Cover Crops Improving Soil Health

Chuck Zimmerman

Roger Windhorn USDA-NRCSWhen I attended the CTIC Indian Creek Watershed Tour last year it was in the middle of the drought and the ground was so dry that Roger Windhorn, USDA-NRCS, couldn’t even find moisture when he dug a soil pit. Different situation this year since he found water about 30 inches down on the Bachtold farm.

Roger was giving a presentation on soil health giving us an up close and personal look at how cover crop roots grow and contribute to improve the soil. You’ll be able to see it yourself in the video and listen to him explain.

2013 Conservation in Action Tour Photo Album

Ag Groups, Conservation, CTIC, Video

Maintaining Motivation During a PRRS Break

Joanna Schroeder

Dr Erin JohnsonMaintaining motivation among your producers is challenging during a PRRS outbreak (Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome) but it is an important action to be taken to keep a swine herd healthy. During the Swine Link event held in Des Moines, Iowa on July 13, 2013 and sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim (BIVI), Dr. Erin Johnson, PRRS Technical Manager for BIVI led an interactive discussion on ideas for motivating team members.

Swine Link is focused on women in the swine industry and is a network focused on both interacting with other women and also on educational opportunities. I had to ask Dr. Johnson how she got involved and became a mentor, in the swine industry.

It turns out Dr. Johnson is not a typical swine girl – she fell in with the wrong crowd in vet school and during her senior year became interested in pigs although at the time, her main focus was livestock. However, she said, she knew that she wanted to stay in the Midwest and would have to branch out of dairy and after an externship focused on pigs, decided that was the right place for her to be.

With a focus on PRRS, Dr. Johnson has first hand experience on the frustration that PRRS can cause. She noted that the industry has techniques, tools, vaccines and management tools but none of these things really address the people. She said that every day and every farm takes people to get things done and the industry can’t lose focus on motivating the person to do the right things when it comes to PRRS and other issues. She has done this through giving them a greater sense of purpose and helping them better understand where they are going and why.

Listen to my interview with Dr. Erin Johnson here: Maintaining Motivation During a PRRS Break

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

Audio, Boehringer Ingelheim, Pork, Swine

Syngenta Commits to Renewable Fuels

Joanna Schroeder

Syngenta has announced a three-year commitment to contribute $1 to the renewable fuels industry for every acre planted with Enogen trait technology. The initiative, that began with this year’s growing season, will help support America’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and promote the benefits of renewable fuels grown in America.

enogen“Renewable fuels are an essential part of the American energy equation, benefiting consumers, farmers and American energy independence,” said David Witherspoon, Head of Renewable Fuels at Syngenta. “Ethanol, whether from corn or other biomass sources, is an energy source for today and tomorrow driving economic growth and innovation.”

Syngenta is currently focused on increasing the productivity of renewable fuels made from traditional and non-traditional feedstocks such as corn. The Enogen trait technology is a biotech output trait designed specifically for ethanol production. The corn expresses alpha amylase enzyme directly in the corn kernel and replaces liquid alpha amylase enzyme. According to Syngenta, the unique enzyme present in Enogen grain facilitates a simpler, more efficient ethanol production process helping to maximize the productivity of every gallon produced, and thus the profitability of the ethanol plant.

By helping to create savings in electricity, natural gas and water usage, Enogen corn also has the potential to help an ethanol plant reduce its carbon footprint. Syngenta says that for a 100-million gallon plant, efficiency improvements by Enogen can save annually:

  • More than 68 million gallons of water
  • Nearly 10 million KWh of electricity
  • More than 350 billion BTUs of natural gas
  • More than 100 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions

Enogen corn represents a unique value proposition for local communities as well. Enogen corn hybrids are planted under contract with an ethanol plant licensed to use the technology. In exchange for high-quality grain and robust alpha amylase enzyme, ethanol plants pay an average 40 cent per bushel premium to local farmers for their Enogen grain, an economic boost that could mean as much as $80 to $90 an acre for some Midwestern farmers.

Agribusiness, Biofuels, Corn, Ethanol, Syngenta

CTIC Tour Host Big Believer in Filter Strips

John Davis

ctic-13-terry-bachtoldHealthy soils are products of good management practices. And topping the list of practices for Terry Bachtold (shown getting an appreciation present for all his hard work of hosting), one of the host farmers for last week’s Conservation Technology Information Center tour in Livingston County, Ill., is using filter strips.

