Monsanto Mitigates Crop Stress

Chuck Zimmerman

Shannon HaufGetting more corn yield per acre was the theme of an interview I did with Shannon Hauf, Monsanto Area Technology Development Manager for Minnesota and Iowa. Shannon was attending a Monsanto Technology Showcase Tour event in Elkhart, IA.

I got to speak with her after listening to a field stop that was all about “stress mitigation.” Shannon says that about three years ago during drought conditions in Illinois, farmers who had planted Monsanto’s YieldGard Rootworm technology were getting yield increases that were two to three times better than what Monsanto had anticipated. So in the following years she says they’ve been doing a series of stress mitigation trials. Those are now being done with the YieldGard VT Triple technology. In plots like the ones we were able to see, you can physically see the difference on the plants themselves.

Simulating drought here on the farm for this tour stop was accomplished by using a tent that allows light to pass through but not rainfall.. . The purpose of the stress mitigation tent is to determine how biotech traits help protect the corn plants from dry weather and other stresses. I can vouch for the fact that the drought-applied plants looked just as healthy as those that received plenty of moisture. Shannon says they monitor conditions below the ground using soil moisture probes and those show that the root structure for the YieldGard VT Triple plants under stress is significantly deeper than the conventional corn hybrids.

She finds it very interesting that this stress mitigation benefit is an “added value” to the technology that was originally developed to assist with weed control and to control pests.

One other thing that Shannon wants growers to consider to increase corn yield is planting more plants per acre. Because advances in germplasm and traits enable corn plants to tolerate higher plant densities, she says a 10 percent increase in plant populations per acre is recommended which will put “more ears on that acre.”

You can listen to my interview with Shannon here: monsanto-tech-showcase-hauf.mp3

Monsanto Technology Showcase Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, Corn, Research

Advice For Iowa Corn & Soybean Growers

Chuck Zimmerman

Palle PedersonAfter a hearty lunch at the Monsanto Technology Showcase tour stop in Elkhart, IA, last week, growers got to hear from Palle Pederson, Iowa State University Soybean Extension Agronomist. Palle’s work focuses on soybean yields and profitability for growers.

Palle says the field day concept is a nice opportunity for growers to see new technology on display before they need to use it. I spoke with him before his presentation in which he decided to focus on what happened early in the season and what’s going on right now. He also intended to tell growers what they can expect for the rest of the season.

I asked him what he thought about crop conditions across Iowa. He said, “I don’t believe we have that good of crops as people are talking about. I don’t see it in either soybeans or corn.” He says the best crop conditions are in the northwest part of the state. Palle says the current cool weather isn’t helping growing conditions since they’re already 110 to 140 growing units behind a normal year. So part of his message to growers is, “We can’t increase yields right now but we can protect what we have.”

He recommends that growers get out and scout their fields since aphids are showing up in many areas. He believes that at this point, scouting is what it’s all about.

You can listen to my interview with Palle here: monsanto-tech-showcase-pederson.mp3

Monsanto Technology Showcase Photo Album

Audio, Corn, Soybean

Obligatory AgriTalk Post

Cindy Zimmerman

AgriTalk at ACEWe put AgriTalk on AgWired so often you would think they paid us!

They don’t – but, who knows? Maybe someday they will.

Here is Mr. AgriTalk – Mike Adams – interviewing American Coalition for Ethanol executive vice president Brian Jennings live on the trade show floor at the 21st Ethanol Conference and Trade Show in Omaha on Wednesday. Mike says they have been doing the “state fair” circuit lately – making stops in Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, etc.


See the ACE 2008 Photo Album here

Uncategorized

Live Blogging AgNite at the RNC

Chuck Zimmerman

Ag NiteI just found out that I’ll be live blogging AgNite during the Republican National Convention. This is going to be very cool and a lot of fun. There’s an impressive list of companies and organizations already supporting this opportunity to showcase American agriculture to a national audience.

You can count on seeing some live video via AgWired Live TV and lots of photos and interviews. My coverage will be sponsored by the Minnesota Agri-Growth Council and AgStar Financial Services. I’m betting some additional sponsors will come on board too. If you’re interested please contact the Minnesota Agri-Growth Council.

Now that I’m going to be in Minneapolis for the convention, I’m working on media credentials for the RNC itself. This is proving to be a challenge but one I’m certainly going to continue to work on. If I’m going to be there early in the week I think it would be great to stay longer and find interesting stories about rural America and agriculture.

My coverage is planned for AgWired and Domestic Fuel primarily but I’m sure I’ll find content we can use in a variety of other outlets we contribute to as well.

