Supporting the Renewable Fuel Standard

Talia Goes March 20, 2013

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “Have you recently purchased a gun?”

Our poll results: Thirty-three percent said Yes, Already Own Guns while twenty-nine percent said No, Don’t Own Any. Nineteen percent said No, Have Enough, Eleven percent said Planning To, five percent said Yes, First Gun Purchase, and three percent said Other. Looks like most of you have one or more guns. Let’s hope that ammo for those guns becomes available again soon! Right now it’s very difficult to find any and we all know that to be proficient in using a gun, it takes practice/practice/practice.

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “Do you support continuing the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS)?” The Renewable Fuels Standard, or RFS, program was first created under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and established the first renewable fuel volume mandate in the United States. It was expanded in 2007 and increased the volume of renewable fuel required to be blended into transportation fuel from 9 billion gallons in 2008 to 36 billion gallons by 2022. The program includes ethanol, biodiesel and advanced biofuels with the goal of helping America become less dependent on foreign petroleum.

The RFS continues to be challenged by the oil industry, some livestock and poultry interests and food retailers for various reasons but the biofuels industry contends the program is working as intended and has resulted in lower imports of foreign oil. What do you think?

ZimmPoll is sponsored by .

ZimmPoll

The Science Behind BASF’s Herbicides

Jamie Johansen March 20, 2013

The research and development teams are the key to making BASF a household name among farmers. These biologists and chemists make it possible for BASF to stay innovative, provide solutions and create relationships with growers.

During Commodity Classic I was introduced to Luke Bozeman, Technical Marketing Manager in herbicides at BASF. Herbicide resistance is a on-going problem no matter what crop you grow and Luke shared what we will being seeing soon from BASF to solve this prevalent dilemma.

“Herbicide resistance has been a growing problem over the last several years and at BASF we’re excited about a new product that we haven’t developed yet or available yet, but Engenia has been designed to control some key resistant weeds including palmer pigweed, water hemp and ragweed in soybeans. We are excited about those technologies and how Engenia is going to help the farmers control those weeds in crops.”

“We are hopeful in 2014 all the approvals will be in place and we’ll be able to commercialize. There are still a lot of activities to go between now and then, but things are on track. It’s a very good technology and we’re excited it will be available in 2014.”

Luke and I also discussed what BASF is doing to face challenges and changes growers across the industry are seeing each growing season.

“We have an excellent R & D group that begins with our chemist in Germany and United States. Then our biology team in the United States range from field based biologists to biologists that are in our greenhouses and labs in North Carolina. They look out 8-10 years to try and define and determine what those key needs are going to be for growers and begin developing their programs to address those needs.”

Listen to my interview with Luke from here: Interview with Luke Bozeman

2013 Commodity Classic Photo Album

Audio, BASF, Commodity Classic, Research

Secretary of Ag Tom Vilsack at Ag Day

Chuck Zimmerman March 20, 2013

Our U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack spoke at the annual National Ag Day banquet in the USDA Whitten Bldg. First up in his remarks was a sales pitch for moderator, The Big O, Orion Samuelson’s book, “You Can’t Dream Big Enough.” I’ll bet that didn’t hurt sales! If you like Orion’s Ole and Lena jokes then you’ll really enjoy The Big O’s book which contains many of them.

Secretary Vilsack wished everyone a Happy Ag Day and then talked about American farm productivity pointing to a chart showing how high the ag sector is compared to other industries. He also had a chart to show us how consumers benefit from farm productivity that results in low cost food. He also talked about the need for a new farm bill and the budget impact of sequestration, including furloughing food inspectors.

You can listen to or download Sec. Vilsack’s remarks here: Ag Secretary Vilsack Remarks

2013 National Ag Day Activities Photo Album

Coverage of the National AgDay Activities is sponsored by the BCS think tank and American Seed Trade Association

Ag Day, Audio, USDA

James Wesley Thanks a Farmer

Chuck Zimmerman March 19, 2013

From an #AgDay @Reply to me this afternoon comes a link to a new single by James Wesley, Thank a Farmer. Thought it would be good to share before I head to this afternoon’s National Ag Day banquet at USDA.

You can find Jame’s song on YouTube and purchase it in iTunes. I’ve got it. So, go get it.

2013 National Ag Day Activities Photo Album

Coverage of the National AgDay Activities is sponsored by the BCS think tank and American Seed Trade Association

Ag Day, Ag Groups, Video

Congressman Lucas Encourages Ag Day Attendees

Chuck Zimmerman March 19, 2013

During our Mix and Mingle Lunch today as part of the 2013 National Ag Day activities we heard from Chairman for the House Committee on Agriculture, Congressman Frank Lucas (OK), who praised America’s farmers and ranchers. I was held up by the President’s motorcade and missed most of his message but he agreed to a quick hallway interview. He wants people to know that agriculture isn’t important on just this one day but everyday of our lives.

