New from Novus International at the World Pork Expo this year was the Equalizing Sow Performance program designed to optimize herd production.
I talked with Randy Anderson (left), who is the National Pork Business Sales Manager for Novus, about the sow program, which he says is basically a combination of their MINTREX® and ZORIEN® products. “We’re feeding the sows through gestation and lactation to help optimize performance,” Randy said. “We’re improving the feet and legs, the joint health of the animal, helping them to walk better, last longer in the herd – so basically we’re improving the longevity of the sow. And in doing that, we’re also getting a reproductive benefit of increasing the live born of the sow.”
Randy says they officially launched the program at World Pork and got good feedback from producers. “The nice thing about the MINTREX® sow program is that it works for everyone, no matter how big or how small.”
Novus VP for the Americas Dan Meagher is the guy on the right in the picture, helping to cut up and serve the Novus roasted pig at the expo. He says producers at the show this year were more optimistic than they have been in the past couple of years. “Attitudes are much better than they were last year, still cautiously optimistic, but certainly the outlook is brighter,” Dan told me. “People are conscious of having to manage the animal numbers but what they’re looking for now is how do I put a little bit more weight on and really take advantage of the markets that are out there.”
Dan also talked to me about Novus’ recent acquisitions of Albion and IQF-ENAMEX and how they have helped strengthen the company’s product lines and offerings for all types of livestock producers.
AgWired fans know that I’ve had an opportunity to cover quite a bit of Indy, as in Indy Racing League. In fact, it was the move by the IRL to ethanol as a fuel in their cars that got us started covering what was happening in the renewable fuels industry. This week I get back in action at the Iowa Corn Indy 250 in Newton, IA. I’ll be on location by Thursday with pre-race activities being conducted by the Iowa Corn Promotion Board.
For a preview I spoke with Craig Floss, CEO, Iowa Corn Growers and Iowa Corn Promotion Board. This week’s race is the only one of the season where the fuel is American made corn ethanol. The IRL switched to ethanol from Brazil once there was no longer a Team Ethanol car in the series. However, Iowa Corn Growers have made sure there’s still one race that uses an American product.
Craig says the race has provided Iowa corn growers with a great platform to publish messages about ethanol, food, fuel and the livestock industry all of which are import components of their marketing efforts to make corn “disappear.” This is year four and they’ve come back for more. The name recognition has really increased during that time both in Iowa and nationally.
A hot topic at this year’s World Pork Expo was the pending free trade agreements that are awaiting Congressional approval. Don Butler, immediate past president of the National Pork Producers cited the agreements between the U.S. and Colombia, Panama and South Korea could make a world of difference for the pork industry in this country. In fact, Butler says the agreement with Korea, if approved, could add at least $10 a head to hog prices (compared to about a dollar or so the Colombian and Panamanian agreements would add). Download (mp3) Butler’s remarks about the agreements at World Pork expo – or listen in the player: wpx10-butlertrade.mp3
Later, during a stop at the media room, I was able to sit down with Jong Hyun Choi, the Minister to the U.S. for Economic Affairs in the South Korean Embassy in Washington, D.C. and get his thoughts on the pending agreement. He pointed out that the agreement were signed three years ago, but Congress has not given final approval to implement the provisions.
“It’s just about past time for the agreement to be ratified, approved by the U.S. Congress.”
He went on to say one of the main reasons for his visit is to promote the FTA and point out the huge benefits U.S. pork producers and South Korea could see once it is approved.
“Once this agreement is implemented, then the more than 20 percent tariffs (currently on U.S. pork) will be eliminated for frozen pork and within 10 years for fresh and chilled products. So, that implementation could provide a very commercially meaningful leg up for U.S. pork producers.”
Choi added that South Korea has just completed a free trade agreement with the European Union, while hog farmers in Chile have already been enjoying much lower tariffs for the past six years, increasing their market share in South Korea. That trend worries the NPPC, as Butler believes lack of ratification of the U.S.-Korea and other FTAs could end up shutting out American hog farmers from those markets in the next 10 years.
