SAI Platform Checklist Launched at IFAMA

Cindy Zimmerman

sai-platformThe International Food and Agribusiness Management Association (IFAMA) World Forum last week featured the global launch of the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) Checklist, the “world’s first practitioner’s guide” to the sustainable outsourcing of agricultural raw materials.

ifama-13-ernestoSAI president and Coca Cola Senior Manager of Sustainability Ernesto Brovelli said the purpose of the checklist is based on the fact that the job of farmers is to farm, not to fill out forms. “We want to make their life easy,” he said. “We want these tools, these assessments to be simple, to be educational because sustainability is a new area. Allowing them to self-assess themselves they develop self-awareness of what are important sustainability aspects.”

Recognizing that sustainability can be defined in different ways, Brovelli also participated in a session at IFAMA on establishing a common language and benchmarking standards for agricultural sustainability “and this is what the checklist does.”

You can download the checklist on the SAI website and find out more in this interview with Ernesto. SAI president Ernesto Brovelli at IFAMA World Forum


IFAMA 23rd World Forum Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, Sustainability

LMA’s Industry Showcase Provides Networking

Jamie Johansen

lma-13-frankeThe 2013 Livestock Marketing Association’s Annual Meeting and World Livestock Auctioneer Championship in Montgomery, Al. brought together cattlemen and other members of the beef community to network and learn more about the industry.

One great opportunity to do both of those things took place during the Industry Showcase. The trade show allowed attendees to see first-hand new products and ask questions from the experts.

Chuck spoke with Jake Franke with Anipro who exhibited at the event. Anipro is a feed supplement that can be found throughout the United States. It is designed to help cow/calf producers find a quality supplement to add to their nutrition program. Jake specifically works with the Premium Nutrition Network, which is a value-added program to help cow/calf producers, stockers and backgrounders get a comprehensive feeding prospective for their herd.

He added that the convention was full of hospitality and a great opportunity to meet many prospective customers.

You can listen to Chuck’s interview with Jake here: Interview with Jake Franke

Here you can find photos from the event: 2013 LMA/WLAC Photo Album

Audio, Beef, Livestock, LMA

Conservation in Action Tour Almost Full

Chuck Zimmerman

2013 CTIC TourMy next stop on the agriblogging highway will be the 2013 Conservation in Action Tour in Illinois. There are only a few seats left. I’ve been attending Conservation Technology Information Center tours for years now and they are loaded with information. This tour is July 9-10 in Livingston, IL. A pre-tour seminar on July 9 has also been added. Learn more about the tour in the video below.

This tour will feature three stops focusing on soil health, nutrient management and drainage water management. Farmers, agribusiness personnel, media and others involved in agriculture will be attending to hear from speakers with experience in several aspects of conservation, such as building soil health, efficiently managing nutrients and controlling the water that drains from fields. Featured speakers include Jason Weller, chief of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Denise Keehner of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Jean Payne, president of the Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association.

Along with the tour, Solutions from the Land and CTIC will be presenting a seminar on July 9 discussing the Indian Creek Watershed Project. This event will be held at the Marriott before the tour’s evening social. The program for the pre-tour seminar can be accessed here (.doc). To sign up for this seminar, click here.

Ag Groups, Conservation, CTIC, Farming, Video

NMPF Creates REAL Cartoon Character

Chuck Zimmerman

REAL Seal CharacterThe National Milk Producers Federation is getting REAL serious about the REAL Seal. Well, maybe not so much serious as having some fun. This is the cartoon character that has been created to help “revitalize and build awareness of the dairy industry’s iconic REAL® Seal.” There is already a “cartoon” with the character on YouTube. What would you name it?

“The REAL® Seal has been around for nearly 40 years,” said Jim Mulhern, Chief Operating Officer of NMPF. “This character is intended to bring the importance of looking for REAL® dairy products and foods made with REAL® dairy products to life.”

The first order of business will be naming the character, according to Mulhern, who said a name will be chosen through an on-line challenge.

“We want kids to learn how to differentiate real dairy products and foods made with real American dairy products from the vegetable- and nut-based pretenders,” said Mulhern. “To highlight this important distinction, we are launching a campaign to name the character.”

Names may be submitted through the REAL® Seal website: www.realseal.com. All entries must be received by August 31, 2013. The top three names entered will be posted in September on the REAL® Seal Facebook page (www.facebook.com/realsealdairy) and subject to a vote. The name with the most votes will be declared the winner.

Ag Groups, Dairy, Food, Video

Senate Leader Says No Farm Bill Extension

Cindy Zimmerman

reid-fbSenate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) says no to another farm bill extension.

In remarks on the Senate floor Monday prior to starting business on the immigration reform bill, Senator Reid began by noting that last week’s defeat of the farm bill on the House floor was “the first time the House of Representatives defeated a farm bill since the program was created in the 1930’s.”

Reid says he was sorry to hear the House leadership blame the defeat on the Democrats. “They had to blame someone. They couldn’t blame themselves, even though they should,” he said.

The Senate majority leader urged the House to take up the farm bill passed by the Senate by 66 votes. “I want everyone within the sound of my voice, as well as my colleagues on the other side of the Capitol to know that the Senate will not pass another temporary farm bill extension,” said Reid. “It’s time for real reform that protects both rural farm communities and urban families who need help feeding their children.”

