Good Times are Rolling at #CattleCon23

Cindy Zimmerman

Nearly 7,000 cattle producers, industry partners and stakeholders have gathered in New Orleans this week for the 2023 Cattle Industry Convention & NCBA Trade Show with the first general session on stage Wednesday afternoon.

This year’s event kicked off with Franki Moscato, winner of the 10th Annual NCBA National Anthem Contest, singing the “Star-Spangled Banner.” Buzz Brainard, host of Music Row Happy Hour, returned as convention emcee and chatted with National Cattlemen’s Beef Association president Don Schiefelbein, American National Cattlewomen president Reba Mazak, and Cattlemen’s Beef Board chair Norman Voyles, Jr.

Unfortunately, due to the major ice storm across Texas, the widely anticipated appearance by “Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan had to take place remotely. But surprise guest Archie Manning, patriarch of a professional football legacy and former quarterback of the New Orleans Saints, provided a good backup.

The award-winning NCBA Trade Show opened last night with a New Orleans-style reception featuring more than 350 exhibitors and displays across eight acres under one roof along with a variety of educational opportunities. The convention runs through tomorrow.

2023 CattleCon Star Spangled Banner, Frankie Moscato (1:37)

2023 CattleCon general session - organization leadership (13:19)

2023 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show Photo Album

CattleCon23 Virtual Newsroom

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

HGS BioScience Announces New Leadership Team

Cindy Zimmerman

HGS BioScience™ has announced an impressive new leadership team following the recent naming of Michael Steffeck as chief executive officer. HGS BioScience™, formerly Humic Growth Solutions, is a leading producer of humic & fulvic acids and has perfected a dry delivery system known as Performance Granule. The new team includes one key elevation and three recent hires.

Jakob Bredsguard: Chief operating officer (COO)
Jakob is the new chief operating officer with more than 18 years of industry experience and 30+ patents to his name. His expertise in leading strategy, product development and process improvements make him ideally suited for this new role. He previously founded and was chief technology officer of Biosynthetic Technologies.

Carla Stucky: Chief financial officer (CFO)
Carla assumes the post of chief financial officer with 25+ years of progressive financial experience. She is highly proficient at overseeing financials at rapidly growing companies. Her diverse industry leadership includes 5 years at a Big 4 public accounting firm and executive roles in manufacturing, fintech, entertainment, and oil & gas.

Ryan Merritt: Senior Vice President, International Sales
As a company co-founder, Ryan brings an unparalleled depth of operational knowledge and product expertise to the team. With his expertise in supply chain, Ryan is excited to grow the company’s reach in international markets with new and innovative soil health solutions.

Scott Messer: Vice President, U.S. Sales and Marketing
Scott brings more than 20 years of experience in connecting growers to products that improve their yields. He is known throughout the agriculture industry for his ability to deliver quality customer experiences with specialty fertilizer and crop production solutions. With a rapidly expanding portfolio, Scott will have even more ways to deliver value to customers.

Recent innovations at HGS BioScience™ include expanding the Performance Granule™ portfolio. Dry granular products made by HGS have become a top choice for distributors, retailers and farmers. The functional carbon granule is built and formulated to mix with dry fertilizer, saving precious time in the field.

