BCS Communications Holiday Party

Chuck Zimmerman

The holiday season has officially begun. How do I know? Because the annual BCS Communications Holiday Party has taken place. For all I know, it’s still going on!

Here are the partners, (l-r) Illinois Blasdel, Leigh Ann Cleaver and Kelly Schwalbe. They know how to have a party. If you couldn’t attend then as you just might guess, I took some photos to share. Speaking of share, Cher made an appearance and not only posed with party goers, she sang a couple of songs with the band and partnered up on one with Kelly (Sonny) Schwalbe. Yeah, it was funny.

Agencies

A Kansas City Moon

Chuck Zimmerman

Pulling out of the Kansas City airport last night I had stop on the side of the road for a quick photo of the nearly full moon. Also showing very brightly was the planet Jupiter. My photo doesn’t do the scene justice. There was a lot more color just a few minutes earlier but I couldn’t get out of the rental car center fast enough to catch it.

It was a pretty greeting to Kansas City, MO where I’m attending today’s Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, PRRS ARC&E Seminar. That would be porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, area regional control & elimination seminar. Remember that. It’s so much easier to just say PRRS!

Lots of photos and interviews will be done so that we can spread the word and an understanding of what is possible and being done to control this virus.

Agribusiness, Boehringer Ingelheim

What keeps you busy during winter?

Melissa Sandfort

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, ” What gadget is on your Christmas wish list?”

Our poll results: Twenty-four percent said other; twenty percent said tablet; ten percent said wide screen TV; seven percent said desktop computer; three percent said smartphone; and three percent said notebook computer. Some of the things falling in the Other category include: Powerball Jackpot, camcorder, desktop hard drive, laser pointer, car and gun.

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “With harvest over what are your winter plans?” During the winter months, you may not see farmers out in the field but that doesn’t mean they’re not busy! So what will you be doing until next year’s planting season? Let us know!

ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.

ZimmPoll

Seed Shindig in Chicago

Cindy Zimmerman

It’s all about the seed next week in Chicago at the CSS 2012 & Seed Expo. That’s short for the 67th annual Corn & Sorghum Conference, 42nd annual Soybean Seed Research Conference and 36th Seed Expo which will be held December 4-7 at the Hyatt Regency.

American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) Chairman Blake Curtis of New Mexico says this is a great event for anyone in the industry to learn about everything from new traits and equipment to issues impacting the industry, such as “The Accord” – as the new agreement regarding the transition of biotechnology traits is called. “As we end up with expiring rights associated with the patents of these traits, the question is how do we move forward?” Curtis said in an interview at the NAFB Trade Talk earlier this month.

The technical name for the first part of “the accord” is the Generic Event Marketability and Access Agreement (GEMAA) and it was opened up for signature on October 31 through the efforts of ASTA and the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO).

Under the GEMAA section of the Accord, signatories to the agreement that have developed proprietary regulatory information to support the authorizations for events globally would be required to provide notice of patent expiration three years before the last patent on the biotechnology event expires and provide access to the generic event at patent expiration. Additionally, the regulatory data owner must elect to either maintain regulatory responsibility on its own for the whole marketplace for at least four years after the last sale of the product, or share or transition this responsibility with other users. If no interest is expressed by other signatories, the owner could discontinue the event.

In addition to the GEMAA, the BIO-ASTA group continues to work on a Data Use and Compensation Agreement (DUCA) that complements the GEMAA and will have additional provisions related to structured access to regulatory data, and data compensation, to compliment the bilateral negotiated process in use today by companies to create novel combination products. The DUCA is targeted to be open for signature in the first quarter of 2013. “It’s a great opportunity to make available these traits and this information to everyone in the seed industry,” said Craig.

We will be attending the CSS and Seed Expo next week to learn more about this issue and to celebrate the signing of a new MOU between US and China seed associations.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Blake from NAFB: Interview with ASTA Chairman Blake Curtis

2012 NAFB Convention Photo Album

ASTA, Audio, Biotech, Seed

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • The Capper/Hayes paper on the environmental and economic effects of removing productivity-enhancing technologies from U.S. beef production has been officially published.
  • The national report for the 2011 Economic Analysis of Animal Agriculture, conducted by Agralytica Consulting, is attached and can be found by clicking here.
  • Brighton agency recently hired several new employees including Sally Thomas, Kathy Meyer, Carrie Doza, Allison Stein and Kelli Naegeli.
  • Ten scholarships of $1,500 each are being awarded to outstanding students studying for a future in the beef industry.
Zimfo Bytes

US Wheat Associates Fight For Farm Bill

Jamie Johansen

US Wheat Associates sat down with me during the National Association of Farm Broadcasting’s Trade Talk to discuss how their checkoff dollars are used to promote and market US wheat and what the lack of a farm bill come January will mean to US wheat producers.

Dan Hughes, Vice Chairman for US Wheat Associates, shared his passion for the industry as a farmer and as an advocate for other US wheat producers.