Choi agreed that Congress needs to get moving on this issue, and pork producing groups, such as the NPPC, will need to help push that.
You can hear more of my conversation with Minister Choi in the player below.
The Cooperative Communicators Association 2010 Institute is in full swing. I arrived this afternoon and met a number of the very important persons who are leading the organization like those pictured here.
For those of you who are not familiar with CCA check out my interview with Teri Ditsch, TJD Design, , Amber DuMont, Milk Producers Cooperative Association, Inc. and Allison Morgan, Tennessee Farmers Cooperative. They are all involved in the leadership of CCA and took a few moments to talk with me when I got checked in.
They told me that CCA is a group of communicators from across the county who work for or with cooperatives. Basically any type of communications work that you might do dealing with cooperatives would qualify you to belong. There are about 300 members and this is a professional improvement association with a regular publication, awards, webinars and this annual institute.
You can listen to my interview with these CCA leaders here.
Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. (BIVI) was proud to present some positive progress on the control and eradication of Porcine Respiratory and Reproductive Syndrome (PRRS) at World Pork Expo last week.
First, they held a PRRS Area Regional Control workshop on Wednesday and Thursday that was for producers and veterinarians to find out what they can do to implement ARC. On Friday morning, they presented the “science behind the success” of the program for the media.
Dr. Scott Dee with with Swine Disease Eradication Center at the University of Minnesota says area regional control and elimination is on the move. “We had one example last year in Minnesota, but now we have 8-9 different parts of the United States and even a province in Canada that are trying this, seeing if they can reduce the level of infection in their area,” Scott said. “We’ve got to work together to see what we can do to put the damper on this devastating economic disease.”
Another important program to help control the disease is nicknamed PADRAP, the Production Animal Disease Risk Assessment Program. Dr. Dee says BIVI has helped with that by training students to go out and conduct detailed disease and biosecurity risk assessments on hog operations and so far nearly 2000 swine operations have been evaluated.
Dr. Jean Paul (JP) Cano recently joined BIVI as a professional services veterinarian after years in private practice and he says he is optimistic about the potential for controlling PRRS. “What it takes is collaboration and coordination between farms in the same area and sharing the risk of becoming infected,” he said. In addition to the biosecurity measures, JP says PRRS vaccination also plays a critical role in the control and eradication of the disease. “We think that vaccine is one more tool in the tool box that we have to fight this disease in the area regional control concept.”
Listen to or download back-to-back interviews with Dee and Cano in the player below.
Sustainability was the focus of the 2010 BASF Agricultural Solutions media summit held last week in Chicago and as part of that event BASF released a new survey on attitudes toward farmland stewardship, and a new YouTube video highlighting how farmers are feeding a hungry planet.
I talked to Paul Rea, VP of BASF U.S. Crop Operations, about the survey and the video and decided it would make a good ZimmCast this week because it reflects what agriculture is up against and how companies like BASF are helping farmers face the future.
Paul says the survey, done by Padilla Speer Beardsley, found some significant perception gaps between growers and the general public when it comes to farmland stewardship. “The good news would be that farmers and most consumers say that stewardship practices are better today than they were ten years ago,” Paul says. The bad news is that nearly 23 percent of consumers believe stewardship practices are worse today than they were ten years ago, compared to just seven percent of farmers. A whopping 77% of farmers say stewardship practices are better now than 10 years ago, which of course they are.
So, clearly there is a disconnect that needs to be addressed and BASF believes social media is a way to get correct information out to the general public. That’s why they had “One Hungry Planet” produced for YouTube. “The video really does convey the amazing job that farmers and the ag industry has done in the last 50 years, much of it unnoticed,” Paul said. “To think that we’re producing 40 percent more corn from the same amount of land just compared to 20 years ago is incredible.”
The video is entertaining, yet educational, and packs a lot of facts in just four minutes. Take a look at the video and listen to or download this week’s ZimmCast is the audio player at the bottom of the post.
