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Senate Hearing on Disaster Relief Funding

Cindy Zimmerman Leave a Comment

The Senate Appropriations Committee held a hearing Wednesday on the $100 billion request for disaster funding from the Biden Administration.

Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA) kicked off the discussion by outlining some of the devastating losses experienced in Georgia by agricultural producers as a results of Hurricane Helene. “Hurricane-force winds and torrential rains destroyed fall crops still in the field, knocked down pecan orchards that growers spent decades cultivating, and damaged a million and a half acres of timberland,” said Ossoff. “Virtually every crop and commodity produced in Georgia has been seriously damaged, including poultry, cotton, timber, beef cattle, blueberries, pecans, peanuts, tobacco, vegetables, citrus, soybeans, nursery crops, and dairy.”

Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) talked about the tremendous damage that has been felt by farmers and ranchers in his part of the country due to drought. “Drought is something that is so discouraging, so depressing,” said Moran, noting that drought reduced the wheat crop in his state of Kansas by almost 80 percent. “We’ve not had a wheat crop this small since 1961, because we can’t grow a crop.”

USDA Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small testified on the work the department has been doing to work with farmers and ranchers impacted by disasters. “Due to the level of devastation resulting not only from Hurricanes Helene and Milton, but also from historic droughts, flooding, and wildfires over the past several years, USDA needs additional tools and flexibilities to comprehensively address the challenges being experienced across the country,” she said in her prepared testimony. “We urge Congress to work together to quickly provide funding for needed relief to farmers, ranchers, private forest landowners, and rural communities.”

Senate hearing - Sen. Ossoff (11:11)

Senate hearing - Sen. Moran (7:09)

Senate hearing - Dep. Sec. Small (3:53)

Audio, USDA, Weather

Precision Ag News 11/20

Carrie Muehling Leave a Comment

  • Global initiatives to enable smallholder farmers to become more climate resilient are having an impact, but more investments are needed to support farmer livelihoods and global food and nutrition security in the face of increasingly volatile conditions, according to a panel organized by Farm Journal Foundation at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Climate-Smart Solutions for Smallholders: Taking Stock of Progress and Future Opportunities in Agriculture, included a fireside chat about growing challenges in agriculture from climate change and how USDA and the U.S. government are helping farmers.
  • Farmers for Sustainable Food, Houston Engineering, Inc. and Peninsula Pride Farms were honored at the Sustainable Agriculture Summit this week as Field to Market’s 2024 Collaboration of the Year for their work on the Peninsula Pride Farms Sustainability Project. The PPF Project is in its fourth year, involved 11 farms managing over 34,000 acres and 40,000 head of dairy cattle in two Wisconsin counties.
  • The International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) webinar season opens on November 26 with ‘Understanding Plant Breeding’, the first in IFAJ’s new ‘Sharing the Knowledge’ initiative. Charles Darwin and Gregor Mendel famously laid down the plant breeding framework in the 19th century; 21st century plant breeding still leans heavily on their original ideas. In this webinar, Syngenta’s Uri Krieger and Ian Jepson use the history of plant breeding as a context to better understand its importance in successful crop production, including how we can use it to develop the resilient crops needed to help growers tackle an increasingly volatile climate.
  • CropLife International expressed support for the G20 Leaders’ Declaration issued as the Rio de Janeiro Summit concluded, welcoming the central role of agricultural productivity and food system transformation in the commitments made by the world’s leading economic nations.
  • BASF Agricultural Solutions is introducing Endura® PRO fungicide, the newest broad-spectrum fungicide innovation for potato growers. Endura PRO fungicide provides long-lasting protection against some of the toughest diseases in potatoes, including early blight and white mold, helping farmers improve yield performance.
  • Join the Soil Health Institute on Wednesday, December 4 at 12 p.m. EST to hear U.S. Regenerative Cotton Fund’s Soil Health Educator Jessica Kelton and Texas A&M University Agriculture Conservationist Jodie McVane discuss two fact sheets we developed with Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Rodale Institute. VF Corporation Senior Manager, Global Sustainability Programs Alyse Russel will moderate a Q&A session.
  • Orbia’s Precision Agriculture business Netafim and Bayer announced an expansion of their strategic collaboration, starting with new digital farming solutions for fruit and vegetable growers. By simplifying primary data collection and delivering a system that can generate tailored recommendations from that data, the new solutions aim to help growers maximize crop production and optimize their use of resources, thus minimizing the impact on the environment.
  • Held in Miami, Biostimulant World Congress offered keynote speeches, expert panels, scientific presentations, and networking to attendees. Keynote speaker, Kynetec’s Warrick Steptoe, presented “Insights on biostimulant adoption, market sizing and trends in key crops and geographies”. With 20 years’ experience, Warrick’s expertise allows him to deliver market intelligence that drives positive business decision making.
  • Kubota North America announced it has been recognized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)® for its innovation and design excellence earning it a “Best of Innovation” in the CES Innovation Awards® 2025 program for the Kubota KATR, a first of its kind, compact, four-wheeled robot with a stable cargo deck platform with stability control features that allow it to conduct work in demanding off-road agricultural and construction work environments, even on hills and slopes.
  • New research published in Scientific Reports describes a breakthrough in nitrogen fertilizer technology. Conducted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Purdue University and Pivot Bio, the study shows that gene-edited microbes can fix nitrogen from the air and feed it to cereal plants’ roots, providing the essential nutrient to crops.
    • AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes, Precision Agriculture

