Animal Ag News 7/26

Carrie Muehling Leave a Comment

  • Developed by Ridley Block Operations, part of the Alltech Feed Division, the makers of CRYSTALYX® Brand Supplements have launched a new supplementation app to make product selection for livestock easier than ever.
  • The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) and Institute for Feed Education and Research (IFEEDER) are pleased to announce the addition of Emily Anne Igli as the new development and operations specialist, effective July 12.
  • As the Beef Checkoff celebrates its 35th anniversary, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), a contractor to the Beef Checkoff, is shining a light on the successful promotion and research programs that drive the demand for beef.
  • The Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB) will celebrate the program’s anniversary during the upcoming Cattle Industry Convention in Nashville, August 10-12.CBB will host a number of activities to mark the Beef Checkoff’s 35th anniversary, including a video montage of the program’s history and achievements during the convention’s Opening General Session. At that time, the CBB will also announce the recipient of the first-ever Checkoff Visionary Award, an honor that will go to someone in the beef industry who has demonstrated exemplary support of and commitment to the Checkoff’s goals and vision.
  • Twelve organizations representing farmers and companies who make the vast majority of America’s meat, poultry, and dairy, as well as animal feed and ingredients, unveiled the Protein PACT for the People, Animals, and Climate of Tomorrow – the first joint initiative of its kind designed to accelerate momentum and verify progress toward global sustainable development goals across all animal protein sectors.
  • Cargill and Intelia have entered into a partnership to distribute Intelia’s COMPASS broiler platform in the United States and Canada in an effort to provide world-class precision solutions to broiler producers. COMPASS is a precision livestock tool designed to help broiler producers monitor, manage, model and enhance decision-making at the flock level.
  • The National Bison Association (NBA) has announced the 2021 Throlson American Bison Foundation Scholarship amid continued growth in consumer demand for healthy, natural bison meat. The online scholarship application is available online here and must be submitted by October 1, 2021, which also requires this form to be completed by the student’s department head, as well as a letter of recommendation from faculty.
  • There were 101 million head of cattle and calves on U.S. farms as of July 1, 2021, according to the Cattle report published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).
AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Animal Bites

The Curious Plot is Revealed at #NAMA21

Chuck Zimmerman Leave a Comment

From the ZimmComm booth at the #NAMA21 conference I learned all about Curious Plot. It’s the new brand for what we knew as FLM Harvest. The Golden ZimmComm Microphone spent some time with agency President/CEO, Laurie Fleck. Laurie says the agency is working on really upping their digital game with more to be announced this fall. The agency has the same ownership, leadership, team members, clients and services with a new name and identity against the backdrop of rapid transformation in the food and agriculture markets it serves.

“Our industry and clients have experienced a staggering amount of change,” said Laurie Fleck, president and CEO of Curious Plot. “Curious Plot signals our own evolution and continued growth in our dedicated space. While we are still very young by most standards, we continually grow and enhance our service offerings to help our clients navigate the challenges and opportunities to come.”

Curious Plot represents two central pillars of the agency’s new positioning: an innate commitment to continuous learning and the ability to help clients tell a motivating and results-driven story.

Learn more about Curious Plot in my interview with Laurie here: Interview with Laurie Fleck (6:02)

2021 Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

Agencies, Audio, NAMA

Sustainability in Focus at #TechHubLIVE

Cindy Zimmerman Leave a Comment

With increasing interest and investment in sustainability up and down the agriculture value chain, each segment of the industry is finding its place as crop production practices evolve.

During Tech Hub LIVE last week, CropLife Media Group Editor Paul Schrimpf moderated a group of key sustainability stakeholders who shared their perspectives on the state and future of sustainability practices, the importance of data and precision agriculture, and the role of service providers in sustainability programs.