Hope you enjoy the song I picked to end the podcast called “Planet Earth” by James Larson from Music Alley. Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsors, Novus International, and Leica Geosytems for their support. The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired. Subscribe so you can listen when and where you want. Just go to our a Subscribe page.
The folks at Automated Production Systems really ham it up every year at World Pork Expo, and this year the theme was Fiesta for their showcase roasted pig. AP – which offers a complete selection of swine production equipment including feeders and waters, ventilation and heating equipment, feed storage and delivery, flooring, confinement and more – has been dressing up their roasted pig for the crowd at WPX for the past four years. It takes about 10 hours to roast this porker to perfection after preparing it with apple juice and pineapple to make it as succulent as possible.
Jim Swisher (left) and his “hamigos” went all out with the Mexican theme and even had a pig pinata filled with treats for the kiddos. Check out the video to see what I mean.
You can also check out our World Pork Expo 2010 Photo Album to see more photos of the Fiesta pig and all the other activities at WPX10.
AgWired coverage of the World Pork Expo 2010 is sponsored by: and .
It’s time to hit the agriblogging highway once again. I’m going to Minneapolis today and will be conducting a presentation tomorrow for the Cooperative Communicator’s Association titled, “Very Social Media.” You might think I’ll only be talking about Twitter but you would be wrong. I will start with blogs. That’s right. A blog is one of the first forms of social media and in my opinion it is still the work horse today.
So I’ll be helping the CCA members take their work to the next level. At least I hope so.
On Tuesday I’ll be in St. Louis for the Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Life and Human Sciences Annual Meeting. There my presentation is titled, “Social Media At It’s Best.” I don’t know if I am the best but I try and that is what’s really important.
The ACE 2010 program committee and Kansas host state committees invite you to meet us in St. Louis on June 14-17, 2010, for the ACE Annual Meeting and conference.
Then on Wednesday I’ll be in Madison for the American Farm Bureau Federation Public Relations Conference with a presentation titled, “Communications Gadgetry For Tackling The Social Media 2.0 Era.” I will be displaying gadgets but talking also about web and mobile applications that make you more productive social media guru’s.
After looking at the AFBF program brochure with a bratwurst and cheese image I’m not only getting hungry but thinking I’d better be working out extra hard this week to make up for the meals coming my way.
If your company or organization would like a presentation on social media or a training session then give me a call and let’s see if we can get it on the schedule!
“Holistic” and “durable” were two definitions for sustainable that were set forth by representatives of the food value chain, from farmers to food companies, who took part in a panel discussion at the BASF Agricultural Solutions Media Summit on Sustainability last week in Chicago.
Nevin McDougall, BASF senior vice president for crop protection in North America, was part of the discussion and he says it will take a holistic approach to bring more sustainable solutions to the grower. “The more that we can engage in dialogue with food processors, with those who are marketing end use food products to the consumer, with the growers, with other technology providers – the more dialogue and collaboration we have, I think we can identify better and more sustainable solutions for the grower,” Nevin said in an interview after the panel. “With respect to durability, I think it really speaks to the point that we’re looking for long-lasting solutions.”
Corn growers have been the hardest hit by those who criticize the sustainability of production agriculture, despite the fact that we are growing more on less acres using less inputs than ever before. Mike Geske, a Missouri farmer who serves on the board of the National Corn Growers Association, represented growers on the board and he was asked about those who attack the sustainability of ethanol based on studies that use outdated crop production figures to show a negative energy balance for the fuel. “I call those people members of the Flat Earth Ethanol Society because they’re denying science and they’re denying facts,” Mike says. He also drew a good laugh from the audience when he noted that ethanol is biodegradable and is the same as the alcohol we drink before it is denatured, “So if ethanol had been spilled in the Gulf, the fish would be putting on their party hats.”