    Pivot Bio Names North American Distribution Head

    Cindy Zimmerman Leave a Comment

    Ag tech company Pivot Bio today named former Bayer Crop Science executive Jason Hoag as head of North American commercial distribution. The role includes development and management of channels and distribution networks, retail expansion and ongoing fostering of commercial partnerships. Hoag will be based in St. Louis and will report to Chris Turner, chief commercial officer for Pivot Bio.

    Hoag most recently served as VP of North America Marketing Lead for retail distributed brands (DEKALB, Asgrow, Deltapine, Crop Protection) for Bayer Crop Science. Previously, he served as vice president regional business lead for the eastern Corn Belt region. He held additional marketing and brand roles at Monsanto and American Cyamamid.

    Hoag received his Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural economics from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

    AgWired Precision, people, Precision Agriculture, Technology

    Grassley Sounds Off on Senate Farm Bill Proposal

    Cindy Zimmerman Leave a Comment

    During his weekly call with farm reporters Tuesday, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) gave his opinion on the last minute Farm Bill introduced Monday by Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow.

    “The timing of this bill is disappointing and unrealistic,” said Grassley. “It’s a sad commentary that Senate Democrats kept farmers waiting two years before even releasing a bill text, while grain prices fell below the cost of production.”

    Grassley says there clearly is not enough time to pass a bill before the end of the year. “After this week, we only have three weeks before Christmas. So I expect Congress to pass another short term extension.”

    Asked why he thought Sen. Stabenow would make such a move when she is retiring from Congress at the end of the year, Grassley speculated, “One, I think to show that she is willing to show her hand so she can’t be condemned without having at least her ideas put into text. And the second thing may be laying down a gauntlet for Democrats to follow in the next new Congress.”

    Grassley also gave his thoughts on who President-elect Trump should choose for Secretary of Agriculture. “Somebody with dirt under their fingernails, active farming. Nothing in regard to policy that I can think of, because I think those first two things I stated probably speaks for all I need to know about somebody that knows something about agriculture if they’re going to be Agriculture Secretary.”

    Grassley press call 11-19 (11:11)

    Audio, Farm Bill, Farm Policy

    ZimmCast 738 – Reaction to Elections

    Chuck Zimmerman Leave a Comment

    ZimmCastHello and welcome to the ZimmCast.

    In this episode I’m going to share some interviews from the NAFB Trade Talk about reactions from the recent presidential election.

    I’m going to include Mary Kay Thatcher, Syngenta Sr. Manager, Federal Government and Industry Relations; Brian Jennings, ACE CEO; Geoff Cooper, RFA CEO and Ethan Lane, NCBA, VP of Government Affairs.

    Adding to these interviews, Cindy recently interviewed Kip Tom, Indiana farmer and served as the Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture during President Trump’s previous term. You can listen to his reactions here.

    That’s the ZimmCast for now. Please let me know if you have ideas for a future podcast. Just email me at chuck@zimmcomm.biz.

    Listen to the episode here:
    ZimmCast 738 - Reactions to Elections (21:28)

    I hope you enjoyed it and thank you for listening.

    Subscribe to the ZimmCast in:

    ACE, Ag Groups, Audio, NCBA, politics, RFA, Syngenta, ZimmCast

    Climate-Smart Soybeans Mark Milestone in U.S. Market

    Cindy Zimmerman 2 Comments

    An Illinois-based processing facility successfully completed its first run of climate-smart soybeans this fall, marking a significant milestone in the
    initiative to bring climate-smart commodities to market. These food-grade soybeans are now poised to enter the soy milk market as part of the Transforming the Farmer to Consumer Supply Chain project (Transform F2C) leads the effort, funded by a U.S. Department of Agriculture Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities grant.

