Greater Des Moines Welcomes Tech Hub LIVE

Cindy Zimmerman

Greater Des Moines welcomes Tech Hub LIVE

The Greater Des Moines Partnership went all out to welcome the 3rd Tech Hub LIVE Conference and Expo back to Des Moines where it all began just two short years ago.

The biggest crowd for the event yet gathered for fun and games, great food and fellowship with a ’90s theme at Ricochet in downtown Des Moines just a stroll down the sky walk from the conference hotel. The Greater Des Moines Partnership was thrilled to be the Tech Hub LIVE Destination partner and host this growing event.

“Iowa is such a hub for ag technology,” said Melissa Moyer, Economic Development Coordination Manager. “Whether it’s bioscience, whether it’s biotechnology, whether it’s molecular…we have technology to feed and fuel the world and there’s no bveretter place.”

GDMP Executive Director Mike Swesey says they are very happy that Tech Hub LIVE has chosen Des Moines for next year as well. “We’re happy that Tech Hub LIVE has chosen us for three of the first four years and we want to keep this partnership going.”

Listen to an interview with Moyer and Swesey here.
2023 Tech Hub LIVE interview Mike Swesey and Melissa Moyer, Greater Des Moines Partnership (2:46)

2023 Tech Hub LIVE Conference and Expo photo album

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

Animal Ag News 7/24

Carrie Muehling

  • There were 95.9 million head of cattle and calves on U.S. farms as of July 1, 2023, according to the Cattle report published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).
  • The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) announced that registration for Dairy Forum 2024 is open. IDFA’s Dairy Forum is known around the world as the premier annual event for dairy industry leaders to exchange ideas, foster innovation, and cultivate meaningful connections.
  • U.S. cattle producers are gathering in San Diego for the industry’s Summer Business Meeting to discuss critical issues, develop initiatives, and establish direction for various projects aimed at improving the beef cattle industry. The cattle industry Summer Business Meeting includes leaders representing the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, American National CattleWomen and National Cattlemen’s Foundation.
  • After a yearlong search, Purdue Animal Sciences has selected Hattie Duncan to lead its livestock judging team as well as the department’s newly formed livestock judging program. Duncan is a Wingate, Indiana, native who was raised on a Hereford cattle farm.
  • A University of Wisconsin-River Falls team took first place in the Dairy Management Inc. (DMI) New Product Competition with an innovation that contains 89 percent dairy ingredients and meet’s the contest’s guidelines of offering a calming aspect. The students created RootCurd, which resembles a soft pudding with a smooth and velvety texture and a slightly spicy flavor thanks to its inclusion of ginger. RootCurd was inspired by a traditional Chinese recipe and features lavender to help reduce physical and mental stress levels. The product provides 20 grams of dairy protein per serving.
  • Brady Janzen, a partner of Riverview, LLP in Morris, Minn., will serve an interim term on the Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative board of directors, the co-op announced.
  • Dr. Steven Ricke, director of the Meat Science and Animal Biologics Discovery Program in the animal and dairy sciences department at the University of Wisconsin, was recognized with the 2023 Poultry Science Association Distinguished Poultry Industry Career Award, sponsored by U.S. Poultry & Egg Association.
  • USPOULTRY’s 2023 Women’s Leadership Conference will provide participants with strategies and techniques to develop leadership, communication skills and successful teams, while setting work/life boundaries. Attendees can anticipate a range of valuable programming focused on professional and personal growth. This year’s conference will be held Aug. 17-18 at the Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa in Destin, Fla.
    • AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Animal Bites

    Locus Ag Expands Rhizolizer® Biologicals Product Line

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Locus Agriculture (Locus AG) has expanded its award-winning Rhizolizer® product line to feature crop-specific formulas that ensure broader availability for farmers looking to boost return on investment by up to $4,000 per acre.

    Rhizolizer is a line of agricultural biologicals composed of carefully selected strains of endophytic microbes tailored to specific crops which are designed to colonize roots, promote early root development and boost productivity.

