There’s a new look for Cornhusker NAMA (formerly Midlands NAMA). The chapter of the National Agri-Marketing Association underwent a name change this past September to better represent the geographical area it covers. They recently rolled out a new logo to support the initiative.
MS Technologies Collaborates to Innovate
One company that was generating some buzz at the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) CSS 2012 and Seed Expo was MS Technologies, which made a name for itself a few years ago by collaborating Bayer CropScience on LibertyLink soybeans.
At ASTA, MS Technologies was talking about two new projects – Enlist E3™ with Dow AgroSciences and another Bayer collaboration currently known by its working name of FG72. I had hoped to catch up with MS Technologies Brand Manager Lauren August at ASTA, but since I was unable to do so we did a phone interview last week about the collaboration innovations they have in the pipeline and you can hear more about it in this week’s ZimmCast.
Listen to this week’s ZimmCast here: MS Technologies Innovations
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.
Acceleron Seed Treatment Interviews
Monsanto has created a series of videos with farmers using their products like this one. In it you’ll see Kevin Stoll, farmer in Carrollton, MO, along with dealer Dennis Hensiek, talk about using Acceleron® Seed Treatment Products. We’ll have more to share when we get them.
Acceleron® Seed Treatment Products are the only seed treatments designed to help maximize performance potential in Genuity® Roundup Ready 2 Yield® Soybeans. Learn more about how Acceleron® Seed Treatment Products can get your Genuity® Roundup Ready 2 Yield® Soybeans off to a strong start.
Zimfo Bytes
- World Dairy Expo has announced Bob Kaiser as Interim General Manager.
- Hunter Public Relations’ annual Food News Study, conducted by Digital Research, Inc., polled 1,000 Americans about their perceptions on the year’s top food stories and how those news items impacted their behavior.
- Beck Ag recently had members of its Ag Insight team survey more than 2,500 ag professionals to measure the impact of participating in Beck Ag experience-sharing strategies.
- The theme for the 2013 GROWMARK Essay Contest is: Fighting Domestic and Global Hunger.” The contest is open to all high school FFA members in Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin.
The Gene Chip
The gene chip my sound somewhat futuristic, but it is actually something we have capabilities of using today. Alltech is on the cutting edge of research on the gene chip. Kate Jacques is Alltech’s director of nutrition and serves as part of the research group for the gene chip.
The science behind the gene chip is state-of-the-art and it was exciting to hear Kate describe how all producers can utilize this technology soon. I talked with her after she presented to both dairy and beef producers at this year’s Global 500.
“The gene chip is microarray and it is a very exciting new technique to measure your animals response that animal science has had in ages. Basically, it allows us to directly follow gene expression. Remember that genetics give us better animals, but it’s the expression of those genes that gives performance and profit. We use it in lots of studies to follow responses to diets.”
Listen to my interview with Kate here: Kate Jacques - Global 500
Kate shared how the gene chip can be used to improve immune response, advance carcass quality and remove stress from the environment.
Listen to Kate’s complete presentation here: Kate Jacques - Global 500
Check out all the photos from this years Global 500 here: 2012 Global 500 Photo Album
Send a Fuels America e-Card
Because it’s already growing you might want to consider taking a few seconds to send someone a Fuels America e-Card.
Hi there,
The holidays are upon us.
That means parties, gift giving, and finding that perfect card to send to your loved ones.
Send your friends and family a Fuels America holiday e-card to spread the joy and holiday spirit this season:
Whether young or old, everyone’s life can be improved by renewable fuel, especially during the holidays. Just this past Thanksgiving — the busiest travel time of the year — ethanol helped American families reduce their gasoline usage by an average of $29.13.
That reduction in gasoline usage means more money to spend on gifts for your friends and your loved ones this season.
So don’t just spread holiday cheer — spread the word about the benefits of renewable fuel at the same time. Send a Fuels America e-card now.