The panel featured:
Jason Weller, President, Truterra LLC
Aaron Sindelar, Ph.D., Sustainability Lead, Central Valley Ag Cooperative
Jamie Dingley, Commodities Manager, North America, Corbion

As part of the Land O’ Lakes cooperative, Truterra offers a farmer-owned, farmer-driven food and ag sustainability program. “We’re really trying to innovate and find creative ways for the farmer to not just get recognized for their conservation and stewardship, but actually get paid for their stewardship,” said Weller, who served as chief of USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

Learn more in this interview.
Tech Hub Live interview with Jason Weller, Truterra (8:18)

AgWired Precision, Audio, carbon, Precision Agriculture, Sustainability, Tech Hub LIVE, Technology

Industry Ag News 7/23

Carrie Muehling Leave a Comment

  • The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center announced it has joined the Decade of Ag movement, recognizing that a unified vision of sustainable food, fiber and energy systems for the future requires collaboration, endorsement and advancement from across the agricultural value chain.
  • The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) announces the promotion of Sarah Gallo to Vice President, Agriculture and Environment. In her new role, Sarah will lead the policy and market access strategies for BIO’s Agriculture and Environment Section, which is comprised of members from the former Food and Agriculture and Industrial and Environmental Sections.
  • Iowa Corn® will be welcoming RAGBRAI cyclists at multiple stops along the route with the opportunity to talk with local farmers and enjoy sweet corn starting on Sunday. Farmers will share facts about field corn grown in Iowa that is used for livestock feed, ethanol fuel, and 4,000 other everyday products! Sweet corn is referred to as the delicious 1% that consumers enjoy. Along with Fed by Farmers, Iowa Corn will be serving sweet corn to riders who tour the Iowa Corn trailer.
  • The American Seed Trade Association presented its recently updated Strategic Plan. The Plan was updated through a formal process over the past several months, including feedback from ASTA membership, and was officially approved by ASTA’s Board of Directors in June.
  • Seed World announced Paul Nelson as the 2021 Future Giant of the Seed Industry. Nelson serves as a corn product design lead at Bayer and was selected for the award because of his leadership and vision for the future of plant breeding.
  • Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack named Daniel Whitley the new Administrator of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service. Whitley has served as the agency’s Acting Administrator since December 2020.
  • The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) announced that Bryan Goodman joined NCGA as the Director of Policy Communications on July 19. He will provide strategic communications counsel on NCGA policy priorities, work closely with reporters covering farm policy and implement communications tactics that will help advance NCGA’s advocacy priorities on Capitol Hill.
  • Benson Hill, Inc. announced that Bruce Bennett will join the Company’s Executive Leadership Team as President of its Ingredients business segment.
Zimfo Bytes

2021 NAMA Top Award Recipients

Chuck Zimmerman Leave a Comment

Tim HenningerThe National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) honored the winners of its top annual awards during the 2021 Agri-Marketing Conference. You can listen to the their remarks after receiving there awards below.

The AgriBusiness Leader of the Year award was presented to Tim Hassinger, retired Pres/CEO of Dow AgroSciences and Lindsay Corporation. The award recognizes outstanding leadership in private, public or academic service and is conferred each year to a senior executive at an agribusiness.

Listen to Tim’s remarks here: Remarks from Tim Hassinger

Amy BuggThe NAMA Marketer of the Year was awarded to Amy Bugg, Brand Marketing Lead of AgroLiquid. The award is recognizes an active member of NAMA and their outstanding accomplishments in the field of agri-marketing.

Listen to Amy’s remarks here: Remarks from Amy Bugg

Chad GregoryThe Ag Association Leader of the Year was presented to Chad Gregory, President/CEO of United Egg Producers. The award recognizes outstanding achievement and excellence among senior executives who have made significant contributions to the agriculture industry in their roles with trade association or commodity organization.

Listen to Chad’s remarks here: Remarks from Chad Gregory

2021 Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

Audio, Marketing, NAMA

Tech Hub LIVE Wraps With AEM Panel

Cindy Zimmerman Leave a Comment

LtoR: Julian Sanchez, Darryl Matthews, Michael Gomes

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) brought a panel of leading agricultural industry experts to wrap up the inaugural Tech Hub LIVE conference and trade show on Wednesday.

