FarmTek will be hosting its first ever Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) School March 19-21, 2013. FarmTek’s mission is to provide the highest quality products at affordable prices and excellent customer service. Now, they are taking their goal of serving you one step further by offering you the chance to learn about some of the latest trends in horticulture and agriculture, such as year-round hydroponic growing, fodder production and an introduction to aquaponics.

The purpose of these sessions is to educate growers of any background about the variety of controlled environment agriculture opportunities. The hydroponics portion of the event will discuss production factors, trouble-shooting, disease control, marketing your produce and more. FarmTek has a large variety of hydroponic systems at their campus, so you will be able to get a lot of hands-on experience. The fodder curriculum will cover using fodder in your operation, system components, sanitation, producing microgreens for high-end markets and more. The introduction to aquaponics will go over the basics of fish farming, the connection between hydroponic vegetable production and fish farming, how to construct aquaponics systems to produce at a variety of levels and more.

The CEA school costs $995, which includes three nights lodging and lunch each day. As an added bonus, if you want to purchase a system after completion of the school, you will receive $995 off the purchase of a complete hydroponic, fodder or aquaponic system. If you have already purchased a system, you will be able to attend the CEA school for free.

Registration is currently open for the March 19-21, 2013 CEA school. Attendance is limited to 24 people, so if you aren’t able to attend this seminar, there will be another one September 17-19, 2013. To register, contact Kim March at 800.327.6835 ext. 700. She will send you a registration form which includes lodging options. Registration closes one week prior to the event, so hurry to reserve your spot now!

This press release is presented without editing for your information. GRIT does not recommend, approve or endorse the products and/or services offered. You should use your own judgment and evaluate products and services carefully before deciding to purchase. 

  America’s top dehydrator since 1973, Excalibur Dehydrators is proud to announce the addition of six newdehydrators in vibrant colors to its family of products.   

Just launched this week in 5 or 9 tray models with timer, Excalibur brings color to the kitchen with models in Antique Copper, Copper, Twilight Black, Radiant Blueberry, Radiant Cherry and Radiant Raspberry.    

Excalibur’s Dehydrators are the perfect combination of industry leading air-flow mechanics and materials. Excalibur’s patented Parallex™ Horizontal Air Flow and Hyperwave™ Fluctuation Technology, makes Excalibur units the most efficient heat/dry combination on the market.  Additionally, Excalibur’s adjustable Thermostat (95◦F to 155◦F) keeps the temperature range low enough to preserve active enzymes in fruits and vegetables, but high enough to meet safety standards for dehydrating meat for jerky.  Ideal for families, hunters, crafts people, volume pet treats and in-home dehydrating businesses.

This press release is presented without editing for your information. GRIT does not recommend, approve or endorse the products and/or services offered. You should use your own judgment and evaluate products and services carefully before deciding to purchase. 

ADM Alliance Nutrition, Inc. of Puerto Rico, a wholly owned subsidiary of ADM Alliance Nutrition, Inc. (ANI), recently announced the acquisition of two Puerto Rican feed manufacturers, NutriMix Feed Company and Granossa Corporation. ANI is a wholly owned subsidiary of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM).

The acquisitions will provide ANI with a feed mill with port access in Puerto Rico as well as extensive storage, helping to strengthen the company’s overall footprint in the Caribbean.

“By strengthening our footprint in the region, we will be well-positioned to minimize product and delivery costs to customers,” explained Jack Cwach, vice president, Alliance Nutrition & Milling—International. “In addition to having easier access to more and higher-quality grain and ingredients for feed, we now have the ability to offer customers a broader portfolio of options to suit their needs.”

ANI currently owns and operates a commercial feed manufacturing facility in Hatillo, Puerto Rico, and a premix operation in Barceloneta, Puerto Rico, that produce feed products and mineral and vitamin mixes for customers and commercial dealers in the animal feed, dairy and swine industries.

The purchase of NutriMix will provide ANI with a barge and ship unloading facility at the Port of San Juan, in addition to a commercial feed mill, and vertical and flat storage located on the waterfront in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. The Granossa assets—which include the leased land, building, bins and equipment located at the Luchetti Industrial Park in Bayamon, Puerto Rico—are approximately seven miles from the NutriMix port facility. 

