Cousin Elected to Heifer International Board of Directors

Ertharin Cousin, former Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme, has been elected to the Heifer International Board of Directors, joining other members with diverse backgrounds in the business, agriculture, academic, faith-based and private sectors. Cousin will serve on the board as an at-large delegate for a three-year term. Cousin spoke at the Water for Food International Forum …

Farm Foundation Forum Features Ag Trade Perspectives

A timely Farm Foundation Forum this week featured the current Chief Agriculture Negotiator of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and three of his predecessors going back to 2001 commenting on the current trade environment for agriculture. Ambassador Gregg Doud, current Chief Agriculture Negotiator Ambassador Darci Vetter, former Chief Agriculture Negotiator (2014-2016) Ambassador Richard Crowder, former Chief Agriculture Negotiator …

GROWMARK Recruits and Retains Top Talent

GROWMARK and FS member companies work hard to recruit and retain top talent, and there are a few reasons they’ve had success. “The two things that we’ve done to really try to recruit top talent are to make sure that there is great, positive brand awareness around our employment brand, and the increased use of technology to make sure our …

Got Milk? Got Jobs.

The U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC), the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) have announced a new “Got Jobs? Dairy Creates Jobs, Exports Create More” campaign to spotlight dairy’s contribution to the health of the U.S. economy. The groups held a virtual news conference to announce the campaign with IDFA president and CEO Michael …

ONE 18 : The Alltech Ideas Conference

The transformative power of ideas is the focus of ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference 2018, May 20–22, in Lexington, Kentucky. The program includes former vice chair of General Electric Beth Comstock, USDA Under Secretary Bill Northey and groundbreaking neurologist Dr. Majid Fotuhi. Four thousand attendees from more than 70 countries are expected to attend this year’s 34th annual conference. This …

ZimmCast 584 – More NAMA, Farm Bill & Precision Ag

There is a mix of topics in this week’s ZimmCast. In this week’s program you will hear: Interview with Marina Menendez, Distillery Madison Interview with Diane Riley/Brenda, Kondex Interview with Chuck Spencer, GROWMARK USDA story on Precision Ag Advancement We have new members of the #GoldenMic Club, some discussion on sustainability as it relates to the Conservation Title of the …

20th Southern Peanut Growers Conference Set For July 19-21

The 20th annual Southern Peanut Growers Conference will be held July 19-21, 2018, at Sandestin Golf & Beach Resort, Miramar Beach, Florida. The conference is hosted by the Southern Peanut Farmers Federation, which includes peanut growers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi. The theme for this year’s conference, “Opportunities in Change,” plans to focus on growth opportunities and changes within …

GROWMARK Talks Farm Bill Priorities

The House version of the farm bill is expected to come to the floor this week, and GROWMARK is among those weighing in with policymakers about priorities for the legislation. The cooperative is particularly looking for support of the Conservation Title, among others. In this interview, Spencer also discusses how sustainability in agriculture has become an important issue when talking …

Condon to Lead New Crop Science Division for Bayer

Bayer today announced the new Executive Leadership Team for the Crop Science division will be led by Liam Condon, who continues to serve as a member of Bayer’s Board of Management and as President of the Crop Science Division headquartered in Monheim, Germany. Condon is also responsible for Bayer’s Animal Health business unit and has over 25 years of experience …

Growth Energy Thrilled with Automotive Training Partnership

A new partnership between the American Ethanol program and the biggest automotive technical institute in the country is an important step forward in Growth Energy‘s mission to show consumers the many benefits of high octane biofuels. Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor says the new partnership is with Universal Technical Institute (UTI), the nation’s leading provider of technical training for automotive, …

EPA Data Shows Waivers Have Lowered RFS Obligations

An analysis of EPA data by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) shows that small refinery exemptions for 2016 and 2017 have cost at least 1.6 billion gallons of biofuels in lost blending obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The volume of lost blending obligations for these two years is 10 times the collective volume of lost volume from 2013-2015. …

Ag Reporters Grill EPA Chief on RFS Issues

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt faced a grilling from agricultural reporters Tuesday about the agency granting waivers exempting refineries from Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) obligations and why it is taking so long to decide on allowing year round use of 15% ethanol in all markets.

Perdue Celebrates Anniversary With Senate Ag Committee

Tuesday was the first anniversary for Sonny Perdue as Secretary of Agriculture and he spent it briefing the Senate Agriculture Committee on The State of Rural America. Most of the questioning for the secretary revolved around trade issues and the farm economy. Listen to opening comments and questioning by Sen. Roberts and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI).

Bayer Launches ForwardFarm in Maryland

Bayer’s ForwardFarming program launched in North America last week at the farm of fourth-generation Maryland farmer Trey Hill. Harborview Farms was chosen as the latest Bayer ForwardFarm, joining Bayer’s global network of 12 innovative, independent farms representative of their unique environments across Europe, Latin America and now, North America. “One of the primary goals of ForwardFarming is to foster dialogue …

Midwest Seed Genetics Expansion and Growth Continues

Midwest Seed Genetics continues its growth with four senior managers joining the team. They are: Todd Claussen as Director Sales Agronomy; Chandra Edwards as Senior Operations Manager; Wayne Hoener as Soybean Product Manager; and Rodd Whitney as Senior Recruiting Manager. “The addition of these highly skilled individuals underscores our resolve in building a new, high quality, high performance hybrid corn …