While attending this year’s Commodity Classic, I had a chance to talk with Ed Shoup of Shoup Brothers Farms, who has both a hog operation and grows corn in Orville, Ohio, to chat about some of the ways he is increasing yields. He is pictured here on the left in the Stoller booth with Dan Denman of Cortland, OH and Steve Wiser of Carlton, PA. Ed was kind enough to let me in on a few of his secrets. His first line of defense isBio-Forge®, an antioxidant offered by Stoller USA. In a nutshell, Bio-Forge balances hormones in the plants to optimize growth and allow them to better handle stressful situations such as drought, floods or freezes – ultimately helping to increase yields.
“Bio-Forge has been very beneficial. When we use it with products such as Headline or Quilt we’ve seen an excellent response. It has given us more of a boost,” explained Shoup. “The product helps our ears fill out better and the corn is less resistant to insect problems, and when we have a healthier plant, it helps us get through some of the stress.”
Another positive trait is that Bio-Forge helps topical applications work better. When Shoup uses Bio-Forge with strobies (strobilurin fungicides), he sees a return on investment through better yields. “The yield boost we get is what we really like. The icing on the cake is when we can reduce our molds and know that we have higher quality feed going into our hogs,” said Shoup.
His second secret is Stoller USA’s PowerPlus™, which is a great product for him, especially with the rising costs of Nitrogen. He explained that when he applied the nitrogen with PowerPlus it made the nitrogen work better. The plant better utilizes the nitrogen and he saw better uptake on components like potash and phosphorous. This was a double win for him because the addition of this product helped him reduce his nitrogen costs.
Listen to my interview with Ed here: cc-09-joanna-stollerusa.mp3
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I think Joel Velasco, Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association, had the quote of the day here at the Farm Foundation Transition To A Bio Economy Conference.
He said that “carbon is the new agricultural commodity” and that “our incentive is to produce less of it and get paid for it.” So, grow a crop, sell it and maybe earn some carbon credits? Who knows where all that will wind up.
Joel wanted people to know that biofuels can not only help mitigate climate change but build energy security. In Brazil they’ve managed to increase the use of ethanol from sugarcane to where they’ve displaced fifty percent of their liquid gasoline. They don’t have gas stations anymore he says, they have “fuel” stations. He says price is the key to the development and use of ethanol and today ethanol is half the price of gas in Brazil.
You can listen to my interview with Joel here: ff-global-09-velasco.mp3
You can download the interview with this link (mp3).
You can find photos from the conference here:
Transition To A Bio Economy Conference: Global & Trade Issues Photo Album
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A new website is helping to spot the latest job opportunities in agribusiness.
AgCareerSpotter.com is an industry specific on-line career center targeting the agriculture industry to “make the job search, recruitment and hiring process simpler, faster and more cost effective.”
AgCareerSpotter is part of the larger Careerspotter.com, which was created by recruiters and agricultural online business veterans with over 30 years of industry experience to provide industry specific, on-line recruitment and job search technologies.
Seth Meyer is with the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI). He’s also a speaker here at the Farm Foundation’s Transition To A Bio Economy Conference.
He talked to us about how biofuels policies are affecting commodity prices and trade but he says there are a lot of other factors affecting export volume. For example, he says that even though we’ve been using more corn to make ethanol we’ve still been able to increase the amount of corn we’re exporting at the same time. However, whether we have biofuels policies or not other factors will come into play like weather, the price of oil and foreign demand.
You can listen to my interview with Seth here: ff-global-09-meyer.mp3
You can download the interview with this link (mp3).
You can find photos from the conference here:
Transition To A Bio Economy Conference: Global & Trade Issues Photo Album
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We’re back in session at the Farm Foundation’s Transition To A Bio Economy Conference: Global Trade & Policy Issues. I’ll be posting live throughout the morning. Feel free to join in.
We know that OPEC has had a monopoly control over the price of oil on the world market and we hope that the increase of more environmentally friendly biofuels will force that to change. However, David Zilberman, University of California, Berkeley, has created a model to measure how much impact we’re having.
