BASF Personality Profile – AJ Woodyard

Jamie Johansen

Just over four years ago, AJ Woodyard, joined the BASF team as a young, driven and enthusiastic scientist. Since then he has continued to bring his excitement for the agricultural industry into helping growers get every penny out of their investment.

In this BASF Personality Profile, we get to meet AJ and learn more about his background and passion for crop science. He grew up in East Central Illinois on a 1,500 acre corn and soybean farm in Paris. He attended the University of Illinois, graduating with a crop science degree. He then jumped right into a masters program where he focused on weed science.

classic-13-jamie-76While in graduate school AJ, got the opportunity to work on some of BASF’s experimental projects and that is what got him excited about the company. He joined the BASF team in December 2008 after finishing his masters. His first role was technical representative for Central and Southern Illinois. But recently took on the role as Technical Crop Production Specialist. AJ now focuses on high yield corn and soybean management strategies.

“Being somebody who was born and raised in the agriculture industry and still is a part of a family operation, it’s really rewarding to me to have the opportunity to work directly with growers. Especially, looking at their challenges and their successes and be able to bring new solutions to them that can help their operations. That’s the most rewarding part, being part of an innovative company that brings new solutions and can help them eventually raise yields and make more money.”

You can listen to my interview with AJ here: BASF Technical Crop Production Specialist AJ Woodyard

Audio, BASF

Swanson Russell at 50 Years Old

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCast 3872012 was a good year for Swanson Russell. The agency turned 50 and for the first time surpassed $100 million in capitalized billings.

Capitalized billings are an industry standard used by agencies as a uniform means of comparing agencies that offer a variety of services. “In our industry, becoming a $100 million agency is a significant milestone,” said Dave Hansen, partner and chief executive officer of Swanson Russell. “It has been a stated goal of ours and we are very excited to announce this achievement. One hundred million is certainly a milestone that elevates our status on a national level.”

Swanson RussellI sat down for a conversation with Dave during Commodity Classic to learn more about what is working for the agency. He has been with Swanson Russell for twenty three of their fifty years. There are four key areas of focus for the agency, Agriculture; Turf/Ornamental; Hunting/Fishing and Health Care. He says making employees number one is very important and this has helped the agency retain great team members longer than most. The digital world has transformed many of the inside job definitions of agency employees and he says they’ve been seeing a significant increase in the use of digital media. Dave says they are trying to create more internal collaboration which has been accomplished in part by re-designing their offices to have much more “wide open space” so it’s easier for collaboration to take place.

Learn more about Swanson Russell at 50 years in this week’s ZimmCast: Swanson Russell Turns 50

Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsors, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong and Monsanto, Roundup Ready Plus, for their support.

The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired. Subscribe so you can listen when and where you want. Just go to our Subscribe page.

Agencies, Audio, Commodity Classic, ZimmCast

XL Solutions at Raven Industries

Jamie Johansen

classic-13-jamie-176-editedExperts in Raven Industries’ applied sciences division have been busy bringing new and innovative technologies to the door step of growers across the country.

The 2013 Commodity Classic was the place to display these new products and Raven Industries was there to do so. I spoke with Paul Welbig who oversees a lot of the product management issues at Raven. Looking into the future he shared how their goal is to continue to enhance products that save farmers time and money. Slingshot is one of those data management systems that can improve efficiencies on the farm.

“An innovation of technology has been a key point to a lot of growers here. There operations are dependent upon the various technologies that are available out there and we try to integrate those technologies together to eliminate the complexities and provide them a faster ROI because they are integrated into their solutions.”

“Some of the new stuff that we are really talking to producers about here is a couple of different things. We have what we call out Envizio Pro XL, which is a field computing device. Envizio Pro has been around a little while…[Envizio Pro XL] does basically what it says, an extra large screen so people can see it a lot easier.”

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

2013 Commodity Classic Photo Album

Audio, Commodity Classic, Precision Agriculture, Technology

Early Registration Deadline for NAMA Conference

Chuck Zimmerman

It’s time to get your registration completed for the 2013 Agri-Marketing Conference that takes place April 17-19 in Kansas City, MO. Save some $’s and do it now.

The ZimmComm team will be there with a Connection Point booth to share what’s new in our world. Hope you stop by and say hi. Share this message with your friends in the industry. Let’s make this the best conference ever!

Here are some of the Great Insights You’ll Find at the Agri-Marketing Conference!