“I’m a big believer in filter strips,” he exclaimed. “Whether it is my cattle operation or a corn grain farmer, I just feel filter strips do a lot for water quality improvements.” Even with his affinity toward filter strips, Terry believes that a variety of techniques can bring healthy soils to a farm, including cover crops, no-till or rotational grazing.

Terry admitted that he is not a row crop farmer, separating his farm into pasture paddocks rotational grazing for his cow-calf operation. He added what a difference a year had made in recovering from drought conditions on his farm.

“Last year at this time, we were buying hay from July 4th. This year, we’ve got plenty of pastures.”

You can listen to Chuck’s interview with Terry here: Interview with Terry Bachtold, host on CTIC tour

2013 Conservation in Action Tour Photo Album

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

The Future of SIV

Joanna Schroeder

What is the future of SIV, or swine influenza virus? While most don’t know the path SIV will take for sure, Dr. Marie Culhane may be a better predictor of both due to her work on SIV. Dr. Culhane is an associate clinical professor with the University of Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and she gave a presentation on the Future of SIV during the Swine Link networking event July 13 in Des Moines, Iowa hosted by Boehringer Ingelheim.

Dr Marie CulhaneDr. Culhane said she refers to SIV as the flu because influenza virus is a shared virus between humans, and animals. The viruses go back and forth so to designate the flu as a swine only virus is untrue.

During her presentation, Dr. Culhane began by giving an overview of SIV, and noted that the flu goes back hundreds of years and in the U.S. discovered influenza in around 1918 and was a normal virus that caused respiratory problems in pigs. However, in 1998 a new virus was introduced into pigs, H3N2. This virus came after H1N1 and since then, the two viruses co-infected pigs and started to exchange genetic components of the virus, or reassorting.  This has caused a lot of changes in viruses and pigs and thus a need for new vaccines.

Because of the challenges with the new viruses, Dr. Culhane said there has been a lot of collaboration and the industry has learned a lot. She touched on this during her presentation and also gave some tips for producers to help keep the flu from affecting their pigs and also some tips on treatment if their pigs come down with the flu.

Listen to my interview with Dr. Marie Culhane here: Thoughts on SIV

Listen to Dr. Marie Culhane’s presentation here: The Future of SIV

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

Audio, Boehringer Ingelheim, Pork, Swine

Good Drainage Key to Managing Watershed Runoff

John Davis

ctic-13-phil-algreenOn the recent Conservation Technology Information Center tour in Livingston County, Ill., we’ve talked a lot about nutrients draining into the local watershed and how to prevent that. Part of that formula includes controlling any water drainage from the land, and Phil Algreen with Agri Drain, a company that specializes in drainage management, talked to the crowd about some of his company’s products.

“Well, the main thing we use to [manage drainage] is called a water level control structure, a device you put on a tile main outlet [that allows] you to control [at one spot] the water table in that area affected by that tile,” adding that it is seasonally adjustable — less drainage in the winter and summer and maybe more in the spring when you’re trying to plant a crop.

But Phil talked bigger picture with the folks on the CTIC tour, explaining how their systems are not necessarily good for every situation and how they are mostly built for the flat topography of an area like Livingston County, Ill.

“But there are other practices besides drainage management we talked about: saturated buffers, wood-chip bioreactors… different things you can do, depending on the area where you live. Kind of like tools in a tool box. You’ve got to pick the right one.”

You can listen to Chuck’s interview with Phil here: Interview with Phil Algreen with Agri Drain

2013 Conservation in Action Tour Photo Album

Ag Groups, Agribusiness, Audio, Conservation, CTIC

Cheese and Wine Pairings to Rave About

Joanna Schroeder

This past weekend I attended Swine Link, a networking event held by women for women in the swine industry and sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim (BI). Joined by several swine vets and swine marketers and brand managers, the first day the group was hosted by Meredith Publishing and on Saturday night, the attendees were treated to a Wine and Cheese Pairings. Put together by C.J. and Kari Bienert,owners of The Cheese Shop located in Des Moines, Iowa.