Happy Holidays,
Fuels America
Winter Storage of GPS and Guidance Products
December is here and for most of the country that means that seasons are changing and the time for field work to wind down and machinery to be stored in the shed for winter has come. If you are in a part of the world where it feels like summer is never-ending, GPS storage may be the last thing on your mind. So for those of you who actually get to experience seasonal changes there is a proper way to store GPS equipment during the winter.
It is true GPS equipment especially receivers are designed to be weather resistant. However, if your equipment will be stored for an extended period of time it is recommended that you remove the hardware and take it to a more protected environment.
When the receivers and other equipment are removed it is also advised to dock the cabling so it is not exposed to the elements. In the case of the Ag Leader ParaDyme roof module use the provided dummy connectors on the roof rail. If you have one of the other Ag Leader receivers, it is best to remove the cable from the roof and store it in the cab. This will help prevent water and dust from entering the cable ends possibly damaging or allowing corrosion to take effect. Removing the cable can sometimes be difficult. If this is the case, wrapping the end in electrical tape will also do the trick.
Ag Leader also recommends removing displays and the combine grain flow sensor from the combine in the fall. This helps preserve the integrity of displays as well as prevents rodents from snacking on the potting material in the flow sensor.
If you have any questions about this or any other subject please do not hesitate to call Ag Leader’s tech support line at 515-232-5363.
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.
Zimfo Bytes
- Longtime 4-H members and youth leaders Tess Hammock of Forsyth, Ga., and Andrea Vessel of Cincinnati, Ohio, have been elected trustees for National 4-H Council’s Board of Trustees.
- Bayer CropScience has launched its third annual Young Farmer Sustainability Award.
- Wheat Growers announces that Chris Pearson has accepted the position of Senior Vice President, Operations.
- MGEX will co-host a webinar with the North Dakota Wheat Commission on Dec. 20, 2012 at 2:30 p.m.
Ag Ranks Low in Top Innovators List
For the second year, the media organization Thompson Reuters has named its “Top 100 Global Innovators” and I received an email about the list headlined “Agriculture Industry is Innovating.”
“The Agriculture industry has a 1% representation with Monsanto making the list,” the press release says. “Last year Agriculture had 0% representation.”
So that means agricultural companies making the list went up by 100% since the first one – but really? Only one ag company on a list of 100 innovators? When I checked the entire list, I found a couple of other companies that could be classified as agricultural by having large agricultural divisions – DuPont, Dow and John Deere. DuPont and Dow are listed in the chemical industry, which indeed they are, and both made the list last year. John Deere is in the machinery category and was not on last year’s listing. The biggest industry segment of the companies making the list are in semiconductor and electrical and computer hardware, representing more than 30% of the list.
Thompson Reuters says the list was compiled using a system that focuses on companies responsible for generating a sizable amount of innovation. All organizations with 100 or more “innovative” patents from the most recent three years were included for consideration. Other factors include success of the patents, influence down the line and global adoption.
With all the innovations in seed technology, precision farming and crop protection, you would think that agriculture could make a better representation than just one percent of the top innovators in the world – or even 4% if you count the other three with ag interests. It’s not really that ag is not being counted, or that it is being hidden in companies that have a wide scope of interests. It seems like the answer may be that not enough time, effort and dollars are being invested in agriculture on a global scale, especially considering all the noise being made about nine billion people to feed by 2050. What do you think?
Vilsack to Host #AskUSDA Twitter Chat
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will host a live Virtual Office Hours session next week on Twitter to answer questions on the important role of rural America to the national and global economy, increasing agricultural opportunities in U.S. communities, and the importance of passing a five-year Farm Bill.
According to USDA, Secretary Vilsack will answer Twitter queries such as:
• What are the emerging sectors in agriculture for new farmers and ranchers; where do I find them?
• In both rural and urban communities, what is the significance of the agricultural sector?
• I didn’t grow up on a farm. Are there other opportunities in agriculture besides farming that I should know about?
You can submit questions in advance to the @USDA Twitter account using the hashtag #AskUSDA.
Vilsack’s twitter chat will be on Monday, December 17, starting at 3:30 p.m. EDT