Earlier this week Ag Leader Technology added the patent-pending SureVac electric row shutoff to their lineup of planter section shutoff devices. Since I was at the Iowa Power Farming Show I stopped in and learned all about it from Chad Huedepohl. You can watch the interview or just listen to it below. Here’s the details:
SureVac provides today’s precision farming operation with an easily- installed, zero-maintenance solution to reduce seed costs and increase yield potential.
SureVac is designed for John Deere Pro-SeriesTM XP row units, but is also compatible with any John Deere vacuum seed meter manufactured in the last 20 years. In addition to John Deere corn and soybean seed disks, SureVac supports the eSet® vacuum disk from Precision Planting.
Chad says SureVac is an electric row shutoff made to shut off the seed placement per row on a row by row basis. He says this benefits the farmer user by saving on seed and avoiding “doubles” such as on point rows.
There are booths on the floor of three different buildings at the Iowa Power Farming Show. They’re also in the hallways. I stopped at this one to learn about the Monsanto sponsored America’s Farmers Grow Communities Project. Lots of farmers were stopping by to sign up their favorite local charity. To tell us all about it I interviewed Gayla Daugherty, Monsanto Communications Manager.
She says it’s a new project for farmers to sign up a local non-profit of their choice to win via a random drawing. There are 179 counties involved in Iowa/Missouri/Arkansas and you can see them listed on the official rules page.
Plant $2,500 in your community and watch it grow.
As a farmer, you care for our land and grow our economy. You make everyone’s lives better – locally, nationally and globally. To thank you, Monsanto wants to make a contribution in your name to your local community with the America’s Farmers Grow Communities™ Project.
One nonprofit community organization in each eligible county will receive a $2,500 award. It’s up to farmers like you to help decide where it goes.
Together we can grow rural America…one community at a time. Apply now.
You never know what you’ll run into at a farm show. In this case it’s the Bayer CropScience Soybean Man.
He didn’t talk so I didn’t interview him. Just saw him wandering around and took his picture. I’m sure that if you want to know more you’ll need to talk to your local Bayer CropScience representative.
I enjoyed day one of the Iowa Power Farming Show. You’ve got to like a show that’s indoors when the day starts out at 14 degrees. Cindy will be attending next week’s National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville which is an indoor show too.
From all indications it was a good start here today. Like many farm shows, the second day is supposed to be the best day for attendance. I heard only positive comments today and still have some more interviews to post in the next day or so. I’ll actually be traveling home tomorrow to get ready for this Saturday’s Chicago Farmers Farmland Investment Fair before heading directly to the National Biodiesel Conference in Dallas.
Ag Leader Technology has announced the Blue Delta Dealer Network. At the Iowa Power Farming Show I spoke with Mike Olson to learn more about it. He’s pictured working in the booth here at the show.
Basically, Ag Leader Technology has developed a new elite precision farming distribution network in an effort to bring more structure to a growing precision agriculture community.
The network is designed to help precision farming dealers become well-rounded precision farming experts, as well as help farmers locate and identify elite precision farming dealerships throughout North America.
“There are thousands of precision farming dealerships and specialists out there; our goal with Blue Delta is to create an opportunity for the best of these dealers to separate themselves with in-depth training, and increased product and marketing sup- port so they can become an even better resource for their customers,” says Mike Olson, North American Sales Manager. “We recognize the end user’s most important resource is their precision farming dealer. This is a great way to bring more consistency and expertise to the marketplace.”
Ag Leader unofficially launched the Blue Delta network in December at the grand opening of Ag Leader Academy in Ames. Since that time Ag Leader has been working with dealers on intense product training and marketing efforts.
“Our goal is to provide these dealers with a number of tools to help them better educate and sup- port their precision farming customers,” continues Olson. “We’ve learned that the more educated growers are about precision farming, the more they embrace it. We believe this will have a significant impact on the industry.”
Tom says they represent about 400 dealers and have been doing the show for 55 years. They have a show in December in Nebraska now too. Here at the Iowa show they use 3 different buildings with 6 acres of exhibits. They’re hoping for another record attendance this year like they had last year.
You can listen to my interview with Tom below. I also uploaded a short video clip from above the show floor with my iPhone so you can see what it’s like.
The 18th International Plant and Animal Genome Conference is about to take place January 9-13 at the Town & Country Convention Center in San Diego, California and AgWired sponsor Fluidigm will be there. In fact they will be conducting one of the workshops titled, “Enabling High Sample Throughput SNP Genotyping for Plant and Animal Studies.”
