USDA September Crop Forecast

Cindy Zimmerman

USDA-LogoDespite a slowly maturing corn crop impacted by late summer heat, USDA upped its production forecast for the crop this year by a little bit instead of lowering it.

Corn production is forecast at 13.8 billion bushels, up less than 1 percent from the August forecast and up 28 percent from 2012. If realized, this will be a new record production for the United States. Based on conditions as of September 1, yields are expected to average 155.3 bushels per acre, up 0.9 bushels from the August forecast and 31.9 bushels above the 2012 average. If realized, this will be the highest average yield since 2009.

USDA did lower the soybean forecast by three percent to 3.15 billion bushels, still four percent above last year and expected to be the fourth largest on record. The cotton crop was lowered by another one percent to 12.9 million 480-pound bales, down 26 percent from last year.

During the Minneapolis Grain Exchange conference call on the report, Louise Gartner of Spectrum Commodities, commented on both the new production forecast and the new WASDE report.MGEX September USDA Report call

Audio, Corn, Soybean, USDA

iCropTrak Puts Food Safety On The Map

Talia Goes

icropIf you have driven on a California highway recently you may have noticed an occasional tomato heap, scattered bell peppers or bunch of celery on the roadside. Harvest crews are busy bringing in crops throughout the state and truck traffic is backed up at weigh scales and processing facilities.

To ease the paperwork burden, Cogent3D, Inc. has announced the availability of a pre-configured Food Safety module for the iCropTrak iPad and iPhone software. iCropTrak subscribers can now document Food Safety inspections at the farm field using the Primus Labs Pre-Harvest Block Inspection and other protocols. The inspection data is automatically tagged with the inspector credentials and the precise GPS coordinates for the location of the inspection. “iCropTrak disqualifies any doubt that an inspection was filled out from a shady parking lot rather than at the farm field”, explained Rob Wood of Cogent3D, Inc. iCropTrak provides users with instant visual feedback through its map based interface and managers can track inspection activities remotely and see exactly where inspectors are working and what fields have been inspected. The Food Safety module is being offered at no charge to new subscribers who sign up for iCropTrak before September 30th, 2013.

Agribusiness, Food, Safety

Names for REAL Seal Cartoon Character

Talia Goes

RealAs part of the ongoing effort to revitalize and build awareness of the dairy industry’s iconic REAL Seal, the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) is inviting the public to help choose the name that will be given to a cartoon character modeled after the logo. The character greets those who go to www.realseal.com and will be used in other applications in the future.

Throughout the summer, NMPF used the REAL Seal website and Facebook page to gather submissions for the naming contest. More than 110 individual suggestions were entered. After a review process, the three most fitting candidates were selected. They are:
· Dairyus – Submitted by Kathryn in Clermont, IA (honorable mentions to Ed in Tipton, IA, and Joe in Washington, DC, for alternate spellings).
· Milkdrop – Submitted separately by Roger in Franklin, KY, and Cecelia in Amelia, VA.
· Roscow – submitted by Gavin in Fairfax, VA (honorable mention to Sara in East Syracuse, NY, for an alternate spelling).

To choose among these three finalists, voters can visit www.realseal.com to select a favorite. The campaign is also being promoted at the Seal’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/REALSealDairy. The online voting link will be open through Tuesday, Nov. 5th, which is Election Day 2013. Only one vote per computer will be allowed. The result will be announced November 13th at the NMPF annual meeting in Phoenix.

Advertising, Agribusiness, Dairy

Help Make NAMA Fall Conference a Record

Chuck Zimmerman

2013 NAMA Fall ConferenceOkay. Here’s the deal agrimarketers. You can still attend the National Agri-Marketing Association Fall Conference in St. Louis next week. Let’s make this a record breaker. We’re very close to our attendance goal now so all you have to do is call the office and let ’em know you’re coming.

We’ve got a great program that covers some breakouts on topics of importance to the industry that you have not seen before like climate change and the outlook for agriculture. You’ll enjoy our keynoter, Brian Billick, talk about The Essentials for Success. And of course there will plenty of world renowned NAMA Networking!

I hope to see you in St. Louis next week.

Ag Groups, NAMA

Seafood Videos for Consumers

Chuck Zimmerman

Seafood Industry Research FundWe’ve heard a lot about consumer attitudes about and consumption of meats like beef and pork but how about seafood? Well the Seafood Industry Research Fund sponsored a research study to do just that. Working with Virginia Tech’s Department of Food Science and Technology the research was used in the development of educational videos that address gaps in consumer knowledge and barriers to purchasing seafood.


“There are many seafood lovers out there who don’t even know it yet,” said SIRF Chairman Russ Mentzer. “For some, seafood can seem challenging. This research helps identify exact consumer concerns, letting us know where the industry needs to focus our educational efforts and how to reach new customers.”

The research finds many consumers simply don’t know how to buy and prepare seafood at home. Further complicating things many are also confused about the health benefits.

Here is one of those videos:

You can find the other one here.

Ag Groups, Aquaculture, Food

IFAJ VP Reports and Rocks

Cindy Zimmerman

ifaj13-owen2International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) Vice President Owen Roberts, Director for Research Communications at the University of Guelph, had some great news to share about the organization’s outreach efforts during the IFAJ 2013 Congress.

