USA / All Themes
Enough corn to meet demand
02.09.2008 18:12
iowafarmertoday.com
Flooding earlier this growing season prompted concerns about having enough corn to supply the market for livestock, ethanol, exports and other markets.
Iowa
Agriculture
Monsanto sells Posilac hormone for $300 million
02.09.2008 18:12
iowafarmertoday.com
ST. LOUIS (AP) --- Monsanto Co. is unloading a controversy with its $300 million sale of the Posilac cow hormone to drug maker Eli Lilly & Co. Posilac was never been a big part of Monsanto’s future growth plans, but the genetically engineered hormone has gotten much public attention because of concerns about its effect on human health. The sale, announced Aug. 20, means Monsanto’s name won’t be associated with what some activists call “one of the mosthated products in the world.” “I think I would term this addition through subtraction for Monsanto,” said Frank Mitsch, an analyst with BB&T Capital Markets in New York. “Did they really need to spend their time defending this product when it’s not the reason people are buying their stock?” Dropping the hot-button Posilac strengthens Monsanto’s longterm strategy to focus on selling high-tech seeds to farmers worldwide. Monsanto was founded as a chemical firm selling everything from aspirin to herbicide. Now, its scientists focus almost exclusively on genetic seed research, and Monsanto plans to double its annual gross profit in four years by developing crops resistant to pests, herbicides and drought. Posilac was a profitable and growing business within Monsanto, although the company doesn’t break out annual revenue from the hormone, said spokeswoman Danielle Jany. She said Monsanto did not sell the Posilac division because of outsiders’ criticism, but said losing the hormone will help the firm’s long-term bottom line. “It allows Monsanto to focus on its core seeds and traits business,” she said. The Posilac brand will be absorbed into Eli Lilly’s Elanco animal health unit. The Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical maker said it might make additional payments to Monsanto for Posilac, contingent on the results of the deal. Monsanto said the sale will be completed “as soon as practical.” Posilac is the brand name for a hormone called recombinant bovine somatotropin, or rBST. It increases milk production in cows, and Monsanto said it sold more than half a billion Posilac units since the product was approved in 1994. Critics have attacked the hormone as unhealthy additive for humans and cows alike. Organic food groups say Posilac injections increase infections in cows, and the hormone might remain in the milk consumed by humans. Some dairy farmers label their milk as “hormone free” in response to the criticism. Eli Lilly is prepared to defend its acquisition. “We recognize that there is a challenge out there,” said company spokesman Mark Taylor. He called many of the criticisms “misperceptions,” and said Posilac will complement Elanco’s line of antibiotics and other drugs for dairy cows. “This product has been proven safe,” Taylor said. “It’s been used
Iowa
Agriculture
Farmers reminded of key deadlines for aid
02.09.2008 18:12
iowafarmertoday.com
Two significant deadlines are looming for crop-protection assistance, the Farm Service Agency reminds farmers.
Iowa
Agriculture
Wind turbines sprout near Ames
02.09.2008 18:12
iowafarmertoday.com
ZEARING (AP) --- A manmade “forest” of wind turbines is rising in a roughly 48-square-mile area between Zearing and Colo.
Iowa
Agriculture
Agriprocessors accused of 31 safety violations
02.09.2008 18:12
iowafarmertoday.com
DES MOINES (AP) --- Iowa labor officials on Aug. 22 accused meatpacking plant Agriprocessors with 31 new and repeat safety violations.
Iowa
Agriculture
Ethanol backers cheer waiver denial
02.09.2008 18:12
iowafarmertoday.com
Monte Shaw said what many ethanol industry leaders were thinking when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced this past week it was denying a request from Texas Gov. Rick Perry for a waiver from the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS).
Iowa
Agriculture
AUSTIN, Minn. --- Area residents are invited to join pork breeders and college students from across the nation for the 62nd annual National Barrow Show and NBS Junior Barrow Classic, Sept. 7-10 on the Mower County Fairgrounds here.
02.09.2008 18:12
iowafarmertoday.com
Billed as “The World Series of Swine Shows,” the NBS showcases many of the top breeding boars and foundation females in the country, and all eight major breeds, according to a news release.
Iowa
Agriculture
Destination of Lifetime’
02.09.2008 18:12
iowafarmertoday.com
SPENCER) --- If you visit the Clay County Fair Website (http://www.claycountyfair.com), you will know exactly how many days, hours, minutes and even seconds there are left until the gates to the 2008 Clay County Fair swing open.
Iowa
Agriculture
Lawsuit says store owner fraudulently sold E85
02.09.2008 18:12
iowafarmertoday.com
A lawsuit by the state alleges a Jesup convenience store owner fraudulently sold less-expensive E85 fuel labeled as regular unleaded and 10-percent ethanol blends at two Northeast Iowa convenience stores.
Iowa
Agriculture
Missouri farmer revives red giants
02.09.2008 18:12
iowafarmertoday.com
CLARENCE, Mo. --- A woman leans out the farmhouse door yelling, “Are you selling it? Because there is a guy on the phone who wants to buy it.”
Iowa
Agriculture
Higher natural gas prices on horizonBy Tim Hoskins, Iowa Farmer Today
02.09.2008 18:12
iowafarmertoday.com
As the temperature hangs around 85 degrees, officials are already predicting higher natural gas prices for the upcoming winter heating season.
Iowa
Agriculture
Monroe County man finds comfort in rural work setting
02.09.2008 18:12
iowafarmertoday.com
ALBIA --- When Junior Gardner started working in an office, he was not as comfortable as being on his farm. So, he moved part of the farm into his office.
Iowa
Agriculture
They Buried a Farmer Today
02.09.2008 18:12
iowafarmertoday.com
They buried a farmer today, Gave him back to the dirt from which he came. Earlier his family and neighbors walk by, Looking at memories of a simple man’s life. A table of photos, toy tractors and cards, Telling the story of life on the farm. There are the overalls he wore every day, Except on Sunday, when he bowed his head to pray. A seed corn cap, work gloves and his boots, All things that kept him close to his roots. Not born in a barn, but not far away, From the fields where a boy learned how to play. There are photos of his children and grandchildren, too,
Iowa
Agriculture
Election slows farm bill implementation
02.09.2008 18:12
iowafarmertoday.com
BOONE --- USDA Secretary Ed Schafer confirmed what many farmers had suspected this summer --- rules for the 2008 farm bill are unlikely to be completed before the Bush administration leaves office in January.
Iowa
Agriculture
Sustainability becoming mainstream
02.09.2008 18:12
iowafarmertoday.com
BOONE --- Sustainability has become mainstream and is moving from South America to North America.
Iowa
Agriculture
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