Welcome to Ag Week. The National Ag Day activities will be celebrated tomorrow in Washington, DC and all over the country. I will be in the nation’s Capitol to attend Ag Day activities with support from the Agriculture Council of America and the American Seed Trade Association. During the next couple of days I’ll be featuring interviews and photos from the events as well as getting to know my sponsors better.
Things will start off with an Agriculture Appreciation Reception hosted by Agri-Pulse this evening that features my friend and musical artist Michael Peterson. Then tomorrow morning we’ll have the National Ag Day Coffee followed by the National Ag Day Mix-and-Mingle Luncheon. At the luncheon we’ll have approximately 100 student delegates from FFA, 4-H, AFA and The Consortium in attendance, along with Outstanding Farmer of the Year honorees. Finally we’ll have the National Celebration of Agriculture Dinner, hosted by the Agriculture Council of America.
So, I’ll see you from Washington, DC after what I hope will be a pleasant drive to the airport. We got surprised this morning in central Missouri with 3-5 inches of snow!
AgWired coverage of National Ag Day is sponsored by: and and
This column has caused quite a stir. Not only do I get the pleasure of writing about the farming history of my Grandfather and some of the “ways of yesteryear” from my Grandmother, but today, I have my Aunt to thank for “loaning” me a story idea. This truly has turned into fine family fun!
When you were younger, did you have one of those red GAF viewmasters? It was a version of a 3-D stereoscopic toy for viewing seven images on photo disks. I had one as a kid…in fact, it’s in the closet for my son when he gets older.
What I didn’t know was that 3-D was around long before the viewmaster. This is a stereoscope, which features two photos which are ever so slightly different, positioned side-by-side, one for the left eye and one for the right. When you look through the glass, these two flat images combine into one image that gives the illusion of depth, or 3-D. Stereoscopes were first made in 1840.
Between the 1840s and the 1920s, they were used for entertainment and education purposes, and virtual travel. They taught children about geography, natural history and many other subjects.
Today, we have transitioned to television and movies which are available in 3-D. This just goes to show that the technology was around long before we imagined. We’ve just adapted and grown those technologies into ideas on a much larger scale. Or maybe I should say, on a much larger screen.
The National Pork Board announced a new branding position celebrating pork’s ability to offer a wide range of options in the kitchen: Pork® Be inspired.
The Dairy Cattle Reproduction Council is looking to recognize dairy producers through their Reproduction Award Program for accomplishing reproductive efficiency with well-implemented management procedures. This year nominations can only be submitted online, and must be completed by May 1.
I just received word that my very good friend Derry Brownfield has passed away. I’m kind of in shock and will update this post when I get more information. I’ve known Derry almost all of my professional career in agricultural communications and am finding it hard to imagine a world without him. This is a photo from a couple years ago when I was enjoying an afternoon with him at his little bit of Heaven on Earth (the cabin).
Wow, this is tough to write and there’s so much I can say about this man. He has been a self described rude, crude, mean-spirited, politically incorrect (many more words too) person and I loved him dearly. We did not ever see eye to eye on everything but we thought a lot a like on enough things to just plain enjoy each others company. Derry Brownfield quotes are legendary and I’m sure most are recorded and remembered by his fans and foes.
Derry was 79 years old and still in the studio and able to saddle and ride a horse. He taught me a lot about life. This fall would be the 20th year for me to deer hunt on his property. We spent many times checking cattle and fence on it too. This photo was provided by Learfield Communications and comes from the time he broadcast from his farm. I’ve got to stop for now. More to come when I learn it.
I thought I’d add the last interview I did with Derry in 2009. I think it gives you a good sense of the Derry Brownfield spirit: Interview with Derry
First Post Update: Here’s the notice that Clyde Lear, Derry’s original partner in Learfield Communications posted this morning.
Second Post Update: Thanks to Steve Mays, Learfield Communications, for putting together a slide show video with music that Derry loved:
Fourth Post Update: Bob Priddy, News Director, Missourinet, has written an awesome recollection of Derry that is worth a read. And he also found a great video of Derry that I have to share with you.
Fifth Post Update:
The arrangements for Derry’s funeral are… Tuesday visitation 4-8 and funeral on Wednesday 11:00 a.m. Bowlin Cantriel Funeral Services in California, MO.
