Educating Ag Journalists in Argentina

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCast 410The International Federation of Agricultural Journalists Congress not only provides for great networking with colleagues from all over the world but is also an opportunity to learn about agriculture in a new country.

Cristian Mira IFAJThis year we’re in Argentina and during this afternoon’s opening program we heard from several people who talked about some of the issues facing not only farmers but agricultural journalists as well. Introducing some of our speakers was Cristian Mira who edits the agricultural supplement to the La Nación newspaper.

I visited with Cristian about this first Latin American Seminar which brought in attendees from the IFAJ Congress and other area journalists. The idea is to learn from the information and ideas presented. I think you’ll find my conversation with Christian interesting.

Listen to this week’s ZimmCast here: Educating Ag Journalists


2013 IFAJ Congress Photo Album

Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsors, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong and Monsanto, Roundup Ready Plus, for their support.

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

Preview of Argentina IFAJ Congress

Chuck Zimmerman

Argentina Guild President Adalberto RossiThe 2013 International Federation of Agricultural Journalists Congress is underway in Buenos Aires. Our host for the first ever Congress in South America is the Círculo Argentino de Periodistas Agrarios (CAPA) and Adalberto Rossi is their President. He and I sat down to talk about this year’s Congress program.

First up is this afternoon’s first ever Latin American Conference with speakers talking about agriculture in the region and the challenges facing farmers. Then we have our opening social reception. Tomorrow we’ll take off for a farm tour and program on the way to Rosario. In Rosario we’ll depart on separate farm tours and have a day with speakers at the Chamber of Commerce before our concluding banquet. It’s going to be a packed several days learning all about agriculture in Argentina and networking with our colleagues from around the world. Cindy and I will be uploading photos and sharing interviews as we have time and internet access.

You can listen to my interview with Adalberto here: Interview with Adalberto Rossi


2013 IFAJ Congress Photo Album

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

Buenos Dias from Buenos Aires!

Cindy Zimmerman

ifaj-argentinaAgriblogger and Farmpodcaster have arrived in Argentina to blog the 2013 International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) Congress!

Not sure how many Americans are making the trip this year but it’s at least a couple dozen. There are 14 pictured in the photo below taken at Ag Media Summit, plus Chuck – and I know of at least 5 more not pictured.

ifaj-aaea-groupAccording to the organizers, Argentina was once referred to as the “world´s grainery” and has tripled its agricultural production in the last 30 years. Argentinian farmers and ranchers feed over 430 million people each year using advanced technologies and sustainable agricultural practices.

We will be staying in Buenos Aires for two days and then to Rosario and our tours will include grain, livestock, dairy and specialty crop operations. Thanks to our sponsors – DuPont Pioneer and Novus International – for helping us to bring this great event home to you. You can also follow the congress on Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #IFAJ2013.

Photo album is started – link below – and we will officially surpass 100,000 in our Flickr account with nearly 450 sets since 2005! Buenos Dias!

2013 IFAJ Congress Photo Album

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

Monsanto Update on FieldScripts

Cindy Zimmerman

fps13-fieldscriptsLast year at Farm Progress Show, Monsanto previewed FieldScripts, the company’s first product from the Integrated Farming Systems (IFS) platform. This year, we got to actually see how it worked in the field – sort of.

“Our original plans were to harvest the first FieldScripts here at the Farm Progress Show,” said FieldScripts launch lead for Monsanto Dave Rhylander at a media event on the eve of the show. When weather caused planting to be delayed in the spring, they moved to a shorter season hybrid. “Then we had that cool weather in July and early August and it just slowed everything down and we couldn’t get it harvested.”

fps13-monsanto-rhylanderEver able to adapt, Monsanto was still able to put on a good demo for the media with recently planted fields and had several Ground Breakers farmers on hand to talk about their experiences with FieldScripts this year. “We had about 150 farmers that tested this in the four states of Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois and Indiana,” Dave said. “We’ve had great feedback from them as far as simplicity, how it worked in the cab, and we’re very excited to hear now how the yields are going to be.” Interview with Dave Rhylander, Monsanto

Jamie and Kristyn went on the tour of the field trials and will be sharing interviews and video from company representatives and growers about both FieldScripts® and Ground Breakers® Field Trials Under Permit for Roundup Ready 2 Xtend™ soybeans.

Check out photos from the event here:
Monsanto Farm Progress Show Media Event Photo Album

Audio, Farm Progress Show, Precision Agriculture, Weather

New Holland Brings it to Farm Progress Show

Chuck Zimmerman

Abe Hughes New HollandThere was plenty of “new” to see in the New Holland exhibit at the Farm Progress Show. Abe Hughes, VP North America, tells us all about it.

