American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) president and CEO Andy LaVigne is pleased with the turnout of industry members at the 132nd annual meeting in Washington DC this week and with the reception they have received on Capitol Hill. In his opening session welcome, LaVigne said he was especially thrilled to have Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack address the meeting despite his … Read More
ASTA Chair Ends Year on High Note
It’s been a busy year for John Schoenecker of HM Clause as chairman of the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA). One priority for the organization has been to develop a communications strategy and Schoenecker says they have moved forward with that plan in the past year developing a new video message that stresses the importance of seeds in our daily … Read More
Ag Secretary Kicks Off ASTA Annual Meeting
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack stressed the importance of the seed industry to American agriculture and the nation as a whole during an address kicking off the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) annual meeting on Thursday in Washington DC. “Clearly the seed industry has been responsible for an extraordinary increase in productivity in American agriculture,” said Vilsack. “But more than that, … Read More
ASTA Annual Meeting in DC
The 132nd annual meeting of the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) is being held this week in Washington DC where members of the industry will be talking with lawmakers about issues important to them. ASTA president and CEO Andy LaVigne says it is a chance for them to raise awareness about the seed industry with elected officials. “We will be … Read More
Farmers Network Raises $15M in Capitol
Farmers Business Network (FBN), a farmer-to-farmer information network, today announced the company has closed $15 million in funding led by Google Ventures. FBN intends to use the new funding to grow its platform nationally and work with more farmers. “Farmers have been advising each other for thousands of years. FBN gives them a platform to do so with real information … Read More
Thunder Seed Welcomes New Customer Service Rep
Thunder Seed, Dilworth, Minnesota, hired Krista Kappes as its new customer service representative. She began working part-time for Thunder Seed on March 31 and begins full-time in May following her graduation from North Dakota State University where she will be receiving a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Communications. Kappes’ new role focuses on developing grower and dealer relationships as part of … Read More
New Bayer CropScience R&D Facility Opens in NC
Bayer CropScience has opened a new breeding and trait development station in eastern North Carolina. This company news release says the $6.3 million state-of-the-art facility will be home to testing and development of new cotton and soybean varieties for the mid-Atlantic and Southern United States. The Breeding and Trait Development Station at Pikeville is the first of several Bayer CropScience … Read More
Seed Education Campaign Taking Root
Registration is now open for the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) 132nd Annual Convention which will be in Washington DC this year, June 17-20, where members will be sowing seeds of information inside the Beltway. “One of the focuses there is going to be on advocacy,” said ASTA CEO Andy LaVigne at Commodity Classic, who adds that it will be … Read More
Seed Hawk Wins AE50 Award For Innovations in Ag
Growers have a new ally in the pursuit of higher yields, controlled inputs and overall increased efficiency with Seed Hawk’s award-winning new Precision Meter and iCon™ Wireless Control System. The new technologies – which won the prestigious AE50 2015 Award for innovative new products produced in 2014 – take precision seeding to a whole new level. “We’re extremely proud of … Read More
New Holland’s Flexi-Coil® P Series Air Carts
On display at the 2015 Commodity Classic was New Holland’s Flexi-Coil® P Series Air Carts. The redesigned carts have an unprecedented number of patent-pending features for all operations. Chuck met up with New Holland’s Trevor Rempel, Global Product Marketing Manager, on the trade show floor to learn more about the rather large piece of equipment. “We started with a completely … Read More