The FMC Summer Plot Tour is underway. We’re in class right now to learn what’s new. What’s really new is Anthem herbicide. FMC’s Gail Stratman is our teacher. I’ll be interviewing him later this morning after we get out in the field to see some of the test plot results.
I’ve got an online photo album started which you can find here: FMC Summer Plot Tour – York, NE
Hello from York, NE and the first of a series of summer plot tours by FMC. Today we’ll be learning what’s new with product names like Capture, Cadet, Anthem and Authority. Our day starts inside with several presentations before departing for the fields.
This is my first opportunity to work with FMC and I’m looking forward to learning more about what they’re doing. I’ll have photos and interviews coming up. It’s going to be a busy week on AgWired so I hope you’re ready. After we’re done today I’m moving on the Springfield, Il and the InfoAg Conference where Cindy and I tag team for a day before she leaves for a Wyffels field day later this week! We’re burning up the agriblogging highway and loving it.
One of the best ways to keep up with us besides right here on AgWired is to follow us on Twitter:
Cindy – @FarmPodcaster
AgWired – @AgWired
Me – @AgriBlogger
Steffen Farm in Livingston/Mclean counties in Illinois was a stop on the CTIC Indian Creek Watershed Project field tour. Our host was Herb Steffen. Two thirds of his farm is devoted to continuous corn with a third in a corn/soybean rotation. As with other farms that have volunteered to participate in this project, Herb is conducting several tests. He’s side dressing nutrients at different rates along with a control plot. During this stop we wandered through the plots to see the different results in this first year of the project.
Herb says the project is something that has been needed for a long time. He says it’s not only about educating farmers but also environmentalists who don’t know what’s actually going on at the farm. He encourages farmers to be more proactive. He says the soil nitrogen tests being conducted on his farm are providing information he wouldn’t have otherwise. The project will provide “the proof that we are working to keep the yields where they need to be to feed a growing population.”
You can listen to my interview with Herb here: Interview with Herb Steffen
CTIC Indian Creek Watershed Project Field Tour Photos
AgWired coverage of the CTIC Indian Creek Watershed Field Tour is sponsored by
When is the last time you ever heard someone say, “Can you grab me a soda from the icebox?”? I bet it’s been a while. Let me translate: icebox or ice chest = freezer/refrigerator. And when I came across this large tong-shaped item my curiosity kicked in.
It’s an ice hook. In the early 1900s, folks would use this tool to “harvest” blocks of ice from ponds, wrap them in straw or sawdust to keep the ice as long as possible, and store them in an insulated building. They’d later pop one of those blocks in the icebox to keep food from spoiling … this was done long before refrigerators/freezers came about.
Back home there used to be an ice plant and after church on Sunday my grandpa would swing by the mill and grab some ice blocks for making homemade ice cream.
My flimsy ice tongs seem cheap and lightweight after lifting this monster! Thank you, Carl von Linden, for creating the refrigerator/freezer. I love that ice comes out of the door and not out of a pond.
Until we walk again …
One of the stops on the CTIC Indian Creek Watershed Project field tour was Traub Farm. Our presenter was John Traub. The family farm grows corn, soybeans, specialty hybrid seed corn and hybrid sunflowers. The farm was named the Livingston County SWCD Conservation Farm Family in 2010. So they take conservation seriously.
I spoke with John after his presentation. He says he got involved with the project through their relationship with the SWCD and NRCS. It just “made sense” to them. He says that many of the projects they have participated in provide rewards for doing so. For this project he says they didn’t have to do a lot of things different but they are doing more testing to find the right rate, timing and place to apply nutrients. He says people often get so busy they don’t take time to look at what they’re doing. One of the real benefits of the project for him is being forced to look at what the things are they should be doing.
The Traub farm uses strip-till conservation systems with minimal tillage. They are currently comparing fall applied N with an RTK strip-till system to a conventional chisel plow system.
You can listen to my interview with John here: Interview with John Traub
CTIC Indian Creek Watershed Project Field Tour Photos
AgWired coverage of the CTIC Indian Creek Watershed Field Tour is sponsored by
The Conservation Technology Information Center’s Indian Creek Watershed Project is funded in part by the Illinois EPA. Representing the IL EPA during last week’s field tour was Barb Lieberoff, Environmental Protection Specialist. I spoke with her during lunch.
