Cargill has developed the first ever robotic cattle driver to improve both animal welfare and employee safety. The robots are designed to move cattle from pens to the harvest area, reducing stress to the animals by minimizing their proximity to human activity. Employees operate the robots from a catwalk located above the pens, reducing safety risks by keeping those who …
New Deere Forage Harvesters Help Maintain Quality
The all-new 9000 Series Self-Propelled Forage Harvesters can provide producers with both high-capacity harvesting and high quality forage, according to Tim Meister, division manager for marketing at John Deere, who spoke to producers at World Dairy Expo last week. “Ultimately, high-quality feed helps livestock producers improve their feeding efficiency, animal health and productivity, while reducing their feeding costs,” said Meister. …
GROWMARK Youth Programs Support 4-H and FFA
It’s National Cooperative Month, it’s also National 4-H Week, and it is the month that National FFA holds its huge annual meeting. In celebration of all that, we talked with Karen Jones, GROWMARK Youth and Young Producer Specialist, about how this agricultural cooperative supports the young people involved in 4H and FFA. “GROWMARK has been a longtime financial supporter of …
2019 National Ag Day Announced
The Agriculture Council of America (ACA) will host the 46th anniversary of National Agriculture Day on March 19, 2019. This year’s theme is “Agriculture: Food for Life.” Major events happening in conjunction with National Ag Day will include a program at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. and a Taste of Agriculture Celebration in the nation’s capitol. These events …
Deere Introduces High-Capacity Self-Propelled Forage Harvesters
John Deere showcased the all-new 9000 Series Self-Propelled Forage Harvesters (SPFH) at last week’s Farm Progress Show, drawing a lot of interest from attendees. The four new models, which range from 616 hp to 957 hp, are able to provide up to 400 tons of throughput per hour, along with optimum corn silage processing independent of the length of cut, …
Farm Bill Conference Committee Meets This Week
The 2018 Farm Bill Conference Committee will hold its first public meeting this week on Wednesday, September 5 at 9:30 am Eastern. Agriculture Committee Chairmen Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., and Rep. K. Michael Conaway, R-Texas, and Ranking Members Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., announced the meeting last month, saying that they are “committed to working together …
Secretary Perdue Comments on Current Issues
Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue visited the Farm Progress Show this week, making an appearance for everyone at the show to enjoy with Max Armstrong and Orion Samuelson in the VIP tent, followed by a press gaggle where trade was the number one topic, along with WOTUS and the Renewable Fuel Standard. Asked about Canada and its dairy policy – …
Weather Causes Early End to FPS18 Day One
There’s always something new at Farm Progress Show and this year a big storm caused something that has never happened before – an evacuation and shut down of the show before noon. Rain had been in the forecast for the day, but everyone was hoping it would either miss us or not be too bad. However, when the storm was …
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, …
Ag Equipment Sales Higher at Mid-Year
All categories of agricultural machinery sales are in the plus column so far this year compared to last, according to the latest data from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM). “We view 2018 as a rebuilding year for agriculture; we’ve experienced a steadily improving economy, tax reform provides incentives and machines need to be replaced,” said Curt Blades, AEM senior …
