Biggest Threat to Farm Bill?

Talia Goes

zp-nhOur latest ZimmPoll asked the question, ”Does farm size matter?” On Food Day, Oct. 24, 2013, the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance hosted a panel, “Farm Size: Does It Really Matter?” at the State Room in Boston to discuss the differences and similarities between large and small farms, and how farm size and ownership affect consumers’ food-purchasing decisions. You can watch the full video here to see if the panelists agreed with what most of you thought: size doesn’t matter as long as it’s sustainable.

Our poll results:
· No, as long as sustainable – 38%
· No, all are needed – 35%
· Yes, it’s big vs. small – 15%
· Yes, bigger needed to feed growing population – 10%
· Other – 3%

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “What’s the biggest threat to getting the farm bill done?” Is nutrition the hang-up, or is it agriculture? Let us know!

ZimmPoll

Soil Sampling This Fall

Melissa Sandfort

Insights WeeklyAs we move deeper into the fall and harvest wraps up in some areas, growers and ag-professionals shift their focus towards other fall activities, like soil sampling. Ag Leader’s SMS Desktop and Mobile Software can assist with this activity helping you setup soil sampling sites and navigate to those while in the field. After you have collected these samples and acquired the results from the lab, many of us use this data to create site specific fertilizing prescriptions either based on our own formulas or those of a state university like…Iowa State, Kansas State, Purdue, Mississippi State, Ohio State and many other Universities publish.

Luke James, Ag Leader Software Sales Manager, gives us an overview of how the software works when it comes to soil sampling to create variable rate fertilizer prescriptions.

Listen to James explain

The SMS Software can also help you create these types of prescriptions by utilizing SMS Basic’s Prescription Editor or the SMS Advanced Equation Writer.

James says it’s all an effort to help farmers be more efficient and precise.

Listen to James explain

Please contact our software support team if you have any questions at 515-232-5363 or SMSsupport@agleader.com. Have a great fall!

Become a fan of Ag Leader on Facebook today, and get the latest precision ag videos on the YouTube channel. For more information about Ag Leader products and services, or to visit the blog site, go to www.agleader.com.

Ag Leader, Agribusiness

Farmland – The Movie

Jamie Johansen

USFRAAward-winning filmmaker James Moll has announced the release of his first trailer for the new film called “Farmland.”. The documentary chronicles the next generation of American farmers and ranchers from across the United States.

You can view the trailer and additional information about the film at farmlandfilm.com. Mark your calendars for Spring 2014 when the film is released for the public.

“I make documentaries because it’s a thrill to explore new topics and meet people that I might not otherwise cross paths with,” said Moll. “While making Farmland, I found myself immersed in a community of some of the most hard working, passionate people I’ve ever met. This film isn’t just about what it’s like to be a farmer, it’s about a way of life. It’s also about a subject that affects our lives daily.”

Most Americans have never stepped foot on a farm or ranch or even talked to the people who grow and raise the food we eat. Farmland will take an intimate look at the lives of farmers and ranchers in their ’20s, all of who are now responsible for running their farming business.

Through this film you’ll step inside the world of farming for a first-hand glimpse into the lives of young farmers and ranchers. Learn about their high-risk/high reward jobs and passion for a way of life that has been passed down from generation to generation, yet continues to evolve.

The film is being produced with the generous support of the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance® (USFRA®)

Ag Groups, Audio, Farming, USFRA, Video

Annual Deer Hunt

Chuck Zimmerman

Hunt Camp MorningOh what a beautiful morning at the Crystal Pig Hunt Club or the CPHC. Howdy from the 2013 Rustler Hunt. Yep, there’s a hashtag for that – #RustlerHunt.

We’ve got a beautiful work day started here at the CPHC and of course I’ve got photos. here’s where you can find them.

Crystal Pig Hunt Club Rustler Hunt Photo Album

They include a very wet first work day and first camp out and work days. Now I’m adding photos as we prepare to hunt some deer and I’ll be updating when time allows. It’s an annual thing but we’re more organized than ever as the hunt has moved from Missouri (20 yrs.) to Georgia.