Barb says the Federal 319 Program, part of the Clean Water Act, is what where the program funding comes from. She says the IL EPA worked collaboratively with the CTIC to choose a watershed in which they could create some BMP’s for improving water quality. She says a TDML is being considered for the watershed. The Indian Creek Watershed was considered a good fit for the project. By being proactive early in the process she says that all the stakeholders involved are helping themselves in the long run.
You can listen to my interview with Barb here: Interview with Barb Lieberoff
CTIC Indian Creek Watershed Project Field Tour Photos
AgWired coverage of the CTIC Indian Creek Watershed Field Tour is sponsored by
The oldest family farm in Livingston County, IL is Spence Farm. I met Marty and Kris Travis, seventh generation farmers, on this unique farming operation during the CTIC Indian Creek Watershed Project field tour. The farm specializes in a lot of heirloom vegetables among other products. You can see a list of their products on their website.
Marty says the quality of water is very important to him and he is serving on the steering committee for the project. He’s excited to see neighboring farms become aware of the project and hopes they’ll participate in it. He says that he’s hoping to “continue to increase the quality of our cropping area.” In the last year he says they had ninety five percent of their crop land covered in cover crop. He says it’s really cool to come out and see that the farm is still green in the winter.
I believe Marty is picking a stalk from some radishes they let go to flower and seed. They were just one of many types of vegetables they grow for chefs in the Chicago area. Apparently the radish creates very tasty seed pods!
You can listen to my interview with Marty here: Interview with Marty Travis
Besides specialty heirloom vegetable crops the Spence Farm also raises some livestock. We were shown their guinea hogs. These are small size pigs that they keep in movable pens. They get moved as they eat weeds and other growing stuff under them. I recorded a video clip of Marty and Kris explaining this part of their operation.
CTIC Indian Creek Watershed Project Field Tour Photos
AgWired coverage of the CTIC Indian Creek Watershed Field Tour is sponsored by
My first stop on the CTIC Indian Creek Watershed Project field tour was Harms Farm. Our host was Kevin Harms (left) pictured pointing to a chart being held by Harold Reetz. Kevin’s farm is in southern Livingston County, Illinois. He’s one of the farmers that has volunteered to participate in this project.
Kevin says they’re trying several different practices to try to more efficiently use nutrients, especially nitrogen. These practices include cover crops, side dressing, split application and using “environmentally smart” nitrogen. He hopes to find out how to more efficiently manage nutrients while improving water quality for the area. The multi-year project will allow them to do testing under different weather and field conditions. He says the corn crop in his area is in great shape while soybeans got off to a late start but are also looking good.
You can listen to my interview with Kevin here: Interview with Kevin Harms
CTIC Indian Creek Watershed Project Field Tour Photos
AgWired coverage of the CTIC Indian Creek Watershed Field Tour is sponsored by
Field days and tours are heating up this summer along with the weather. During the CTIC Indian Creek Watershed Project field tour one of our stops put us right out in the corn, looking at the impact of various levels of nitrogen application. Martin Case, AGROTAIN, our sponsor for tour coverage, conducted one of the presentations. He’s seen here answering questions after his presentation. AGROTAIN is one of the sponsors of the tour as well.
Martin gave us an overview of AGROTAIN and the company’s products. He was showing initial results from a nitrogen use efficiency study. This type of study can take several years to obtain all the results needed. He believes that nitrogen management is critical not only for the environment but also for the financial sustainability of the farmer. The study going on here on this farm is intended to show how using new technology like that provided by AGROTAIN can achieve these goals. You can watch Martin’s presentation here:
CTIC Indian Creek Watershed Project Field Tour Photos
AgWired coverage of the CTIC Indian Creek Watershed Field Tour is sponsored by
I finally got back to ZimmComm World Headquarters and was able to get all my photos uploaded from yesterday’s Conservation Technology Information Center Indian Creek Watershed Project Field Tour. I’m working on interviews and will have more story posts to come so please check back often.