    The line expansion includes:
    –Rhizolizer Duo for Berries & Melons
    –Rhizolizer Duo for Fruits & Vegetables
    –Rhizolizer Duo for Vineyards & Orchards

    Third-party trials performed through Contract Research Organizations (CROs) confirmed an increase in yield and a return on investment for all crops studied using the new crop-specific Rhizolizer Duo biologicals, including:

    Strawberries: up to 1,523 more pounds per acre and $4,190 return on investment
    Tomatoes: up to 3,993 more pounds per acre and $2,021 return on investment
    Peppers: up to 2,238 more pounds per acre and $880 return on investment
    Grapes: up to 1,939 more pounds per acre and $2,277 return on investment

    This expansion joins the Rhizolizer row crop line which includes Rhizolizer Duo, Rhizolizer Prime and Rhizolizer Organic for row crops.

    Learn more from Locus Ag.

    AgWired Precision, Biologicals, Fertilizer, specialty crops

    Industry Ag News 7/21

    Carrie Muehling

  • The National FFA Organization has announced the 16 finalists for its 2023 top achievement awards: American Star Farmer, American Star in Agribusiness, American Star in Agricultural Placement and American Star in Agriscience.
  • Farmers National Company has released its mid-year land values report with some interesting findings. There’s been a slight reduction in both sales volume and value growth within the ag real estate market. That trend has continued into the first half of 2023 with fewer properties being offered for sale and market values that, while still strong, are dramatically off the pace seen in the first half of 2022.
  • Join the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) this December 5 – 8, 2023 at a NEW venue, the Hyatt Regency Orlando, for the Field Crop Seed Convention, an unparalleled seed business networking and educational opportunity.
  • U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced bipartisan legislation to increase transparency and oversight of foreign ownership in the American agricultural industry. The Farmland Security Act of 2023 builds on the Senators’ bipartisan Farmland Security Act of 2022 by ensuring that all foreign investors, including “shell companies,” who buy American agriculture land report their holding, strengthening penalties for those who evade filing, and investing in research to better understand the impact foreign ownership of American farmland and agricultural production capacity has on our domestic food supply, family farms, and rural communities.
  • Youth members of Farmers Union from around the country participated in the 85th National Farmers Union (NFU) All-States Leadership Retreat. This year’s event was held at Montana Farmers Union’s Arrowpeak Lodge in Highwood, MT.
  • The thirty-fifth annual Georgia Peanut Tour will be held September 12-14, 2023, in Bainbridge, Georgia, and the surrounding area. The tour brings the latest information on peanuts while giving a first-hand view of industry infrastructure from production and handling to processing and utilization. Tour stops will be made in several peanut producing counties in Southwest Georgia.
  • According to a new quarterly report from CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange, the full impact of monetary policy actions—raising interest rates, quantitative easing and contracting the money supply—have yet to be felt. Those policy actions, combined with depleted consumer savings, tighter commercial bank lending standards and the persistently inverted yield curve are likely to result in a mild recession by the fourth quarter of 2023.
    • Zimfo Bytes

    ZimmCast 715 – Preview of the 2023 Ag Media Summit

    Chuck Zimmerman

    ZimmCastAfter getting a break from the agriblogging highway the ZimmComm Team has used the time for some needed work on headquarters. Fortunately it has been indoors as the temperatures are high and a lot of rain has fallen until the last couple days. So now it’s time to look ahead to some events we will be attending.

    The first one is the 2023 Tech Hub Live with a preview from Scott Cogdill, Proagrica. This is the third annual event and will have over 88 speakers, 19 tech talks, 19 fireside chats, 17 roundtable discussion groups and 10 breakout sessions. You can see who is exhibiting here.

    Following Tech Hub Live I will be at the Southern Peanut Growers Conference in Destin, FL. I’ll be creating content for the conference blog and there will be lots of photos and interviews.

    Agricultural Media SummitThen it’s on to the 2023 Ag Media Summit in Palm Springs, CA, and the Renaissance Palm Springs Hotel. I haven’t been able to attend them all but most of them. The AMS started in 1999. To get a preview of this year’s event I spoke with Shelia Grobosky, Public Relations Coordinator at BioZyme Inc. who is the AMS Steering Committee Chair and a member of the Livestock Publications Council. She says there are a number of things that have been changed in the schedule but the basics all all there. It’s not too late to register. You can do that here.

