Dr. Pat Westhoff of the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) at the University of Missouri brought attendees of the American Farm Bureau Federation‘s Annual Convention and IDEAg Trade Show an outlook for the 2017-2018 crop demand. Overall, he says, look for 2017 to follow a similar trend of 2016, with prices continuing to be below average. “Lots of pressure … Read More
Commodity Classic Features Wide Range of Topics
There will be plenty going on for those attending the 2017 Commodity Classic in San Antonio, Texas on March 2-4. As the largest farmer-led, farmer-focused convention and trade show, the Classic features a wide variety of educational opportunities, and with the newly published schedule, now you can see exactly what’s being offered in the Learning Centers. “Learning Center presentations are selected … Read More
#AFBF17 Addresses the Dirt on Sustainability
One of agriculture’s biggest frustrations is sustainability; not because we aren’t doing it, but because others are defining it for us, says Katie Heger, a farmer serving on American Farm Bureau Federation‘s Dirt on Sustainability panel. “We have a market that is trying to define what [sustainability] means to us and how we’re supposed to respond to that. Sustainability, really, … Read More
Farm Groups Stress Trade to Trump
The American Soybean Association and 15 other farmer organizations joined together last week to make sure President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence understand the importance of agricultural trade to rural America. The groups sent a letter asking the administration to protect and enhance trade, specifically in regard to China, Canada and Mexico. “We know that securing positive benefits … Read More
NCGA Releases 2016 Annual Report
You can now view the National Corn Growers Association 2016 annual fiscal report online. All active members will also relieve a printed copy of the report, which highlights the achievements of the group over the last year, as well as laying out their current financial information. “As the saying goes, change is the one thing we can count on,” said … Read More
Indigo Cotton Offers Gains for Growers
Last spring Indigo launched their first product dedicated to helping farmers grow food and fiber in a sustainable manner. Now the company is releasing preliminary data from Indigo Cotton, a seat treatment based on naturally occurring in-plant microbes. The product was developed to improve water efficiency while offering high yields during water stress. Grower data from West Texas and Texas … Read More
Syngenta To Use NRGene Software for Crop Breeding
Syngenta has chosen genomics big data company NRGene to evaluate and accelerate trait discovery. Their cloud-based GenoMAGIC software package will make trait mapping more efficient, thanks to volumes of genomic data that allow researchers to identify brand sequence polymorphisms and holotypes. The new process is faster and more cost effective, since breeders can easily relate genomic sequences with beneficial traits. … Read More
Buzz About Pollinators at #PotatoExpo
Chuck Zimmerman found Becky Langer of Bayer‘s Feed a Bee program and M. Vincent Restucci from R.D. Offutt Company buzzing with excitement at the the 2017 Potato Expo in San Fransisco, California. The two forces have joined together on behalf of pollinators– and been quite successful too. R.D. Offutt Company made a commitment to helping pollinators in 2015. They joined … Read More
NCGA Welcomes 115th Congress
The New Year has been rung in and the 115th Congress and the National Corn Growers Association have gotten right to work. President Wesley Spurlock, First Vice President Kevin Skunes and staff from the NCGA office in DC have already made their first set of rounds on Capitol Hill, making sure lawmakers know what’s important to corn farmers. It’s essential work, … Read More
DJI Introduces New Aerial Tech Products
This week’s CES event in Las Vegas was the perfect time for unmanned aerial technology company DJI to introduce two new products– an aerial mapping app and a limited edition Phantom 4 drone. They also debuted a prototype for an ultra-bright monitor specifically designed for outdoor aerial imaging operations called the CrystalSky, and showcased the Phantom 4 Pro, Inspire 2 and … Read More