This week I AM USFRA features Lisa Lunz of Nebraska who has been on the board of the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) from its inception, and she has been pleased to see how the organization has grown to have a significant influence on conversations about food across the country. “USFRA’s mission is to develop trust in modern day …
Thirsty Land Debuts at #Water4Food
Thirsty Land, directed and produced by Conrad Weaver, focuses on the multi-year drought facing California, Washington and other southwestern states. The documentary debuted as part of the Water for Food Global Conference taking place April 24-26 in Lincoln Nebraska at the Nebraska Innovation Campus. The documentary follows the journey of growers who share their stories of how water shortages have …
Growing Global Solutions Launched to Grow Better Agriculture
Growing Global Solutions, a 501(c)(3) public charity, has been formed to help agricultural organizations improve their efficiency. Founders Janice Dahl and Jim Butler put the organization together with the goal of working with top-tier organizations that want to evaluate progress and reach peak efficiency. With expertise specifically in agriculture, the pair decided the industry would benefit from an approach designed …
#NAMA16 Conference Takes KC
NAMA members are taking over Kansas City for the National Agri-Marketing Association’s 2016 annual meeting. More than 1,200 attendee including 800 professionals and 400 students are on hand to hear great keynote speakers and educational sessions and network, network, network. In a kick-off interview with outgoing President Marvin Kokes, he noted, “There so much to be said about about folks …
Top Sensor Manufacturers Make Strategic Investment in CropX
CropX, provider of the world’s most advanced adaptive irrigation service, announced that global leaders in the sensor manufacturing space—Robert Bosch Venture Capital GmbH (RBVC) and the Flex technology accelerator, Lab IX—have invested in the company. Already serving 20 top farms across the United States, CropX plans to use the strategic partnerships to accelerate product development and rapidly expand market adoption. …
Help Zimmie the Zebra Find a New Home #NAMA16
Meet Zimmie the Zebra. This rare pygmy zebra has been homeless for some time as habitat in her native land of Zambia has been disappearing. When Chuck Zimmerman found out about this he called Brian Rund, Nufarm, because they had worked on a zebra home placement project during Potato Expo earlier this year. During that show AgWired helped Chip, a …
Research Finds Cost-Cutting and Survival Strategies of Farmers
A new research study conducted in February by Millennium Research and commissioned by J.L.Farmakis, Inc. shows the extent to which growers are reacting to low commodity prices. Farmers shared the changes they are making to survive the downturn and signaled dramatic shifts in their plans for 2016. Among the findings of the Farmer Speaks Study are: • Half of the …
Mavrx Precision Tools Now Available Through Answer Tech
WinField has added Mavrx® to its Answer Tech™ portal, giving farmers and their retail partners the ability to more accurately analyze fields in-season and make timely crop input decisions. Mavrx is a total field awareness system that uses aerial imagery and data analysis to provide actionable insights to the global agriculture industry. Its suite of precision tools combines ultra-high-resolution (UHR) …
#Dairy Farmers Questions Prez Candidates
Republican presidential candidates Sen. Ted Cruz and Donald Trump were both asked about immigration and farm labor by Wisconsin dairy farmers during CNN town hall events in that state this week. Wisconsin dairy farmer Jason Vorpahl, asked Cruz about about immigrant workers. Noting the need for an adequate labor force for agriculture, Cruz indicated the answer may be increasing mechanization …
ScoutPro Continues to Grow
AgWired first introduced us to ScoutPro back in 2011 but the company has come a long way since then. ScoutPro co-founder Stuart McCulloh says the company started by three entrepreneurial Iowa State University students is now full service crop scouting program. At the recent Commodity Classic the company announced the apps are now a free download because, as McCulloh points …
I am USFRA – Dawn Caldwell
Dawn Caldwell is a very busy woman. Besides helping to run her family’s cow-calf operation in north central Kansas, not far from where they live in Clay County, Nebraska, the wife and mother of two works as head of governmental affairs for the Aurora Cooperative. In addition, she serves on the board of the Federation of State Beef Councils, and …
China’s Excessive Wheat Subsidies Increase U.S. Farm Losses
Over the past few years, U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) and the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) have demonstrated how the policies of a few advanced developing countries are distorting world wheat trade and hurting farmers in the United States and other wheat exporting countries. In 2015, an Iowa State University study sponsored by USW showed that China’s excessive wheat …
Sinor Chemical Appoints NBPT Business Manager
Sinor Chemical Industry Co., Limited announces the appointment of Andrew Semple as Business Manager for NBPT in North, and South America, and the European Union. NBPT is the world’s most popular nitrogen stabilizer for urea, which is the most widely used nitrogen fertilizer on a global basis. SinorChem is an innovator in the production of NBPT, with the development of …
New Series Launch: I AM USFRA
A new audio series has kicked off on AgWired called “I AM USFRA“. USFRA consists of nearly 100 agricultural organizations and agribusiness partners and the goal of I AM USFRA is to learn about those partners and why they support this coalition. To learn who USFRA is, we start at the top with chairwoman Nancy Kavazanjian who represents the United …
Morning Farm Report Adds Nutrient Forecast & Spray Smart Tech
Agrible, Inc. has announced new features and significant enhancements to Morning Farm Report™, their suite of predictive analytics tools for growers and agricultural companies. Tools like Advanced Nutrient Engine, Spray Smart™, Drone Plan, and Field Story™ have been added to the yield estimates, fieldwork recommendations, and weather forecasts already provided by Morning Farm Report. Each new tool adds more data …