    Here is my interview with Shelia:ZimmCast 715 - Preview Interview of Ag Media Summit (21:07)

    Hope you are staying cool if you are in an area with significant heat but, hey, it is summer. 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, ZimmCast

    Registration Open for ASTA Field Crop Seed Conference

    Cindy Zimmerman

    The event formally known as CSS & Seed Expo has a whole new look and registration is now open for the debut in December. The American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) Field Crop Seed Convention will be held for the first time this December 5-8 at the new venue, the Hyatt Regency Orlando.

    Gathering over 2,000 attendees from 36 countries, the Field Crop Seed Convention (formerly known as the CSS & Seed Expo) is THE place to see and be seen amongst the global community of companies working in all field crops, from corn and soybean, to wheat, rice, cotton, sorghum and so much more. Now in Orlando, after 77 years in Chicago, our new venue offers any and all seed industry stakeholders a wealth of new opportunities, in a central hub of exhibits, sessions and private meeting rooms all in one combined meeting space area.

    Click here for more information.

    ASTA, Seed

    Precision Ag News 7/19

    Carrie Muehling

  • Total farm tractor unit sales in the U.S. turned positive for the first time in 2023, led by continued strength in large tractors and combines according to the latest data from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM). Gains in the U.S. market were led by 100+hp 2WD units, up 25.4 percent, closely followed by 4WD units up 21.9 percent.
  • Syngenta announced Syngenta Biologicals, bringing together Valagro – the pioneer in biostimulants and specialty nutrients it acquired in 2020 – with its in-house biologicals business, setting the stage to shape rapid growth of the global biologicals market.
  • Syngenta announced that its latest residual corn herbicide, Storen, has been registered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and will be available for use in 2024, subject to state approvals.
  • With 2023 planting complete, growers are turning their attention to managing their in-season inputs, and one of the key decisions remaining this year is whether or not to use a fungicide. With much of the Midwest currently under moderate to exceptional drought conditions, growers may be debating if applying a fungicide is worth it since dry conditions can limit disease pressure. In the last five years, 2020 was the driest summer and 2021 was the wettest. But in both scenarios, the Syngenta Cleaner & Greener fungicide portfolio still showed excellent performance and improved yields over untreated acres.
  • Cargill and John Deere are announcing a collaborative effort to streamline the digital and in-field experience for farmers using John Deere technology and electing to participate in the Cargill RegenConnect program.
  • CLAAS of America announces the opening of the first of two CLAAS FARMPOINT dealerships that employ a groundbreaking new approach to parts and service for CLAAS customers. The first of the new dealerships officially opened in Madisonville, Kentucky in early June.
  • Built on Founder Gary Vermeer’s legacy of finding a better way, for Vermeer Corporation the last 75 years have centered around impacting people and the world for the better. As the company looks to the future, third- generation family member, President and CEO Jason Andringa says the next 75 years will continue to aim for the same purpose.
  • New Holland Agriculture North America has introduced the new Durabine 413 PLUS disc header for Speedrower PLUS Series self-propelled windrowers.
  • For small grain and canola producers, consistency and efficiency are keys to a successful harvest. To help growers achieve reliable results, Case IH announces a collaboration with Honey Bee Manufacturing to allow WSC draper heads to connect to Case IH WD5 series self-propelled windrowers. Honey Bee brings their draper head technology for greater capacity, which maximizes efficiency across a range of conditions.
  • Precision Planting, most known for premier planter upgrades, launched a new product for the air seeder and fertilizer market. The Clarity system, a combination of advanced flow and blockage monitoring, gives greater detail into seeding and dry fertilizer application than ever before.
    • AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes, Precision Agriculture

    Third Tech Hub LIVE Spotlights Innovative Companies

    Cindy Zimmerman

    The third annual Tech Hub LIVE is set to open its doors next week and bring together the largest gathering yet of ag tech practitioners, thought leaders, and innovative solution providers, with some of the industry’s leading companies on display.

