RFA Ethanol Podcast

ZimmCast 716 – A New Podcast and New Presidents

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCastHello and welcome to the ZimmCast.

Cindy and I are getting a break from the agriblogging highway for a few weeks. We just completed a journey to Des Moines for Tech Hub Live, to San Destin, FL for the Southern Peanut Growers Conference and Palm Springs, CA for the Ag Media Summit. It has been a busy summer and I am very grateful for air conditioning. I’m old enough to remember summers in Sarasota, FL without AC and when my parents got our first box fan. This latest warm spell we’re having is nothing knew and that is no matter what the climate activist wackos say. It’s amazing how much misinformation is being spread right now.

Heart of Rural America PodcastSo, back to this week’s podcast. I’m going to start with an excerpt of the brand new podcast, The Heart of Rural America, hosted by Amanda Radke. She’s a South Dakota cattle rancher, wife, mama, author, and motivational speaker. Amanda also wrote for AgWired back in 2010! I highly recommend you subscribe to and listen to her new podcast. We are very proud of Amanda and have enjoyed watching her family and career grow over the years.

Next in the program are interviews with the new presidents of the Ag Communicators Network and the Livestock Publications Council. The gavel was passed for both organizations during the Ag Media Summit. First up is Martha Mintz, Corral Creek Communications. Next, you can listen to my interview with Katrina Huffstutler, Grant Company LLC.

Listen to the episode here:ZimmCast 716 - A New Podcast and New Presidents (16:08)

So that’s the ZimmCast for this week. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

Subscribe to the ZimmCast in:

ACN, Ag Media Summit, Audio, LPC, Media, Podcasts, ZimmCast

Organizations Supporting Tech Hub LIVE

Cindy Zimmerman

AgGateway’s Jeremy Wilson (L) poses with Kyle Daeley, Publicis Sapient, at Tech Hub LIVE

AgGateway and the Agricultural Retailers Association are two of the annual Tech Hub LIVE Conference and Expo supporting organizations for one very good reason – because their members attend.

“For the last 13 years, AgGateway has done a lot of work in the whole technology space and bringing data interoperability,” said AgGateway Executive Vice President Jeremy Wilson. “This conference has just turned into a really good event with our members and a lot of the core people. It’s like the third annual class reunion of the whole technology space working in this for the last 10-15 years.”

Wilson says AgGateway is currently gearing up for its 2023 Annual Conference, November 13-15 in Nashville.

2023 Tech Hub LIVE interview with Jeremy Wilson, AgGateway (4:15)

ARA CEO Daren Coppock (R) moderates panel at Tech Hub LIVE with Justin Quigley, Fresh Talent

“The things that are talked about here are important to retailers and so they’re important to us,” said ARA CEO Daren Coppock. “I find personally a lot of value in this meeting because of the new technologies and new players coming into the business.”

Coppock identified a couple of top issues for ag retailers discussed this year at Tech Hub LIVE. “One of them is building a data infrastructure from one end of the supply chain to the other…so that data transfer can be easy,” he said. “The other one is biological products…growers don’t have time to figure out which of the hundreds of biologicals out there will work on their farms…the retailers have an important role to play there.”

