RFA Ethanol Podcast

Ag Secretary Visits Iowa

Cindy Zimmerman Leave a Comment

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins visited Iowa Monday, starting the day at an ethanol plant where she was joined by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA), Reps. Zach Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks, and Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig.

Rollins also toured a hog farm, and met with soybean producers and agriculture leaders from across Iowa, before capping off the day by delivering the keynote speech at the Iowa Ag Leaders Dinner.

Rollins’ main announcement was that USDA will release obligated funding under the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP) for 543 projects totaling $537 million in 29 states. The funding had been included in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

In a press availability at the Elite Octane ethanol plant in Atlantic, Iowa, Rollins addressed a number of issues including trade policy, the farm bill, and avian flu. Gov. Reynolds, Elite Octane CEO Nick Bowdish, Sen. Ernst, Rep. Nunn and Rep. Miller-Meeks also make comments in the press conference.

USDA Sec. Rollins at Elite Octane 16:17

Audio, Ethanol, USDA

DWFI Podcast 42 – 15th Anniversary of DWFI

Cindy Zimmerman Leave a Comment

This special episode of the Water for Food Podcast commemorates the 15th anniversary of the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute by sharing the story of its origin. You can read the full historical account here.

The 15th anniversary year will be highlighted by a celebration reception at the upcoming 2025 Water for Food Global Conference, held in Lincoln, Nebraska, April 28-May 2. Learn more at waterforfood.nebraska.edu.

Listen here or subscribe on your favorite podcast platform:
DWFI podcast episode 42 6:53

The Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute (DWFI) at the University of Nebraska was founded with the mission to have a lasting and significant impact on achieving more food security with less pressure on scarce water resources by conducting scientific and policy research, using the research results to inform policy makers, and sharing knowledge through education and communication.

How to subscribe:

Audio, Food, Irrigation, Podcasts, Water, Water for Food

Industry Ag News 3/31

Carrie Muehling Leave a Comment

  • Farm Journal and The Packer have announced plans for an all-new East Coast Produce Expo (ECPE), which was formerly known as GOPEX, set for Jan. 12-13, 2026, at the JW Marriott Turnberry Resort in Aventura, Fla.
  • The Kansas House Legislature announced, during its 2025-2026 Legislative Session, an historic Resolution declaring August 22nd, 2025 Antique Tractor Preservation Day, to be observed ANNUALLY throughout the State of Kansas. The Resolution received 56 Legislative Co-Signers and was awarded to Michael Hinton, Founder, Antique Tractor Preservation Day, and Owner/CEO of www.TalkingTractors.com.
  • Agriculture and food employers remain focused on the ongoing need for talent. AgCareers has launched a series of Compensation Summit Workshops for industry employers. These full-day in-person workshops provide a deep dive into everything compensation-related in the agriculture and food industries. Expert facilitators guide participants, ensuring they acquire critical takeaways related to compensation, salary, incentives, bonuses and more. The first summit will be April 8th, 2025, in Chicago, Illinois, with educational sessions on creating effective sales compensation plans, foundational compensation programs, salary benchmarking, and total rewards. AgCareers will also host a summit in St. Louis, Missouri on August 5th, in conjunction with the 23rd Annual Roundtable Conference. One more Compensation Summit is scheduled for October 15th in Ames, Iowa.
  • Brownfield Ag News is excited to announce that Kellan Heavican will be rejoining the team as the Anchor/Reporter for Nebraska and Kansas. His first day back is March 31, 2025.
  • Biotalys, an agricultural technology company developing protein-based biocontrol solutions for sustainable crop protection, announced the proposal to appoint Toni Bucci as independent director to its Board of Directors. Ms. Bucci’s appointment will become effective immediately upon election at the upcoming Biotalys shareholders’ meeting on April 22, 2025. She will succeed Markus Heldt, who will retire from the Board.
  • Bayer announced that Dr. Mike Graham will become the new Head of Research & Development (R&D) for Bayer’s Crop Science division and serve as member of the Leadership Team. He will succeed Dr. Robert Reiter who has decided to retire after 27 years with the company and 34 years in the industry. In his current role, Mike Graham is leading the company’s Plant Breeding organization and has profound expertise in R&D and agriculture. The change will become effective as of April 15, 2025.
  • CLAAS of America, a leader in high-performance harvesting equipment, tractors, and precision farming solutions, has selected Minneapolis-based CLUTCH to be their partner in driving growth and expanded revenue initiatives.
  • Join FAPRI at the 2025 Womack Missouri Agriculture Outlook Conference on April 9, 2025 at Missouri University’s Bradford Research Farm in Columbia. Registration is FREE but required.
  • Keystone Cooperative is proud to announce that Tim Burke has been named the 2025 Farmer Cooperative Director of the Year by the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives (NCFC). This prestigious award recognizes Tim’s outstanding leadership, dedication to the cooperative model, and unwavering commitment to serving farmer-owners.
  • Potatoes USA, the national marketing, research and promotion board for the potato industry, elected Steve Elfering of Boise, Idaho, as Chair of the Board at its annual meeting. Potatoes USA also announced its Executive Committee members to lead the organization through 2025-2026.
    • Zimfo Bytes

