March 22 Is National Agriculture Day

National Agriculture Day is celebrated on March 22. This 49th anniversary of National Ag Day is being celebrated in classrooms and communities across the country with a 2022 theme of “Growing a Climate for Tomorrow.”

In a virtual Ag Day event, the Agriculture Council of America (ACA) will bring approximately 100 college students to Washington D.C. to “virtually” deliver the Ag Day message to the Hill. A core leadership team of college students will attend D.C. events in person. There will also be a Celebration of Modern Agriculture on the Mall, and the winner of the ACA’s national Ag Day essay contest will be announced.

These events mark a nationwide effort to tell the true story of American agriculture, to remind citizens that agriculture is a part of all of us. Many agricultural associations, corporations, students, and government organizations involved in agriculture are expected to participate.

The National Ag Day program encourages every American to:

  • Understand how food and fiber products are produced.
  • Appreciate the role agriculture plays in providing safe, abundant and affordable products.
  • Value the essential role of agriculture in maintaining a strong economy.
  • Acknowledge and consider career opportunities in the agriculture, food and fiber industry.

For more information on National Ag Day, visit www.agday.org.  

Here’s a short video highlighting some Farm Facts:

Global Fertilizer Day Is October 13

Join us in celebrating the world’s farmers. They have set themselves the almost impossible task of feeding more and more people while using less land and fewer resources.

In the next 30 years, the world’s population will increase by almost 50%. Add to that the fact that in the last 40 years, the world has lost a third of its arable land due to erosion or pollution, and additional millions of acres of farmland are being lost each year to industrialization and urbanization. Already, an estimated 25,000 people are dying from hunger each day. With little possibility of further expansion of agricultural land, there is pressure to produce more food on the existing arable land by using soil treatment products and fertilizers.

Fertilizer producers continue to stand ready to help farmers be more effective and efficient in food production. Agricultural fertilizers currently account for 50% of global food production. As fertilizers and farming practices improve, the goal of producing more with less is already being realized. Farmers today grow a bushel of corn using 45% less nitrogen and 59% less phosphate than they did in 1980. Yet, yields continue to improve. Between 1948 and 2015, the average U.S. soybean yield doubled from about 21 to 48 bushels per acre, while the average corn yield grew much more, from 43 to 168 bushels per acre.

Bio Huma Netics—through its fertilizer brands of Huma Gro® and Fertilgold® Organics, along with its natural humates from Mesa Verde Humates®—is committed to standing shoulder to shoulder with farmers as they strive to feed the world’s population by growing more with less.

Read more about Global Fertilizer Day at https://www.tfi.org/GlobalFertilizerDay#get-involved.

Flooded Strawberry Fields In Florida Delay Fumigation

 

Jason Garcia portrait

Jason Garcia

An interview with Jason Garcia, Florida Regional Manager and Agronomist

By Jael Batty

Flooded fields and ongoing rain in Florida have put a damper on strawberry fumigation and pre-plant preparation. In August and September, strawberry growers are normally fumigating and laying plastic in preparation for the upcoming strawberry season. This year, they’re not. Strawberry growers in Florida are underwater right now in terms of their soil saturation. Our advice to strawberry farmers: don’t fumigate and don’t worry. We’ve got you covered. Continue reading

Earth Day 2019: Protect the Pollinators

The theme of this year’s 49th annual Earth Day on April 22 is “Protect Our Species.” One extremely important aspect of this theme to everyone involved in agriculture is protecting the world’s insect pollinators. The global crop production pollinated by bees is estimated to be valued at $577 billion. Pollinators contribute $24 billion to the U.S. agriculture industry, making up a third of the food consumed by Americans.
Continue reading

It All Has to Start With The Soil

The Soil Health Institute has released a 60-minute documentary, Living Soil, that captures the history — and significance — of the soil health movement.

Our soils support 95 percent of all food production, and by 2060, our soils will be asked to give us as much food as we have consumed in the last 500 years. They filter our water. They are one of our most cost-effective reservoirs for sequestering carbon. They are our foundation for biodiversity. And they are vibrantly alive, teeming with 10,000 pounds of biological life in every acre. Yet in the last 150 years, we’ve lost half of the basic building block that makes soil productive. The societal and environmental costs of soil loss and degradation in the United States alone are now estimated to be as high as $85 billion every single year.

Living Soil captures the background of the current soil health movement and its momentum, beginning with painful images of the Dust Bowl, and then transitions to personal experiences of innovative women and men who are managing their land to enhance soil health.

The film features rural and urban farmers from Maryland to California, selling everything from corn to bouquets, united by their care for the soil.

The documentary is directed by Chelsea Myers, founder of Tiny Attic, a video production company located in Columbia, Mo. that specializes in documenting real moments and real people.

To view the documentary, visit https://livingsoilfilm.com.

World Soil Day, November 5

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations sponsors World Soil Day every December 5 to focus attention on the importance of healthy soil and the sustainable management of soil resources. Sponsored every year since 2014, this year’s theme focuses on soil pollution. Here is an excerpt from the World Soil Day Website:

“These days pollution is a worry – and soil is also affected. Soil pollution is a hidden danger that lurks beneath our feet.

“1/3 of our global soils are already degraded. Yet we risk losing more due to this hidden danger. Soil pollution can be invisible and seems far away but everyone, everywhere is affected. With a growing population expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, soil pollution is a worldwide problem which degrades our soils and poisons the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe. The entity of the problem is still unknown as not certain data are available on a global scale.

