John Deere hosted an agricultural media event at the company’s Harvest Works headquarters in Moline, Illinois – an appropriate place to unveil a smarter line of grain harvesting technology in the combines and headers John Deere is introducing for model year 2018 production. Deere also showcased the new Frontier VT17 Series Vertical Tillage Tool, new John Deere 4640 Universal Display, …
Iowa Gov and Ag Groups Announce China Trip
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds will lead an all-Iowa agriculture trade mission to China July 19-28 with representatives from the state’s corn, pork, soy, beef, egg, poultry, dairy and turkey industries. The trip marks the first time all of Iowa’s farm groups have come together for a trade mission which will be jointly funded by the participating organizations. Reynolds made the …
Ethanol Price Reporting Contest
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is launching an “Ethanol Days of Summer Contest”, allowing both retailers and consumers to report the price posted for E85 and other ethanol blends. To enter, consumers must have a registered account on www.E85prices.com, where they can submit pricing for a chance to win, or on the mobile app. The website, acquired by RFA in …
IFAJ Presidents at #ONE17
The four most recent presidents of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ), representing four different countries, attended ONE: the Alltech Ideas Conference in Lexington, Kentucky this week. This podcast includes past presidents David Markey of Ireland, Markus Rediger of Switzerland, and Mike Wilson of the United States, and current IFAJ President Owen Roberts, Canada. Each of them reflects on …
USDA Cuts in Trump Budget
Farmers and ranchers are concerned about President Trump’s “Taxpayer First” budget released this week but Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue defended significant cuts to USDA in the name of balancing the budget on a press call with reporters Tuesday. The budget cuts USDA staff, crop insurance, conservation programs, and food assistance and eliminates funding for some programs including the Market Access …
Alltech #ONE17
ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference challenges you to seek out that one-in-a-million idea that will revolutionize the way you do business. A record crowd of 4,000 attended this year’s conference held May 21–24 in Lexington, KY. This virtual newsroom includes links to photos, audio, and video from the conference. All content posted here is available free of charge for digital …
SMART Farmer Scott VanderWal
In this episode of the SMART Farmer podcast we meet Scott VanderWal, a third-generation corn and soybean farmer and cattle feeder from Volga, South Dakota. Scott serves as vice president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, president of the South Dakota Farm Bureau, and is a board member of the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance. In this podcast, Scott talks …
AEM Holds Rural Broadband Access Panel
The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) hosted Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey and representatives from equipment manufacturers John Deere and HammerHead Trenchless for a panel discussion on Capitol Hill on May 18th focused on the expansion of rural broadband access as part of lawmakers’ work this year on infrastructure. The event was in conjunction with Infrastructure Week 2017 and …
Soil Health Institute Announces Action Plan
The Soil Health Institute (SHI) today unveiled the “Enriching Soil, Enhancing Life” Soil Health Action Plan during a National Press Club event. Former USDA-NRCS chief Bruce Knight moderated the unveiling of the plan which was developed from four years of stakeholder input, beginning with the Soil Renaissance in 2013. Agricultural industry thought leaders, farmers, ranchers, scientists, government agency leaders, and …
Interview with Lynn Henderson on NAMA
The National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) is celebrating 60 years as a professional organization dedicated to the business of agricultural marketing. Lynn Henderson with AgriMarketing Magazine has been involved with NAMA for the last 41 of those 60 years so we sat down with him at the recent annual conference to hear some of the history of the organization and how …
Secretary Perdue Testifies at First Hearing
Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue testified at his first hearing as the new head of USDA. The House Agriculture Committee welcomed Perdue to Capitol Hill Wednesday to testify on the “State of the Rural Economy.” The new secretary submitted seven pages of written testimony which focused on his proposed “realignment” of USDA. “My goal is to make it the most …
Nebraska Press Conference on Mexico Grain Trade
Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts asked grain industry officials from Mexico and the United States join him Tuesday for a press conference to highlight the importance of Mexico to U.S. agriculture and how the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has benefited both countries. Representatives from the Nebraska Corn Board, the U.S. Grains Council, and the National Corn Growers Association joined …
DMI Launches Undeniably Dairy Campaign
The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, in partnership with Dairy Management Inc, held a press conference this afternoon to detail its launching of Undeniably Dairy, the first industrywide campaign of its kind to grow consumer confidence in dairy products. The call featured dialogue from Amber Horn-Leiterman, Wisconsin dairy farmer and Chair, National Dairy Promotion and Research Board, Barb O’Brien, President, …
NCBA Reacts to Regained Access to China
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) held a media conference call and Q&A session to discuss the historic reopening of the Chinese market to American-produced beef this morning. Speaking on the call were Craig Uden, NCBA President, and Kent Bacus, NCBA Director of International Trade and Market Access. “We’re very excited about this development, it’s another step closer to restoring …
Secretary Perdue Announces USDA Changes
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has announced a reorganization of USDA yesterday that includes the creation of a new undersecretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs, which was approved in the most recent farm bill. As part of the reorganization, Perdue also announced that the department’s Rural Development agencies would be elevated to report directly to the secretary of agriculture “in …