Latest news with #Norm
Business Wire
a day ago
- Business
- Business Wire
FBN Expands AI-Powered Platform for Ag Commerce, Financing, and Farm Intelligence
SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Farmers Business Network (FBN®), the collaborative peer-to-peer farmer network generating farm-level intelligence and a leading marketplace for North America's agricultural sector, announced new investments and platform expansions alongside $50 million in funding to fuel new product lines and AI deployment. The funding will support FBN's mission of powering the prosperity of family farms. Backed by leading investors, including GV (Google Ventures), Temasek, Arteqin, Colle Capital and T Rowe Price, the company builds on its digital platform to simplify agriculture's supply of goods, financing and services, while becoming the farmer's trusted personal AI partner. FBN's farmer network has grown to over 117,000 farms, representing 187 million acres in the U.S. and Canada. Its Amazon-like e-commerce platform offers more than 7,200 products from crops and livestock with direct-to-farm delivery on most orders within 24 to 72 hours. According to recent farmer surveys by Stratus Ag Research, FBN was visited by 35% of farmers when shopping for inputs, and the number of farmers buying inputs online grew 86% vs. 2023. In 2025, more farmers returned to FBN to purchase inputs than ever before, as producers focused on profitability. FBN's Finance platform has now extended nearly $3 billion in total financing to growers. "Our commitment to putting farmers first means a relentless focus on efficiency and convenience," said Diego Casanello, CEO of FBN. "Our goal is to reduce a farm's operating costs 20% or more compared to brick-and-mortar retail. We're working to maximize grower savings and ensure every dollar they spend goes as far as possible." To better serve its members and build for the future, FBN is evolving to focus on its core digital strengths. This has meant making difficult choices to align its workforce with strategic priorities. These essential changes, while challenging, position FBN to deliver exceptional and sustainable value to its members through innovation. FBN is increasing its strategic investment in advanced AI development. "Artificial Intelligence is enabling us to provide our farmer members with more personalized and relevant insights," said Casanello. "Simultaneously, it offers new tools to automate our marketplace operations, reducing costs and improving the customer experience." FBN launched 'Norm', the first Large Language Model (LLM) to answer farmer's agronomy questions. The model has been now trained to help farmers with crop marketing related inquiries. Future versions are expected to include personalized agronomy, finance and risk management support. The company is broadening its marketplace offerings – all while improving the fast and convenient service farmers have come to expect and rely on. FBN has significantly expanded its private label product portfolio in 2025 and opened the platform to third-party sellers, allowing them to offer their own brands directly to FBN members via a suite of seller tools and commercial services. Today's announcement includes these expanded product portfolio features: More Private Label and Third-party Crop Protection Products: FBN is enhancing its crop protection, biological and nutrition offerings for major commodity crops like corn, canola, cotton, soybeans, alfalfa and wheat, creating one of the industry's broadest and most trusted portfolios under its Willowood USA ® and Farmers First ® brands, while opening up the platform to more third-party sellers. Canadian Growth: FBN Canada has expanded its wheat crop protection portfolio, added bulk liquid fertilizer and equipment financing, and will open two new distribution centers in 2026. New Seed Platform: FBN is opening the marketplace for third-party seed offers, with leading brands like Seitec Genetics ®, featuring products for corn, soybean, sorghum, alfalfa, and cover crops. Expanding Livestock: FBN's rapidly growing livestock marketplace will continue to expand with new products including feed from Ridley ® & Sweetlix ®, fencing, and a growing assortment of farm & ranch supplies. About FBN Farmers Business Network, Inc. (FBN®) is a pioneering digital marketplace and farmer-to-farmer network dedicated to empowering family farmers globally while promoting sustainable agriculture. With over 117,000 members, FBN's Farmers First® promise unites growers and ranchers in their quest to maximize profitability and increase food production. FBN leverages data, AI and direct-to-farm delivery to simplify the agricultural supply chain, boosting convenience and transparency, reducing farm input costs, enhancing access to financing and services, and providing personalized farm insights. Its Gradable® joint-venture helps thousands of farmers adopt and earn rewards for regenerative practices while simplifying the access of regenerative products for the world's leading food companies and grain buyers. To learn more, visit
NZ Herald
11-06-2025
- Automotive
- NZ Herald
Driver demerit point system needs to be timely to work
Over 90% of drivers who had received demerit points reported incurring them for exceeding the speed limit, but they had not reoffended. Life is full of surprises. Some pleasant, some unpleasant but almost always causing an emotional charge. A pleasant one came for us last week when viewing the list of royal honours to discover that my younger brother Norm had been awarded an MNZM for services to agriculture. Norm is a
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Cheers' star George Wendt's cause of death is released
