Political Analyst Updates CIRB for 2023

Cindy Zimmerman

Farm Journal policy analyst Jim Wiesemeyer provided his annual update for members of the Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau (CIRB) during the 59th annual meeting last week in Bonita Springs, Florida.

The farm bill is the main issue on the table right now, but a bigger issue is the coming debate on the growing national debt. “There’s bipartisan support for crop insurance,” said Wiesemeyer, however, “there is the concern that farm programs eventually will probably have to be reduced along with a lot of other programs.”

As far as the farm bill is concerned, Wiesemeyer hesitates to call it the 2023 farm bill because one of the questions right now is whether there will be a one or two year extension. “We’ve had 19 farm bills in this country, this will be my 11th covering them so I think I have learned a few things,” he said. And one of those things is that they tend to wait until the very end to address the key issue, which he says is food and nutrition. “Once you get the SNAP funding completed, the other things kind of fall into place.”

Hear more of Wiesemeyer’s update in this interview.
2023 CIRB annual interview - Jim Wiesemeyer, Farm Journal (6:34)

Audio, CIRB

Industry Ag News 2/10

Carrie Muehling

  • The Supervisory Board of Bayer AG has appointed Bill Anderson to become CEO of Bayer, effective June 1, 2023. He will join Bayer as a member of the Board of Management on April 1, 2023. Bill Anderson was elected unanimously after a thorough selection process which began mid last year. Werner Baumann, current CEO of Bayer, will work closely with him on a smooth transition before retiring from Bayer after 35 years of service at the end of May 2023.
  • Agri-Pulse welcomes the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives as the Platinum sponsor for the 2023 Ag & Food Policy Summit. The summit offers in-person and virtual attendance options on March 20. This year’s theme is “Next-gen farm and food policy.”
  • The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture announced the election of Oklahoma Department of Agriculture Secretary Blayne Arthur as Vice President of the organization by the NASDA Board of Directors.
  • The National Corn Growers Association joined over 60 groups in sending letters to key decision makers in the Biden administration and Congress opposing cuts to the federal crop insurance program during the upcoming fiscal year 2024 budget and appropriations processes.
  • WATT Global Media announces the addition of Tijqua Daiker to the team as Digital Advertising Coordinator.
  • The National Association of Wheat Growers awarded Rep. David Scott (D-GA-13) with its 2022 Wheat Leader of the Year Award for his work as Chair of the House Agriculture Committee during the 117th Congress. NAWG President Nicole Berg presented the award to Rep. Scott during a recent visit to Washington, DC.
  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture named Simon Liu, Ph.D., the Administrator of the Agricultural Research Service. In this role, Liu will lead the agency in its efforts to leverage the latest advances in science and technology and develop innovative solutions to agricultural challenges facing the nation and world.
  • This month, FFA members around the country will celebrate agriculture and FFA during National FFA Week. National FFA Week always runs from Saturday to Saturday and encompasses Feb. 22, George Washington’s birthday. This year, the week kicks off on Feb. 18 and culminates on Saturday, Feb. 25.
  • National Farmers Union (NFU) will be hosting the College Conference on Cooperatives (CCOC) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, from February 16 – 19. Over the course of this three-day conference, participants will hear from experts in the field of cooperatives, participate in interactive learning activities and workshops, and tour co-ops in the Twin Cities.
  • World Ag Expo returns live for its 56th show on Tuesday, February 14, in Tulare, California. New products are launched at World Ag Expo® every year, and 2023 is no different. Look for major announcements and the future of ag from Kubota, AGCO, Case IH, Agtonomy, Top-10 New Product Winners, and many more.
  • Ten Acre Marketing, the full-service agriculture marketing firm based in Grand Forks, North Dakota welcomes two new team members, Jonnah Lee and Simon Andrys to the growing organization. Simon Andrys joins the Ten Acre team as Art Director. Jonnah Lee joins the Ten Acre team as Account Coordinator.
  • Purdue agronomy professor Jianxin Ma has been named the first Indiana Soybean Alliance Inc. Endowed Chair in Soybean Improvement. The Indiana Soybean Alliance Inc. (ISA) established this chair to advance critical soybean research that would be both productive and progressive, specifically supporting the ISA Discovery Goal: Profits by Prescription that will include research in such areas as the creation of the genome-editing pipeline and the utilization of phenotyping.
  • Potato retail sales increased in dollar sales by 14.4% but decreased in volume sales by -1.5% from January – December 2022 compared to 2021. Despite a slight decrease in volume sales, volume sales remain 3.7% above pre-pandemic levels, according to Potatoes USA.
  • Attendees were able to fine-tune their farming operations with information gained at the 46th annual Georgia Peanut Farm Show and Conference Jan. 19, 2023, at the University of Georgia Tifton Campus Conference Center in Tifton, Georgia. The show is sponsored by the Georgia Peanut Commission.
Zimfo Bytes

CIRB Watching Farm Bill Discussions

Cindy Zimmerman

Farm bill is on the mind of those attending the 59th annual Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau (CIRB) annual meeting this week in Florida.

