Dana Sargent, Vice President, North American Regulatory Affairs for Bayer, wrote an open letter on the Bayer CropScience blog penning a response to U.S. and Canadian government regulation regarding imidacloprid. Here’s a portion of Sargent’s letter: As a mom and someone responsible for feeding my family, I know the importance of having ready access to safe and nutritious food. As … Read More
Cutting Edge CropClimate Platform Launched
CropClimate, a state-of-the-art platform that uses cutting edge technology in climate-, soil- and crop-modeling is able to link the effects of environmental conditions, weather and crop yield history and field management to develop more resilient crop production systems. The platform has the ability to transform trillions of model realizations into a simple website platform that will help farmers reduce risk … Read More
Feed A Bee Plants Over 65M Flowers In 2015
Bayer’s Feed A Bee campaign successfully planted over 65 million flowers in 2015 thanks to the support and contributions of consumers and industry partners. More than 250,000 consumers joined the initiative to feed pollinators as the Feed a Bee website and #FeedABee hashtag went viral. By the end of the year, more than 70 organizations joined the fight pledging thousands … Read More
EPA Releases Risk Assessments for Insecticides
Today the EPA announced a preliminary pollinator risk assessment for the neonicotinoid insecticide, imidacloprid, which, according to the assessment, is a threat to some pollinators. EPA’s assessment, prepared in collaboration with California’s Department of Pesticide Regulation, indicates that imidacloprid potentially poses risk to hives when the pesticide comes in contact with certain crops that attract pollinators. “Delivering on the President’s … Read More
BASF Supporting Monarch Butterfly Habitat
USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service last week announced a new $4 million conservation effort to help agricultural producers provide food and habitat for monarch butterflies in the Midwest and southern Great Plains, but BASF is already doing its part in North Carolina. BASF recently introduced Living Acres, a research initiative focused on improving monarch butterfly habitats in high-production agriculture. The … Read More
EPA Wants Better Relationship with Agriculture
EPA agricultural counselor Ron Carleton was at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting Trade Talk last week to discuss ways the agency is working to partner with farmers and ranchers for the benefit of all. “I understand that the relationship between EPA and agriculture over the years has not been necessarily been warm and fuzzy,” said Carleton, who was appointed … Read More
USDA Expands Water Conservation in Ogallala Aquifer
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has made an announcement that the USDA will be putting $8 million in the Ogallala Aquifer Initiative (OAI) in 2016. The purpose of the investment is to help farmers and ranchers conserve water annually while strengthening agricultural operations at the same time. The Ogallala Aquifer expands through eight states, including most all of Nebraska and a large part … Read More
Soil Science Society Educates on Preventing Desertificiation
The Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) is celebrating the International Year of Soil 2015 (IYS) with a calendar of events designed to educate the public about the importance of the matter. The month of November has been named “Soils and Climate” by the group and their November blog post highlights the process of desertification and how to prevent it. … Read More
USDA Invests In Improving Water Quality
$30 million will be invested in Mississippi watersheds this year according to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. 33 new projects and 40 existing projects to improve water quality in high priority watersheds are included in the project; these projects affect waters that flow into the Gulf of Mexico. “By targeting small priority watersheds within the Mississippi River basin, we are … Read More
Iowa Dept of Ag Recieves $227K Grant for Monarch Habitats
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) gave the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and Pathfinders RC&D a grant totaling $227,400 to establish monarch habitat in their state. Privately owned land totaling 3,311 acres in Iowa will utilized for the monarch habitats. The Department and Pathfinders RC&D will provide $227,500 in matching funds to support the project. The … Read More