The Winner and Still Champion

Cindy Zimmerman

Soybean 1Missouri soybean grower Kip Cullers beat his own world record by 15 bushels this season to once again claim the title of soybean champion. Cullers produced an outstanding 154.7 bushels per acre on his southwestern Missouri operation, compared to last year’s 139.9 bushels and he believes he could do even better.

“200, 250 – it’s totally possible. The genetics are there, we just need to figure out how to do it,” Kip said.

The average yield per acre in Missouri last year was 38 bushels per acre. “So, as you can tell, Kip’s doing a little bit better than that,” said Missouri Soybean Association executive director Dale Ludwig.

Cullers was honored by Missouri Governor Matt Blunt who made the official announcement during a media event at the Missouri Soybean Association office in Jefferson City. He called Kip the “Babe Ruth” of soybean producers.

Soybean 2“Kip is setting records because he knows his business as well as anyone and works diligently to cultivate not just high yields, but record-breaking yields,” the governor said.

Cullers credited his success to a soybean dream team of professionals who helped him with his contest plots, including experts from Pioneer and BASF. He accomplished his record-breaking production by planting Pioneer® 94M80 soybeans on an irrigated and conventionally-tilled field and he used BASF Headline fungicide to protect against disease pressure. He also used Syngenta Warrior insecticide, Optimize technology from EMD Crop Bioscience, and a Monosem twin row planter.

Listen to Blunt’s announcement here:
soybean-winner-blunt.mp3

Listen to some of Kip’s remarks here:
soybean-winner-kip.mp3

Audio, BASF, Pioneer, Soybean, Syngenta

E Premium Pride

Laura McNamara

Paul Leathem, Manager of John Deere Advertising in Africa, Europe and the Middle EastJohn Deere’s E Premium Series tractors are the first designs to introduce an electrical power network for operating tractors. The new electrically powered generator produces up to 20 kW of electric power at an engine speed of 1800 rpm. In an earlier post, I detailed just how this new electric power system works. But, our group of reporters traveling with John Deere spoke with Paul Leathem, the manager of John Deere Advertising in Africa, Europe and the Middle East, at Agritechnica to get a little more insight on this technology.

You can listen to Paul here:

Leathem_Paul002a.mp3

Agritechnica 2007 Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, Equipment, Farm Shows, Farming, International, John Deere, Technology, Tractor

Agritechnica Creates Company-Consumer Dialouge for John Deere

Laura McNamara

EPIC educational forum on E85 It’s not ALL about showing off at the world’s largest farm machinery show. At least, not for John Deere. Sure, the event is a forum meant to showcase products from competitors throughout Europe. But for one of two presidents of the John Deere worldwide agricultural operations, Mark von Pentz, Agritechnica also gives companies like John Deere the chance to hear first-hand from their consumers and learn about what they like and dislike, what they want, or what they need. And, in my interview with Mark, we also discussed how what farmers want in the European market varies from what they typically want in North America.

You can listen to my interview with Mark here:

Mark_Von_Penz001.mp3

Agritechnica 2007 Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, Farm Shows, Farming, International, John Deere, Technology

New Look for John Deere at Agritechnica 2008

Laura McNamara

EPIC educational forum on E85 The preview days for Agritechnica 2007 suggest that John Deere is going to be rather busy at the event this year. Typically, the preview days are reserved for media, honored guests and participants who don’t mind paying triple the normal entrance fee. But, the high-dollar tickets didn’t manage to keep a steady crowd away from John Deere’s revamped exhibit. Dr. Oliver Neumann, the manager of public relations in John Deere’s European market, says the early crowd has a lot to do with John Deere’s new look, it’s new approach to consumer education on precision technology and, of course, it’s gold medal winning E Premium series 7430 and 7530 tractors.

