Emily Buck farms with her husband and daughter near Columbus, Ohio where they raise soybeans, corn and wheat and also have a small sheep operation. Her main role on the farm, beyond helping with crops, is to manage the 40 ewes. Off the farm, Emily is a university researcher and professor of agricultural communication at Ohio State University, which gives …
Ag Secretary Heads Home to Survey Irma Damage
Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black asked Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to see first-hand the damage the Hurricane Irma caused to crops in his home state on September 15. The secretary will also travel to Florida and Texas next week to survey agricultural damage from both hurricanes Irma and Harvey. Perdue’s Georgia tour will take in damage to the state’s …
Ethanol Report on E15 Hurricane Help
In this edition of the Ethanol Report podcast, Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen talks about how an early end to the summer restriction on sales of E15 (15% ethanol fuel) has helped offset gasoline supply shortfalls and limit fuel price spikes from the hurricanes. He also discusses his recent testimony to the EPA that high-octane ethanol blends …
Bayer Arkansas Showcase Day
Bayer hosted growers at the recently opened Soybean Breeding and Trait Development Station in Marion, Arkansas on September 13 for a Showcase Day highlighting new varieties and seed treatments for soybeans and cotton in the Mid South. Photos provided by Bayer: Bayer Arkansas Showcase Day Photos While weather kept the field day indoors, growers learned about: New Credenz® varieties that …
GROWMARK Hosts FS Simulator Media Event
GROWMARK’s new FS applicator simulator was showcased for media this week in Bloomington, IL. The simulator was created as a training module for FS System operators to practice, study, and enhance their ability, knowledge, and safety skills. This virtual ag newsroom includes links to photos and audio content available free of charge for digital or print publication or broadcast.
Florida Citrus Starting to Assess Irma Damage
Flooded citrus groves in Hardee and DeSoto counties – Adam Putnam As Floridians continue to dig out from the damage and debris caused by Hurricane Irma, the extent of damage to agriculture is starting to be assessed. Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam took an aerial tour yesterday to survey areas impacted by Hurricane Irma, including citrus groves in Central …
Biostimulants World Congress Coming to Miami
The use of biostimulants in agriculture has grown dramatically over recent years and could reach $2 billion by next year, but there is still much that needs to be learned about the diverse formulations on the market and being developed that are applied to plants or soils to regulate and enhance the crop’s physiological processes. The 3rd Biostimulants World Congress …
Arkansas Urged to Consider Impact of Dicamba Ban
The Arkansas State Plant Board is considering recommendations for dicamba use in the 2018 growing season that Monsanto calls “unwarranted” and BASF considers to be a “rush to judgement.” On August 24, the state’s Dicamba Task Force voted to recommend a cutoff date of April 15 next year for the use of all dicamba products, including Monsanto’s XtendiMax and BASF’s …
John Deere Acquires Blue River Technology
Deere & Company has signed an agreement to acquire Blue River Technology, a leader in applying machine learning to agriculture based in Sunnyvale, California. As an innovation leader, Blue River Technology has successfully applied machine learning to agricultural spraying equipment and Deere is confident that similar technology can be used in the future on a wider range of products, May …
SMART Farmer Robb Fraley
Robb Fraley isn’t our typical SMART Farmer, but after growing up on a small Illinois farm, his work has helped farmers around the world produce food more sustainably with science and technology that has helped increase yields by decreasing threats to crops. That technology is genetic modification of plants, creating GMO crops that are resistance to insects and disease, able …
Bayer Showcases Cotton and Peanuts
The peanut and cotton crops are looking especially good right now in Georgia and with harvest still about two weeks away farmers are hopeful Hurricane Irma will spare them. “Harvest season is always critical and you can have a great year and it all be ruined by one hurricane,” said Keith Rucker, Bayer Southeast region technical service rep, during a …
GROWMARK Supports Hurricane Harvey Relief Efforts
GROWMARK has donated $50,000 to support relief efforts following Hurricane Harvey through the Midwest Food Bank, a Salvation Army First Responder organization. The contribution was made through The GROWMARK Foundation, GROWMARK’s philanthropic arm which supports not-for-profit charitable organizations. GROWMARK’s donation will enable the Midwest Food Bank and the Salvation Army to continue their important mission for as long as there …
Wisconsin Sends Cheese to Houston
Driven by online conversations shortly after Hurricane Harvey, The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board (WMMB) coordinated a state-wide effort with Wisconsin cheesemakers to send almost 20,000 pounds of cheese to Houston to provide nutritious food for those affected by Hurricane Harvey. On Friday, September 1, WMMB employees, cheese company employees and dairy farmers, packed a delivery truck in Madison with over …
Mid-Missouri Energy Goes John Deere Green
Mid-Missouri Energy (MME) in Malta Bend, Missouri is home to a new piece of equipment that has helped make the grounds around the ethanol plant a little greener. MME General Manager Chris Wilson won the John Deere ZTrak Z925M Flex Fuel commercial mower during a raffle at the Renewable Fuels Association 2017 National Ethanol Conference. The E85 used in the …
John Deere at 2017 FPS
John Deere green was hard to miss as you walked the roads of the 2017 Farm Progress Show. Not only did they have the latest in their lineup on display, they took it one step further this year and let attendees get behind the wheels of their newest Gator models. The Ride & Drive area opened early one more for …