    2025 Agri-Marketing Conference Preview

    Chuck Zimmerman Leave a Comment

    NAMA PaloozaIt’s almost time for the 2025 Agri-Marketing Conference. To get a preview of all the activities I spoke with Carrie Isaacson, Broadhead, Chair for this year’s conference.

    You can listen to my conversation with Carrie here: 2025 Agri-Marketing Conference Preview (11:06)

    FUEL YOUR FUTURE AT ​NAMAPALOOZA

    Get ready for the 2025 Agri-Marketing Conference — your front-row seat to the future of agri-marketing! This high-energy event is packed with fresh insights, expert-led sessions and networking opportunities designed to keep you ahead in a rapidly evolving industry. Learn from the best and make connections in the industry that last long after the conference ends!

    Schedule
    Register

    Agencies, Audio, NAMA

    Precision Ag News 3/28

    Carrie Muehling Leave a Comment

  • The Mosaic Company Foundation announced its re-launch as The Mosaic Company Foundation for Sustainable Food Systems. The Foundation brings together two decades of philanthropic work developing the practices, tools, and partnerships to advance sustainable agricultural practices in the United States, India, and Brazil.
  • An April 29 Heuermann Lecture will focus on the theme of “Nourishing a Healthy Future: The Role of Irrigation in a Changing World.” The free lecture, part of the 2025 Water for Food Global Conference and sponsored by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, will be held 4:30-6 p.m. at the Nebraska Innovation Campus Conference Center, 2021 Transformation Drive, in Lincoln, Neb., and livestreamed online.
  • Reinke Manufacturing, a global leader in irrigation systems and technology, today announced the general availability of its most advanced remote irrigation management solution to date, ReinCloud® 3, to drive operational savings and yield increases for growers tasked with managing water efficiency.
  • Nutrien Ag Solutions® is ushering in a new chapter at its Innovation Farm location in Champaign, Illinois, with a new facility that showcases the Nutrien Agronomy team’s commitment to research at the scale of farming.
  • Following World Water Day on March 22, CNH brands – Case IH and New Holland – continue to lead the way in breaking new ground in precision agriculture. As part of the Drops of the Future initiative, CNH has teamed up with Italy-based agri tech company, xFarm, to develop a pilot project in Uzbekistan to show how precision technology and data from our machines can help farmers increase productivity and save water. The Drops of the Future initiative is tackling water scarcity in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan by empowering young professionals through innovation and collaboration. It has been set up by The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which focuses on addressing a wide range of security-related concerns that include economic, environmental and human aspects. It is the first time OSCE has worked with private companies on the topic of water, agri-food production and energy to increase environmental efforts around water use, while improving production efficiency.
  • Nitricity Inc., a California startup electrifying the production of nitrogen fertilizer, today announced $10 million in project funding from a strategic mix of capital providers that includes Elemental Impact and Trellis Climate to build a first-of-a-kind (FOAK) organic fertilizer facility in Delhi, California.
  • Syngenta Group reported full-year sales 2024 of $28.8 billion, down 10 percent year-on-year. Sales were impacted by adverse weather conditions and the reduction of channel inventories in crop protection across multiple markets, a process that is now largely complete. Price pressure, particularly in the commoditized segments of the crop protection portfolio, and lower grower profitability also affected demand.
  • Syngenta Crop Protection has signed an agreement with Agrauxine by Lesaffre to private label and exclusively distribute Syngenta’s products STROVEQ® and SPREXIMA®. STROVEQ is a systemic resistance inducer and SPREXIMA, is a biofungicide. These products will be sold and distributed in the ornamental market in the US. This agreement further strengthens the collaboration between Agrauxine and Syngenta.
  • Sakata Seed America, Inc. representatives proudly attended the grand opening of the newly renovated Howard C. Brown Horticultural Greenhouse Complex at California Polytechnic State University, following the company’s $50,000 pledge to help modernize the greenhouse complex. The grand opening ceremony, held on March 21st, 2025, unveiled enhancements and restorations of the 18,000-square-foot ornamental horticulture facility, which initially opened in 1969. Updates to the complex include the installation of new shade and thermal curtains, advanced fog, cooling and steam-sterilization systems, new concrete flooring, and more. The improved complex aims to provide hands-on learning to Cal Poly students, with an emphasis on landscape and horticulture installation and design, vegetable production, floral production and design, and disease and pest control management.
    • AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes, Precision Agriculture

