Censky Addresses Ethanol Group

Cindy Zimmerman

USDA Deputy Secretary Steve Censky addressed members of the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) meeting in Washington DC this week, just a day after the agency released a new study showing the significant greenhouse gas benefits of corn-based ethanol compared to gasoline.

Censky talked about that study, as well as many other topics of interest to the farmers and ethanol industry representatives who spent a day on Capitol Hill Tuesday talking with lawmakers about their concerns. Among those issues – E15, small refinery waivers, and trade.

ACE19DC USDA Deputy Secretary Steve Censky address

ACE19DC USDA Deputy Censky Q and A
2019 ACE Fly-in Photo Album

ACE, Audio, Ethanol, USDA

ZimmCast 613 – Agri-Marketing Conference Preview

Chuck Zimmerman

In this week’s program I visit with Susan Hunyor, DTN/The Progressive Farmer, who is the Chair of the Agri-Marketing Conference Committee. This is the annual conference of the National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA). Susan walks us through a preview of the program for this year’s conference. 

ZimmComm is celebrating 15 years and will be having fun in the Connection Point, Booth 312. The Golden ZimmComm Microphones will be set up to conduct interviews with attendees. It’s an opportunity to tell us about your company or organization and we’ll publish them into the virtual ag newsroom for the conference on AgNewsWire.com.

When you visit us you can enter to win a flex Portable, Universal Keyboard & Detachable Stand. We have donated a special Beats Pill+ to the NAMA Foundation Silent Auction too. The winning bidder will be able to select colors for the bluetooth speaker and we’ll order it to be delivered direct to them.

It’s going to be a great conference and we hope to see you there.

Thank you for listening.

Listen to the ZimmCast here: ZimmCast - Agri-Marketing Conference Preview

Audio, NAMA, ZimmCast

Precision Ag Bytes 4/3

Carrie Muehling

  • New Ag International will take two conferences to Brazil in August 2019. InfoAg International Conference & Exhibition, a three-day event jointly organized with the International Plant Nutrition Institute, will run in Campinas, São Paulo State, Brazil from 26-28 August 2019.
  • Kynetec, the global leader in agricultural and animal health market research, announced that it has completed the acquisition of Neil Clark & Associates, one of Australia’s most established providers of agribusiness data and business intelligence.
  • The Iowa AgriTech Accelerator hosted its second annual AgTech Day on Tuesday, March 26. Nine early-stage AgTech startups from across the country gathered in West Des Moines, Iowa, where they showcased their innovations to The Accelerator’s community of mentors and supporters.
  • Solinftec, a leading international digital ag company, was presented with a 2019 AgFunder Innovation Award in the category of Most Innovative International Startup Series A and Beyond.
  • Nominations for the 2019 Borlaug Field Award are open. This award honors a young scientist or extension worker who has shown Borlaug-like determination, dedication and intellectual innovation in the fight to eliminate global hunger, malnutrition and poverty. This prestigious award offers a USD $10,000 prize endowed by the Rockefeller Foundation. To learn more about awardee qualifications, visit www.worldfoodprize.org/nominate.
  • TerrAvion announces the promotion of Lee Smith to Chief Commercial Officer. In this role, Lee will be responsible for all commercial activities at TerrAvion, the world’s largest volume agricultural aerial imagery provider.
  • Having succeeded in protecting funding for the Conservation Title in the 2018 Farm Bill, more than 140 leading farm, conservation, and wildlife groups are once again joining together to protect those hard-fought conservation funds and programs in the fiscal year (FY) 2020 appropriations process. The groups called upon appropriators to respect the funding decisions made in the 2018 Farm Bill and reject any cuts to farm bill conservation funding through the appropriations process.
AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes

Bayer Feed A Bee Milestone

Chuck Zimmerman

The Bayer national pollinator forage initiative, Feed a Bee, has announced it has reached its goal of awarding grants supporting diverse forage for honey bees and other pollinators in all 50 states. The 50th recipient awarded recently was Gateway to the Arctic Camp in Talkeetna, Alaska. I talked with Dr. Becky Langer, Bayer, about the milestone and success of this program.

Dedicated to service and agriculture, the nonprofit camp teaches the significance of serving those in need and the value of hard work through fun activities involving sustainability, farming and environmental stewardship. This summer it will dedicate an entire field as forage for bees and other pollinators where campers of all abilities, including those with special needs, will discover the connection between honey bees and the crops they pollinate.

“We’re proud to have awarded more than $650,000 for pollinator-focused planting projects over the last three years,” said Dr. Becky Langer, project manager, Bayer North American Bee Care Program. “We’re now connected to nearly 170 organizations all over the country who are thinking critically about how to diversify forage for pollinators, have put that plan to action and, equally important, have integrated educational components encouraging their local community to get involved.”