From hay and forage tools to pro tools or new machines for row crop work, New Holland had a lot on the lot. Abe talks about some of those products as well as the partnerships the company has formed and developed with American Ethanol and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

2013 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

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

Zimfo Bytes

Talia Goes

    Zimfo Bytes

  • The Center for Rural Affairs announced that Assistant Executive Director Brian Depew has been named the new Executive Director, effective September 1, 2013.
  • Tractor Supply Company, the largest retail farm and ranch store chain in the United States, announced that its Board of Directors approved a two-for-one stock split of its common stock.
  • Five FS member cooperatives were recognized by GROWMARK, Inc. for business performance improvement during the GROWMARK annual meeting in Chicago
  • Katie Hancock, Water Valley, Ky., recently joined Brock Associates as an agricultural commodity marketing consultant and will work one-on-one with farmers to minimize market risk and capture market opportunities.
Zimfo Bytes

Staying on Target With BASF

Kristyn Stidham

fps-13-126-editedBASF held a press conference at the Farm Progress Show where technical market manager for herbicides Luke Bozeman talked about the goals of the company’s On Target Application Academy.

BASF wants to make sure that the growers that use their products are pleased with them. Within the company, they are focusing on providing information to the growers, as well as training them on the usage of these herbicides through the creation of this program.

“The On Target Application Academy does a great job of bringing to the grower applicator the most recent break technologies and how to apply products effectively,” said Bozeman.

BASF is excited about the feedback they have received from growers. They provide surveys to the students of the academy at the end of the course and 95% of those that attend have thought it to be worth their while.

Listen to my interview with Luke here: Interview with Luke Bozeman, Technical Market Manager, Herbicides, BASF

2013 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

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

Ag Leader Brings Compass to Farm Progress Show

Melissa Sandfort

Insights WeeklyGrowers looking for a simple and affordable precision farming display now have an entry-level solution, thanks to the new Compass™ display from Ag Leader Technology, Inc.

The Compass display was designed for growers who want a display to use primarily for guidance. With a built-in lightbar, the Compass display provides on-screen guidance and coverage mapping that allows operators to improve pass-to-pass accuracy and easily track where they have been in the field, reducing costly gaps and overlaps.

fps13-agleader-compassMike Olson, Ag Leader North America Sales Manager, was on hand to talk about the new display during Farm Progress Show. He says Compass is simple to operate and set up guidance operations. “The user doesn’t need to know how to set up field information within the display to operate, with the new event feature they can simply create a new event each time they enter a field and go.”

Interview with Mike Olson, Ag Leader

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

Growth Energy Says You’re No Dummy

Cindy Zimmerman

fps13-growthenergy-buisGrowth Energy announced earlier this week a new campaign with a website You’re No Dummy featuring Mr. Slick and Dummy. CEO of Growth Energy Tom Buis and Gen. (Ret.) Wesley Clark stopped by the Farm Progress Show this week to talk about how the new campaign intends to defend renewable fuels against stepped up attacks by Big Oil.

Buis says there’s a lot of misinformation and too much stretching the truth by the large oil companies so the ethanol industry is taking a stand to push back with the facts. “The attacks in Washington have become more intense,” said Buis. “This is a fight about market share, nothing more, nothing less. We know we have the facts on our side.”

fps13-growthenergy-clarkClark says defending the Renewable Fuel Standard is about defending national security. “For those of us who served our country in uniform, we know it’s about national security, first and foremost,” said the retired general. “All we have to do is give the biofuels marketplace an opportunity to sell to the American motorist.”

Listen to Press Conference here: Growth Energy Press Conference

2013 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

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

2013 Farm Progress Show is History

Leah Guffey

biggest_farm_show_year_back_decatur_1_635011156903480000The 60th Annual Farm Progress Show draws to a close today on the final day.  I had the pleasure of catching up with Show Manager, Matt Jungmann, who said the weather was hot, the crowds were strong and the field demonstrations, well, that’s just Mother Nature.

“For the first time in 60 years we couldn’t harvest a crop because it wasn’t mature.”

Matt went on to say that planning for future years here at Progress City are already underway, making notes and continuing to keep moving ahead to make the Farm Progress Show the place to be for all the latest and greatest agriculture has to offer.

Listen to my interview with Matt here: Interview with Matt Jungmann

The show may be over but we still have lots of interviews to share from the event that will be posted on through next week. Stay tuned and check out the photo album to see hundreds of sights from the show.

2013 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

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