Want to know how to really get the attention of a new media reporter? Send your app pre-loaded on an iPod Touch! That’s just what Precision Laboratories did (thank you!).
And while you’re at it have an already prepared YouTube video with great music and a USB stick pre-loaded with your media kit. Then just to make it all come together have your staff strategically placed on a plane with the new media reporter. Just kidding. However, that’s what did happen when Cindy and I were traveling to Tampa for Commodity Classic. I just happened to overhear James Reiss, VP, Ag Chemistries Business and Daniel Ori, Marketing Specialist for Precision Laboratories talking about it behind me on the plane. So I introduced myself. They were going elsewhere but it was a nice coincidence.
By the way, there are a series of videos on water quality and compatibility in their YouTube Channel.
The new Mix Tank app is designed to support retailers, crop specialists, researchers and growers in providing accurate and efficient tank mix sequences that will enhance profitability and ease.
As mixing issues and interactions continue to cause more problems, the Mix Tank app will help reduce product and money lost from plugged sprayer equipment and cross contamination errors. The free Mix Tank app offers the first of its kind assistance in determining the accurate mixing sequence for herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, adjuvants and foliar nutrition products. With over 700 crop protection products from over 15 manufacturers, the new Mix Tank app can process mixtures to determine the correct mixing order.
“Evolving crop protection strategies lead to more tank mixing and the potential for more tank mixing errors. An improper mix can cause lost time and money, and even lower efficacy or failure of your crop protection products. By using the Mix Tank app, users can get the most out of every tank mix,” said Jim Reiss, vice president of Agricultural Chemistries at Precision Laboratories. “We’re excited to bring this new technology to the industry and offer another tool for growers, custom applicators and our retail partners.” (more…)
Spending a day at a farm implement dealership is not only fun when you can drive brand new equipment but also an education. It’s also a way to get to meet new farm friends too!
That’s what I did earlier this week at Coufal-Prater Equipment’s John Deere Day which was held at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock, TX. Pictured on the right is Tim Prater talking with one of his customers who came out to see new utility tractors and sub-compact tractors. Behind them is a new John Deere Gator XUV which is going to be given away at the end of this year’s Drive Green Challenge tour. You can see a lot of photos from the event in an online photo album.
Tim says Coufal-Prater Equipment is a five store operation that covers most of mid central Texas. He loves to have the John Deere Drive Green Challenge tour stop by since it adds excitement to a local promotion and brings in representatives who can interact on the lot with people who have questions. The day was divided into two parts with commercial operators in the morning and the landowners in the afternoon.
I keep you notified when new digital audio recorders become available and I have pointed out before that your iPod or iPhone can also handle digital audio recording duties. I thought it was time to point back to them as I see more and more ag journalists recording audio.
I currently have seven audio recording apps on my iPhone but the one I keep coming back to is the one that comes with the device and that’s Apple’s Voice Memo App. The latest versions of it do an excellent job of recording and even give you a nice microphone image to go along with it! Unless you’ve maxed your device memory you can record a lot of audio on these and just re-charge when necessary, saving you on batteries. You can trim audio with this app and then import into iTunes to convert to an mp3. If you don’t need to do major editing, that’s all you need! How easy is that? If you want to connect a hand held microphone to your device, or a mult box, consider an adapter like this one.
Here’s a list of the audio apps I’ve got on my iPhone:
Can’t you just picture someone’s scrunched up face when they say, “It’s a Cuisinart”? It grinds, it brews, it practically makes breakfast for you. And if you live on coffee alone in the mornings, it DOES make breakfast for you!
This hand-crank coffee grinder belonged to my great, great-grandmother. Manual hand mills came in handy when you only needed a small amount of grounds, or when you wanted a fine grind. Beans were filled into the hopper and then as they were ground, emptied into the bottom box. So, you got the satisfaction of a truly “fresh” cup of coffee, made from scratch.
Notice the bend of the crank handle. This is a right-handed model. The left-handed models were usually custom-made and very rare.
I don’t know the manufacturing company, but I’m betting it doesn’t roll off the tongue like a Cuisinart does.
I learned a lot during Boehringer Ingelheim’s (BIVI) 2011 Swine Health Seminar, but maybe my biggest take away was that there are three diseases that seem to be a problem for the swine industry: mycoplasma, flu and PRRS. I also learned some other valuable information: BIVI has a triple threat for swine disease control called 3FLEX.
