send news release today

Blade Energy Crops From Ceres

Chuck Zimmerman

Have you ever wondered what switchgrass looks like? That’s it behind Cory Christensen, Director of Product Managment, Ceres, who was conducting Sunbelt Ag Expo presentations in the field. He says it’s a first season stand of their Blade energy crop. It was developed specifically for the southeast. Since it’s the first season for this crop they won’t harvest it at …

Agribusiness, Audio, Biofuels, Energy, Ethanol, Sunbelt Ag Expo

Boehringer Ingelheim Closes Fort Dodge Deal

Cindy Zimmerman

Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc. (BIVI) has closed a deal with Pfizer to acquire a significant portion of the Fort Dodge Animal Health business. The acquisition, which includes products in the U.S., Australia, Canada and South Africa, as well as two manufacturing and research facilities located in Fort Dodge, Iowa, significantly increases the size of Boehringer Ingelheim’s companion animal and cattle …

Animal Health, Audio, Boehringer Ingelheim, Livestock

The Fluidigm System

Chuck Zimmerman

The Fluidigm System starts with their Integrated Fluidic Circuits. The Product Manager who is intimately familiar with the IFC’s is Yong Yi. I spoke with him about this system and he helps explain what the IFC’s do and can do for a client company. In the picture he’s holding one of their chips containing an IFC. It’s all about miniaturization …

Agribusiness, Audio, Biotech, Research, Technology, Video

Syngenta Seeds Thinks Like a Farmer

Cindy Zimmerman

When Syngenta Seeds considers new products to bring to market, they think like a farmer. “They’re our primary customer at the end of the day and we can have the greatest technologies, the greatest genetics but if we don’t understand their business and the challenges they face, it could all be wasted,” said Agronomy Marketing Manager Bruce Battles at a …

Audio, Seed, Syngenta

Ag Degrees at U of F

Chuck Zimmerman

There are a lot of colleges involved with farm shows all over the country. At Sunbelt Ag Expo I spoke with Charlotte Emerson, Director of Student Development and Recruitment, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Florida. We’re sitting in their exhibit chatting about my alma mater. She says the college has 24 majors and over 50 specializations ranging …

Audio, Sunbelt Ag Expo, University

Planting With Precision

Chuck Zimmerman

Precision agriculture applications continue to grow and develop and were on display at Sunbelt Ag Expo. Let’s use Precision Planting as an example. I spoke with Bruce Sauder about what is new with the company that producers were getting to see in their exhibit. He says that some of the new units that they’ve come out with this year include …

Agribusiness, Audio, Precision Agriculture

Sunbelt Update From Mr. Peanut

Chuck Zimmerman

He says he’s been the media director for Sunbelt Ag Expo for 32 years and he’s Mr. Peanut. Actually he’s Tyron Spearman, Spearman Marketing. Tyron also reports for Southeast AgNet. At Expo Tyron coordinates all the requests of the media here covering the event. In the photo he’s giving us an overview of the show during our media breakfast. Tyron …

Audio, Sunbelt Ag Expo

Ag Students Key to Correcting Food Critics on Campus

Cindy Zimmerman

College students with agriculture backgrounds are finding the need to defend modern agriculture and correct misinformation about food production that is being worked into class curriculums. Some classes are now requiring students to read books like “Omnivore’s Dilemma,” watch movies like “Food, Inc.” and see presentations by critics of modern agriculture like Michael Pollan. Sarah Downing, a junior at the …

Audio, Beef, Livestock