    The Scoular processor is the first of five processing facilities expected under the project and it is located at the company’s grain-cleaning facility in Andres, Illinois.

    “The ability to trace and build markets for climate-smart commodities throughout the supply chain has proven to be a barrier to widespread adoption,” said Nick Goeser, co-founder of Carbon A List, which administers the Transform F2C grant. “We’re thrilled that this project is already having success in demonstrating that a traceable approach can work with climate-smart agriculture in the supply chain. And this is only the beginning,” Goeser said.

    The Transform F2C project incentivizes producers to implement climate-smart practices, such as cover cropping, conservation crop rotation and reduced tillage practices. These practices reduce greenhouse gas emissions, promote carbon sequestration and improve soil health. The project expects to engage farmers implementing these practices across the Midwest and Great Plains regions, with a goal to exceed the 36,000-acre target set forth at the beginning of the effort.

    Learn more at Transformf2c.com.

    Agribusiness, AgWired Precision, carbon, climate, Sustainability, USDA

    Agri-Pulse Adds International Trade Editor

    Cindy Zimmerman Leave a Comment

    Agribusiness digital media company Agri-Pulse is pleased to announce the addition of Oliver Ward to the editorial team as international trade editor.

    Ward joins Agri-Pulse from Inside U.S. Trade, a print and digital trade publication that is part of the Inside Washington Publishers news service. Prior to that, he was a digital content producer at the Peterson Institute for International Economics – a non-partisan economics think tank. Ward authored newsletters and economic explainers, built data visualizations, and was part of a small team that maintained a widely cited PIIE tracker for goods purchased under the U.S.-China phase one agreement.

    Ward is a graduate of the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom where he received a bachelor’s degree in history and sociology. He has a master’s degree in journalism and digital storytelling from American University in Washington.

    Agri-Pulse, Agribusiness, people

    Ayrstone® Announces AyrMesh® HubDuo Meshing Feature

    Cindy Zimmerman Leave a Comment

    Ayrstone® has sold hundreds of its new AyrMesh HubDuo for better outdoor Wi-Fi across the United States and Canada since it was introduced in August and now they have announced an important new feature – Meshing Modes.

    Meshing Modes allow HubDuo users to adjust the Hub for either the traditional AyrMesh long-range meshing, with Hubs at least half a mile apart, or a new close-in mesh. Using the “close” meshing option, AyrMesh HubDuo units can be placed as close as 100 feet apart up to half a mile apart. It does this by shifting the meshing signal between the 2.4 GHz. radio and the 5.8 GHz. radio.

    The new AyrMesh HubDuo is an outdoor, high-power, meshing WiFi access point, like the existing AyrMesh Hubs, with one important difference: it is the first AyrMesh Hub to use dual-band technology. The new HubDuo is designed to deliver very high-speed outdoor WiFi to nearby devices, and standard high-speed WiFi at longer distances. Like the AyrMesh Hub2x2, using MIMO the AyrMesh HubDuo can provide broadband-class WiFi to hundreds or even thousands of acres of property.

    Ayrstone Productivity Presdient Bill Moffitt explains, “With ‘normal mode,’ the HubDuos mesh with all the AyrMesh Hub products on 2.4 GHz. ‘Close mode’ allows them to just mesh with other AyrMesh HubDuos on 5.8 GHz., so the Hubs can be placed as close as a hundred feet apart,” said Moffitt. “Best of all, there’s a ‘hybrid mode’ that uses the 2.4 GHz. mesh to communicate with AyrMesh Hub2 units half a mile to 2 miles away while using the 5.8 Ghz. mesh to communicate with other AyrMesh HubDuo units that may be as close as a few hundred feet.”

    This new feature is available immediately on all Ayrstone AyrMesh HubDuo units by selecting the appropriate mode in the “Network Settings” section of AyrMesh.com.

    More information can be seen at https://ayrstone.com/www/introducing-the-new-ayrmesh-hubduo/, and the AyrMesh HubDuo is available now at the Ayrstone store – https://ayrstone.com.

