Other Events

2025 Farm Journal Corn and Soybean College: Making A Stand

Mon, 14 Jul 2025 22:40:25 GMT

A record-breaking harvest of corn or soybeans is built on the foundation of a good stand. That concept is the focus for the 2025 Farm Journal Corn and Soybean College.

Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie and team will be addressing some of the key agronomic practices and tools farmers use to accomplish high yields during the two-day event – slated for July 22 through July 23 – near Heyworth, Ill.

“We’re going to focus on what the elements of a good stand are in corn and soybeans and how you can achieve them through agronomic decisions and the tools you use,” Ferrie says.

The program includes a variety of both in-the-field sessions as well as inside, classroom sessions.

Planter Selection For Your Farm

One of the key topics being addressed this year for corn growers is the planter and how to select one that’s a good fit for your specific farm.

“There are so many different systems out there today, and when it comes to making planter purchases, add-on purchases and such, you have to think through the whole process and how they will work for you,” Ferrie says.

Farm Journal Field Agronomist Missy Bauer will also be on hand to help farmers identify the impact of planting practices on corn and soybean stands.

“Missy will be talking to us about how to identify a good stand and also what contributes to a poor stand,” Ferrie notes. “We’re going to talk about hybrid characteristics and different aspects of the rooting structure of corn. We’ll then blend that information all in with farmers’ tillage practices, including strip-till, no-till, and also cover crops.”

Success With Early-Planted Soybeans

On the soybean side of the two-day program, Ferrie and team will be addressing early-planted soybeans and how to build a systems approach to growing them – from variety selection and planting preparation through harvest.

“We want to talk about row spacing, population, soybean characteristics, when can we stress plants and when to not stress plants,” Ferrie says. “We want to help farmers adopt a systems approach to early soybeans versus just planting them early and then trying to treat them like you would normal beans.”

In addition to these topics, the in-field and classroom sessions at the event will address:

Science behind spray nozzles: selecting the right nozzles for the job and making sure they perform well in the field.

Establishing corn ear count: examining the differences in rooting depth and stand establishment across a variety of tillage practices.

Closing systems: analyzing a variety of systems in different agronomic conditions to demonstrate how such systems impact stand establishment.

Put everything together, corn edition: evaluating everything from hybrid characteristics, leaf orientation, ear flex and how plant height affects light interpretation to ear development and plant stress in conventional corn and short corn.

Put everything together, soybean edition: looking at planting date, variety characteristics, tillage system, plant nutrition, row spacing and population all play a hand in bean stand establishment, overall light interception and yield.

The two-day event brings together presenters, farmers, and industry personnel that are passionate about raising the bar in farming, Ferrie says. “This is an unsponsored event making more time for our agronomists to spend with attendees, getting their questions answered, and more time to spend in the field,” he says.

Day 1 of the Farm Journal Corn and Soybean College starts at 8 a.m., Tuesday, July 22, and runs through happy hour/dinner.

Day 2 starts at 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday, July 23, and sessions will go through lunch.

“We will finish the second day with a Q & A following lunch. Our agronomists will be available to answer questions until your questions run out, so be sure to come with your list,” Ferrie says.

Price: $625 (includes access to one-day virtual event in January 2026).

Get the complete agenda details and register here .

Legacy Leaders In Ag Retail: Top Awards From ARA Conference

Mon, 08 Jan 2024 21:58:49 GMT

It’s only fitting to celebrate some of our industry’s top names at the premier event for ag retail. More than 600 agricultural professionals gathered to network, share ideas and celebrate ARA award winners at the annual Conference & Expo, held Nov. 28-30, 2023 in Orlando.

Excellence in Advocacy Award

Mike Twining, vice president of sales and marketing at Willard Agri-Service, took home the new Excellence in Advocacy Award to recognize his service as vice chair of the ARA public policy committee, his testimony before the House Committee on Agriculture on the onerous Waters of the U.S. regulations and more.

This award was created to spotlight an individual ARA member for surpassing expectations in grassroots advocacy to educate lawmakers and regulators about the invaluable support ag retailers offer their farmer-customers.

Setting the bar, Mike and his team hosted nearly 30 staff members of the EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs at his ag retail facility in Maryland to show federal regulators the exceptional efforts made by ag retailers to offer safe, sustainable products and solutions to their grower-customers.

“Aside from his remarks to lawmakers and federal regulators about the great lengths ag retailers go to in order to safely provide fuel, feed and fiber to a growing population, he is an active and generous donor to the ARAPAC, our political action committee,” says ARA president and CEO Daren Coppock. “Our entire industry no doubt has benefited from his proactive generosity.”