It will be held on Tuesday, January 12, from 1:30 – 3:50 PM in the Town & Country Royal Palm Salon 1, 2, 3 rooms. Speakers include Curt Van Tassell, USDA-ARS, Bovine Testing; Jim Seeb, University of Washington, Salmon Conservation and Nanne Faber, Enza Zaden, Seed Quality Control.
You can find Fluidigm in booth 126, featuring the Fluidigm EP1™ system for high throughput SNP genotyping and digital PCR. If you’ve been following our interviews with Fluidigm, you’ll know what all this means by now! You can find stories about how Fluidigm is assisting in ag biotech by clicking here and here.
I spoke with Fluidigm’s Product Manager, Yong Yi, about the PAG Conference and the company’s involvement with it since its inception. He says the PAG is an opportunity for people doing plant and animal research to get together and share information. Genetic research is one of the top areas of focus and that’s where the Fluidigm System really has an application. Yong says their exhibit will help demonstrate their technology and their workshop will feature three of their customers who will discuss real world examples of how they use it.
The 41st BIF Research Symposium and Annual Meeting was hosted by the California Beef Cattle Improvement Association (CBCIA) and the California Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) in Sacramento, Calif. on April 30-May 3, 2009. I extend my congratulations to the beef industy leaders that were honored at this year’s event.
2009 Frank H. Baker Memorial Scholarship Award Recipients
The late Frank H. Baker played a key leadership role in helping establish the BIF in 1968. Since 1994, two deserving graduate students have been recognized for winning essays.
Scott Speidel, research associate in breeding and genetics at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colo., was a recipient of the 2009 Frank H. Baker Memorial Scholarship Award. Speidel accepted the award from Robert Williams, Ph.D., director of breed improvement and foreign marketing for the American-International Charolais Association, Kansas City, Mo. A California native, Speidel holds a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science from California State University, Fresno; a master’s degree from the University of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz., and plans to complete his doctorage this fall at Colorado State University.
Lance D. Leachman, Christiansburg, Va., was also a recipient of the 2009 Frank H. Baker Memorial Scholarship Award. The award was presented by Robert Williams, Ph.D., director of breed improvement and foreign marketing, American-International Charolais Association, Kansas City, Mo., during the 41st Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) Research Symposium and Annual Meeting, April 30- May 3, 2009, in Sacramento, Calif. Leachman was born in Maidstone, Sask., Canada. He holds a bachelor of science degree in Animal Sciences and Industry with a business option from Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kan., and a master’s degree in Animal and Poultry Science – Breeding Genetics from Virginia Polytechnic State University (Virginia Tech), Blackburg, Va. Currently, Leachman is a graduate student at Virginia Tech.
Nebraska Operation Named Beef Improvement Federation Commercial Producer of the Year
The Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) named the JHL Ranch, Ashby, Neb., as its 2009 Commercial Producer of the Year. The family has run cattle in the southwest corner in the Nebraska Sandhills since 1885. The JHL brand is reputed to be one of the oldest used in Nebraska having been legally registered in the state in 1920. Ranch owners Art and Merry Brownlee, along with their son Ethan, accepted the award from BEEF magazine Senior Editor Burt Rutherford during the 41st BIF Research Symposium and Annual Meeting, April 30 – May 3, 2009, in Sacramento, Calif. The ranch was nominated by the Nebraska Cattlemen and the Braunvieh Association of America, both based in Lincoln, Neb. (BIF) Outgoing President Tommy Brown (far left), Clanton, Ala., and BEEF magazine Senior Editor Burt Rutherford (far right), Amarillo, Texas, present the 2009 BIF Commercial Producer of the Year Award to Art and Merry Brown and their son Ethan of the JHL Ranch, Ashby, Neb. The award was sponsored by BEEF magazine, Minneapolis, Minn.
Photo by Cornerpost Publications, publisher of the California Cattleman.
Support is growing for the new global agriculture trade show set to debut January 2010 in Orlando. AG CONNECT Expo 2010 made several announcements this week about support for the show.
For starters, the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) will co-locate its annual Agricultural Equipment Technology Conference (AETC) with the new international agriculture exhibition. It will also conduct its annual AE50 “innovation” awards program at AG CONNECT and spotlight the AE50 winning products at the show.
The North American Equipment Dealers Association (NAEDA) joins a growing list of industry groups that have endorsed and will participate in the show. NAEDA will also serve as a major organizer of the AG CONNECT Expo “Preview Day” that will allow dealers and their customers to interact with key decision makers from manufacturers in attendance. That will be held on January 12, the day before the show officially gets underway. In addition, the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association announced their support of the show this week.
