Agriculture

For those who believe the phrase “social sustainability” and the ideas it represents are an overblown waste of time, I have to say that you need to wake up and smell the coffee along with the bacon! The primary pillar of economic sustainability depends upon the corollary of social sustainability. Our incomes are ultimately sourced from the society we serve. To the extent that we allow a willful ignorance to unnecessarily alienate our ever-changing consumer base, we shoot ourselves in the foot. This era of social media is an era requiring deeper transparency. [node:read-more:link]

A recent report from the Environmental Protection Agency was highly critical of the herbicide atrazine, which helps reduce soil erosion and runoff problems, keeping soil healthy and water clean. EPA released its draft ecological risk assessment as part of the re-registration process for atrazine; and, if its recommendations stand, farmers will basically lose the use of the herbicide. Tillage is an effective way to control weeds, but disturbing that top layer of soil leads to a loss of 90 percent of crop residue from the soil. [node:read-more:link]

Purdue University entomologist Ian Kaplan and his team have received a $3.6 million grant from USDA’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture to fund their research into the environmental, ecological, and socioeconomic effects of neonicotinoid pesticide use.  The five-year grant is part of the USDA-NIFA Specialty Crop Research Initiative, a program providing funds for research in plant breeding and genetics, pests and disease, production efficiency and profitability, technology, and food safety hazards. [node:read-more:link]

The North Dakota Department of Agriculture has started a new magazine. The publication is called North Dakota Agriculture. It plans to cover topics about industry cooperation, technologies and the numerous commodities grown in the state, among other things. State Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring says the magazine should help readers gain a greater understanding of how farmers and ranchers produce the state's "food, feed, fiber and fuel." [node:read-more:link]

Widely diverse information exists on the size of the yield penalty associated with organic crop production. Some authors/spokespersons – often connected with organic production/marketing – claim organic yields are typically 80-100% of non-organic. [node:read-more:link]

Last week the Department of Justice (DOJ) decided to take John Deere to court in an anti-trust lawsuit. At this point the outcome of that lawsuit is unclear. Farmers and industry insiders alike were surprised by the challenge, but some analysts not so much. According to Jim Weisemeyer of Informa Economics, the current road block for the Precision Planting and John Deere Merger is temporary. “There’s not one big leader in this area,” he explained to AgriTalk radio show host Mike Adams. [node:read-more:link]

Attorneys for R-CALF, USA last week asked the court to award the group summary judgment and immediately end the beef checkoff program. [node:read-more:link]

The last place a farmer wants to spend a summer day is in a court room. But that is exactly where more than a hundred Missouri farmers found themselves this past week, trying to be made whole on grain transactions that went horribly wrong and left them holding $27 million in lost grain sales.  The culprit of the scam was a small grain dealer and hauler named Cathy Gieseker. A rough-hewn, working class gal who tried to build up her grain hauling business after the death of her husband in 2007.  Around this time, she told farmers she had special deals with ADM Grain. [node:read-more:link]

The North American Meat Institute’s (NAMI) Animal Care and Handling Conference will take place at downtown Kansas City’s Westin Crown Center, Oct. 13-14. The educational conference will appeal to all those involved with the production and management of livestock and meat products. [node:read-more:link]

Affected by the ongoing crisis in EU agricultural markets, the European agricultural machinery industry is expected to face further losses this year, after suffering a decline in sales in 2015. [node:read-more:link]