IFAJ has 33 member country guilds, but Owen says they have been working on expanding that to become even more global. “That has started a bunch of programs such as the Master Class which brings in journalists from, this year Latin American countries,” he said. “A program called Exposure for Development, which takes journalists to countries such as Uganda and Kenya.” In addition, the IFAJ newsletter is now offered in French to reach out to West African countries.

Owen also talked about the formation at the Congress of a Latin American ag journalists network, which included 15 countries, and outreach to the United Nations FAO to see how they can work together to achieve similar goals. Interview with IFAJ VP Owen Roberts

Besides being a great proponent of agricultural journalism, Owen also plays a mean guitar and it has been a tradition for many years at IFAJ for him and fellow members like bass player Mike Wilson to entertain the Congress. They get better every year!


2013 IFAJ Congress Photo Album

Coverage of the 2013 IFAJ Congress is sponsored by Novus International and Dupont Pioneer
Audio, IFAJ

New Holland Attention Getting Combines

Chuck Zimmerman

New Holland CombineIf you visit a New Holland exhibit at the farm shows this season you can not miss the big yellow CR9000 Combines and corn heads. This one was on display at the Farm Progress Show and showing it off to the ag media was New Holland’s Nigel McKenzie.

These bad boys continue the more than 35-year pure “Twin Rotor® bloodline” which offers superior multi-pass threshing and best-in-class grain and straw quality. You will also find industry leading stone protection thanks to the new, Dynamic Stone ProtectionTM system and superior residue management flexibility with features like the new Opti-Spread™ system. They also have new Tier 4A engines which decrease emissions and decrease your fuel costs. They feature New Holland’s ECOBlue™ SCR technology that turns cool, clean air into more power while using less fuel for up to 10% fuel savings.

You can listen to my interview with Nigel here: Interview with Nigel McKenzie

You can also watch his presentation in the video below.

2013 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

Coverage of the 2013 Farm Progress show is sponsored by Bayer CropScience, Growmark and New Holland
Agribusiness, Audio, Farm Progress Show, Harvest, New Holland, Video

Reinventing the Shovel

Melissa Sandfort

2 - stephen with shovelA problem exists today – individuals finish a day of work with sore backs, wrists, and arms from twisting and tweaking in unnatural positions. This results in lost labor, time, and capital. Luckily, a 24-year old entrepreneur combined his business degree with an epiphany, and as a result, Stephen Walden has reinvented the shovel. He says, “Our shovels provide an ergonomic benefit by returning the body to a more natural position, ultimately allowing the user to get more done in less time.”

These shovels improve posture to reduce back strain and relieve wrist pain by taking the wrist out of a pronated position. With worker’s compensation claims surpassing $200 billion in 2012, Walden decided that the workplace needs innovation. Thus, he began with a tool that has not changed for thousands of years.

The genius behind the tool is the double-handle design, which allows the body to work in a more natural position – improving posture, decreasing wrist pronation, and increasing range of motion. Additionally, the center handle rotates 360 degrees, allowing complete customization of the hand’s position. Walden is currently developing a U-shaped foothold as well, which is touted as “an ingenious change to the old design”.

Learn more about the new ergonomic shovel and Bosse Tools is currently live on Kickstarter.com where you can place an order for one of their tools. If you have questions for the inventor, drop him a line at Stephen Walden, CEO, stephen@bossetools.com.

Farming, Technology

Cattle and Ethanol Debating RFS

Cindy Zimmerman

rfa-ncba-debateNational Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Executive Director of Legislative Affairs Kristina Butts is live right now on AgriTalk in a debate with Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Bob Dinneen over the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The Great RFS Debate is being co-hosted by Agri-Pulse.

Pictured here, left to right, as the debate begins – Bob Dinneen, AgriTalk host Mike Adams, Agri-Pulse editor Sara Wyant, and Kristina Butts.

Archived program available here.

Agri-Pulse, Beef, Ethanol, Livestock, NCBA, RFA

The Next Generation of Farmers

Jamie Johansen

chuck-fps-inciBayer CropScience talked the next generation of farmers during their ag media luncheon at the recent Farm Progress Show. Bayer is looking at the future face of agriculture from the industry, employee and farmer prospective.

Vice President of Commercial Operations for Bayer CropScience, Inci Dannenberg, addressed the crowd and later spoke with Chuck about the importance of the next talent pool, where it will come from and how it will deliver the innovation needed to continue to feed a hungry planet.

“One thing that we are doing is called, “Making Science Make Sense.” It’s a program where Bayer volunteers from all parts of the Bayer to go out to elementary schools and engage young kids in science by doing hands-on, fun experiments. This hopefully insights in them a bit of passion and interest and continue on to look at science in their future.”

“There are numerous areas where knowing science and understanding the science of our population is very critical. One is obvious in the area of innovation and technology. We can’t do what we need to do unless we have folks coming up through the ranks that can provide us that innovation. The other is understanding the importance and value that innovation brings and allowing that innovation to be brought forth. For example, making sure our future legislatures and our future business people understand what it is that agriculture delivers and what modern agriculture is all about.”

Listen to Chuck’s complete interview with Inci here: Interview with Inci Dannenberg

2013 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

Coverage of the 2013 Farm Progress show is sponsored by Bayer CropScience, Growmark and New Holland
Audio, Bayer, Farm Progress Show, Farming