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
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
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 …
2024 Farm Progress Show
The Farm Progress Show is designed for serious growers, producers and agribusinesses. As the largest, most diversified agriculture information business in North America, Farm Progress prides itself on providing a well-rounded show for farmers to connect and do business with a wide variety of exhibitors. This year’s event was held in Boone, IA. This virtual ag newsroom, sponsored by Syngenta, …
2024 American Coalition for Ethanol Conference
The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) 37th annual conference was held August 14-16, at the Omaha Marriott Downtown at the Capitol District. Participants can expect to delve into cutting-edge technologies, policy developments and market trends that are shaping the biofuels sector. The lineup of experts and thought leaders will explore innovative strategies to boost production, enhance efficiency and maximize policies …
2024 Ag Media Summit
THE AGRICULTURAL MEDIA SUMMIT began in 1999, and is the largest gathering of the agriculture industry’s top writers, editors, photographers, publishers and strategic communicators in the U.S. Providing opportunities for professional development and industry networking, Ag Media Summit is brought to you by the Livestock Publications Council (LPC), the Agricultural Communicators Network (ACN), and the Connectiv Ag Media Council. Now …
Court Decision Impacts RFS Small Refinery Exemptions
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Friday issued an order vacating most of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2022 denials of petitions for small refinery exemptions from Renewable Fuel Standard obligations, and remanding those petitions to EPA for further proceedings. The court’s opinion remains under seal and is unavailable for public review. The following is a …