2018 Corn Utilization & Technology Conference

The 2018 Corn Utilization and Technology Conference is about to start in St. Louis, MO. This event is held every other year and features technical presentations on various topic related to corn and uses for corn. The theme this year is, “Increasing efficiency across the supply chain to enable new products.” This virtual ag newsroom includes links to photos and …

Bayer Provides Monsanto Closing Details

Bayer intends to complete the acquisition of Monsanto this Thursday, June 7, following the receipt of all required approvals from regulatory authorities. According to the conditional approval from the United States Department of Justice, the integration of Monsanto into Bayer can take place as soon as the divestments to BASF have been completed. This is expected to be in approximately …

Ethanol Report on EPA Lawsuits

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) has joined a coalition of biofuel and agriculture groups in a lawsuit against EPA over lost volumes of renewable fuel resulting from retroactive small refinery exemptions from Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) obligations. RFA is also a petitioner in a lawsuit filed last week over three specific small refinery exemptions granted by the agency. “EPA Administrator …

ZimmCast 586 – CCA Institute 2018

This edition of the ZimmCast includes interviews from the CCA Institute in Fort Worth, Texas. In this week’s program I’m going to share interviews with Nickie Sabo, AMPI, now past president for CCA, Chellie Phillips, Coweta-Fayette EMC, new president of CCA and Matt Wettersten, GROWMARK, meter of CCA. Listen to the ZimmCast here: Subscribe to the ZimmCast podcast here. Use this …

GROWMARK Foundation Announces Scholarship Recipients

Fifteen agriculture students have been selected as the second class of recipients of the GROWMARK Foundation scholarship. “Each scholarship is worth 1500 dollars,” says Karen Jones, Youth and Young Producer Specialist at GROWMARK. “We’ve awarded some to incoming freshmen but about half are going to students that are sophomore level or above.” Click here to see the full list of …

CCA Institute 2018

The Cooperative Communicators Association is holding it’s annual Institute in Ft. Worth, TX in 2018 with the theme, “Earn Your Spurs, Communicate in the Lone Star State.” About CCA CONNECT. CREATE. ACHIEVE. Cooperative Communicators Association (CCA) is an organization of 350 professionals who communicate for cooperatives. Our organization is unique in both its mission and membership. We work toward helping …

John Deere Introducing Updated Harvest Equipment

A new track system and a new draper lineup are among updates to harvest equipment coming from John Deere. A new track system is now fully suspended, offering the ability to transport up to 25 miles per hour from field to field. Track widths are available in 30-inch or 36-inch options. The company now also offers seven draper headers to …

GROWMARK: Agriculture Background Not Required

Although GROWMARK and its FS Member companies are clearly rooted in agriculture, a farming or agribusiness background is not required to thrive as an employee there. GROWMARK’s Director of Talent Management Tom Swearingen is a prime example of that. Originally a commercial airline pilot, Swearingen left that industry after the events of 9/11/2001 changed it forever, and came back to …

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 …

Farm Bill Defeated in the House

House Agriculture Committee Chair Rep. Mike Conaway (R-TX) delivered on his promise to get a farm bill written in a timely manner, but his colleagues in the House voted 198-213 Friday to reject his effort. Democrats voted against the bill mainly for changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) aimed at getting able-bodied adults under 60 without dependents or …

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 …