The News is Out at Ag Media Summit!

Melissa Sandfort

Insights WeeklyAg Leader’s marketing communications team will be hitting the trade show floor at the upcoming Ag Media Summit, the largest meeting in the United States of the ag industry’s top writers, editors, photographers, publishers and ag communicator specialists. And there to get the news out about Ag Leader’s new video, website redesign and product offerings will be Jenna Royer, marketing communications manager.

Royer says Ag Leader is excited about a new video, debuting at Ag Media Summit.

Listen to Royer explain

In May, Ag Leader also revamped their website. Hear more from Jenna about new functionality of the site.

Listen to Royer explain

And of course, Royer will be on hand to educate editors about some of Ag Leader’s products and services.

Listen to Royer explain

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

Senate Ag Committee Approves USDA Nominees

Cindy Zimmerman

usda-nomineesThe Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee this week unanimously approved the nominations of Krysta Harden to serve as deputy secretary of agriculture and Robert Bonnie to serve as under secretary for natural resources and the environment.

Harden has been nominated to succeed Kathleen Merrigan in the second-highest post at USDA Bonnie, while Bonnie, who has been a senior advisor to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, would succeed Harris Sherman in the post of natural resources under secretary.

During the confirmation hearing, Harden pledged to get a farm bill implemented as soon as Congress gets one done. “We’re ready. Y’all send us a farm bill, we’ll get it done in a timely and early manner and I hope to be leading that effort,” she said in response to questioning from Sen. Saxby Chambliss from her home state of Georgia.

Chambliss asked Bonnie about efforts to combat the rise of glyphosate-resistant pigweed. “This is a challenge across the country,” said Bonnie who noted that they are seeing some results from a Natural Resources Conservation Service pilot program. “This is a perfect example of where NRCS programs can both work on critical natural resource conservation challenges and improve the productive capacity of our farmers and ranchers to produce food and fiber.”Chambliss questions Harden and Bonnie

Audio, USDA

Jason Weller Appointed Chief of NRCS

Chuck Zimmerman

Jason Weller, NRCSCongratulations to Jason Weller on his appointment as Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service where he has served as acting chief the last eight months. Jason is pictured at the recent CTIC Conservation in Action Tour. Here are some notes from the notice about his appointment.

As Acting Chief, Jason has moved swiftly to transform NRCS’s Administrative Functions; support the expansion of innovative programs and initiatives including landscape conservation initiatives, regulatory certainty, soil health and market-based programs; and raise the external profile of the world’s premier private land conservation agency.

Jason brings to NRCS a longstanding commitment to and understanding of the agency. He served as a staff member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture where he provided oversight and crafted bills to fund NRCS programs. He served on the House Budget Committee staff where he helped construct NRCS’s budget. And he worked at the Office of Management and Budget where he was NRCS’s budget examiner. All of these skills and experiences are serving the agency well today.

Conservation, USDA

About Time to Wing it in Buffalo, NY

Chuck Zimmerman

Beef Ag Media SummitIt’s almost time for the annual Agricultural Media Summit. This image of a good looking steak from the Cattlemen’s Beef Board really makes me wish I as going. But I’ll be doing ag media duty at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally while Cindy and our summer intern Maggie will be at the Ag Media Summit. So we’ve got it covered!

If you’re looking for the best place to promote your company or organization’s products and services, then you’ll want to be at the 15th Annual Ag Media Summit in Buffalo, New York, August 3-7, 2013. This annual get-together, the largest meeting in the United States of the ag industry’s top writers, editors, photographers, publishers and ag communicator specialists, begins with pre-meeting events on Saturday, August 3, followed by the AMS program August 4-7. We invite you to participate as a sponsor or an exhibitor at our InfoExpo or both, and be a part of this important agricultural media event.

Ag Media Summit

Zimfo Bytes

Talia Goes

Zimfo Bytes

New Addition to Novus Enzyme Solutions Portfolio

Talia Goes

novisNovus International, Inc. and Verenium Corporation announced the name of their new phytase enzyme product, CIBENZA PHYTAVERSE. This new innovative phytase is specifically designed to unlock more of the hidden nutritional value in phytate for improved animal growth and well-being.

The two companies, which entered into a strategic partnership in 2011, designed CIBENZA PHYTAVERSE to have specific performance characteristics that offer significant advantages over current phytase products. These performance characteristics include:

  • High in vivo activity under gastric conditions for sustained performance
  • Improved activity at low substrate concentrations to maximize phytate hydrolysis
  • High gastric stability for activity throughout the upper gastrointestinal tract
  • High intrinsic thermotolerance and pelleting stability
  • Improved bioavailability due to the elimination of the need for thermo protective coatings

Animal trial results have demonstrated the superior performance characteristics that CIBENZA PHYTAVERSE provides, based on standard metrics such as weight gain, feed conversion ratios and phosphorus mineralization (tibia ash) versus other available phytase products. These results indicate that inclusion of CIBENZA PHYTAVERSE in monogastric diets can provide improved nutrition and economics to the animal feed industry.

Novus and Verenium expect to launch this product in certain geographical regions beginning in 2013.