    Animal Ag News 3/27

    Carrie Muehling Leave a Comment

  • U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced new actions to reduce burdens on the U.S. pork and poultry industries, allowing for greater efficiency while maintaining food safety standards. The directive instructs the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to eliminate outdated administrative requirements that have slowed production and added unnecessary costs for American producers.
  • New data from the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service is beginning to shed light on the impact of beef and dairy crossbred cattle on the beef supply chain. While limited in scope, the data collected to date suggests the growing number of beef-on-dairy animals is contributing to higher cattle prices for producers and delivering added value to feedlots and processors. According to an analysis outlined in a new CoBank Knowledge Exchange report, the slaughter auction prices for beef-on-dairy cattle were slightly higher than for beef cattle and significantly higher than for dairy cattle. The weight of beef-on-dairy animals fell between the ends of the beef and dairy cattle spectrum.
  • The Cattlemen’s Beef Board & Beef Checkoff 2024 Impact Report is now available. This report combines the Cattlemen’s Beef Board Annual Report and the Beef Checkoff Evaluation Report to streamline processes and provide members and stakeholders with a single, comprehensive document. See how the Beef Checkoff utilized your producer dollars to support and strengthen the entire beef industry through research, promotion and education.
  • The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) thanked the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Services’ (USDA-NASS) for reinstating the July Cattle Report and the County Estimates for Crops and Livestock. These reports were discontinued last year but have provided critical data to farmers and ranchers for years.
  • Investing in the future of the beef industry, Certified Angus Beef (CAB) will award $100,000 to college students passionate about food and agriculture from the Colvin Scholarship Fund. Applications are across three categories and open through April 14. Applications for the 2025 Colvin Scholarship are now open and will close on April 14. Interested students who live in the U.S. or Canada can apply.
  • The U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC), National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), and Guatemalan Dairy Development Association (ASODEL), signed a memorandum of understanding that will strengthen ties between the U.S. and Guatemalan dairy industries as they advocate for free and fair trade policies and promote greater dairy consumption.
  • The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) is pleased to announce successful efforts to renew registrations of all 300+ U.S. pork harvesting and cold storage facilities eligible to export to China.
  • The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) proudly announced the recipients of the 2025 Lois Britt Memorial Pork Industry Scholarship and Neil Dierks Scholarship at the National Pork Industry Forum. Sponsored in partnership with CME Group and the National Pork Industry Foundation (NPIF), these awards recognize exceptional university students dedicated to advancing careers in the U.S. pork industry and shaping its future. To learn more about the application process, please visit: https://nppc.org/get-involved/education-programs/.
  • The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) proudly announces Dave Preisler as the recipient of the distinguished Paulson-Whitmore State Executive Award. Established in partnership with the National Pork Board (NPB), this award honors state executives who demonstrate exceptional leadership and commitment to advancing the pork industry. Preisler’s 28-year tenure as executive director of the Minnesota Pork Producers Association has left a lasting impact on Minnesota’s agricultural community and the industry at large.
  • USPOULTRY and the USPOULTRY Foundation are accepting nominations for the Dr. Charles Beard Research Excellence Award through July 1. The purpose of the award, which has been presented since 2013, is to recognize outstanding completed research projects, funded by USPOULTRY or the USPOULTRY Foundation, that have had a transformative effect on the poultry industry. The nominee may be recognized for multiple completed USPOULTRY research projects, all focused on the same subject area. Additional information about the award can be found here.
    • AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Animal Bites

    Passing of Gene Hemphill

    Chuck Zimmerman 4 Comments

    Gene HemphillCindy and I are very sad about the passing of Gene Hemphill. He was a great man who smiled a lot and always wanted to help anyone. He was also a very good friend. I don’t know how many hours or days we worked together, especially some unique projects like a trip to Jay Leno’s garage where we ate pizza with him or starting a Celebrity Tractor Race in Nashville during the CMA summer Fan Fair. We liked a lot of things in common like a good beer or maybe something stronger, while we talked for hours some times. We worked together with people like Michael Peterson and Chuck Leavell. And from a media perspective he helped so many over the years for the New Holland Farm Progress Show media tent to sponsored media room at Commodity Classic and more. I personally think it was genius since he had all these media folks interacting with him and the New Holland logo showed up on a lot of photos and videos.

