The Agribusiness Association of Iowa is a member of The Fertilizer Institute's (TFI) 4R Committee. Environmental Technology Director Shawn Richmond attended the most recent meeting of the committee this past week in Washington, D.C., and provided the committee with an update on Iowa Nutrient Research and Education Council (INREC) activities in the state of Iowa.

 

The 4R Committee covered a range of topics including the Farm Bill and research opportunities within the food and agriculture sector. The 4R Committee also met jointly with the TFI Communications Committee and discussed outreach opportunities and consumer perceptions.

Jay Vroom announced today during the general session at the 2017 CLA Annual Meeting in Dana Point, California, that he would be retiring from his position as president and CEO at the end of 2018. After nearly thirty years at the helm, Vroom reflected on his tenure and plans moving forward.

"When I stepped into this role in 1988, I don't think I could have foreseen the challenges and triumphs the industry would encounter over the past three decades," Vroom stated. "I'm proud to have represented the industry as we addressed important issues ranging from Farm Bills to the Food Quality Protection Act and  ESA to PREA. No matter which of the six presidential administrations or sixteen congresses were in office, CLA only grew its reputation as a resource in the agriculture sector." Read More

Agriculture groups are showing support for the Agricultural Guestworker Act of 2017.

The bill would create an H-2C visa program that allows American farmers, packers, and processors to hire a legal and stable supply of workers.

The new program would allow undocumented workers, who can demonstrate agriculture work experience over two years, to get a visa. An initial cap of 500,000 workers would be allowed under the program with allowances to adjust the number depending on demand. Read More

A Monsanto spokesman says the company's meeting last week with 35 weed scientists from the U.S. and Canada brought all sides to the table to discuss issues with new dicamba herbicide formulations. Ty Witten, Monsanto's Crop Protection Lead, tells Brownfield Ag News, "Did we try to seek alignment across the board? Absolutely not. But, we wanted to have collaboration and understanding from both sides and how do we meet in the middle? Because, ultimately, the farmer needs to achieve a benefit on their farm and this technology is going to be important." Read More

A new study says small patches of native prairie plants provide a range of conservation benefits to Iowa's landscape and could reduce water pollution from farm fields.

So-called "prairie strips" are patches of land strategically planted to native, perennial mixes of grasses and flowers on the edges of crop fields.

"What we've been able to document over a decade worth of research on prairie strips," says Iowa State University professor Lisa Schulte Moore, "is that by converting just a little bit of that crop area to prairie strips we get very substantial benefits."  Read More