Agribusiness, Animal Health, Novus International, Veterinary

MyAgCentral: Getting All Info in One Place

John Davis

infoag-13-steve-cubbageRecently, we told you about a new cloud-based precision data service called MyAgCentral.com. During the recent 2013 InfoAg Conference, Chuck was able to catch up with Steve Cubbage, the President of Prime Meridian, a company behind MyAgCentral.com and find out a little more.

“It’s a subscription-based service for growers, retailers and service providers that brings technology together,” Steve said. “There’s a lot of technology out there ,and it’s growing every day, and really to manage that, we felt there was a need to have one site for growers to go to to manage their modern farm.”

Some examples Steve cited was pulling together center pivots control and grain monitoring. He said so many different precision data services serve certain areas, so instead of having the farmer try to keep track of a dozen different websites where the information is stored and analyzed, they can go to one place, MyAgCentral.com and access everything.

“MyAgCentral consolidates that into a single web-based interface, and on top of that, it is also a repository that the grower controls for his own precision ag data that they can go to and disseminate out to their retailers or precision ag team.”

Steve said good collaboration between companies is helping make it easier. Right now, MyAgCentral.com is browser based, but there are ways to use apps to move data from a cloud account to the website through a mobile device. In addition, he points out that his site provides farmers with a place to store all that information as an extra backup, like a safe deposit box, as well as making it easier to share original data.

You can listen to Chuck’s interview with Steve here: Interview with Steve Cubbage, Prime Meridian and MyAgCentral.com

2013 InfoAg Conference Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, Internet

Checking in with the AgFanatics

Cindy Zimmerman

agfanatics-2The AgriVisor AgFanatics podcast has logged 40 episodes since its debut in December 2012, and quite a few since we last talked to them in March, so we decided it was time to check in for an update on how these two wild and crazy ag guys are doing.

“It’s going great, we’re continuing to gain listeners and we’re continuing to talk,” says one-half of the AgFanatics duo, Cory Winstead, account manager with AgriVisor. They did decide to cut back from two episodes a week to one to avoid having some of the same conversations too often, but he and partner Nick Klump are still having fun with it.

“We’ve gotten some of our best feedback when we’ve spent the first five minutes talking about baseball and our lives and our kids,” Cory said. They have spent a lot of time this year focusing on the weather market for grain, the farm bill and other things that interest farmers, such as crop insurance.

The AgFanatics will be podcasting live from the Farm Progress show this year in Decatur, so be sure to stop by and meet them in person at the GROWMARK tent. You can find the AgFanatics podcast page from the link on the AgriVisor homepage.

Get an update on the AgFanatics in this interview with Cory. Interview with AgFanatic Cory Winstead

Audio, GROWMARK, Podcasts

American Ethanol Wins Ohio NASCAR Race

Cindy Zimmerman

dillon-winAmerican Ethanol was in the winner’s circle Wednesday night as Austin Dillon won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series™ Mudsummer Classic.

This inaugural event was held at one of the world’s most iconic dirt tracks, Eldora Speedway in Ohio. The race, which was the first NASCAR-sanctioned national event held on a dirt track since 1970, brought American Ethanol to the forefront as Dillon finished in front in the No. 39 American Ethanol Chevrolet truck.

“There was a lot of excitement in the NASCAR community about this historic race,” said National Corn Growers Association NASCAR Committee Chair Jon Holzfaster. “Dillon’s win elevated the coverage of American Ethanol and provided an unprecedented opportunity to highlight how ethanol fuels champions on the track while providing consumers real savings at the pump.”

Dillon detailed his journey from Chicago to Ohio, and the role ethanol played, in a blog, providing a look at how flex fuel vehicles, E85 and E15 can help consumers save money as gas prices rise faster than the summer temperatures.

Dillon will race next in the NASCAR Nationwide Series™ race to be held in Indiana this Saturday followed by an appearance in the Sprint Cup Series™ race on Sunday. American Ethanol will be on site promoting the benefits of the biofuel all weekend. American Ethanol is a joint effort between NCGA, Growth Energy and other partners to promote the benefits of ethanol and E15.

Corn, Ethanol, NASCAR, NCGA

Awards for Precision Agriculture

Chuck Zimmerman

PrecisionAg AwardsDuring the InfoAg Conference the 2013 PrecisionAg Awards of Excellence were presented, sponsored by the PrecisionAg Institute. Announcing the awards was Paul Schrimpf, Group Editor, Croplife Media Group and posing with each of the winners is K. Elliott Nowels, Meister Media Group. First up:

Crop Adviser/Entrepreneur Award

Laserplane Arkansas, Inc.

PrecisionAg AwardsThe next award:

Educator/Researcher Award

Dr. John Fulton, Auburn University

You can listen to comments by Dr. Fulton here: Comments from Dr. John Fulton

The PrecisionAg Awards of Excellence shed light on some of the most important people and programs that have helped agriculture realize the full benefits of technology to improve agronomy, efficiency, and stewardship in crop production.

PrecisionAg AwardsThe next award presented during the awards luncheon was:

Farmer Award

Byron & Darrington Seward, Louise, MS

You can listen to comments from our winner here: Comments from Byron & Darrington Seward

PrecisionAg AwardsAnd the final award:

Legacy Award

Dr. William Raun, Oklahoma State University

You can listen to comments by Dr. Raun here: Comments from Dr. William Raun

2013 InfoAg Conference Photo Album

Ag Groups, Audio, Precision Agriculture