In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the photos.
CTIC Indian Creek Watershed Project Field Tour Photos
AgWired coverage of the CTIC Indian Creek Watershed Field Tour is sponsored by
We couldn’t have had better weather for a farm tour than today for the CTIC Indian Creek Watershed Project Field Day. Several bus loads of participants visited Livingston County, IL area farms to see and hear how they are implementing best management practices for things like nutrient management.
One of the people working on the project with CTIC and a presenter today is Harold Reetz. I visite with Harold prior to the start of today’s activities. I’ll see him again next week in Sprinfield, IL for the InfoAg Conference. Since that’s all about precision agriculture and since that is an integral part of the BMP’s being implemented on the tour stops here we decided to call it “precision conservation.”
Harold says the project purpose is to demonstrate different best management practices for nitrogen. It’s a relatively small watershed with mostly corn and soybean crops. So the goal is to come up with practices to improve nitrogen efficiency which will reduce the amount that will get into the ground water. Local farmers have volunteered in this first year of the project to implement suggested practices and it is their farms we visited. I’ll have interviews with each of them in coming days.
The project is receiving funding from a variety of sources that includes the Illinois EPA. It is really a proactive approach to voluntarily manage natural resources without the need to have new regulations. That sure seems like a potentially win win situation for all parties.
You can listen to my interview with Harold here: Harold Reetz Interview
Post Update: I’ve updated the link to my photo album below:
Here are some of my photos from today’s tour. I’ll have more after getting back to ZimmComm World Headquarters. The internet access here pretty well quit about half way through uploading. CTIC Indian Creek Watershed Project Field Tour Photos
AgWired coverage of the CTIC Indian Creek Watershed Field Tour is sponsored byIn a move to avoid fighting legislative battles in individual states, United Egg Producers (UEP) will work together with the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) “toward the enactment of comprehensive new federal legislation for all 280 million hens involved in U.S. egg production.”
According to a release from UEP, the proposed standards advocated by UEP and HSUS, if enacted, would be the first federal law addressing the treatment of animals on farms.
The two groups will jointly ask Congress for federal legislation which would require egg producers to increase space per bird in a tiered phase in, with the amount of space birds are given increasing, in intervals, over the next 15 to 18 years. Currently, the majority of birds are each provided 67 square inches of space, with roughly 50 million receiving 48 square inches. The proposed phase-in would culminate with hens nationwide being provided a minimum of 124-144 square inches of space, along with the other improvements noted.
Other livestock sectors facing challenges by HSUS are concerned about the agreement. National Pork Producers Council President Doug Wolf says they fear that legislation pre-empting state laws on egg production systems would “set a dangerous precedent for allowing the federal government to dictate how livestock and poultry producers raise and care for their animals.”
If Congress passes the legislation proposed by UEP and HSUS, it would supersede state laws including those that have been passed in Arizona, California, Michigan and Ohio and “puts a hold on planned ballot measures related to egg-laying hens in both Washington and Oregon.”
The National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) will be moving into new digs next week.
The big move will mean limited operations for the office during the week of July 11. The News Service will continue operations from a remote location and Stacia Cudd (stacia@nafb.com) will be the primary contact for the office staff during the period of limbo. Phone and email access will be limited until at least Thursday with normal operations expected to resume on Monday, July 18.
The new NAFB office address is: 1100 Platte Falls Rd., Platte City, MO, 64079.
Hello from Illinois and the Indian Creek Watershed Project Field Tour. This project and farm tour is being conducted by the Conservation Technology Information Center.
Farmers and corporate sponsors at the sites will focus on effective agricultural systems while they showcase products, practices and technology that can boost profitable farming and improve water quality.
Tour demonstrations will include nitrogen fertilizer split-application, slow release products, strip-till N application systems, and fertilizer use efficiency studies. These practices can improve both the farmer’s bottom line and water quality. Practices shown will emphasize the 4R cornerstones of nutrient management: use the Right source at the Right time, in the Right place at the Right rate. Producers can implement the four Rs and substantially reduce the amount of N fertilizer escaping fields, a clear financial loss, and detrimental to water quality.
