- Adria Grewal joins Issues Ink as Marketing Manager.
- The Rural Mainstreet Index is at its highest level since 2007.
- According to a national survey, 25 percent of computer owners say they may not replace their PC when their current machine becomes unusable, signaling a possible trend of consumers becoming PC-less because they switch to a tablet or a similar device.
- This year, the soy checkoff helped 45 new products hit the marketplace, keeping demand for U.S. soy strong.
Merry Christmas from Prosperity Ag
We’re almost there. Christmas 2012!
Here’s a Merry Christmas from Prosperity Ag & Energy Resources.
Wishing you every happiness this holiday season and throughout the coming year! Thank you for your support. We look forward to another prosperous year in 2013!
You can find the greeting with photos online.
Happy Holidays from Illinois Corn Growers
Let’s have an end of the week Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Illinois Corn Growers.
Wishing you and your family the Christmas season’s joys and wonders.
Enjoy the holiday.
Happy Holidays from the staff at Illinois Corn.
Wish I could share all the holiday message we’ve received. Keep ’em coming though. Plenty of time left and I’ll do my best to share yours here if you’d like.
Zimfo Bytes
- USDA is seeking nominees for National Blueberry Promotion Board and the National Softwood Lumber Promotion Board.
- USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack has appointed 30 members to serve on the National Potato Promotion Board.
- National Sorghum Producers is proud to announce the winners of the 2012 NSP Yield and Management Contest.
- The Makhteshim Agan Group announced the appointment of Jean-Marc Dardier as Head of Global Marketing.
A Toast to Anita
This is a toast to Anita Vanderwert. One of our very good friends who is leaving Learfield Communications and Brownfield Ag News for a new career opportunity. I’m sure we’ll still see Anita somewhere out there on the agriblogging highway though. This week Learfield had a farewell party which we couldn’t attend. But thanks to Joyce Steinman, we got pictures!
Here are some words from the invitation to Anita’s farewell party. It’s not too late to send a message in if you know Anita. See how below.
Anita Vanderwert has been doing this network thing for a long time, and after 18 years she has decided it’s time to make a change. Anita’s position at Brownfield has provided her with the opportunity to cross paths with many people. And you know, once you meet Anita, it’s very easy to soon become her friend.
While we will miss her greatly, we are excited for Anita and her new adventure and nothing is more fitting than to send her off with a fond and fun farewell toast.
If you are unable to attend, please send a note or email with a memory or two that we can share with Anita as we toast her new endeavor.
Send your cards or notes to:
Anita Farewell
c/o Myra Verslues
Brownfield Network
505 Hobbs Road
Jefferson City, MO 65109
Or email using the subject line: Anita Farewell to mverslues@learfield.com.
Seasons Greetings from SDSU
The greetings are coming in from so many different places. This time it’s South Dakota State University. They put together a very nice video that summarizes a lot of the school’s accomplishments during the year.
Ag Leader’s Holiday Hours
As 2012 comes to an end, we are so grateful to our loyal customers and hard-working dealers who have made this year so successful! We are excited to begin 2013, and are confident it will be even more bountiful than last year. 2013 Dealer Training is set to kick-off Jan. 7, and the Ag Leader Technical Support Staff is prepared to offer another excellent training season for our dealers and customers. If you are a dealer and have not been to the Ag Leader Academy to receive training, resolve to attend a few in 2013.
Technical Support will be closed from Monday, Dec. 24, 2012, through Jan. 2, 2013, during which time our phone system will not be accepting voicemails. We will resume our normal 8am-6pm, Monday–Friday working hours beginning on Jan. 2, 2013.
On behalf of Technical Support, we would like to wish a safe and happy holiday season to all of our customers and dealers! We look forward to another year of providing you with quality customer service!
You can reach Ag Leader Customer Support at 515-232-5363 or support@agleader.com.
Become a fan of Ag Leader on Facebook today, and get the latest precision ag videos on the YouTube channel. For more information about Ag Leader products and services, or to visit the blog site, go to www.agleader.com.
2012 National Corn Yield Contest Winners
Advanced production techniques, informed growing practices and improved seed varieties helped corn growers achieve high yields in the National Corn Growers Association 2012 National Corn Yield Contest. Despite a severe drought that plagued most of the Corn Belt, entrants continued to far surpass the national average corn yield, even doubling it in some circumstances.
The National Corn Yield Contest is in its 48th year and remains NCGA’s most popular program for members. With 8,262 entries, the 2012 NCGA National Corn Yield Contest neared the participation record set last year of 8,425 entries. Notably, 2012 still marks a dramatic trend toward higher entry rates, far surpassing the previous entry record set in 2010 of 7,125 entries.
The 18 winners in six production categories had verified yields averaging more than 316.3222 bushels per acre, compared to the projected national average of 122.3 bushels per acre in 2012. Notably, while the national average declined significantly from a projection of 146.7 bushels per acre at this time in 2011, the contest average rose by more than three bushels per acre. While there is no overall contest winner, yields from first, second and third place farmers overall production categories topped out at 384.3609.
The national and state contest winners will be honored at the 2013 Commodity Classic in Kissimmee, Fla. Feb. 28 – March 2. Contest winners will also be featured in a special edition of Progressive Farmer magazine.
Click here for the complete list of National winners.
Season’s Greetings from Gibbs & Soell
More and more holiday greetings keep rolling in. The pace has picked up as we near the end of the week.
Here’s one from Gibbs & Soell. Click here or on the photo to view the interactive greeting.
Slick Planting with Seed SLIK
Winter is a time when farmers can look forward to spring planting, especially if stuck inside due to a winter blizzard! This next installment in our series of interviews about Superior Graphite agricultural products will get you looking ahead. In this post we’ll look at a product line called Seed SLIK. I spoke once again with Barry Lee, Product Manager, Coatings & Lubricants. We focused on Seed SLIK Graphite and Seed SLIK Talc. It is common practice to mix a seed lubricant with seeds for planting to make sure skips don’t happen where a seed does not get planted where it should. That can affect yield. Besides the seed benefit, these products are also beneficial to the machinery itself.
Graphite seed flow lubricants, are made from high quality powdered graphite powders from environmentally safe, natural mineral, and will not hurt seeds, or plantings as they grow. Small seeds benefit from the addition of graphite, allowing them to slide easily off the planter plates.
Seed SLIK Talc provides similar benefits and features as the Graphite product but has an added benefit of not affecting optical sensors, although it is susceptible to moisture. Barry says the best of both worlds is a blended Seed SLIK product which contains both graphite and talc.
Seed SLIK™ has the highest quality powdered seed flow lubricants available on the market. Talc powder is an environmentally safe, natural mineral, that will not hurt seeds or plantings as they grow. Talc seed flow lubricants are used in mechanical plate and vacuum planters for increased lubricity and wear protection. Talc is a good alternative to graphite for planters with new electronic seed meters that sometimes give false readings with graphite. Small seeds benefit from the addition of talc allowing them to slide easily off the planter plates.
You can get more information on these products on the Slip Plate website or connect with the company on Facebook or LinkedIn.
Listen to my interview with Barry here: Interview with Barry Lee