CTIC Panel Addresses Soil Quality, Nitrate Levels

John Davis

ctic-13-marcus-maierOne of the best parts about the Conservation Technology Information Center tour is the conversations that come up, either through formal panels or just informal talks. On the more formal side, local Livingston County, Ill., farmer Marcus Maier (pictured seated, holding the microphone) sat on a panel during the tour that addressed soil health and the issue of nitrate runoff into local watersheds.

“We’re trying to get farmers to implement conservations systems,” he explained, not only just cover crops or filter strips or field buffers, but a whole system, including nutrient management systems. Marcus said the biggest challenge is nitrate runoff into the Indian Creek watershed. “Two towns are fed by Indian Creek: Fairbury with a population of about 4,000 and Pontiac has about 12,000. So that’s our goal to help reduce [those nitrate levels in the water supplies].”

On the more informal side, lots of farmers are talking about how they’ve had much better rain than last year, which is good for the crops but kept many out of the field for a long time, putting them a bit behind. Overall, though, Marcus is pretty optimistic about how the crops in that area will turn out this year.

You can listen to Chuck’s interview with Marcus here: Interview with Marcus Maier, CTIC panelist, local farmer

2013 Conservation in Action Tour Photo Album

Ag Groups, Agribusiness, Audio, Conservation, CTIC, Environment

Conservation Work Helps Farmers Avoid Regulations

John Davis

ctic-13-marcia-willhiteGetting caught up in government regulations and red tape is something any farmer wants to avoid, and attendees of the recent Conservation Technology Information Center tour in Livingston County, Ill., heard how they can avoid more of that with voluntary programs, such as the one on display on the tour. Marcia Willhite, the Chief of the Bureau of Water with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency said they’re encouraged by the success of the Indian Creek project and how voluntary efforts by farmers are paying dividends for everyone.

“Our culture is such on the agricultural side that a voluntary, incentive-based approach is what we have to work with,” she said. “I think it might be somewhat of a motivator to avoid regulations, but my sense is that the speakers and farmers in this watershed are focusing on is they see the benefit for their own productivity, they see the benefit for water quality for their own community.”

Marcia went on to say that this is a good story that needs to be told about how farmers and government are working together for the betterment of all.

“We’ve just been real excited about the success of finding out what happens when a large number of producers within a watershed decide to commit to conservation practices. There has been leadership among producers, taking charge of what they want to do to address water quality issues.”

You can listen to Chuck’s interview with Marcia here: Interview with Marcia Willhite, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency

2013 Conservation in Action Tour Photo Album

Ag Groups, Agribusiness, Audio, Conservation, CTIC, Environment

Culvers Says Thank You Farmers

Chuck Zimmerman

Culvers Thank You FarmersCulvers is grateful to farmers so their showing their support. So eat a butter burger and support FFA!

Culver’s has depended on family farms since opening its first restaurant in 1984. From the cattle ranches of the Great Plains to the dairy farms of Wisconsin, Culver’s remains committed to sourcing the finest ingredients America’s family growers have to offer. And now, through “Thank You, Farmers,” the restaurant’s partnership with farmers across the country, Culver’s turns its gratitude into full-fledged support of today’s farm families, while helping ensure the future of the next generation of farmers, biologists, chemists, veterinarians, engineers and entrepreneurs.

“Thank You, Farmers” kicks off July 1 with increased education around farmers and where our food comes from, as well as opportunities to provide monetary support to future farmers. Participating Culver’s restaurants across the nation will pledge their support to farm families through percent of sales nights, a Scoopie Token and guest donation program and event sponsorships — all benefitting local chapters of the National FFA Organization.

Culver’s restaurants will partner with guests to raise funds through percent of sales and other sponsorship events. There will also be an opportunity for young guests to contribute. Kids who receive Scoopie Tokens intended for frozen custard or toys can be turned back in as a donation to local FFA chapters. “This is a great opportunity for parents to show that giving back is important and it feels good,” adds Culver.

Culver’s will also be rolling out nationwide efforts including an online donation campaign on the Culvers.com homepage, as well as a Facebook promotion that will launch on July 15. The Facebook promotion will allow fans to write a brief thank you note to a farmer — with each thank you note resulting in a $1 donation made to the National FFA Organization on behalf of Culver’s (up to $50,000).

