The American Farm Bureau Federation hosted their annual Young Farmer & Rancher Leadership Conference in Kansas City, Missouri last weekend. According to coordinator Marty Tatman, advocacy, leadership, and motivation were the three key areas of focus this year. Keynote speakers included former NFL player, Jason Brown, motivation speaker Kelly Barnes, and founder of Voices in Advocacy, Roger Rickard. Breakout sessions …
New Orleans Hosts #RFANEC
New Orleans is the host of the 21st Annual National Ethanol Conference (#NEC) this week sponsored by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). The event will kick off with the State of the Industry delivered by RFA CEO and President Bob Dinneen. The keynote speaker, John Hofmeister, is the former president of the Shell Oil Company, author of the book Why …
FMC at #NFM16 Featured in Latest ZimmCast
FMC Corporation has continued to increase its presence at the National Farm Machinery Show over the past 30 years, making the company really standout to exhibitors, media and attendees of the show. During the event, Cindy Zimmerman sat down with FMC portfolio manager Rick Ekins to talk about why they have made NFMS a priority show through such activities as …
EPA Chief on WOTUS, #RFS
During a hearing on Wednesday, House Agriculture Committee members questioned EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, on the agency’s overreaching, burdensome regulations and policies such as the “waters of the United States” rule, proposed changes to the ozone standard and pesticide uses and the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Listen to McCarthy’s testimony and some of the questioning by committee members here:
#CIRB16 Attendees Gather in California
Leaders in the crop insurance business are gathered in California for the annual meeting of the Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau. On the program this year are presentations about the political climate in this election year, the climate itself and economic challenges facing the world ag market. In addition, first-year members of the CIRB Emerging Leaders Program will be on …
#NFMS16 is 51st Farm Machinery Show
The 2016 National Farm Machinery Show is the 51st annual event in Louisville with 880 exhibitors covering 1.2 million square feet of floor space for the largest indoor farm show in America. The free four-day event brings nearly 300,000 farmers from across the Midwest to explore the trade show and attend seminars on renewable energy, marketing and farm technology. 2016 …
Morning Farm Report by Agrible wins AE50 Award
The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) has named Morning Farm Report by Agrible a winner of a 2016 AE50 Award for Outstanding Innovations in Product or Systems Technology. AE50 awards honor the year’s most innovative designs in engineering products or systems for the food and agriculture industries. Morning Farm Report is a suite of predictive analytics tools …
Vilsack Discusses 2017 USDA Budget
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack hosted a national media call to discuss the Obama administration’s 2017 budget request for USDA programs. “The President’s 2017 Budget request aims to ensure USDA’s programs continue to invest in agriculture research and development, target effective strategies to protect our natural resources, and expand markets and economic opportunity for our farmers, ranchers, and the people who …
Phibro Animal Health on Ethanol and FSMA
Ethanol performance and animal health go hand in hand at Phibro Animal Health Corporation, which is why the revised FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) regulations are an important focus for the company right now. Phibo Animal Health Senior Vice President for scientific and regulatory affairs Richard Coulter says many ethanol producers are concerned about what impact the new regulations …
#TPP Signed in New Zealand
Trade ministers representing Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, United States, and Vietnam gathered for the signing of the historic signing of the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement concluded four months ago in Atlanta. The ministers released a joint statement noting that the “signing of the agreement signals an important milestone and the beginning of …
Syngenta COO on ChemChina Offer
Syngenta confirmed Monday that ChemChina, a Chinese state-owned company, has offered to acquire the company with the cash purchase of all Syngenta shares. The $43 billion deal must still be approved by two-thirds of Syngenta shareholders and receive regulatory approval. Syngenta Chief Operating Officer Davor Piskof held a press call with reporters Monday to talk about the deal, noting that …
Ethanol Report Analyzes Iowa Caucuses
Since the ethanol industry made a strong effort to support candidates who favored the Renewable Fuel Standard going into the Iowa caucuses, the oil industry is making much about the fact that one of the only two candidates opposed to the RFS won the Republican vote in the state. In this Ethanol Report, Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob …
Ethanol Key Issue in 2016 Iowa Caucuses
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) won the Republican ticket in Iowa last night with Donald Trump coming in second despite Cruz’s ambiguity on ethanol and the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). However, ethanol has gained a significant amount of positive ground according to a press conference held by Growth Energy. On the call: Tom Buis, Co-Chair of Growth Energy Monte Shaw, Executive …
ARA Hosts National Policy Conference
The Agricultural Retailers Association is hosting its National Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. February 1-3, 2016. During the event, members will conduct the business of the association through committee meetings leading up to a final board meeting mid week. In addition, ARA members will hear from regulators and interact with legislators while they are here, addressing their priorities on the …
#NBB16 Feature of this Week’s ZimmCast
The 13th National Biodiesel Conference and Expo was held last week in Tampa and it was the 11th year that ZimmComm has done the Biodiesel Conference Blog. Way back in 2006, the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) was one of the first industry organizations to see the value in new media like blogs and they continue to stay on the cutting …