Friday’s agenda included a Farm Bill Panel moderated by CIRB Deputy Executive Director Tara Smith with two veteran farm policy experts – Joe Shultz, Executive Director of the Platform for Agriculture and Climate Transformation (PACT); and James Glueck, Vice President at Torrey Advisory Group. Shultz served on the staff of the U.S. Senate for more than 15 years in various positions and Glueck served as staff director for the Senate Agriculture Committee from 2017 until 2021 under the leadership of Chairman Pat Roberts. Both have had experience working on the last several farm bills.

“I think one of the biggest threats identified in the panel was the potential for budget cuts and what that could mean,” said Smith. “We saw this when you look at the ’11, ’12, ’13, ’14 farm bill process where we cut $23 billion and I think folks are seeing a lot of similarities with this farm bill and that could mean we’re looking for cuts.”

Listen to an interview with Tara Smith and the panel discussion below:
2023 CIRB annual interview - Tara Smith, CIRB Deputy Executive Director (3:56)

Farm Bill Panel moderated by Tara Smith with panelists Joe Shultz, Executive Director of the Platform for Agriculture and Climate Transformation (PACT); and James Glueck, Vice President at Torrey Advisory Group
2023 CIRB annual Farm Bill panel (57:56)

Audio, CIRB, Crop Insurance, Insurance

Innovar Ag Expands InnoSolve PKMe Globally

Cindy Zimmerman

Innovar Ag is pleased to announce that InnoSolve PKMe, a recently introduced biodegradable nutrient enhancer, is set to expand global supply due to excellent results and additional manufacturing capability at its Illinois-based production location. This expansion will allow fertilizer manufacturers, distributors, dealers and farmers to provide a proven efficiency solution which is profitable for the entire chain.

“We are pleasantly surprised with the fast adoption observed for InnoSolve PKMe in the 8 initial launch countries. Partners are currently seeing the terrific commercial and agronomic benefits firsthand,” says Andrew Semple, Chief Executive Officer at Innovar Ag, LLC. “We feel that with our expanded manufacturing capabilities, plus the demand received for InnoSolve PKMe from the Global Market, we can offer consistent supply of this quality product starting in the 2023 season,” Semple added.

InnoSolve PKMe helps nitrogen, phosphate, potash, secondary and micro nutrients (such as Fe, Mg, Mn, Ca, Zn) become more available to the crop.

According to Managing Director Carrie Garcia, “Innovar Ag is currently adding partners in additional countries with a goal to reach 70 countries supplied by 2025. Innovar’s current core product distribution, which is currently serving 34 countries, will help InnoSolve PKMe to springboard expansion quickly, starting in 2023.”

Learn more at Innoarag.com.

Agronomy, AgWired Precision, Fertilizer, Nutrient Management, Precision Agriculture

Welcome to the 2023 CIRB Annual Meeting

Cindy Zimmerman

The Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau (CIRB) 2023 Annual Meeting officially kicked off in Bonita Springs, Florida today with a welcome from chairman Brian Young, Crop Risk Services.

“Of course this annual meeting program is set against the back drop of another year of unique challenges to our industry and America’s farmers and ranchers,” said Young. “It’s been a year of extremes and Mother Nature will continue to cause problems and crop insurance will continue to be the cornerstone of the farm safety net and the first line of defense for farmers against climate change.”

Which is why the crop insurance industry is focused right now on the 2023 farm bill negotiations. “Crop insurance doesn’t require a farm bill in order to continue to operate as it does in a public-private partnership,” Young said in an interview. “We just want to make sure we’re in lockstep with USDA and make sure we deliver a program that works for the American farmer.”

