The United Nations has designated 2015 as the International Year of Soils (IYS) to increase awareness and understanding of the importance of healthy soil for food security and essential ecosystem functions. Soil Renaissance, a group led by our friends at Farm Foundation, is celebrating IYS and its first year in existence as a movement to make soil health the cornerstone … Read More
How to ‘Crack the Code’ on Consumer Food Confidence
New research gives food producers and sellers some insight into how to gain consumer confidence in the food system. “Cracking the Code on Food Issues: Insights from Moms, Millennials and Foodies,” a consumer trust research report from The Center for Food Integrity (CFI), helps those in the food system do a better overcoming consumer skepticism over issues, such as genetically … Read More
Cotton LEADS Cotton Receives Biobased Certification
Cotton grown in Australia and the U.S. under the Cotton LEADS program, which promotes the responsible production practices, has received the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) 100 percent biobased designation. This news release from Cotton LEADS says that puts the textile in USDA’s online BioPreferred Catalog. Cotton LEADS™ cotton easily met the BioPreferred program’s new stipulation for innovation, due to … Read More
Bayer Opens Young Farmer Sustainability Award Program
Looking for leadership from young agricultural producers in business and sustainability, Bayer CropScience is seeking nominations for the 2015 Young Farmer Sustainability Award program. “Young men and women across the United States are solving great agricultural challenges by implementing innovative, sustainable solutions on their farms,” said Jim Blome, president and CEO of Bayer CropScience North America. “From making small-scale system … Read More
NCGA Offers Online Seminar on Bt Corn Resistance
Bt corn is still one of the most important technologies for controlling insect pests, but the western corn rootworm’s increasing resistance to Bt corn has caused some alarm. That’s why the folks at the National Corn Growers Association are sponsoring a five webcast seminar focusing on the many new and changing aspects of western corn rootworm management in the transgenic … Read More
Sumitomo Acquires DuPont Asana Insecticide
Japan-based Sumitomo Chemical Company, Ltd. is acquiring the DuPont™ Asana® Insecticide business in the United States. The company announced Asana® will be distributed through Valent U.S.A. Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Chemical in the United States. Asana® Insecticide, active ingredient esfenvalerate, is a proven control tool for a wide range of insect pests in major field crops, vegetables, … Read More
Verdesian Life Sciences Offers New Biological Herbicide
A new herbicide offered by Verdesian Life Sciences will soon give growers of cereal crops, grass seed and alfalfa, and managers of rangeland and non-cropland a new biological tool for fighting downy brome. The company says D7 was discovered by researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and commercially developed by Verdesian. An invasive species, downy brome infests millions of … Read More
Monsanto to Debate GMOs on Dec. 3rd
Producers, consumers and the whole world can see a debate live online this Wednesday, Dec. 3rd. Monsanto Company Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Robert Fraley and Alison Van Eenennaam, Genomics and Biotechnology Researcher, UC Davis, will participate in an Intelligence Squared U.S. debate on the motion “Genetically Modify Food.” You can see a live stream of the debate 6:45 pm ET … Read More
Int’l Visitors See & Make Connections at Develop with Deere
One place U.S. farmers are definitely ahead of their European counterparts is in the area of precision agriculture, in particular, connecting data from different platforms. Chuck caught up with Malte Isermeyer and Thomas Dedenk with KWS out of Germany at the recent 2014 Develop with Deere conference in Kansas City, who told him many farmers in Europe try to get … Read More
Partnership for Sustainable Ag Standardizing
Two sustainable agriculture groups are joining forces to make sure measuring and reporting of information is better standardized. Field to Market and The Sustainability Consortium (TSC) say their new partnership will ensure there’s harmonized science-based approach to measure and communicate sustainability in agriculture. In a memorandum of understanding signed last week, TSC and Field to Market have agreed to work … Read More