"These acquisitions are an excellent fit for our business as we continue to enhance our global presence in order to better serve our customers,” said Mark Kolkhorst, ADM vice president and president, ADM Alliance Nutrition and Milling. “Acquiring these two facilities will allow us to minimize our ingredient costs and fully leverage our global grain merchandising network.”

About ADM Alliance Nutrition 

ADM Alliance Nutrition, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Archer Daniels Midland Company and a leading producer of livestock feeds and supplements. Based in Quincy, Ill., ADM Alliance Nutrition offers consistent, high-quality feed products, supplements, premixes, custom ingredient blends and feed ingredients to help livestock producers achieve the greatest possible return from the grain and forage they utilize in livestock production. For more information about ADM Alliance Nutrition and their products, visit www.admani.com.

This press release is presented without editing for your information. GRIT does not recommend, approve or endorse the products and/or services offered. You should use your own judgment and evaluate products and services carefully before deciding to purchase. 

Building upon nearly 50 years of airflow research that has made its PowerVac™ the most productive vacuum collection system for homeowners and turf care professionals, The Grasshopper Company has introduced the new Model 8HT PowerVac™ collector.

The improved design of the 8HT collector includes a hinged metal top with a spring-loaded metal latch that locks the top in place, allowing for easier removal and emptying of the twin four-cubic-foot bags. Also new are tougher, reinforced mesh bags that are more tear- and rip-resistant.

Combined with the powerful deck-driven Quik-D-Tatch® vac drive, the eight-cubic-foot capacity collector makes a clean sweep through everything from thick spring grass, wet fall leaves and even pine needles and other yard debris for a picture-perfect finish with every pass.

The 8HT collector is compatible with all Grasshopper mowers — including existing PowerVac™ collection systems — and is perfectly suited for homeowners and landscape contractors maintaining small- to medium-acreage properties.

This press release is presented without editing for your information.  GRIT does not recommend, approve or endorse the products and/or services offered. You should use your own judgment and evaluate products and services carefully before deciding to purchase.   

The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) has recently qualified Ventrac’s 4500Z bi-fuel-ready tractor for the Propane Mower Incentive Program. This incentive program gives eligible new owners of a 4500Z, equipped with a propane kit, a $1,000 incentive to use this compact, propane-powered tractor. In return, program participants are asked to report to PERC on the equipment's performance and usage for one operating season.

Ventrac is a unique addition to the PERC propane mower incentive program as it is the first compact tractor to be approved for the program. Ventrac is also the first propane powered tractor that does more than just mow. Ryan Steiner, Director of Engineering for Ventrac, says that “Over the last few years, there have been a number of manufacturers introducing propane powered mowers, as propane is one of the fastest growing alternative fuels in the US.” He adds, “Ventrac is proud to be the first manufacturer to give commercial users the opportunity to power over 30 different attachments with propane.”

PERC has been conducting research on propane and propane powered equipment since 1996 and has found that propane-fueled commercial mowers can offer lower operating cost, fewer emissions, proven performance, easy on-site refueling and less downtime.  Jeremy Wishart, Project Manager for PERC, says that,

“Propane is a domestic fuel and supply is at an all-time high, as propane is abundant in the natural gas deposits throughout the nation. Propane as an engine fuel in the lawn and landscape industry is beginning to become widely accepted.”  Wishart adds, “Products like the Ventrac 4500Z propane and others becoming available, combined with the economic and environmental factors facing lawn and landscape professionals today, it's not hard to imagine propane becoming the preferred fuel in the turf industry.”

This press release is presented without editing for your information.  GRIT does not recommend, approve or endorse the products and/or services offered. You should use your own judgment and evaluate products and services carefully before deciding to purchase.   

CHS (NASDAQ: CHSCP) is pleased to introduce the CHS Center for Cooperative Growth, an online platform that gathers and shares diverse viewpoints from agribusinesses, independent agricultural producers, academia and other leaders to foster greater success among America's cooperatives and their leaders.

The online platform was launched in October 2012 and features a primary cooperative topic addressed through four perspectives and allows audiences to participate through online polls and a blog.  