    Tech Hub LIVE offers an unparalleled opportunity for ag retailers, distributors, consultants, manufacturers, and other stakeholders in the ag supply chain to discover the latest advancements in decision-making and analytics software, with an exhibit hall featuring over 75 booths and meeting rooms. With over 88 speakers, including 19 tech talks, 19 fireside chats, 17 roundtable discussion groups, and 10 breakout sessions, participants will be equipped with the knowledge and tools needed to turn new technology opportunities into practical business advantages on the farm.

    More industry partners, sponsors, and exhibitors have come together this year to make Tech Hub LIVE possible, as those from previous years have returned. Among this year’s event partners are Education Partner Ever.Ag; Sustainability Partner Indigo Ag; and Networking Partner Proagrica, as well as Destination Sponsor Greater Des Moines Partnership.

    Click here for a complete list of exhibitors.

    Scott Cogdill, Director of Business Development at Proagrica, talks about why they are helping to sponsor Tech Hub LIVE again.
    2023 Tech Hub LIVE partner preview with Scott Cogdill, Proagrica (8:23)

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

    The IFAJ Flag has been passed to Switzerland

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Passing the IFAJ flag to SwitzerlandThe International Federation of Agricultural Journalists has several traditions. One is at the end of the annual Congress when the IFAJ Flag is passed on to a representative of the country guild that will be hosting next year’s Congress. In this case the flag is being passed to Switzerland. Representing is Markus Rediger, past president of IFAJ and in Switzerland and Lena Johansson, current IFAJ president. You can listen to their remarks here:
    2023 IFAJ Congress passing the flag (3:27)

    Here are details for next year’s IFAJ Congress Switzerland. Interlaken, August 14-18, 2024

    Welcome to Switzerland. We invite you to the IFAJ Congress in Switzerland, where we will talk about the high expectations of society and take a look behind the scenes of Swiss agriculture. The congress will take place in Interlaken in the Bernese Oberland. An impressive landscape and a diverse agriculture awaits you.

    Speaking of flags, another IFAJ tradition. At every annual congress, IFAJ has the tradition of putting up the flags of each member country, either at the Delegate Assembly or during the closing banquet (or both!). It is an impressive sight to see all 40+ flags hung around the room and is an inspiration for the internationalism that IFAJ stands for. You can see them displayed around the room in the photo album.

    Thank you to Alltech for making it possible for me to attend this year’s IFAJ Congress.

    Click here for the IFAJ Congress 2023 Photo Album.

    Audio, IFAJ, International, Media

    Animal Ag News 7/17

    Carrie Muehling

  • Performance Livestock Analytics (PLA), a leader in data analytics solutions for livestock producers, announced its separation from Zoetis. The newly independent PLA business is led by its original founders, Dane Kuper and Dustin Balsley, and with financial investment from Builders VC.
  • The National Safety Conference for the Poultry Industry will provide poultry facility and corporate safety professionals with the tools to help ensure industry personnel’s continued well-being and protection. The Conference, sponsored by the Georgia Tech Research Institute/ATRP and the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, is scheduled for Aug. 14-16 at the Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa in Destin, Fla.
  • U.S. Poultry & Egg Association announces the promotion of Gwen Venable to executive vice president – expo & communication services. She will assume the position as Nath Morris transitions to president.
  • U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) introduced the Dairy Business Innovation Act of 2023, bipartisan legislation that will reauthorize and strengthen the Dairy Business Innovation (DBI) Initiatives to help more American dairy farmers and processors add value to their businesses, including creating new products, expanding their markets, and modernizing their production facilities. Senator Baldwin successfully created the DBI Initiatives through the Dairy Business Innovation Act in 2018, which passed as part of the 2018 Farm Bill and has since delivered almost $40 million to help Wisconsin dairy businesses innovate and reach new customers.
  • FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative, along with other members of the Midwest Dairy Coalition, endorsed the Dairy Business Innovation Act of 2023 that was introduced by Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). This bill would increase the funding authorization for the Dairy Business Innovation Act, which supports dairy businesses in the development, production, marketing, and distribution of dairy products.
    • AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Animal Bites