"Cheers" star George Wendt had experienced years of health issues when he died suddenly in May. According to a death certificate reviewed by USA TODAY on June 10, the 76-year-old actor was pronounced dead at his Studio City, California, home the morning of May 20. His wife of nearly 50 years, Bernadette Birkett, informed authorities of his death. Wendt's cause of death was listed as cardiac arrest, when the heart suddenly stops pumping blood. Contributing conditions were years of congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease and hypertension, also known as high blood pressure. He also had end-stage renal disease and hyperlipidemia (high blood cholesterol). 'George brought Norm to life': Ted Danson, Rhea Perlman, more 'Cheers' stars pay tribute Heart failure, which can develop as a result of high blood pressure and coronary artery disease, impacts the organ's ability to pump blood effectively. Per Mayo Clinic, coronary artery disease can sometimes lead to sudden cardiac arrest – or the loss of heart activity because of the irregular rhythm of the heart – as plaque build-up causes arteries to narrow. End-stage renal disease is the last stage of long-term kidney disease and indicates the kidneys' inability to support normal bodily functions like getting rid of waste and excess water. According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, between 300,000 and 450,000 people die each year from cardiac arrest. Nine out of 10 people who experience cardiac arrest outside of a hospital will die. CPR and defibrillation can be used to treat a person in cardiac arrest while awaiting emergency services. Wendt, best known for his beloved role as beer-quaffing barfly Norm Peterson for all 11 seasons of the iconic NBC comedy, earned six consecutive best supporting actor Emmy nominations playing his one line-delivering Everyman character. He also played the Norm role in the short-lived spinoff "The Tortellis," a 1990 episode of NBC's "Wings," and in an episode of the "Cheers" spinoff "Frasier," featuring psychiatrist Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer). His death occurred on the 32nd anniversary of the final "Cheers" episode that aired on May 20, 1993. In one of his final public appearances at the 75th Emmy Awards in 2024, Wendt reunited with his "Cheers" co-stars Ted Danson, Rhea Perlman, Grammer and Ratzenberger on a recreated set of the show's iconic Boston bar. Wendt's memorable entrance brought one final "Norm!" from his assembled costars. The cast honored Wendt in individual tributes following the news of his death. Danson noted it would "take me a long time to get used to this" in a statement shared with USA TODAY. Ratzenberger said, "What you saw on screen was exactly who (Wendt) was off screen with impeccable comedic timing and a deep loyalty to those he loved." Perlman called Wendt "the sweetest, kindest man I ever met" and Grammer described him as "an extraordinary guy." Contributing: Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: George Wendt cause of death released for 'Cheers' star
Otago Daily Times
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Few affinities as Donald and I blow out 79 candles each
Tomorrow is my birthday. I'm 79. Friday is Donald Trump's birthday. He is 79. There the similarities end. Trump is tall, rich and a dangerous lunatic. I am short, poor and simply a harmless eccentric. How we mark our birthdays also emphasises our differences. Trump, on the flimsy grounds that his birthday coincides with the founding date 250 years ago of the United States Army, is planning a birthday military parade at which he will take centre stage despite avoiding military service during the Vietnam War. He initially received four deferments as a student and then underwent a medical which disqualified him on the grounds of "having bone spurs in both heels", widely regarded as a trumped-up diagnosis. In fact, Trump wriggled out of war simply because he couldn't face getting a decent haircut. In my own case, at much the same time, I was balloted for National Service and passed the medical easily. My treasured memory is the medical officer's comment, "This man is small but perfectly formed." Obviously, I was not deformed by bone spurs, whatever they are. While Trump was enjoying his student life I was trapped within the military system learning how to salute and use morse code, both of which I was assured would reduce the Vietcong to gibbering surrender. Even now, I can still throw a decent salute. Trump, on the other hand, is incapable of saluting properly but nevertheless, emboldened by his status as Commander in Chief, attempts feeble salutes whenever he sees someone wearing a peaked cap, including airline pilots and railway porters. Our greatest divergence is probably the way we've decided to mark our birthdays. On Friday Trump will make a sloppy salute as 7500 soldiers form a 90-minute parade through Washington. Trump boasts: "We have the greatest missiles in the world. We have the greatest submarines in the world. We have the greatest army tanks in the world. We have the greatest weapons in the world. And we're going to celebrate it." In Patearoa a military parade was planned for tomorrow but Norm, who uses an old Bren gun carrier for feeding out, tells me he can't get the damn thing started. Norm's Bren carrier would have harmed no-one, but Trump's tanks could cause $16 million worth of damage to the streets of Washington. The overall cost of the parade will be about $45m. Trump has asked for at least seven marching bands, parachute jumpers, an evening concert and a fireworks show. I have asked that my birthday be ignored. Mainly for economic reasons, as the American troops are being given three meals and $50 day while taking part. Feeding and paying cash to Norm is just not the way things are done in Patearoa. All Norm requires is a