Category Archives: General

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  • Syngenta announced that, during the 2012 calendar year, ROGERS, Synergene Seed & Technology and Pybas Vegetable Seed Company brand varieties are being transitioned to the Syngenta brand.
  • The North American Equipment Dealers Association released its 2012 Dealer-Manufacturer Relations Survey and Kubota Tractor Corporation tops the charts across several key categories.
  • CP Bio Energy announced two new national programs for the management of discarded seed of all varieties, including treated seed, regulated seed, and any other seed types that create disposal challenges.
  • CAST presented prominent farm broadcaster Orion Samuelson, host of the “This Week In Agribusiness” TV show, its President’s award.

    GROWMARK Hosts French Cooperative

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    In the spirit of cooperation between cooperatives, Illinois-based GROWMARK hosted leaders from the French cooperative Terrena last week as part of a 12-day tour of United States agriculture.

    “We were approached by the tour leader about coordinating an exchange of ideas between the Terrena leadership and GROWMARK’s leadership,” said Chuck Spencer, GROWMARK director, Government Affairs. “Because our agricultural products compete in a global marketplace, we saw great value in having a discussion with our counterparts at Terrena to learn more about agricultural market conditions and ag supply and product infrastructure in the European Union, which will ultimately benefit our members.”

    The visitors from Terrena toured the Stone Ridge Dairy near Mansfield and One Earth Energy in Gibson City. Following the tours, a luncheon was served on a nearby farm and GROWMARK senior management and board members talked about cooperative structure and governance. Dr. Aslihan Spaulding of Illinois State University also shared her research on food trends with the group.

    “One of the questions we were asked was our view of cooperatives here in the United States, and we certainly see a strong need and role for cooperative businesses, especially in agriculture,” said Rick Nelson, GROWMARK vice chairman of the board. “Terrena has the same view, and we definitely had a connection with them in recognizing the services cooperatives provide to farmers.”

    Terrena serves more than 22,000 farmers in France. Its business units include grains, livestock, viticulture, and horticulture. It also supplies meat, dairy, and wine products to market under several private brands.

    Thanks to GROWMARK’s Karen Jones for providing us with the story and photos!

    Fastline Publications Inc. Hires Susan Arterburn as Marketing Manager

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    Fastline Publications Inc. is proud to welcome Susan Arterburn as the newest addition to the company. Susan will take over the duties as Marketing Manager, overseeing the marketing team that develops and creates marketing materials geared toward readers and advertisers of Fastline.

    Susan Arterburn joins Fastline with eight years’ experience in advertising and marketing, most recently as Account Supervisor at Finelight Marketing Agency in Louisville, Ky. Before that, Susan was an Account Executive at BOHAN Advertising in Nashville, Tenn. Her marketing career began with a BA in Advertising from Western Kentucky University.

    Moon Shots

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    The SuperMoon tonight made me think of these lyrics. Honk if you know the 5th Dimension and remember them.

    When the moon is in the Seventh House
    And Jupiter aligns with Mars
    Then peace will guide the planets
    And love will steer the stars

    The clouds cleared out just in time for tonight’s Cinco de Mayo moon event here in the new home of ZimmComm New Media. If we’re friends on Facebook you can find a few more here. If not then I hope you remembered to look.

    How Are You Controlling Resistant Weeds?

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    Our first BASF Production Poll is in the can and it was no surprise to find that growers are overwhelmingly optimistic about the 2012 growing season.

    According to the poll:
    65% of farmers think things are looking up this year.
    29% say it’s about the same
    Just 6% think this year will be worse and that winter did their fields no favors

    With planting now well underway and ahead of normal, we are definitely hearing that weed resistance is a major concern this year – all over the country now. Each year the problem is getting more challenging, so we want to know – how are you controlling resistant weed on your farm this year?


    NAMP and NMA Unveil Logo for New Association

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    The executive committees of the North American Meat Processors Association and the National Meat Association met last week in Washington, DC, for two days to continue working out the logistics of bringing together the two organizations under the banner of the North American Meat Association (NAMA).

    They agreed everything is on track to complete the consolidation by the target date of July 1, 2012.

    The map image emphasizes that its membership and scope of work is North American. The three-word tag line highlights what it offers members.

    One of the first tangible results will be a new NAMA Membership Directory delivered to all members by the start date. There will be a strategic planning session during the summer months, and the combined committees from the two associations will continue working on critical issues for the industry and the new association.

    The two executive committees also confirmed a first year of major events for the new association and other events popular with each group over the years.

