Mulhern Named President & CEO of NMPF

Talia Goes

MulhernThe National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) announced that Chief Operating Officer Jim Mulhern will take over as President & Chief Executive Officer on January 1, 2014. Mulhern has been appointed by the NMPF Board of Directors to fill the position held by Jerry Kozak since 1997. Earlier this year, Kozak had informed the Board of his desire to retire on December 31, 2013.

Mulhern joined NMPF in January 2013, and since that time has managed the communications, government relations, and membership functions of the organization. His appointment as COO marked a return to NMPF; he had directed the organization’s government relations program earlier in his career.

A Wisconsin native, Mulhern came to Washington, DC, to work on Capitol Hill in 1983. Following his service at NMPF in the mid-1980s, he returned to Capitol Hill to serve as Chief of Staff for Wisconsin Sen. Herb Kohl. Mulhern also worked in senior management positions for Fleishman-Hillard, the Fratelli Group and Watson/Mulhern LLC. During this period, he maintained a close relationship with the dairy industry and NMPF by working as a consultant on numerous projects.

Agribusiness

We’re Celebrating June Dairy Month

Melissa Sandfort

kittensThis year, my family is really getting into the spirit of June Dairy Month. We drink at least two glasses of milk each day (in addition to what we eat on our cereal), put cheese on our burgers, eat yogurt and once in a while, treat ourselves to ice cream.

I think our momma cat named “Earmuffs” got the memo too.

Last week, we came home in the afternoon to find two baby kittens. We went inside, ate dinner and came out to found she’d had one more. We called my grandparents to come over and see and by the time we got back to the garage, what do you know, there were four! A whole litter of black and white kittens to celebrate June Dairy Month.

I’m thinking we’ll name them Bessie, Boss, Daisy and Buttercup. Let’s just hope three out of the four are girls with those names.

Until we walk again …

Uncategorized

Bowling Elected as NCGA Vice President

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BowlingThe National Corn Growers Association’s Corn Board has elected Chip Bowling of Maryland to become the organization’s first vice president for the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.

“I am honored that my colleagues on the board have placed their trust in my ability and dedication to moving our association’s mission forward and creating greater opportunities for corn growers across the country,” said Bowling. “At the same time, I realize that farmers face many challenges right now as threats to the Renewable Fuel Standard abound and we continue operating without a new, five-year farm bill. I look forward to working with our grower leadership over the coming years to find innovative, impactful ways to deal with the situations at hand and those which will certainly arise in the future.”

A farmer for more than three decades, Bowling is a third-generation farmer who operates a 1,400-acre grain farm growing corn, soybean, wheat, barley and grain sorghum only an hour’s drive outside of Washington, D.C.

A graduate of NCGA’s first Advanced Leadership Academy class, Bowling currently serves as board liaison to the Ethanol Committee and represents NCGA on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Farm, Ranch and Rural Communities Committee. He has also served on NCGA’s CornPAC Committee and Mycotoxin Task Force.

On Oct. 1, Johnson, of Iowa, becomes chairwoman and the current first vice president, Martin Barbre of Illinois, becomes NCGA president. In October 2014, Barbre becomes chairman and Bowling becomes president.

Agribusiness, NCGA

New Holland Construction Line Up

Chuck Zimmerman

New Holland ConstructionOne of the things that New Holland has been focusing on this year is integrating its agriculture and construction lines of equipment. During my visit to the company’s headquarters in New Holland, PA, I talked to Paul Wade, Brand Marketing Manager for New Holland’s construction products, and he explained this integration allows them to offer a wider array of products to their customer base.

“You’ve got the agricultural customer and the landscape customer, and they both use ag and [construction] equipment. Now with our dealers being in one house, we offer both. So they don’t have to go to two different dealers to get their equipment,” Paul said. It also shows the breadth of the product lines, especially the new Pro Work Tools segments. And it also puts all their service needs under one roof, really adding convenience for the customers. “It gives them one dealer contact – they can work with one service guy, one sales guy, one dealership to meet their needs.”

Paul added that there also some bundling discounts New Holland offers to customers who buy both ag and construction equipment. Makes sense, since when you combine the blue of the ag lines and the yellow of the construction lines, you save lots of green (money).

Listen to my interview with Paul here: Interview with Paul Wade

New Holland Construction Equipment Media Event Photos

Agribusiness, Audio, New Holland

House Speaker Supports Farm Bill

Cindy Zimmerman

boehnerSpeaker of the House John Boehner says he would vote for the House Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act (FARRM) of 2013.

“I’ve got concerns about the farm bill, as I told our members,” Boehner said during the Republican Leadership press conference Wednesday. “But doing nothing means that we get no changes in the farm program, no changes in the nutrition program. And as a result, I’m going to vote for the farm bill to make sure that the good work of the Agriculture Committee and whatever the floor might do to improve this bill gets to a conference so that we can get the kind of changes that people want in our nutrition programs and our farm programs.”

Boehner sound bite: Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH)

On Monday, Boehner released a statement about the farm bill commending Chairman Lucas for provisions in the bill that end direct payments and make changes to the Food Stamp program that both parties know are necessary but noting some areas where he has issues. “I had concerns about some of the dairy provisions of the Farm Bill last year, and those concerns remain this year. I oppose those provisions and will support efforts on the House floor to change them appropriately.”

