Rep. Kristi Noem Unplugged

Cindy Zimmerman

kristiRep. Kristi Noem (R-SD) took advantage of last Thursday’s bonus day off from Congress to head back west and meet with some of her peeps at the AgFirst Farmers Cooperative in Aurora, SD.

Noem, who is a member of the farm bill conference committee scheduled to begin meeting this week, kicked back with a couple of the coop members and talked informally about differences between the House and Senate bills. She also talks about the value of ethanol production to cattle producers in her state.

As a farmer and rancher herself, Rep. Noem looks relaxed and comfortable in her jeans and boots with her normally perfectly-styled locks hidden under a ball cap.

Ethanol, Farm Bill, Video

Big and Small Farms Working Together

Chuck Zimmerman

Leah BeyerShe’s a mother running on empty. She’s Leah Beyer. Let the Beyer Beware. That all becomes clear when you click on through to the other side.

Leah was a panelist at the Boston Food Dialogues and the first one I interviewed. She’s a farm mom who grows corn and soybean with her husband in Indiana. They are “retired” dairy farmers. I asked her about her thoughts on the subject of farm size. She says, “I think a lot of times people in the media or people in the general public who aren’t connected with agriculture try to put up vs. as in big vs small. From my experience it’s big and small together.” She’s got some great examples you might not think of when it comes to this subject.

You can listen to my interview with Leah here: Interview with Leah Beyer

Follow Leah on Twitter @BeyerBeware

Boston Food Dialogues Photo Album

Ag Groups, Audio, Farming, Food, USFRA

Support inTANDEM Marketing Grant Application

Chuck Zimmerman

inTANDEM MarketinginTANDEM Marketing is a rural marketing agency looking to expand. They could use some help with their online application for a Chase Mission Main Street Grant.

inTANDEM marketing’s sole purpose is assisting small businesses in rural agricultural communities with their marketing needs to help them be successful and, in turn, the community sustainable.

inTANDEM marketing serves a diverse client base located in rural Iowa. Clients include those that are part of both agriculture service and production and those that directly impact economic development of the region. They realize the value of partnering ag and local small business to create a stronger rural communities. They are not the big guys in the big city…they are the guys that are located in and, focused on, making a difference in rural Iowa.

The reason inTANDEM Marketing wants to expand is to meet the demand of their client base and provide marketing expertise to more rural Iowa businesses. If they receive one of the 12 grants being offered, inTANDEM can position themselves for growth and plans to hire 2 – 3 new local team members. In order for applications to be considered, businesses need to receive 250 votes of support. To show them your support go to: https://www.missionmainstreetgrants.com/business/detail/8362 and vote.

Agencies

Anti-GMO Activist on Display

Chuck Zimmerman

Here’s an interesting video clip of Michael Pollan doing an interview. For those of you who don’t know of him, he’s a very anti-GMO activist who claims to be a journalist. This clip pretty well negates the journalist part when he brags about writing for the New York Times, “But when I wrote about food I never had to give equal time to the other side. I could say whatever I thought and offer my own conclusions.”

It’s also interesting to hear him lament about the “industry” finally fighting back against the kind of misinformation he propagates. He specifically mentions the Food Dialogues like the one that took place yesterday in Boston.

There’s a good Forbes article about this interview you might enjoy.

Food, USFRA, Video, Wackos

Zimfo Bytes

Talia Goes

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Alltech welcomes the best and brightest graduates from all over the world to apply for the second annual Alltech Career Development Program, which officially launched, Oct. 23.
  • Max Armstrong’s Tractor App on iTunes & Google Play, originally released in August, now has an update available.
  • A recent St. Norbert Strategic Research Institute poll commissioned by Cooperative Network has revealed that Wisconsin and Minnesota citizens prefer to get their electric and telephone services from cooperatives over investor-owned utilities.
  • Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced 14 awards for projects to bring broadband to unserved rural communities.
Zimfo Bytes

AGree’s Video on Food and Agriculture Systems

Talia Goes

AGree seeks to identify the most critical issues facing the global food and agriculture system and through a collaborative process that challenges leaders from diverse communities, build consensus around solutions. This short animated video describes AGree’s origins, principles and plans for a food and agriculture system that meets future demand for food while conserving and enhancing water, soil, and habitat; improving nutrition and public health; and strengthening farms and communities to improve livelihoods.

The AGree story — Animated Video from AGree on Vimeo.

