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 July/August 2006 Pesticide use significantly reduces U.S. reliance on foreign oil and migrant labor, according to a newly-released study by the CropLife Foundation. The study shows that by using herbicides to control weeds, U.S. farmers have: • Saved 337 million gallons of diesel fuel that would otherwise be needed each year for farmers to use mechanical tillage to replace chemical spraying; • Preempted the need for 7 million additional migrant workers to pull weeds by hand; • Reduced soil erosion by 356 billion pounds each year as a result of not having to plow weeds under the soil during field planting preparation; • Increased crop production by 20 percent, equal to 296 billion pounds of food and fiber; • Reduced the cost of farming by $10 billion a year. The study reports that farmers spray 215 million crop acres with herbicides every year, applying 349 million pounds of chemicals at a cost of $7.1 billion. Coauthor Leonard Gianessi says, "One reason that the acreage of organic crops is less than 1 percent of all crop acres is the high cost and difficulty of controlling weeds without herbicides." The report concludes there is a very limited future for organic crop growing in the United States due to the requirement for large numbers of laborers to pull weeds by hand. The National Christmas Tree Association (NCTA) and Drake & Company received a Silver Anvil award of Excellence from the Public Relations Society of American (PRSA) for its 2005 Trees for Troops program (see January 2006 of AgriMarketing issue for details about the program). The program also received the Award of Excellence from the American Society of Association Executives. The National Pork Board (NPR) announces it has agreed to acquire ownership of the "Pork. The Other White Meat" trademark for $3 million per year for 20 years from the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC). NPR has been licensing the rights to use the popular trademark, which was created by the NPPC in 1985, prior to the formation of the NPB and the creation of the National Pork Checkoff in 1986. In 2000, a Northwestern University study found that "Pork. The Other White Meat" was one of the five most recognizable taglines in American advertising. The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) and Farm Journal were awarded a prestigious Media Industry Newsletter (min) 2006 Integrated Marketing Award for announcing farmer winners of the annual National Corn Yield Contest. The winning Special Advertorial category award in min's contest was presented for a 44-page advertorial with results of the NCGA's 40th annual contest. An advertorial was part of an integrated campaign, including Internet and television. Other finalists in the Special Advertorial category: BusinessWeek, Condé Nast Publications, FHM, Maxim magazine and The Hearst Group. The Iowa Soybean Association (ISA), Urbandale, IA, announces the addition of Karen Simon as Dir of Comms. Simon comes to ISA from Prism Business Publications, Bloomington, MN, where she served as Managing Editor of The Corn and Soybean Digest. The Foundation for Environmental Agriculture Education (FAEA) announces BASF and Syngenta Crop Protection have made substantial contributions to the establishment of a Doctor of Plant Medicine/Health (DPM/H) degree program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. FEAE is the educational arm of the National Alliance of Independent Crop Consultants (NAICC). "It has been a goal of FEAE to have a Midwestern university offer a DPM/H degree program," says Billy McLawhorn, Pres of the FEAE Foundation. The DPM/H degree program is a multidisciplinary non-thesis advanced graduate degree program that parallels the professional doctorate degrees in human medicine and veterinary medicine. The highly successful program is currently in its third year at the University of Florida and graduates from that program are already in high demand. FarmHouse Fraternity Foundation Exec Dir Bob Off was selected as the recipient of the 2006 Evin C. Varner award, the top award is given by the College Fraternity Editors Association. The Varner Award is given annually to a leader in a fraternity, sorority, professional or honorary organization who has worked over a period of years for the betterment of that system, especially in the area of communication. Off has served as FarmHouse Fraternity's Exec Dir from 1973-1996 and its Foundation from 1977 to the present. The big three U.S. automakers (Ford, General Motors and Chrysler) join a growing chorus of businesses and organizations calling for a new national renewable energy goal: America's farms, ranches and forests providing 25 percent of America's energy needs from renewable sources by 2025 (25 x '25). The automakers join a broad coalition — now numbering 150 organizations — featuring bipartisan political leaders, agriculture, industry, and environmental voices, and several governors and state legislatures. For an update on the endorsers, visit www.25x25.org and select "partners. Tweet |
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