He says, “American farmers and ranchers, producers, processors, retailers, we have not only made sure for generations now that every consumer in this country has the most available supply of the highest quality, the most affordable food and fiber but we’ve also helped make sure that the world had access to that too.” Congressman Lucas encourages his friends attending Ag Day activities to work with him to get a farm bill passed and be good advocates for agriculture. Listen to my interview with him to get his update on the farm bill situation.

You can listen to my interview with Congressman Lucas here: Interview with Congressman Frank Lucas

2013 National Ag Day Activities Photo Album

Coverage of the National AgDay Activities is sponsored by the BCS think tank and American Seed Trade Association

Ag Day, Audio

Celebrating National Ag Day 2013 in Nebraska

Talia Goes March 19, 2013

Besides the activities Chuck is covering in Washington, DC, this week there are localized events throughout the country. This morning, Nebraska kicked off Ag Day in Tecumseh, Omaha and Wayne. The crowds got to listen to some key Nebraska agriculture influencers and supporters such as Nebraska Farm Bureau President Steve Nelson, State Department of Agriculture Director Greg Ibach, Agriculture Committee Chairman Sen. Ken Schliz, Lt. Governor Lavon Heidemann, and Nebraska State Governor Dave Heineman.

Listen to the Governor as he talks about Nebraska Agriculture.

What a great way to meet and mingle with some of the State representatives and area agriculturalists. The crowds that gathered in Nebraska for Ag Day consisted of FFA students, farmers, college students, agriculture media representatives and ag organizations. Governor Dave Heineman stressed that he is proud of Nebraska agriculture and all that it has done not only for our state but for the world.

Make sure you follow all Chuck’s coverage of National Ag Day activities in the nation’s Capitol. 2013 National Ag Day Activities Photo’s album.

Coverage of the National AgDay Activities is sponsored by the BCS think tank and American Seed Trade Association

Ag Day, Agribusiness, Audio

USFRA Ag Day Educational Session

Chuck Zimmerman March 19, 2013

This morning the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance celebrated the 40th anniversary of National Agriculture Day with a breakfast on Capitol Hill and educational briefing on “The New Language of Food and Modern Agriculture.” More than 150 people — including Ag Day participants, members of the food industry, and Congressional staff — joined USFRA at the event to hear about new research on the relevance of modern agriculture and encourage sharing of personal stories of continual improvement on the farm and ranch. Our moderator was Chris Galen.

“On Ag Day, when we traditionally celebrate America’s farmers and ranchers, we wanted to use this opportunity to share some new research we have on the language of food and new perspective on agriculture,” Chris Galen, USFRA board member and Senior Vice President of Communications for the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), said.

“I think it is also fitting to be in this location, the Sewall-Belmont House and Museum, home of the historic National Woman’s Party, that we have two female farmers here with us today. What a nice reflection of the diversity of modern agriculture,” he said.

We also had Katie Pratt (pictured at podium), USFRA Face of Farming and Ranching, share her farm story and talk about the importance of farmers and ranchers to share their personal stories. “This Ag Day – and every day – I encourage farmers and ranchers from across the country to be active, share their personal stories, and answer questions from their community about how food is grown and raised,” she said. Katie also live tweeted the event @USFRA. I have an interview with Katie to share with you later.

Also on the program was Erika Bowser-Poppelreiter, a Midwest farmer and farming/ranching expert with Ketchum. Erika presented the briefing, focusing on consumer messaging research and how the agriculture industry can work to restore relevance. The event featured a new perspective on food culture today led by farmers and ranchers.

You can listen to or download the education session here: USFRA Ag Day Educational Session

You might enjoy reading an editorial in today’s The Hill Congress Blog by USFRA Chairman, Bob Stallman, AFBF.

2013 National Ag Day Activities Photo Album

Coverage of the National AgDay Activities is sponsored by the BCS think tank and American Seed Trade Association

Ag Day, Ag Groups, Audio, USFRA

Meet the AgFanatics

Cindy Zimmerman March 19, 2013

We’ve been promoting the AgriVisor AgFanatics podcast for a couple of months now here on AgWired and I finally got a chance to get the two hosts of the show on the phone to find out more about them.

The AgFanatics are AgriVisor Account Manager Cory Winstead and AgriVisor Risk Management Specialist Nick Klump and they started the podcast back in December.

