2025 Tech Hub Live

DPH Bio Introduces RegenAphex Technology Platform

Cindy Zimmerman

DPH Biologicals™ announced today RegenAphex™, a new technology platform based on the regenerative power of a proprietary plant-based humus extract produced at the company’s Princeton, Illinois site, the largest plant-based composting facility in the United States.

RegenAphex provides growers with a regeneratively-produced biological solution, delivering readily available carbon and a consortium of microorganisms known to improve soil health, increase crop nutrient uptake and support plant health. The company’s flagship biofertilizer, TerraTrove™ SP-1 Classic™, was built on RegenAphex technology and is now being offered as a foliar application, a powerful and proven testament to the success of the formulation.

Driven by consumer demands, changing climates and dwindling natural resources, regenerative agriculture, a method of farming that focuses on regenerating soil and ecosystem health for better outcomes, is growing rapidly. The regenerative agriculture marketplace is projected to reach $24 billion in global revenue for 2030, growing at 14.4% CAGR, according to a recent market report.

Mick Messman President & CEO for DPH Bio says he is most excited about this technology because it seamlessly fits into modern production practices, balancing performance, sustainability and scalability. “We take a lot of pride in the fact that it is a renewable resource produced right here in the heartland, which allows us to mitigate the uncertainty and complexity of today’s global supply chain,” said Messman.

In this interview, Messman explains the advantages of this dynamic new technology for growers.
Interview with DPH Bio President and CEO Mick Messman (7:37)

AgWired Precision, Audio, Precision Agriculture, Sustainability, Technology

California Dairies and DSM Venturing Invest in Athian

Cindy Zimmerman

Athian has completed its seed funding round with investments from two strategic partners: DSM Venturing, the corporate venture arm of Royal DSM, and California Dairies, Inc. (CDI), the largest dairy farmer-owned cooperative in California and second largest in the United States.

Athian is the world’s first carbon marketplace for the livestock sector and this investment advances global acceptance of its novel transactional carbon credit inset program, along with previous investors, Elanco Animal Health, Tyson Ventures and Newtrient LLC.

“We are excited by CDI and DSM Venturing’s enthusiasm for our innovative carbon marketplace platform. The groundswell of support has been tremendous” said Paul Myer, CEO of Athian. “This announcement not only expedites our reach into international markets but also accelerates practical environmental solutions that give farmers new revenue streams and helps companies deliver on their sustainability commitments throughout the value chain.”

Athian’s carbon credit insetting platform will enable livestock farmers who implement sustainable practices the ability to earn revenue to fund those initiatives. Athian’s key mission is to help the beef and dairy value chains capture and claim carbon credits earned through sustainability efforts. Athian aggregates, validates, and certifies, greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions, and monetizes those reductions through the sale of carbon credits which offer value to the supply chain as important carbon assets related to Scope 3 emissions.

In addition, Athian announces Scott Horner, Regional Managing Director North America at DSM Venturing, and Darrin Montiero, Vice President of Sustainability at CDI, join the Athian Board of Directors in an observer capacity.

Animal Agriculture, carbon, Dairy

Animal Ag News 5/1/23

Cindy Zimmerman

  • Alltech is pleased to announce that Dr. Curtis Novak has joined the company as the general manager of its U.S. poultry division. Dr. Novak will be leading Alltech’s poultry team, strengthening alignment across all business units, from research and development to account management. Prior to joining Alltech, Dr. Novak served as the manager of poultry sales and research at Purina Animal Nutrition. He holds a doctoral degree in poultry science from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
  • The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) announced that Carter Cattle Company, LLC, in Pintlala, Alabama, is the 2022 National Environmental Stewardship Award Program (ESAP) winner. The award, which annually recognizes the outstanding stewardship practices and conservation achievements of cattle producers, was presented to the Carter family during NCBA’s annual Spring Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C.
  • The Dairy Business Association and Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative announced the hiring of Andrea Fencl as communications specialist. Fencl brings experience in communication and sales roles within various industries, most recently serving as a communications specialist for Faith Technologies Incorporated in eastern Wisconsin. She also brings prior news experience from her time with The Waukesha Freeman.
  • Seventeen students will receive a total of $18,000 in scholarships from FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative this year. 2023 marks the eleventh year the cooperative has been providing scholarships, for a grand total of 241 recipients totaling $226,000.
  • TDSG, LLC, doing business as The Dairy Solutions Group, has finalized an agreement to acquire the Arizona, California and Idaho locations of Total Dairy Solutions(TDS), effective April 2, 2023. TDSG is a newly formed subsidiary of Omaha-based Standard Nutrition Company (SNC), its majority owner.
  • Bion Environmental Technologies, a leader in advanced livestock waste treatment technology and premium sustainable beef, and Dakota Valley Growers, a cattle feeder near Bathgate, North Dakota, announced plans to develop a 15,000-head sustainable beef cattle feeding operation. Annual production from the facility is expected to be approximately 42,500 head of premium sustainable beef cattle.
  • The Southeast Grazing Exchange is a new service that allows ranchers to find farms where their livestock can graze. This is beneficial to not only the livestock, but studies have also indicated benefits to the following season’s crop, as well. Funded by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Office of Agricultural Water Policy, the service is free to users and seeks registrants with all livestock and field types, from Florida as well as neighboring Alabama and Georgia. Environmental impact is another goal of the project, with sustainability efforts in these states affecting one another.
    • AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture

    #NAMA23 Wrap Up

    Cindy Zimmerman

    John Rozum (left) accepts the gavel from Deron Johnson as new NAMA president

    The 2023 Agri-Marketing Conference in St. Louis last week was a great success with nearly 900 attending and about 200 of those first timers. The Student Marketing Competition had 25 student chapters competing with the final winner being the New Mexico State University student chapter.

    More than 50 Best of NAMA awards were presented this year, including:
    Best of Show awards
    Advertising: John Deere / In-House
    Public Relations: AGCO / Colle McVoy
    Digital: Cobalt Cattle Co. / Bader Rutter
    Specialty: Purina Animal Nutrition / Filament
    GRAND CHAMPION: Idaho Potato Commission / EvansHardy + Young

    Congratulations to the new President of NAMA President, John Rozum, Senior Director, Ag & Utility Exhibitions & Events Director with the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), succeeding Deron Johnson of Curious Plot. Listen to an interview with Rozum below.
    Interview with John Rozum, AEM (10:59)

    Congrats also to all of the many organization award winners like Agribusiness Leader of the Year Eric Boeck, Regional Director North America Syngenta Seeds, NAMA Marketer of the Year Award Beth Burgy, President and Chief Operating Officer of broadhead, and Ag Association Leader of the Year Tim Price, Executive Vice President, Southern Cotton Ginners Association (SCGA). Listen to their remarks:

    Remarks from Eric Boeck, Syngenta (2:51)

    Remarks from Beth Burgy, Broadhead (4.24)

    Remarks from Tim Price, SCGA (11:31)

    The NAMA Fall Conference will take place early October in St. Louis and the 2024 Agri-Marketing Conference will be back in Kansas City, MO.