“Soils have a great potential to filter and buffer contaminants, degrading and attenuating the negative effects of pollutants, but this capacity is finite. Most of the pollutants originate from human activities, such as unsustainable farming practices, industrial activities and mining, untreated urban waste, and other non-environmental friendly practices. As technology evolves, scientists are able to identify previously undetected pollutants, but at the same time these technological improvements lead to new contaminants being released into the environment. In the Agenda for Sustainable Development 2030, the Sustainable Development Goals 2, 3, 12, and 15 have targets that commend direct consideration of soil resources, especially soil pollution and degradation in relation to food security.

“It is time to uncover this threatening reality. Combatting soil pollution requires us to join forces and turn determination into action. Be the solution to soil pollution.”

At Bio Huma Netics, Inc., we take soil health seriously. Visit our product Websites to find solutions for improving agricultural soil (Huma Gro® and Fertilgold® Organics) and bioremediation of contaminated soils (Probiotic Solutions®).

 

Hats Off to Farmers, Today and Every Day

Agriculture is one of the world’s oldest industries. In fact, many countries’ economies still depend on the agricultural industry. Today, on October 12, we recognize the hard work that goes into feeding a nation. Previously known as Old Farmers Day, National Farmers’ Day dates back to the 1800s, a time when a higher percentage of the population was involved in agriculture, with harvest festivals and events in September and October. National Farmers Day encourages Americans to thank farmers and ranchers for providing the food, clothing, fuel, and materials that we otherwise take for granted.

See how The Old Farmer’s Almanac celebrates National Farmer’s Day: https://www.almanac.com/newsletters/archive/2018-10-12

4R Plus: Nutrient Management and Conservation for Healthier Soils

By now, most of us in agriculture have been made aware of the “4Rs” Nutrient Stewardship initiative—Right Source, Right Time, Right Rate, and Right Place—developed by The Fertilizer Institute, International Plant Nutrition Institute, Fertilizer Canada, and International Fertilizer Association. The 4Rs program advocates the implementation of best management practices that optimize the efficiency of fertilizer use.

The new 4R Plus initiative adds in soil conservation practices that enhance soil health and improve water quality, with the goal of achieving a more productive crop now and in the future. Strategies advocated include reducing tillage, planting cover crops, and adding structures such as contour strips, grass waterways, and stream buffers or terraces. The goal is to reduce or completely eliminate the negative impacts of fertilizer use associated with nitrogen leaching and phosphorus runoff into lakes, rivers, and watersheds.

A business case is made that it is in growers’ best economic interests to implement these practices, which can lead to increased productivity, profitability, and resiliency—along with increased land value for the next generation. Here is a video that provides an overview of the initiative:

Huma Gro® products fit perfectly into the 4Rs and 4R Plus initiatives, particularly because of our proprietary Micro Carbon Technology® that makes our liquid fertilizers more effective and efficient (a 5th R, Right Nutrient Carrier), and also because they allow growers to “spoon feed” nutrients to crops at the exact point in the crop growth cycle when specific nutrients are needed, eliminating much fertilizer waste.

Click on the “Learn More About Our Products” button below to have a Huma Gro® Sales Representative contact you and explain how we can help your farm succeed in the 4R Plus movement.

Arizona Agribusiness Roundtable

We at BHN/Huma Gro® were very pleased to be a sponsor for the Arizona Agribusiness Roundtable on December 4 at the PERA Club in Tempe. This year’s roundtable was titled, “A National Perspective on Agriculture: The Farm Bill and You.”

The Agribusiness Roundtable is a collaborative effort by the Arizona Department of Agriculture and the Agribusiness & Water Council of Arizona, Inc. Established to develop a “collective,” proactive point of view about Arizona’s future, this third annual meeting focused discussion on the importance to Arizona and national agriculture stakeholders of export trade agreements, immigration reform for the farm workforce, and proposed regulations for the 2018 Farm Bill.

Guest speakers and roundtable participants were from a number of national agriculture associations, including the National Milk Producers Federation, National Grain & Feed Association, National Cotton Council, AmericanHort, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, United Egg Producers, Western Growers Association, and the National Pork Producers Council. Also featured were Dr. Barbara Glenn, National Association of State Departments of Agriculture; Dr. Alison Van Eenennaam, UC Davis; Paul Schlegel, American Farm Bureau Federation; Tom Davis, President, Agribusiness & Water Council of Arizona; and Mark Killian, Director, Arizona Department of Agriculture (and member of the BHN Board of Directors).

More information is at https://www.agribusinessarizona.org/agribusiness-roundtable.html.

 

Global Fertilizer Day is October 13

On Global Fertilizer Day, agricultural professionals gather to celebrate the key role that fertilizer plays in meeting the growing global demand for nutritious and sustainably grown food.

Our growing global population depends on responsible agricultural practices to provide a steady supply of food. Modern fertilizer techniques are an essential part of this sustainable future, and The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) is invested in promoting best practices to help farmers improve their productivity and food nutrition.

Through innovative, science-based programs, like 4R Nutrient Stewardship, farmers can use fertilizer best management practices that offer enhanced environmental protection, increased production, increased farmer profitability, and improved sustainability.

The concept is to use the right fertilizer source, at the right rate, at the right time, and in the right place. When the 4Rs are put into practice, growers are able to achieve higher yields, lower input costs, and less nutrient losses to the environment.

Get involved with this year’s Global Fertilizer Day by visiting tfi.org/globalfertilizerday!


With Huma Gro® products you also get a 5th R, the Right Carbon Carrier! Our Micro Carbon Technology® provides a carbon-based nutrient carrier that makes our liquid fertilizers more efficient and effective than conventional products. Ask us how!

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