The Cheese Shop TeamThe Bienert’s put together three pairings featuring cheese produced by local Iowans. The first cheese was produced by Reichert’s Dairy Air located in Knoxville, Iowa and called Robiolina Di Reba (my favorite) along with a red wine called Sattler from St. Laurent, Austria. To add a flavor twist, the cheese and wine was paired with Portobello Mushroom Relish produced by American Spoon.

The second pairing featured an Aged Prairie Rose cheese produced by Milton Creamery in Milton, Iowa. The cheese was paired with Caymus a white wine produced in Conundrum, California and Pickled Apricots produced by Boat Street.

The final pairing featured an aged gouda produced by Frisian Farms in Okaloosa, Iowa paired with fig and black tea preserves produced by Quince and Apple and featuring a red wine called Domain De Girasols, produced in Rasteau, Cotes Du Rhone Village.

All the products featured can be purchased at The Cheese Shop. BI plans on hosting more Swine Link events throughout the year, so keep your eye out for news about upcoming events.

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

Boehringer Ingelheim, Pork, Swine

Zimfo Bytes

Talia Goes

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Southern States Cooperative announced a new Agronomy Business Unit to better serve the needs of core agricultural customers.
  • On September 28, 2013, the American Royal Association will host the 88th annual American Royal Parade, featuring a Star-Spangled Salute to the U.S. Military and Midwest agrarian values.
  • The Animal Agriculture Alliance released a report which chronicles observations from the 32nd annual 2013 Animal Rights National Conference presented by The Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM).
  • The nation’s dairy farmers have pooled their resources together through the national dairy checkoff program to create dairygood.org, a dairy newsroom.
Zimfo Bytes

Biosecurity – PEDv Update

Joanna Schroeder

BIsw13-becton-npbWonder what is happening with biosecurity in the swine industry? You can get the 411 from Dr. Lisa Becton, director of swine health information for the National Pork Board, who gave an in-depth presentation during Swine Link sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim. Becton discussed biosecurity as it relates to PEDv or the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus. PEDv was first confirmed in the U.S. earlier this year.

During the presentation, Dr. Becton gave an overview of PEDv, the actions to manage PEDv and some of the recommendations that have come about. She also discussed the current status of both the epidemiology survey that ASV is doing and some of the ongoing research.

She also noted that PEDv is not a new virus, nor is it a regulatory/reportable disease. Since PEDv is widespread in many countries, it is not a trade-restricting disease, but rather a production-related disease. PEDV may appear clinically to be the same as transmissible gastroenteritis (TGE) virus with acute diarrhea. She said it is very important to adhere to strict biosecurity protocols when dealing with the disease.

Listen to Dr. Lisa Becton’s presentation on PEDv here: Biosecurity - PEDv Update

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

Audio, Boehringer Ingelheim, Pork, Swine

CTIC is Good Way to Show Good Practices

John Davis

ctic-13-pauley-bradleyThe latest Conservation Technology Information Center tour in Livingston County, Ill., has been a good way for the farmers of that region to showcase what they are doing to be good stewards of the environment, while making sure they maintain a good bottom line. Pauley Bradley with John Deere and a member of the CTIC is shown welcoming everyone to the opening reception sponsored by John Deere. He said this is the third year CTIC has been involved in the Indian Creek watershed project that shows how to balance good stewardship with good economics.

“The goal was to get at least half of the producers in the watershed as part of the initiative to do everything they could on the land to improve water quality in the area. We’ve got more than 40 percent participation right now, which is tremendous, [with] a lot of collaboration and a lot of folks pulling in the same direction,” Pauley said, adding that it was heartening to see capacity crowds on the tour, with many of those from the city able to see for themselves the good practices going on. “I talked to Dr. Norm Widman who’s the national agronomist from NRCS last night, and he said, ‘You know, we just have to get out of town, away from the concrete buildings and get grounded every once in a while.’ ”

Pauley went on to say he was quite pleased to see how much information they could pack into the days of this tour.

You can listen to Chuck’s interview with Pauley here: Interview with Pauley Bradley, John Deere and a member of CTIC

2013 Conservation in Action Tour Photo Album

Ag Groups, Agribusiness, Audio, Conservation, CTIC, John Deere