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  • GMO Labeling Gains Popularity — And Why Shouldn't It?
    By Jackie Roembke - Tuesday April 16, 2013
    The 117th edition of the  National Grain and Feed Association’s (NGFA)  Annual Convention, held in San Francisco in mid-March, drove this sentiment home in its general sessions: While agriculture is one of the greatest growth industries, the coming years will be filled with the unique challenge of restoring the public’s trust in the food system. For those working and living agriculture, it should come as no surprise that much of the content presented by the event’s diverse set of speakers focused on the anti-biotechnology battle being waged in this country — specifically the one against genetically modified (GM) grains and food stuffs. GMOLargely driven by emotion and misinformation, the vitriolic arguments presented by...

  • Voice Your Opinion on Futures Protections
    By Jackie Roembke - Thursday March 14, 2013
    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is analyzing its proposed customer protections, i.e. segregated funds, after receiving a lot of criticism for its recent rulings. Customers and trade organizations have voiced concern over proposed protections they deem harmful to small to mid-sized futures commission merchants (FCM), which account for the bulk of agribusiness hedging activity. Insurance, one form of protection for segregated funds, was excluded from the CFTC’s proposal. The Commodity Customer Coalition (CCC) , a non-profit organization formed in response to the bankruptcy of MF Global, headed by co-founders   John Roe , president of Roe Capital Management Inc. , and James Koutoulas, CEO Typhon Capital...

  • Top 10 Products & Services of 2012
    By Jackie Roembke - Wednesday March 13, 2013
    Technology offers an infinite amount of data collection opportunities — too many, some may argue; however, the ease-of-access and accuracy of the information means nothing if you're not going to use it in a way that gives it relevance. When attempting to identify trends, programs like Google Analytics , a service that generates detailed website traffic statistics, allow the numbers — and the consumer — to speak for themselves.    Within a print edition of  Feed & Grain magazine, our "Product Spotlight" features aim to provide relevant information by taking a cross-platform approach. You see, each product we run includes a unique URL directing readers to product/company information in our Online Buyer's Guide, allowing the...

  • Organic Valley: A Social Experiment
    By Jackie Roembke - Tuesday July 3, 2012
    Production and animal agriculture producers may or may not be shocked to discover that its organic brethren is also frequently subjected to the wrath of critics — and, often, based on similar accusations. Agvocates of all sorts can learn a thing or two from the crisis communications strategies of Organic Valley (OV). Two marketing representatives from the La Farge, WI-based organic farm cooperative discussed their proactive approach to social media and engagement management at a Social Media Breakfast event held in Madison, WI. While Leslie Kruempel, OV’s social media specialist, focused on the creative business-to-consumer programs it uses Facebook and Twitter to promote, the frank discussion of the cooperative’s struggle...

  • New Mediums Shape the Media
    By Jackie Roembke - Monday June 4, 2012
    Last year Feed & Grain 's parent company, Cygnus Business Media, adopted the tagline: “Because the world is changing very fast.” Fitting for a publishing company considering the last decade has delivered the most extraordinary changes in information consumption and delivery for print media since the advent of the printing press. OK, maybe the widespread adoption of the the PC draws a better comparison — but, regardless, everything has changed. Game changer #1: The smart phones, for example, has not only changes the way we receive news, it’s altered the way we communicate with the world. I’m not just talking about the nonsense abbreviations (LOL, BRB, OMG), I mean texting, social media access — even the inclination to drop...

  • Careers in Agriculture Offer Stability to Floundering Generation Y
    By Jackie Roembke - Friday April 20, 2012
    As the school year winds down, and high school seniors prepare for their future, those who will be pursuing a degree in agricultural science have chosen a decent career path. According to the Wall Street Journal article, “ Which College Majors Pay Best? ,” the top 10% of earners in agricultural science fair well, but post-graduate educations in the field will deliver a 10% wage increase — an added incentive to committing to this area of study. Combining the top tier professions of economics or finance with a background in agriculture, as is the case with the merchandisers and ag bankers of the future, these graduates will be in pretty good shape. Forecasts for the future of agriculture are exceedingly positive. Truth is, ag...

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