I spoke to David here at the Farm Foundation’s Transition To A Bio Economy Conference. He wanted to show how ethanol in particular fits into the whole OPEC price situation. His model shows that by increasing the supply of fuel with ethanol you reduce OPEC’s ability to make money. He says that our ethanol production has raised the price of fuel in OPEC’s own countries while lowering it for everyone else around the world.
He says the promise of ethanol isn’t just it’s value to our environment but the ability to lessen OPEC’s grip on fuel prices.
You can listen to my interview with David here: ff-global-09-zilberman.mp3
You can download the interview with this link (mp3).
You can find photos from the conference here:
Transition To A Bio Economy Conference: Global & Trade Issues Photo Album
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Speaking on behalf of the European Commission To The United States here at the Transition To A Bio Economy Conference was Laurent Javaudin. Laurent sent me a message about coming to the conference via my Twitter feed! I guess that makes him my Twitter buddy.
His comments focused on the impact of EU mandates for renewable energy. To start with, in the EU they don’t have a mandate of a certain number of gallons of biofuels. Instead they are looking at requiring alternative energy sources like biofuels be a percentage of the fuel consumed and achieve it by 2020. He says that they don’t consider just biofuels but also other alternative sources of energy. The biofuels that are considered must be produced in a sustainable way. They also expect these fuels to obtain at least a 35 percent decrease in green house gas emissions.
He says that after the political decision of December 2008, the implementation phase of the mandate for the 27 nations of the EU is now a work in progress and they hope to have it kicking in by the second quarter of 2010.
You can listen to my interview with Laurent here: ff-global-09-javaudin.mp3
You can download the interview with this link (mp3).
You can find photos from the conference here:
Transition To A Bio Economy Conference: Global & Trade Issues Photo Album
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Mary Thompson, Farm Foundation, took my photo yesterday as I was doing some concluding work for the day here at their Transition To A Bio Economy Conference: Global Trade & Policy Issues.
That new Mac is getting a workout on the road and I’m loving it.
I’ll be posting more interviews through the day today and will be live tweeting at twitter.com/AgWiredLive.
You can find photos from the conference here:
Transition To A Bio Economy Conference: Global & Trade Issues Photo Album
Biofuels production in Canada will impact meat trading patterns according to research by Al Mussell, George Morris Centre, University of Guelph. He says that the increase in biofuels production will turn the country into an importer of grains instead of an exporter. Al was one of the speakers at the Transition To A Bio Economy Conference.
He says that as you develop an ethanol production system built on feed grains it will seriously impact feeding livestock. That will mean serious adjustments over time. He says that these trends take a while to work themselves out. But in the long run he says we should like the taste of Brazilian beef and pork.
You can listen to my interview with Al here: ff-global-09-mussell.mp3
You can download the interview with this link (mp3).
You can find photos from the conference here:
Transition To A Bio Economy Conference: Global & Trade Issues Photo Album
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A very interesting presentation at our Farm Foundation Global Trade and Policy Issues conference had to do with the impact on poverty. Tom Hertel, Purdue University, was our presenter.
He says they conducted an international study of 16 developing countries and the impact of biofuels production on the poverty level. As he puts it, it’s a very complex issue. Most people he says think that just because food is scarce in low income countries that biofuels production from feedstocks would contribute to poverty but in fact, the opposite is true in some parts of the world like southeast Asia.
You can listen to my interview with Tom here: ff-global-09-hertel.mp3
You can download the interview with this link (mp3).
You can find photos from the conference here:
Transition To A Bio Economy Conference: Global & Trade Issues Photo Album
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Former Texas Congressman Charles Stenholm was the moderator for our second session here at the Farm Foundation Global Trade & Policy Issues conference. I don’t think you’ll find anyone more knowledgeable about the policy side of this discussion.
