriage, or adoption. Key highlights from the report include the following five facts about family farms in the United States:

Five Facts to Know about Family Farms

1. Food equals family – 97 percent of the 2.1 million farms in the United States are family-owned operations.

2. Small business matters – 88 percent of all U.S. farms are small family farms.

3. Local connections come in small packages – 58 percent of all direct farm sales to consumers come from small family farms.

4. Big business matters too – 64 percent of all vegetable sales and 66 percent of all dairy sales come from the 3 percent of farms that are large or very large family farms.

5. Farming provides new beginnings – 18 percent of principal operators on family farms in the U.S. started within the last 10 years.

The 2012 Census of Agriculture Farm Typology report classifies all farms into unique categories based on three criteria: who owns the operation, whether farming is the principal operator’s primary occupation, and gross cash farm cash income (GCFI). Small family farms have GCFI less than $350,000; midsize family farms have GCFI from $350,000 to $999,999; and large family farms have GCFI of $1 million or more. Small farms are further divided based on whether the principal operator works primarily on or off the farm.

Agribusiness, USDA

FFA Takes Message to Capitol Hill on National Ag Day

John Davis March 18, 2015

The future of farming is in Washington, D.C., this week to bring the message of agriculture to those who govern this country. Thirty-six FFA state officers are on Capitol Hill for the the 42nd anniversary of National Ag Day, which is celebrated today in classrooms and communities across the country.

“Agriculture plays a key role in all of our everyday lives,” Kent Schescke, director of government and nonprofit relations for the National FFA Organization, said. “FFA is pleased that we can play a role in helping others know the importance of agriculture, especially during the National Ag Day program.”

FFA members, along with students from 4-H, Agriculture Future of America and Student NAMA (The National Agri-Marketing Association), will take the message of the importance of agriculture and agricultural education to Capitol Hill and visit their congressional leaders.

Organized by the Agricultural Council of America, events during Ag Day mark a nationwide effort to tell the story of American agriculture and remind citizens that agriculture is all around us.

Ag Groups, FFA

Agri-Pulse Farm to Fork Politics

Chuck Zimmerman March 17, 2015

Innovation was the topic of discussion at this year’s Agri-Pulse “Farm to Fork Politics: Unleashing Innovation in Agriculture” in Washington, DC. The panel consists of Bill Horan, Farmer and Chairman, Truth About Trade & Technology; Paul Sauder, CEO, Sauder’s Eggs; David Fischhoff, Chief Scientist, Climate Corporation; Ronnie Green, Vice President, Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Nebraska. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL) also joined the panel – a little late due to lots of activity in the House.

You might guess that innovation can apply to many aspects of agriculture. One that perked my ears up was the growing use of and availability of data which is being driven by new technology to capture, transfer and interpret that information.

This annual event brings together the top leaders in agriculture in Washington, DC as well as elected officials to learn and network. Tomorrow kicks off the official National Ag Day Activities and you’ll be able to follow all of it right here on AgWired.

You can listen to the panel discussion here: Farm to Fork Politics

There are lots of photos from the event here: Agri-Pulse Farm to Fork Politics Photo Album

Coverage of National Ag Day Activities is sponsored by

Ag Day, Agri-Pulse, Agribusiness, politics

USFRA Keeps Growing to Educate Consumers

Cindy Zimmerman March 17, 2015

The U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance® (USFRA) recently surpassed 80 affiliates with the addition of nine new industry partners, but board members Mike Geske of Missouri would like to see that grow even higher.

“We’re all affected by this same food conversation in the United States,” said Geske during an interview at Commodity Classic. “People want to know their food is safe and produced in a sustainable manner. We have to all address that and educate the public about why it is, because if we don’t, they’ll dictate how we’re able to farm in the future. And we don’t need rules based on wrong ‘facts.'”

Geske, who represents the National Corn Growers on the USFRA board, says the alliance has grown rapidly since it began less than five years ago. “It just kind of exploded because so many groups understand the need, but we need more.”

More affiliate groups and companies would help USFRA get the facts out to consumers through efforts such as the Food Dialogies, the movie “Farmland,” and the Faces of Farming program.

Listen to my interview with Mike here: Interview with Mike Geske, USFRA board member

2015 Commodity Classic Photo Album

Coverage of Commodity Classic sponsored by

Coverage of Commodity Classic sponsored by Propane Education and Research Council

Audio, Commodity Classic, USFRA

Ag Secretary and EPA Chief at NFU

Cindy Zimmerman March 17, 2015

The heads of both the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency spoke to the National Farmers Union (NFU) convention in Wichita Monday.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced $97 million in programs to support the continued development of farmers markets, farm to school efforts and rural economies and will also expand risk management tools for specialty crops and limited-resource farmers. “Increasing market opportunities for local food producers is a sound investment in America’s rural economies, while also increasing access to healthy food for our nation’s families,” said Vilsack.