The CPHC has it’s own website which is the final stages of development. I’ll be blogging there along with several of my hunt buddies when time allows.

So, why are we calling it the Rustler Hunt? You’ll find out more after today but the quick story is that our good friends at New Holland have loaned us a Camo 4-seater Rustler for this year’s event. Can you say “Sweet woods ride, dude?” Yes indeed. Thank you New Holland!

Agribusiness, Hunting, New Holland

#FarmBill Trends on Twitter

Cindy Zimmerman

fb-confPeople actually seemed to be paying attention to the first House Senate Conference Committee meeting on the farm bill Wednesday. #FarmBill was a trending topic on Twitter for awhile during the meeting. There were lots of tweets on the King amendment regarding interstate commerce of agricultural products since HSUS is opposed to it, and also plenty of #SNAP comments. There have also pretty fair number of stories on why the farm bill matters in the mainstream media, creating some hysteria about milk being $9 a gallon if they can’t get a farm bill done.

Here are some of the top tweets during the farm bill conference:
Stabenow kicks off #FarmBill conference: “It’s been a long time in coming, but we are here.”
House Ag. Chairman Lucas “It may take days and weeks… but we can do it. We have to do it.”
@SenatorLeahy says he could show everyone “the scars” of seven farm bill conferences.
Rep. Collin Peterson says conference committee will get a #farmbill done if they are left alone to do their work.
Pat Roberts: “… and the lesser prairie chicken. God bless the lesser prairie chicken.”
Sen. Roberts: “We’re going to lose credibility if we don’t get this #farmbill done. We have to get this bill done.”
Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN) on farm bill: This has been going on too long. It’s long past time to finish this farm bill.
Sen. Tom Harkin “This is my eighth farm bill I’ve worked on.”
Only in D.C. would #FarmBill be trending. What happened to #whatever?
Rep. Tim Walz (D-MN): “You can’t eat websites.” #farmbill
@ConawayTX11 says on #farmbill “We better not screw up crop insurance.
Rep Schrader calls King Amendment and House GOP nutrition proposals “poison pills” #farmbill
Rep McGovern, D-Mass: “I am willing to be flexible, I am willing to compromise…But I will not support a #farmbill that makes hunger worse”

Listen to a montage here: Farm Bill Conference Quotes

Audio, Farm Bill

It’s a Mailbox!…It’s a Birdhouse!…

Melissa Sandfort

imageIT’S A LITTLE FREE LIBRARY!

(This “Story/Retirement Project” is for Mom and Dad (Melissa’s Grandpa and Grandma). They not only instilled in me the love of reading, but even more importantly, they taught me about the joy that comes from doing things for other people and sharing what I am fortunate enough to have.)

This week Aunt Jeanette writes:

There is finally a library in Edgar, Neb., albeit a “little” one! Two good friends (who also happen to be retired elementary teachers, avid readers and sisters-in-law!) decided it was time to do something about the lack of reading material available in Edgar and the surrounding rural area.

One of the most important things a parent can do for a child is encourage them to read. Everyone reads something every day of their lives. Reading to or with your child also provides valuable time together. Our hope is that the Little Free Library will provide those opportunities.

After doing research and reading newspaper articles, Vicki Shaw and Jeanette Shaw decided to purchase and set up a “Little Free Library.” The library was ordered during the summer, arrived in late summer, and was installed by Sandy Creek Secondary Principal Jason Searle with the help of his son, Luke. Vicki and Jeanette added the books and the library will soon be open for business!

Since we are planning on this being a successful venture, we have ordered a second library, which will enable us to separate children’s books from adult’s books.

When you visit the “Little Free Library” located just east of 702 8th St., you will find an assortment of books for everyone. All Vicki and Jeanette ask is that you treat the books and library with respect and return the books in a timely manner for others to enjoy.

Happy Reading!

Until we walk again …

Uncategorized

Open Mic with Sen. Klobuchar

Cindy Zimmerman

New on Agri-Pulse this week:

open-micAs House and Senate leaders head into a farm bill conference meeting, Sen. Amy Klobuchar provides keen insight on the negotiations. She says the challenge is to merge the reductions in spending, contained in the House of Representatives Farm Bill, with the more moderate reductions in the Senate bill and to mediate those provisions in the final bill. She discusses the prospect of rolling the entire farm bill into a larger budget bill and how large a reduction there can be in nutrition spending without risking a presidential veto. Finally, she discusses a provision of the WRDA bill that would permanently close the Upper St. Anthony Lock on the Mississippi River to block Asian Carp from penetrating northern Minnesota rivers and lakes.

