It’s been touted for months, but the USDA’s final Crop Production 2016 Summary finally confirms it, last year was a record-high yield for corn and soybeans. In 2016 corn growers produced 15.1 billion bushels- 11 percent higher than 2015. Average yield is estimated to be 174.6 bushels per acre, up 6.2 bushels over the last crop. The National Agricultural Statistics … Read More
New Analysis Reaffirms Importance of Ethanol
A brand new USDA analysis finds that U.S. corn-based ethanol reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 43 percent compared to gasoline, greater than previous estimates and something the ethanol industry has been saying for years. Unlike other studies of GHG benefits, which relied on forecasts of future ethanol production systems and expected impacts on the farm sector, the new “Life-Cycle Analysis … Read More
#AFBF17 Economic Team Offers Strategic View
It’s true today’s farm economy has similarities to the 1980’s, but more noticeable are the differences, says Dr. Bob Young, the chief economist at the American Farm Bureau Federation. He and three other economists at AFBF addressed the audience at the 2017 Annual Convention & IDEAg Trade Show. Together they gave an overview of the farm economy and what to … Read More
USDA Devotes $252 Million to Conservation
Applications are now being accepted for federal funding through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). The Natural Resources Conservation Service will award up to $252 million for locally driven, public-private partnerships to: improve water quality, overcome drought, enhance soil health, support wildlife habitat and protect agriculture viability. Projects must match or exceed federal requests with private dollars or local funds. … Read More
New Scholarship Opportunity from GROWMARK
GROWMARK is announcing a new scholarship program, according to Youth and Cooperative Education Specialist Karen Jones. “The GROWMARK Foundation was looking for ways to support education in agriculture for students. We decided a scholarship would be a great way to support students studying agriculture, those who become our future employees or future customers or members,” Jones says. Fifteen students will … Read More
The Financial Storm of Social Media at #AFBF17
Ryan Martin is an agriculture meteorologist at Advantage Weather Solutions– a speaker at the American Farm Bureau Federation‘s 2017 Annual Convention & IDEAg Trade Show, but what does weather have to do with social media? Social media is actually affecting the way farmers make decisions, especially regarding weather stories, Martin told his audience. Once you’ve seen it online, it’s hard … Read More
Farm Foundation to Host International Conference
A conference in February will take an in-depth look at the relationship between agrarian structure and agricultural productivity. “Farm Size and Productivity: A Global Look” will be held in Washington D.C. on February 2-3 thanks to a collaboration of the USDA’s Economic Research Service and Farm Foundation, NFP. “Sustaining agricultural productivity growth is a key factor in our ability to … Read More
TerrAvion Partnering with Servi-Tech
TerrAvion provides its customers with weekly aerial images taken from a low-alititue plane that are uploaded to the cloud to offer growers information for scouting and management decisions with unprecedented accuracy. The data, photographs, NVDI images, thermal images, custom color maps and high-resolution histograms offered to their customers will now also be available to those using the crop consulting services … Read More
USFRA Shows Off SMART Farm Concept
The U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) brought their SMART Farm technology to the largest consumer electronics show in the world, CES, taking the opportunity to show off tech created to help bridge the gap between the science and technology on today’s farms and the innovation in a consumer’s everyday life. “Science and technology are embraced by consumers in all … Read More
#PotatoExpo Hosts Second Annual Spud Nation Contest
The second annual Spud Nation Throwdown cooking contest was held at the 2017 Potato Expo last week, featuring international chefs preparing dishes made with potatoes from the United States. The winner of the $2500 Top Spud prize was Ian Kittichai of Thailand who prepared Beef Massaman Curry. “It’s our first dish in Thailand that we used potatoes,” said Kittichai of … Read More