Food

SwineLink – A Great Network for Women

Joanna Schroeder

I spent much of this weekend participating in a SwineLink network event in Des Moines, Iowa, an event for women in the swine industry that was sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim.  I was surrounded by women, several who were swine vets and others working BI-SwineLink-13in other facets of the business, learning about how to succeed in a male dominated industry, tips and tactics for success and learning about some of the key issues affecting swine herds today.

The event kicked off at Meredith Corporation’s test kitchen with a presentation from Betsy Freese, Editor in Chief, Living the Country Life and Executive Editor of Successful Farming. Nearly 30 years ago, Freese began her career covering the pork industry as reporter and has since risen to the top with her Pork Powerhouse. Her presentation, Challenges & Success Indicators as a Female in the Swine Industry, focused on the growth of her career and how she managed challenges along the way.

The group also heard from Jane Fallon, Vice President of Cargill Pork, who moved from her comfort zone, she was a commodities trader, to overseeing the company’s pork business. During her presentation, “Gaining Respect in the Swine Industry,” she talked about where her career has taken her over the years and why she left her comfort zone to tackle a new, challenging position.

SwineLink-Photoshoot-13In addition to the presentations, the group also toured Meredith’s test kitchen, test garden, photography areas where they conduct the photo shoots of all the food found in various publications and along the way, participated in their own photo shoot.

I learned a great deal not only from the presenters, but also from all the participants. From women who recently joined the industry, to the veterans, the weekend offered a perfect setting for networking and learning. The group is open to women working in all rolls in the swine industry and there will be more Swine Link events over the next few months so keep your eye out for the news from BI.

Check out the photos from the event in the Swine Link photo album.

Boehringer Ingelheim, Pork, Swine

CTIC: Soil Health Key to Crop Health

John Davis

ctic-13-hans-kokAttendees of the recent Conservation Technology Information Center tour in Livingston County, Ill., heard about the importance of soil health and how it can pay big dividends back to producers … and the consequences of not taking care of the soil.

“We have really degraded our soils in the Midwest,” explained Hans Kok (on the right, pointing to his demonstration of soil quality at a field stop), the coordinator of the Indiana Conservation Cropping Systems Initiative (CCSI). He showed some studies where one particular plot of soil had 6 percent organic material in it to just 2 percent today — all because of tillage. “If we quit the tillage, start using cover crops, more intense crop rotations, we can actually bring that soil organic matter back up.”

Hans pointed to corn fields during last year’s drought that weren’t tilled, allowing the roots to go much deeper, as much as four to five feet in the ground, and able to survive the drought much better. He also demonstrated a slake test that showed how a no-till clod of soil stayed together in water much better, indicating more binding organic matter, than a tilled clod.

“You can drive your tractor on those soils when they are fairly wet, and the tilled soil will fall apart.”

He directed those wanting more information to the Indiana Conservation Cropping Systems Initiative website, www.CCSIN.org.

You can listen to Chuck’s interview with Hans here: Interview with Hans Kok, Indiana Conservation Cropping Systems Initiative

2013 Conservation in Action Tour Photo Album

Ag Groups, Agribusiness, Audio, Conservation, CTIC

High Flying Seeds Ground Cover

John Davis

ctic-13-eric-smithOne of the “high”lights of the recent Conservation Technology Information Center tour in Livingston County, Ill., was a demonstration of using a crop duster to seed ground cover on a field still growing corn. Eric Smith with Pontiac Flying Service explained shortly after one of his pilots (in fact, Scott Petersen, the company’s owner/operations manager) flew over the field and buzzed the tents where the tour attendees were standing that putting down the cover of radishes and oats has become a growing aspect of their business.

“In the aerial application world, you think of fungicide and insecticide work primarily, but we’ve seen an expansion in dry seeding of cover crops and spreading dry fertilizer in a wet year like this year,” Eric said. He went to explain they set up the plane a little differently, using a dry spreader mounted under the hopper and flying a little higher than normal to produce a more uniform seeding pattern over an area. Interest continues to grow for this type of service, with orders already being taken for the fall. “We’re seeing the interest pick up. I know seed supplies were tight last year and I think they’ll be even tighter this year because the demand for this is just exploding.”