I spoke with Oliver and he gave me a brief introduction to what Agritechnica visitors will find this year at the John Deere exhibit. You can listen to my interview with John here:

Dr_Oliver_Neumann001.mp3

I’ll be posting more specified information on the John Deere exhibit and on other popular North American farm machinery companies soon.

Agritechnica 2007 Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, Farming, John Deere, Precision Agriculture, Technology, Tractor

Farm-City Week Kicks Off Friday

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCast-145 - Al Pell and Farm City WeekIt’s time to thank our farmers and ranchers as National Farm-City Week kicks off on Friday. The National Farm-City Council has been organizing this event since the late 1950’s according to this year’s Chairman, Al Pell, AgDay TV.

I spoke with Al at the National Farm-City Week Kickoff Luncheon last week. He talks about the organization and why they hold an annual luncheon. Al says that Farm-City Week was started to help young people understand where their food comes from.

You can download and listen to the ZimmCast here: Listen To ZimmCastZimmCast 145 (11 min MP3)

Or listen to this week’s ZimmCast right now:zimmcast145-11-12-07.mp3

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

Ag Groups, Audio, ZimmCast

Zimfo Bites

Melissa Sandfort

  • Join us Monday, Nov. 19, 2007 for the ”NEIGHBOR FRIENDLY FARMING” program at the Illini Center, campus of UIUC in Illinois. Registration begins at 11:30. Julie Maschoff, co-owner of The Maschhoffs Inc., a network of over 250 independent family farmers working together to create environmentally responsible pork operations, will lead the program. Learn about the Maschhoff family’s approach to building a successful business model in the pork industry. Reservations due by Thursday, Nov. 15.
  • The success of biofuels such as ethanol and soy biodiesel has led to changes in feedstock supplies. Many livestock and poultry producers have had to consult with animal nutritionists to address these changes and incorporate biofuels’ byproducts into their feed formulations. Despite these changes, one ingredient remains consistent – soybean meal. The soybean checkoff is working with nutritionists to ensure that soybean meal remains the leading protein source for animal feed. Click here for information on the soybean checkoff’s research on soybean meal in livestock and poultry diets.
  • Andreas Tornblom, spokesman for Taiwan-based Viscotec-U.S., Inc., has announced the lease of an 80,000 square foot plant in Tulare, Calif., in order to recycle agricultural plastics beginning in January 2008. The plant will initially employ 30 residents but hopes to expand to a second and possibly a third line within the first 24 months of operation increasing possible employment to 50.
  • Novus International, Inc., announced an agreement with Martek Biosciences Corporation wherein Novus will be the exclusive worldwide distributor for Martek’s DHA Gold® in all poultry and swine feed and enrichment applications. DHA Gold® animal feed ingredient is a dried, whole-cell algae product used to provide DHA enrichment for animals.
  • The National Corn Growers Association and BASF Corporation have joined forces to award five $1,000 scholarships annually to deserving undergraduate and graduate students pursuing a degree in an agriculture-related field. Applicants for the NCGA Academic Excellence in Agriculture Scholarship Program must be entering at least their second undergraduate year, and they, or a parent or legal guardian, must be an NCGA member. Scholarship applications must be postmarked on or before Jan. 11, 2008. Complete rules are in the application packet.
    Zimfo Bytes

    Factory Fresh

    Laura McNamara

    John Deere EPDCThere’s nothing like a fresh coat of crisp, bright green and a sassy, bold yellow to give real meaning to the term “factory fresh.” But, our group of reporters got to see more than just fresh paint on our tour of the John Deere facilities in Mannheim. We saw workers grinding out gears and assembling the nuts and bolts of John Deere engines. There’s nothing like walking the actual line for the final tractor assembly to appreciate workers speed and craft as they spit out a completely assembled tractor in an average time of 3 minutes. A blast of wind and the roar of a tractor engine gave us a feel for how equipment is checked in the company’s newer performance testing site. We were even enclosed in the company’s brand new electromagnetic testing room complete with spiked walls and ceilings and high-tech antennas. We saw shelves of packaged parts staked several stories high. We pretty much saw it all. John Deere production and distribution was pretty interesting to witness. And, I can’t say any workers were overworked, from what we saw. The workers were on break for most of our visit.