  • Discover the three pillars of social engagement and how to measure their effectiveness.
  • Assess your organization’s web content and get strategic about your online presence.
  • Take a look at the new, more integrated role of PR, and hear what the future holds from experienced panelists.
Ag Groups, Agencies, Agribusiness, Media, NAMA

Zimfo Bytes

Talia Goes

    Zimfo Bytes

  • DuPont Pioneer and Mendel Biotechnology, Inc., have entered into a license collaboration to evaluate and commercialize new gene leads for increased water use efficiency and improved photosynthesis in corn.
  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture is revising the Standards for Grades of Almonds in the Shell.
  • Tim O’Connor, President and CEO of the U.S. Potato Board, has accepted an offer to lead a new marketing agency dedicated to the Mexican avocado industry.
  • New market challenges and opportunities inspired the National Pork Board to approve adding $3 million in additional Pork Checkoff funds to bolster the 2013 domestic marketing budget during the crucial summer sales months.
Zimfo Bytes

Custom Harvesters in Great American Wheat Harvest

Chuck Zimmerman

Kent Braathen U.S. Custom HarvestersLet’s visit with a couple of U.S. Custom Harvesters leaders, Kent Braathen and Tracy Zeorian. I met them during AG CONNECT Expo earlier this year when a big announcement was made about the film documentary “The Great American Wheat Harvest.” The film is in production now with a hopeful release date of Ag Day in 2014. Tracy says that when she was first approached by film producer Conrad Weaver she was a little unsure where this would go. But she has learned that “He’s showing the story that we live and the heart of what we do.”

Kent who is the new President of U.S. Custom Harvesters says they’re very excited to be on board with this project since it will showcase what they are all about. He grew up in the business where like many custom harvesters, it’s a family affair. The film will help the public and folks in Washington, DC and local politics better understand the importance of their industry to the public. He encourages other organizations and companies to come on board and support the film.

Tracy Zeorian U.S. Custom HarvesterTracy has written a great blog post for Ag Day in which she details the evolution of the custom harvest industry. Here’s an excerpt.

The reputation of the custom harvest businesses has changed since the early days. When the industry was in its early years, crews were made up of only men. There were no trailer houses. The custom harvester camps had none of the luxuries of today. Men would sleep in partially filled grain trucks or under grain trucks, tents or barns. The men relied on farmers’ wives for food and often bathed in rivers and lakes.

Custom harvest businesses have evolved in the past 69 years. Combines are larger and headers are longer. The modern-day custom harvest crew is more than likely a family-owned business. They have modern RV’s with all the luxuries of home, including a shower AND washer/dryer. Some crews opt to stay in motels while on the road and eat in restaurants. Children have grown up helping, either at the trailer house or in the field. If they’re really lucky, they’ve experienced both. We still chase that ripening wheat from Texas to the Canadian border! Fall crops, such as corn, soybeans and sunflowers, keep some of these crews on the road for up to six months.

You can listen to my interview with Kent and Tracy here: Interview with Kent Braathen and Tracy Zeorian

The GREAT AMERICAN WHEAT HARVEST is a documentary film that will tell the story of hard-working custom harvesters who travel from the heart of Texas to the Canadian border harvesting the wheat that feeds our Great Country and the World. AgWired is a Silver Sponsor of the project.

Ag Groups, Audio, Wheat

My Field’s Been Droned Dude

Chuck Zimmerman

Aerial Precision AgEver since we’ve been hearing about the whole drone issue in Washington, DC I keep hearing this phrase in my head. But of course farm fields are being droned, by farmers themselves, and for good reasons. Here’s a great story on the subject.

Helicopters are just plain cool, especially if you can operate them by remote control. The Aerial Precision Ag booth at AG CONNECT Expo sold out of their new Multi Ready to Fly units! Using mini hand controlled helicopters for precision ag field imaging work got a lot of attention. These four rotor units were also being demonstrated right on the floor. The devices were first developed for cinematographers but the company quickly realized their great ag application.

I visited with Halee Janes, Aerial Precison Ag, a sister company to Cirrus Rotors, to learn more about these new units they were demonstrating. In the video below you can watch Halee explaining the new units and a short demonstration of them.