In this interview, Young also talks about the annual meeting and the priorities for CIRB this year.
2023 CIRB annual preview - Brian Young, Crop Risk Services, CIRB Chairman (5:56)

2023 CIRB Annual Meeting Photo Album

Audio, CIRB, Crop Insurance, Insurance

Precision Ag News 2/8

Carrie Muehling

  • The North American Plant Phenotyping Network, a partner of the International Plant Phenotyping Network, will host its annual conference at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center February 13–17.
  • Traction Ag Inc., the first cloud-based accounting software delivering solutions to growers across the Midwest, recognizes a momentous year of growth, solidifying their position as the leader in farm accounting technology.
  • John Deere is now offering HarvestLab 3000 Grain Sensing on 2018 or newer John Deere S700 Series Combines. Grain Sensing continuously measures and monitors protein, starch and oil values in wheat, barley or canola in real time as the combine is harvesting. This site-specific data can then be viewed in the combine, or in the John Deere Operations Center.
  • Thanks to new funding provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Partnership for Climate-Smart Commodities, Agoro Carbon Alliance will ramp up efforts to empower orchard operations in some of the leading nut and fruit producing states to integrate regenerative agriculture practices.
  • CropX Technologies, a global leader in digital solutions for agronomic farm management, announced its acquisition of Tule Technologies, a precision irrigation company based in California. This acquisition brings new data capture technologies to the CropX Agronomic Farm Management System and expands its market in California drip-irrigated specialty crops.
  • Barry Fisher of Greencastle, Ind. was named this year’s recipient of the Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) Conservationist of the Year Award. The 2022 Award was announced by Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Associate Chief Louis Aspey to Fisher during a ceremony hosted at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
  • Case IH kicks off celebrations honoring the 100-year anniversary of the Farmall tractor. The iconic Farmall model was introduced in 1923 as the all-purpose tractor designed to revolutionize the agriculture industry. Over the last century, Farmall has evolved to meet farmers’ needs across the globe with each milestone, making it “The One For All.”
  • Golden Harvest announced the 14 winners of the Golden Harvest “Go for the Gold” soybean yield contest. The contest recognizes farmers who achieved top soybean yields with Golden Harvest soybeans during the 2022 growing season. The winning farmers earned a trip to the 2023 Commodity Classic in Orlando, Florida.
  • Wilbur-Ellis announced the launch of the second annual Wilbur-Ellis Innovation Award. The program invites student teams from colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada to propose innovative approaches for providing food for more people – a critical imperative, since the world population is expected to increase by 2 billon people by 2050. The best idea will win a $25,000 grand prize and up to four $5,000 honorable mention awards may also be presented in 2023.
  • Bayer announced a partnership with French company M2i Group to supply fruit and vegetable growers around the world with pheromone-based biological crop protection products. Through the agreement, Bayer will become the exclusive distributor of select M2i products targeting lepidoptera pests in crops that include stone and pome fruits, tomatoes, and grapes.
  • Bayer and Kimitec announced a new strategic partnership focused on accelerating the development and commercialization of biological crop protection solutions and biostimulants. As part of a global agreement, both companies will become key partners to advance and establish biological solutions derived from natural sources: crop protection products that address pests, diseases and weeds, as well as biostimulants to promote plant growth.
  • Kubota Tractor Corporation announced that it will be the presenting sponsor of Blake Shelton’s “Back to the Honky Tonk” Tour kicking off in Lincoln, NE, February 16, 2023. This official tour sponsorship builds on an existing partnership with Blake Shelton who is an active part of the #KubotaCountry social community where he regularly shares what life is like on the farm using his Kubota equipment. To coincide with the tour, Kubota is also launching its Honky Tonk Concert Ticket Giveaway Sweepstakes to provide customers and fans a chance to win tickets to see Blake Shelton at one of four main tour venues.
AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes, Precision Agriculture

Yield10 Bioscience Hires Manager for Sales and Logistics

Cindy Zimmerman

Yield10 Bioscience, Inc. has announced the hiring of Davis McCarthy, Pag, to serve as a Manager, Sales and Logistics with the Company. In this position, McCarthy will engage with growers to sign Camelina production contracts, and support grain off-take logistics and commercial contract seed production.

McCarthy was previously a Senior Grain Buyer & Logistics Manager with Scoular, a private agribusiness company specializing in grain origination, international trade and transportation located in Saskatoon where he built and maintained relationships with producers, trucking companies and grain handling facilities to execute contracts for the sale, transport and processing of special crops to international markets. Prior to that, he served as an Agronomist with Cavalier Agrow and served as a Research Technician at Ag-Quest, a contract research organization located in Saskatoon. McCarthy has a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture with Honors and Distinction from University of Saskatchewan.

“We are excited for Davis to join our team and leverage his experience working closely with growers to provide agronomic recommendations and facilitate the movement of grain off their farms,” said Darren Greenfield, Senior Director of Seed Operations. “The addition of Davis to our team is an important step for Yield10’s commercial business and our plans to identify and engage growers suitable for Camelina production in the U.S. and Canada.”