    data, Internet

    Animal Ag News 11/19

    Carrie Muehling Leave a Comment

  • McDonald’s USA and supplier Lopez Foods, have joined Syngenta North America in a collaboration that aims to increase feed efficiency and help reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions released per pound of meat produced, as part of efforts to improve the sustainability of beef production. Enogen® corn is an in-seed innovation available exclusively from Syngenta, that has been shown to increase feed efficiency in cattle and thereby help reduce emissions intensity compared to other corn.Read more about this unique partnership.
  • Join the Livestock Publications Council for the November Coffee and Collaboration on Friday, November 22, 2024 at 12 p.m. CT. The topic is “Where Are Red Meat Exports Heading?” with John Herath, U.S. Meat Export Federation Assistant Vice President, Communications. This free monthly webinar is moderated by Jennifer Shike and Angie Stump Denton. No registration necessary! It’s open to members and non-members.
  • Over 60 industry professionals gathered for the American Feed Industry Association’s (AFIA) annual Equipment Manufacturers Conference (EMC), held in Bonita Springs, Fla. Hosted by AFIA’s Equipment Manufacturers Committee, this year’s conference embraced the theme, “Feed Industry 4.0 – Leveraging Emerging Technologies,” with sessions covering regulatory updates, artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.
  • The Good Meat Project, a national nonprofit, is on a mission to catalyze marketplace innovation, connection, and education across the meat supply chain in order to increase the economic viability and ecological impact of livestock farmers who invest in healthy land, animals, and people. GMP has recently launched a national, geolocating directory of farms and ranches, butcher shops, restaurants and retailers, designed to help consumers find, buy and cook meat that is aligned with their Good Meat® values. The Good Meat® Finder is made possible with support from the ASPCA Fund to End Factory Farming.
  • Embarking on its 20th year of operation, Midan Marketing is a full-service marketing agency driven by a singular mission – to champion the value of meat. Co-founded in 2004 by ranch and farm kids, Michael Uetz and Danette Amstein, Midan Marketing initially served both meat and non-meat clients. However, the partners soon realized their true passion and made a strategic decision to focus exclusively on meat clients. To celebrate this monumental point in its history, Midan is featuring a collage of activities including a retrospective blog and video capturing the last 20 years along with a social campaign highlighting a Day of Service for team members to give back to their communities, which aligns with Midan’s core values.
  • FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative is pleased to welcome Jeff Ditzenberger as Director of Communications and Marketing. Raised on a dairy farm in southern Wisconsin, Ditzenberger has been involved in agriculture most of his life and has held various positions in agricultural sales and marketing throughout his career. He also is the founder of a non-profit organization, TUGS, which addresses the stigma of mental health issues in the agricultural community and beyond.
  • On November 12, USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) released a long-awaited final decision with reforms to pricing formulas used by the Federal Milk Marketing Order system. Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative appreciates the diligent work of AMS staff put forth the milk pricing reform.
  • Dairy MAX, a leading regional dairy council representing over 900 dairy farmers across eight states, officially announced that Keira Lombardo of Southlake, Texas, has been named its new chief executive officer. Lombardo is an accomplished agricultural leader with more than 20 years of experience.
  • USPOULTRY and the USPOULTRY Foundation announce the completion of a funded research project by researchers from the University of Arkansas that worked to develop a multispecies bacterial vaccine for the protection against bacterial chondronecrosis with osteomyelitis (BCO) lameness for broilers. Made possible by an endowing Foundation gift from Georges Inc., the research is part of the Association’s comprehensive research program encompassing all phases of poultry and egg production and processing.
  • The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and Public Lands Council (PLC) congratulated Gov. Doug Burgum on his nomination to lead the Department of the Interior.
  • Recent Beef Checkoff-funded research adds to a growing body of evidence reinforcing the important role beef plays in closing nutrient gaps for vulnerable populations. The three new studies looked at nutrient intake and adequacy needs during adolescence, pregnancy and for those 60 years of age and older.
    • AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Animal Bites

    Last Minute Senate Farm Bill Introduced

    Cindy Zimmerman Leave a Comment

    On Monday, with only weeks before the end of this session of Congress, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) at last released the text of her nearly 1400 page farm bill the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act.

    According to Sen. Stabenow, the bill includes funding from the IRA. “This bill will roll the historic investment we made in the Inflation Reduction Act into the farm bill baseline for the future,” she said on the Senate floor. “We take dollars for voluntary conservation programs that farmers are using, right now that funding is outside the farm bill baseline, we can make a tremendous move forward for farmers by moving it into the farm bill baseline while keeping the language regarding climate.”

    Stabenow says her bill improves on crop insurance for farmers. “Importantly, I include a provision that will partially reimburse farmers crop insurance premiums,” she said. “Again, we can use the structure and policies of a farm bill rather than ad hoc assistance and just move up the payments, provide more assistance right now, and do it while we’re passing a five year farm bill.”

    Also on Monday, the White House made a formal request to Congress for $21 billion in disaster aid for farmers who have lost crops and livestock due to natural disasters over the past two years, including the most recent hurricanes.

    Sen. Stabenow farm bill (10:47)

    Audio, Farm Bill