Greg Hoover has joined Rabo AgriFinance, St. Louis, Missouri, to lead the future growth of the company’s input finance business. Hoover led the agribusiness account management and strategic customer relationship teams at John Deere Financial where he was previously employed for 24 years.
Leon Vick has been promoted to vice president of rodeo, horse and livestock operations for the Denver, Colorado-based National Western Stock Show. Vick, Byers, Colorado, grew up on a farm eastern Colorado and he earned a rodeo scholarship at the University of Wyoming and has more than 20 years of experience in rodeo and ranching. Vick replaced Marshall Ernst who retired in January.
The National Agri-Marketing Association has named Dennis Slater, president of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, as the 2020 Ag Association Leader of the Year. The award recognizes outstanding achievement and excellence among senior executives who have made significant contributions to the agricultural industry in their roles with association or commodity organizations.
Frances Graves has joined the staff of K-State Research and Extension Wildcat District as a district director. The district has offices in Altamont, Fredonia, Girard, Independence and Pittsburg, Kansas. She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Kansas and she was most recently an assistant to the director of the Parsons Area Community Foundation.
The National Agri-Marketing Association has named Scott Druker, general manager of Arm and Hammer Animal Health and Food Production, as the 2020 Agribusiness Leader of the Year. The award recognizes outstanding leadership in public, private or academic service and is given each year to a senior agribusiness executive who not only exemplifies excellent in agribusiness, but has made significant contributions to the industry.
Mary Marsh has been hired as a communications specialist to assist in development of informational and promotional materials for New Ag Supply, Chase, Kansas. Marsh is a 2020 graduate of Kansas State University with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural communications and journalism with a minor in agronomy and has an interest in specialty agricultural equipment and working with farmers to get more from their current operation. She was an intern with the Kansas Wheat Commission.
BASF, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and AGCO, Duluth, Georgia, have joined forces for BASF’s Operation Weed Eradication initiative. The collaboration will provide farmers with agronomic expertise to help promote best practices for on-farm eradication of pigweed. Beyond chemistry, implementing sound cultural and mechanical practices is the key to help eliminate seed production of pigweed.
The Association of Equipment Manufacturers and the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers presented the third annual Davidson Prize to the top three innovative products selected from AE honorees. Winning entries included John Deere’s Quik-Knecht system, Smart Guided Systems’ intelligent spray control system and Agricultural Industry Electronics Foundation’s tractor implement management.
SureFire Ag Systems, Atwood, Kansas, and Kinze Manufacturing, Williamsburg, Iowa, have reached an agreement that will allow SureFire to install its liquid fertilizer planter solutions on Kinze planters before they leave the factory beginning in 2021. SureFire will work with Kinze dealer and professionally install systems in space within Kinze’s manufacturing facility. The systems include multiple product applications, high-speed planting, row monitoring and applications rates from 1 GPA to over 50 GPA. Kinze will continue to offer its own factory installed systems, too.