Last, but definitely not least, AG CONNECT Expo 2010 has been selected to be part of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Buyer Program, which will help to recruit international attendees and encourage connections with exhibitors who sell to the global marketplace. This is a huge deal for the international show, according Charlie O’Brien, vice president of agricultural services with the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) which owns and operates AG CONNECT Expo. “With the involvement of IBP, attendees and exhibitors at AG CONNECT Expo will benefit from potential trade leads and matchmaking opportunities, international insights into key ag issues, as well as the opportunity to learn different business practices in the context of a global agriculture trade show,” said O’Brien.
The U. S. Census Bureau puts out some interesting stats each day like these about the Houston Stock Show in an audio report called “Profile America” (mp3).
The largest show of its kind will wind up this weekend. Before it’s over, the 77th annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is expected to have drawn nearly 2 million people to Reliant Park. To show how big the event is, it takes 20,000 volunteers to stage the three weeks of activities. The show will feature 30,000 entries from young farmers and ranchers, and will award almost $11 million in scholarships. The youngsters will compete in contests ranging from public speaking to plant identification. There are just over 2 million farms in the U.S. Texas has the largest number at 230,000, more than twice the second ranked state, Missouri. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at www.census.gov.
The President of the Ft. Worth Stock Show & Rodeo is Bob Watt. He also used to be the General Manager but that position is now being done by Brad Barnes who I hope to meet while I’m here.
I sat down with Bob in his office this morning to learn all about him and this big show. Bob has been connected with the show for over 40 years.
He says that total attendance is getting near the million mark and expects this year to be a record. Weather plays a big factor and it has been cooperating. The show runs for 24 days now which is over twice the original show in 1896. The show now has over 22,000 animals that will be exhibited. He says it’s the oldest livestock show of its kind in the country. Today is also going to be the biggest day of animals on site and the line of trucks/trailers has been backed up since before I got here this morning.
I think you’ll enjoy listening to Bob and you can do so here:
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I’m here for the John Deere Drive Green Utility Tractor Show stop and am updating the show blog and of course there’s an event photo album.
This is rodeo action at its best. It’s the Ft. Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. I got checked in this afternoon in time for the matinee show. If I ever tried this I would wind up being a broken mess of bones. It sure provides a good opportunity to practice shooting photos in extreme conditions though.
I got checked in at the media center with some very nice people and am looking forward to an opportunity to interview show manager Brad Barnes tomorrow.
I’m just getting my bearings for the main activity that I’m here for which will start tomorrow. I just tested the great working wireless in the Watt Arena which will be the site of Wednesday evening’s Drive Green Utility Tractor Show.
Worksaver, Inc. will be exhibiting their new Worksaver Snow Blades at the National Farm Machinery Show at the Kentucky Exposition Center, Booth No. 3013 from Feb. 11-14, 2009.
The new snow blades for skid steers (SBS Series) and tractor loaders (SBFL Series) remove snow from driveways, parking lots or other large areas. The snow blades are able to angle left or right for easier use and feature a 90” width and 3/8” x 6” cutting edge of 1044 steel.
The Executive Director of the Sunbelt Ag Expo is Chip Blalock, seen here at the Southeastern Farmer of the Year luncheon. When I spoke to him he said, “We’ve had truly Chamber of Commerce type weather this week.” I echo that since it was sunny with a nice breeze all the time I was there.
I asked him to tell us a little about the history of the show, especially this unique location on an ex-military airfield. One of the things that has become increasingly important is the relationship with companies that are providing products and services to people who want to live the country life. He says that the rural lifestyle market is well served now at the show.
When it comes to marketing Chip says they depend heavily on their relationship with the media and all farm media. For example, when it comes to radio he says, “On the radio side, we work closely with Southeast AgNet. They cut a wide swath through Georgia, Florida and Alabama, what we call the deep southeast.” He mentions lots of specific media outlets and says there’s just too many to mention them all.
Listen to my interview with Chip here:
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I got an overview of Sunbelt Ag Expo today. By overview I mean from the control tower for this airport which was formerly a military airfield. I climbed up and took a few photos early today.
While I was up there I got out my FLIP (you can get them customized now) and shot a short video clip so you can see what it’s like. The old control tower makes a nice photo stand. I think we need to have one of these at all farm shows.
I’ve got a lot more for you from Sunbelt and will be posting them over the next couple days. The weather was “Chamber of Commerce” perfect today and probably will be on the closing day tomorrow.
It seems like having a web cloud over your farm show is the “in thing” now. This time it’s Sunbelt Ag Expo. That’s good to know because that’s where I’m heading tomorrow.