Vilsack stressed his continued support for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). “We need to make sure Congress doesn’t do anything to damage it or repeal it or make it difficult to use. We need to be advocates, spokespeople for this industry. We need to go out and tell folks this is the right thing to do,” he said.

EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy admitted that her agency was “in the hot seat” over both the RFS and the Waters of the United States proposal released last year.

“I really wish we had done a better job of rolling out the clean water rule,” she said, adding that she was concerned they “weren’t crystal clear not only about what we intended to do but also what we weren’t intending to do.”

On the subject of ditches, she said that EPA needs to make the definitions clearer. “Most farm ditches were never covered before, and they won’t be in this new rule,” she promised.

Listen to McCarthy’s speech here, courtesy of Ken Rahjes, AgView.net. EPA Chief Gina McCarthy at 2015 NFU Convention

Audio, EPA, USDA

Senators Call for Dietary Comment Extension

John Davis March 17, 2015

A bipartisan group of senators have asked for a 30-day extension of the public comment period for the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee’s (DGAC) Scientific Report. Senate Ag Committee chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions chair Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, joined their respective committees’ ranking members, Debbie Stabenow, D-Michigan, and Patty Murray, D-Washington, in sending a letter requesting the extension to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and to U.S. Secretary of Health & Human Services (HHS) Sylvia Burwell.

In February, the DGAC sent the nearly 600-page report to the Secretaries. The report is a recommendation to the agencies as they develop the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which will be finalized later this year.

Both agencies will examine the report and public comments before jointly releasing the official 2015 Dietary Guidelines, which will provide nutrition recommendations for a variety of government programs, from school lunch programs to food allowances for U.S. military troops. The current 45-day public comment period ends on April 8. The Guidelines are reauthorized every five years.

The following is the text of the letter sent March 16, 2015:

We write to you today regarding the 2015 Scientific Report of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. As the Dietary Guidelines for Americans inform nutritional policy in federal programs and public recommendations for a healthy diet, it is vital that the Dietary Guidelines are based on sound science and remain independent, unbiased, and nonpolitical in nature.

This advisory committee report included recommendations that are notably different from previous guidelines, which will require additional time to develop thoughtful feedback.

To ensure both agencies have the benefit of hearing from the full range of stakeholders, we request a 30 day extension of the comment period, from 45 days to 75 days. The additional time would allow constituents to review the report more carefully before submitting questions and comments, as well as to provide well-crafted, constructive, and thorough comments.

Agribusiness, Food, politics

March Madness to Choose the Wiener

John Davis March 17, 2015

March Madness will determine the winner of the college basketball world. Well, the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council (NHDSC) will be choosing the wiener – the best hot dog in Major League Baseball. In March Madness style, the NHDSC even has a bracket to determine the champ in the classic and unique hot dog categories.

Voting will be conducted online via polls on the NHDSC Facebook page and will continue throughout the month with a winner announced on April 6th, coinciding with baseball’s opening day, the NCAA Tournament final, and the release of the annual NHDSC baseball hot dog survey, which chronicles the number of hot dogs served at major league ballparks. Last year fans ate 21.4 million hot dogs during the season.

“The variety of hot dogs at different baseball stadiums inspire as much passion as the teams themselves,” said Eric Mittenthal, NHDSC vice president of public affairs. “We’re giving fans the opportunity to decide which hot dog is truly a grand slam and should be crowned baseball hot dog champion.”

The bracket features a classics side and unique hot dog side. The classic hot dogs include many of the icons of the game including the Dodger Dog, Fenway Frank, Wrigley Field Chicago Dog, Yankees Nathans Dog, Brewers Bratwurst, Cincinnati Skyline Chili Dog, Cleveland’s Sugardale dog and the Tigers Coney Dog.

The unique hot dogs in the bracket include more recent favorites such as the Rangers Boomstick, Diamondbacks D-Bat Corn Dog, Orioles Crab Mac and Cheese Dog, Tigers Poutine Dog, Pirates Polish Hill Dog, Braves Dixie Dog, Phillies Cheesesteak Dog and Nationals DMV dog.

Hot dog fans will have a chance to win some prizes of their own, including t-shirts and their favorite franks or sausages. Check out the voting here.

Agribusiness, Food

Page 797 of 2,375
←
1
...
796
797
798
...
2375
→