About “Beyond the Rows”

Beyond the Rows is a Monsanto Company blog focused on one of the world’s most important industries, agriculture. Monsanto employees write about Monsanto’s business, the agriculture industry, and the farmer.

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About Janice Person

Janice Person is a fourth generation Memphian (at least on one side of the family) who recently moved to St. Louis. While studying communications in college, a friend of the family hired Janice to work at a farm magazine and something took hold. Janice still remembers the first on-farm interview vividly and has since learned a lot from the farmers she's met. Having lived in various regions, from a population center like metro New York to a town of 600 in the Mississippi Delta, she has had the chance to see lots of people & places. Her love of communications revolves frequently around sharing other people's stories -- some family and friends are still surprised she became an "aggie" as an adult. Janice's passions include agriculture, photography/videography and travel.

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Why would a farmer or rancher create a blog?

The title of this post is a question I’ve been asked several times. It seems people don’t understand what would lead a farmer to set up and maintain a blog. That sort of writing and content creation used to be the sort of thing communications professionals laid claim to. The process seemed intimidating to others. But social media changed all of that and has given rise to a new type of content – blogs, Twitter accounts and Facebook pages that represent people’s individual passions.

But why farmers would want to blog is a question I’ve heard many times, even here … Full Article »

Tags: blog, farmer, North Dakota, rancher, Social Media, Val Wagner

Originally published
October 27, 2011 by Janice Person

World Food Prize Dialogue Focuses on Next Generation

With World Food Day on the horizon, hundreds of people gathered in Des Moines, Iowa for the World Food Prize Symposium. Started by Nobel Laureate, Norman Borlaug in 1986, the World Food Prize recognizes individuals for their efforts to increase food production globally through innovation in agriculture. The 2011 symposium, called the “Borlaug Dialogue,” placed focus on “The Next Generation: Confronting the Hunger Challenges of Tomorrow.”

Monsanto chairman, president and CEO Hugh Grant was among the hundreds of leaders consisting of heads of state, farmers, researchers, international agricultural leaders and others participating in the event.

Among other things, Hugh … Full Article »

Tags: Des Moines, Hugh Grant, Monsanto, next generation, Norman Borlaug, World Food Day, World Food Prize

Originally published
October 15, 2011 by Janice Person

What Can Farmers & Small Towns Gain Through Social Media?

More than 100 million people are said to be using Twitter. With all the buzz around the service – challenges about how many followers people have, tweeted photos appearing on the big screen in major stadiums, and every business having a twitter icon on their homepage – one would have to wonder what would small town people to use the service. That was exactly what I was able to learn at the recent 140 Characters Small Town Conference in Hutchinson, KS.

If you haven’t heard of the 140 Conferences, you may be interested to hear founder Jeff Pulver’s thoughts on … Full Article »

Tags: 140conf, Becky McCray, Jeff Pulver, Kansas, small town, Social Media, Twitter

Originally published
September 29, 2011 by Janice Person

Who are you most afraid of – Darth Vader, Ninjas or Monsanto employees?

It happens. You create images of people and places you’ve never seen or met. And with some of the things that get said about Monsanto, it wouldn’t surprise me if some people said they were more afraid of Monsanto employees than they are of Darth Vader or ninjas. When I read a blog post, by a person I consider a friend through social media, that said something about the way she generally pictured my Monsanto colleagues and me in darkness. I have to admit to being a bit surprised. But more than that, I so appreciate her willingness to … Full Article »

Tags: conversation, Farm Progress, Farmers, Georgia, India, Monsanto Employees, science, Transparency

Originally published
September 13, 2011 by Janice Person

Who should speak up for farmers?

As farmers look at the way the world works, its easy to think things need to change. Tennessee farmer Johnny Dodson says farmers need to speak up & be involved. He started with county and state soybean association meetings many years ago and as he became more engaged and involved, the other steps just came into place.

“I believe in becoming involved & making a difference,” Dodson says. “I don’t believe there is anyone else who can present my case, my issues any better than I can. I’m involved in those issues that are important to me. Whether it be … Full Article »

Tags: Corn, Cotton, Farmers, Soybeans

Originally published
August 19, 2011 by Janice Person

Farmers Learning from Each Other

I happened to be in one of the fields Johnny Dodson farms near Four Points, Tennessee with soybean farmers from the Midwest who came down south to see the issues on weed resistance that Johnny and his neighbors are facing.

Standing alongside a bus that’s pulled off the road to let people out into a cotton or soybean field is surely the way to draw attention. And although Johnny’s fairly humble about this sort of thing, he also knows he has a unique chance to help some farmers get more proactive on weed management.

He knows complacency is easy to … Full Article »

Tags: Corn, Cotton, Roundup Ready, Roundup Ready Plus, Soybeans, Weed resistance

Originally published
August 16, 2011 by Janice Person

What's a Farmer to Do When Weed Resistance Threatens the Farm?

In a previous post, we learned a bit about Johnny Dodson and his Halls, Tennessee farm. In that post, things at the farm may have seemed idyllic. As he talked, the birds chirped and all seemed right with the world. But reality is, Johnny is in the epicenter of weed resistance. Having grown 30 crops (2011 is his thirty-first and he’s working to make it a success), Johnny says he has seen various weed shifts and challenges presented to him.

Johnny says he’s seen discussion of glyphosate-resistant weeds in the media and he certainly realizes resistance is a significant … Full Article »

Tags: Corn, Cotton, Roundup Ready, Soybeans, Weed resistance

Originally published
August 12, 2011 by Janice Person

On the Farm with Tennessee Farmer Johnny Dodson

This trip was long overdue. I’ve been lucky enough to talk to Halls, Tennessee farmer Johnny Dodson several times before – I vividly remember some Midwestern soybean farmers borrowing a cotton boll to show Johnny he wasn’t the only cotton person in Kansas City for a meeting and other chances to talk with him about how things were going on the farm or his ideas on topics of current interest.

Each time, Johnny said I should visit the farm sometime. I meant to do it for years so when someone was headed out on vacation & I heard there was … Full Article »

Tags: Corn, Cotton, environment, Soybeans, Water, Weed resistance, wildlife

Originally published
August 11, 2011 by Janice Person

Impacts Flooding and Levee Breaks Have on Farms

Last May, Tennessee had flash-flooding conditions which caused some levees to break (see post and video here). We had a chance to visit Bob Walker in Somerville at the time to see how his cotton, corn and soybean farm would recuperate. Yesterday, Bob and I talked about some of the issues farmers will be facing with throughout the Mississippi River basin. Listen to interview with TN Farmer Bob_Walker_on flooding & levee breaks.

Some of the highlights Bob covers include:

The impacts are further reaching than 2011 and 2012. He feels the recovery will be several years and the implications

… Full Article »

Tags: Planting, weed management, Weed resistance

Originally published
May 5, 2011 by Janice Person

Rain Delay Provides Weed Management Training Time

With the wet weather that’s crossing much of the middle of the country, farmers may be finding themselves in the field less than they would like. The progress that was underway has been stopped much like a rain delay in a favorite team’s baseball game. So, time normally spent on field work and planting is being spent indoors. I’ve talked to farmers who are spending time working on their websites, and others who are working on equipment in their shops. One other thing people may want to give additional attention to, is the farm’s weed management plan.

As we discussed … Full Article »

Tags: Planting, Roundup Ready, weed management, Weed resistance

Originally published
May 2, 2011 by Janice Person

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