This week’s edition of the Hick Chick Chat again comes to us from NAFB Trade talk. I had a chance to catch up with Phil Jennings, service manager, from Kinze Manufacturing. We talked about all the exciting changes that are happening at the plant as well as some new things they have been working on for the field. Including a … Read More
Former NRCS Chief on Conservation Program Future
A former chief of USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service says both the House and Senate farm bills are similar when it comes to reduced funding and consolidation of conservation programs. Bruce Knight, who served as NRCS chief in the Bush administration, gave a synopsis at a Farm Foundation forum on conservation last week. “The largest difference is whether or not … Read More
CHS introduces XLR-rate
Maria Abbott is an agronomist with the crop nutrients division of CHS. She talks about XLR-rate which is a low salt starter fertilizer that has been on the market for just over a year. “We think about 40% of the corn is actually put down with a starter fertilizer” Maria says that boosting yields is the goal for XLR-rate and … Read More
GSI Acquires JSI
With a record corn crop going in the bin, more storage is needed and that’s where GSI comes in. Andrew Stednitz director of North America Dealer Sales for GSI had some exciting news for me while we were at NAFB Trade Talk last month. They have recently acquired JSI (Johnson Systems Inc.) which will bring them into the tower, catwalk, … Read More
Hick Chick Chat with Case IH about 2014 Products
Everyone has their preferences. On our farm, we liked red tractors and combines, on yours you may like green ones, maybe blue or even yellow or silver. Regardless, new products are rolling out for 2014. I had a chance to chat with the boys from CaseIH while at Trade Talk at NAFB about their upcoming 2014 line. Ryan Schaefer, Case … Read More
USDA Talks Numbers at NAFB Trade Talk
USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) representatives were on hand at NAFB Trade Talk last month to discuss the 2013 crop and the 2012 census. The 2013 harvest is considered completed at this point and Lance Honig with NASS says with a record corn crop and near record soybean crop forecast it’s turned out to be a pretty good year, … Read More
Koch Agronomic Services Looking Ahead
At the 70th Annual Convention of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting and on the Trade Talk floor I stopped in to see our friends from Koch Agronomic Services to find out what’s new in their world. Vice President for North American Sales Ron Rustom tells me about the acquisition of new companies and how Koch looks to become the … Read More
BASF Advanced Plant Health and Grower Engagement
Advanced plant health and grower engagement were two topics that BASF Crop Protection representatives discussed with reporters at the recent National Association of Farm Broadcasting Trade Talk. Dr. Brianne Reeves is a member of the BASF Plant Health Technical Market team and in that role supports field research efforts and manages technical training for Priaxor® fungicide. Brianne is a DPM … Read More
The Chicago Farmers Rebrands Farmland Fair
The Chicago Farmers annual Farmland Investment Fair has been rebranded for 2014 as simply “The Farmland Fair” with a continued focus on the connection of social media and farmland investment. The Chicago Farmers 2014 Farmland Fair – “Where People Come To Learn, Connect and Understand Farmland” – will be held on February 1, 2014 from 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. … Read More
Hick Chick Chat for Thanksgiving
Welcome to the second installment of the Hick Chick Chat for the week of Thanksgiving, that glorious time of year we give #FoodThanks for another bountiful harvest. There was a lot of conversation this year about the unfavorable growing conditions experienced in many areas and just a few months ago there were some pretty major concerns about whether the harvest … Read More