I’ve just started working with the Minnesota Agri-Growth Council on logistics for the venue that AgNite will held at (The Depot) but assuming I can get credentialed for the RNC, here’s what their venue looks like (Xcel Energy Center):

Ag Groups, Agribusiness, Farm Policy, ZimmComm Announcement

NAMA Boot Camp Chairman Says Biggest Ever

Chuck Zimmerman

Matt ConiglioAccording to NAMA Boot Camp committee chairman, Matt Coniglio, Fastline, this year’s event has the highest attendance since it was started 5 years ago. He says there are quite a few non-members and the attendees are with a very diverse group of companies and organizations. I know I spoke with several last night who are getting their first look at NAMA.

This year’s program features a producer panel which is kind of a mainstay element of the program. It’s taking place right now and I’ll have an interview with one of them posted later.

Matt says the committee that put this program together has for the most part been the same members for a couple of years now. He says they make a great team and that it’s a real team effort putting this event together. Matt would like to see the program be a great learning experience for more than just newcomers to agricultural marketing.

You can listen to the conversation I had with Matt over coffee this morning here: nama-boot-camp-08-coniglio.mp3

Check out the NAMA Boot Camp Photo Album.

Audio, NAMA

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • DuPont has been awarded a 2008 R&D 100 Award for DuPont Rynaxypyr, an advanced insect control product that optimizes a grower’s potential to produce high-quality, high-yielding crops. Rynaxypyr was one of 100 new products chosen by Research & Development magazine as the most innovative products introduced in 2008.
  • United Egg Producers has unveiled a new Web site that gives consumers the chance to become educated shoppers and learn more about modern egg farming. In its new user-friendly format, the site serves as an informative and educational resource for consumers and those who make egg purchasing decisions. The site also enables visitors to search expanded sections that offer in-depth, behind-the-scenes information about egg farming, its history and safety guidelines.
  • Interested readers can follow Alltech’s efforts to fight HIV/AIDS by visiting the blog site. Dr. Kate Jacques, Director of Nutrition at Alltech, and former nurse Mrs. Liz Frank, journeyed to Africa two years ago to champion the cause of nutrition’s impact on HIV/AIDS. On July 28, 2008, they returned to Africa to continue their efforts. The blog will highlight their experiences with different clinicians and societal organizations that partake in the care and treatment of people with HIV/AIDS. This blog is part of a continued effort to investigate how Alltech’s organic selenium Sel-Plex is making an impact on HIV/AIDS.
    Zimfo Bytes

    ACE Fueling Revolution Conference

    Cindy Zimmerman

    “Fueling Revolution” is the theme of the 21st Ethanol Conference & Trade Show which kicked off Tuesday in Omaha at the Qwest Center. The event is the big show of the year for the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE).

    ACE 1The conference is expected to draw more than 1,200 attendees, with more than 200 companies represented at the trade show. Topics that will be covered during sessions over the next two days include ethanol blender pumps and mid-range blends, innovations in corn ethanol, cellulosic ethanol commercialization and feedstock logistics, and much more.

    I am here in Omaha to blog the event today on Domestic Fuel and also the Renewable Fuels Association‘s blog Good Fuels, but ACE has also developed a new blog to follow the convention proceedings – at ethanol.typepad.org. Check it out!


    See the ACE 2008 Photo Album here

    Ethanol

    NAMA Speed Networking

    Chuck Zimmerman

    NAMA Boot CampNAMA Boot Campers got connected tonight during the opening Speed Networking session. After a few remarks it was time to get things moving. Networking with other people in agrimarketing is probably one of the greatest benefits of belonging to NAMA in my opinion. So, what we had people do was talk to each other and see how much they could learn in 3 minutes before switching to another table.

    Let’s just say this was a livelier and noisier session than listening to some old agriblogger talk with a bunch of slides. If you’d like to see what it was like then here you go:

    Of course there’s a NAMA Boot Camp Photo Album.

    NAMA, Video

    NAMA Boot Camp Underway

    Chuck Zimmerman

    NAMA Boot CampNAMA Boot Camp has started here in KC, MO. There was a sold out tour today which I didn’t get to participate in.

    I’m getting ready to head down to the opening reception that we’re (ZimmComm) sponsoring. I’ll be emceeing our Networking session tonight and you can count on the fact that the participants will hear about online social networking. I’ve got some fresh numbers on the AgWired community for example. If you look at my Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Flickr, YouTube, ZimmNews, AgWired Mobile, ZimmCast, AgWired RSS subs, then I can safely say that I’m connecting with almost 5,000 people each month. Now some of them are monthly and some are daily or even more often. That doesn’t count the approximately 15,000 unique monthly visitors to AgWired either!

    This didn’t happen overnight and obviously there are people in the community that get different types of communication. But all in all, I dare say it’s a pretty impressive group. At least I think you are.

    So, If you’d like to promote your brand to this agribusiness marketing community then let me know how we can work together to get that done.

    NAMA