The 2023 ARA Conference & Expo will convene Nov. 28-30 in Orlando

2023 Tech Hub LIVE interview with Daren Coppock, ARA (2:55)

2023 Tech Hub LIVE Conference and Expo photo album

AgGateway, AgWired Precision, ARA, Audio, Tech Hub LIVE, Technology

Industry Ag News 8/4

Carrie Muehling

  • Between scoops of corn ice cream and live music, farmers and policymakers gathered at Minnesota Farmfest to discuss the issues that matter most to rural America. The Listening Session held by the House Agriculture Committee presented an opportunity for farmers, lenders, and other agricultural stakeholders to outline their priorities in the upcoming Farm Bill. Farmers testified that crop insurance is an essential risk management tool for America’s family farmers, and they asked that it be protected and strengthened in the next Farm Bill.
  • Agricultural producer sentiment improved slightly in July as the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer index rose 2 points to a reading of 123. Farmers were also more optimistic about their perception of current conditions and future expectations on their farms. The Index of Current Conditions rose 5 points to a reading of 121, while the Index of Future Expectations was up one point to 124. The Ag Economy Barometer is calculated each month from 400 U.S. agricultural producers’ responses to a telephone survey. This month’s survey was conducted July 10-14.
  • The Renewable Fuels Association announced that Pivot Clean Energy, Encore Energy Services and Continuum Ag have joined as the association’s newest associate members.
  • The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) announced the hiring of Jennifer Sharkey as Membership Operations Manager. In this role, Sharkey will be responsible for implementing and administering NCGA’s Customer Relationship Management System and will play a key role in membership recruitment and retention strategy.
  • The Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance (SSGA) will host a “Fork to Farm” event on Saturday, Aug. 12, sponsored by the Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board (WSMB). The event will take place in west-central Wisconsin and includes a farm and identity preserved processing facility tour. Attendees include a trade team of food entrepreneurs and marketers from Cambodia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Kazakhstan. Farmers are also invited to attend.
  • The Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) announces the launch of the “It’s Sustainably Soy” Certification program to recognize organizations, construction firms, and executives for utilizing sustainable soy-based products in their infrastructure projects.
  • The Sunbelt Ag Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year state winners have been announced for 2023. The group will announce the 2023 Farmer of the Year at the Sunbelt Ag Expo.
  • U.S. retail dollar sales of potatoes increased 16.8 percent July 2022–June 2023, which closed with a strong quarter (April–June 2023) that saw retail dollar sales growth of 14.5 percent compared to the same period last year. Dollar sales reached $16.9 billion for the 52-week period, the highest in five years.
  • The 2024 Beltwide Cotton Conferences (BWCC) call for papers opened August 1, 2023. Those interested in making an oral or poster presentation at this forum must start the process by clicking m-anage.com. Please note, due to changes to the Confex platform, submitters must create an account before submitting abstracts.
  • The 2023 Bayer Cotton Growers of the Year Johannes and Scarlett Roellgen from the Darling Downs say their agronomist, information sharing among farmers, and Cotton Australia’s myBMP program are important factors in their success. Johannes and Scarlett Roellgen from Tyunga Farms, Brookstead were announced the 2023 Bayer Cotton Growers of the year with fellow Darling Downs grower Daniel Skerman, representing Skerman Farms at Dalby, taking out the AgriRisk High Achiever award.
    • Zimfo Bytes

    Women in Ag Tech Ambassadors

    Cindy Zimmerman

    The first in-person meeting of the new Women in Ag Tech initiative happened at Tech Hub LIVE last week in Des Moines, but it was almost a year in the planning with an active group of 15 ambassadors who helped make it happen.

    Aurea Rivera, founder of Carbon Metrics Global, was one of the women who was involved. “I believe it was a great initiative because the demographics for producers doesn’t speak to a large number of women,” said Rivera. “We had great input and what we need to do now is follow up with some of the great ideas that were provided to us.”

    Rivera has had a wide ranging career in science and engineering, ranging from NASA, the Air Force and national intelligence, to starting her own business focused on carbon metric measurements, and she wants to give back by sharing her experiences with women starting out on their career paths. She was also a speaker at Tech Hub LIVE as one of the Tech Chats interviews.

    Carolyne Vowell, Product Manager/Sustainability Lead for Soiltech Wireless, also took part in the development of Women in Ag Tech and was thrilled at the turnout. “I was really surprised how many people showed up – it was fantastic,” said Vowell. “We made goals and initiatives in that meeting so I think we will definitely move forward.”

    Vowell also spoke at Tech Hub LIVE, presenting “The Dirt on Soil: Collecting Reliable Data for Improved Agronomic Decisions and Technology Deployment.”

    Listen to interviews with both of these Women in Ag Tech below.
    2023 Tech Hub LIVE interview with Aurea Rivera, Carbon Metrics Global (3:22)

    2023 Tech Hub LIVE interview with Carolyne Vowell, Soiltech Wireless (1:52)

    2023 Tech Hub LIVE Conference and Expo photo album

    AgWired Precision, Audio, Tech Hub LIVE, Technology

    Herbicide Tolerant Camelina Supports Large Acre Production

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Yield10 Bioscience announces positive results in the first field test of stacked herbicide tolerance (“HT”) traits in Camelina, which will help support grower adoption for the biofuel feedstock market by enabling weed control and increased access to acreage previously treated with Group 2 herbicides. Yield10 is executing a program to develop and commercialize spring and winter Camelina varieties with stacked herbicide traits to achieve large acreage adoption of the crop in North America.

    Drone photo of a portion of Yield10 Bioscience’s field planted with stacked HT Camelina demonstrating tolerance to an over-the-top herbicide application as well as tolerance to soil residual Group 2 herbicides

    In the second quarter of 2023, Yield10 researchers initiated the first field tests of candidate E3902 spring Camelina lines deployed with stacked HT traits intended to provide the plants with tolerance to the application of an over-the-top broadleaf herbicide for weed control as well as tolerance to soil residues of Group 2 herbicides, specifically including tolerance to both imidazolinones (“IMI”) and sulfonylureas (“SU”). Preliminary results of these field tests indicate that these Camelina lines demonstrate tolerance to both target herbicide chemistries. By comparison, significant injury was observed to control E3902 Camelina plants following application of an over-the-top herbicide and exposure to increasing concentrations of IMI or SU soil residues. Group 2 herbicides are commonly used to manage weeds in cereal and other crop rotations and can persist in the soil for months following use. Yield10 intends to harvest the plants and collect seed yield and oil yield data in the weeks ahead with the goal of selecting lead and back-up stacked HT spring E3902 Camelina lines for commercial development and seed scale-up.

