A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators introduced a bill Thursday that calls on EPA to develop a new “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) proposal. The senators, including John Barrasso (R-WY), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Joe Manchin (D-WV), jointly introduced the Federal Water Quality Protection Act, directing EPA and the U.S. …
GROWMARK Insect and Disease Update
GROWMARK Insect and Plant Disease Technical Manager Tim Laatsch discusses the latest insect and disease conditions right now in Illinois for wheat and newly planted corn. GROWMARK Crop Update –
NAFB 2015 Washington Watch
Thanks to our friends at Agri-Pulse we have some great audio to share from the National Association of Farm Broadcasting annual Washington Watch. First Doan Award Presented – ARA Supports Food Labeling Act – RFA CEO Talks RFS with NAFB – Mixed Signals on Biotech from EU –
Famous Idaho Potato Tour 2015
The Big Idaho Potato on wheels and Tater Team is back on the road. Track it’s progress here. This is its fourth cross-country tour with a new mission to help local charities across the U.S. In a five-month period, the truck will visit 60 cities, travel 22,087 miles and help dozens of charities better serve their communities. Listen to/download some …
First Anniversary of Bayer Bee Care Center
Bayer CropScience celebrated the first anniversary of their North American Bee Care Center located in RTP, NC. Bayer’s Jim Blome and Becky Langer were joined by Dr. Richard Reich, agricultural services assistant commissioner, North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, who spoke of the importance of the Center’s work, public-private partnerships and the importance of agriculture to the North …
White House Climate Initiative Announced
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and presidential advisor Brian Deese visited Michigan State University Thursday to announce a comprehensive national strategy to partner with farmers, ranchers and forest land owners to address the threat of climate change. The new initiative, “Building Blocks for Climate Smart Agriculture & Forestry”, will utilize voluntary, incentive-based conservation, forestry, and energy programs to reduce greenhouse gas …
Global Soybean Stakeholders Discuss Biotech
Representatives from U.S. soybean-farmer-led organizations held a telephone press conference Thursday from China where they will be joining their counterparts from several other countries to discuss the biotech-approval process there. United Soybean Board (USB) chairman Bob Haselwood of Kansas, the American Soybean Association (ASA) president Wade Cowan of Texas, and the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) chair Laura Foell of …
Industry Addresses New H5N2 Outbreaks
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Center for Disease Control (CDC) provided an update on highly pathogenic H5N2 avian influenza outbreaks via a press conference this morning. This comes after the recent confirmed case on an Iowa egg farm. USDA Chief Veterinary Officer John Clifford, CDC Medical Officer Dr. Alicia Fry and USDA Southeast Poultry Research Director David Swayne …
Biofuels Supporters Meet With Hillary Clinton
During her visit to Iowa this week, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton discussed the Renewable Fuel Standard with farmer leaders and America’s Renewable Future co-chair Patty Judge, former Iowa lieutenant governor and agriculture secretary. America’s Renewable Future, an Iowa-based coalition formed to educate presidential candidates about biofuels and the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).
Cong. Vicky Harzler Interview
Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO) and 70 House colleagues recently called for the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) to be based on sound nutritional science and not areas such as sustainability and tax policy. In this interview, Rep. Hartzler discusses her view of the recent DGA advisory committee report that recommends less meat in the diet. She also talks about …
USDA Official on the Road for Trade
USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Alexis Taylor has been meeting with agricultural stakeholders around the country to talk about the importance of Trade Promotion Authority for the president in expanding international markets for U.S. products. Taylor was in Florida this week and she’s also visited with producers in California, Oregon, Washington, and Pennsylvania. In this …
Propane Program Pays Off for Growers
The Propane Farm Incentive Program paid off for participants last year, according to the Propane Education and Research Council (PERC). In this interview, PERC agricultural director Cinch Munson talks about successes of the 2014 program which provides up to $5,000 toward the purchase of new propane-powered irrigation engines.
Reaction to Prospective Plantings Report
The 2015 Prospective Plantings released by USDA shows declines expected in corn, wheat and cotton acres this year, with only a modest increase in soybean acreage. Randy Martinson with Progressive Ag, who provided commentary on the report for the Minneapolis Grain Exchange crop call, was surprised by some of the numbers.
USDA Announces Ag Conservation Easement Funds
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Natural Resources Conservation Service chief Jason Weller have announced the availability of $332 million in financial and technical assistance through the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP).
USDA Extends ARC and PLC Deadlines
USDA has extended by one week the deadline for producers to choose between Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC), the safety-net programs established by the 2014 Farm Bill. The final day to make the decision, update yield history or reallocate base acres will now be April 7, 2015. Val Dolcini, administrator of USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) …