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

Immigration Policy Forum in Kansas City

Cindy Zimmerman

With the Senate poised to vote on comprehensive immigration reform this week, USDA held a forum on the issue Friday in Kansas City, featuring Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, former Kansas City mayor and current Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, and representatives of the nation’s dairy industry.

“We are blessed by the most productive, most innovative and most hard-working farmers and ranchers,” Vilsack said. “American agriculture is the greatest in the world, but we risk that if we don’t have certainty in our farm policy and we don’t have comprehensive immigration reform.”

dfa-kc“Because of America’s farmers, we enjoy abundant, safe and affordable food in this country,” said Dairy Farmers of America board chairman Randy Mooney. “In order to ensure that continues, we need Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform. For the dairy industry – an industry where there is no such thing as a day off – there is no viable visa program to provide a legal, stable and knowledgeable workforce that ensures milk and other dairy products get into the dairy case, our lunch programs and more.” Watch Mooney’s comments in the video below or download the audio here. DFA Chair Randy Mooney

Mooney emphasized that the need for qualified workers is an issue bigger than dairy, pointing to specialty crops such as lettuce, strawberries and apples that also require labor that is not desirable to domestic workers. Similarly, a shortage of workers affects crop farmers, directly for their own farms and for farmers who buy their product.

The comprehensive immigration bill being considered by the Senate – with a final vote expected possibly this week – includes provisions for agriculture including a new “Blue Card” program for current experienced farm workers and a new agricultural visa program to meet future labor needs. The provisions in the bill were the result of an agreement reached between farm worker groups and agricultural organizations.

Audio, Dairy, labor, USDA, Video

Join #TeamAgChat

Chuck Zimmerman

#TeamAgChatIt’s team building time for the AgChat Foundation. Have you joined the team yet? If you’re active on Twitter then follow or use #TeamAgChat to help the organization reach it’s goal this week of raising $10,000. The #TeamAgChat event is live and will conclude on June 28. I got my donation taken care of and hope you will too.

If you value what AgChat Foundation gives to the farm and ranch community, then it is time to show your support. The AgChat Foundation is nearing its fiscal year end and has a goal to be fully funded by June 30, 2013.

Could you support it at $10, $50, $75 or even a dollar at day? Any and all amounts will help reach the goal

To help sweeten the deal, everyone who supports the Foundation at the $75 level or higher will receive Social Media Guru Jay Baer’s new book titled “Youtility-The Marketing Strategy for the Age of Information Overload”. ALSO, every support (no matter the amount), will be entered in a daily drawing to win Youtility as well.

Ag Day

New Trustees and Directors for Farm Foundation

John Davis

farmfoundationlogo3Farm Foundation names three to their Board of Trustees and another two to their Board of Directors. The group says the three new trustees come from the food and agribusiness value chain:

Elected were William Buckner, CEO of the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation; David Cleary, Director of Global Agriculture for The Nature Conservancy; and Jerome Lyman, Vice President, Quality Systems & Food Safety, McDonald’s Corporation. The election took place earlier this month at the Board’s annual meeting in Ames, IA.

“We are excited that these accomplished executives are adding their leadership to the Foundation’s Board of Trustees,” says Jay Armstrong of Muscotah, KS, who was elected Chairman of the Board. “The Foundation’s leadership reflects the diverse character of today’s food and agricultural systems and is dedicated to providing public and private decision makers with comprehensive, objective information on the issues that will shape the future,” Armstrong added.

The two new members of the Board of Directors include Joe Swedberg, Vice President of Legislative Affairs for Hormel Foods, and George Hoffman, President and CEO of Restaurant Services, Inc.

Farm Foundation

Montgomery Stockyards Hosted LMA Event

Jamie Johansen

lma-13-etheridgeThe 2013 Livestock Marketing Association’s Annual Meeting and World Livestock Auctioneer Championship recently took place in Montgomery, Alabama. The Montgomery Stockyards took the honor of hosting the convention and sponsored the Friday night meal and entertainment.

Jerry Etheridge with Montgomery Stockyards met guests at Union Station where the event was held and Chuck met up with him there. The team at the stockyards was proud to bring attendees a great southern meal along with some excellent southern music.

Jerry shared that the stockyards was started back in 1958 and continues to operate an established market with a great group of buyers each and every Monday.

You can listen to Chuck’s interview with Jerry here: Interview with Jerry Etheridge

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

Audio, Livestock, LMA

Honey Bee Health at Bayer

Jamie Johansen

bayer-150-7Time to add bee care to the endless list of projects Bayer has taken on. During Bayer’s 150th Anniversary attendees had the opportunity to take in the mobile bee exhibit that is touring the country through trade shows and meetings.

Robyn Kneed is the project lead for Bee Care at Bayer. She manages the bee camp programs throughout North America. Chuck attended the event and chatted with Robyn to get a little more insight into what Bayer is doing with bees.

She explained that the Bee Care Center has three purposes. The first is conducting research into honey bee health, alone and in conjunction with universities. Next, they plan to use the facility as a meeting place to bring together stakeholders to discuss research findings and information. Last, but certainly not least, the center will be used as a training and educational facility with info pieces explaining the importance of bees and what pollination services bring to agriculture.