While Boehner has received some criticism from conservative groups for supporting the farm bill, farm groups are backing him up. “Speaker Boehner is giving all Americans, including the farmers who feed them and those concerned with nutrition programs, real optimism that Washington can get important work done in 2013,” said American Farm Bureau Federation president Bob Stallman. “It is unfortunate that outside political groups with no interest in the agricultural economy or the farm and ranch families who underpin our rural economies have reacted by promoting inaction, effectively supporting no reform, no progress. Heritage Foundation-Heritage Action, for example, opposes the legislation, but they are misstating the facts in characterizing reforms advanced in the legislation as a referendum on the president.”

AFBF, Audio, Farm Bill

Agri-Pulse Open Mic with Congressman Rick Nolan

Cindy Zimmerman

New on Agri-Pulse this week:

open-micCongressman Rick Nolan is a democrat from Minnesota’s 8th district. His primary industries are agriculture, forestry and mining. He holds the congressional record for the longest lapse between terms as he served in Congress (1975-1981), then left to go into business where he managed an international trade association and was owner and president of a forestry company. He returned to Congress this year, in his mid 60’s, and now sits on the agriculture and transportation committees. Nolan speaks about then and now in the change in Congress and about the prospect for passage of the House Farm Legislation. He also talks about the EPA and the challenges faced by industries in his district.

Listen to the Agri-Pulse Open Mic interview with Rep. Nolan here.

Agri-Pulse

Blueprint for Easy from BIVI

Cindy Zimmerman

wpx13-bivi-gregVaccinating pigs against disease can be a time-consuming, back-straining process for humans and an unpleasant experience for the swine – but it doesn’t have to be that way.

“Oral vaccines pamper people and they also pamper pigs,” Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica (BIVI) Technical Manager Dr. Greg Cline said during an event at World Pork Expo last week. “It certainly is a lot easier to vaccinate a group of pigs through the water supply system than it is to go through and restrain the pigs and inject them.”

wpx13-bivi-blueprintDr. Cline explained how producers can administer several vaccines at the same time by water. “We have a license for the concurrent use of Enterisol Ileitis, Enterisol SC-54 and Ingelvac ERY-ALC,” he said. “So we’ve got an opportunity to have both ease of administration and add those vaccines together and get multiple pathogens at the same time.”

BI offers an oral vaccination learning program and producers can find out more through their local veterinarian or BIVI representative.

Listen to my interview with Greg here: Interview with BIVI's Greg Cline

Visit the 2013 World Pork Expo photo album.

AgWired coverage of the 2013 World Pork Expo is sponsored by NOVUSAgWired coverage of the 2013 World Pork Expo is sponsored by boehringer-ingelheim
Animal Health, Audio, Boehringer Ingelheim, Swine, World Pork Expo

Zimfo Bytes

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    Zimfo Bytes

  • DuPont opened its seed production facility in Stasi, Dykanka region, Poltava oblast, Ukraine, helping Ukrainian farmers increase their productivity.
  • Gary Newton reflects as Agri-Inject celebrates three decades of fluid injection technology leadership.
  • Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack kicked off the 5th annual Feds Feed Families Campaign at the Capital Area Food Bank.
  • Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the availability of up to $98.6 million to support the production of advanced biofuels, and an opportunity for eligible producers to submit applications.
Zimfo Bytes

What Do You Think of The Senate Immigration Bill

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Before we get to our new Zimmpoll let’s look at the results of our latest one which asked the question, “How good was your first cutting of hay?” Many of you felt your hay crop was better than last year. Hopefully this is a good sign for this season.

Our poll results: Thirty-five percent said Better Than Last Year, twenty-five percent said Same as Last Year, twenty-five percent said Worse Than Last Year, and fifteen percent said Other. The “Other” responses claimed it is too wet to cut hay. All this moisture is a cure for the drought but seems to have delayed hay season in parts of the country.

Untitled

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “What is your opinion of Senate immigration bill?” With a Senate vote of 82-15 to allow further debate on legalizing the nation’s 11 million unauthorized immigrants, update the hiring process and make legalization a breeze. President Obama claims it is “the best chance we’ve had in years”. How do you feel? Let us know.

ZimmPoll is sponsored by New Holland Agriculture.

ZimmPoll

Check out the Propane Farm Incentive Program

Joanna Schroeder

The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) is encouraging producers to upgrade their grain dryers with a $5,000 incentive through the Propane Farm Incentive Program. Producers who purchase a new qualifying propane-fueled dryer from GSI Group or Mathews Co. now through the end of 2013 can apply for the incentive through PERC’s nationwide research program. In exchange, producers report post-harvest performance data to PERC.

Propane Farm Incentive Program LogoFor many farmers this spring, planting has been a challenge with cool, wet and rainy conditions. This has led to planting delays that may lead to more grain drying in the fall, and today, nearly nine of of 10 farmers dry grain using propane-fueled equipment. New models can offer energy efficient designs that produce even, consistent drying and can save producers money.

New and improved grain drying equipment is a profitable investment for producers, according to Mark Leitman, director of marketing and business development at PERC. “Mew propane-fueled grain dryers can be 30 to 50 percent more efficient than older models. These machines can produce huge energy savings for farmers, and we offer a $5,000 incentive on select, new models.”

The eligible models for the incentive include the GSI X-Stream series and Mathews Trilogy series dryers. PERC co-supported the development and testing of these machines because they’ve been proven to offer increased capacity, improved grain quality, and they can dry up to twice as many bushels per gallon of propane as previous models.

Equipment, Propane