During the recent National Ag Day festivities in Washington DC, the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) Executive VP/CEO Dr. John Bonner presented Senator Mike Johanns (R-NE) and Representative Collin Peterson (D-MN) with the President’s Award which recognizes those individuals who have furthered the cause of agriculture, science, and technology. Senator Johanns grew up on a farm and eventually … Read More
Ag Drainage Mgmt Coalition Names Reetz Exec Director
The Agricultural Drainage Management Coalition (ADMC) has named Dr. Harold F. Reetz, Jr. its new executive director. ADMC is dedicated to educating farm, drainage, conservation, and regulatory groups about the latest drainage water management system technologies, which can help benefit crops and reduce nutrient enrichment of surface water. Its members include equipment manufacturers, drainage contractors, and state commodity associations. The … Read More
United Voice for Agriculture
More than 60 representatives from more 20 national food and agricultural organizations have agreed to form the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) to focus on working together to enhance U.S. consumer trust in modern food production that ensures the abundance of affordable, safe food. Rick Tolman, CEO of the National Corn Growers Association and chair of the USFRA Steering … Read More
Take Command of Planting With SureStop
Another Ag Leader Technology helpful representative I met at the Farm Progress Show was Chad Huedepohl. He was showing growers their new SureStop Electric Row Clutch. The product was in limited release a year ago but now they’ve done a full release and Chad says the product has generated a lot of interest. He says the SureStop basically shuts down … Read More
Is COOL For Fuel Cool?
Many of you corn growers using precision technology are very aware of the challenges we’ve had in the ethanol business, especially battling groups with an agenda to distort facts and misinform the public. Growth Energy is a group that was formed to battle that problem on Capitol Hill. Here at the Farm Progress Show, Gen. Wesley Clark, Growth Energy, announced … Read More
Your Comments On GM Ethanol Corn Requested
The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is seeking comments until July 6 on the proposed petition to deregulate genetically modified (GM) corn that improves ethanol production. The petition for deregulation, submitted by Syngenta Seeds Inc., is in accordance with APHIS’ regulations concerning the introduction of genetically-engineered organisms and products and is available for the public’s review and … Read More
Precision Crop Technology Proves Sustainability
While anti-agriculture naysayers continue to blast away at GM crops as the end of the world, it’s our duty to offer sound science to the discussion. To this end, a recent study by the British-based PG Economics offers some statistics on the value of biotech crops…as discussed in a recent Nebraska Corn Kernels blog post. Biotech crops help reduce greenhouse … Read More
Aerial Precision
This week I’m attending the National Agricultural Aviation Association Convention in Las Vegas. It’s the first contact I’ve had with this group and I’ve been learning a lot. For example, I didn’t realize how big a role precision agriculture is playing in aerial application. I guess it makes sense though. If you can use gps and variable rate on the … Read More
Best Farming Practices Includes Precision Agriculture
The NFU (Scotland) is promoting a booklet called “Best Farming Practices” produced by Environment Agency, which mentions the importance of precision agriculture. Farmer Philip Chamberlain found that an integrated approach using manure, compost, crop rotation and precision-farming techniques could significantly reduce his costs. By using sewage sludge, well-rotted pig manure and compost from a green-waste plant on the farm, Philip … Read More
Cotton Inc Precision Management Workshops
It’s less than two weeks to the Cotton Incorporated, 2008 Crop Management Seminar & Workshops. There’s a nice agenda of precision workshops included in the program in case you’re interested. It’s all going to take place at Harrah’s Casino & Resort in Tunica, MS, November 11 – 13. Here’s the precision workshops agenda (pdf): 7:00 AM – 8:30 AM REGISTRATION … Read More