Acting Secretary Conner Visits NAFB

Chuck Zimmerman

Pam Fretwell and Acting Secretary of Agriculture Chuck ConnerThe NAFB Convention is underway and the Acting Secretary of Agriculture, Chuck Conner, started things off with remarks in a press conference. Here he’s being introduced by NAFB President, Pam Fretwell, WTAD/WKAN.

Acting Secretary Conner had a lot to say about the farm bill which is really the main issue the administration is working on right now. As we’ve heard before he spoke about the President vetoing legislation in its current form. I recorded his comments for you.

Listen to Acting Secretary Chuck Conner here: nafb-07-conner.mp3

You can also download his comments here: Listen to MP3 File Acting Secretary Conner’s Comments (8 min MP3)

Of course I’m building an online photo album from the NAFB Convention which you can find on Flickr.

I want to thank NAFB for making my coverage of this year’s NAFB Convention possible!

Audio, NAFB, USDA

Products Share Soybean Champ Spotlight

Cindy Zimmerman

The world record soybean yield champion credits his winning 154.7 bushel yield to good genetics and crop protection.

“I run very extensive on-farm research every year on different genetics from all kinds of companies and then I pick the best ones to plant on my farm,” said Kip Cullers of Purdy, MO.

Soybean PioneerThe best one this year was Pioneer® 94M80 soybeans and Greg Luce, Pioneer technical representative, worked closely with Kip over the season and watched the record crop grow.

“We want to share all the things that Kip is doing with other growers,” said Luce. “He does some things uniquely. He irrigates frequently at low volumes of water to cool the plant, an idea he got from his green bean production.”

Kip also protected his crop from disease threats. “I live far enough south that we have a lot of disease pressure and we use Headline fungicide to protect the crop when its up and growing,” said Kip. “A happy plant wants to produce.” He also used Syngenta Warrior insecticide.

Missouri Soybean Association Executive Director Dale Ludwig estimates that less than five percent of the soybeans in the state get a regular treatment of both fungicide and insecticide.

Soybean BASFDennis Belcher, technical service representative in the Midwest for BASF Agricultural Products, said BASF was honored to be considered a partner in Kip’s success.

“In 2006, the average on-farm trials for Headline increased soybean yields from four to eight bushels per acre and corn yields from 12-15 bushels per acre,” Belcher said.

Listen to Loose’s comments here:
soybean-winner-pioneer.mp3

Listen to Belcher’s comments here:
soybean-winner-basf.mp3

Audio, BASF, Pioneer, Soybean, Syngenta

Mobley Discusses The Changing Consumer at Agribusiness Forum

Chuck Zimmerman

Coming to you from the agriblogging folks at Paulsen AgriBranding we’ve got another installment in their YouTube series from this year’s NAMA Agribusiness Forum. This time you’ll get to hear from Dr. Claudia Mobley:

Mobley Discusses The Changing Consumer at Agribusiness Forum

Written by Paulsen AgriBranding on Tuesday, November 13, 2007

“The Changing Consumer”

Dr. Claudia Mobley

The habits of American consumers change as they age and their circumstances evolve. Adapting to those changes and the trends in buying habits is crucial for economic survival. Dr. Claudia Mobley is the Director of the Center for Retailing Excellence at the Sam M. Walton College of Business. She shared insights with the Forum on how changing lifestyles and cultural shifts impact our bottom line.

Agencies, NAMA, Video

Europe is Crazy for Combines

Laura McNamara

John Deere Display at Agritechnica 2007John Deere offers five times as many combines in Europe as it does in North America. Paul Leathem, the manager of John Deere Advertising in Africa, Europe and the Middle East, says combines are a popular product in Europe with John Deere offering 5 different lines of combines, with a total of 27 different models. John Deere’s newest series, the T Series, includes an extra threshing drum, with four drums instead of three.

Paul says unlike North America, where combines are designed more for low-input farming, Europe demands combines designed specifically for high-input farming. You can listen to Paul speak about combines here:

Leathem_Paul004combines.mp3

Agritechnica 2007 Photo Album

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

Reynolds Presents at Agribusiness Forum

Chuck Zimmerman

The NAMA Agribusiness Forum is underway here in Kansas City and Paulsen AgriBranding is on the scene. They’re providing some content for AgWired which I’m posting for them. Here’s the first installment:

Written by Paulsen AgriBranding on Tuesday, November 13, 2007

“Who’s Pulling Our Chain?”