    Meet America’s Farmers

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    You can meet a lot of America’s farmers right here on AgWired if you follow along regularly. But if you’d like to meet a whole lot of them very quickly then you might want to look at the the new YouTube Channel from the Center for Food Inegrity called “Meet America’s Farmers.”

    The channel was developed to offer consumers the opportunity to observe the commitment of today’s farmers to raising safe, healthy and affordable food.

    Now, individual farmers and farm organizations are invited to create their own videos for the channel, using a shared values approach to connect with consumers. The goal is to create a variety of videos featuring America’s farmers, allowing them to share their stories and “open their farms” to consumers who are interested in better understanding how their food is raised.

    CFI research indicates early adopting consumers want more information about how food is grown on the farm. Consumers who participated in the research specified videos hosted by farmers would be highly useful and help build their confidence and trust in today’s farming. Creating this new channel greatly expands the number of consumers exposed to the farm through such videos. The 146 videos currently on the channel feature 79 different farmers from 12 states and 16 commodity groups and were shot and produced for use during Farmers Feed US programs over the past three years.

    CFI has also written guidelines to provide farmers with criteria for developing their own videos, which can be found on CFI’s Farmer Resource Center (www.cfiengage.com). CFI will also furnish Flip cameras and support to individual farmers interested in shooting their own videos.

    Those interested in more information about how they can contribute to the “Meet America’s Farmers” YouTube channel can contact Mark Crouser at Mark.Crouser@foodintegrity.org.

    I picked out one of the videos on the channel that features our good friend, Andrew McCrea. Here’s what he says about farming.

    The best thing about being a farmer: Being around family, bringing kids with you in the combine or tractor and giving them rides on the horse, and living in the country. It’s hard work, but a good living.

    So what do you think about this effort?

    MustangRed Communications Announced

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    Our friend Sally has just announced her new business, MustangRed Communications. Go Like her on Facebook.

    Greetings friends! I’m excited to announce the launch of my new company, MustangRED Communications! MustangRED consists of myself and my large network of agribusiness marketing communications specialists, including graphic designers, Web developers, media experts, trade show exhibit and materials vendors and many others.

    MustangRED will offer a wide variety of marketing and communications services for agribusiness, including strategic planning, public and media relations, trade show and event marketing, crisis planning and management, issues management and social media monitoring, strategy and management.

    The MustangRED network offers expertise in the areas of agricultural chemical, animal health (including swine, poultry, beef, equine and pet), agricultural equipment, fertilizer, seed/biotech and many other agricultural market segments.

    In addition to a wide array of marketing communications services, MustangRED will also provide a robust selection of communications training courses, including:

    Media relations and effective interview techniques
    Optimizing trade show booth staff efficacy
    Crisis management
    Issues management
    Social media policy development for business
    Evaluating the ROI of social media

    To learn more about the products and services that MustangRED Communications can provide, contact me at sally@mustangred.com or via telephone at (785) 218-9759. Or, if you’ll be at the National AgriMarketing Conference next week, say “Hi!” and I’ll be happy to tell you all about it!

    Thank you for your support!
    Sally Behringer
    President and CEO
    MustangRED Communications

    Fast Stop General Store More than Convenience

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    If you want to fill up with E85, get your propane tank refilled, grab some food for your llama and new Muck boots for spring field work, satisfy your sweet tooth with bulk candy, pick up some locally produced noodles and Fluffy Burgers for dinner, enjoy some Champ’s chicken for lunch, order a new garage door, and maybe bring your truck around back to the diesel pump – then the Fast Stop General Store in Effingham, Illinois is the place for you.

    Operated by South Central FS, the Fast Stop General Store has something for everyone, according to store manager Bryan Dahnke. “We’ve tried to make this a destination for people, because they can get gas anywhere, they can get a candy bar anywhere, you can’t Illinois homegrown products anywhere,” Bryan told me when we stopped by the store on a GROWMARK media tour last week.

    It is definitely a destination stop. Over 100 locally produced products line the front wall of the store including jellies, jams, salsa, noodles, and candles, with more in the freezer like the Matoon, Illinois trademarked Fluffy Burgers and other local meats. In the feed section you can get food for every animal from dogs and cats, to hogs and cattle, to rabbits and llamas. Along the back wall is the garage door display. “As part of South Central, we own Altamont Overhead Garage Doors, and that’s a good business for us,” Bryan said. In addition, they have grain handling and diesel truck facilities in the back of the store.

    Bryan says the general store concept has worked very well for them. “From year one to year two, we increased about 30-35% in inside sales and about 30% in fuel and this year we’re still running about another 15% on fuel sales and another 35% on inside sales,” he said.