AgWired Precision, Fertilizer, people

Precision Ag News 2/1

Carrie Muehling

  • PepsiCo and the AgMission initiative, co-founded by the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research and the World Farmers’ Organisation, are issuing a request for applications to accelerate the adoption of climate-smart agriculture practices that incorporate regenerative agriculture principles to support resiliency of on-farm production and commodity value chains in North America, Europe, South Africa and Australia.
  • Case IH has been recognized as a 2022 Good Design Award winner for the industry-leading Patriot 50 series sprayer. The award, presented by The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design, highlights the most innovative and cutting-edge industrial, product and graphic designs produced around the world.
  • Cropin, a leading agtech company known for creating the first industry cloud for agriculture, has announced that its farm digitization software, Cropin Grow, is now available on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Marketplace. The AWS Marketplace is a digital catalog that allows customers to easily find, purchase, and deploy third-party software and services to build solutions on the AWS platform. With Cropin Grow now available on the AWS Marketplace, agri-industry players and governments worldwide will be able to accelerate their digital transformation efforts and use data to reimagine agriculture.
  • Greeneye Technology and Farmers Business Network announced they have entered into a long-term strategic collaboration agreement to help farmers reduce weed control costs and drive profitability by combining Greeneye’s retrofit precision spraying systems and FBN’s Precision Spraying Packs–customized crop protection and nutrition plans which FBN is developing for use specifically with the Greeneye technology–and financing offerings. The program will launch first in the U.S for the 2024 growing season.
  • 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.
  • U.S. Custom Harvesters, Inc. will celebrate its 40th anniversary as an organization that serves the custom harvesting industry at their Annual Convention in Omaha, Nebraska, February 2-5, 2023.
  • NK Seeds unveiled new third-party yield data showing NK corn hybrids and soybean varieties outyielded comparable competitive products in 2022.
  • Kubota Tractor Corporation and Trackhouse Racing announced that drivers Ross Chastain and Daniel Suárez will carry the familiar orange Kubota paint scheme in six races in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season. With the sponsorship, Kubota becomes the Official Tractor Company of Trackhouse Racing after serving as the primary sponsor of Chastain’s No. 1 Chevrolet last season at the Homestead-Miami Speedway on October 23, 2022.
  • John Deere was recently presented with three 2023 AE50 Awards for outstanding innovations that improve production agriculture. The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers annually recognizes the 50 most innovative product-engineering designs in the food and agriculture industry with AE50 Awards, as chosen by international engineering experts.
  • February is National Pesticide Safety Education Month and a time to review pesticide safety practices at your home or place of business, the Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) says. WSSA and the American Phytopathological Society and the Entomological Society of America are among the many organizations in public and private sectors that promote pesticide safety awareness during February and throughout the year.
  • BRANDT has overhauled its popular BRANDT Product Finder app. This update re-imagines the app, incorporating new features, a clean, simplified design and a modern user interface.
  • Jesús Valencia joins Corbet Scientific as the Regional Director of Agronomy. In this role, he will advise key customers and prospects on Corbet’s products and technology and drive market share growth of Corbet products as a regional expert based in California. He will report directly to the CEO.
AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes, Precision Agriculture

NCBA Announces 2023 Policy Priorities

Cindy Zimmerman

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s (NCBA) executive committee approved the organization’s policy priorities at the 2023 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show, with a focus on advancing animal disease preparedness, protecting voluntary conservation programs, and defending producers from regulatory overreach.

“One of the biggest opportunities to help cattle producers in the coming year is passing the 2023 Farm Bill with continued investment in our national vaccine bank to protect the U.S. cattle herd from the threat of foot-and-mouth disease. Recently, we have seen other countries deal with the realities of animal disease outbreaks. American cattle producers are not going to be caught flat-footed – we are laser-focused on reducing risk and having the strongest response with a stockpile of vaccines that we have been building up since the 2018 Farm Bill,” Wilkinson said.

Other policy priorities include:
Protecting and funding EQIP, CSP and other voluntary conservation programs that incentivize science-based, active management of natural resources.
Protecting the cattle industry from regulatory attacks under Waters of the United States, the Endangered Species Act, emissions reporting and more.

Learn more about NCBA’s 2023 Policy Priorities here.

Interview with Todd Wilkinson, NCBA President-elect and cow-calf operator from South Dakota
2023 CattleCon interview with NCBA president-elect Todd Wilkinson (5:19)

2023 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show Photo Album

CattleCon23 Virtual Newsroom

Audio, Beef, Cattle Industry Conference, NCBA

CIRB Annual Meeting Preview

Cindy Zimmerman

The Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau 2023 Annual Meeting is coming up next week February 8-10 in Bonita Springs, Florida. CIRB’s 59th annual meeting will feature distinguished speakers and opportunities to interact with crop insurance and reinsurance industry leaders.