Agribusiness, Video

CHS Grain Trading App

Chuck Zimmerman

CHS Grain Trading AppCHS, Inc. just announced a new app for mobile grain trading. This sounds pretty handy. So you grain trading agnerds out there have another app tool for your device and speaking of devices, there are lots more new ones to choose from like the new iPads announced by Apple this week!

The free app allows easy access to CHS grain terminals, soybean processing plants and select service center bids. It enables producers to make, monitor and manage offers to sell corn, soybeans and wheat electronically. The app also provides market information with the ability to create and manage futures-only, basis-only and cash offers.

Offers through the CHS grain trading mobile app are monitored during futures market hours from 8:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. and from 7 p.m. to 7:45 a.m. Utilizing the CME Group electronic markets, the app also facilitates an automatic connection between grower-approved offers and CHS hedge orders. With patented e-Pit® services provided by Farmstech, the app can place a hedge order, receive confirmation of the fill, execute the cash purchase, and notify both buyer and seller in seconds.

The CHS Grain Trading mobile app is compatible with both Android™ and iPhone® devices. Download the free mobile app at the App Store™ or Google Play store. Follow the registration process to link to your CHS account and create a grain trading mobile account. Enhanced login and security features ensure information privacy.

Agribusiness, Apps, Farming, Grains

Pre-harvest Calibrations, During Harvest!

Melissa Sandfort

Insights WeeklyFarmers across the Midwest are in the thick of corn harvest right now, but still keep in mind that there are some pre-harvest calibrations that you should run. Even if you don’t think you need to recalibrate everything on the combine, it is a good idea to check to make sure everything is functioning properly.

The first calibration you need to do is the temperature calibration. The yield monitor needs an accurate temperature in order to calculate moisture accurately. It is a good idea to leave the combine parked in the shade for an hour or so before doing calibration, or do it first thing in the morning. It is best to have the combine the same temperature as the air around it.

The next calibration you need to do is the vibration calibration. For this calibration, the combine header needs to be attached. The vibration calibration teaches the yield monitor the difference between grain hitting the impact plate and the vibrations of the combine going through the impact plate. You will need to do this calibration for each crop type.

Calibrating the header stop height is next. You will need to teach the yield monitor the maximum and the minimum header heights, and then you will set a height at which the area logging on the yield monitor will turn off. When you pick your head up at the end of the pass, the yield monitor will quit logging area and keep your yield more accurate. You will need to do this calibration for each crop type.

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Ag Leader, Agribusiness

John Deere Supports Global Harvest Initiative

Cindy Zimmerman

wfp13-jd-coryOne of the many agricultural companies represented at the World Food Prize symposium last week in Des Moines was John Deere, which is a member of the Global Harvest Initiative (GHI) along with companies such as Elanco, DuPont Pioneer, and Monsanto.

I spoke with Cory Reed, Senior VP of John Deere’s Intelligent Solutions Group, about the release of GHI’s 4th annual Global Agricultural Productivity Report® (GAP Report®). “The primary metric we use to look at productivity is total factor productivity – how much are you growing outputs versus the inputs you are putting into it,” he said, adding that technology is a great way to enhance that which is why John Deere is focused on being able to make it easier for farmers to grow the productivity of their operations.

Cory talks more about increasing productivity in this interview: Interview with John Deere's Cory Reed


2013 World Food Prize photos

Agribusiness, Audio, Elanco, John Deere, Technology, World Food Prize

Monsanto Research Center Groundbreaking

Cindy Zimmerman

monsanto-gb-1Monsanto celebrated the groundbreaking of a $400 million Chesterfield Village Research Center expansion this week, marking what they are calling the “next generation for agriculture and St. Louis.”

According to the company, the new global hub for research, development and agricultural innovation will create 675 new jobs in St. Louis over the next three years.

“Our Chesterfield expansion is focused on strengthening our world-class capabilities in the discovery and development of innovations for farmers around the world,” said Hugh Grant, chairman and CEO of Monsanto during the event which included Missouri Governor Jay Nixon. “As we look to the future, and work begins to expand this research facility, I’m reminded how important our mission to work together to help farmers produce more nutritious food in a sustainable way will continue to be.”

monsanto-chalk“Today solidifies Missouri as the leading agriculture innovation hub in the country,” said Nixon. “Monsanto’s decision to expand its footprint and create hundreds of high tech, high paying jobs in this region is good for our state, our economy and our citizens.”

Instead of the traditional hard hats and shovels, the groundbreaking celebration featured the unveiling of an interactive 3D chalk mural with an agricultural theme.

Agribusiness