Valley Tracker Mobile

Chuck Zimmerman

Okay, so you can get your markets, make phone calls, take video and pictures, email, text, browse the web, edit documents, listen to music and podcasts and now you can control your irrigation equipment. All from your phone. With the introduction of Valley Tracker Mobile, irrigators now have access to the latest technology for remote management of their pivots and …

Agribusiness

RaboCasting

Chuck Zimmerman

I really like the idea of Rabobank producing an audio podcast of their news releases. (If you’d like this done for your company or organization then give the ag experts at ZimmComm New Media a call.) Here’s what the latest RaboCast is about: Since 1937 June has been Dairy Month: an annual tradition to celebrate the dairy industry. A new …

Agribusiness, Dairy, Podcasts

Bunge and Corn Products to Combine

Chuck Zimmerman

Once this deal closes, Corn Products International will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Bunge. Bunge Limited and Corn Products International, Inc. today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement in which Bunge will acquire Corn Products in an all-stock transaction. The aggregate transaction value is approximately $4.8 billion, including assumption of approximately $414 million of Corn Products’ …

Agribusiness

Food and Fuel From ICM

Chuck Zimmerman

Cindy is attending this week’s Fuel Ethanol Workshop in Nashville, TN and will be primarily posting onto Domestic Fuel. I think she’s in the process of uploading some photos as we speak. This one is from when she attended LifeLine Foods opening last fall. I thought it was appropriate in light of this announcement from ICM, Inc. This is exactly …

Agribusiness, Energy, Ethanol

SmartStaxing Seed Traits

Chuck Zimmerman

In another co-development kind of deal, both Monsanto and Dow AgroSciences just announced that they’ve submitted their SmartStax for regulatory review. Thanks to Dow for the picture of Mark Rooney (foreground), Mycogen Seeds field biologist, and Matthew Moeller, Mycogen Seeds research technician, supervise planting of SmartStax™ test plots at the Mycogen research station near Huxley, IA. In anticipation of SmartStax …

Agribusiness, Seed

A Sunny Announcement From BASF and Nidera

Chuck Zimmerman

It looks like a morning of “joint-development” announcements. This first one is from BASF and Nidera. BASF and Nidera today announced the introduction of CLHA-Plus – a new genetic trait for the CLEARFIELD Production System for Sunflowers – at the 17th International Sunflower Conference held in Cordoba, Spain. CLHA-Plus is the result of a long-term joint development program between BASF …

Agribusiness, BASF, International

Monsanto Completes Acquisition of De Ruiter Seeds

Chuck Zimmerman

Monsanto continues to grow its seed business. This time with De Ruiter Seeds. Monsanto Company announced today that it has completed its proposed acquisition of De Ruiter Seeds Group B.V., a Dutch-holding company that owns and operates De Ruiter Seeds, for EUR546 million in cash, or approximately $850 million at current exchange rates, less net debt. Monsanto will start to …

Agribusiness, Seed

Citrus Robots from Energid

Laura McNamara

Citrus growers will soon have a new employment option: robots. Energid Technologies is developing a robotic citrus harvester for bulk fruit removal. Energid Technologies Corporation has been funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture under the Small Business Innovation Research Program to develop a new robotic citrus harvesting system. This system will combine the intelligence of robotics with the efficiency …

Agribusiness, Farming, Food, Technology

Ag Leader Technology Precision Scholarships

Chuck Zimmerman

Precision agriculture training at Iowa State University just got a boost. Today, Ag Leader Technology announced their commitment to support students interested in precision agriculture by establishing the Ag Leader Technology Precision Agriculture Scholarship within the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (ABE) at Iowa State University. Five Ag Leader scholarships will be awarded annually starting in the 2008/2009 school …

Agribusiness, Education, Precision Agriculture

FMC Supports “Be a Hero, Support a Hero”

Melissa Sandfort

Crop producers in a variety of markets will have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of U.S. servicemen and women stationed overseas, with the “Be A Hero, Support A Hero” program from FMC Corporation. Throughout 2008, FMC will continue its support of the United Service Organization’s (USO) Operation Care Package initiative as part of the company’s ongoing …

Agribusiness