The 96th annual convention of the American Farm Bureau Federation is underway in San Diego, kicked off by president Bob Stallman Sunday morning telling the membership that agriculture must push harder for important policy reforms in 2015. “We cannot ignore the extremes of the left and right, but we must speak to the center: the legislators in both parties who … Read More
Hick Chick Chat: IDEAg Innovate Conference and Trade Show
Innovation and technology will be in the spotlight at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 96th annual convention, which begins this weekend in San Diego. Cindy will be there to handle all of the coverage next week, and she talked with AFBF’s Dan Durheim to get a preview of what’s new this year. What is brand new is the IDEAg Innovate … Read More
Precision is Focus of IDEAg Innovate Conference
Innovation and technology will be in the spotlight at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 96th annual convention, which begins this weekend in San Diego. Brand new this year is the IDEAg Innovate Conference and Trade Show that will feature topics such as managing agricultural big data, the use of drones for farming purposes, precision agriculture and Internet strategies for farmers … Read More
GMO Food Regulation Hearing Draws Crowd
A hearing on the role of the Food and Drug Administration in the regulation of genetically modified food drew quite a bit of interest on Capitol Hill Wednesday. “I only wish every hearing drew this much interest,” said Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health. Among the witnesses at the hearing were animal … Read More
WOTUS Tops AFBF Policy Issues List
New congress, WOTUS, second beef checkoff, and what to do about COOL were a few of the topics that American Farm Bureau Federation executive director for public policy Dale Moore discusses at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting last week. “We are excited that we have a lot of new leaders – seasoned leaders – coming in,” said Moore of … Read More
Big Data Privacy Agreement
A coalition of major farm organizations and agriculture technology providers today announced an agreement on data privacy and security principles. The agreement was designed to encourage producers to use the full range of innovative, technology-driven tools and services to boost productivity, efficiency and profitability of agriculture with more assurance that personal data will be protected. The organizations and companies that … Read More
Future of Ag Joins in Chorus of ‘Ditch the Rule!’
Producers who will be the future of agriculture are telling the federal government to keep an unpopular water rule from having a future of its own. This news release from Farm Bureau says the group’s Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee wants the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers to ditch the proposed Waters of the U.S. … Read More
Ag Groups Urge EU to Approve Biotech Events
Nearly 20 agricultural organizations signed on to letters sent this week to the European Commission and the U.S. Trade Representative urging that the European Union (EU) take action in September on nine biotech events that have received positive safety reviews and are awaiting final import authorization. There are currently nine products, including four soybean products, which have already received positive … Read More
EPA Chief Heading to Missouri
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy will travel to Missouri this week to defend and explain the Administration’s proposed rules defining Waters of the United States (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act (CWA). On Wednesday, McCarthy will visit Missouri corn and soybean farmer Bill Heffernan to view soil conservation practices used to protect local waterways. On Thursday, she will deliver … Read More
USDA Reports Less Corn, More Soybeans Planted
More soybeans and less corn planted this year, according to the USDA planted acreage report released today. USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is estimating a record high 84.8 million acres of soybeans planted in the United States for 2014, up 11 percent from last year, while corn acreage planted is estimated at 91.6 million acres, down 4 percent from … Read More