Joining moderator and Tech Hub LIVE Conference Chair Paul Schrimpf were:
Julian Sanchez, Director, Emerging Technology, John Deere
Michael Gomes, V.P. Business Development – Agriculture, Topcon
Darryl Matthews, Senior Vice President, Trimble Inc.

The topic was “What’s Now and Next For Ag Equipment and Technology Companies” and there was a lot to discuss, from sustainability and carbon programs to the massive shift toward in-season decision making and “just-in-time” field recommendations – as well as putting the farmer first.

“We continue to be laser-focused on helping farmers manage each plant at scale,” said Sanchez, who adds that ease of use for the farmer is number one priority. “Make the technology easy, make the data easy to understand, make it all just easy and intuitive.”

Gomes says data is becoming even more critical with the focus on sustainability and climate. “Agriculture has and continues to do the right things for the environment,” he said. “It’s that documentation of practice that makes it easier to show people that we are doing the right things.”

When it comes to carbon capture and sequestration, Matthews says it’s important to find a way to make it financially sustainable for farmers. “Everybody in the industry is looking at ways that we can buy carbon offsets and capture more carbon,” said Matthews. “Agriculture is the solution to carbon sequestration and we need to be on the forefront of that.”

Listen to some comments from the three panelists here:
Tech Hub LIVE Closing panel interviews (8:43)

AEM, AgWired Precision, Audio, Equipment, Precision Agriculture, Tech Hub LIVE, Technology

PrecisionAg® Awards of Excellence

Cindy Zimmerman Leave a Comment

LtoR: Jeremy Wilson accepting for his father Wade, Nic Uilk, Dan Frieberg, Michael Ott, and Paul Shrimpf

The annual PrecisionAg® Awards of Excellence were presented at the inaugural Tech Hub LIVE conference in Des Moines this week.

The PrecisionAg Alliance has sponsored the awards program since 2007 to celebrate exceptional work in research, commercialization, and adoption of precision agriculture technology and practices. Four recipients were selected for the 2021 class, joining 57 honorees from previous years. In addition, the 2020 winners were recognized during the event since the pandemic cancelled last year’s celebration.

This year’s recipients were:
Educator/Researcher Award
Nicholas Uilk, South Dakota State University

Crop Adviser/Entrepreneur Award
Michael Ott, Rantizo

Farmer Award
Wade Wilson, Olney, IL

Legacy Award
Dan Frieberg, Premier Crop Systems

Unfortunately, Wade Wilson was unable to attend the conference, so his son Jeremy with EFC Systems was honored and proud to accept the award in his place.

Listen to some brief comments from each winner.
Tech Hub LIVE Precision Ag Award winners (5:41)

Congrats also to the 2020 winners:
Dr. Ajay Sharda, Kansas State University | Educator/Researcher Award
Jason Ward, North Carolina State University | Educator/Researcher Award
Ofir Schlam, Taranis | Crop Adviser/Entrepreneur Award
Grant Strom, Dahindra, IL | Farmer Award
Eric Lund, Veris Technologies | Legacy Award

AgWired Precision, Audio, Precision Agriculture, Tech Hub LIVE, Technology

2021 Agri-Marketing Conference Attendance is Strong

Chuck Zimmerman Leave a Comment

2021 Agri-Marketing ConferenceIt has been a great to see so many friends in person at the 2021 Agri-Marketing Conference. I’ve had lots of conversations and am really glad for this opportunity to just catch up on how people come through the craziness of the last year and a half. There is a palatable vibe of excitement as we’re able to talk to people about projects and plans and learn what is new.

Between taking photos for NAMA, managing the ZimmComm booth in the Connection Point and doing Golden ZimmComm Microphone interviews there hasn’t been much time to post on AgWired. But there is more to come!

