Commentary by Chris Novak, Chief Executive Officer, National Corn Growers Association In less than a week’s time, colleagues in the cattle industry will head off to Nashville, Tennessee to participate in the 120th Cattle Industry Convention and Trade Show. Further south, our friends in the poultry industry will head to Atlanta, Georgia for the largest annual trade show for the …
Optimism Expressed at Open of 2016 CUTC
In light of a lot of negativism directed toward farming today the opening speakers for the 2016 Corn Utilization Technology Conference (CUTC) were very optimistic in their outlook. Welcoming us to the 10th CUTC was Chris Novak, CEO, National Corn Growers Association. New technologies have allowed corn farmers to produce so much corn that a surplus was created. That has …
Who Will Farm the Land When Farmers Are Gone?
“They keep farming even when their eyesight is failing and their hearts are going bad.” So starts a great story in the Minneapolis Star Tribune today regarding escalating farm accidents among older farmers. “They get back on their tractors after farm accidents have put them in the hospital, sometimes with permanently disabling injuries.” And it is very true that unlike …
Taking on the Food Fear Mongerers
Hearing food and health “celebrities” spread misinformation about agriculture really annoys plant molecular and cellular biology professor Dr. Kevin Folta, who spoke at the CSS 2014 and Seed Expo this week in Chicago. Folta, who has a blog where he calls himself “a scientist in a scientifically illiterate nation at a time when we need science the most,” took the …
Entertainers Should Entertain, Not Preach
As a former journalist I have a deeply ingrained sense of outrage when the public is being misled, bilked or fooled. This is especially true when misinformation is used to strip away their hard earned cash. So I thought I would send an open letter to Jason Mraz, a singer/songwriter and niche celebrity, who also spends a lot of time …
CUTC Platinum Sponsors
Monsanto and DuPont Pioneer were pleased to be the major sponsors at the recent 2014 Corn Utilization and Technology Conference in Louisville. “We work very closely with the National Corn Growers Association,” said Morrie Bryant with DuPont Pioneer’s End Use Team. “We also have a relationship with the corn processing community and being able to help keep a sustainable supply …
Making Precision Ag Decisions
One of the platinum sponsors for this year’s Corn Utilization Technology Conference is Dupont Pioneer. Speaking on “Precision Ag to Decision Ag” was Joe Foresman, Director - Services Americas at DuPont Pioneer. That’s an interesting talk title since we hear a lot of discussion about the volume of data being collected in precision agriculture today and a lot of questions …
Potential for Ethanol Exports to China
A trade mission to China last week revealed great potential for U.S. ethanol producers. The USDA-led a mission to promote U.S. biofuels and agricultural product exports was part of President Obama’s “Made in Rural America” export and investment initiative, designed to help rural businesses and leaders take advantage of new investment opportunities and access new customers and markets abroad. Leaders …
Water is Life and Drought Equals Higher Food Prices
Food prices are on the rise again and you probably already noticed. Thankfully, the mainstream media thus far is covering it in a balanced way and pointing out the primary drivers behind the increase. Those include things like drought in key growing regions, and an anticipated cut in planted acres in the Ukraine due to political unrest. But as …
Seeds of Trouble in Paradise
Most people are unaware that much of our nation’s seed corn supply hails from the Aloha State. In fact, seed corn is now the biggest segment of Hawaii’s agriculture sector, valued at $243 million, according to the most recent statistics. The seed crop industry started about 50 years ago in Hawaii, but since 2000 the industry has grown by an …
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