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Senate announces Brooke Rollins confirmation hearing
From Farm Progress
The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry will hold a confirmation hearing for Secretary of Agriculture nominee Brooke Rollins next Thursday. The Jan. 23 hearing will begin at 10 a.m. Eastern Time, and can be watched online on the Senate ag committee website.
Full story.
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Klobuchar pushing for year-round E15 nationwide
From BrownField
The lead Democrat on the Senate Ag Committee will be pushing for year-round E15 this year.
Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota tells Brownfield language allowing nationwide sales of fuel blended with 15 percent ethanol all year nearly made it across the finish line at the end of 2024.
“We were so close to getting year-round E15, I’ve lead that bill for years, in that end-of-the-year deal that fell apart for reasons unrelated to that.”
Full story.
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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz proposes sales tax changes, spending cuts in his budget
From The Minnesota Star Tribune
Gov. Tim Walz is pitching his first budget under the new Trump era as a counterweight to the incoming president’s threats to impose tariffs, which he says will raise costs on everyday Minnesotans.
Full story.
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Minnesota Democrats ask state Supreme Court to resolve state House power struggle
From AP News
Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon and House Democrats have asked the state’s highest court to intervene in a partisan power struggle that has roiled the start of the 2025 legislative session session, as the standoff extended into a second day Wednesday.
Full story.
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Attorney General Ellison sues Deere & Company to protect farmers from high repair costs and unfair corporate tactics
From The Office of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison
Today, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, alongside Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and the Federal Trade Commission, sued agricultural equipment manufacturer Deere & Company (Deere), also known as John Deere, over its use of unfair practices that have driven up equipment repair costs for farmers while also depriving farmers of the ability to make timely repairs on critical farming equipment, including tractors.
Full story.
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3 Tips To Make Sure Your Strategy Is Driving Innovation
From The Scoop
At the beginning of the year, many managers begin financial projections and resource planning. While doing this work, I’ve seen too many leaders confuse tactics for strategy. Implementation planning around your strategy is about tactics, and strategy sets the nature and direction of your business, defines your vision and determines how to differentiate yourself in the marketplace.
Full story.
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Where Do Farmers Plan to Cut Costs in 2025? Here Are the Results from the Latest AgWeb Poll
From Farm Journal
The theme that consumed the crops side of agriculture in 2024 was this: tighter margins with producers from coast to coast searching for ways to cut back.
“It’s no secret 2024 was a tough year across the U.S., and California was no different,” says Clayton Houchin, CEO of the Buttonwillow Warehouse Company, which is located in Bakersfield, Calif. “A lot of the crops we produce were under significant price constraints while costs were going up. It was tough, tough recipe for a lot of farmers.”
Full story.
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8 Tips to Help Farmers Get the Biggest Bang for Their Fertilizer Buck
From The Scoop
Use these strategies to help farmers make the most out of their fertilizer purchases.
Full story.
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John Deere expands self-repair options
From HBS Dealer
John Deere is taking aim at a longstanding issue that has been a major source of contention with equipment owners: the right to self-repair.
In a press release, the company says it's made a "significant step forward in supporting customers' ability to maintain and repair their machines across the agricultural and construction industries." The latest addition, per the company, gives customers and independent repair techs more ability to reprogram Deere-manufactured electronic controllers.
Full story.
Related: John Deere
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Biden Administration’s 45Z Announcement Leaves More Questions Than Answers
From The Scoop
The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued preliminary guidance on the 45Z tax credit on Friday, which was created by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA/Climate Act), including the addition of sorghum as a crop that could qualify as a feedstock for a fuel that can claim the 45Z credit if certain climate smart agriculture (CSA) practices are followed.
Full story.
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Map shows soybean cyst nematode “marches on”
From BrownField
New research shows soybean cyst nematode continues to spread across North America.
Greg Tylka with Iowa State University says researchers have been mapping known SCN distribution since 2000, and data between 2020 and 2023 reveals 31 counties in 10 states reported the pest for the first time.
“Time marches on, and so does soybean cyst nematode.”
Full story.
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Artificial Intelligence Is Speeding Up the Development of the Next Generation of Biostimulants
From CropLife
Syngenta and the pioneering artificial intelligence (AI) company TraitSeq are combining forces to use the full power of AI for the development of innovative, high-performance biostimulants.
Syngenta, a world leader in developing the next generation of biologicals products for agricultural use, will use its extensive knowledge of crop biology to complement TraitSeq’s proprietary AI methods to identify highly specific indicators of a plant’s cellular state called biomarkers. When activated, these biomarkers can indicate how well a plant is responding to efforts to boost its health or to block the effects of external, abiotic stressors.
Full story.
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For Crop Protection, 2025 Begins the ‘ESA Era’
From CropLife
There is going to be plenty of activity in the crop protection products marketplace in 2025. However, much of this will be tied not to sales and application rates, but to changes coming for all segments of the industry due to the implementation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
Full story.
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MDA - Updated Minnesota Groundwater Protection Rule Map Now Available
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U of MN – AFREC Communications Update
Here is a recap of UMN-AFREC communications work in October, November and December 2024, and a look at what is happening in the months ahead.
Full story.
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U of MN Minnesota Crop News
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USDA Publishes Interim Rule on Technical Guidelines for Climate-Smart Agriculture Crops Used as Biofuel Feedstocks
From U.S. Department of Agriculture
Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the publication of an interim rule on Technical Guidelines for Climate-Smart Agriculture Crops Used as Biofuel Feedstocks. The interim rule establishes guidelines for quantifying, reporting, and verifying the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the production of biofuel feedstock commodity crops grown in the United States. These guidelines will facilitate the recognition of climate-smart agriculture within clean transportation fuel programs, creating new market opportunities for biofuel feedstock producers while enhancing climate benefits.
Full story.
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Navigating the EPA's ESA Strategies - Preparing CCAs for Herbicide & Insecticide Use in the 2025 Growing Season
Register now for the educational webinar designed to help Certified Crop Advisers (CCAs) and agricultural professionals stay ahead of critical regulatory changes as the 2025 growing season approaches.
Learn the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Endangered Species Act (ESA) strategies for herbicide and insecticide use. Attendees will gain a clear understanding of the new guidelines, explore how these changes will impact their work, and learn actionable steps to ensure compliance.
ARA is proud to sponsor this webinar hosted by the Science Societies.
When: Tuesday, Jan. 28 at 11 a.m. Central | Register Here
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EPA Announces Proposed Registration of New Pesticide Florylpicoxamid
From EPA
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its proposed registration decision for three products containing the new active ingredient florylpicoxamid, a broad-spectrum fungicide that can be used on food crops and golf courses. Florylpicoxamid targets several fungi that cause damage and financial loss, including: Cercospora leaf spot of sugar beet, anthracnose diseases, Septoria leaf blight of barley and wheat and dollar spot on turf.
Full story.
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MCCA - Consider becoming a Certified Crop Advisor
The Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) Program is established as a benchmark for agronomy professionals that provides base-level standards for agronomic knowledge through a national and regional testing process and raises those standards through continuing education. Being certified emphasizes credibility and recognizes that you are committed and experienced in what you do.
When you become certified, you join more than 13,000 of your peers in the largest, most recognized agriculturally oriented certification program in North America that validates your commitment. The CCA program’s professional standards are widely respected by industry, academia, and government agencies and are referenced in statutes.
The goal of the program is to enable agriculture as an industry to meet its environmental stewardship objective. Get the recognition, opportunities, and respect you deserve. MORE INFO and REGISTRATION.
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