This I learned more about from Tim Bettington, BIVI’s Executive Director of the Swine Division who told me that as an animal health company, PRDC is a critical component of their business because it is one the biggest challenges they face in the swine industry. That is what drove them to create their 3FLEX product, which addresses three of the four key critical pathogens that comprise PRDC (Porcine Respiratory Disease Complex): circa virus, mycoplasma, PRRS and influenza. 3FLEX consists of three vaccines: Ingelvac CircoFLEX®, Ingelvac MycoFLEX® and Ingelvac® PRRS MLV in one 2 mL shot.
Bettington said at this time 3FLEX doesn’t address the flu, but that is an area of opportunity that they are working on.
The FLEX concept has dual meaning for the industry. The speakers all noted that oftentimes when a pig contracts one disease, it becomes more susceptible to others. This vaccine helps to address that issue. Second, each of the veterinarians mentioned that they have used the 3FLEX product in different ways with success so it is important to work with your local veterinarian on the best ways and the best times to integrate this new product into your sow management strategies.
A very engaging session during the 2011 Swine Health Seminar hosted by Boehringer Ingelheim was the practitioner panel focusing on Emerging PRDC Control Opportunities. It came as no surprise that PRRS, or Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome, was a hot topic among the attendees. The three panel experts include veterinarians Mike Eisenmenger with Swine Vet Center, Tom Gillespie with Rensselaer Swine Services and Randy Jones with Livestock Vet Services.
Randy Jones is located in Eastern North Carolina and practices in a very pig dense area and PRRS is the number one disease that he deals with. He said it is a very frustrating disease to deal with from a control perspective. I asked him about the cycle of PRRS and he said that his area had been dealing with it, then circa virus came along and overwhelmed PRRS and to some extent it was forgotten about. Then once a vaccine became available for circa virus and they were so effective in protecting the pig that now they’re back fighting the same diseases again such as PRRS.
Jones also noted that because viruses change and mutate they are hard to control so diagnostics is key. “The core of our program is diagnostics. You’ve got to do diagnostics to know what you’ve got, when you’ve got it. Because the timing makes all the difference in the in world in what type of control program you put in place.”
Mike Eisenmenger practices in St. Peter, Minnesota but travels throughout the upper Midwest and like Jones, PRRS is the most prevalent disease he sees. He notes its a very smart virus and it stays one step ahead of the industry’s control programs. However, he believes that in general, they have been able to develop methods to manage sow farms where they’ve been able to consistently make negative pigs even though the sow farm would be considered positive for the virus.
Also, like Jones, Eisenmenger promotes consistent diagnostics strategies and he stresses that pigs need to be tested frequently, for example at least one a month. If the pigs are negative, then he suggests vaccinating them shortly after weaning them with the PRRS virus. Then after they are sent off to go live in the “real world” tissue samples can be done to test to see if they continue to be PRRS negative. Should a finishing site become infected with PRRS, Eisenmenger said there are strategies, such as antibiotics, that can be taken, to mitigate the problem. If not treated, pigs will become much more susceptible to other bacterial diseases.
You can learn more about PRRS diagnostics, and control and mitigation strategies in my full interview with Mike Eisenmenger here: Mike Eisenmenger Discusses All Things PRRS
Let’s learn more about this new thing called AgHaven in this week’s program. In the photo below you can see AgHaven President, Srik Soogoor, discussing the agricultural search engine and social networking community that’s a whole lot more, during Commodity Classic.
One of the board members of AgHaven is Tom Taylor, High Plains Journal. I sat down with Tom during the show to learn how he got involved with AgHaven. He says he got a call from Srik about getting ag input into what they were doing with an online search engine. At first he wasn’t really sure what Srik was talking about but after listening they put together a meeting and then they were off to the races.
One of the first aspects of AgHaven we talked about was the intent to partner with media companies like High Plains Journal to distribute news and information. HPJ is a media partner and Tom says the agricultural search engine is what really drew them to the project. I asked him what he suggests for agrimarketers when it comes to looking at this unique online destination. He says to first go visit AgHaven.com and that he thinks that as it grows it will offer opportunities to those in agricultural marketing.
All the ag. None of the aggravation.
