Rod Smith of Northumberland County in northeast England raised 16.52 metric tons per hectare on his farm near the Scottish border last summer, and the Guinness Book of World Records has accepted this as a new world record. That translates to 245 bushels per acre. That yield nudges out a New Zealand yield by Mike
245-bu. winter wheat yield recognized in Guinness World Records Read More »
Monsanto Co filed a lawsuit this week against California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment in attempt to block the agency’s stated intent to list glyphosate as a possible human carcinogen. The initial Reuters report is at this link. The website EcoWatch has another update on the case at this link. Monsanto’s website has a PDF of
Part of the roots of Middle East turmoil is that many of those regions are losing their ag productive capacity, often because of water shortages. Centuries-old irrigation systems have deteriorated, conflict has imposed massive waste of water, and focus on monocultures has raised water needs. Saudi Arabian investors are buying farmland in the American Southwest
Middle eastern food production hampered by water shortages, too Read More »
You can join an online seminar organized by Soil Regeneration Unlimited Jan. 18-21 which will bring you the latest, greatest information from leaders like Don Huber, Mary Lucero, Anthony Samsel, John Kempf, Monika Kruger, Bob Streit and many others including Jerry Carlson. We’ll be focusing on foliar feeding technologies — ways to apply the nutrients
On-line eco-seminar Jan. 18-21 has a rich array of presenters Read More »
Swiss seed and pesticide maker Syngenta is formally negotiating a company sale to China National Chemical Corp, reports Bloomberg Business. It would give China National Chemical Corp. a new reach into the multinational GMO seed and herbicide market. It would also create a stronger corporate interest, within China, to pursue transgenic traits and related herbicides in
Syngenta’s board votes “advanced takeover talks” with China National Chemical Read More »
Much of our daily media is focused on threats of multinational stock markets and shaky debt worldwide. Ag forecasters fear that weakening economies overseas will cripple exports. But a subset of U.S. farmers are planning for 2016 with confidence — and undimmed enthusiasm. Here are some examples of what they’re looking forward to. Today is
Ecologically focused farmers convene with confidence while global markets tremble Read More »
We haven’t found the freezing point for WakeUP — because we haven’t found anyplace cold enough to solidify it. Last night, January 9, the low here in northeast Iowa was 8 degrees below zero, and we left a couple of WakeUP formulations outside on a snowbank to see if the liquid concentrate would stiffen up.
It’s 8 degrees below zero, and WakeUP in your machine shed is just fine Read More »
Back in 2008, we thought the primary use of WakeUP was to spray it on corn at the two-leaf stage, encouraging a vigorous root system by mobilizing extra sugars to the root. That still works — but we’ve learned that new formulations of WakeUP “amplify” benefits of many foliar and ground-applied nutrients too. Farmers alerted
Adding WakeUP to nutrients added 7 bu. corn yield benefit in four years of field tests Read More »
More than 30 years ago, AgriEnergy Resources founder Dave Larson told farmer seminars that the most important quality of a fertile soil is “the greatest number and variety of microbial life.” Now the “big six” ag chemical and seed companies are launching mega-million-dollar research projects to identify (and most likely patent) the most effective microbes
Major ag firms launch massive microbial research projects for ag “sustainability” Read More »
An old friend just sent us a new and encouraging report which underscores the resurgence of farmer interest in non-GMO seed. And it’s refreshing to know that not all small seed firms have been “Deep Sixed” by the major seed/chemical multinationals. Dick Hagen, a native Minnesotan with an accent to match, was a colleague editor back
3MG: a corn breeder growing counter-culture to the GMO industry Read More »