    Listen to an interview with Bryan here and watch a video of the store below: Interview with Bryan Dahnke

    GROWMARK Legislative Priorities

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    GROWMARK government affairs director Chuck Spencer shared some of the agricultural cooperative’s top legislative priorities on both the state and national level during the media day tour this week.

    Chuck and other GROWMARK representatives participated in the Ag Day event Wednesday at the Illinois state capitol to talk with legislators about some of those priorities. “Obviously everyone in Illinois is very concerned about budget, the cost of operations, consistency of policies, predictability of regulation in our business climate,” Chuck says. “We are seeing agriculture in the very fortunate position of being able to grow in this economy. We want to continue to do so.”

    Chuck says a specific priority on the state level is the “Keep it for the Crop” (KIC) by 2025 campaign, a legislative initiative that has passed the Illinois House and is moving through the Senate. “What is important about that is that it’s going to provide additional research dollars for stewardship programs,” in watersheds, nutrient movement, and maximizing efficiency, productivity and profitability.

    National priorities include the farm bill, of course, but also issues related to pesticide application permitting (HR872), transportation (limited exemption for hours of service for agriculture) and renewal of the Pesticide Registration and Improvement Act.

    Listen to my interview with Chuck Spencer here: GROWMARK's Chuck Spencer

    Ag Groups Want FCC to Pull LightSquared Waiver

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    More than a dozen agricultural organizations are urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to withdraw the conditional waiver granted to LightSquared in 2011 and modify the company’s satellite license to prohibit the building of a ground-based network.

    “We urge the FCC to adopt both proposals because of the overwhelming evidence that LightSquared’s proposed ground-based network would cause severe interference to virtually all uses of GPS,” the groups’ stated in a comment letter to the FCC. “High-precision GPS technology is vitally important to American agriculture, and would be gravely harmed by LightSquared’s plans.”

    The letter was signed by the American Farm Bureau Federation, American Soybean Association, American Sugar Cane League, Association of Equipment Manufacturers, National Association of Wheat Growers, National Barley Growers Association, National Corn Growers Association, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, National Potato Council, National Sunflower Association, US Canola Association, USA Dry Pea & Lentil Council, and the USA Rice Federation.

    Last month, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) determined this week that the LightSquared plan to build a nationwide 4G broadband network will indeed impact “both general/personal navigation and certified aviation GPS receivers.” As a result of that finding, the FCC was expected to revoked the conditional waiver which was granted last year.

    The groups added that they remain strong supporters of expanded broadband access in rural America. “However, expanded broadband access cannot come at the expense of degraded access to high precision GPS for U.S. farmers.”

    2012 Conservation in Action Tour

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    The Conservation Technology Information Center has announced their 2012 Conservation in Action Tour and it’s going to be done “southern style.” At Commodity Classic I spoke with Karen Scanlon, CTIC Executive Director about this year’s program. I’ll be there again this year thanks to support from CTIC and AGROTAIN. Here’s information on the tour which is open for registration now.

    Join us May 31, 2012, as we visit the Mississippi Delta region near Tunica, Miss. The Tour promises educational field visits, technology demonstrations and opportunities to speak directly with growers about their on-farm solutions to natural resources issues.

    The Mississippi Delta is one of the largest contiguous coastal ecosystems in North America, boasting both ecological and economic value. The Delta hosts the United States’ largest fishery, by weight, and its port activity rivals those worldwide. The region also generates a significant portion of the United States’ energy and provides critical wildlife habitat.

    Natural resource issues include soil erosion, water quality and habitat loss. Human activity destroyed about a fourth of the region’s beneficial wetlands. A Louisiana State University study reports that wetlands will disappear during this century if losses continue at the present rate.

    CTIC partners with Delta Farmers Advocating Resource Management (Delta F.A.R.M.) to host the Conservation In Action Tour 2012. Delta F.A.R.M., an association of growers and landowners who strive to implement recognized agricultural practices that will conserve, restore and enhance the Northwest Mississippi environment, recently celebrated 1 million acres enrolled in its conservation programs.

    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

    Coverage of the 2012 Commodity Classic Show is sponsored by BASF and New Holland

    Farm Bureau Members Donate to Hunger Program

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    The Farm Bureau “Harvest for All” program continued to grow in service to hungry Americans in 2011.

    The farm and ranch families of Farm Bureau last year raised more than $556,273 and donated more than 10 million pounds of food to the program operated through Feeding America, a total of nearly 13 million meals. In addition, farmers and ranchers tallied 10,159 volunteer hours assisting hunger groups through Harvest for All in 2011.