"We hope this online resource will break complex cooperative topics into informative content to help cooperative leaders learn and grow," says Lynn Foth, vice president of market development and strategic alignment for CHS.  Using the resources on this site, visitors will be better informed about the choices their cooperatives have to grow, and remain profitable and sustainable into the future.

This quarter ag cooperative expert Michael Boland, Ph.D., professor of agricultural economics, University of Minnesota will talk about equity management.

Log on to chscenterforcooperativegrowth.com to learn more about this new online platform and view discussions about the dynamic global marketplace.

CHS Inc. is a leading global agribusiness owned by farmers, ranchers and cooperatives across the United States. Diversified in energy, grains and foods, CHS is committed to helping its customers, farmer-owners and other stakeholders grow their businesses through its domestic and global operations. CHS, a Fortune 100 company, supplies energy, crop nutrients, grain marketing services, livestock feed, food and food ingredients, along with business solutions including insurance, financial and risk management services. The company operates petroleum refineries/pipelines and manufactures, markets and distributes Cenex^® brand refined fuels, lubricants, propane and renewable energy products.

This document contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are based on management's current expectations and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the potential results discussed in the forward-looking statements. The company undertakes no obligations to publicly revise any forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances. For a discussion of additional factors that may materially affect management's estimates and predictions, please view the CHS Inc. annual report filed on Form 10-K for the year ended Aug. 31, 2011, which can be found on the Securities and Exchange Commission website or on the CHS website.

This press release is presented without editing for your information.  GRIT does not recommend, approve or endorse the products and/or services offered. You should use your own judgment and evaluate products and services carefully before deciding to purchase.   

All kids are natural artists—and you Rosies probably remember the freedom you felt as a child, hands drenched in finger paints as you swirled designs onto shiny paper. In support of child artists everywhere, Rosies Workwear is proud to sponsor an auction to benefit Art in Action, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing visual arts education to hundreds of schools in the United States and abroad. For this fundraiser, twelve artists were given a pair of white overalls as a “blank canvas” to create an original work of wearable art. On Feb. 1, these one-of-a kind overalls will be displayed at Spirits of Africa gallery in San Luis Obispo, Calif., and placed online for auction at eBay Giving Works.

“Art is so important to kids,” says Rosies founder Sharon Moore, “and all our Rosies are really creative people—they work with their hands and many have art backgrounds, so it’s a perfect fit.”

Sharon asked a diverse selection of artists to participate—from painters to potters to fabric designers—resulting in a whimsical collection of designer overalls. Artist Abbey Onikoyi’s contribution is an explosion of vibrant colors. Onikoyi, who teaches art to children every week in his San Luis Obispo gallery, witnesses first-hand how art brings kids out of their shells.

“There is nothing like children explaining their paintings to you,” says Onikoyi. “You can see their face change and what comes out of their mouth is just amazing.” Art, he says, frees kids to express their individuality without limits. “When they are painting, children are full of joy. They share their art with each other with such excitement, and no criticism.”

Mara Grimes, Development Manager of Art in Action, stresses that art is an essential component of a child’s education, teaching not only creativity but also problem solving and critical thinking. Sadly, with so many art programs cut from school budgets, countless children are losing the opportunity to explore their creativity. Art in Action, celebrating its 30^th anniversary this year, helps fill that void by providing visual arts curriculum to schools and training teachers and parents to deliver the lessons. The money raised by the Rosies Workwear auction will help more children experience the joys of artistic expression.

“Our mission is to bring the program to as many children as possible,” says Grimes. She recalls one lesson she taught to third graders a few years ago where she was discussing Van Gogh and modeling the day’s lesson: how to draw a self-portrait. One new student, a boy from South America, spoke no English but eagerly proceeded to draw along with the other children, intently focused on his paper. The result was a remarkable self-portrait. “Everybody was shocked because we had had no idea what was getting through to him,” she recalls. “The other kids were awestruck, and the boy had a grin on his face from ear to ear.” Her conclusion was that art helps level the playing field and makes kids feel successful in many different ways.

Dates for live auction: Jan. 28- Feb. 10; 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Feb. 1
Exhibited at Spirits of Africa Gallery, San Luis Obispo, California  

This press release is presented without editing for your information.  GRIT does not recommend, approve or endorse the products and/or services offered. You should use your own judgment and evaluate products and services carefully before deciding to purchase.