GROWMARK has been looking at alternative sources of energy for its Alpha, Ill. distribution center since 2010. After previous opportunities to use solar or wind power did not add up for the company, they found the right fit with a solar project completed in the summer of 2018. GROWMARK is working with Straight Up Solar and investment partner Shine Development …
ZimmCast 593 – Sturgis Buffalo Chip and Ag Media Summit
This week’s program previews two events coming up starting this weekend. Cindy will be attending the Ag Media Summit while I am working at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in the Buffalo Chip Campground. To start things off, we hear from Robert White, Renewable Fuels Association, who talks the annual ethanol educational program for motorcyclists in Sturgis, South Dakota. It’s all …
Ethanol Promotion at #SturgisBuffaloChip
The presence of ethanol and the Renewable Fuels Association is bigger than ever this year during the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and especially at the Sturgis Buffalo Chip. For the tenth consecutive year, the Renewable Fuels Association is partnering with the Buffalo Chip Campground to host the 78th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, scheduled for Aug. 3-12 in Sturgis, S.D. The …
2018 Cattle Industry Summer Meeting
More than 600 cattle industry leaders will be attending the Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting in Denver this week to help create direction for critical industry programs. The meeting is taking place Aug. 1-4. The event includes meetings of cattlemen and women representing the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, American National CattleWomen and National Cattlemen’s …
BASF Takes Over Bayer Assets
Yesterday was a brand new day for BASF as the Chemical Company marked its entry into seeds, non-selective herbicides and nematicide seed treatments. BASF closed on its acquisition of businesses and assets from Bayer, and has renamed the division from Crop Protection to Agricultural Solutions. “It strengthens our market position in agricultural solutions and creates new opportunities for growth,” said …
Acting EPA Chief Questioned on RFS Concerns
During a Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works hearing Wednesday, Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler was pressed for answers about the demand destruction created by small refinery exemptions, how EPA intends to reallocate the waived gallons, and when the agency will allow E15 use year-round. Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Deb Fischer (R-NE), and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) …
#SubEnvironment Holds Hearing on RINs
The House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Environment took a deep dive into the complex world of Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) during a hearing on Wednesday. The committee, chaired by Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL), heard from a panel of independent witnesses to provide background on RINs and how the market for them works. The panel included: Brent Yacobucci – Energy …
Milan No-Till Field Day
The Milan No-Till Crop Production Field Day is one of the most far-ranging agricultural field days in the nation. This year’s event started out with cool weather and a good crowd. Tours cover topics as diverse as row crop sustainability, beef cattle production, natural resource management and precision agriculture. A total of 16 tours are on the agenda. “Although we’ve …
EPA Approves Sorghum Oil as Biofuels Pathway
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler yesterday announced the approval of sorghum oil as an eligible feedstock under the Renewable Fuel Standard during a signing event at EPA headquarters in Washington, D.C., with sorghum farmers and other stakeholders. In addition to the nine ethanol producers already extracting oil from sorghum, several other facilities will now be able to purchase and …
USDA Announces Trade Disruption Relief for Farmers
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will take several actions to assist farmers negatively impacted by recent trade actions. President Trump directed Secretary Perdue to craft a short-term relief strategy to protect agricultural producers while the Administration works on free, fair, and reciprocal trade deals to open more markets in the long run to help American farmers compete globally. Specifically, …
Stoneville Varieties Featured at Sunbelt Expo Field Day
The Sunbelt Ag Expo Field Day brought hundreds of farmers from Georgia and surrounding states. The event let’s you see demonstration plots with the latest innovative research, and visit with industry and university researchers to get up-to-date information on topics such as new seed and forage varieties, irrigation and water management, crop protection, soil fertility and precision agriculture. Stoneville took …
ZimmCast 592 – Comedian Tim The Dairy Farmer
This week let’s meet Comedian, Tim The Dairy Farmer. Humor and dairy are near and dear to my heart and I hope you’ll enjoy the program as Tim talks about how he got into a comedy career. He also has some big news! Blue Collar meets Green Acres. That’s how comedian, Tim the Dairy Farmer, describes the release of his …
Growth Energy Urges EPA to Correct RFS Course
Growth Energy is calling on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to chart a “major course correction on annual biofuel targets.” The proposed rule raises the total 2019 Renewable Volume Obligation (RVO) by 3 percent over the 2018 requirement, and maintains a 15-billion-gallon requirement for conventional biofuels like corn ethanol, but does nothing to address the 2.25 billion gallons worth of …
Inari Aims to Transform Agriculture
A new plant breeding technology company called Inari Agriculture is being introduced today with the mission to transform agriculture and its impact on society and the environment by developing a more personalized plant breeding approach. Inari is a Flagship Pioneering company headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., which started in early 2016 and has since recruited more than 80 leading research scientists …
FDA Considering Fake Meat and Milk
The federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is spending time this month discussing meat and milk. Last week, FDA held a public meeting to discuss foods produced using animal cell culture technology – mainly lab-grown fake meat products – and which agency should be in charge of regulating. The meat industry believes fake meat should be regulated by USDA. Speaking …