John Deere not only makes Gator utility vehicles for farm, commercial and recreational purposes but for the military too. This is one of the new Military R-Gator (Autonomous Unmanned Ground Vehicle) which is rigged to be completely remote controlled and is equipped with a camera to send back what it is “seeing.” In the video clips I’ve posted you can see it in action.
• A COTS system, R-Gator can be operated in either manned or unmanned mode in day or night missions
• Example missions: 8-hour stationary silent RECON mode, point man reconnaissance, roving patrols, transportation of ammo/ supplies, casualty evacuation, remote deployment of smaller UGVs and UAVs, large scale IED disposition
I spoke to Dan Smith, Military Affairs Mgr. for John Deere. He gave us some history of utility vehicles in the military which started in the Vietnam War with the MULE. Today John Deere is a major supplier to the military. He says the the latest A-2 M-Gator will do 32 mph and is the unit that the R-Gator is built on. They’ll be available to the military in August. You can find my interview with Dan below the video clips.
In this clip you can see an optional unit that automatically unloads whatever you want the unmanned vehicle to deposit.
The 37th annual National Inventor of the Year Award will be presented to a DuPont research team for advancing sustainable agriculture and addressing the needs of the growing global population by discovering an advanced insect control product.
Erica Pagel, Director of Raw Materials Management for Foremost Farms USA in Baraboo, Wis., has begun a three-year term of service on the Professional Dairy Producers Foundation board.
Farm Progress Show recently launched a feature-filled online pre-show planning tool that gives visitors an interactive show map, exhibitor and event planning menus to help them easily design and map their show visit.
The weather was crazy at World Pork Expo on Thursday, as a two hour torrential downpour at midday gave way to sunshine by the time the band took the stage and the roasted pigs were carved for the crowds.
Some time during the rain, general manager John Wrigley stopped by to visit with the folks at the Novus International tent and chatted with us for a while about how pleased he was with the attendance and to have international visitors back this year.
Last year, you may recall, we had a little thing called H1N1 that kept people from other countries from attending the event. “It was more than a little bit of a problem last year, there was no international attendance to speak of,” John said, but this year is back to normal. “We’ve got over 30 countries that people have registered for World Pork Expo from all over the world.”
Another difference from last year, according to John, is that the mood is a little more upbeat than the last two years. John says the producers who attend expo are a very knowledgeable group who are always looking to do more than fill their tote bags with pens and souvenirs. “The difference is this year they’ve got a smile on their face. There’s nothing like a little change in your pocket to change your attitude,” he said.
This will be John’s last year as general manager of the National Pork Producers Council event which is 22 years old. One of his most satisfying accomplishments during his nine year tenure is starting the Junior National Swine show, which has grown to a whopping 1700 pigs this year – a big jump from the 200 when that program was started seven years ago.
Listen to or download John’s comments about this year’s expo in the player below.
The torrential rains cleared out just in time for the annual pig roast at World Pork Expo. Automated Production Systems (AP) were the culinary experts of all things pork during the show. Yesterday, I watched as they prepared the pig, which was roasted for more than 24 hours. First, they seasoned the pig with sea salt and then they added their secret spices. As the pig slowly roasted, AP continued to add its unique flavors. Each year, Jim and the rest of the AP team dress up the pig playing on a theme…this year, the theme was a Mexican Fiesta – Iowa style.
The pig carved outside the Novus International tent was served up without decoration, but was just as tasty. After the crew at Novus carved the pig, the lines were long but it was worth the wait. The pork literally melted in your mouth and was so flavorful you didn’t even need to add the “traditional” bbq sauce.
The masses at World Pork Expo have been huddling in tents and staying inside the buildings and barns for the past hour due to a torrential downpour.
Here at the Novus International tent, we have a flash flood warning in effect – which is keeping us entertained! Here is a little video of what it has been like here:
AgWired coverage of the World Pork Expo 2010 is sponsored by: and .