Don Reynolds, Kick-Off Session

The 2007 Agribusiness Forum kicked off with Don Reynolds. Mr. Reynolds was Chairman of the Investment Advisory Board before his appointment by President Bush as Pension Board Chairman. In that position, he has oversight of $120 billion in pension and trust funds. Mr. Reynolds shared an overview of the major trends in the global economy and the effect those trends will have on agriculture. So, given the market volatility, how can we prepare for and profit from the changing marketplace? Reynolds says that the early 21st century is the “Golden Age” for agriculture.

Agencies, NAMA

Back In Action In KC, MO

Chuck Zimmerman

Chuck with a BuckThe agriblogger is back in action this week after some necessary time off in the woods.

It was a relaxing and successful deer hunt as you can see.

I just got in to Kansas City and will be heading down to the action at the end of the NAMA Agribusiness Forum and the start of the NAFB convention.

Expect to see lots of posts this week from here and I hope you’ve been enjoying Laura’s coverage of her trip with John Deere to Germany and AgriTechnica.

Uncategorized

John Deere Tractors Useful for North America, Popular in Europe

Laura McNamara

John Deere Exhibit at Agritechnica 2007Paul Leathem, the manager of John Deere Advertising in Africa, Europe and the Middle East, says sales of the 9030 tractor are really starting to take off in Europe, particularly in Russia where the 9030 even won a gold at a farm machinery show. Paul says the 8030 series is another Waterloo, Ontario, Canada tractor series that’s picking up clout with dealers and farmers in Europe.

You can listen to Paul talk about both the 9030 series and the 8030 series here:

Leathem_Paul9030.mp3

Agritechnica 2007 Photo Album

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

John Deere Committed to Consumers at Agritechnica 2007

Laura McNamara

John Deere Demonstration at Agritechnica 2007It’s hard to miss the eight moving, hi-definition flat screen T.V.s, the blonde German actor, and the big moving E Premium Series tractor on the John Deere stage. The screens, actor and tractor would put on a show regularly throughout the day highlighting the key products and technology Agritechnica attendees will find at the John Deere exhibit from November 13 through November 17. I didn’t get to wander around all of the 16 buildings filled with displays during the preview days on November 11 and November 12, but, from what I did see, no other exhibit had a live demonstration quite as hi-tech as John Deere’s.

You can listen to Paul Leathem, the manager of John Deere Advertising in Africa, Europe and the Middle East ,briefly describe the three platforms for communication with farmers and dealers attending Agritechnica 2007 here:

Leathem_Paul005cutomerinfo.mp3

Agritechnica 2007 Photo Album

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

Road Savvy Sprayer

Laura McNamara

John Deere Exhibit at Agritechnica 2007The technology behind the 730 series sprayers is child’s play for Paul Leathem, the manager of John Deere Advertising in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Paul says these sprayers can retract to dimensions suitable for road travel at the push of a button. The 730i series sprayers can also travel up to a speed of about 12 mph in the field. The sprayers are also equipped with intelligent applications such as the AutoTrac assisted steering system and SprayPRO.

You can listen to Paul elaborate further on the 730i series sprayers here:

Leathem_Paul001bsprayer.mp3

Agritechnica 2007 Photo Album

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

Self-Propelled Sprayer Debuts on Consumer Market at Agritechnica

Laura McNamara

Paul Leathem, Manager of John Deere Advertising in Africa, Europe and the Middle EastJohn Deere has officially introduced its first ever self-propelled sprayer for the European market, the 5430i, as one of the latest options in sprayer technology at Agritechnica 2007. The Manager of John Deere advertising in Africa, Europe and the Middle East, Paul Leathem, says European business is moving away from mounted sprayers and is demanding more self-propelled technology. He says the 5430i sprayer is only offered as an intelligent package that offers almost a complete automation of the entire sprayer application procedure. The intelligent sprayer integrates ten innovative AMS (Ag Management Solutions) features, including SprayPRO technology. The SprayPRO system uses GPS technology to offer more precision on sprayer functions such as steering the tractor, recording application rates, monitoring overlaps and skips, switching boom sections on and off, or any other GPS-based function.

Paul gave our group of reporters who traveled to Agritechnica with John Deere a detailed overview of the 5430i sprayer. You can listen to Paul here:

Leathem_Paul001.mp3

Agritechnica 2007 Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, Equipment, Farming, International, John Deere, Precision Agriculture, Technology