Getting caught up in government regulations and red tape is something any farmer wants to avoid, and attendees of the recent Conservation Technology Information Center tour in Livingston County, Ill., heard how they can avoid more of that with voluntary programs, such as the one on display on the tour. Marcia Willhite, the Chief of the Bureau of Water with … Read More
CTIC: Healthy Crops Start with Healthy Soils
Attendees of the recent Conservation Technology Information Center tour in Livingston County, Ill., heard about the importance of soil health and how it can pay big dividends back to producers … and the consequences of not taking care of the soil. “We have really degraded our soils in the Midwest,” explained Hans Kok (on the right, pointing to his demonstration … Read More
Precisely Seeding from High Above
One of the “high”lights of the recent Conservation Technology Information Center tour in Livingston County, Ill., was a demonstration of using a crop duster to seed ground cover on a field still growing corn. Eric Smith with Pontiac Flying Service explained shortly after one of his pilots (in fact, Scott Petersen, the company’s owner/operations manager) flew over the field and … Read More
GROWMARK Shows Good Stewardship on CTIC
The Conservation Technology Information Center tour just completed with a theme of “Community 4 Conservation” this year. Dan Maggart with GROWMARK (pictured to the right, talking to bus load on the tour about what GROWMARK offers in way of agronomic services) explained why his company sees itself as such a good fit as a sponsor for the tour and its … Read More
WI Farm Technology Days to Feature Soy Biodiesel
For the first time in the nearly 60-year history of the Wisconsin Farm Technology Days, all the diesel equipment at the three-day event will run on biodiesel made from soybeans. The Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board (WSMB) will sponsor the soy biodiesel at the event July 9-11, 2013: “We are thrilled to showcase the benefits of soy biodiesel at the 2013 … Read More
Farm Foundation to Talk US-EU Trade
The U.S. and the European Union has a nearly $4 trillion trade relationship, and food and agriculture make up a good portion of that. That’s why Farm Foundation is sponsoring a forum to discuss the U.S.-EU Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) on Wednesday, July 17 at the National Press Club, in Washington, D.C. In early July, the United States … Read More
Farm Foundation Gets New Trustees and Directors
Farm Foundation names three to their Board of Trustees and another two to their Board of Directors. The group says the three new trustees come from the food and agribusiness value chain: Elected were William Buckner, CEO of the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation; David Cleary, Director of Global Agriculture for The Nature Conservancy; and Jerome Lyman, Vice President, Quality Systems … Read More
Genscape Ups Tech Reach with LandViewer Buy
More information certainly helps any operation, especially operations dependent on precision technology (and who these days doesn’t need more precise information?). Provider of energy information for commodity and financial markets Genscape has bought LandViewer to expand its technology footprint in the agriculture and biofuels industries. Genscape says, using NASA satellite data to get daily updates of corn vegetation progress, the … Read More
USDA’s 110 Value-Added Grants Include Biomass
The USDA has named the recipients of 110 Value-Added grants for agricultural producers and rural businesses. This agency news release says the grants include biomass-based products and is hoped to spur the rural economy: “This support will benefit rural businesses and the communities where the recipients are located,” Vilsack said. “These awards also will advance USDA’s goals to develop a … Read More
Brennan New Farm Foundation Dir. of Development
Our friends at Farm Foundation, a group that has work in agriculture, food systems and rural communities, has tapped Tim Brennan as their new Director of Development. “We are excited to welcome Tim to the Foundation staff,” says Jay Armstrong of Armstrong Farms, Muscotah, KS, Chairman of the Foundation’s Board of Directors. “This is a dynamic time for the Foundation … Read More