Retailer of the Year Award

Mid-Kansas Cooperative (MKC) was named Retailer of the Year in part for how its team lives out the company’s core values: safety, courtesy, image and innovation.
“We’re very proud to be named ARA’s Ag Retailer of the Year,” says MKC president and CEO Brad Stedman. “We want to share this distinction with our member-owners and employees. They’re the ones who made this possible, especially our employees. They create the customer experience. This award is a recognition of MKC’s commitment to being an organization that moves the mark in our geography and will continue serving the needs of farmers in the future.”
Annually, the Retailer of the Year Award, which is sponsored by Bayer and The Scoop, recognizes an ARA member—either a retail company or an individual—that has demonstrated noteworthy accomplishments in employee relations, environmental stewardship, customer reliability and industry leadership. Read more about this cooperative in this issue’s cover story.

Jack Eberspacher Lifetime Achievement Award

ARA’s top individual honor went to Joe Hodges for his decades of ag retail leadership.

“Joe is an outstanding example of a genuine, creative, productive and ethical leader in the ag retail industry,” Coppock says. “His career-spanning achievements during his time with Douglass Fertilizer and The Andersons in addition to his support for ResponsibleAg helped to fundamentally advance the ag retail industry. I am one of many to consider him a personal friend and trusted confidante.”

The Jack Eberspacher Lifetime Achievement Award, established in 2001, was renamed in 2010 to honor the late Jack Eberspacher, who served as ARA president and CEO from 2001 until his death in 2009.

Distinguished Service Award

American Plant Food (APF) president and CEO Toby Hlavinka received the honor of this year’s Distinguished Service Award for his efforts to make the industry better for everyone involved.

“Toby has set the bar in his role as ARAPAC committee chair. He has been an enthusiastic supporter of our political action committee, which provides a vital tool to advance our advocacy efforts,” Coppock says. “Beyond his direct service to ARA, American Plant Food under his leadership has also set the standard for how to be prepared for and respond to an emergency situation. Through the way they handled direct response to the incident, communication with first responders and the community as well as safety compliance preparation with the help of ResponsibleAg, APF very effectively mitigated what could have been a
serious incident.”

Rising Stars

The 2023 ARA Rising Stars took up the majority of the conference’s main stage as they were cheered on by the crowd.

The theme “Next-Level Leadership: Always Navigating Forward” was reflected in each video submission created by these emerging leaders as part of the award program. Scott Birth, Rocky Mountain Agronomics, was named the video contest winner.

The value of the ARA Rising Stars award program, sponsored by Atticus, doesn’t end at the ARA Conference. Rising Stars will also complete the ARA NAVIGATOR 360° online assessment to identify their strengths and areas to improve to meet their companies’ unique needs. Developed for ag leaders by NuVue LLC, this tool empowers organizations to thrive in challenging times through developing effective leadership skills.

The 2023 ARA Rising Stars are:
• Newt Albert, The Equity
• Nick Arnold, Co-Alliance Cooperative
• Julia Austin, GreenPoint Ag
• Joshua Beyer, Willard Agri-Service
• Scott Birth, Rocky Mountain Agronomics
• Austin Campbell, MKC
• Rick Clark, Co-Alliance Cooperative
• Brian Dintelmann, Brandt
• Matt Dirlam, Co-Alliance Cooperative
• Kinsey Hall, Growmark Inc.
• Dane Hardebeck, Co-Alliance Cooperative
• JD Hoffman, Co-Alliance Cooperative
• Hannah Kammeyer, Marion Ag Service Inc.
• Amanda Kerbs, Simplot Grower Solutions
• Mike Lee, Southern States Cooperative
• Parker Ludeking, Insight FS
• Dylan Meyer, River Valley Cooperative
• Curtis Miller, Eldon C. Stutsman Inc.
• Chelsea O’Brien, Superior Ag
• James Ragsdale, Southern States Cooperative
• Tyler Schultes, Landus
• Celsey Stevenson, New Century FS division of Growmark

What’s Next for ARA?
Many of ARA’s current and past award winners have strengthened the voice of ag retail among federal regulators and legislators by participating in ARA Legislative Fly-In events. Join ARA at the 2024 ARA Winter Board Meeting and Legislative Fly-In this March 4-6 in the nation’s capital to get involved in grassroots advocacy to benefit ag retail.

Precision, Sustainable Ag And Product Tech Drive InfoAg Conference

Fri, 23 Sep 2022 15:05:23 GMT

More than ever, farmers’ trusted advisers need insights on precision agriculture, sustainability and product technology such as biostimulants, energy-efficient fertilizers and coatings. Delivering on those educational needs and providing a community drives The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) in its vision for the future of the InfoAg Conference , held for its second year under TFI’s leadership in July 2022.