Eric went on to point out the advantage of using a plane is that it allows you to get the seed down while the crop is still in the field, giving it a couple of weeks of growth while the cash crop finishes maturing. Plus, he said that root systems on plants such as rye grass have more time to grow and develop root systems.

“We’re excited for our business. It gives us another service we can offer to our customers.”

You can listen to Chuck’s interview with Eric here: Interview with Eric Smith, Pontiac Flying Service

2013 Conservation in Action Tour Photo Album

Ag Groups, Agribusiness, Audio, Conservation, CTIC

GROWMARK: CTIC Support is Being Good Stewards

John Davis

ctic-13-dan-maggartThe Conservation Technology Information Center tour just completed with a theme of “Community 4 Conservation” this year. Dan Maggart with GROWMARK (pictured to the right, talking to bus load on the tour about what GROWMARK offers in way of agronomic services) explained why his company sees itself as such a good fit as a sponsor for the tour and its theme.

“GROWMARK has a retail arm, where we go directly to the farm gate and make nutrient recommendations to growers, so we’re privileged to be able to use all sorts of tools as far as nutrients, fertilizers, so we just want to maintain that privilege that we’ve had for years and be good stewards of the land, but also the water bodies and the folks downstream,” Dan said.

He said the structure of the CTIC tour in Livingston County, Ill., is a good template that GROWMARK can apply in conservation practices across its core area across the Midwest, but also to their customers that reach to the East Coast and into Canada, as well as nationwide in the U.S. Dan added they make sure their sales force that come to those farms and make recommendations for best business and conservation practices are thoroughly trained to make the best recommendations possible.

“This group has historically done a tremendous job doing that. In fact, there’s 20 years of what we would call on-site training, we have special schools for young crop specialists, and regular updates throughout the year to re-educate and get that message across to our distribution and our retail outlets,” Dan said.

You can listen to Chuck’s interview with Dan here: Interview with Dan Maggart, GROWMARK

2013 Conservation in Action Tour Photo Album

Ag Groups, Agribusiness, Audio, Conservation, CTIC, GROWMARK

Finding Solutions From the Land

Chuck Zimmerman

Ernie SheaPrior to the start of the 2013 Conservation in Action Tour attendees learned more about Solutions From The Land from Project Coordinator Ernie Shea. This was part of the pre-tour seminar. Here’s what SFL is all about: “A national dialogue led by agriculture, forestry and conservation thought leaders to help landowners and managers make the most of the land’s potential.”

After Ernie’s presentation I visited with him to find out what’s going on with SFL. Ernie says he’s supporting a group of agricultural, forestry and conservation leaders that have a new vision for how land can be managed in a way that really revalues the multiple services and solutions that farmers, ranchers and foresters deliver.” He says that these solutions are often undervalued, “So what we’re trying to do is create a framework so that farmers and ranchers can be actually compensated for this wider range of services and solutions that they deliver from the land.” SFL is an outgrowth of the 25x’25 Alliance energy program.

Listen to my interview with Ernie to learn more about SFL here: Interview with Ernie Shea

2013 Conservation in Action Tour Photo Album

Ag Groups, Audio, Conservation, CTIC, Energy

InfoAg Conference App

Chuck Zimmerman

InfoAg Conference AppIn the lead up to the 2013 InfoAg Conference you might want to get the app so you’re ready. You can get the app for iOS right here or for Android right here. If you’re attending InfoAg I’d like you to have it before attending my session on Wednesday afternoon!

The conference will be held July 16-18 in Springfield, Illinois at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. This is all about precision agriculture for farmers, consultants and anyone in the crop production industry. We’re expecting the largest exhibit hall ever with 101 booths and 68 vendors. There will be 77 other presenters besides me so there’s a lot to learn at the event.

With the app you can build a personal conference program, view the full program and see other program options.

Apps, Precision Agriculture

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  • Mosaic’s CropNutrition.com initiative is an integrated campaign designed to inform growers and retailers about key issues and trends affecting soil fertility.
  • Syngenta and Lindsay Corporation formally announced a collaborative agreement to provide corn farmers with a more efficient way to grow and manage irrigated corn acres.
  • Eco Agro Resources is proud to announce the appointment of Luciano Lucero as the regional manager of South America.
  • The MEAT INDUSTRY HALL OF FAME has announced the results of voting by its more than 70 Members and Trustees, in which six new Inductees were named to the Class of 2013.
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