I spent a majority of the morning today at World Pork Expo hanging out in the swine and cattle barns. While I was there, I had the opportunity to see my first pig showing competition. The World Pork Expo Junior National’s was in high gear and several hundred people were in and around the show ring supporting the competitors.
There was a family here today from Oklahoma that I spent a little time with. This is their daughters first show (she was the cutest little girl and about four years old) and she told me that she was having a lot of fun. Maybe we’ll see her in on the winner’s stage later today.
I also walked through the Toy Tractor exhibit where you can by anything from the latest toy to an antique tractor from nearly 100 years ago, and then stopped by the horse ring to watch some beautiful show horses.
Later this afternoon, weather permitting, MusicFest will begin and I’m getting really excited for Novus’ pig roast. In addition, participants in the Crusin’ with the Hogs, will ride down Grand Avenue.
There’s a lot more fun around the corner so check back for more updates. You can also get updates on my Twitter account @jmschroeder. You can also check out our World Pork Expo 2010 Photo Album.
AgWired coverage of the World Pork Expo 2010 is sponsored by: and .
This is what the action looks like out here at Carolina Adventure World for the John Deere Gator XUV product launch and media event. I had my turn and I have video and interviews that will wait until another time.
I spoke with John Gilbeck, John Deere Product Marketing Manager, about the new machines during a break in the action. He says there are 3 new models, the 625i, 855D and 825i. The 825i is really the star of the show with maximum speed of 44 mph! I can verify that since I did it on one straight stretch of our riding area. He provides an overview of features and options that you’ll find on the new machines. John Deere is offering a significant amount of dealer installed options which he says offers customers some savings when picking some of the options.
There are many elements of a pig producer’s operations that could affect both pig health and his bottom line. One such factor is the quality of animal feed. Poor quality can spell trouble for the pigs….illness, depressed growth and lower birth rates just to name a few. To learn more about how to address problems with feed and some options for improving feed quality, I spoke with Scott Moore, Regional Sales Manager for Novus International.
Moore noted that the past 12-18 months has been very challenging for many pork producers. “Crop conditions last fall produced quite a few micotoxins in feed and grain crops that negatively impacted the pig’s ability to consume feed and gain properly.” The result is that many producers have seen reduced performance due to the stress the grain has caused. “When pigs don’t perform up to producers’ expectations, its costly for the producer.”
Novus has several options for producers who need immediate help offsetting the negative effects caused by feed containing mycotoxins. This year, the worst mycotoxin culprit is known as DON, or vomitoxin. Moore noted that Novus has spent many years studying and researching the oxidative balance of the animal and he believes that they have several products that will help the pigs eat properly. Two products he recommends are SOLIS and ZORIEN MOS. Both of these products are designed to reduce the impact of poor feed quality.
It can be challenging for a pork producer to identify and then treat problems with his feed. To help, Novus has an in-house testing facility that can assess any problems and then work with the producer to create a customized plan to improve feed quality. Moore stressed that the addition of SOLIS or ZORIEN MOS to feed will have an immediate and positive impact on a pig’s ability to consume feed, and ultimately, put a producer’s profitability back on track.
You can listen to my full interview with Scott below.
Defining and improving sustainability is important for all of production agriculture around the globe, which is why BASF has taken a keen interest in the subject.
Markus Heldt is president of crop protection for BASF global, located in Germany, a position he took last year after serving for many years as head of crop protection for the company in North America. During a conference on sustainability for ag media in Chicago this week, he said that while the general public trusts farmers, they have little confidence in farming methods. “What we find increasingly disturbing is the disconnect of how the general public views farming operations, especially in the US and in Europe,” Markus said. “A very romantic and idealistic picture of agriculture that is not existing any longer.”
Markus says farmers are taking care of the land and improving the way they do business, but consumers do not understand that and it is a challenge for the entire agriculture industry. “We as a company, as an industry, have to a better job to try and bridge that gap,” he said.
Listen to my interview with Markus in the player below.
We’ve got a lot of media types out at Carolina Adventure World to drive the new John Deere Gator XUV’s.