All three themes featured prominently in this year’s conference, held at the St. Louis Union Station Hotel. Farm Journal’s The Scoop and Trust In Food are exclusive media partners of the event. The 2023 event takes place June 27-28 in St. Louis.

“Our real goal and objective is to make this the gathering for retail agronomists,” says Corey Rosenbusch, president and CEO of TFI. Environmental pressures, global initiatives to reduce carbon footprint and other factors are converging to make agronomists’ job of advising farmers more important than ever before. “How do we begin to evaluate all of these products? This event is the platform to educate them.”

To achieve that goal, the organizers focus on a ratio of two exhibitors for every one customer. This year’s gathering included 400 exhibitors and 200 buyers, customers and independent consultants.

Among the conversation topics in between sessions and during breaks: A combination of high input costs and strong commodity prices, which has driven innovation, Rosenbusch says.

Farmers want to be as efficient as possible, and “that has been accelerated because of the market environment we’re in,” he points out. Meanwhile, farmers want to ensure they’re as productive as possible to take advantage of healthy corn and soy prices.

To help farmers achieve those objectives, new kinds of inputs are entering the marketplace. One example is biostimulants, which have been around for years. At the request of ag retailers and biostimulant company members, TFI has convened a group with the intention of developing industry standards for biostimulant efficacy and safety.

These standards will allow agronomists to easily compare products and focus their attention on those with the best chances of helping a farmer-customer. That won’t guarantee a yield bump, but it will create a level playing field for biostimulant companies and their end users, Rosenbusch explains.

Six biostimulant products are involved in a pilot phase TFI is administering, and a certification program for biostimulant labeling is expected to be launched by the end of 2022, Rosenbusch says. The program will serve as a resource for American plant food control officials, who administer fertilizer rules for the states, each of which has its own registration process for biostimulants.

Beyond biostimulants, Rosenbusch encourages farmers and the industry to evaluate the potential benefits of science-based conservation practices alongside of new and conventional inputs such as fertilizer. He points to anticipated emerging markets that could pay a premium for good environmental stewardship and to longstanding programs such as 4Rs that can help farmers precisely manage inputs.

The risk of not working toward a more sustainable future for agriculture that includes responsible input use can be seen in places such as Sri Lanka, Rosenbusch says. There, civic and political unrest occurred this year after a fertilizer ban decimated crop yields , putting fertilizer in the spotlight.

“It really just raised the profile of how critical fertilizer is to the world,” Rosenbusch says. The conversation plus the impact of the war in Ukraine kept TFI in the spotlight this spring, with media mentions soaring to 160% of normal levels.

Looking ahead to the 2023 conference, Rosenbusch encourages the crop consultant community to share its feedback with event organizers.

“Tell us what you need out of something like this,” he says. TFI seeks to create a conference that’s a one-stop shop for industry professionals. The pace of change in agriculture continues to accelerate, and gatherings such as InfoAg can help leaders stay ahead of the curve.

To learn more about the InfoAg Conference, including details for the 2023 event, visit InfoAg.org .

Coronavirus Cancellations: Schools, Meetings and Offices

Fri, 20 Nov 2020 05:55:18 GMT

As news about coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to dominate headlines, organizations and events are taking precautions due to the illness. Many events have been postponed, cancelled or turned to an online-only format; schools aren’t holding classes, and some offices are temporarily asking employees to work from home.

Here are some of the programs and events we know are cancelled, to date:

Alltech Ideas Conference. This event has transitioned online
Bayer U.S. Creve Coeur and New Jersey offices are closed
California governor calls for closure of all bars and wineries , home isolation of everyone 65 and older
Cargill postponed its Lewisburg West premix plant grand opening
Central Plains Dairy Expo
Dairy Farmers of America postponed its annual meeting
Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee Meeting has moved online
Digital Animal Summit was postponed
Eastern Produce Council canceled its annual volunteer event
Expo West has been postponed
Farm Bureau canceled the Young Farmer and Rancher conference
Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo evacuated and canceled
Illinois: All bars, restaurants to close to dine-in customers through March 30
Interdrought 2020, by International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, is canceled
National Food Policy Conference is postponed
New England Produce Council , Burlington, Mass., has postponed a dinner meeting event
Northeast Dairy Management Conference is postponed
NoCo Hemp Expo is rescheduled for Aug. 6-8
Ohio: Gov. Mike DeWine has closed all the state’s bars and dine-in restaurants until further notice
South by Southwest is canceled
Several colleges have canceled in-person classes, including: Berkeley, Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Hofstra University, Princeton, Rice University, Stanford, University of California and University of Washington
Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association Cattle Raisers Convention and Expo postponed to fall
World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit postponed
World Trade Organization is suspending all meetings until March 20

This story will be updated as AgWeb learns of more cancellations.