Some of Nashville’s top talent will take the stage at the Grand Ole Opry for the 2012 Commodity Classic Evening of Entertainment on March 3, sponsored by Monsanto.
Entertainers in the lineup for the evening include Darryl Worley, John Conlee, Sarah Darling, Mike Snider, and Joey+Rory. (We just saw Joey+Rory, best known for their hit “Cheater, Cheater, last week in Nashville at the Cattle Industry Convention – they’re great!)
“The Evening of Entertainment will cap off three days of learning sessions, policymaking, networking and a sold-out, record-setting trade show that has the 17th annual Commodity Classic on pace to be the largest in history,” said Commodity Classic co-chair Jeff Sollars.
Commodity Classic will be held March 1-3 at the Gaylord Opryland Convention Center in Nashville, Tenn., and is presented annually by the National Corn Growers Association, American Soybean Association, National Association of Wheat Growers and National Sorghum Producers.
BASF Crop Protection has announced the addition of Armezon™ herbicide to help corn growers deal with resistant weeds and take advantage of strong commodity prices with more complete, comprehensive weed management solutions.
According to BASF, Armezon helps growers maximize their yields by controlling tough, yield-robbing weeds while being safe to all corn types.
A post-emerge herbicide solution for corn, Armezon controls problematic grasses and broadleaf weeds such as common lambsquarters, waterhemp, giant foxtail and crabgrass – including those with resistance to glyphosate, triazines, PPOs, and ALS inhibitors.
“Armezon is definitely tough on weeds,” said John Sabatka, Post Corn Herbicides Product Manager with BASF. “At the same time, it’s also safe to use on all field and specialty corn, regardless of trait – including the most sensitive varieties.”
Armezon also has a wider window of application when compared to most other post-emerge corn herbicides on the market. It is an excellent cross-spectrum tank-mix partner, which makes it particularly helpful for growers who rely on post applications of atrazine or glyphosate to manage tough weeds.
Find out more about Armezon from BASF.
Advanced production techniques, informed growing practices and improved seed varieties helped corn growers achieve high yields in the National Corn Growers Association 2011 National Corn Yield Contest. Despite the challenging weather conditions that plagued the Corn Belt throughout the year, entrants continued to far surpass the national average corn yield, even doubling it in some circumstances.
The National Corn Yield Contest is in its 47th year and remains NCGA’s most popular program for members. With 8,425 entries, the 2011 NCGA National Corn Yield Contest set a new participation record again this year. This is a 18 percent increase over 2010 (7,125) and an incredible 70 percent increase over 2007 (4,932). The 18 winners in six production categories had verified yields averaging more than 313.107 bushels per acre, compared to the projected national average of 146.7 bushels per acre in 2011.
While there is no overall contest winner, yields from first, second and third place farmers overall production categories ranged from 277.5 to 429.0 bushels per acre.
Today the St. Louis Agribusiness Club presented its annual Agribusiness Leader of the Year Award to Rick Tolman, CEO, National Corn Growers Association. Here’s Rick with his award which was presented by past St. Louis Ag Club President Stephanie Regagnon, Solutia, Inc.
I spoke with Rick right after he received his award. He says that he’s “very moved and surprised and it’s a great honor.” He also says that it’s a tribute to the National Corn Growers because I have a great group of volunteer leaders that I work with and a staff that I work with and they make me look good and make the organization look good. But it’s a real honor for our association to be recognized.”
I asked him about the 2012 Commodity Classic since registration just recently opened. He says it’s going to be a good one with a record number of exhibitors already signed up. He also talks about priorities in the coming year for NCGA.
The Iowa Corn Caucus released its report card for presidential candidates today, giving grades for different policy areas related to agriculture with an overall grade for each candidate.
The highest overall grade went to Newt Gingrich, who scored straight As on every single policy issue. Second in the class was Rick Santorum, who had mostly A’s but faltered under farm programs in the areas of crop insurance and conservation. President Obama received a grade of B, as did Mitt Romney, but the rest of the four major Republican candidates got no more than a C minus. Rick Perry received that grade, while Michelle Bachmann was close behind with a D+ and both Herman Cain and Ron Paul got Ds. Cain in particular failed miserably in the energy policy category and farm programs – getting straight Fs in all those areas.
“Our purpose wasn’t to endorse any candidate, but instead to give farmers a tool that they could take with them to the caucuses in January,” said Iowa Corn Growers senior policy advisor Amanda Taylor. The survey for candidates was developed in conjunction with the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) to include ten questions directly related to agricultural issues.