Halee says the ag industry can really benefit from aerial imagery for things like checking storm damage, crop production, water damage and getting that information very quickly. The footage from the included camera is stored on an SD card which you would remove and plug in to your computer. The starter kits on sale at the show include everything a farmer needs in a box. Included are a Hero GoPro 3 camera with an SD card that holds about an hour of footage. She says you can quickly get an aerial look at 60 acres, as in just a few minutes. These units can withstand about a 10-15 mph wind, travel up to 2 miles and as high as 400 feet. The batteries included give you about 16 minutes of flight time with wind and heat being the main variables. The units are also pretty customizable as long as you consider the weight.

You can listen to my interview with Halee here: Interview with Halee Janes

Agribusiness, Audio, Equipment, Precision Agriculture, Video

BIVI Panel: Observe, Be Patient & Help Others

John Davis

bivi-vets-13-panelAll this week we’ve been hearing from some of the presenters at the annual Boehringer Ingelheim (BIVI) Swine Health Seminar for swine vets held in San Diego. A panel session that featured Dr. Darin Madson from Iowa State University; Dr. Jim Lowe, a private livestock veterinary consultant in Illinois; Dr. Edgar Diaz, associate director of swine for BIVI; and Dr. Dale Polson, technical resources specialist with BIVI, (seated, left to right) talked about vertical transmission of disease, with BIVI Director of Swine Technical Services Dr. Tyler Holck moderating (standing, on right).

“Understanding [the gilt’s] immunity and her status coming in to that farm is probably the most important thing you can do,” said Madson. “It’s too late once she’s there, because that’s when you’ll have see this vertical transmission.”

Lowe urged the vets attending to have patience and understand that you need to collect data over a number of years to truly understand a problem. “One test result probably doesn’t change my attitude… 10 in a row might tell me something more.”

Diaz echoes the first two sentiments on carefully observing and being patient to gather and consolidate the right amount of data.

Polson told the audience that they need to give to gain and play well with others. While it’s good to work to better the client’s herd, “if we are too narrowly focused and too myopic on just our stuff, we don’t appreciate how much of the effort that we put in dealing with our stuff we could mitigate by giving, collaborating with the neighborhood or across businesses.”

Listen to the panel discussion here: BIVI Swine Health Seminar panel on vertical transmission


BIVI Swine Health Seminar Photo Album

Agribusiness, Animal Health, Audio, Boehringer Ingelheim, Swine, Veterinary

Getting to Know Ag Leader

Melissa Sandfort

Insights WeeklyHere is the next in our series as we introduce you to a few of dedicated precision ag equipment dealers in a series called “Getting to Know Ag Leader”.

We caught up with Ben Martin of Akron Services, Inc. in Illinois.

1) From an agronomy standpoint, what do you consider to be the biggest issues facing growers today?
Today’s investment in seed requires a much higher level of management than many producers have done in the past. Paying attention to hybrids, nutrients, soils and other inputs at different timings and places throughout the field will be key to maximizing productivity and profitability for growers.

2013-02-25 16.05.182) Tell us about how growers in your area are using precision agriculture.
Producers in our area have found value in VRT fertilizer and lime. Of course, using precision to simplify their life is popular too, such as autosteer, and automatic shut-off on sprayers and planters. However, more and more customers are using precision technology to increase management of nitrogen and seeding rates via harvest data and agronomy knowledge and recording data on every operation.

3) What benefits are growers seeing by using precision ag on their farms? Give us some examples.
Our customers using strip-till systems have seen huge benefits using autosteer to efficiently plant their seed in the optimal condition created by the strip-till operation. Before, when steering by hand, seeds planted off of the seedbed would emerge slower and be at a disadvantage the entire year. Also, growers are seeing benefits in fertilizer usage by using harvest data combined with soil tests to correctly fertilizer the areas that are in need of it the most.
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Ag Leader

Zimfo Bytes

Talia Goes

    Zimfo Bytes

  • MANA announced its launch of five new soybean weed control tools: Rumble, Tailwind, Torment, Vise and Outflank herbicides.
  • DuPont Pioneer announced final advancements of 132 new Pioneer brand corn products for 2013, including 36 new genetic platforms.
  • MGEX announced new trading hours for futures and options contracts in the Hard Red Spring Wheat and Index contracts beginning with the Monday, April 8, 2013 trade date, pending CFTC review.
  • Argrievolution Alliance announced that the work on a global ag electronics communication standard by Agricultural Industry Electronics Foundation will create greater opportunities and efficiencies for farmers and equipment.
Zimfo Bytes