Scanning the entire lot of John Deere machinery at the Farm Progress Show, Barry Nelson remarks on the company’s latest tractor innovations. The new 8-R series of row crop tractors, expanding on the 8000 series, have more elbow room in the cab and operators ride in cooler comfort because of the air conditioner improvements. The new machines even come pre-wired for cutting edge guidance gadgets. Talk about precise: services are available in most areas to keep the tractors within an inch of where they’re supposed to be.

AUDIO: A conversation with Barry Nelson

For more photos from the 2009 Farm Progress Show, click here

At his southern Illinois farm, Doug Winter likes to think at least some of his crop is grown to feed to fish. He’s enthused about the potential that aquaculture has for increasing the demand for soybeans. Much of the demand comes from where most of the fish are raised – in Southeast Asia, but that doesn’t mean there’s no potential domestically. Of the $800 million per year retail seafood market, about 80 percent is imported. If more of that is eventually raised here, Winter, a director in the Illinois Soybean Association, will be ready with fields of home-grown fish food.

AUDIO: A conversation with Doug Winter

For more photos from the 2009 Farm Progress Show, click here

Dow AgroSciences says it has submitted paperwork to the USDA on a new herbicide tolerant trait. Dow AgroSiences’ Global Strategy Leader Tom Wiltrout says the new trait, referred to as DHT-1, conveys tolerance to the venerable herbicide 2,4-D. Wiltrout says it should help control some of the weeds that have begun to resist the effects of glyphosate. The first the trait will appear will be in corn and that’s not until 2012 and then in combination with SmartStax the following year.

AUDIO: A conversation with Tom Wiltrout

For more photos from the 2009 Farm Progress Show, click here

Ethanol production has depended on farmers from the beginning. But POET Energy Public Relations Director Nathan Schock wants to be sure it’s known that the ethanol maker will depend on farmers when ethanol is made from cellulose. Schock says the company will need corn cobs to make ethanol then. He also has a lot to say about raising the cap on the ethanol blend rate for ethanol in gasoline. He says the current ten percent leaves little room for cellulosic ethanol. In addition, Schock would like to see more flex fuel vehicles on the road and more blender pumps to fuel them.

AUDIO: A conversation with Nathan Schock

For more photos from the 2009 Farm Progress Show, click here

Monmouth, Illinois farmer Rob Elliott likes having corn growers stroll through the tent where he spends much of the Farm Progress Show. It’s there that Elliott, this year’s president of the Illinois Corn Growers Association, can let members know about his frustration with EPA proposed rules and how growers may be affected by the agency’s consideration of land use changes and the changes’ relation to ethanol production. Elliott also thinks it’s commodity groups’ responsibility to react to stories in the mass media that disparage modern farming techniques. He fears, however, that farmers lack the resources to adequately balance the misinformation.

AUDIO: A conversation with Rob Elliott

For more photos from the 2009 Farm Progress Show, click here

It might not be immediately apparent, but the Case IH Patriot sprayer is the smallest of three model series. Ken Lehmann says the tall machine has “the same DNA” as its bigger siblings. The improvement is in the basic design and how the resulting weight distribution makes it possible to spray in wetter areas where it would not have been possible before. The small model where the interview was done is an 800 gallon sprayer, but bigger models handle a 1000 gallons and 1200 gallons, respectively.

AUDIO: A conversation with Ken Lehmann

For more photos from the 2009 Farm Progress Show, click here