The theme of the meeting is “It Starts With Us” and CIRB Executive Director Michael Torrey says the program will definitely have a focus on the farm bill. “Obviously this is a farm bill year and while crop insurance is permanently authorized there are always folks that want to take a look at the program and discuss it a bit,” said Torrey. “Since the last farm bill, which was 2018, we have about 270 new elected leaders…they’ve never been through a farm bill.”

CIRB, along with the American Association of Crop Insurers (AACI), and National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS), along with 58 additional Crop Insurance Coalition partners, representing farmers, lenders, agricultural input providers, and conservation groups, sent letters this week to key decision makers in the Administration and Congress opposing cuts to the federal crop insurance program during the upcoming fiscal year 2024 budget and appropriations processes.

Learn more about what’s in store for CIRB’s annual meeting next week in this interview:
2023 CIRB annual preview - Michael Torrey, Executive Director (6:54)

Audio, CIRB, Crop Insurance

Azotic Technologies Granted New Patent for Canada

Cindy Zimmerman

Azotic Technologies, maker of Envita®, received a new Canadian patent on January 3, 2023 offering broad protection on Azotic’s formulation and methods of application, not only for Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus (Gd) but all nitrogen-fixing bacteria under select conditions.

“We are encouraged by the momentum of our company’s growth, and how we are steadily and strategically obtaining the patents we need to further solidify our position in the Canadian and global marketplace,” said Ray Chyc, CEO, of Azotic Technologies. “Over the course of the next few years, we anticipate that our global position will be strengthened by this and other patent grants.”

Azotic has established a significant patent portfolio that extends across several countries. The US Patent Office, for example, has recognized the broad scope of Azotic’s inventions, which has resulted in a strong US patent position. “Several other important patents are in various stages of approval, around the globe,” says Chyc.

“Azotic will continue to develop and expand its patent position based on the innovations of its world-leading scientists in the field of microbial inoculants for nitrogen fixation, crop protection and climate resilience,” explained Adriana Botes, Research and Development Director, Azotic Technologies. “These innovations provide numerous environmental and economic benefits.”

Learn more from Azotic.

AgWired Precision, Farming, Precision Agriculture

DPH Biologicals Releases New Biological Seed Treatment

Cindy Zimmerman

DPH Biologicals today launched a multi-action biofungicide seed treatment called BellaTrove™ Companion Maxx ST that helps seedlings fight pathogens and ensures healthy root systems.

BellaTrove Companion Maxx ST is derived from DPH Biologicals’ proprietary strain of a plant-stimulating rhizobacterium. The EPA-registered OMRI-certified biofungicide and bactericide stimulates a plant’s natural defenses against pathogens while improving nutrient uptake and root health. BellaTrove Companion Maxx ST offers greater value to organic and conventional growers at a time when input costs continue to increase.

“With BellaTrove Companion Maxx ST, growers get a biological seed treatment in a scientifically proven formulation wrapping crop fertility, stress reduction and disease suppression up in one easy-to-use, farmer-friendly package,” said Mick Messman, president and CEO at DPH Biologicals and former director of global seed treatment for DuPont.

BellaTrove Companion Maxx ST leverages the company’s seed-applied technology expertise and biological innovation as part of its overall biocontrol technology platform says Messman, who is one of several leaders at the company with seed-applied technology expertise having helped establish the category.

After hiring several leaders in biologicals, DPH Biologicals expanded its technical bench with the addition of Cliff Watrin, who led the development of seed treatments for Winfield United and Syngenta. “Farmers continue to want a broad range of crop protection options. Companion remains one of the most trusted and proven products available – now in a seed treatment,” said Watrin, VP of Agronomy.