jug of Speight's at the debrief. Some American soldiers will wear uniforms from the War of 1812 and all Norm could offer was his old man's lemon-squeezer from World War 2, which reminded me that Patearoa's contribution to both world wars was substantial, but it's best marked on Anzac Day rather than on my birthday. Trump is reported as saying: "This country has been in some beautiful wars. We even fought ourselves back in the 1860s, so one of us was bound to win. We came off the bench in World War 1 and World War 2 and won them both. There's hardly a country we haven't fought against. Gee, we've even invaded countries just for the hell of it. Watch out, Greenland and Canada, I know where you are." Worrying, eh? That's enough of Trump. In fact, it's far too much of Trump and his birthday. Back in the world of sanity I'll mark my birthday by shouting for the blokes I usually have a drink with. I've been doing that on my birthday for over 20 years now. The only time it didn't quite work out was the year I was up north on my birthday and told the publican to shout the regulars and I'd pay when I got back. There must have been about 200 regulars in that night. These days, as a pensioner, my shouting is rare and rigidly supervised but it's enough to mark what is simply the passing of another year. So, don't worry about not sending a present. That you've read this column is more gratifying than yet another pair of socks. For me, the birthday will be pleasing just because it's happening. After all these years I hope I've learned to keep a reasonably low profile and be not too annoying to too many people. Lessons Donald Trump would do well to learn. — Jim Sullivan is a Patearoa writer.
Globe and Mail
08-06-2025
- General
- Globe and Mail
It broke my heart when Dad asked me, ‘Was I important?'
First Person is a daily personal piece submitted by readers. Have a story to tell? See our guidelines at My father was often described as a big man. Some of his students would call him the Jolly Green Giant or, more often, Uncle Norm. He was tall, with broad shoulders and large hands. Despite his size, he played varsity sports and eventually coached high school basketball teams both as a physical education teacher as well as a principal. People would also say he had a large heart. If someone needed a hand, he was there, without fanfare or the expectation of recognition or a thank you. My father was also incredibly well organized. As a high school administrator, he knew that the devil was in the details. He taught his three children: 'preparation is key, plan for the worst but keep the faith.' He used that last phrase often, not because of his religious beliefs, but as a reminder to always have hope, to support something or someone although it may at times feel difficult. 'It's not what you have, it's not who you are – it's what you do for others,' he'd say. Once retired, he focused his time researching his family lineage – from Ireland to Scotland to Canada. Both he and my mother grew up in the same small town in southwestern Ontario and the interconnections were numerous. He invested time and money documenting five generations of history. He was proud to have completed this sprawling family tree and was happy to disseminate copies to our extended family. My father was confident, but later in life he needed reminding of his good works. In his 80s and once his mobility and cognitive skills declined, our family made the difficult but necessary decision to place him into a local long-term care facility. We co-ordinated visits amongst friends and family and we all watched him decline, often to the point where he no longer knew us. But we would talk to him like he did. That was us trying to keep the faith. During a recent visit I told him I was going away on a long trip but I would be back soon – very soon. (Code for: don't die when I'm away please.) He asked if I had the papers. 'The papers?' I asked. 'Yes, the papers,' he said. 'You mean my will, my burial plans, my itinerary?' Defiantly and remarkably, he said, 'NO, the papers!' After some time, I thought, he means the family tree. He wants to talk about his family. I started talking about his mother, whom I'm named after; his father, the hard-working labourer; his three older brothers who served in the Second World War; and his two older sisters, one of whom he'd looked after as she aged. He was surprised to learn they had all died. I reminded him that he was still happily married to his childhood schoolmate, our mother, for over 60 years. His answer was 'Really?' (I'm not sure our mother quite appreciated that answer.) I described how he had worked as a math teacher, coached basketball and became a respected principal. 'I was?' he asked. Near the end of our visit, he looked at me curiously and asked, 'Was I important?' I didn't know how to answer at first, then realized he was wondering if he did something hopeful, impactful and lasting. I could tell him about the time he helped a terrified young woman whose car had spun out of control on the highway by waiting with her until her parents arrived. Or about how he read in the newspaper about an elderly man who required a drug that was only available in Europe, and how he found a way to get that drug to that man. How he won a Canadian magazine's 'carpenter of the year' through all the woodworking he did for friends and family, and to help the needy. How he volunteered to assist students who had fallen through the cracks to ensure they received their high-school diplomas. How he and my mother were leaders in advancing a hearing-impaired children's charity. How he would do anything for his wife, children and grand-children. 'Yes Dad,' I replied with a smile, 'You were important.' And that comforted him. Anne Purdie Morash lives in Toronto.