ICGA president Kevin Ross noted that only half of candidates responded to the survey, so the Corn Caucus used other methods to determine the grades. “We tracked interviews, speeches, media quotes and all things related to agriculture, including voting records of candidates who held office,” he said. The candidates who did return the survey were Obama, Cain, Gingrich and Santorum.
It seems like there is always something new from BASF Crop Protection to make life a little better for farmers.
At the National Association of Farm Broadcasting Trade Talk, I talked with Technical Market Manager Nick Fassler about what is new in the fungicide arena. You might remember that we just chatted with Nick earlier this year at Commodity Classic about the launch of Xemium™ and already there are new fungicides in the pipeline with that active ingredient. “We’ve been real busy developing new fungicides and new uses for these products,” Nick says. “The last two years we’ve been talking about Headline AMP and now we’ve got another new product on the horizon that combines the active ingredient Xemium with Headline to develop Priaxor™.”
Nick says the Headline plus Xemium compound will be registered on multiple row crops and specialty crops – including corn, soybeans, cereals, potatoes and tomatoes. Registration by the U.S. EPA is expected in early 2012.
BASF is also offering several new incentives for growers to get a great start on the 2012 season, according to Corn Market Manager Mike Hofer. “One of them is called ‘Investment Advantage’ which is really a first of its kind in the industry,” Mike said. “It rewards a grower who purchases a high yield package from BASF, which may contain products like Headline AMP for corn, or Headline for soybeans, or Kixor herbicide technology.”
To help growers who purchase this type of package before March 15 better manage their risk, BASF will offer a partial rebate if commodity prices fall below a certain point. “What we’re trying to do is make sure that growers maintain a healthy return on investment,” Mike says.
BASF is also expanding the Headline Advantage offer from BASF has expanded to include more BASF fungicides for the 2012 season with up to 20% savings. In addition, BASF is again partnering with John Deere Financial to bring growers Finance Advantage.
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack is confirmed to once again be the keynote speaker for an expected crowd of more than 4,800 corn, soybean, wheat and sorghum producers and guests during the 2012 Commodity Classic, March 1-3 in Nashville, Tenn.
“The secretary’s return for a third straight visit is testament to the value of our grower constituency in Washington,” National Corn Growers Association President Garry Niemeyer said. “Given the concerns farmers have around the federal budget and 2012 farm bill discussions, the secretary’s message will be of great importance to attendees.”
”We are privileged and honored to have Secretary Vilsack as the keynote speaker for the Commodity Classic General Session,” said American Soybean Association President Alan Kemper. “The secretary’s visit will be a highlight of this dynamic event where farmers share ideas, network and learn about future trends in agriculture.”
Commodity Classic is the nation’s largest farmer-led, farmer-focused conference and trade show, presented annually by the National Corn Growers Association, American Soybean Association, National Association of Wheat Growers and National Sorghum Producers. For more information, visit CommodityClassic.com.
Corn growers and cattle producers are at odds over new legislation introduced in the House that would change the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2).
The bill, sponsored by Reps. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and Jim Costa (D-CA), would allow Congress to reduce the RFS requirement for ethanol whenever corn stocks are tight.
Speaking on behalf of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) during a press conference announcing the legislation, California beef cattle producer Kevin Kester said it would provide relief from tight corn supplies.
“Cattlemen are not opposed to ethanol and we’re not looking for cheap corn. We simply want the federal government to get out of the marketplace and allow the market to work,” Kester said.
Officials with the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) say the measure would significantly weaken the RFS. “The U.S. ethanol industry is an integral part of job creation and economic opportunity throughout rural America,” said NCGA President Garry Niemeyer of Illinois. “This legislation would put progress made by the ethanol industry in jeopardy.”
The RFS came into effect in 2005 and was reauthorized and expanded in 2007 to require the use of 12.6 billion gallons of corn ethanol this year and 13.2 billion gallons in 2012, topping out at 15 billion gallons in 2015.
The Goodlatte-Costa bill would require a reduction in the RFS when the stocks-to-use ratio drops below 10 percent, up to a 50 percent reduction if the ratio falls below 5 percent. Under the current corn supply, the reduction would be 15-25 percent.
Strong winds, dry weather and heat all combined to create some treacherous harvesting conditions in Iowa yesterday. Here’s an interesting video I found on YouTube that shows one fire and gives you an idea of how extensive these can be. Our sales manager, Dave, sent me a note yesterday that they had 160 acres burn on their family farm. Fortunately no one was hurt and it didn’t get to their homestead.
