During the recent “Science Behind BASF” event, Senior Biologist Dr. Chad Brommer gave an infrared imaging demonstration to assess Engenia™ herbicide, a technologically advanced dicamba formulation developed by BASF. Chad explains that they wanted a quantitative way to measure the safety and effectiveness of Engenia. “What we see with the camera is often things we can’t see with the human …
Harvesting The High Plains Documentary
Last year’s Midwest drought evoked images of the dust bowl of the “dirty 30’s”. But how many of you really know much about it or what it took to survive those trying times? Here’s one way you can get a glimpse into those times. It’s a film documentary called, “Harvesting The High Plains.” An advance copy is now available for …
Bringing Sexy Back to Agriculture
The take home theme of the Bayer CropScience Ag Issues Forum this year came to be “bringing sexy back to agriculture.” Which begs the question – when was agriculture sexy before? If sexy means sustainable, here are a couple of pretty sexy farmers. On the left is the Bayer CropScience 2013 Young Farmer Sustainability Award winner Jeremy Jack of Mississippi …
Dupont Pioneer Press Conference
Dupont Pioneer held a news conference at the recent Commodity Classic to introduce a new set of services. The focus of the press conference was the new Pioneer Field360 services. These new services are meant to help farmers increase productivity and profitability by providing more control of field-by-field data without having to become a technical expert. The Pioneer Field360 Services …
Pharming for a Better Life
Treatment for cystic fibrosis from corn? Potatoes that produce an antibacterial protein for use in cosmetics? Welcome to what could be the future of pharming. One of the growers at the Bayer CropScience Ag Issues Forum was Bill Horan, COO of Horan BioProduction in Rockwell City, Iowa. Bill, who is also chairman of Truth About Trade and Technology, talked about …
Early Registration Deadline for NAMA Conference
It’s time to get your registration completed for the 2013 Agri-Marketing Conference that takes place April 17-19 in Kansas City, MO. Save some $’s and do it now. The ZimmComm team will be there with a Connection Point booth to share what’s new in our world. Hope you stop by and say hi. Share this message with your friends in …
My Field’s Been Droned Dude
Ever since we’ve been hearing about the whole drone issue in Washington, DC I keep hearing this phrase in my head. But of course farm fields are being droned, by farmers themselves, and for good reasons. Here’s a great story on the subject. Helicopters are just plain cool, especially if you can operate them by remote control. The Aerial Precision …
BIVI Panel: Observe, Be Patient & Help Others
All this week we’ve been hearing from some of the presenters at the annual Boehringer Ingelheim (BIVI) Swine Health Seminar for swine vets held in San Diego. A panel session that featured Dr. Darin Madson from Iowa State University; Dr. Jim Lowe, a private livestock veterinary consultant in Illinois; Dr. Edgar Diaz, associate director of swine for BIVI; and Dr. …
Thad Simons 2013 Agribusiness Leader of Year
The President/CEO of Novus International, Thad Simons, is the National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) 2013 Agribusiness Leader of the Year. This award, which is NAMA’s highest honor, will be presented at the Opening General Session of the 2013 Agri-Marketing Conference, “Forging New Frontiers,” April 18, 2013, in Kansas City, Missouri. I’ll be there to see Thad receive his award. The award …
Pigs Start Coughing Long Before Our Brains Hear It
Understanding how early in the production chain a disease actually starts will give veterinarians a better chance at stopping it before it becomes a problem. “Twenty percent of those pigs are coughing before our brain will let us hear that,” Dr. Jim Lowe, a private livestock veterinary consultant in Illinois, told attendees of the annual Boehringer Ingelheim (BIVI) Swine Health …