The center is staffed with bee keepers who will manage the research bees and a communication and government affairs team helping to spread the word about bee health.

For more information on Bayer’s Bee Center or to stay up with all their research, check them out on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Robyn here: Interview with Robyn Kneen

Audio, Bayer

NCGA Tools for Water Quality

Talia Goes

To help corn farmers understand water issues and ways to enhance water quality on their farms, the National Corn Growers Association has added a video and an interactive educational module to its online learning tools concerning water quality management.

The video, titled “Driving Change,” showcases NCGA members describing the practices they are implementing to enhance water quality on their farms and in their area. The 30-minute NCGA Water Issues Learning Module was developed to help farmers better understand water quality issues and best practices.

Both tools reveal the major benefits in using best management practices, and stress the importance of becoming knowledgeable about issues related to water quality and use at local, state and regional levels. They also help farmers learn regulatory requirements and understand key elements of the Clean Water Act.

Agribusiness, NCGA, Video

Danforth Receives IFAMA Award

Cindy Zimmerman

Dr. William H. Danforth was honored by the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association (IFAMA) with the organization’s inaugural Distinguished Service Award for his significant contributions to education, plant and life sciences, and advancements in agriculture.

ifama-award“Dr. Danforth’s positive influence on agricultural sciences is immeasurable,” said Thad Simons, president and CEO of Novus International, and incoming president of IFAMA. “From the establishment of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center to his 24-year tenure as Washington University’s Chancellor, Dr. Danforth’s work has inspired young adults, scientists and leaders to pursue solutions that have improved food, agriculture and ongoing efforts to end hunger.”

Dr. Danforth is pictured here (center) with Simons on the left and IFAMA executive director Don Vondriska on the right. (Photo provided by IFAMA)

The IFAMA Distinguished Service Award honors an individual whose pioneering contributions have made significant, transformational impacts to the global food and agribusiness system. The award was presented during IFAMA’s 23rd annual World Forum at the Presidential Awards Banquet hosted at the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta, Ga.

I took a little break from the IFAMA stories yesterday to work on the farm bill, but there is still lots more to come. This was a great conference and well worth it for any agricultural media to attend. Make sure you check out the post with links to all stories, audio, video and photos on AgNewsWire.AgWired.com.

Agribusiness, Novus International

Farm Bill Blame Game

Cindy Zimmerman

The shock over the defeat of the farm bill in the U.S. House of Representatives had barely sunk in Thursday when the blame game began.

It started on the floor of the House when Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) was giving an update on next week’s schedule and Minority Whip Steney Hoyer (D-VA) asked whether the student loan program would be addressed. “If the gentleman witnesses what just happened on the floor,” said Cantor, “There seems to be a decision on the part of his leadership, we’re not going to go along with bipartisan work and success and maybe we’re just going to make this a partisan issue.”

hoyerThat set off Hoyer, understandably so. “I wasn’t going to bring up what happened today, but what happened today is that you turned a bipartisan bill, necessary for our farmers, necessary for our consumers, necessary for the people of America, that many of us would have supported, and you turned it into a bipartisan bill,” Hoyer said, setting off an argument between the two accusing each side of killing the bill.

Listen to part of that here: Congressmen Hoyer and Cantor on Farm Bill defeat

The deal breaker for many Democrats was a last minute amendment by Steve Southerland of Florida which gave states the option to require food stamp beneficiaries to either work or look for work. House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Collin Peterson (D-MN) told reporters after the vote that between that and the amendment by Rep. Goodlatte (R-VA) changing the dairy program he lost at least 15 Democrat votes he expected to have for the bill. “Those two votes cost us a lot of votes and I would guess it didn’t get them a damn thing on their side,” he said. Collin Peterson comments (courtesy of Agri-Pulse)

In fact, at least 58 Republicans who voted in favor of the deal killing Southerland amendment voted against the final bill, which was pointed out by several Democrats, including Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) who was blamed specifically in a statement by Cantor for failure to pass the bill. Watch her reaction in the YouTube video below.

Audio, Farm Bill, Video

Trust the Technology

Melissa Sandfort

Insights WeeklyChoosing how much nitrogen (N) to put on fields isn’t something farmers take lightly. Many factors go into the decision, including past experiences, the timing of application, yield goals, and results from soil tests.

That’s where crop sensor products such as OptRX from Ag Leader can help. When the OptRx sensors detect healthy plants, the system will call for less N to be applied. When the OptRx sensors see plants that need some help, the system will recommend more N.

Growers need to trust the technology. Trust that the sensors will detect if and when more N needs to be applied. “Have faith that the sensors are going to do what they’re built to do.” That’s what Chad Fick, Ag Leader crop sensor product specialist, says, especially in “odd” years like this when crop sensors can play a big role in producing healthy crops.

Listen to Fick explain

Fick says crop sensors help growers get the best yields possible while not being wasteful.

Listen to Fick explain

Fick says there are two different approaches and strategies to using crop sensors.

Listen to Fick explain

So what are the advantages to using OptRx sensors?

Listen to Fick 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