Learn more about DPH Biologicals and BellaTrove Companion Maxx ST in this interview with Messman and Watrin.
DPH Biologicals BellaTrove Companion Maxx ST (12:14)

AgWired Precision, Audio, Biologicals, Crop Protection, Seed

#CattleCon23 DC Issues Update

Cindy Zimmerman

From the White House to Capitol Hill to federal agencies, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association policy team is engaged on every issue that could possibly impact a cattle operation.

As cattle producers gathered in New Orleans for the Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show Tuesday, Vice President of Government Affairs Ethan Lane gathered his policy team for a policy issues update to share the latest information on taxes, cattle markets, conservation, Waters of the U.S., animal health, trade, infrastructure, and more. “We have a lot of issues that we deal with for the cattle industry and all of our team members are subject matter experts on those issues,” said Lane.

Left to right next to Lane on stage are Allison Rivera Executive Director, Government Affairs; NCBA Chief Veterinarian Kathy Simmons; Kent Bacus Executive Director, Government Affairs; Tanner Beymer, Senior Director for Government Affairs; Kaitlynn Glover, NCBA Executive Director of Natural Resources and Executive Director of the Public Lands Council; Mary-Thomas Hart, Environmental Counsel; Sigrid Johannes, Associate Director for the Public Lands Council and NCBA Natural Resources. Each one provided a brief update on their area, Monday morning staff meeting style.

2023 CattleCon DC Issues Update (1:42:58)

In this interview, Lane gives an overview of some top policy priorities in the new Congress this year.
2023 CattleCon interview with Ethan Lane, NCBA (10:26)

2023 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show Photo Album

CattleCon23 Virtual Newsroom

Audio, Beef, Cattle Industry Conference, NCBA

New Orleans Welcomes #CattleCon23

Cindy Zimmerman

Early Mardi Gras is in bloom on the streets of NOLA as cattle producers from around the nation gather for the 2023 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show.

Attendance is good and NCBA president Don Schiefelbein is seeing a lot of smiling faces. “It’s amazing what good prices do for good attitudes,” he said.

At the same time, producers are facing plenty of challenges, like the resurrected Waters of the United States (WOTUS). “Everybody wants to take what was once a pretty satisfactory solution and say let’s get the government involved more, create more complexities, and create more uncertainty for our ranchers – which is certainly something we don’t want.”

In this interview, Schiefelbein also reflects on his term this past year as NCBA president.
2023 CattleCon interview with NCBA president Don Schiefelbein (4:14)

Keep up with what’s happening at CattleCon23 in the official Virtual Newsroom where session audio and interviews will be posted throughout the convention.

2023 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show Photo Album

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

Regev and Timorex ACT Approved for Stone and Pome Fruits

Cindy Zimmerman

Summit Agro announced today the approved expansion of the use of Regev and Timorex ACT fungicides for both stone and pome fruit production.

This action by the EPA gives growers two new tools to use in their fruit orchards to battle fungal and bacterial disease. Both these fungicides benefit from the activity of Tea Tree Extract (FRAC BM 01).

Regev is the first hybrid fungicide in that it unites the disease fighting power of botanical and conventional chemistries. The product combines Tea Tree Extract with difenoconazole (FRAC 3).

Timorex ACT is an OMRI-listed fungicide that only contains Tea Tree Extract making it a purely organic formulation. It also can be used as an ideal tank-mix partner for growers looking to boost the performance of their organic or conventional fungicide program.

“Stone and pome fruit growers will find Regev delivers remarkable control of scab,” said Eric Tedford, Summit Agro R&D manager. “This control extends to both the leaf and the fruit even at low rates.”

Tedford added that Timorex ACT is an ideal organic solution for growers looking for powdery mildew control.

Tedford explained, “Both Regev and Timorex ACT provide the trifecta of disease protection — preventative, curative and anti-sporulant control — through eight mechanisms of activity. These are unique aspects that fruit growers will benefit from.”

Find more information about Regev and Timorex ACT on the Summit Agro website: summitagrro-usa.com.

Crop Protection, Fungicide, specialty crops