“We’re very excited to have people come out and enjoy the show,” said Dana Lantz, advertising manager for Farm News.

The 2022 show is the first year of a three-year partnership with CJ Bio America to sponsor the annual event. Todd Anderson, external relations coordinator for CJ Bio America, said the local company is pleased to support the show as a way to broaden its outreach in the community.

“We like to interact with the public as much as possible and help them get to know us,” Anderson said. “This gives us a chance to address a crowd we don’t get to see as much of as we’d like to.”

Looking ahead, Anderson noted that CJ Bio America is encouraged by plans to continue growing in the community. The industry is one of the leading employers in the region and Anderson said more growth is in the offing.

-Messenger photo by Lori Berglund
Chad Hart, center, professor of economics at Iowa State University, mingles with a few audience members after his opening presentation at Friday’s CJ Bio America Presents the 20th annual Farm News Ag Show. With Hart are Ray Hildreth, left, Lake City, and Rich Bahls, Rockwell City.

GMO fears

In the opening presentation of the day, Chad Hart, professor of economics at Iowa State University in Ames, addressed concerns about reports of Mexico making plans to ban all imports of GMO corn by 2024. Already, Mexican officials are walking back those plans and Hart classified it as more a “fear story” rather than a real threat.

Now the Mexican president is saying they will only ban GMO corn for direct food consumption, according to Hart

The majority of corn that Mexico imports is used for livestock feed. While that puts it in the food chain, Mexico has said it will continue to allow GMO corn for animal consumption, according to Hart.

Moreover, given the worldwide need for corn, banning GMO corn is simply not feasible at this time.

-Messenger photo by Lori Berglund
Dennis Todey, director of the Midwest Climate Hub, prepares for his presentation at Friday’s CJ Bio America Presents the 20th annual Farm News Ag Sho. At the rear, Linda Cline of Iowa State University Extension, reviews his presentation with Chad Hart, economics professor at Iowa State.

“There’s no way on God’s green earth that they could find that much non-GMO corn,” Hart said.

Hart pointed to Japan as a better example of the GMO issue. The goal for Japanese officials was to ban GMO soybeans for food consumption, in particular tofu.

“Japan went out and invested in transportation and storage along the Mississippi River,” Hart said. “They bought grain elevators. This allowed them to put a premium on non-GMO soybeans, thus encouraging greater production.”

Hart had the crowd engaged throughout his presentation and stayed nearly an hour after his formal talk to field questions from attendees who offered up their praise for an informative and educational session.

Webster County farmers Michael and Marcia Anderson said they enjoyed the talk and were taking home some great insights into the ag economy.

“It was just a very good talk,” said Marcia Anderson. “We learned a lot and appreciate the information presented. It was very interesting.”

Show continues Saturday

To beat the cold weather arriving today, Lantz encouraged folks to come out for a full hot pancake breakfast served up by Chris Cakes from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m..

Mark Licht, Iowa State University crop specialist, will start out the presentations at 8:30 a.m. today, offering his outlook on soybean management for high yields.

Back by popular demand, David Kruse, president of Commstock Investments, will be speaking at both 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. The first presentation will be on “Sharpening Horns 2023,” while the 1 p.m. address will highlight carbon dioixide pipelines.