    In addition to its program for spring Camelina, Yield10 researchers have also developed candidate stacked HT traits in a winter Camelina variety, and the first field tests of these stacked HT Camelina lines are planned for the fall of 2023. In the second quarter of 2023, Yield10 filed a request for Regulatory Status Review (RSR) with USDA-APHIS Biotechnology Regulatory Services (BRS) for stacked herbicide tolerant Camelina under the SECURE Rule, and a response from the agency is pending.

    Read more from Yield10

    Biofuels

    2023 Ag Media Summit Drew a Big Crowd

    Chuck Zimmerman

    2023 Ag Media SummitThe 2023 Ag Media Summit is concluding with a tour today but I’m on my way back to ZimmComm World Headquarters. We had a great conference which included 100 USDA communicators joining in for the first day of professional development sessions. It wasn’t all work though as we had fun with the famous welcome party to get things started. Marilyn Monroe showed up and got her picture taken with Greg Lamp, who received the AgCommNetwork Lifetime Achievement Award. The photographer is greg Hillyer, Editor in Chief of DTN/The Progressive Farmer.

    I’ll have more to share while I get caught up from 8 days on the agriblogging highway.

    If you missed this year’s Summit you can find lots of photos here: 2023 Ag Media Summit Photo Album

    The Agricultural Media Summit is the largest annual conference of agricultural communicators in the US and provides opportunities for networking and professional development through workshops and speakers from industry professionals. The conference is held by the Ag Communicators Network, Ag Media Council, and the Livestock Publications Council.

    ACN, Ag Media Summit, LPC, Meat

    Precision Ag News 8/2

    Carrie Muehling

  • U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack participated in a groundbreaking ceremony for a new Plant Sciences Building that will house scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Washington State University (WSU).
  • Southern root-knot (SRK) nematode is a major problem for Southern soybean farmers. In fact, researchers ranked it as the No. 2 threat to the southern soybean crop in 2022, costing farmers more than 13 million bushels that year. In an effort to increase awareness about the pest, researchers have, for the first time, mapped the distribution of SRK in field crops (any field that might someday rotate to soybeans) by county across the continental United States.
  • Renovo Seed will enter the seed market in October 2023, offering farmers, ranchers, and landowners across the U.S. a diverse seed portfolio focused on maximizing profitability and long-term land resiliency. Backed by Millborn, a vertically integrated seed supply chain powerhouse with over 35 years in the seed industry, Renovo Seed brings a unique vision for positive land use solutions.
  • Kynetec introduces MachineryTrak interactive online dashboards: the only single source insight into Ag machinery registrations, dealer network coverage and agronomic practices. MachineryTrak combines grower survey data on standardized machinery registrations, detailed dealer coverage analysis, and insight into changing agronomic practices to support agricultural machinery manufacturers and dealers with their go-to-market planning and analysis.
  • Kynetec’s recently launched first-in-class SaaS platform “AgMeta” helps sales managers overcome the ever-challenging problem of accessing useful forward looking data to enable them to confidently manage their teams at sales territory level.
  • Bushel announced an innovative new feature for Bushel Farm: automated grain contract entry.
  • PrairieFood announced the appointment of Jason Tatge as its new Chief Executive Officer. Additionally, Robert K. Herrington, the company’s Co-Founder and CEO, will now assume the role of Chairman of the Board.
  • The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) awarded a grant to Land Core to apply market-based incentive principles to determine the risk-mitigation benefits and related cost savings associated with specific soil health practices. The research explores developing discounts and incentives — similar to those for being a good driver and a non-smoker — for the adoption of agricultural practices such as cover cropping, reduced tillage and increased crop rotations.
  • After the successful first edition of FIRA USA in Fresno last year, 2,000 participants and ag leaders will gather at the Salinas Sports Complex from September 19-21 for the greatest event on ag robotic solutions in action with in-field demos.
  • Ayana Bio, the plant cell technology company, announced the opening of a new state-of-the-art laboratory situated in Boston’s Seaport District. The lab will serve as the nucleus for Ayana Bio’s pursuit of advancing plant cell-cultivated production systems to create a diverse range of high-quality and cost-effective health, wellness, and nutrition ingredients. The lab is in the same building as Ayana Bio’s strategic partner, Ginkgo Bioworks, increasing synergy with Ginkgo’s biological technology and resources.
    • AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes, Precision Agriculture

    Truterra Announces New Programs for Farmers

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Truterra, LLC, the sustainability business of Land O’Lakes, today announced the launch of four new data-driven regional and crop-specific programs to support farmers as they adopt regenerative growing practices.