He says that it’s clear to everyone that the price of our basic commodities which was extremely beneficial to our producers has had a tendency to increase the price of food. He says that it’s had a major affect on our livestock producers. He thinks Congress has a difficult challenge in front of it. He’s all for alternative biofuels but he wonders about subsidizing biofuels for example. One thing he thinks we should have looked at is a counter cyclical program. We’ve heard it said before but he said it again, that the price of corn will be set by the price of oil.
You can listen to my interview with Mr. Stenholm here: ff-global-09-stenholm.mp3
You can download the interview with this link (mp3).
You can find photos from the conference here:
Transition To A Bio Economy Conference: Global & Trade Issues Photo Album
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Providing us with a “Technical Global Biofuels Analysis” here at the Farm Foundation Global Trade & Policy Issues conference was Thomas Alfstad, Brookhaven National Laboratory.
Thomas was on the program to speak about a technical global biofuels analysis.
He says that last year they completed a study on biofuels. They looked at the U.S. importing fuels to meet the RFS. He says their findings were that there are strong incentives for producers to expand production of biofuels. He says that biofuels producers may have short term concerns but that their findings should be encouraging for the long term.
You can listen to my interview with Thomas here: ff-global-09-alfstad.mp3
You can download the interview with this link (mp3).
You can find photos from the conference here:
Transition To A Bio Economy Conference: Global & Trade Issues Photo Album
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1,700 students and even more guests traveled to Brookings, SD to South Dakota State University to take part in the 86th Little International. Little “I” is the largest, two-day livestock exposition run completely by students for students. For the past three years I have served on the staff. My first two years, I served as the advertising and publicity superintendent. In my final year at SDSU, I served on the executive team to assist in this project that takes the full year to plan and prepare.
So, what are the exciting events at Little International? How do we work to promote and publicize this event? Well, if you have never taken part in an event like this, I will fill you in. To start, there are several judging contests for FFA, 4-H and collegiate students to compete in, including: livestock, dairy, horses, dairy products, floriculture, nursery landscape, land and natural resources, farm business management, crops, meats evaluation and ag sales. Students can also exhibit crops, hay and wool samples for judging. In addition, college students can show livestock and compete for the Round Robin showmanship champion and reserve titles. There is also the High Point Freshman and Upperclassman awards that include a combination of all of these contests. The student that scores the highest and competes in the most contests secures this award. (I won these two awards back-to-back, the first girl in 86 years to do so! It is one of my favorite memories of my college experience!) Finally, there are scholarships awards available to the top showman, highpointers and highschool qualifiers.
To say the least, this is a huge event that celebrates agriculture and the people in it. The staff nominates an annual award called the Honored Agriculturalists, and this year’s award went to the Sharon Odegaard family from Lake Preston, S.D. To bring in a crowd, we have entertainment such as old timers showmanship, ag olympics and the national anthem sang by a featured singer in the community. We place radio spots and newspaper advertisements to help spread the word, along with sending out invitations to parents, sponsors and area legislators. I’m proud to have been a part of the Little International experience during my time at SDSU. Have you ever been to an event like this? What did you like about it? What can we as students do to get a larger crowd next year? Your advice would be greatly appreciated by the incoming staff members! Thanks for your help!
Michael Schaal is with the Energy Information Administration which is part of the U. S. Dept. of Energy. He spoke early on the program at the Farm Foundation conference about the global outlook for energy.
He says they were actually looking at trends through 2030. He says that developing countries will be significantly increasing their fuel consumption which will increase the use of vehicles. All sorts of fuel production will be needed to meet this growing need. He says that with low world oil prices the production of biofuels is low and the converse is true. So the uncertainty of the price of oil is key to the development of biofuels. This is something all the speakers have mentioned today.
You can listen to my interview with Michael here: ff-global-09-schaal.mp3
You can download the interview with this link (mp3).
You can find photos from the conference here:
Transition To A Bio Economy Conference: Global & Trade Issues Photo Album
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I’ll be updating and monitoring this feed as much as I can during the next several hours of the Farm Foundation’s Transition To A Bio Economy Conference: Global & Trade Issues. The focus is on biofuels.