    Oh Lord, grant eternal rest to Gene who is no longer with us. Shine your perpetual light over his soul and to rise to you.

    The obituary can be found here.

    Cindy helped find some photos of Gene. I’m sure there are more and we knew him before we started taking photos. But there are some good memories in these pictures including many in the industry with Gene.

    Our Friend Gene Hemphill Photo Album

    Ag Groups, Agencies, Agribusiness, Media, New Holland, ZimmComm Announcement

    Sen. Thune Calls for Farm Bill and Year-round E15

    Cindy Zimmerman Leave a Comment

    Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) took to the floor yesterday to urge Congress to help farmers who are struggling.

    “Many commodity producers are bracing for the prospect of serious financial losses this year,” said Thune. “These challenges are real. That’s why last December, Congress approved relief funding for agriculture producers hit by economic headwinds, as well as those affected by natural disasters.”

    But, Thune says, that is only temporary relief and no substitute for a new farm bill and the stability nationwide E15 could provide. “When I became Majority Leader, I made it clear that a full and updated farm bill would be a priority for the new Republican majority. Secretary Rollins has been clear that this is a priority for the Trump administration as well….As is a stable biofuels policy, including year round access to E15 and timely and meaningful updates to the renewable volume obligations that matter to ethanol producers in America’s heartland.”

    Sen. Thune floor speech 4:35

    Audio, Ethanol, Farm Bill

    Agrauxine Teams with Syngenta to Supply Ornamental Market

    Cindy Zimmerman Leave a Comment

    Syngenta Crop Protection and Agrauxine by Lesaffre have signed an agreement to private label and exclusively distribute products STROVEQ® and SPREXIMA® in the U.S. ornamental market.

    STROVEQ is a systemic resistance inducer and SPREXIMA is a biofungicide and both utilize Agrauxine’s unique strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast. STROVEQ is a systemic resistance Inducer (SRI) that acts preventively to prepare plants to defend against fungal attacks. SPREXIMA prevents disease infections by protecting fruits, flowers and wounds.

    “We are extremely excited to partner with Syngenta,” states Ariel Gohlke, North American Regional Manager for Agrauxine. “This agreement is another opportunity to expand the reach of our technology. Syngenta will be an excellent partner for us to reach more markets with our unique products.”

    The agreement gives Syngenta the rights to sell the products through its own distribution channels in the U.S. for the next five years.

    Biologicals, Crop Protection, Fungicide, Syngenta

    Ag and Biofuels Groups Seek Exemption to Shipping Rules

    Cindy Zimmerman Leave a Comment

    The United States Trade Representative‘s office is holding public hearings this week on proposed actions in the Section 301 investigation of China’s targeting of the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors for dominance that would result in new fees being imposed on Chinese vessels. The first hearing was held on Monday, March 24 and the second will be on Wednesday, March 26.

    More than 100 agricultural and biofuels organizations sent comments in a letter to USTR seeking an exemption for agricultural exports from both newly proposed fees on Chinese vessels and graduated sourcing requirements for U.S. built and flagged vessels “until such time as our nation’s ship production can meet the requirements needed to keep U.S. agriculture competitive in the global market.”

    “While we support President Trump’s effort to rebuild the United States position and power in global shipping, we are worried the current fees and timelines cannot be achieved without substantial economic harm on the farm and in rural America,” the letter stated. “These are not idle concerns. U.S. commodity prices and agriculture exports have already been negatively impacted due to uncertainty regarding when trade actions would become effective. Vessel operators have told U.S. exporters they intend to pass on 100 percent of the cost of the port fees.”

    Indiana soybean farmer and American Soybean Association director Mike Koehne testified Monday that the proposed solution offered by USTR in this investigation creates unintended consequences for soybean farmers. “Imposing port fees on most of the maritime fleet that exports from and imports to the U.S. will increase costs for U.S. farmers—both in terms of inputs like fertilizer, seed, etc., and getting crops to market. At the same time, our competitors in Brazil and Argentina will not be subject to the same regulations. While well-intended, this proposal would ensure U.S. soybeans will bear higher costs and be less competitive in the global marketplace.”

    Ag Groups, Agribusiness, transportation