Corn farmers and Midwest landowners who want to help honey bees and Monarch butterflies have a unique opportunity to do this in a strategic fashion through The Bee & Butterfly Habitat Fund’s SEED A LEGACY Pollinator Habitat Program, which is being supported by the National Corn Growers Association. The updated program, expanded in 2018 to include 11 states, seeks partnerships between landowners and beekeepers to provide cost-effective, high-quality pollinator habitat to ensure honey bee and Monarch butterfly populations thrive. Applications for each state are being accepted online at BeeAndButterflyFund.org/habitat-programs through March 31, 2018 for spring planting. A second application period will open later in 2018 for projects to be planted in the fall.- AgGateway has submitted its proposed irrigation data exchange standard to the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, a major achievement in precision agriculture to help growers manage data from their irrigation management systems. Equipment manufacturers and software companies can go to https://goo.gl/ZCyuwU for more information. More on AgGateway activities, including how to become involved, can be found at www.AgGateway.org.
- For the second straight year, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers is working to help member companies discover and manage those opportunities through its Thinking Forward series of events. This year’s kick-off event is set for April 3rd from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Carnegie Mellon University – National Robotics Engineering Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
- NRCS is seeking assistance to complete restoration work of degraded wetlands, floodplains and forestlands. Proposals are requested from qualified individuals and organizations to implement restoration activities on eligible easement properties.
- A new ag company, Pairwise Plants, has closed a $25M Series A financing co-led by Deerfield Management and Monsanto Growth Ventures. In addition, Pairwise and Monsanto announced a collaboration to advance agriculture research and development by leveraging gene editing technology for corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton and canola crops.
- The National Association of Conservation Districts assembled on Capitol Hill alongside conservation leaders to advocate for locally-led conservation. This year’s fly-in united 150 conservation district officials representing 27 states from across the country. Members met with their representatives to communicate the value of farm bill conservation programs and why funding for these programs and technical assistance is so crucial.