“US Wheat Associates is a group of 19 states that has wheat checkoffs. These are funds generated by producers in each state to help in marketing and promotion. We take those funds and leverage with USDA funds. We get grants from the Market Access Program and the Foreign Market Development Program. For each dollar the producer puts in we get a grant for $2 or $3 from USDA. That is how we fund our overseas offices. We have 15 offices around the world. From Korea to Africa. From these locations we service the buyers of US wheat.”

“The lack of a farm bill is a great concern for us right at the moment. As I mentioned earlier we rely heavily on MAP and FMD funding from USDA. Currently without a farm bill those program have expired. So by the end of January we will have to begin closing offices overseas. That is really not expectable because we are not the only wheat supplier in the world.”

Listen to my complete interview with Dan here: Dan Hughes - US Wheat Associates

2012 NAFB Convention Photo Album

Audio, BASF, Farm Bill, NAFB, Wheat

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

Zimfo Bytes

BASF Closes Deal for Becker Underwood

Cindy Zimmerman

BASF has completed its acquisition of seed treatment company Becker Underwood.

BASF purchased Becker Underwood from Norwest Equity Partners for $1.02 billion (€785 million). With the acquisition, BASF is now a leading global provider of technologies for biological seed treatment as well as seed treatment colorants and polymers. BASF has also expanded its product portfolio in the areas of biological crop protection, turf and horticulture, animal nutrition and landscape colorants and coatings.

“The acquisition fits very well with our long-term growth strategy. It will provide our customers with an even broader range of innovative solutions for agriculture. And it also provides our new colleagues with access to BASF’s global R&D platform as well as new markets and customers,” said Dr. Andreas Kreimeyer, member of BASF’s Board of Executive Directors responsible for the Agricultural Solutions segment and Research Executive Director.

Most businesses of Becker Underwood will join the newly established global business unit “Functional Crop Care” as part of BASF’s Crop Protection division where BASF will merge its existing research, development and marketing activities in the areas of seed treatment, biological crop protection, plant health, as well as water and resource management with those of Becker Underwood. Becker Underwood’s animal nutrition business will be integrated into BASF’s Nutrition & Health division.

The newly formed global Functional Crop Care unit will become effective January 1, 2013. It will be headed by Dr. Juergen Huff, Senior Vice President. Dr. Peter Innes, currently CEO of Becker Underwood, has accepted the position of Global Senior Advisor to the Crop Protection division. He will support the integration of Becker Underwood into BASF and the implementation of the Functional Crop Care unit.

Read the BASF press release for more information. BASF will be having a media briefing on the acquisition next week in Chicago at the CSS 2012 & Seed Expo, which we will be there to cover.

BASF, Crop Protection, Seed

Winners of Intl. Intercollegiate Meat Judging Contest

Melissa Sandfort

The American Meat Science Association announced winners of the International Intercollegiate Meat Judging Contest, held Nov. 18, 2012, at Tyson Foods, Inc. in Dakota City, Neb. In total, 99 contestants representing 16 teams participated in the contest.

Top Individuals, Senior Division:
1. Bo Hutto, Texas Tech University
2. Valerie Manning, Texas Tech University
3. Brandy Cleveland, Kansas State University
4. Thomas Buckham, Kansas State University
5. Colton Christian, Texas Tech University
6. Morgan Neilson, Oklahoma State University
7. Sara Sieren, Iowa State University
8. Devin Gredell, Oklahoma State University
9. Kelsey Steketee, Michigan State University
10. William Haas, University of Illinois

Top 5 Teams, Senior Division:
1. Texas Tech University;
2. Kansas State University;
3. Oklahoma State University;
4. Michigan State University;
5. Angelo State University.

Official committee members for the Intercollegiate Meat Judging contest were John Unruh, Dale Woerner, Tom Carr, Keith Underwood, Ian Shann, Dan Hale and Darrell Dowd.

Agribusiness

Deeper Roots, Strong Yield With Drought-Tolerant Corn

Melissa Sandfort

A root comparison study conducted this season at Monsanto’s Gothenburg Water Utilization Learning Center in Gothenburg, Neb., provided a dramatic demonstration of just how important a deep, strong root structure is to help corn plants withstand drought conditions.

The research program evaluated the performance of a DEKALB® drought-tolerant corn product versus two competitor products – a Pioneer® Optimum® AQUAmax™ hybrid and a shallow-rooted product. A root dig conducted in mid-September showed that the DEKALB product had a significantly deeper, more evenly spread root structure than the other two products.

The result was healthier ears and a yield advantage for DEKALB of 12 bu./A versus Pioneer Optimum AQUAmax and 15 bu./A versus the shallow-rooted product.

This December DEKALB will continue a tradition of introducing innovative new products with the stewarded introduction of Genuity® DroughtGard™ Hybrids in the Western Great Plains for 2013 planting. These products combine the DEKALB brand’s drought-tolerant genetics, developed through the brand’s industry leading breeding program, with the industry’s first drought-tolerant biotech trait and agronomic practices. The DEKALB DroughtGard Hybrids available for planting in 2013 delivered farmers more than 5 bu./A versus competitor products in field trails this year.

Click here to see time-lapse photos of the root dig and video interviews with the participants.

Agribusiness, Corn, Research