    2023 National Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

    Ag Groups, Agencies, Agribusiness, Audio, NAMA

    Industry Ag News 4/28/23

    Cindy Zimmerman

    • After 26 years at Farm Progress, Willie Vogt is retiring. Vogt has served as Executive Director, Content and User Engagement, for Farm Progress and has been covering agricultural technology advancements for more than 40 years. Announcing his retirement on Facebook, Vogt said, “Bobbi and I are looking forward to what’s next. I won’t disappear, and hope to do some other work in agriculture. But for now it’s time for a change, and perhaps the opportunity to slow down a bit.”
    • Congressman Tracey Mann and Congressman Glenn “GT” Thompson, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, are joining leaders from Kansas State University and Farm Journal Foundation for a panel discussion about the role of innovation in supporting global food systems. The event takes place at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 2 at Kansas State University in Manhattan. Click here to register.
    • The National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (NCERC at SIUE) recently welcomed Lucas Clayton as its newest visiting research fellow. Funded by the Illinois Corn Marketing Board, the nine-month fellowship program is intended to provide training and hands-on experience to prepare the next generation of engineers and scientists for work in mid- to high-skill jobs in the bioeconomy.
    • Apply to become a part of the third class of the NCGA Women and Mentors Program to be held in St. Louis on June 22-23. In addition to learning how to quiet their inner critic, exploring what they can learn from another woman’s leadership journey, and developing an action plan for their own mentorship journey, each participant gains a supportive group of peers committed to their success. Everyone will leave the retreat with a concrete action plan and a mentorship pairing to help each other reach their goals.
    • Stewart-Peterson Inc. is proud to announce the official launch of Grain Market Insider, a newly created grain marketing newsletter. This new service will provide grain farmers with a trusted, rules-based approach to market commentary and actionable advice. Grain Market Insider was created to provide farmers of all sizes with roughly five actionable cash grain recommendations per crop year, to allow even the best producers to improve their marketing decisions.
    • This summer and fall, UF/IFAS Extension will host the Ag Entrepreneurship Series, a program designed to help aspiring and beginning farmers sow the seeds of success. The program is open to anyone in Florida. The award-winning Ag Entrepreneurship series first launched in 2018 and has since expanded to include three workshops.
    • The Farm Credit Administration recently made three key staff selections: Zachary Lund as executive assistant to FCA Board Chairman and CEO Vincent Logan; Mike Stokke as executive assistant to FCA Board Member Glen Smith; Trevor Reuschel as director of the Office of Congressional and Public Affairs.
    • Syngenta Group announced financial results for the first quarter of 2023 were $9.2 billion, up $0.3 billion or 3 percent, compared to a strong first quarter 2022. Syngenta Crop Protection sales grew 2 percent to $4.3 billion in the first quarter 2023. Syngenta Seeds sales grew 12 percent to $1.5 billion in the first quarter 2023, as price increases covered higher costs.
    • Ag Management Solutions (AMS) was nominated for 12 National Agri-Marketing Awards (NAMA) this year and walked away from the annual conference with five, the most the Minnesota-based company has earned since its inception in 2017. AMS is an association management company that helps small and medium-sized companies with limited staff have a meaningful impact. Headquartered in Mankato, Minn., AMS is owned by the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association and the Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council.
    Ag Groups, Agribusiness, Zimfo Bytes

    Student NAMA Competition a #NAMA23 Highlight

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Gator NAMACongrats to Gator NAMA (Go Gators) and a valiant effort for the team that competed in the Student Marketing Competition at the 2023 Agri-Marketing Conference. They didn’t make the semi-finals but the key is the effort and networking with professional members attending the conference. There are 25 student chapters competing this year and semi-finals took place late yesterday. Then today the finals will take place and winners will be announced at the end of the day.

    Besides all the student activities we’ve got keynote speakers today and NAMA award presentations as well as breakout sessions. The Connection Point (trade show) is open with lots of companies exhibiting and we have a silent auction to raise funds for the NAMA Foundation.

    You can find plenty of photos from this year’s conference here: 2023 Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

    NAMA

    Field Notes from Koch Agronomic Services – Episode 28

    Chuck Zimmerman

    The Field Notes podcast series from Koch Agronomic Services (KAS) breaks down the science and technology behind agronomy to help growers do more with less.

    The Dangers of Drought

    In this episode, we’re talking about drought dangers growers face as it pertains to soil health and nutrients in the field. We’ll speak with KAS technical agronomist, Matt Fryer and Kansas grower, Tim Turek. They’ll discuss the impact drought has on soil fertility and the tools growers have available to help their crops overcome these limiting factors and increase to maximum yield potential.

    You can listen to the program here: The Dangers of Drought 34:04)

