Commodity Classic heated up a cold Florida night last week when the Peterson Brothers took center stage during the Evening of Entertainment. The family farmers, whose “I’m Farming and I Grow It” video went viral last spring, accepted honors from event sponsor Monsanto for their work to promote the image of modern agriculture. The brothers, who have created a series …
Commodity Presidents at 2013 Classic
A highlight of the general session of Commodity Classic is moderator Mark Mayfield’s “visit with the Presidents.” Left to right are Mayfield, Terry Swanson, National Sorghum Producers; Erik Younggren, National Association of Wheat Growers; Pam Johnson, National Corn Growers Association and Danny Murphy, American Soybean Association. The commodity presidents segment with Mayfield has become a tradition - but it’s the …
George Patton Was Tough Enough to be a Farmer
“You need to overcome the tug of people against you as you reach for high goals.” – General George S. Patton In the quiet after the storm we call Commodity Classic it I had a few thoughts, other than sleep, that might be worth sharing. First, I hope everyone who participated feels good about making the time and being a …
Opening of the Commodity Classic
The opening of the trade show is the real “official” start to the Commodity Classic and that happened Thursday afternoon here in sunny Anaheim, California. The exhibit hall is filled with the latest and the greatest technology and machinery for growers of corn, soybeans, wheat and sorghum. According to the latest official attendance figures, there are 4291 attendees at Classic …
WTF Stands for Something Else
To commemorate the start of the 2010 Commodity Classic, Agwired’s Chuck Zimmerman wore his WTF t-shirt on the trip out to California. WTF stands for Where’s The Food, Without The Farmer? and Chuck got lots of attention from people in the airport, on the plane and in the hotel. Since he tweeted it before we left Kansas City, it was …
Corn Grower Leaders in Missouri
Corn growers all over the country are preparing for the 2010 Commodity Classic next week in Anaheim where important policy issues facing farmers and ranchers will be discussed. Members of the Missouri Corn Growers Association got in the mood this week by holding their annual meeting in Jefferson City and going to talk with state lawmakers about the importance of …
Classic Wrap Up
Everyone at Commodity Classic this year seemed to be impressed that attendance was as good or better than ever. “As I understand it, we are either right at the record or over it, so that is phenomenal,” said National Corn Growers Association CEO Rick Tolman. Unofficial numbers I heard were about 4500 total registration with 1500 of those actual corn, …
NCGA Scholarship Award Winners
Five college students from agricultural backgrounds were presented with $1000 NCGA Academic Excellence in Agriculture scholarships, sponsored by BASF, at this week’s Commodity Classic in Grapevine, Texas. Adam Burnhams (left) with U.S. Crop Protection Products at BASF and NCGA Chairman Ron Litterer (right) presented the students with their awards on Friday. Four of the five students were able to attend …
Calculate Your Sustainability
Farmers will soon have a new tool to analyze their natural resource use and key crop production inputs, introduced this week at the Commodity Classic by Field to Market, The Keystone Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture. The Fieldprint Calculator was developed with input from a diverse group of grower organizations, agribusinesses, food companies, economists and conservation groups, to help farmers evaluate …