As the National Corn Growers Association prepares to start a new fiscal year this weekend, some old faces (not OLD old!) are being replaced with new ones on the Corn Board. “Off the Cob” podcaster Cathryn Wojcicki did interviews with three retiring board members to find out what they learned and experienced through service and to ask for any advice that might benefit farmers considering stepping up to a leadership role.
Over the last several years, Iowa farmer Daryl Haack served as the Corn Board’s liaison to NCGA’s Public Policy Action Team, chaired the Ethanol Committee, and represented the organization to the Rail Energy Transportation Advisory Committee, the BNSF Railway Ag Business Council and the U.S. Meat Export Federation.
Daryl says that while board involvement does require a significant time investment, serving on the Corn Board presents an unparalleled opportunity to enrich the lives of its members through opportunities to work with some of the most influential individuals both in the industry and in the country as a whole. “If you do have the time to get involved, the Corn Board presents a unique opportunity in that it allows you to meet people with whom you may not ever have another opportunity to interact,” he said.
During his tenure on the Corn Board, Minnesota farmer Jerry Larson chaired NCGA’s Finance Committee and served on the Association Relations Committee, Ethanol Committee and Research and Business Development Action Team.
Jerry stresses that potential leaders must understand the value of communications to all stakeholders. “It is of the utmost importance that we communicate our message back home, be it state-by-state, farmer-to-farmer, or even to the general public,” he noted.
Finally, Off the Cob spoke with Dave Nelson, a farmer from Belmond, Iowa who served as the Corn Board liaison for the NCGA Research and Business Development Action Team, the Ethanol Committee and the Biotechnology Working Group, and as NCGA’s liaison to the National Pork Producers Council.
“During my years on the Corn Board, we saw some very good times for corn growers,” Dave said. “We saw the market for corn expand and ethanol become a mainstay, both utilizing corn and marrying with the livestock industry in the use of distillers dried grains as a valuable feed source.”
After over five years in development the Indiana State Museum opened its Amazing Maize: The Science, History and Culture of Corn Saturday. The exhibit will run for the next 16 months at the museum located in the heart of Indianapolis. In those 16 months, Indianapolis will play host to two National FFA Conventions AND the Super Bowl. Talk about the potential to reach out to the consumer.
The exhibit highlights the 10,000 year “genetic journey” that highlights the evolution of maize to our modern day corn. Speaking of technological advancements, in one part of the exhibit they highlight the corn husking competitions that were held. I was particularly proud – while the exhibit focused on the 1940’s, I thought about my family tree. My great-grandfather, Simon Oltman, was the Illinois Corn Husking champion in 1934. With a total of just over 23 bushels of corn harvested he was named the “Dark Horse Husker from Woodford County”.
If you’re ever in Indianapolis, take time to visit the Indiana State Museum and check out the Amazing Maize exhibit and take a walk through the history of a product that is a part of our everyday lives.
Jane Ade Stevens is the executive director of the Indiana Corn Marketing Council and talks about why being a part of the Amazing Maize exhibit was important. You can read more about Amazing Maize here.
From Main Street to MTV, everyone is talking about food. Unfortunately, this conversation does not often include the people who grow it. CommonGround Conversations creates a space for America’s farm families, and the people who support them, to share the story. Here, we have a meeting ground that will let you discover the values and hard work that underlie our nation’s abundant, safe harvest. Help us share our story! By submitting photos of yourself, family and friends waving at the camera, join your voice with like-minded people to open a national dialogue saying, “Hi! I support farmers. Let’s talk about how we grow our food.”
Now’s your chance to join in on the CommonGround movement and let your voice be heard.
Right now, the movement is growing. Help us find the CommonGround between the people who grow food and those who buy it. Start today on CommonGround’s Facebook fan page. Here’s how to join the conversation:
NCGA is proposing the Agriculture Disaster Assistance Program (ADAP) “that will modify and replace the existing Average Crop Revenue Election Program and provide a more effective and responsive safety net for growers.”
“Responding to a charge by our voting delegates to investigate transitioning direct payments into programs that allow producers the ability to mitigate risk, our grower-led Public Policy Action Team developed a crop-specific, revenue-based risk management tool that provides a safety net when growers are facing a loss,” said NCGA President Bart Schott. “We are focusing on simplification and faster delivery of assistance when it is needed.”
ADAP builds on the existing structure of ACRE and is designed to address the need for simplification and elimination of overlapping coverage with individual crop insurance. Changes include the use of harvest prices and crop reporting districts to set the crop revenue guarantee and would establish a guarantee based on the five-year Olympic average of revenue.