    And to make sure you don’t miss an episode, choose an option to subscribe

    For Spotify on your computer download the desktop app

    Agribusiness, Audio, Fertilizer, Koch Agronomic Services, Podcasts, Soil

    Precision Ag News 4/26/23

    Cindy Zimmerman

    • GROWERS and Koch Agronomic Services (KAS) have joined forces to leverage the GROWERS’ platform to introduce farmers to KAS’s product portfolio. KAS will utilize the unique functionality of The GROWERS App to promote companion and alternative products to farmers as they research inputs to purchase and conduct comparisons of different brands. Farmers can learn more about those products and add them to a product request to be sent directly to their retail partners through The GROWERS App.
    • The CropLife Ag Tech Awards Of Excellence program is seeking nominations for the Precision Farmer of the Year Award. This award is to recognize an individual who has embraced precision technology and techniques in his or her farming operation with demonstrated impacts on their production systems through improved yield, input use efficiency, and/or profitability as well as improvements in land stewardship through resource conservation and environmental enhancement. Nominations must be received by May 1.
    • To help turf and ornamental (T&O) professionals deliver the climate-resilient turf, ornamental plants and trees their customers expect, DPH Biologicals™ announced global distribution of RootXCell™, a unique biostimulant combining living biologicals with a powerful, well-known plant growth hormone.
    • A growing number of property owners of every type are looking for ways to manage their equipment and the work it does. Because of this, John Deere has created John Deere Property Center™, a mobile-friendly web-based tool that allows you to plan and track maintenance for your equipment, buy parts, and learn how to do key jobs around your yard or acreage.
    • Valent BioSciences announces the retirement of President and CEO Ted Melnik, effective July 2023. In addition, Salman Mir, currently Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, has been named President and CEO, also effective July 2023.
    • USDA announced an investment of more than $46 million in the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. These 10-year awards are being made by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to the University of Minnesota, University of Vermont, University of Georgia, Montana State University, and University of Maryland. In addition, USDA announced the appointment of Manjit K. Misra as the new Director of NIFA, effective May 8.
    • The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is inducting two scientists into its Science Hall of Fame this year. George F. Fanta and Timothy P.L. Smith will be honored in a ceremony at the ARS National Agricultural Library in Beltsville, Maryland. ARS established the Hall of Fame program in 1986 to honor senior agency researchers for outstanding, lifelong achievements in agricultural science and technology. Fanta led the development of industrial and consumer-health products derived from agricultural commodities, particularly corn starch and wheat flour. Smith, a research chemist with the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center’s Genetics and Animal Breeding Research unit in Clay Center, Nebraska, was among the first to shape the direction and evolution of ARS’s animal genomics program.
    AgWired Precision, Precision Agriculture

    Syngenta and Biotalys Announce Biologicals Partnership

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Syngenta Crop Protection and Biotalys have announced a collaboration to research, develop and commercialize new biocontrol solutions to manage key pests in a broad variety of crops. The new solution will be based on Biotalys’ AGROBODY™ technologyand will offer a new mode of action to broaden farmers’ access to novel technologies that counter the threat of pest resistance and advance sustainable agriculture.

    “Syngenta is a leader in bringing farmers cutting edge technologies that improve the sustainability of agriculture, and we are excited to work closely with Biotalys as part of our agricultural innovation ecosystem,” said Camilla Corsi, Head of Crop Protection Research at Syngenta Crop Protection. “By combining our proven research and development capabilities with the breakthrough protein-based innovations of the Biotalys AGROBODY™ platform, we are determined to play a pivotal role in addressing critical farmer needs around the globe.”

    This new partnership allows Biotalys to accelerate the development and global commercialization of innovative crop protection solutions and cement its biocontrol innovation leadership by leveraging the expansive network and capabilities of a global agriculture business.

    “We are proud and excited to be working with Syngenta, a world-leading agricultural company, on one of the most pressing industry challenges – the development of innovative and effective pest control solutions – by delivering on the promise of our AGROBODY™ technology,” said Patrice Sellès, Chief Executive Officer at Biotalys. “Collaborating with Syngenta is a major milestone in our continued mission to providing growers around the globe with safe, efficient, and more sustainable agricultural solutions.”

    Biologicals, Crop Protection, Syngenta

    Looking Ahead to the 2023 IFAJ Congress

    Chuck Zimmerman

    IFAJ KnifeThe 2023 IFAJ Congress doesn’t start until the end of June but when I used this handy knife yesterday it made me want to share a picture of a very cool memento from Cindy’s and my first event in Switzerland. Thanks to LID.ch and Switzerland Cheese. I have used this Swiss Army knife since 2005! I like knives and don’t count how many I have. But I have given many of them away to family and friends. But not this one.

    Here is a link to the first post I did at that Congress way back then. At that time our sponsor was Pioneer Hi-Bred. The Congress is one of the best I’ve ever attended and Cindy and I have many memories from it including making international friends that we are still in touch with today. The Congress coincided with Cindy’s and my 25th wedding anniversary. We took extra days to stay in Switzerland and do things like take a train into the mountains and just randomly stopping to take cable cars to the top. From there we walked a path in beautiful weather, stopped at a monastery and had a nice talk to one of the nuns living there and listened to cow bells.

    So, I’ll be attending this year’s Congress in Canada thanks to Alltech. You can still register. I highly recommend it if you can and you won’t be disappointed. If you have any questions about the Congress I would be happy to answer them. Just let me know and I hope to see you there.

    Alltech, IFAJ, International, Media