It is still not clear just what, if anything, the House will do about the situation.

Listen to or download Reid’s comments here: Senator Harry Reid on Farm Bill

Audio, Farm Bill

Zimfo Bytes

Talia Goes

Zimfo Bytes

BIVI Swine Team Changes

Cindy Zimmerman

boehringer-ingelheim-logoBoehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. (BIVI) has announced several new additions and changes in its swine division recently.

Two new employees joined the team Swine Division in April. Gregory Lewis is regional sales manager and Nathan Schaefer, DVM, is a professional services veterinarian. Both joined the company in April. Lewis was area sales manager for Land O’ Lakes for the past two years and previously spent 19 years in various sales management and marketing positions with Alpharma. Dr. Schaefer spent two and a half years as a swine production veterinarian for Iowa Select Farms in Iowa Falls, Iowa, where he oversaw the health management of the company’s farrow-to-wean and gilt development programs.

bivi-jpJean Paul (JP) Cano, DVM, has been promoted to senior associate director of Swine Professional Services. Cano earned his DVM in Venezuela and his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. He gained broad experience as a swine practitioner in Venezuela, where he also wrote a number of peer-reviewed journal articles. Cano joined the BIVI Swine Division in 2009. We’ve interviewed JP a couple of times here on AgWired – once at World Pork Expo in 2010 and again at the 2012 PRRS Symposium.

Erin Johnson, DVM, has been promoted to technical manager on the PRRSolutions Team, which leads the Area Regional Control & Elimination (ARC&E) efforts and is supported and advised by recognized PRRS experts from across the U.S. The team conducts and coordinates the research, design and development of the ARC&E and plays an active role in supporting efforts of ARC&E working groups across the country.

Agribusiness, Boehringer Ingelheim, Livestock, Swine

AgCareers.com Supports IFAMA Student Competition

Cindy Zimmerman

ifama-13-eric1The man who had the honor of handing out the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association (IFAMA) 2013 Student Competition awards is a great advocate of agricultural careers – AgCareers.com president Eric Spell.

“We’ve been four out of the last five years to the event,” Eric told me. “One of the hot words that we hear with employers is ‘supply chain’ in agriculture and food industries and this talent pool represents that.”

Eric says the students who take part in the IFAMA world forum and competition are the people who are gaining the skills it will take for the future of agribusiness. “Many of them are Masters or higher levels students who understand ag economics who want to work in the global food chain,” he said, noting they are also very mobile and multi-lingual. AgCareers sponsored a Career Expo and Career Services Center at the IFAMA World Forum in Atlanta last week.

ifama-13-eric2The whole goal of AgCareers.com is to bring this type of talent and agribusiness employers together, and also to make sure that these students have the skills needed for the future of the industry, which is what the upcoming AgCareers 11th Ag & Food HR Roundtable is all about. “We’re going on the campus of DuPont Pioneer in Johnston (Iowa) the first week of August and we have 150 registered attendees and we only have 50 more slots,” Eric said. “And that’s a good thing.”

Attending the HR Roundtable will be agribusiness human resource professionals, executives and managers, university and college faculty & career services staff, and association representatives. For registration and further information, click here and follow the links.

AgCareers.com president Eric Spell at IFAMA World Forum


IFAMA 23rd World Forum Photo Album

AgCareers, Agribusiness, Audio

Monsanto Calls GE Wheat Find “Suspicious”

Cindy Zimmerman

MonsantoMonsanto officials held a press call on Friday regarding “suspicious” evidence in the investigation of genetically engineered wheat plants found in an Oregon field last month that suggests it was possibly intentionally planted.

“The evidence now collected, the fact patterns established and the original Roundup Ready CP-4 event appearing suddenly after 12 years, out of nowhere in a single field in the state of Oregon is highly suspicious,” said Monsanto Vice President and Director of Technology Robb Fraley, stressing that they don’t know the grower or the field or have the plant samples available. However, “the more data we generate, the more clarity we’re getting on this, and the more suspicious it looks.”

When pressed by reporters, Fraley said, “It’s fair to say that there are folks who don’t like biotechnology and would use this as an opportunity to create problems.” He also pointed to the recent destruction of two sugar beet fields in the state of Oregon by anti-GMO activists.

Monsanto's Robb Fraley
Agribusiness, Audio, Biotech, Wheat

Connecting Beef Checkoff Funds With LMA

Jamie Johansen

lma-13-maxeyEveryone involved in the beef industry understands the importance of the beef checkoff program. And what better time to inform producers of this beef promotion tool then during the 2013 Livestock Marketing Association’s Annual Meeting & World Livestock Auctioneer Championship.

Jimmy Maxy, Secretary/Treasurer for the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and cattleman from California, took in the event and spoke with Chuck on the importance of the two organizations working together.

“The funding that comes from the promotion of beef, comes from cattlemen and cattlemen market their cattle through livestock markets. Each time that happens it’s a source for beef promotion. It’s our job to take those funds and do the best we can with them and bring back great returns to cattlemen.”

He also added that it was a great chance to personally interact with producers, that livestock markets are a collection point for checkoff funds and it serves as a way to educate producers about the checkoff program.

You can listen to Chuck’s interview with Jimmy here: Interview with Jimmy Maxey

Here you can find photos from the event: 2013 LMA/WLAC Photo Album

Audio, Beef, Livestock, LMA