USDA Celebrates Spending $3 Billion for Climate-Smart Commodities

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack traveled to Pennsylvania to celebrate investing over $3 billion in 135 projects under the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities since its creation in September 2022. “Through our Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities, we are working to create an economy that supports rural communities, meets global demand for renewable and climate-smart goods, and achieves our climate goals,” said …

Terviva Offers New Biofuel Feedstock Grown on Trees

Agricultural innovation company Terviva has announced an investment from Chevron Renewable Energy Group to help scale production of pongamia for low carbon renewable fuel. “Crude pongamia oil can be converted into biodiesel, renewable diesel, or sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). In working with Chevron Renewable Energy Group, we can increase the availability of feedstocks for production of these fuels while promoting …

ZimmCast 736 – Syngenta Advancing Innovation

ZimmCast

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast. In this episode I am going to share some audio from the recent Syngenta Media Summit 2024 that was held in the new crop protection facility in Greensboro, NC. I am grateful for the opportunity to be with a group of agricultural journalists and have personal time with Syngenta leadership. You’ll hear more about …

Syngenta Media Summit 2024

Syngenta Media Summit 2024

This virtual ag newsroom includes links to photos and audio content available free of charge for digital or print publication or broadcast. Photos Syngenta Media Summit Photo Album Audio Interviews Jeff Cecil, Head of North America Crop Protection Marketing, Syngenta: (5:07) Katie Jaeger, US Soy Seedcare Product Lead, Syngenta: (3:42) Beth Williard, Senior Formulation Development Chemist for Insecticides, Product Technology …

DWFI Podcast 38 – Irrigation Expansion’s Varying Impacts on Nutrition

Irrigation expansion can provide the water necessary to increase food production for our growing world. It can also be a means for moving farmers from simply producing enough food for their families to generating more income through domestic markets or export of additional production. However, increasing use of irrigation can have varying impacts on the nutrition of the local communities …

Ethanol Report with New RFA Chair

The Renewable Fuels Association recently held its annual membership meeting in Milwaukee and elected new officers, including Jeff Oestmann with Aztalan Bio. Oestmann has been actively involved in the ethanol industry for nearly 30 years and is excited to take on this new leadership role for RFA. In this edition of the Ethanol Report podcast, Oestmann discusses the current state …

Georgia Agriculture Evaluating Helene Damage

Agricultural damage from Hurricane Helene is being evaluated this week around the southeast. At a press conference Sunday, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said they expect the damage toll to be worse than Hurricane Michael in 2018. “We know we have 107 poultry facilities damaged or totally destroyed, 15 dairies that have been affected and dozens and dozens of other facilities,” …

ZimmCast 735 – Preview of 2024 NAMA Fall Conference

ZimmCast

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast. It’s time for the 2024 NAMA Fall Conference which will be held in Minneapolis, MN, October 14-16. The theme is “Fall Back” and you’ll hear why in my interview with Laura Rustmann, Director of Marketing and Sales, J.L. Farmakis, Inc. and Chair of the committee that is organizing the conference. BTW. You can register …

Trump Puts John Deere on Notice

During a roundtable discussion on agriculture in Pennsylvania Monday, former President Donald Trump called out John Deere for moving its manufacturing to Mexico. “I’m just notifying John Deere right now, if you do that we’re putting a 200% tariff on everything you want to sell into the United States,” said Trump, pointing out the Deere tractors in the backdrop and …

USDA Awards More Processing Plant Grants

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Thursday more than $35 million in grants to 15 independent meat processors in 12 states to increase processing capacity, the final installment in the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP) launched in 2022. Over $325 million total investment in 74 independent meat and poultry processing projects have been awarded. Joining Sec. Vilsack in making …

Ethanol Report on Election Issues

No matter what happens in November, there will be a new president in January and a new administration that could be radically different than the current one, and that could mean a big difference in the outcome of policy issues for the ethanol industry. In this edition of the Ethanol Report, Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper discusses …

LUCI Brings Food Value Chain Consensus

A new multi-stakeholder Land Use Change Initiative (LUCI) is leading efforts to unite the food value chain in developing definitions, metrics and methodologies for quantifying land use change. The initiative is funded by the United Soybean Board (USB) in partnership with Carbon A List, and USB Board Chair Steve Reinhard, an Ohio farmer who presented keynote remarks at a recent …

Farm Foundation Hosts Farm Policy Forum

While the Kamala Harris/Donald Trump debate took the spotlight this week, Farm Foundation hosted a forum on Monday that focused more specifically on the farm policy of each party’s candidate. Moderated by Kristina Peterson with The Wall Street Journal, The Agricultural Platforms of the Candidates for President of the United States featured Kip Tom, Farmers and Ranchers for Trump Coalition, …

ZimmCast 734 – Interviews from FPS

ZimmCast

I’ve lost count of how many Farm Progress Shows I have attended but it’s a lot. This year in Boone, IA we had great weather and that’s not always the case. But it was also an opportunity to see friends as well as clients. I was only on site for Tuesday and half of Wednesday but I recorded 26 interviews …

Ethanol Report From Farm Progress Show

It was a beautiful week in Boone, Iowa for the 2024 Farm Progress Show, the nation’s largest outdoor ag show and one that the Renewable Fuels Association always attends because it brings out farmers from all over the ethanol-producing part of the country to see what’s new in the industry. RFA displayed its custom Flex Fuel Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle …