Farmers will be able to use the new product in combination with other herbicides and agronomic practices, under a weed control system enabled by dicamba-tolerant crops currently in development.

“Farmers fighting against herbicide resistance have an important new tool in Engenia which, field research shows, will offer excellent weed control and crop safety, as well as low-volatility characteristics for improved on-target application,” said Paul Rea, Vice President, U.S. Crop Protection, BASF.

A registration decision by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for Engenia is anticipated in a parallel time frame with commercialization of a dicamba-tolerant soybean system.
Commercialization of the dicamba-tolerant system for soybeans is expected in the U.S. mid-decade, with cotton, corn and canola to follow. (Read more from BASF)

We had a chance to see how Engenia works at the 2012 Commodity Classic, with the help of BASF ag biologist Chad Brommer, who explained how the product is researched and tested in the lab. We shot a little video of Chad doing some show-and-tell, which you can see below.

Building upon record-breaking numbers in 2012, next year’s event, scheduled for February 28 through March 2 in sunny Kissimmee, Florida, promises to be a winner.

“We broke records in every category,” said immediate past Commodity Classic Co-Chair Martin Barbre. “However, the most exciting number was beating last year’s record of first-time attendees by 48 percent. It was very gratifying to see that Commodity Classic’s appeal continues to grow, and I look forward to seeing it continue this tradition of excellence in Kissimmee next year.”

Commodity Classic is presented annually by the National Corn Growers Association, the American Soybean Association, the National Association of Wheat Growers and the National Sorghum Producers.

Representatives of American Ethanol partners, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) and Growth Energy, were at the March 10 race – pictured here with RCR team owner (and Dillon’s grandfather) Richard Childress (left) are Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis next to Dillon and Illinois corn farmer Martin Barbre, chairman of NCGA’s NASCAR Advisory Committee on the right.

The excitement surrounding the second year of the American Ethanol partnership was evident at the Commodity Classic, where I talked to Tom Buis about how NASCAR is helping the ethanol industry by spotlighting 15% ethanol blended motor fuel (E15) which is what NASCAR uses in all races. “A lot of our promotion and activities this year, now that E15 is approved to go in the marketplace, will be connecting the fans and the viewers to the fuel they’ll soon be able to see in their retail areas,” Tom said. “There’s no sport more American than NASCAR and there’s no fuel more American than ethanol.”

Best of all, Tom says with gas prices up and ethanol priced $1 less than gasoline, E15 will save consumers money at the pump.

In this photo from Classic, Tom is holding one of our ZimmComm photo calendars, which featured a couple of American Ethanol photos. We still have a couple of calendars left if you want to buy one – click here.

Listen to my interview with Tom here: Interview with Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis

Students must be a member of a national ag-related student organization such as FFA, 4-H or student NAMA to enter.

At Commodity Classic I visited with Rick Ekins, Anthem Brand Manager, to learn more about the contest. Students should be able to submit entries “very soon” according to the contest web page. The entry deadline is Jun 15. Online voting will begin in July and run through August 17. Four finalists will be selected from a new round of online voting. The grand prize winner will be announced October 24. Finalists receive $5,000 and the grand prize winner receives $10,000.

Listen to my interview with Rick here and learn more about Anthem too: Interview with Rick Ekins

2012 Commodity Classic Photo Album

As farmers look to 2012 planting John says the Pioneer FIT Studio software allows them to tie into their dedicated mapping center which provides high quality color maps on a rapid turn around basis. Here’s a description of how it works:

Move your yield monitor and GPS receiver to your tractor before planting – your Pioneer sales representative can help you with this. After planting, your local sales rep submits your GPS enabled planting data to the Pioneer Mapping Center and within a few weeks will provide you with high quality planting maps. These maps provide a visual reference of what products and traits are present and can help you apply the right herbicides and insecticides on the right acre.

In addition, you can easily identify the hybrids and varieties planted in each field and the date they were planted and at what planting rates, augmenting or replacing traditional handwritten planting notes.

Listen to my interview with John to learn more here: Interview with John Chism

2012 Commodity Classic Photo Album

April is the farmer in the family. Her husband works at a job in town. She was nominated by her daughter. Here’s an excerpt of the essay she wrote for the nomination:

Hi, I’m Ruth. I’m 16, and I would like to nominate my mom, April Hemmes, for Farm Mom of the Year. My mom IS the farmer in our family. My dad works in town, and mom operates our family’s century farm, totaling 1000 acres, and has a 30-head cow/calf herd. She makes all the decisions from planting to harvest, bulls to banking.

. . . She also found time to raise funds for my junior prom and took me on a Caribbean cruise! She always tells me “Do what you love doing – happiness and success will follow.” I know this is true because my mom is the most enjoyable and funniest person know.

April is very passionate about farming and is a great advocate for farming. She tells the full story of her nomination in my interview with her: Interview with April Hemmes

The 2012 Farm Mom of the Year Contest is now underway.

2012 Commodity Classic Photo Album

Terry farms in Colorado which he calls the “epicenter of the dust bowl.” This means that a safety net and crop insurance are critical for them. Conservation is also an important issue for him. He says that NSP is looking at ways that the sorghum crop can play a role in water conservation. He also says that a third of the sorghum crop is used to make ethanol, a third to livestock feed and a third is exported. Biofuels and issues surrounding them like the RFS are very important to sorghum producers. He says the RFS creates markets and that’s important to producers.

Listen to my interview with Terry here: Interview with Terry Swanson

2012 Commodity Classic Photo Album

Since it’s planting season I asked him what advice he has for growers. Greg says that with farmers managing larger amounts of land these days it is becoming increasingly important to get in the field to plant quickly and that the planting date means a lot in terms of final yield. He points to their AGROTAIN nitrogen stabilizer which allows a farmer to use a broadcast application of urea instead of a more traditional incorporated or injected application. The AGROTAIN treated urea prevents volatilization loss that would normally occur with surface applied urea. This means a faster start for plants. He says growers are also finding a split application helpful.

Listen to my interview with Greg here: Interview with Greg Schwab

2012 Commodity Classic Photo Album

In soybeans, early-season weed competition poses a potential 6 to 10 percent yield loss. In corn, weeds allowed to reach 4 to 6 inches in height can reduce yield potential by 3 percent and 7 percent, respectively. The potential losses due to weeds total almost $10 billion, based on current national projected yields and commodity prices.

BASF Soybean Market Manager Bryan Perry says from his conversations with growers this year, the big issue is weed resistance management. “We’ve launched a couple of new products, like OpTill PRO this year, to help manage resistance. But keeping weeds out of the field at any point helps maximize yield.”

The warm winter is causing fields to green up earlier, which will make burn down more important for some growers going into planting. “We launched Kixor® herbicide technology a couple years ago, great burn down, and OpTill PRO has Kixor in it, plus two other sites of action, so you’ve got a product that burns down the weeds and has phenomenal residual to keep them from coming back.”

Listen to or download an interview with Bryan here: BASF Soybean Market Manager Bryan Perry

BASF Corn Market Manager Mike Hofer says he talked with southern farmers at Classic who expected to start planting the following week, but they too were concerned about weed resistance. “Farmers continue to tell us that they’re battling more weeds that have developed resistance to multiple herbicides that farmers have used over time,” Mike said. “We just recently launched Armezon™, which is a new HPPD inhibitor, and it essentially controls those tough broadleaf weeds post-emerge in corn. It’s unique because it is safe to all types of corn varieties.”

Mike notes that BASF offers several different programs to help farmers called the Grower Advantage offers. “We have a really unique offer this year that we’re calling Investment Advantage for growers that purchase a high yield package,” Mike says. “If they purchase that by March 15 and commodity prices significantly decline into harvest time, BASF would offer a partial refund on the purchase of those products. It’s the first time that a company is partnering with growers to help them manage risk after they purchase crop protection products.”

Investment Advantage has a March 15 deadline, but there is still time to participate in BASF’s other offers, including Headline Advantage, Finance Advantage and Insurance Advantage. Information on all BASF Grower Advantage offers is available at growersadvantage.basf.us.

Listen to or download an interview with Mike here: BASF Corn Market Manager Mike Hofer

2012 BASF Science Behind Photo Album

For more information email CTIC or call 765-494-9555. Sponsorship opportunities (pdf) for the 2012 Tour are available.

Listen to my interview with Karen here: Interview with Karen Scanlon

2012 Commodity Classic Photo Album

Final attendance at the event surpassed all previous turnout records with a total of 6,014 attendees, up 25 percent increase from last year’s record of 4,826 attendees. Once again, farm families represented over half of the participants, with 3,505 growers, spouses and children attending.

“We broke records in every category,” said Commodity Classic Co-chair Martin Barbre. “However, the most exciting number was beating last year’s record of first-time attendees by 48 percent. It’s very gratifying to see that Commodity Classic’s appeal continues to grow.”

This year’s show also experienced the highest number of exhibitors ever. The 963-booth trade show was sold out with a waiting list ready to take advantage of cancellations. There was also a record number of media attending the event – 156 total, compared to the previous record of 145 last time it was in Nashville in 2008.

Another record I would add for the 2012 Commodity Classic would be the most people at the event ever having to be herded into a basement ballroom for a tornado warning!

Commodity Classic is presented annually by the National Corn Growers Association, the American Soybean Association, the National Association of Wheat Growers and the National Sorghum Producers. Next year, the event will be held February 28 to March 2 in Kissimmee, Fla.

2012 Commodity Classic Photo Album

Deere’s Barry Nelson said this is a major announcement that continues John Deere’s 175 years of innovation. “The past few years we have been spending millions and millions of dollars to develop new technology for the engines and the integrated technology we need in the vehicles to make everything work as a very productive package.”

John Deere Manager Worldwide Marketing Geoff Stigler gave an overview of how the technology was developed and why. “Engine technology is just one piece of the puzzle,” he said. “It’s really all about meeting customer expectations, delivering on the performance, durability, reliability and operating efficiency requirements.”

Geoff said the road to Final Tier 4 was a building block approach, starting with Tier 2 when the first electronic engines were implemented and moving through Interim Tier 4 which have been delivered for the past 18 months. “We have nearly 20,000 engines in the field right now that are Interim Tier 4 compliant,” he said. “We’ve been able to monitor those through our JD Link technology and have over 2 million customer hours on those engines already.”

Listen to or download the press conference here: John Deere Tier 4 Press Conference

Final Tier 4/Stage IV regulations for off-highway diesel engines begin as early as 2013 for engines 55 kW (74 hp) and below. Regulatory dates for engines 56 kW (75 hp) and above will be implemented in stages starting in 2014 and 2015, and require particulate matter (PM) levels established by Interim Tier 4/Stage III B regulations to be maintained while requiring an additional 80 percent reduction in nitrogen oxides (NOx) from previous regulations.

Consisting of an exhaust filter and SCR aftertreatment components that are optimized and fully integrated, the Integrated Emissions Control system will allow John Deere engines to utilize less diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) than alternative Interim Tier 4/Stage III B SCR technology solutions. Lower DEF consumption means DEF tank size can be smaller — minimizing the impact on vehicle applications, extending DEF filter service intervals and reducing operator involvement. Monitored and controlled by proprietary electronics within John Deere’s enhanced engine control unit (ECU), the Integrated Emissions Control system also provides outstanding fluid efficiency without sacrificing overall performance.

For more information on John Deere’s Final Tier 4/Stage IV engine technology, go to www.JohnDeere.com/tier4.

2012 Commodity Classic Photo Album

“It’s very rewarding to see large-scale, on-farm field testing validate the performance of Optimum AQUAmax hybrids,” Schussler says. “And we have begun to gather a solid understanding of the mechanisms of drought tolerance within these hybrids as we advance development of future Optimum AQUAmax hybrids.”

You can find the full release here.

Listen to or download the press conference with Jeff here: Pioneer Press Conference

2012 Commodity Classic Photo Album

Tom proceeded to discuss the current state of the ethanol industry and the challenges facing the industry, especially on the regulatory front. He also talked about American Ethanol and the current NASCAR promotional program. New Holland is also a supporter of NASCAR and you’ll often see blue machines working at various tracks around the country.

Listen to Tom’s comments here: Tom Buis at Club Blue

2012 Commodity Classic Photo Album

The report cites increased regulations that could drive up costs of production meat, milk and eggs by anywhere from 10 percent to 25 percent. It shows that a 25 percent increase in costs to animal agriculture would reduce U.S. exports by $1.1 billion and cause nearly 9,000 Americans to lose their jobs.

Listen to or download the USB press conference here: United Soybean Board Press Conference

2012 Commodity Classic Photo Album

BASF participated in both the American Soybean Association (ASA) and National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) banquets during the 2012 Commodity Classic and was honored to have company executives speak during those events about the importance of partnerships aimed at strengthening the future of agriculture. BASF Senior Vice President North America Crop Protection Nevin McDougall (pictured) spoke at the ASA banquet, while Paul Rea, Vice President U.S. Crop Protection, spoke at the NCGA banquet.

Nevin says BASF’s partnerships with ASA and NCGA showcase how they are sustaining and supporting the future of agriculture. “The future for BASF is very bright,” Nevin said. “The ag economy in North America is very robust and with our investment in R&D and bringing new solutions that can help growers be more efficient and more productive with less impact on the environment we’ll help them to achieve the goal of feeding the world.”

Listen to or download a quick interview with Nevin here: BASF Senior VP Nevin McDougall

We sincerely appreciate our partnership with BASF as well, which helped to bring coverage of the Commodity Classic to AgWired readers. Thanks BASF!

2012 BASF Science Behind Photo Album

In a look ahead to this week’s activities I visited with Julie Douglas, Communications Director, ASTA, during Commodity Classic last week. Julie says there is no other industry as important as agriculture and that ASTA is very happy to support and celebrate farmers and increase awareness of all the good things they do including being good stewards of the land.

Besides attending Ag Day Activities courtesy of ASTA I will also be attending their annual meeting this year which Julie says will be held in Washington, DC for the first time in years. She says it will be an opportunity to bring together all segments of the seed industry who will be able to visit with lawmakers and educate them about the industry and need for continued funding for agricultural research. The annual meeting will not only feature an agvocacy day on Capitol Hill but sessions on conservation and phytosanitary issues as well as individual industry organizational meetings.

The ASTA 129th Annual Convention will be held June 20 – 23 at the Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center at
National Harbor, MD.

Listen to this week’s ZimmCast here: Visiting with ASTA

2012 Commodity Classic Photo Album

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.

It’s time for the ZimmComm team to take a break since the media room is closing and I think we’re last ones in it. But that doesn’t mean that there won’t be more coverage of this year’s show. We’ve got to edit some photos and interviews and will get to that just as soon as we can.

2012 Commodity Classic Photo Album

What’s really new for NAWG is a brand new scholarship program with BASF just announced at the Classic, and CEO Dana Peterson says they are happy about the scholarship but sad about the circumstances that brought it about. “We are pleased to join with BASF to honor a longtime friend of wheat, Mr. Jerry Minore. He passed away just recently from a sudden illness and we were sorry to see him go,” Dana said.

Because Jerry just passed away less than a month ago, the details on the scholarship are still being developed, but Dana says they will be announced soon and available on the NAWG website.

Dana says they are thrilled with the record turnout of over 6,000 producers at Classic this year and pleased to celebrate their fifth year being one of the commodity groups that join together for the event.

Listen to my interview with Dana here: NAWG CEO Dana Peterson

I also spoke with U.S. Wheat president Alan Tracy at the wheat industry booth and he told me how excited they are about export opportunities in Asia, noting that they just celebrated their golden anniversary in Philippines. “In Asia, we continue to do very well,” he said. “I just returned from the Philippines where we celebrated the 50th anniversary of our having an office there in Manila.”

Alan says the Philippines have become at least the 5th largest market for U.S. Wheat. “This year it’s going to be 95% of their wheat comes form the United States,” Alan said, adding that the export market makes up about half of the U.S. crop in a given year.

Listen to my interview with Dana here: US Wheat President Alan Tracy

2012 Commodity Classic Photo Album

Beth made a point of saying that this combined event with AAEA is due to NAMA efforts to reach out and work with other industry organizations. This is part of the new strategic plan that we’re trying to implement starting this year. I am serving on the NAMA Exec Committee and was glad to see this collaboration come about.

2012 Commodity Classic Photo Album

The highlight of the event was a new rendition of the song Ring of Fire. Accompanying the band to sing the new lyrics were the current USB Chair, Vanessa Kummer and other past Chairmen. I just happened to capture the moment on video for your viewing pleasure. I know John will really appreciate this. You’re welcome John and congratulations on your very deserved award! You’ll hear Lance Burditt, Osborn Barr, explain why John is so deserving of this award. In the photo John is responding to all the love by making a few comments.

You can read the lyrics here (.doc).

2012 Commodity Classic Photo Album

BASF Crop Protection has partnered with application technology specialist Dr. Bob Wolf, retired Professor Emeritus of Kansas State University, to help growers get the most out of their pesticides by using best application practices with the On Target Application Academy.

Dr. Wolf says the program focuses on research and education of applicators to “maximize control of weeds and minimize spray drift.”

One of the educational tools he uses is a spray table that is designed to allow applicators to actually see the differences between spray nozzles, the droplet size and drift produced. “I encourage them to put water in their sprayer on a day when they’re not busy, turn the sprayer on, get out and walk along and do some comparisons,” he said.

On Target Application Academies will be held throughout 2012 at industry and state events. Sessions will be about two hours long and cover a number of topics including best practices for self applications, nozzle selection, adjuvants, calibration, sprayer set up, equipment clean out, and more. More information on dates and locations will be available from BASF representatives and on the BASF website.

Listen to or download an interview with Bob Wolf here: Dr. Bob Wolf

Watch Dr. Wolf’s demonstration of the spray table during the BASF “Science Behind” event held in conjunction with Commodity Classic in Nashville:

2012 BASF Science Behind Photo Album

BTW. Session emcee Mark Mayfield remarked afterward that the farm reporter is not supposed to be funnier than the comedian. Watch the video to see why.

2012 Commodity Classic Photo Album

Everyone got herded into a very large and empty basement level ballroom in the area near the trade show. I had to risk the hotel staff wrath to go get my computer out of the media room so I could get this posted. Unfortunately, they said this will probably happen again this evening. We’ve got that to look forward to. Now it’s reception time!

You can hear the warning here: Gaylord Opryland Commodity Classic Tornado Warning

It looks like we have a lot of Midwesterners here as you’ll see in the video clip from the trade show floor. We’re kind of used to this sort of thing.

2012 Commodity Classic Photo Album

First up on the stage with Mark was Gary Niemeyer, a corn grower from Auburn, Ill and President of the National Corn Growers Association.

Listen to Gary’s comments here: Comments from Gary Niemeyer

Next up on stage was Steve Wellman, soybean farmer from Syracuse, Neb. and President of the American Soybean Association.

Listen to Steve’s comments here: Comments from Steve Wellman

Next we heard from Terry Swanson, a sorghum grower from Walsh, Colo. and President of the National Sorghum Producers.

Listen to Terry’s comments here: Comments from Terry Swanson

Finally, we heard from Wayne Hurst, a wheat producer from Burley, Idaho and President of the National Association of Wheat Growers.

Listen to Wayne’s comments here: Comments from Wayne Hurst

“Commodity Classic provides our organizations an opportunity to come together to discuss important policy issues facing our industry. As Congress continues work on the next farm bill, our organizations agree that an affordable crop insurance program is our No. 1 priority. We also stand ready to work with House and Senate Ag Committee leaders to create farm programs that provide risk-management tools to growers when they are facing a loss beyond their control.

“Our organizations represent more than 70 percent of all crop acres in the United States. Agriculture is a bright spot in our nation’s economy, sustainably meeting the expanding demands to provide food, feed, fuel and fiber to the world. We are pleased to see the Senate and House Agriculture Committees have produced such an aggressive schedule and we thank them for their efforts.”

2012 Commodity Classic Photo Album

Someone in the crowd shouted “Amen” when Vilsack said, “This country also needs a new generation of farmers,” noting that something needs to be done about the estate tax, but also that there are barriers to people transferring land while they are still alive due to increasing land values.

Vilsack also got applause when he said, “As Congress works on this farm bill, the country needs them to have the political courage and spine to work on immigration reform and get that done and get it done now.”

When it comes to passing a farm bill, Vilsack said even though Congress thinks it’s a tough time to do it, “that’s not what America does. We don’t make excuses, we solve problems and we expect our leaders to do that.”

Before heading back to Washington for a White House conservation conference, Vilsack also announced the opportunity for producers to enroll a total of 1 million acres of land in a new Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) initiative to preserve grasslands and wetlands.

Vilsack will highlight the announcement later today at the Interior Department during the White House Growing America’s Outdoor Heritage and Economy conference, which emphasizes the link between conservation and strong local economies through tourism, outdoor recreation, and healthy lands, waters and wildlife.

Listen to or download Visack’s address here: Secretary Tom Vilsack at Commodity Classic

2012 Commodity Classic Photo Album

With the results of field trials from the 2011 season now available, three years of research show Priaxor™ fungicide and Merivon® fungicide provided effective disease control and consistent yield increases in a wide range of crops and the two new products are expected to receive EPA registration yet the first part of this year.

Priaxor research was conducted on row crops – focusing primarily on soybeans – as well as on some specialty crops, such as potatoes and tomatoes. Merivon research was conducted on specialty crops, specifically pome and stone fruits.

“Priaxor in soybeans provides a consistent level of disease control on Septoria brown spot and frog eye leaf spot,” said Nick Fassler, Technical Market Manager, BASF. From 2009-2011, soybeans treated with Priaxor showed nearly 17 percent less severity of Septoria brown spot and 13 percent decrease in the severity of frogeye leaf spot and compared to untreated soybean acres. Priaxor has also performed well in corn on several troublesome corn diseases, including gray leaf spot, common rust, and Northern and Southern corn leaf blight.

Listen to or download an interview with Nick here: BASF's Nick Fassler

Dr. Caren Schmidt, BASF Technical Service Representative for Michigan and Ohio says research shows Merivon fungicide will provide apple growers with protection against apple scab and powdery mildew. “We’ve been looking at Merivon and apple scab with Michigan State University,” she said. “We’ve seen very good protection with Merivon application programs compared to current commercial standards.”

Caren says there are current no systemic fungicides in Michigan that are effective against apple scab, so the introduction of Merivon will be very important.

Listen to or download an interview with Caren here: BASF Tech Rep Caren Schmidt

Find out more details about Priaxor™ fungicide and Merivon® fungicide.

2012 BASF Science Behind Photo Album

Listen to my interview with Abe here: Interview with Abe Hughes

2012 Commodity Classic Photo Album

Also in attendance were the leadership from each of the participating commodity groups for the show.

The media reception is a relaxing way for all of us to wind down for a while without feeling the need to turn on recorders and go “one the record.” It’s great seeing so many friends in the ag communications business.

2012 Commodity Classic Photo Album

Here’s a picture of Paul receiving the key to his New Holland Rustler from Abe Hughes, VP, New Holland North America. Announcing today’s drawing once again was Mike Adams, Host, AgriTalk.

Paul is a soybean grower and is currently the President of the South Dakota Soybean Association. He was in the American Soybean Association booth when his name was called and he had 30 seconds to make it to the New Holland booth. It was not a short walk and he came running and made it in time. He told me he’s got a lot of good uses for this vehicle on his farm.

Listen to my interview with Paul here: New Holland Rustler Winner

2012 Commodity Classic Photo Album