Sunbelt AG Expo 2008 exhibitors and visitors will be able to access the Internet, wirelessly, from anywhere on the show grounds for a 3rd consecutive year. After last year’s very popular and successful deployment of wireless Internet, Expo sponsors and Digitel will provide this service once again.
The 2008 Sunbelt AG Expo will host new and innovative wireless AG technologies powered by a recently deployed 180 mile wireless broadband ‘backbone’ that connects 5 rural counties in southwest Georgia. The rural broadband network is owned and operated by the South Georgia Regional Information Technology Authority (SGRita) and was built with the help of Digitel and Digitel Wireless. (For more information, go to www.sgrita.org)
I think this year’s Farm Science Review has had the best weather of any farm show I’ve ever attended. Of course they had to go through some nail-biting times just prior to the show when the remnants of Hurricane Ike blew through. In this week’s show I talk with show manager, Chuck Gamble. He says he’s all about promoting agriculture. In fact, he received one of the new Honorary Farm Broadcaster awards from ABN Radio on the opening day.
One of the new things at the show this year is the re-naming of Chemical Ave. to Conservation Ave. He says this was done “to honor (farmers) who I call the ultimate conservationists.”
Another new feature of the show is a “wireless internet cloud.” Chuck says that they didn’t have cable out to the show site but this year they laid in fiber optic and put up over 50 small towers around the exhibit area. It’s fast, reliable and everywhere. So besides us media types, exhibitors now have a new resource.
I’d love to see other farm shows adopt this type of infrastructure at their permanent sites.
The program this week ends with music from the Podsafe Music Network. Since I just attended a swine health seminar you get to listen to “Rocket Science” from Brain Buckit. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.
You can download and listen to the ZimmCast here: ZimmCast 187 (15 min MP3)
Or listen to this week’s ZimmCast right now:
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The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired which you can subscribe to using the link in our sidebar. You can also subscribe in iTunes
Another day, off to another farm show. After Cindy and I got in to St. Louis last night we re-grouped and re-packed. She’s going to be attending an event for Agrotain in St. Louis today while I’m on my way to Columbus, OH and the Farm Science Review.
I’ll get in early this afternoon and probably start posting later today. 2008 Features at a Glance
* This is the 46th Farm Science Review, the 26th at the Molly Caren Agricultural Center.
* Hundreds of demonstration plots and several million dollars worth of machinery.
* Nineteenth-year inductions into the Farm Science Review Hall of Fame.
* Ohio Farmer Conservation Awards; Thursday at 11:30.
* OSU Central, featuring demonstrations and displays from OSU colleges and departments.
* Lots of farm safety, home safety and health information.
* Global Positioning Systems (GPS) hands-on demonstrations in the demonstration fields.
* Expanded programs on conservation practices in the Gwynne Conservation Area.
* An arts and crafts exhibit tent.
* Permanent washroom facilities with diaper changing stations.
Field Demonstrations
Harvesting, strip-tilling, global positioning, and tillage demonstrations will take place every day. Check the schedule for demonstration times.
We expect to completely fill the commercial exhibit area this year, with about 600 exhibitors from all over North America in the Central Exhibit Area.
The potential for increasing yields exists everywhere if you ask Michael Doane. Michael is the Sustainability Team Lead for Monsanto. He spoke at the Monsanto discussion on sustainability on the 2008 Farm Progress Show last week. After his speech, I caught up with him and we spoke more about how he thinks the world will answer the global food demands of the future.
While Michael says a big portion of global food needs will be met in developing countries that have a huge potential for improving crop yields, he says there is still a lot of opportunity for increasing yields in the already yield-efficient U.S. Modern technology such as biotech, Michael says, means farmers in the U.S. still have a landscape that’s wide open with opportunity.
“If you just look at some of the yields that have been achieved in some very optimized conditions, it suggests that we’ve got a long ways to go before we’ve tapped yield potential [in the U.S.],” Michael said. (more…)
Thirty-three percent of the land’s surface is used for food production. That’s the figure that John Hoffman, Iowa farmer and President of the American Soybean Association puts out there. He says that 33 percent makes up 55 percent of the land that’s arable. So, we’re already using more than half the arable land out there to feed the world. Much of the rest, John points out, is mountainous, desert or protected forests and parks. In short, John is basically saying, ‘what we’re already using, is all we’ve got.’ Plus, he adds, we have to produce more… ‘with what we’ve got.’
