Archive for 2015

ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, U.S. — CHS, Inc. announced on Feb. 18 that it is returning a record $518 million to its owners.

“The ability of our owners, who are also our customers, to directly share in the financial success of CHS is a distinct advantage of being part of a cooperative business,” said David Bielenberg, CHS board chairman and a Silverton, Oregon, U.S., farmer. “And, this is cash that returns to local communities, enabling farmers, ranchers and cooperatives to invest in ...

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, U.S. — The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) on Feb. 16 said it supports bipartisan legislation introduced by Sen. Amy Klobuchar that, if enacted, would lift the United States’ economic embargo with Cuba. The bill is cosponsored by Sens. Dick Durbin, Michael Enzi, Jeff Flake, Patrick Leahy and Debbie Stabenow.

The Freedom to Export to Cuba Act of 2015 would repeal or revise current federal laws restricting trade with Cuba, opening a valuable marketplace for U.S. feed products, and ...

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, U.S. — The American Feed Industry Association said on Feb. 13 that it has updated its FSC36 Safe Feed/Safe Food Certification Program to support the new requirements outlined in the Food Safety Modernization Act as well as help drive continuous improvement within a location’s quality and feed safety program.

The updated requirements are listed as the FSC36 Safe Feed/Safe Food Guidance Document on the Safe Feed/Safe Food website and will take effect beginning March 1.

The goals of the updated ...

The Thai Rice Exporters Association has disclosed that this year’s drought would likely diminish about 30% of the projected 5-6 million tons of off-season rice output in the Central Region during the 1st round of off-season farming. The issues may affect the nation’s plan to remain as the number-one rice exporter in the ASEAN Region and the world.

According to Honorary President of the Association, Shukiate Opaswong, if the drought intensifies in April, the output on the 2nd round would be ...

MANHATTAN, KANSAS, U.S. — In theory, grain sorghum should yield just as much as corn in Kansas, given the same amount of fertilizer and with substantially less water, according to Kansas State University (KSU) agronomist Tesfaye Tesso.

In practice, this has not yet happened consistently. New experimental lines in advanced testing at KSU are about to change that, however, said Tesso, who is a sorghum breeder with KSU Research and Extension. These advancements are thanks in large part to funding from ...

MANHATTAN, KANSAS, U.S. — Registration ends in February for two milling courses being offered by Bühler and Kansas State University (KSU).

Registration for the Bühler-KSU Expert Milling Course, March 16-20, in Manhattan, Kansas, U.S., ends on Feb. 15. It will include in-depth discussions of flow sheet diagrams and milling processes, optimum machine adjustment and mill handling.

Cost is $1,900 for members of the International Association of Operative Millers (IAOM) and $2,100 for non-members.

Registration ends Feb. 23 for the Bühler-KSU Curso para Expertos ...

GAZIANTEP, TURKEY — Alapala recently completed a semolina mill with a capacity of 400 tonnes per day for Oba Macaroni in Gaziantep, Turkey next to an existing mill.

The new semolina mill incorporates state-of-the-art milling technology including Corum, Turkey-based Alapala’ s new generation milling section models Similago II waltz machines and Aurora purifiers.

Founded in 1966 in Gaziantep, Oba Macaroni has always been a leading company in the sector. The Özgüçlü family took over the facility and the brand in 2005.

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FORT DODGE, IOWA, U.S. — A “significant mechanical failure” to a key piece of operational equipment at a Fort Dodge, Iowa, U.S., corn wet mill owned and operated by Cargill forced the company to suspend shipments and deliveries at the facility. The mechanical failure took place Feb. 6, and as of Feb. 10 the company still was in the process of assessing the damage to the equipment.

“Fortunately, none of our employees or contractors were injured during the failure, and there ...

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, U.S. — Dalton Henry has been named director of policy for U.S. Wheat Associates, effective in March. Henry is currently director of government affairs for Kansas Wheat, the cooperative agreement between the Kansas Wheat Commission and the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers (KAWG).

“I am very pleased with the talented trade policy team working for U.S. wheat farmers to increase market access and monitor previous trade commitments,” said Alan Tracy, president of U.S. Wheat. “Dalton’s commitment to our industry ...

WINNIPEG, MANITOBA, CANADA — The Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) on Feb. 9 began consultations on its proposal to license feed mills in western Canada and to extend payment protection to grain producers who sell grain to feed mills.

The CGC is seeking input from feed mills, grain producers, producer groups, current licensees and industry stakeholders on its proposal to license feed mills and to assist in the development of licensing requirements for feed mills. The intent is to assess the feed ...