Syngenta is making a broad assessment of the value of atrazine in today’s agricultural economy. Syngenta is the principal registrant for atrazine which has been used with success by U.S. corn, sorghum and sugar farmers for the past 50 years, benefiting them to the tune of 3.3-billion dollars. In addition to managing weeds, atrazine and its sister triazines are critical to support conservation tillage practices that improve soil conservation in row crop production.

One key economic study being used by Syngenta was conducted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. That study reveals that Atrazine and its sister triazine herbicides are worth an estimated annual yield benefit and net cost savings of 343-million dollars for U.S. sorghum growers, 210-million for U.S. corn growers and up to 120-million dollars for U.S. sugar cane growers. The family of products also provides substantial weed control and encourages conservation tillage and no-till farming, which reduce soil erosion and improve water quality.

It’s been one year since the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 was enacted. The legislation was designed to combat child hunger and obesity and improve the health and nutrition of the nation’s children. First Lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack are the leaders of the campaign. The First Lady says – the success of our nation tomorrow depends on the choices we make for our kids today. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act is vital to the health and welfare of our kids, helping them build the healthy futures they deserve.

The Act makes many critical improvements to the child nutrition programs that serve millions of children across our country each day. It provides for improved access to make it easier for children to get nutritious meals when they are away from home. The legislation also improves the entire nutrition environment in schools and will enhance understanding of the causes and consequences of hunger and food insecurity among children.

Mrs. Obama says – we’ve seen the connection between what our kids eat and how well they perform in school. It is critical that we work to ensure that all children have the basic nutrition they need to learn, grow, and to pursue their dreams. According to Ag Secretary Vilsack, – the strength of our communities, our economy, and our national security, rely on the health of our children. Today, we celebrate those important accomplishments and look forward to those achievements which are still to come.

The National FFA Foundation reports that a record 16-million dollars has been raised through corporate and private financial contributions to support the FFA in 2011. The foundation welcomed 40 new corporate sponsors in 2011, raising the total number to 1,212. The foundation also says it drew more than 80 new companies and organizations as exhibitors at the 2011 National FFA Convention and Expo, held in Indianapolis. Also, more than 53,350 FFA members, teachers and school administrators attended the 2011 event.

National FFA Foundation executive director Rob Cooper says – we were well positioned in 2011 with the resources we needed to ensure our members received the ultimate FFA experience through our programs and key initiatives. Our core programs, including career development events, proficiencies, scholarships, award competitions and more, were funded at 90 percent – another record high.

Providing opportunities that help FFA members grow and succeed is the work of the National FFA Foundation. Foundation donors make possible award and recognition programs, scholarships, service learning activities, global engagement programs, national FFA convention functions, educational materials, teacher training and much more

 

The Senate Ag Committee held its hearing on the MF Global bankruptcy Tuesday. During the hearing, Chairwoman Senator Debbie Stabenow questioned MF Global executives over the circumstances that led to the collapse of the financial firm and the estimated 1.2-billion dollars in missing customer funds. Former MF Global CEO Jon Corzine and other MF Global executives, and regulators who oversee the commodities markets participated in the hearing.

 

Stabenow pointed out – this hearing is about three things: getting the customer’s money back, holding anyone engaged in wrongdoing accountable, and ensuring that proper customer protections are in place so that something like this doesn’t happen again. She said – our farmers and ranchers have lost trust in the system. They believed there were safeguards in place to protect their money in exactly this situation.

 

A major question concerns the separation of customer funds from organizational funds. It appears that has not happened in this case. Tuesday’s hearing is the latest step in an ongoing examination of the circumstances surrounding the October 31 bankruptcy of MF Global.