Update: I’ve closed the session but it’s archived for you to “replay” if you’d like. I’ll be posting speaker interviews over the next several hours.
Transition To A Bio Economy Conference: Global & Trade Issues Photo Album
Wally Tyner is an energy economist with the Dept. of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University. He’s one of the first speakers on the Farm Foundation, Transition To A Bio Economy Conference: Global Trade and Policy Issues. I was able to speak with him before the program kicks off this afternoon here in Washington, DC.
Wally says Farm Foundation decided to host a series of conferences a couple years ago. There are to be five in all and this is the fourth one. You can find out information about them on the Farm Foundation website.
This conference will focus on biofuels from a global perspective with participation from the European Union and Brazil. We’ll hear some contrasting viewpoints since Wally says that the EU has taken a different approach to requiring biofuels than the US. In his presentation he’ll focus on cellulosic or second generation biofuels. The hope is that the conference will incite or promote discussion even though Farm Foundation itself doesn’t take positions. He says they believe they’ve accomplished the objective with the conferences so far.
The next one in the series will focus on extension and it’s role across the country in biofuels production. It will be held in Arkansas in June.
You can listen to my interview with Wally here: ff-global-09-tyner.mp3
You can download the interview with this link (mp3).
You’ll be able to find photos from the conference here:
Transition To A Bio Economy Conference: Global & Trade Issues Photo Album
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- More than 500 of the nation’s top Texas Longhorn cattle breeders and their prized Texas Longhorns gathered in Fort Worth for the 2009 Texas Longhorn Legacy Sale V. Held in the Grand Ballroom, over 100 Longhorns were auctioned in this annual event that raised over $220,000 for cancer research and youth charities.
- Syngenta is sponsoring the popular recall training course offered by the United Fresh Research & Education Foundation. The “Training for Recall, Communicating Under Fire” training program will be held May 27-29 in Salinas, Calif. The recall/crisis management course will be held May 27-28 and media training will take place May 28-29. Similar seminars will be held in Florida in October.
- True Media, Calgary, AB, has hired of Ed Anderson as associate media director.
- Kamel Beliazi, currently head of Bayer CropScience in Mexico, will be moving north to Calgary to take on new challenges as President and CEO of Bayer CropScience Canada on July 1, 2009.
I’m glad to find out that the Brownfield Network will be sponsoring the internet access at my NAMA breakout session on social media and I thank them. Internet access is really becoming such an important part of everyday life and business that I was determined to find a way to have it.
This brought up an idea that I’m sure isn’t new but I thought I’d throw out there for conversation. If you’re planning a convention or meeting of any kind and sell sponsorships why not create one just to cover the cost of providing internet access? I don’t mean internet access for the media room or for a grouping of computers in a hallway either. I mean, negotiate a deal with your hotel or convention center. Say, “We want wireless access everywhere all the time.” How much would that cost? Why not do it? I don’t care if they’re farmers or not. We all need it today.
So what do you think? Realistic? New sponsor idea? If you don’t think it’s a good idea, why not?
I’m heading east out of a sunny St. Louis in just a few minutes to Washington, DC. I’ll be covering Farm Foundation’s “Transition To A Bioeconomy Conference – Global Trade and Policy Issues.”
I should have online coverage and Twitterage starting after lunch tomorrow here and on Domestic Fuel. I’ll be posting photos and interviews which all media are welcome to download and use.
So stay tuned.
Alert AgWired reader Michael Kopka has pointed out, Tractor Chasers is a John Deere website. As if you hadn’t already figured that out.
I’ve been off the grid for a couple days but am back in the saddle. I got this notice on my way out of town on Friday so Cindy handled the duties of pointing you to the Tractor Chasers website.
What do you think of this kind of campaign? You know we’re doing work for John Deere on a completed unrelated project – DriveGreenTractors.com.
Feel free to comment away.
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In this week's program Chuck talks with David Armano, Global Innovation and Integration.