Relevant web search results. Streamlined social networking. Concentrated industry news and advice. AgHaven combines technology and expertise to provide you with a single source for all your online ag industry business. If you’re a producer, rancher or other industry professional, AgHaven is everything you need, and nothing you don’t.
It sure looks like we have a long way to go to help educate the general public on GMO’s! In answer to the question, “How much do you think the public understands about GMO crops?” an overwhelming 70 % say Majority know nothing. Wow. Only 22% or our readers say Some think they know. Only 4 % say People totally understand and 4 % say Most are well informed. This sure seems to suggest that there’s a real disconnect between consumers and science, at least in the minds of our readers. What do you think?
Our next ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “What social network do you use most?” Let us know and thanks for participating!
ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.
Did you know that just like humans, pigs can get the flu too? To learn more about how to treat and prevent the flu in pigs, I spoke with Tom Gillespie, DVM, with Rensselaer Swine Services. Gillespie, a veterinarian who lives in northwest Indiana, participated in the Emerging PRDC Control Opportunities Panel as part of Boehringer Ingelheim’s 2011 Swine Health Seminar.
What happens when a pig gets a flu? Gillespie explained that the flu virus is very similar to what happens in people. In 1918 the classic H1N1 flu strain caused a lot of death in humans. It was thought for many, many years that the virus jumped from pigs to humans and infected them at that time. What we know today is that humans, more than not, affect the hog units. So we have biosecurity programs in place. “That’s been the biggest change in the past three years in how we’re looking at influenza,” said Gillespie.
Flu symptoms in pigs are similar to those in humans but don’t usually last more than 3 or 4 days. I asked Gillespie how to diagnose if your pig has the flu. He said that you can do nasal swabs. Once you’ve determined that the flu is in fact what your pig is suffering from, then you treat the secondary bacterial infections. From there, you go into a preventative type program where you determine if there are any commercial products available to help. He noted that these are now becoming multi-strain so they provide better cross protection.
Mycoplasma is found in pigs all over the world and whether or not they cause disease is really multi-factorial. To learn more about mycoplasma, treatments and swine management strategies, Boehringer Ingelheim brought in Erin Strait, DVM, the section leader for molecular and viral diagnostics at Iowa State University, to speak during their 2011 Swine Health Seminar. One of Strait’s area of expertise is mycoplasmas and she has been conducting extensive research in the area.
There are many strains of mycoplasma and four pathogenic strains believed to cause the most disease. She noted that a pig can be positive for any one of these and not have problems or you can be positive and have a lot of problems. Strait explained that various things can cause a tipping point, for example co-infections. So if you have a pig with PRRS and mycoplasma, they both will be worse.
Strait said it can be really hard early on to detect mycoplasma especially hyopneumoniaes. Some percentage of pigs are infected from sow to piglet transmission and then those piglets go after weaning and then mix with all the other piglets and then become a source of infection for everybody else. In most cases, if you don’t have a lot of pigs infected early on then it takes longer to circulate through the system and then most likely you don’t see problems quite as severely but if you have a lot of pigs infected early on, then you might have a lot of problems.
I asked Strait what the best way was to test your pigs for mycoplasma. She said serology is the best way to test the hyopneumoniaes but its really going to tell you after the fact.
“So really the only thing you can do is PCR and most people will test for PCR in nasal swabs because that’s an accessible sample to collect but multiple studies have shown its not very sensitive because it doesn’t colonize in the nose, it colonizes lower down in the trachea and lower airways,” said Strait. “So ideally you’d get samples from the large airway. So we discussed the potential of doing a trachea bronchial swab would be very reflective and very reflective of the status of the individual pig.”
There are several ways to treat your pigs once they have a mycoplasma as well as ways to manage your sow to lesson problems that include antibiotics and vaccines. In addition, Strait said she and her team are available to assist if major mycoplasma problems arise in your sow herd.
BASF Crop Protection showed farmers “the magic of quality crop protection” and how to unlock the potential of their crops during the 2011 Commodity Classic.
In addition to sharing their innovative crop protection portfolio with visitors, BASF had a variety of activities at their booth throughout the show, including live performances by noted corporate magician Jon Petz, complimentary fruit smoothies and special giveaways. Jon entertained crowds that gathered by locking himself, handcuffed, inside a suitcase-sized box and escaping within 90 seconds! Fun for all.