I talked to NCGA first vice president Garry Niemeyer at the Farm Progress Show about what they want to see in a new farm bill. “We’re really interested in a farm bill that provides critical assistance to farmers when they face a loss due to adverse weather, crop diseases and volatile markets,” Garry said, adding that the NCGA team was working on ways to upgrade ACRE. “Since that is part of what we started a year ago, get it fine tuned, and get an ACRE program that will work.”
The hot, dry summer has taken a toll on the corn crop, according to the latest USDA forecast.
The estimate for corn production this year is now 12.5 billion bushels, down 3 percent from the August forecast but still more than last year and would still be the third largest corn crop in history. Yields are expected to average just over 148 bushels/acre, however, the lowest in six years. Meanwhile, soybean production is forecast at 3.09 billion bushels, up 1 percent from August with yields expected to average 41.8 bushels per acre, up 0.4 bushel from last month. That’s still less than last year, but at least the crop is not suffering as much as corn from the heat.
World Soybean Yield Champion and Rock Star Kip Cullers describes his corn crop in southwest Missouri this year as “horrible at best.” His first 4,000 acres averaged just 23 bushels an acre.
However, Kip says his soybeans actually look pretty good. “Soybeans are a lot more forgiving. They bloom 75 days so basically you got 75 days to mess up and 75 days to redeem yourself.” Kip was on stage at the Pioneer tent at Farm Progress Show talking about his grand champion soybean yield strategies.
Getting $7/dozen for sweet corn in Canada is a pretty sweet deal for Channing Strom, owner along with his wife Amy, of Strom’s Farm. Especially if you sell an average of 10-12 thousand dozen. I caught a picture of Channing, who is outstanding in his field, during our visit to the farm today. He drove a wagon load of IFAJ folks around before dinner this evening. On this farm the Strom’s grow sweet corn and pumpkins for people to come out a purchase. They promise that the sweet corn you buy is never more than two hours from the stalk! They also create a six acre corn maze using field corn and have a variety of other family fun features that bring out thousands of people to spend several hours of outdoor enjoyment. It is agri-tourism done right. You can see part of our group taking the corn maze challenge in the photo below.
The Stroms are part of Taste Real, a branding initiative for locally grown food in the Guelph Wellington area.
When you see the taste real logo, you know that you are experiencing food grown close to home! When you see the logo at farmers markets, farm gate stalls, on-farm stores, at your favourite retail outlets, restaurants and places to stay you will know it is home to real local food. The brand exists to support local businesses and farms and represents a group of people who are ….Passionate about the way local food is grown, prepared, presented and enjoyed, and how real it tastes!
Our on-farm dinner included fresh picked and boiled sweet corn. It is definitely some of the best I’ve ever eaten. Having more than one ear was desert for me! There are plenty more photos in my photo album from our trip to the farm this evening.
During the Farm Progress Show I stopped in at the “Seven Wonders of the Corn Yield World” and visited with Jeff Whetstine, AGROTAIN. The company worked with several others to put together a massive display of corn test plots that demonstrate the work of Dr. Fred Below which is aimed at finding out how much new high tech products can improve yield in corn. Jeff describes how they put the test plots together that are part of the exhibit and how they dealt with very challenging summer weather conditions. Jeff says Dr. Below has been able to show a 50 bushel yield difference between a grower’s standard practice and the “high tech package.”
There were quite a few race cars mixed in with the tractors and combines this year at the 2011 Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Illinois.
In addition to the American Ethanol NASCAR Sprint Series car at the Growth Energy exhibit, over at the Illinois Corn Growers exhibit, the Illinois Family Farmers NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Kenny Wallace was signing autographs and doing interviews.
Kenny said he was “blown away” by the Farm Progress Show. “This is like our Daytona 500! I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said in an interview with Chuck.
Kenny visited with lots of farmers during the three day show who made him feel very happy to be the Family Farmer American Ethanol spokesperson. “Farmers make me feel good,” he said. “They say thank you so much for putting up for us and that really humbles me,” he added.
The next big races for Wallace and all of NASCAR are coming up Chicagoland on September 16-18. Speedway president Scott Paddock says that triple header NASCAR weekend is a the first race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup – the first of ten ‘playoff’ style NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races in pursuit of the 2011 championship. “NASCAR was looking for a major media market and a big platform to kick off their playoffs and they chose Chicagoland and we’re honored to have that designation,” he said.
Scott says Illinois’ corn farmers will have a major presence at the Chicagoland event. “They’re going to have some combines and harvesters out there,” he said. “We’ll have over 100,000 fans out there that weekend so it’s a great way to get their message out about the important role farmers play in society.”