“We’ve got to grow to feed double the amount of people on the same amount of arable land.,” John said. “We don’t want to encroach on fragile rainforests as Michael said or encroach on grasslands. So we need to find a way to do that. I think from my experience, my travels, my knowledge on my own farm, that the way we’re going to do that is unequivocally with biotechnology.”
Biotechnology, Hoffman says, is the answer for feeding the future and protecting our environment.
“We’ve got to feed that growing world,” John said. “We’ve got to step up to the plate and provide fuel, food, fiber, feed and I think American agriculture world agriculture will be able to do that and its through biotechnology.” (more…)
Commodity Classic took place in Anaheim, CA. You'll find all of Chuck, Cindy and Joanna's photos here.
Happy Ag Week
It's time to thank our farmers and ranchers for all their hard work to feed us.
In this week's program I interview Linda Tank, CHS, Inc., who is Chair of the Agriculture Council of America, the group coordinating National Ag Day. Learn more about their activities, especially this week in Washington, DC.
There are booths on the floor of three different buildings at the Iowa Power Farming Show. They’re also in the hallways. I stopped at this one to learn about the Monsanto sponsored 
You never know what you’ll run into at a farm show. In this case it’s the 
I enjoyed day one of the Iowa Power Farming Show. You’ve got to like a show that’s indoors when the day starts out at 14 degrees. Cindy will be attending next week’s National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville which is an indoor show too.
Ag Leader Technology has announced the 
I’m attending my first ever 
The 
Scott Speidel, research associate in breeding and genetics at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colo., was a recipient of the 2009 Frank H. Baker Memorial Scholarship Award. Speidel accepted the award from Robert Williams, Ph.D., director of breed improvement and foreign marketing for the American-International Charolais Association, Kansas City, Mo. A California native, Speidel holds a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science from California State University, Fresno; a master’s degree from the University of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz., and plans to complete his doctorage this fall at Colorado State University.
Lance D. Leachman, Christiansburg, Va., was also a recipient of the 2009 Frank H. Baker Memorial Scholarship Award. The award was presented by Robert Williams, Ph.D., director of breed improvement and foreign marketing, American-International Charolais Association, Kansas City, Mo., during the 41st Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) Research Symposium and Annual Meeting, April 30- May 3, 2009, in Sacramento, Calif. Leachman was born in Maidstone, Sask., Canada. He holds a bachelor of science degree in Animal Sciences and Industry with a business option from Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kan., and a master’s degree in Animal and Poultry Science – Breeding Genetics from Virginia Polytechnic State University (Virginia Tech), Blackburg, Va. Currently, Leachman is a graduate student at Virginia Tech.
The Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) named the 
For starters, the 
Last, but definitely not least, AG CONNECT Expo 2010 has been selected to be part of the U.S. 
The 
The President of the Ft. Worth Stock Show & Rodeo is Bob Watt. He also used to be the General Manager but that position is now being done by Brad Barnes who I hope to meet while I’m here.
This is rodeo action at its best. It’s the 
The Executive Director of the Sunbelt Ag Expo is Chip Blalock, seen here at the Southeastern Farmer of the Year luncheon. When I spoke to him he said, “We’ve had truly Chamber of Commerce type weather this week.” I echo that since it was sunny with a nice breeze all the time I was there.
I got an overview of Sunbelt Ag Expo today. By overview I mean from the control tower for this airport which was formerly a military airfield. I climbed up and took a few photos early today.
It seems like having a web cloud over your farm show is the “in thing” now. This time it’s 
I think this year’s Farm Science Review has had the best weather of any farm show I’ve ever attended. Of course they had to go through some nail-biting times just prior to the show when the remnants of Hurricane Ike blew through. In this week’s show I talk with show manager, Chuck Gamble. He says he’s all about promoting agriculture. In fact, he received one of the new Honorary Farm Broadcaster awards from ABN Radio on the opening day.
Another new feature of the show is a “wireless internet cloud.” Chuck says that they didn’t have cable out to the show site but this year they laid in fiber optic and put up over 50 small towers around the exhibit area. It’s fast, reliable and everywhere. So besides us media types, exhibitors now have a new resource. 
Another day, off to another farm show. After Cindy and I got in to St. Louis last night we re-grouped and re-packed. She’s going to be attending an event for Agrotain in St. Louis today while I’m on my way to Columbus, OH and the 
The potential for increasing yields exists everywhere if you ask Michael Doane. Michael is the Sustainability Team Lead for 
Thirty-three percent of the land’s surface is used for food production. That’s the figure that John Hoffman, Iowa farmer and President of the 
It's time to thank our farmers and ranchers for all their hard work to feed us.