Listen to my interview with Becky here: Interview with Dr. Becky Langer, Bayer

AgWired Precision, Audio, Bayer, Bees

Farmers Expected to Plant More Corn, Record Low Wheat

Cindy Zimmerman

More corn, but less soybeans, wheat and cotton is USDA’s forecast for Prospective Plantings this season.

The report released on Friday puts corn planted acres for this year at 92.8 million acres, up 4 percent or 3.66 million acres from last year. Soybean planted area for 2019 is estimated at 84.6 million acres, down 5 percent from last year. All wheat acreage is estimated to be four percent lower than 2018 and all cotton acreage is down two percent.

All wheat planted area for 2019 is estimated at 45.8 million acres, down 4 percent from 2018. This represents the lowest all wheat planted area on record since records began in 1919. The biggest hit comes in the Durum planted area for 2019 is estimated at 1.42 million acres, down 31 percent from the previous year. Both spring and winter wheat are down about three percent.

MGEX held a call for reporters about the report featuring commentary from Jack Scoville of The PRICE Futures Group. Listen here:
MGEX crop call 3-29-19

Audio, Corn, Cotton, MGEX, Soybean, USDA, Wheat

Animal Ag Bites 4/1

Carrie Muehling

  • U.S. Poultry & Egg Association and the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council officially broke ground on an expansion to USPOULTRY’s existing offices in Tucker, Georgia. The expansion will create an additional 12,000 square feet of space owned by “The Coop Group, LLC” a partnership of USPOULTRY and USAPEEC.
  • The American Feed Industry Association released the results of its annual charitable giving survey. AFIA member company employees donated a collective 104,000 hours of their time to supporting community service projects in 2018 – a 13 percent increase over 2017. AFIA member companies, including company-employee matches, also donated over $56 million to an expansive list of community causes.
  • A long-awaited scrapie rule was published this week in the Federal Register. The rule incorporates into regulation APHIS’ long-standing policy to use genetic testing to identify genetically resistant or less susceptible sheep for exemption from destruction and as qualifying for interstate movement. The rule takes effect on April 24, 2019.
  • GENYOUth, an organization founded through the dairy checkoff to help create healthier schools, is providing Grab-n-Go breakfast carts to Fuel Up to Play 60 schools across the country that will serve more than 5 million pounds of milk annually.
  • From wet silage to dry hay to straw and stalks, the new Case IH RB565 Premium HD round baler provides producers the flexibility to bale a full range of crops. The RB565 Premium HD round baler is equipped with components to efficiently handle wet hay making in an all-purpose, multicrop baler. This new baler expands the RB5 series lineup, taking high-efficiency hay production to the next level.
  • According to a survey by the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, Major League Baseball fans this season are expected to consume about 18.3 million hot dogs and nearly four million sausages.
  • R-CALF USA has sent a formal request to U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr urging him to block the proposed acquisition of Iowa beef packer Iowa Premium by National Beef Packing Company, which is now majority owned by Brazilian-based Marfrig Global Foods.
AgWired Animal, Animal Bites

Biofuels Advocates Testify at EPA Hearing

Cindy Zimmerman

The Environmental Protection Agency held a hearing Friday on proposed regulatory changes related to retail sales of 15% ethanol blended fuel (E15) and the renewable identification number (RIN) compliance system Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program.

Biofuels advocates, organization representatives and company officials testified at the hearing about the proposal and other related topics. Below are links to audio files from some of the witnesses.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds
EPA Michigan hearing - Iowa Gov. Reynolds

Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) president and CEO Geoff Cooper.
EPA Michigan hearing - RFA CEO Geoff Cooper

American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) Senior Vice President and Market Development Director Ron Lamberty
EPA Michigan hearing - ACE Senior VP Ron Lamberty

National Corn Growers Association First Vice President and Iowa farmer Kevin Ross
EPA Michigan hearing - NCGA 1st VP Kevin Ross

Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor
EPA Michigan hearing - Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor

ACE, Biodiesel, Biofuels, Corn, Ethanol, Growth Energy, NCGA, RFA

Zimfo Bytes 3/29

Carrie Muehling

  • Two business leaders from the People’s Republic of China visited the National Corn Growers Association’s St. Louis office to discuss the U.S. corn industry and NCGA’s role in working to create opportunities for corn farmers.
  • The National Agri-Marketing Association has named Zippy Duvall,President of the American Farm Bureau Federation, as the 2019 Ag Association Leader of the Year.
  • The California Antique Farm Equipment Show® kicks off Friday, April 12 at 8:00 a.m. at the International Agri-Center® show grounds in Tulare, CA. The show runs Friday, April 12, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Saturday, April 13, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., and Sunday, April 14, 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
  • In an effort to improve mental health support for farmers, ranchers and farm workers, National Farmers Union and a broad coalition of leading farm and rural advocacy groups are urging Congress to fully fund the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network in fiscal year 2020.
  • The American Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Program has launched “Women in Ag,” an online survey that aims to gauge the goals, aspirations, achievements and needs of women in American agriculture in a variety of areas. All women who are farmers, ranchers, farm/ranch employees, employed in agricultural businesses, pursuing ag-related higher education or supportive of agriculture in other ways are invited to participate in the survey at fb.org/women. Respondents must reside in the United States. Farm Bureau membership is not required to participate.
  • The EPA and Army Corps of Engineers are currently collecting comments on their proposed rule of the term “Waters of the United States (WOTUS).” The draft comments are intended for you to easily submit to the agencies before the deadline of April 15th. Submit comments here.
  • Potatoes USA, the Marketing and Promotions Board for the U.S. potato industry, concluded its 47th Annual Meeting on March 14. Phil Hickman of Horntown, Virginia will serve a one-year term as Chairman, making him the board’s first Chairman from Virginia.
  • EnviroMonitor is an award-winning sensor platform that helps farmers measure, monitor, and manage crops at every stage of the growth cycle. With the Davis Mobilize app farmers can monitor soil moisture and soil temperature to help plant with confidence, track growing degree days for each field by crop and plant date, and improve daily decisions with real-time field conditions.
  • NewLeaf Symbiotics announces the hiring of three experienced agriculture leaders to its business development team. Dave Coorts has been named Director of Field Biology; Brad Walkup joins as Technical Sales Lead for the Western Region; and Caroline Currie will serve as Technical Sales Lead for the Eastern Region.
  • At the Farm Foundation Forum on Tuesday, April 23, 2019, a panel of educators and industry leaders will discuss the innovative approaches they are taking to meeting the sector’s human capital needs. The Forum, Human Capital Challenges in the Food and Agriculture Sector, will be 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. EDT. CLICK HERE to register to attend the Farm Foundation Forum at the 4-H Center and/or the Ohio Agricultural Council gathering. To participate in the Farm Foundation Forum via the live webcast, register HERE. The webcast is made possible by a grant from Farm Credit.
  • David Delaney has joined Farmer’s Business Network as Chief Commercial Officer. Farmers Business Network is an independent and unbiased farmer-to-farmer agronomic network that provides unbiased and democratized analytics to its 8,000+ American farmers, and now 500+ Canadian farmers.
  • When it comes to what we eat at Major League Baseball parks, the top dogs for well over a century have been hot dogs and sausages—and once again, they will reign supreme in 2019. According to a survey by the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, MLB fans this season are expected to consume about 18.3 million hot dogs and nearly four million sausages.
  • New Ag International is looking forward to taking two conferences to Brazil in August 2019. InfoAg International Conference & Exhibition, a three-day event jointly organized with the International Plant Nutrition Institute, will run in Campinas, São Paulo State, Brazil from 26-28 August 2019.
Zimfo Bytes

New Ag International Brings Two Events to Brazil in August 2019

Cindy Zimmerman

New Ag International is hosting two conferences to Brazil in August 2019.

InfoAg International Conference & Exhibition, a three-day event jointly organized with the International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI), will run in Campinas, São Paulo State, Brazil August 26-28.

This is the ideal event to learn how digital revolution is changing agriculture in South America. After years of success in the USA, the organizer of InfoAG is partnering with New Ag International and coming to South America to create the premier event for discussion and advancement for precision agriculture looking at field centric monitoring with imagery and sensors, seamless connectivity with IoT, data analytics and prediction modelling, variable rate technology, precision plant nutrition and irrigation management, prescription platforms and digitalization.

This event will be followed by the largest biocontrol event in Latin America – the Biocontrol LATAM Conference and Exhibition, scheduled for Campinas August 28-30.

The event is co-organized by 2B Monthly, in conjunction with IBMA and with support from the host association ABCBio. Topics to be covered include regulation in Latin American countries; new and emerging technologies in microbials, natural extracts and semiochemicals; the current status of the biocontrol market; the integration of biocontrol solutions in IPM programmes; case studies of adoption by growers; and novel approaches to formulation and production.

For more information about the events, contact marketing manager Carmen Hernandez.

AgWired Precision, biobased, Biotech, Events, New Ag International

Managing Bollworms with Prevathon® Insect Control

Cindy Zimmerman

Research conducted at Texas A&M University has shown wide-spread bollworm/earworm resistance to the majority cotton and corn Bt technologies and that cotton bollworms have developed resistance to pyrethroids to some degree in most of Texas. One of the insecticides recommended for growers to manage cotton bollworm populations is FMC Prevathon.

At the recent Mid-South Farm and Gin Show, we talked with FMC senior technical service manager Don Johnson about Prevethon and how it fits in with what has changed recently in bollworm control and the new guidelines for treatment with a foliar insecticide. Listen here: Interview with Don Johnson, FMC Prevethon


2019 Mid-South Farm and Gin Show Photo Album

AgWired Precision, Audio, Cotton, Farm & Gin Show, FMC, Insecticides, Video