The Fast Five 225 truck series will kick off the weekend on Friday, September 16. The Dollar General 300 Nationwide series, Kenny’s race, will be Saturday, Sept. 17 and the three day weekend will conclude on Sunday, Sept. 18 with the GEICO 400 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
The media tent is always a great place for people in the industry to catch up with each other – like Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen and National Corn Growers Association incoming president Garry Niemeyer of Auburn, Illinois.
I talked with both of them about challenges in Washington, ethanol policies, and the ability of corn growers to meet all demands even in the toughest weather years.
Bob is frustrated with the climate in Washington and the inability of Congress to get anything done, but he is always amazed by the ability of the nation’s farmers to do their job. “The fact of the matter is, the American farmer is the most productive and efficient in the world,” Bob says. “We will get through this and there will be enough supply to meet the needs for grain that exist.”
Garry says he expects his corn crop this year to be just about average and he notes that the latest USDA forecast still expects the corn crop to be the third largest in history. “Can you imagine what it would be like if we had 1980 hybrids during this type of a weather situation? We probably would be looking at a disaster,” Garry said. “That’s the importance of this show. We’re here looking at the technology in seed, machinery, guidance systems … we have the tools to do it but Mother Nature could help out a little better!”
Farm Progress Show is always a great venue for policy makers to meet with farmers and talk about issues important to them, like a new farm bill and government regulations.
National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) First Vice President Garry Niemeyer brought his own U.S. Representative Bobby Schilling (R-IL) in for a press conference on Tuesday to share some of perspectives as a freshman congressman and new member of the House Agriculture Committee. “I think as most people are aware, it’s been quite a storm in Washington DC the last seven months,” Schilling said. “Coming out of the business sector right into Congress, it’s been quite frustrating for me to see what’s happening in our nation’s capitol.”
As far as the Farm Bill is concerned, Schilling says the “super committee” on reducing the deficit may make decisions that will impact farm programs so the agriculture committee needs to make recommendations on how spending could be cut. “Because if we don’t they will just go after dollar amounts without looking at where appropriate cuts could be made,” he said.
Listen to some of Congressman Schilling’s comments during the press conference here. Cong. Bobby Schilling
Congressman Tim Johnson (R-IL), who also serves on the House Agriculture Committee, came by the Farm Progress Show on Wednesday to visit with leadership of the Illinois corn and soybean growers associations. He is pictured here(striped shirt) with Illinois Soybean Association (ASA) treasurer Doug Winter, Illinois Corn Growers president Jim Reed and ISA president Matt Hughes.
Johnson says he is optimistic that they can come up with a Farm Bill that is workable, meets budget constraints and still has a safety net for farmers. “And we need to make sure the House Agriculture Committee and people who know American agriculture are the people framing policy,” Johnson said.
Johnson also shares the concerns that farmers in the state have about government regulations making it more difficult to farm. “USDA, USDOT and most particularly EPA tying our left hand is a real burden,” he said. “This administration more than any other administration in history has done more to damage the ability of farmers to make a living.”
Meghan Grebner of Brownfield Ag News and I interviewed Cong. Johnson together. Cong. Tim Johnson
One of our first stops coming in on pre-opening day at the Farm Progress Show was at the Illinois Corn Growers tent, where Chuck posed with his Illinois Family Farmers t-shirt and Illinois Corn Communications Director Tricia Braid while I got to interview her.
Tricia says the IL Corn exhibit really has two main themes – with race cars outside and regulatory concerns inside. “Illinois Corn Growers Association and our sister organization Illinois Corn Marketing Board, we’re both here, so we’ve got the checkoff side of things and the association – the regulations, litigation, policy,” Tricia said.
So, race cars on the outside – the checkoff side – features the Clint Bowyer American Ethanol NASCAR show car and the Nationwide Series Kenny Wallace car sponsored by Family Farmers. “By the way, that’s the actual car that he (Kenny) ran in Chicagoland,” Tricia said.
Inside the tent, it’s all about regulations and what you think is happening on your farm compared to what Washington thinks. “Couple of weeks ago we heard the president answer a question from a farmer to throttle back on the regulations and the president’s answer – to paraphrase – was ‘don’t worry about that’ – well, we’re worrying about that,” Tricia said. Farmers have a chance to find out more about proposed regulations and action to take to make their voices heard.
And, of course, there’s lots of info about ethanol and ethanol-blended fuel.
In this week's program Chuck talks with Mike Adams, AgriTalk.
Chuck and Mike often wind up at the same events all over the country so it seemed like a good idea to do a little AgriTalking about the changes they've seen in the ag media landscape.