    Members of Farm Bureau’s Young Farmers & Ranchers program spearhead Harvest for All across the country, but all facets of Farm Bureau contribute to the effort. For the first time, 20 state Farm Bureaus heeded the call to action. The joint effort between Farm Bureau and Feeding America is a national community action program through which farmers and ranchers can help ensure every American enjoys the bounty they produce.

    Since Harvest for All was launched nine years ago, Farm Bureau families have gathered more than 49 million pounds of food, logged nearly 60,000 volunteer hours and raised more than $1.8 million in donations. Combined, the food and money donations amount to more than 55 million meals.

    NCGA Has Missouri Corn Membership Machine

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    Missouri Corn Growers president Billy Thiel is a membership machine for the National Corn Growers Association.

    During the NCGA Awards banquet at the 2012 Commodity Classic, Billy became the 17th member of the Walter Goeppinger Recruiter Hall of Fame, an honor which comes with a classy new blazer.

    Billy led the way in recruiting new members for the NCGA in 2011, adding 811 Missouri corn growers and helping to push NCGA to a record membership of 37,l30. He also helped Missouri Corn get first place for both the largest number of new members and the largest percentage increase for the year.

    Billy is pictured here in the center between Mickey Peterson of Minnesota, one of the first Hall of Famers, and NCGA president Garry Niemeyer.

    2012 Commodity Classic Photo Album

    Coverage of the 2012 Commodity Classic Show is sponsored by BASF and New Holland

    Commodity Classic Already Shatters Attendance Records

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    commodity classicThe 2012 Commodity Classic is still two weeks away, but the annual meeting of corn, soybean, wheat and sorghum growers has already shattered attendance records.

    Last year, total attendance set a record of 4,826 show participants. This year, registrations for the 17th annual event have already surpassed the 5,000 mark with two more weeks left until onsite registration opens.

    commodity classic“We are thrilled that more and more growers and industry professionals recognize the value of attending Commodity Classic,” said Commodity Classic co-chair Martin Barbre. “Agriculture is both an exciting and challenging way of life. Because Commodity Classic addresses farming from a grower’s perspective, attendees find they can take information they’ve gathered from the show and put what’s practical for their operations into the field.”

    More farm families, first-time attendees and agribusiness representatives will be at Commodity Classic than ever before. To celebrate the record breaking attendance, Commodity Classic’s 5,000th registrant, Kirk Zinkievich from Medina, N.Y., received a complimentary registration.

    If you want to be part of the record-setting 2012 Commodity Classic March 1-3 in Nashville, visit www.commodityclassic.com.

    CME Fund to Protect Cattlemen is a Start

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    One of the touchiest topics for cattle producers at the recent Cattle Industry Convention was last year’s bankruptcy of MF Global, which cost many of them money they have yet to get back. CME Group Inc. is attempting to address producers’ concerns by establishing a $100 million fund to protect farmers and ranchers who utilize the exchange.

    CME chief operating officer Bryan Durkin told cattlemen at the meeting that that MF Global found a way to manipulate a system that has been working flawlessly for 75 years and that CME felt an “inherent” responsibility to help their customers. “We are in unchartered territory,” said Durkin. “There are a lot of facts that still need to be sorted out. We took an important first step for farmers and ranchers.”

    However, the fund will not help former MF Global customers who haven’t received all their money as a result of the bankruptcy, with an estimated $1.2 billion shortfall in customer segregated accounts.

    Durkin said customers with accounts in the United States have received about 72 cents on the dollar. Under the new fund, farmers and ranchers will be eligible to receive up to $25,000 per account if they lose money resulting from the bankruptcy of a clearing member. Durkin said farming and ranching cooperatives will be eligible for up to $100,000 per cooperative. He said if losses are more than $100 million, those customers will be eligible for a pro-rate share of the fund up to $100 million.

    Durkin said doing everything possible to prevent a repeat of MF Global is top priority for CME.

    “All viable solutions should be explored. We understand the significant risk you face every day,” said Durkin to the room full of cattlemen and women. “It is our responsibility to restore your confidence. We will work with industry groups including the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) to explore options to give farmers and ranchers more protection.”

    NCBA Vice President of Government Affairs Colin Woodall said the action taken by CME represents a good first step and speaks volumes for CME’s commitment to protect their customers.

    Majority of Corn Yield Contest Winners Use BASF

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    Last year was a challenging year for corn growers, but the winners in the 2011 National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) National Corn Yield Contest proved that good yields are still possible with good crop protection.

    Nearly two-thirds (61%) of the winners for last year’s growing season used a BASF Crop Protection product to achieve their outstanding yields, according to the folks at BASF Crop Protection. They report that half of the 18 national winners applied Headline® fungicide or Headline AMP™ fungicide to their winning cornfields, and contest winners also used other BASF crop protection products including Guardsman Max® herbicide and Status® herbicide.