We’ll be starting off with a briefing in just a few minutes before going to the driving course. There is some very slow internet here at the headquarters building so I probably will be off line most of the day. I’ll try to stop back by before leaving for an update this afternoon though.
Here’s Greg Lamp, Corn and Soybean Digest, on one of the new Gator 825i machines. These will be the ones we’re riding today although I heard something about a military application too. More on that later.
In the meantime you can see and hear the launch in my post from last night. So I hope you enjoy.
Here it is. The 2011 John Deere 825i Gator utility vehicle. I’ll be out on this bad boy tomorrow so you can count on some video. Here’s a link to some photos from the event: John Deere Gator XUV Photo Album
“Headlining the 2011 XUV models will be the brand new Gator XUV 825i – the fastest and most powerful Gator ever produced,” said David Gigandet, tactical marketing manager, utility vehicles. “Anyone with a sense of adventure and a love of the outdoors will enjoy putting its best-in-class advanced engine system to the test.”
Boasting 50 HP, it is the highest-powered engine in its class with superior low-end torque for taking on even the toughest tasks, trails, and terrain. Horsepower is delivered by an 815cc, liquid cooled, inline 3-cylinder engine featuring 4 valves per cylinder, dual overhead cams and electronic fuel injection.
“And, the 825i can travel at speeds up to 44 mph,” emphasized Gigandet. “This is the fastest Gator we’ve ever built and this is an example of the commitment we’ve made to provide top-of-the-line XUVs for the outdoor enthusiast.”
So there you have it. New Gators unveiled and more to come. For those of you who missed the unveiling I have the full audio of the presentation posted below as well as the video of the unveiling.
In this week's program Chuck talks with David Armano, Global Innovation and Integration.
David conducted a presentation on delivering expert opinion via social media to an audience at the start of International Poultry Expo week. He's got some great information about who consumers trust and how you can use today's consumer behavior to help communicate your message.
I talked with Randy Anderson (left), who is the National Pork Business Sales Manager for Novus, about the sow program, which he says is basically a combination of their MINTREX® and ZORIEN® products. “We’re feeding the sows through gestation and lactation to help optimize performance,” Randy said. “We’re improving the feet and legs, the joint health of the animal, helping them to walk better, last longer in the herd – so basically we’re improving the longevity of the sow. And in doing that, we’re also getting a reproductive benefit of increasing the live born of the sow.”
and 
.
First, they held a PRRS Area Regional Control workshop on Wednesday and Thursday that was for producers and veterinarians to find out what they can do to implement ARC. On Friday morning, they presented the “science behind the success” of the program for the media. 
Dr. Jean Paul (JP) Cano recently joined BIVI as a professional services veterinarian after years in private practice and he says he is optimistic about the potential for controlling PRRS. “What it takes is collaboration and coordination between farms in the same area and sharing the risk of becoming infected,” he said. In addition to the biosecurity measures, JP says PRRS vaccination also plays a critical role in the control and eradication of the disease. “We think that vaccine is one more tool in the tool box that we have to fight this disease in the area regional control concept.”
Sustainability was the focus of the 2010 
I talked to Paul Rea, VP of BASF U.S. Crop Operations, about the survey and the video and decided it would make a good ZimmCast this week because it reflects what agriculture is up against and how companies like BASF are helping farmers face the future.
The folks at 
“Holistic” and “durable” were two definitions for sustainable that were set forth by representatives of the food value chain, from farmers to food companies, who took part in a panel discussion at the 
Some time during the rain, general manager John Wrigley stopped by to visit with the folks at the Novus International tent and chatted with us for a while about how pleased he was with the attendance and to have international visitors back this year.
The 
The masses at World Pork Expo have been huddling in tents and staying inside the buildings and barns for the past hour due to a torrential downpour. 
Defining and improving sustainability is important for all of production agriculture around the globe, which is why 
In this week's program Chuck talks with David Armano, Global Innovation and Integration.