In the meantime, enjoy some of the photos of the activities here, like the Best of NAMA Award winners, receptions, networking and sessions. 2021 Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

You can find all the winners of the Best of NAMA Awards here.

NAMA

Partners Make Tech Hub LIVE a Success

Cindy Zimmerman Leave a Comment

Tech Hub LIVE would still just be a dream of Meister Media Worldwide without the support of three outstanding industry partners who are pioneering the way with the latest solutions in precision agriculture.

EFC Systems is pleased to be a founding Education Partner of Tech Hub LIVE. “Education and getting people out of their comfort zone is important,” said Ernie Chappell, founder and president. “We’re trying to make this the marriage of agronomy and technology.”

Tech Hub LIVE Ernie Chappell, EFC Systems (2:38)

Proagrica is a global provider of independent connectivity and data-driven support solutions for the agriculture industry and for them it is about increasing industry knowledge while engaging with the right strategic partners and developing relationships. “We’re always looking for ways to connect with our customers and other members of the industry,” said Director of Business Development Shawn Peterson. “Bringing data connectivity to the market is something we’re really passionate about.”

Tech Hub LIVE Shawn Peterson, Proagrica (5:24)

WinField United and Truterra jumped on board as a Tech Hub LIVE partner because of their goal to deliver innovative solutions to help farmers. “We’ve always wanted to be on the leading edge with information and leading technologies,” said Mark Olson with Winfield.

Olson and Brent Hall with Truterra talk about what they do in this interview.

Tech Hub LIVE Winfield/Truterra interview (2:57)

AgWired Precision, Audio, Precision Agriculture, Tech Hub LIVE, Technology

Precision Ag News 7/21

Carrie Muehling Leave a Comment

  • Pivot Bio announced the close of a $430 million Series D funding led by DCVC and Temasek, bringing the total equity raised to more than $600 million. The funding will fuel the company’s accelerating release of disruptive products focused on replacing the $60 billion of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer sold each year just to sustain corn, wheat, and rice.
  • Calyxt, Inc. announced the appointment of Michael A. Carr as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective July 27, 2021. Mr. Carr will also serve as a member of Calyxt’s Board of Directors. Mr. Carr was most recently the Vice President of M&A, Strategy, and Innovation at Darling Ingredients, Inc., a global developer and producer of sustainable natural ingredients and renewable energy.
  • The American Farm Bureau Federation, in partnership with Farm Credit, is accepting online applications for the 2022 Farm Bureau Ag Innovation Challenge through Aug. 20. This national business competition showcases U.S. startup companies that are providing innovative solutions to either traditional or new/emerging challenges faced by America’s farmers, ranchers and rural communities. Farm Bureau will award $165,000 in startup funds.
  • To help farmers achieve the highest yield potential, Golden Harvest is launching its first-ever Gold Series, a line of soybeans that feature exclusive genetics in high-demand trait platforms. Available for the 2022 season, the new lineup includes Enlist E3® soybeans and XtendFlex® soybeans. Gold Series soybeans include exclusive genetics from Syngenta Seeds, which has one of the longest-running soybean breeding programs in the United States.
  • AgriDigital and Trader PhD launched a U.S. distribution partnership synching AgriDigital’s harvest and inventory management platform Waypath with Trader PhD’s Ag marketing services.
  • AgriTech Corp. has partnered with Auburn University on an Auburn-branded SoilKit®, with proven results backed by Auburn research. This is the first time a public, land-grant university has partnered with a private company to deliver digital, easy-to-understand soil test results to homeowners, landscapers, farmers and municipalities.
  • nurture.farm is scaling and expanding its global reach as a part of the OpenAg™ network. The OpenAg™ network was conceived by UPL Ltd, a world leader in sustainable agriculture.
  • Bushel announced an integration with EFC Systems’ FieldAlytics agronomy and farm planning software. This integration will allow growers to easily access FieldAlytics through their grain facilities’ mobile app powered by the Bushel platform. Full integration to EFC’s Merchant Ag is slated for 2022.
AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes, Precision Agriculture