    BASFIn the national 2011 NCGA Yield Contest, BASF Crop Protection products helped to capture three first-place finishes, four second-place finishes and three third-place finishes. Headline AMP was overwhelmingly the fungicide of choice, helping yield four of the top five overall national winners.

    For the third consecutive year, David Hula of Charles City, Virginia, had the highest overall yield. By producing 429.02 bushels per acre (bu/A), Hula’s winning fields more than doubled the national yield average. Hula utilized Headline AMP on his winning cornfields.

    “I’ve used Headline on my winning yields for the past two years. This year I used Headline AMP, which includes the same active ingredient as Headline fungicide but with an added triazole, and my corn looked better than ever,” Hula said. “Each year, BASF fungicides prove an ability to fight disease, provide Plant Health benefits and help maximize yields. There are a lot of things when you’re growing corn that aren’t predictable, but the fungicides from BASF always provide consistent reliability.”

    Winners in the contest will be recognized on Friday, March 2, at the National Corn Yield Contest State Award Winners Breakfast during the 2012 Commodity Classic in Nashville.

    The Environmental Footprint of Cotton

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    At the 2012 Beltwide Cotton Conferences the media received a preview of the Cotton Life Cycle Inventory & Life Cycle Assessment. This is a benchmark study for cotton sustainability.

    Cotton Incorporated announced today the completion of a comprehensive life cycle inventory and life cycle analysis of cotton products. The endeavor is part of the Cotton Foundation VISION 21 Project and included the participation of the National Cotton Council, Cotton Council International and Cotton Incorporated. The two-year study, managed by PE International, was designed to establish current and accurate benchmarks of potential environmental impacts across the global cotton supply chain. The peer-reviewed data and assessment methodology will help direct sustainability research efforts for the cotton industry, as well as to aid textile decision-makers in achieving their own sustainability goals.

    To learn more about the study I spoke with our presenter, J. Berrye Worsham, President/CEO, Cotton, Inc. He says they wanted to have a sense of the environmental footprint of cotton from “cradle to grave.” That’s what this study has accomplished and the results can be found on their website. Berrye says the study is now a tool for the industry since there are companies conducting their own life cycle assessments. As a benchmark, it will be valuable for making comparisons when it is done again in a few years. The study found ways that the industry and even consumers can improve the footprint of cotton. In the case of consumers an example would be doing more cold water washing and less use of dryers to dry clothes. You can hear more about the study in my interview with Berrye: Interview with Berrye Worsham

    I’ve also got a photo album started from the conference: 2012 Beltwide Cotton Conferences Photo Album

    AgWired coverage of 2012 Beltwide Cotton Conference is sponsored by

    Best of 2011 on AgWired

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    2011 is winding to a close and we are counting our blessings here on AgWired

    Traffic was up nearly 8% on Agwired this year to a grand total of just about 198,000 unique visitors – we should break 200,000 pretty easily in 2012. We had a total of 1790 posts this year, including more than 600 with audio. We posted over 17,000 photos on Flickr and 121 videos on YouTube that were viewed over 111,000 times.

    The most viewed photo album this year was Farm Progress Show at nearly 7200, followed by National Biodiesel Conference, Sturgis, NAMA, and AGCONNECT Expo which are all around 4-5,000.

    The most popular YouTube video of the year was the unveiling of the John Deere Subcompact 1 Series at National Farm Machinery Show, which has been viewed nearly 39,000 times. Four videos from the John Deere new product launch were viewed collectively over 40,000 times and the unveiling of the New Holland skid steer at NFMS was viewed nearly 16,200 times so far. Other popular videos included the Mike Rowe press conference at the American Farm Bureau annual meeting, ethanol at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, and choppers opening the 2011 Farm Progress Show.

    Most popular ZimmCasts of the year were Humane Farm Animal Care; Beltway Beef; Irish Agriculture Journalism, Precision Earth and Gibbs & Soell.

    According to page views, the most popular stories of the year on AgWired were:
    iPhone vs Android
    Thanksgiving Dinner Still a Bargain
    John Deere product launch
    NAFB president killed
    Becks Hybrid choppers
    Ron Paul tops ZimmPoll
    Remembering Derry Brownfield
    New Holland Construction Introduction
    GIPSA dominates Senate hearing

    Our greatest blessings are too numerous to count – our readers, our sponsors and clients, our freelancers and other friends who make every day of the year wonderful! Best wishes to all for a healthy, happy, prosperous and blessed new year!