What does the future hold for corn farmers? That was a question addressed at the Bayer CropScience Corn and Soybean Future Forum in Frankfurt, Germany last week, and some farmers gave their views. Iowa Corn Growers chairman Roger Zylstra, who farms in Jasper County, talked about the opportunities and challenges of sustainable corn production. “There are significant challenges right now … Read More
Updates On Corn, Water Quality from Bill Northey
During the Farm Progress Show this week, I caught up with Iowa Ag Secretary Bill Northey. I asked him what the corn crop was looking like in Iowa in particular, as Boone, Iowa is the host of this year’s Farm Progress. Northey said that for the most part, Iowa is going to have a great corn crop as well as … Read More
Forum for Sustainable Water Management
On Wednesday, Aug. 20 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., The Center for Food Integrity, in cooperation with the Water for Food Institute at the University of Nebraska, will host the Forum for Sustainable Water Management in Lincoln, Nebraska. Agriculture today consumes more than 70 percent of the world’s freshwater resources, the vast majority of which is used for irrigating crops. As … Read More
Field to Market Announces New Supply Chain Program
Field to Market®, the Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture, has just launched a new agricultural supply chain program for commodity crops. The Field to Market metrics and benchmarks developed through a multi-stakeholder process over the past several years will now become an important platform for measuring, promoting and reporting on continuous improvement in corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, rice, potatoes and other … Read More
Ag Leader Intellislope® Demonstration Video
Water management has become increasingly important for farming operations in the Midwest and tiling is a key component to effective water management practices. Intellislope® from Ag Leader is a way for the grower to efficiently work through the field and place their own tiling system. In addition, SoilMax offers a “Gold Digger” plow to run behind your machine and adjust … Read More
Precision Pays Podcast: Why biotechnology is the answer
Global food security is a huge concern. But what is the answer to feeding that growing population? During the American Seed Trade Association’s annual meeting in June, World Food Prize Laureate Dr. Gebisa Ejeta, professor of plant breeding at Purdue, told attendees that biotechnology is part of that solution to feeding a hungry world. In this Precision Pays Podcast, sponsored … Read More
Grant Contest to Support The Good Growth Plan
Syngenta announced a contest for creative ideas that will support one or more of the six measurable commitments of The Good Growth Plan. The Good Growth Plan Grant Contest will award one Grand Prize of $20,000 to help the winner implement the idea. Also, three runners-up will receive $10,000 each for the same purpose. Deadline for submissions is July 14, … Read More
Hick Chick Chat on Sustainable Farming
At the recent Walmart Sustainable Products Expo, Monsanto made two significant commitments to help address critical challenges in the areas of water and nutrient efficiency. In making the announcement, Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant asked a farmer leader to join him and talk about what these commitments mean for the agriculture community. Leon Corzine is an Assumption, Illinois farmer and past National … Read More
National APLU Report Outlines Research Challenges
The national Association of Public and Land-grant Universities released a report outlining six “grand challenges” facing the United States over the next decade in the areas of sustainability water, climate change, agriculture, energy and education. The APLU project was co-chaired by W. Daniel Edge, head of the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at Oregon State University. The report is available … Read More
Ag Sustainability Pledges Made for Walmart
Kicking off a new Sustainable Product Expo this week, the CEOs from more than a dozen global companies gathered at Walmart headquarters in Arkansas Tuesday to pledge to increase sustainable food production. Eight of the largest food companies announced pledges to help ensure that tomorrow’s food supply is affordable and sustainable for the nine billion people projected to inhabit the … Read More