BASF also sponsored a fun, exciting and completely unforgettable event for customers and farm media just prior to the start of Commodity Classic at Busch Gardens that included a “night safari” where we got to go out and see some of the attraction’s animals close-up and personal. We even got to feed and pet a giraffe, which was about the coolest thing I’ve ever done!
Here’s a little video clip from the ethanol producer group known as “Green Floyd” that played at the recent National Ethanol Conference. The Green Floyd band is made up of Frontline Bioenergy CEO Bill Lee, Neil and Tom Koehler with Pacific Ethanol and Paul Kamp with Inbicon.
This song is a parody of Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line” with lyrics tailored especially for corn farmers and ethanol producers. Here are some of the words:
I keep on growing, this corn of mine
I keep telling the truth about the lying
I know that ethanol is worth the fighting
Because you’re mine, I walk the line
Now many say it’s just a foil
That there’s no way to get off the oil
But a farmer can’t be stopped from trying
Because you’re mine, I walk the line
It has been a while since I got to Drive Green with John Deere. However, today I’m on location at Coufal-Prater Equipment in Round Rock, TX. It is a beautiful day.
Over the next couple months I’ll be out on location capturing some of the customer experience in photos and video. All will be submitted to the company for use on their Drive Green website. I’ve spoken with a few customers already and they are definitely enjoying the opportunity to ride and drive new tractors, Gators and mowers.
A high school senior from Iowa now has $5000 toward his college education in an agriculture field, thanks to the American Soybean Association and BASF Crop Protection.
This is the fourth year that the ASA Secure Optimal Yield (SOY) Scholarship, sponsored by BASF, has been presented to an outstanding high school senior planning to pursue agriculture as a degree area of study in college.
Kevin Berkland, a high school senior from Sibley, Iowa, (pictured here with BASF VP Paul Rea) was named the 2011-2012 scholarship recipient. Kevin plans to study microbiology at Iowa State University beginning next year. “As an active member in 4-H and Future Farmers of America, I have developed a strong interest in different agricultural production practices,” Berkland said. “This scholarship will provide me the resources I need to jump-start my education towards a career in a field I’m very passionate about.”
Congrats to Kevin and thanks to BASF for helping to support the next generation of agriculture!
During Commodity Classic I visited once again with Mike Harvey, New Holland. We didn’t talk equipment as much as farm show exhibiting. I see Mike at various shows throughout the year so just to be different we talked about what it takes for New Holland to put together all the exhibits at all the shows they do during a year.
Mike says they have a show manager who works on the layout and lot space but they have marketing and sales staff who make decisions about what to do and where to exhibit as well. He says Commodity Classic is different than others like the recent NFMS. It moves around year to year for one thing and if often in a facility not used to having farm equipment on display. So all the various shows have their own character and challenges. It’s a team effort to put on these displays. The show manager will often contract with local helpers to help set things up and take them apart at the end of the show. Mike says he was at six shows last year and the company does about twice that not counting dealer events.
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.
Welcome to Ag Week. The National Ag Day activities will be celebrated tomorrow in Washington, DC and all over the country. I will be in the nation’s Capitol to attend Ag Day activities with support from the Agriculture Council of America and the American Seed Trade Association. During the next couple of days I’ll be featuring interviews and photos from the events as well as getting to know my sponsors better.
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I just received word that my very good friend 
Let’s learn more about this new thing called 
One of the board members of AgHaven is Tom Taylor, High Plains Journal. I sat down with Tom during the show to learn how he got involved with AgHaven. He says he got a call from Srik about getting ag input into what they were doing with an online search engine. At first he wasn’t really sure what Srik was talking about but after listening they put together a meeting and then they were off to the races.
BASF also sponsored a fun, exciting and completely unforgettable event for customers and farm media just prior to the start of Commodity Classic at Busch Gardens that included a “night safari” where we got to go out and see some of the attraction’s animals close-up and personal. We even got to feed and pet a giraffe, which was about the coolest thing I’ve ever done! 
This is the fourth year that the ASA Secure Optimal Yield (SOY) Scholarship, sponsored by BASF, has been presented to an outstanding high school senior planning to pursue agriculture as a degree area of study in college. 
During Commodity Classic I visited once again with Mike Harvey, 
In this week's program Chuck talks with David Armano, Global Innovation and Integration.