    Agritechnica 2007 Photo Album

    Agribusiness, Equipment, Farming, John Deere, Technology

    Getting to Know John Deere in Germany

    Laura McNamara

    John Deere EPDCJohn Deere Werke Mannheim just celebrated it’s 50th year last year and Dr. Oliver Neumann says that milestone marked some remarkable accomplishments for John Deere. The most notable, Oliver says, is John Deere’s strong presence in the European market. Oliver says in the past 5 years, John Deere has nearly doubled its sales in the European market.

    European Beginnings

    It was the devastating destruction of World War II that prompted John Deere to enter the European market. Bombings from the war left the facilities of a well-established farm machinery company, Heinrich Lanz, 90 percent destroyed and left its production and research capabilities irrevocably crippled. In an effort to salvage what was left of the company, Lanz chairman William A. Hewitt began searching for a business partner to help rehabilitate the company. In 1956, John Deere decided to enter into the joint venture and thus launched its European presence.
    Read More

    Agribusiness, Equipment, Farming, John Deere, Technology, Tractor

    John Deere To Win Gold for E-Premium Power-House

    Laura McNamara

    Final Assembly line at the John Deere Werke Mannheim factoryImagine a tractor that gave farmers enough light to work in the dark. Imagine a tractor that could be a portable, off-site power outlet. Imagine a tractor that has more “get up and go.” Bah. One might think that’s “unheard of”… well, before you scoff, think again. John Deere Werke Mannheim is poised to unleash a new series of E-Premium tractors that boast bells and whistles that are precisely “unheard of”… until now. At Agritechnica 2007 the German Agriculture Society will present John Deere with a gold medal for its product launch of the 7430 and 7530E Premium tractors.

    There is a catch though. These tractors are built for the European market, not the American market. But, that doesn’t mean they’re not worth a look. In fact, this European technology could represent part of the future for U.S. agriculture.

    I’ll be getting an up-close look at what these first of their kind tractors can do at Agritechnica Sunday.
    Read More

    Agribusiness, Equipment, Farming, John Deere, Technology, Tractor

    Zimfo Bites

    Melissa Sandfort

    • Penton Media’s BEEF® magazine, America’s leading cattle publication, is collaborating with 12 leading land grant universities to conduct the first Beef Stocker Survey, a national effort to benchmark and characterize the management practices and challenges of stocker operators and backgrounding operations. The confidential survey questionnaire was mailed this month to an extensive list of industry contacts, representative of the segment’s size and geography. Producers who did not receive the survey can participate online. Information from the landmark survey will be shared with the industry through a number of channels, including universities and agricultural extension services.
    • Dr. Patrick Westhoff, Agricultural Economist at the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) at the University of Missouri–Columbia (MU) will assume more responsibilities as codirector. Westhoff will serve alongside current codirector Dr. William H. Meyers.
    • The American Angus Association®, Angus Foundation and Iowa State University will conduct a Cattlemen’s Boot Camp, Dec. 18-19 at Kildee Hall on the Iowa State University Campus, Ames, Iowa. The Boot Camp is open to all cattle producers and will overview the various segments of the beef industry as well as gives perspective on emerging technologies. The event is set to begin at 9 a.m., Tuesday, Dec. 18. Registration forms are available online and costs just $75.
    • Kruger Seeds, Inc., recently launched a new and improved online home at www.krugerseed.com. The site’s exclusive Seed Selector helps growers determine which Kruger products are best for their farm. And, to stay informed about new trial data and product information pertinent to your area, register at www.krugerseed.com. The first 1,000 corn and/or soybean growers who register will receive a free Kruger Seeds University Champions cap.
      Zimfo Bytes