AgFanatic Cory Winstead

“It’s something I had been wanting to do and thought it was a good opportunity to share ag news in a fun and informative way and have a good time,” Cory said about starting the show, noting that they sit next to each other every day and talk about stuff so they wanted to show to be like that – just two people conversing about the markets, risk management, the weather, and whatever impacts agriculture.

AgFanatic Nick Klump

Even though the podcast is barely three months old, AgFanatics has already established a very solid listener base. “It’s been good feedback so far, all positive,” Nick said.

The AgFanatics give a great deal of credit for the production of the show to Alan Jarand and RFD Radio Illinois who encouraged them from the start. “He said you guys can use my studio, I’ll help you,” Cory said. “Once we did it the first time, he said I’m holding you accountable to come down here and do this every week. If it weren’t for him we may have only done three shows and stopped because of the difficulty of it. He’s been a huge asset to have.”

Listen to my conversation with the AgFanatics here: Interview with AgFanatics

Audio, FS System, GROWMARK

Insider Look at 2013 for Food & Agriculture

Chuck Zimmerman March 19, 2013

How about some Farm to Fork Politics? That’s what we got to kick off 2013 National Ag Day activities in Washington, DC. Here are the panelists for the session that was sponsored by Agri-Pulse just prior to their annual reception. Seated l-r are Dr. Keith Collins, former USDA Chief Economist, B. Hudson Riehle, Senior VP of the Research & Information Services Division for the National Restaurant Association and Dr. J. B. Penn, John Deere. These gentlemen gave us opening remarks before taking questions from the audience.

You can listen to the session here: Farm to Fork Politics Session

Before we got started I spoke with each of our panelists to ask them to tell me what they planned to tell us.

Let’s start with Dr. J.B. Penn. He had a “generally positive” message but chose to look back at recent years as a guideline for the outlook for the future. So he looks back at the last ten years to see how we “got here today.” He mentions something that is a common thread of the comments of all our panelists and that is uncertainty and volatile markets.

You can listen to my interview with Dr. Penn here: Interview with Dr. J.B. Penn

Next up is Hudson Riehle. He says that “despite a host of challenges the restaurant industry will post record sales this year of $660 billion dollars.” That’s up 3.8% over 2012. He says it’s the fourth straight year of sales growth but that the increase this year is much more modest than it has been.

You can listen to my interview with Hudson here: Interview with B. Hudson Riehle

We also heard from Dr. Keith Collins who said his first focus would be on three things, liquidity, solvency and economic growth. Then his second focus is corn because it accounts for so much of the value of crop production. He says we’re very dependent on having a good crop in 2013. Finally, he talks about where the farm bill may be headed. When it comes to the current Congress Dr. Collins is on the one hand depressed about what he see in politics but at on the other hand seeing that the glass is half full.

You can listen to my interview with Dr. Collins here: Interview with Dr. Keith Collins

2013 National Ag Day Activities Photo Album

Coverage of the National AgDay Activities is sponsored by the BCS think tank and American Seed Trade Association

Ag Day, Ag Groups, Agri-Pulse, Audio, Farm Policy, John Deere

Colorful Way Shows How BASF Herbicide Works

Cindy Zimmerman March 19, 2013

During the recent “Science Behind BASF” event, Senior Biologist Dr. Chad Brommer gave an infrared imaging demonstration to assess Engenia™ herbicide, a technologically advanced dicamba formulation developed by BASF.

Chad explains that they wanted a quantitative way to measure the safety and effectiveness of Engenia. “What we see with the camera is often things we can’t see with the human eye and that’s whether the plant is physiologically functioning the same way,” Chad said. The idea is to make sure that Engenia only kills the weeds and does no harm whatsoever to the plant.

The infrared technology allows them to see whether the crop is taking up any of the dicamba through secondary loss, even if it shows no visible signs of damage, basically by taking the temperature of the plant. Comparing existing dicamba formulations with Engenia, they found about a 10 degree difference in temperature. “That doesn’t seem like much, but that’s a real indication that plant has taken up some of the dicamba through secondary loss and it’s not functioning properly,” Chad said, noting that the infrared showed no difference between the Engenia-treated and untreated control.

You might remember that we shot a little video with Chad about Engenia last year at Commodity Classic. BASF anticipates the commercial launch of Engenia herbicide in the U.S. in 2014, in a complimentary time frame with the commercialization of dicamba-tolerant soybeans. BASF expects Engenia herbicide use on cotton in 2015 following the commercialization of dicamba-tolerant cotton.

Listen to my interview with Chad here: Chad Brommer interview

Check out more photos from the Science Behind BASF here

Agribusiness, Audio, BASF, Soybean

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