Innovation and insight were the topics at the forefront of a press conference held by Monsanto and WestBred Wheat during the 2016 Commodity Classic. The companies announced the introduction of the Wheat Insight System, an innovative way for wheat growers to purchase and plant wheat seed to optimize yield and profit potential. The system calculates how many seeds are in … Read More
Gearing Up for InfoAg Conference 2016
It might be their off-season, but the people behind the InfoAg Conference aren’t taking it easy. Harold Reetz, the original founder of the event, recently traveled to the 2016 Commodity Classic. His goal in attending the event was to share more about the opportunities available at InfoAg with the great group of farmers who come to Commodity Classic. Since 1995, … Read More
Big Easy #Classic16 Sets Big Records
The 2016 Commodity Classic in the Big Easy was a big record setter. Total attendance was 9,770, compared to 7,936 in 2015. Another record set was in the number of growers attending, at 4,596. Additionally, the trade show featured an all-time high of 433 participating companies, including 128 first-time exhibitors. These exhibitors filled a record 253,300 net square feet of … Read More
FFA Chapters Win With #LibertyLink #RealYield Game
The biggest winners in the 2015 Bayer LibertyLink® Real Yield game were state FFA chapters around the country who get to share $50,000. Twenty-eight state FFA organizations participated in the challenge to promote the online Real Yield Game to growers within their states. The donation value was determined by the number of growers from respective states who played the game … Read More
The Fertilizer Institute Honors 4R Growers at #Classic16
The Commodity Classic was the site of many top honors last week, including the 4R Grower and Retailer Advocates title given to five American farmers and their retail partners by The Fertilizer Institute (TFI). 4R Grower Advocates are those who have shown excellence in the four areas of nutrient stewardship: using the right nutrient source at the right rate at … Read More
Corn Yield Contest Video Launched at #Classic16
The National Corn Growers Association released a video last week offering tips from perennial high-yield entrants of the National Corn Yield Contest, like 2015 record-setter David Hula of Charles City, Virginia who topped 532 bushels per acre last year. The new video, which accompanies the traditional online NCYC Guide, offers farmers across the country a chance to apply the tips … Read More
The Great Grain Marketing Debate
Grain marketing was at the center of many educational sessions during the 2016 Commodity Classic, as the stressful state of the economy has made it imperative for farmers to have a clear understanding of grain marketing. One session at this year’s event, the Great Grain Marketing Debate, offered attendees a valuable panel discussion on grain marketing strategies for 2016. One … Read More
Big Winner in Bayer #LibertyLink #RealYield Game
Congratulations to Rick Juchems, Iowa farmer, who is the big winner in the Bayer LibertyLink Real Yield Game. Rick has won a year’s lease on a John Deere 8320R tractor. He’s a corn and soybean farmer doing mostly no-till with 100% cover crops. Rick also custom feeds hogs too. To say that he was excited about winning this tractor for … Read More
Farm Different With StollerUSA
One of the most popular learning sessions at the 2016 Commodity Classic was StollerUSA’s “Farm Different to Break Through Yield Barriers” roundtable discussion, where a panel of growers who have seen continually increasing yields discussed specific cultural and management practices they use to increase yields. “The session is set up to have some of our growers themselves speak, instead of … Read More
GMO Answers Stands Up For Science
The use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and the controversial legislation surrounding GMO labeling were hot discussion topics at the 2016 Commodity Classic, with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack addressing the issue during the event, as well as several commodity groups. In the trade show, the Council for Biotechnology Information (CBI) had a booth dedicated to GMO Answers, an … Read More