During the day I’ll be conducting interviews with various farmers and stakeholders in this CTIC project. Most of these will be posted during coming days since we’ll be on a bus and out at farm locations. However, I’m pretty sure you’ll find some tweets throughout the day if you’re following along on Twitter.
There’s never been a better time for careers in agribusiness with a bigger variety of jobs that span the spectrum from production to promotion.
“I just feel like it’s a very exciting time to be in agribusiness,” says Eric Spell, president of AgCareers.com. He should know, since they have been specializing in human resource services to the agriculture and food industry for nearly 15 years now, starting out as a print newsletter. “Year to date, we’ve had 23,000 jobs posted on our site, and we’ve had just over 50,000 applications to jobs on our site,” said Eric. In 2010, there over 36,000 agribusiness jobs in North America were posted on AgCareers.com with nearly 22,000 jobs posted in the Midwest region alone!
In addition to the job board, AgCareers.com offers a number of other services and tools for human resource professionals, including the upcoming 9th AgCareers.com Ag HR Roundtable, August 1 – 3, 2011 in West Lafayette, Indiana, which is being hosted this year by ADM and Purdue University. Eric says the event brings together agribusiness employers, professional organizations and college career counselors “to talk about issues facing the recruitment and retention of entry level and professional level talent in our industry.”
This year for the first time, the HR Roundtable will be followed by the 2011 National Academic Programs Summit with the theme of “Creating Change: Reforming Curricula for a 21st Century Education” where participants will be able to receive input from the agribusiness employers at the roundtable on what changes they would like to see in preparing young people for careers in the industry.
AgWired will be blogging the Ag HR Roundtable this year and finding out more about this important topic that impacts everyone in the agribusiness industry. In the meantime, listen to this edition of the ZimmCast featuring my interview with Eric Spell of AgCareers.com: Growing AgCareers with Eric Spell
Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsor, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong, 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 Subscribe page.
This is the newest app on my iPhone and will be on my Android phone later this morning. It’s the InfoAg 2011 Conference app.
The InfoAg 2011 Conference, hosted at Springfield Illinois’ Crowne Plaza, from July 12-14th, is pleased to add a digital Conference Companion available exclusively for the InfoAg 2011 exhibitors and attendees. Designed to supplement the online conference program, this app allows its user to view an at-a-glance program, search speakers, exhibitors, and presentation synopses, as well as create a personalized conference itinerary.
As you can see from this screenshot I’ll be on the program talking about social media. Our moderator for that session is Paul Schrimpf, Group Editor, Croflife Media Group. Also in our session will be Jeremy Wilson, Technology Specialist, Crop IMS. Our session will be offered twice next Thursday. Hope you can make it.
The app is the creation of Quentin Rund, PAQ Interactive. Get it and let him know what you think. I think this is going to become a standard offering of shows of all kinds, farm included. Kind of like the “old” conference brochure but much easier to use and carry around!
The ZimmPoll is not a scientific, statistically valid measurement of any demographic but rather a gauge of opinion and other information from interested readers. Never has that been more evident than this past week when our poll was highly influenced by a concerted campaign to do so by R-Calf in response to a post Cindy did, “GIPSA Dominates Senate Committee Hearing.” The R-Calf campaign helped generate most of the 112 comments posted there. Unfortunately, most of them are nothing more than personal attacks on Senator Pat Roberts. They do little to foster a constructive “debate.” I considered not approving many of them but figure common sense people will see them and realize the movement behind them and take them for what they’re worth. There are some good, reasoned comments mixed in from both sides of the issue at least. We’re just happy to provide a public forum for this very important issue.
So, the results of our last poll which asked the question, “What do you think of USDA’s proposed GIPSA Rule?” are as follows: 68% say Love it, 18% say Kill it, 10% say What’s GIPSA? and 4% say Good concept but needs changes. The R-Calf position is in favor of the proposal and I think that’s clearly reflected in the results. By the way, the poll generated the most responses we’ve had to a ZimmPoll to date. What do you think about this issue if you haven’t already weighed in? Feel free to make a comment.
Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “What’s the very first thing you check online each day?” Let us know what you think.
ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.
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.