Biofuels, Farming

Beef Advocate and Trailblazers Recognized at #CattleCon23

Cindy Zimmerman

Training and encouraging advocates for the beef industry are what the Masters of Beef Advocacy and Trailblazers programs are all about and their excellence was honored at the Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show last week in New Orleans.

Tucker Brown of Throckmorton, Texas, was honored as the 2022 Advocate of the Year for his creative use of storytelling across social media platforms, along with continuing his family’s legacy as a sixth-generation cattle rancher. This award, given annually by the NCBA’s Beef Checkoff-funded Masters of Beef Advocacy (MBA) program, recognizes an outstanding beef advocate for success in engaging consumers who want to learn more about beef and raising cattle.

Listen to an interview with Tucker Brown here.
2023 CattleCon interview with Beef Advocate Tucker Brown (5:09)

The Trailblazers program, funded by the Beef Checkoff, was established in 2021 to identify, train, equip and empower the next generation of advocates in the beef community. Over the course of a year-long program, 10 elite advocates develop the necessary tools to facilitate quality conversations and help safeguard the work of producers, ranchers and cattle farmers across the United States.

The 2022 inaugural class of Trailblazers include Kacy Atkinson, Wyoming; Jonathan Black, West Virginia; Brianna Buseman, Nebraska; Haley Ammann-Ekstrom, Minnesota; Markie Hageman-Jones, California; Marya Haverkamp, Kansas; Natalie Jones, Nebraska; Shaye Koester, North Dakota; Sebastian Mejia Turcios, California; and Jaclyn Wilson, Nebraska.

Koester, pictured here at CattleCon, talks about the program and what she learned in this interview
2023 CattleCon interview with Shaye Koester, North Dakota (3:45)

2023 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show Photo Album

CattleCon23 Virtual Newsroom

AgWired Animal, Audio, Beef, Beef Checkoff, Cattle Industry Conference, NCBA

ZimmCast 705 – Riding with Can-Am

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCastHello and welcome to the ZimmCast. I’m Chuck Zimmerman.

In the middle of the winter meetings I’m going to take a break to share a conversation with JJ Rivet, Can-Am. Can-Am provided the members of the Crystal Pig Hunt Club a HD-10 Unlimited model to try out during the early part of the deer hunting season in Georgia, which was very successful. I just talk with JJ a few weeks ago and asked him to talk about the product we worked with. It has a closed cab with heat and air and we filled up feeders, dropped people off at their stands and brought our harvest back to the camp.

Can-Am HD10 UnlimitedIn our conversation you’ll hear about the specifications of this model and a little bit about its history. The cab is a game changer and we discussed the various add-ons and options to fit your woods, farm and work needs

We hope to work with Can-Am again in the future because it sure helped us be more productinve in the field.

That’s the ZimmCast for now. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

Listen to the ZimmCast here:
ZimmCast 705 - Riding with Can-Am (15:46)

Want to sponsor the ZimmCast? Just let me know and we can talk through ideas for your company. I’m AgriBlogger on Twitter or just email me at chuck@zimmcomm.biz.

Subscribe to the ZimmCast in:

Audio, Can-Am, Hunting, ZimmCast

Catching Up With Alltech at #CattleCon23

Cindy Zimmerman

We had a chance to catch up with Alltech President and CEO Dr. Mark Lyons last week at the Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show to find out about a couple of recent announcements from the company.

Last month, Alltech released its 2023 Alltech Agri-Food Outlook highlighting global feed production survey data. “This year we had 128 countries that reported in, which is a pretty astounding amount of information,” said Lyons. “But what is really striking is that, at the end of the day, four countries represent over half of the total feed produced in the world.”

Those four countries are China, the U.S., Brazil and India. The next six countries – Mexico, Russia, Spain, Vietnam, Argentina and Germany – and together the top 10 countries produced 64% of the world’s feed production.

Dr. Lyons also talked about the new format for Alltech’s annual ONE conference, which they are taking on the road this year. “We’ve got about a dozen stops thus far, two in Europe at least, including one in Dublin, Ireland,” he said. “We’re going to have one in Budapest. Eastern Europe is going to play a huge role in the future of European agriculture.”

There are also plans for meetings in the UAE, Brazil, the U.S., Canada, and Asia.

Learn more in this interview.
2023 CattleCon interview with Dr. Mark Lyons, Alltech (8:05)

AgWired Animal, Alltech, Animal Agriculture, Animal Health, Audio, Cattle Industry Conference