    The offerings include a long-awaited solution for long-term adopters, Truterra’s first cotton-specific program, first nitrogen management program following a successful pilot and more. These programs build on Truterra’s mission to support farmers wherever they are on their sustainability journey and provide flexible, farmer-friendly programs.

    Truterra’s new 2023 sustainability programs include:

    Cotton Field Data Management program available for eligible Tennessee farmers to enroll – in exchange for providing field management data and signing a one-year commitment, eligible farmers will receive compensation as well as exposure to the transformative power of data-driven agriculture.

    Wheat Field Data Management program is available to eligible farmers in Ohio, Maryland and Kansas at the start of their sustainability journeys, with wheat in rotation between 2018-2023.

    Supply Shed Benefits for long-term adopters of sustainable practices. Farmers in Indiana are eligible if they have implemented strip-till or no-till and/or added cover crops on fields with corn. The practice must be in place for crop year 2023, regardless of the date of practice change.

    Nitrogen Management Incentive is available for eligible farmers with corn fields in Illinois having met the qualifying practice changes. The program is designed to be flexible in how a farmer may be incentivized, with either the reduction of fertilizer and/or addition of stabilizer.

    To learn more about these new programs and the range of Truterra services visit https://www.truterraag.com/enroll.

    Agribusiness, AgWired Precision, Precision Agriculture, regenerative ag

    Peanut Farmers Interested in SAF

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Finding new uses for peanuts is becoming a priority for the industry and there was a lot of interest at the Southern Peanut Growers Conference this year in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

    “Peanut oil is very suitable for conversion into a jet fuel…to be able to get into that market would be a further use for peanuts and peanut oil in the future,” said Dr. Marshall Lamb, USDA-ARS National Peanut Research Lab.

    2023 SPGC - Marshall Lamb, National Peanut Research Lab (2:54)

    Also at the conference this year was Nuseed Carinata, which is contracting with farmers to plant a cover crop in the off season that is being utilized for SAF already.

    “Our crop is rotated in with peanuts,” said Michelle Howard, Carinata commercial program manager. “You can plant carinata in the early November to mid November time frame and then harvest in April to May…It’s a cover crop that is profitable as well.” Howard says this is the second year they are contracting with growers.

    Farmers harvest the carinata and Nuseed buys it from them. “It’s crushed and blended into biodiesel…the oil we produce is actually owned by BP and BP is using it for aviation fuel.”

    2023 SPGC - Michelle Howard, Nuseed (2:11)

    Audio, Biodiesel, Biofuels, cover crops, Peanuts

    Farmerhood Seeks Help for Ukrainian Farmers

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Andrew Mullin, Earth Daily Agro, and Kateryna Konashchuk, FARMERHOOD

    As a sponsor of Tech Hub LIVE, EarthDaily Agro had the opportunity to introduce attendees to a global charity working to provide humanitarian relief to Ukrainian farmers.

    FARMERHOOD.org is a charitable collective that includes leading agricultural companies such as Syngenta and Land O’Lakes designed to help the smaller farmers impacted by the ongoing conflict with Russia. “And we offer them seed inputs, crop protection, fuel, repair services for bombed out equipment, as well as a limited amount of cash,” said Andrew Mullin, Earth Daily Agro. “We’re collecting donations from farmers and from agribusinesses to go directly to the farmers in Ukraine, and 95 cents of every dollar collected goes directly to these small farmers.” Ukrainian farmers with up to 1,200 acres (500 hectares) located in regions impacted by war are eligible to receive aid.

    Mullin facilitated meetings at Tech Hub LIVE with FARMERHOOD project manager Kateryna Konashchuk, who says these smaller farmers are enduring a second season now of uncertainty and struggle. “They have a lack of different resources and they would like to survive,” said Konashchuk. “They would like to stay on their land with their families because they do not know any other existence other than farming.”

    Konashchuk says her husband, who is a civil engineer, is serving in the Ukrainian artillery despite having no experience in the military. “There is no other way to stand for your land and stand for your family,” she said.

    Learn more about the situation for farmers in Ukraine and how FARMERHOOD is helping in this interview with Andrew and Kateryna and find out how to donate at FARMERHOOD.com.

    2023 Tech Hub LIVE interview with Andrew Mullin, Earth Daily Agro, and Kateryna Konashchuk, FARMERHOOD (15:44)

    2023 Tech Hub LIVE Conference and Expo photo album

    AgWired Precision, Audio, International, Precision Agriculture, Tech Hub LIVE, Technology