Listen to the Agri-Pulse Open Mic interview with Sen. Klobuchar here.

Agri-Pulse

Zimfo Bytes

Talia Goes

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Hubbard Feeds, the leading provider of researched based nutritional products, has launched their new and improved Hubbardfeeds.com website.
  • Design the logo for the 2014 Ag Media Summit by Friday, November 8 2013 and pocket the money.
  • With harvest running a little later and growers in the field longer than expected, the first session of the NCGA DuPont New Leader Program, previously scheduled for November, has been moved to January by the National Corn Growers Association.
  • Filament Marketing, located in the heart of Madison, Wis. is excited to once again offer a summer internship experience in 2014.
Zimfo Bytes

DialogueNEXT Panels at World Food Prize

Cindy Zimmerman

wfp13-thad-panelNovus International president and CEO Thad Simons moderated a two-part panel discussion on the next generation and what technologies will be “enabling smallholder farmers in the future to be part of the agricultural revolution.”

The panels focused on “Capacity and Capitol” in the morning and “Beyond the Big Idea” in the afternoon. “We were happy to be able to show in the morning session how venture capitol is coming in to support entrepreneurs in India and then this afternoon we really got into some of the precision agriculture tools that are being developed right now,” said Thad. The afternoon panel members pictured included Peter Frykman, Founder and CEO of Driptech; Matt Burkhart, VP of the Applied Technology Division for Raven Industries; and Dr. Charity Kawira Mutegi of Kenya, recipient of the 2013 World Food Prize Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application.

wfp13-thadThad was wearing two hats at the World Food Prize symposium, since he is currently serving as president of the International Food & Agribusiness Management Association (IFAMA), which will hold its 2014 World Forum and Symposium in Cape Town, South Africa. “We’ll be talking a lot about how we link smallholder farmers into markets,” he said, adding that IFAMA will include a “Youth Day” to educate young Africans about careers in agriculture. “They’re leaving the farm, they don’t see it as being a good place to work but we’ve heard about all of these great technologies and opportunities,” said Thad.

“The Road to 2050: The African Factor – Meeting Future Needs of Food and Agriculture” is the theme of the 24th Annual IFAMA World Forum and Symposium which will be held June 15-19, 2014 in Cape Town.Interview with Thad Simons, Novus International
2013 World Food Prize photos

Audio, Novus International, World Food Prize

Taking Responsibility for Growing Food

Chuck Zimmerman

usfra-boston-13-luckeySoybean and pork farmer from Columbus, Nebraska, Bill Luckey, served as a panelist for the Boston Food Dialogues. His family farm includes 600 crop acres, cattle, sows and finishing hogs. Bill also serves on the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) Board of Directors and several committees. Bill is lucky that his kids are home running the combine so he was able to attend the event.

“I think we have got to get our word out to the consumers. What we do and why we do it. If you look at it, less than 2% of population are farmers. Over 98% are not in the agriculture business of farming, so they chose not to take the responsibility of growing of food. I accepted that responsibility of growing food and I’m proud of what I do. I am going to do the best I possibly can to raise the best, the healthiest, the safest food for not only my family but for the whole world.”

Bill doesn’t believe size matters. It’s simply people having a passion for the work they do. Bill went on to explain more about is hog operation.

“We utilize technology, whether it be in our buildings, in ventilation, in the feed program. A lot of people don’t understand how we use technology and one of the best things I tell people is if they want us to raise pigs the way we did 50 years ago, why don’t you go to a doctor who uses technology from 50 years ago to diagnose your diseases. We are always trying to improve and do the best thing for our animals, the community and the consumer.”

You can listen to Bill’s complete interview here: Interview with Bill Luckey

Boston Food Dialogues Photo Album

Ag Groups, Audio, Farming, Food, USFRA