Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • The Channel seed brand will introduce at least fourteen new Genuity VT Triple PRO RIB Complete blended seed corn products in the 85- to 118-day maturity range for 2013 planting.
  • Kinze Manufacturing, Inc. has continued its progress on Kinze Autonomy, refining the capabilities of its groundbreaking autonomous row-crop solution and undertaking release previews on three large Illinois farms this harvest season.
  • Monsanto’s Genuity VT Triple PRO RIB Complete has received registration from the U.S. EPA, completing federal regulatory authorization in the United States.
  • Syngenta announced the intention to launch, via its subsidiary Syngenta Crop Protection AG, a voluntary and conditional public takeover bid in cash for all shares and warrants issued by Devgen NV.
Zimfo Bytes

House Says No to Farm Bill Now

Cindy Zimmerman

No farm bill for now.

Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) told reporters last week before Congress called it quits that they would deal with a farm bill after the election because he did not believe there were 218 votes to pass either an extension or new legislation. “The current situation that we face is that we’ve got people who believe there’s not enough reform in the farm bill that came out of committee, and others who believe there’s too much reform in the bill that came out of committee,” Boehner said. “But when we get back, we will deal with the issue of the farm bill.”

The current bill expires at the end of this month, but that does not mean an immediate return to the crop support programs of the 1949 law because most farm programs can continue to operate through the end of the year. But, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says some programs will expire at the end of this month. “The Export Assistance programs, the CRP sign up, the MILC dairy program, some of the conservation programs, and there’s no disaster assistance,” said Vilsack.

Secretary Vilsack is frustrated and disappointed that House leadership failed to allow a vote on the bill passed by the agriculture committee, and he thinks they have ulterior motives. “I don’t think it’s simply issues involving nutrition assistance,” he said. “I think the House leadership also has plans to significantly cut and reduce support for farm programs – conservation programs, commodity title, as well as the crop insurance title.”

Vilsack fears that Congress will not pass a new farm bill during the lame duck session, meaning the measure would have to wait until the new Congress, which means the already passed Senate bill would be dead and they would have to start from scratch. Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) vows to not let that happen. “I’m absolutely committed to doing everything humanly possible to complete the farm bill in November or December,” she said during a press conference last week.

Farm Bill, USDA

Swamp People

Chuck Zimmerman

It was time for a break so we took it. Cindy and I spent the weekend going back to our journalistic roots in Gainesville, FL. The University of Florida, College of Journalism and Communications, held a reunion weekend which included lunch with the faculty, tours of the college, a reception and a game day tailgate on the lawn outside the college. After getting a tour we walked around and saw our old dorms and visited the church where we were married 32 years ago!

We visited with two of our former teachers, one of whom is still active with a weekly radio show. We also saw a couple of people who attended the college at the same time we did. I took quite a few photos and put them into an online album to share.

Game day at The Swamp was very hot and we finished the game at the home of some friends we had not seen in years. The Gators rolled and so it was a great weekend of activities and getting to take a little time off from the busiest summer in ZimmComm history. But it’s back to business. I’ll be traveling to the new NAMA Fall Conference and you can count on AgWired coverage of this event in its new format.

Education, ZimmComm Announcement

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Syngenta announced that it has agreed to acquire Pasteuria Bioscience, Inc., a US-based biotechnology company.
  • Monsanto Company has pledged up to $3 million dollars to support academic research on corn rootworm.
  • Registration is now open for the 24th Annual Independent Professional Seed Association Conference.
  • Lessing-Flynn Advertising is pleased to welcome Kylee Willard to the team as a project manager.
Zimfo Bytes

Alltech’s Global 500 Is Right Around The Corner

Jamie Johansen

Ruminating on the future of beef and dairy farming will be the topic of discussion at Alltech’s 5th Annual Global 500. The event will feature industry experts who will address the changing future of the dairy and beef industries. Last year’s event was a success with 700 attendees and they are expecting over 1000 this December 4-6 in Lexington, Ky.

“Global 500 has gone from a powerful event to an astounding event,” said Dr. Pearse Lyons, president and founder of Alltech. “In a few short years we’ve managed to get some of the industry’s most successful producers to attend and get involved in discussions that are paving the way to a future of opportunity and profitability.”

Producers and industry leaders will have the opportunity to network, discuss and discover new opportunities and challenges for 2013. The program will feature presentations on branding, social media in agriculture and finding new opportunities in challenging times. In addition to an array of presentations, attendees will be invited to take part in discussion dinners, breakout sessions and a number of farm tours.

Dairy producers will explore topics including breakthroughs in nutrition, strategies to manage feed costs, and emerging markets.

Beef producers will delve into issues such as the future marketplace, consumer demands, meat quality, greenhouse gasses and feed yard management.

Registration for Global 500 is $325, but for all those early birds out there register by November 9 for only $200. This will include all sessions, organized functions, luncheons and dinners. Register today and use the invitation code G124.

Agribusiness, Alltech, Beef, Dairy, Events

Bayer and the Bees

Joanna Schroeder

When a honey bee lands on a flower, she is helping to feed the world. Didn’t really think about it like that did you? In fact, honey bees are vital to agriculture and our food supply, and many bee populations have been dwindling at an alarming rate. This is why Bayer CropScience has launched a program to save the bees. The Bee Ambassador Program is an awareness and educational campaign aimed at showcasing the importance of bees. The company has also unveiled several Bee Care Centers.

Bayer’s Bee Ambassador Program will integrate key topics related to honey bee management and health with issues facing agriculture. Ambassadors will engage at the local level with beekeepers, farmers, researchers, government officials, educators, non-government organizations (NGOs) and the general public about the value of honey bees and the challenges they face.

During the 2012 Farm Progress Show, Cindy Zimmerman had an opportunity to learn more about Bayer’s Bees from Robyn Kneen. She explained that bees pollinate more than one-third of our crops so they play a very, very important role in agriculture. Without bees 90 percent of the world’s food would not exist.

We’re looking at the various factors that affect bee health so we’re doing research to the different factors, particularly the Varroa mite. That is a big problem for beekeepers today,” said Kneen. “We’re also promoting best practices in terms of stewardship of use of best products to ensure crop protection and agriculture and bees all live in harmony together.”

Bayer strongly believes supporting bee health requires ongoing collaboration and engagement to build new relationships with stakeholders and the Ambassador Program will become an integral component of Bayer’s outreach efforts.

Bayer's Bees

2012 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, Bayer, Farm Progress Show

Monsanto’s Major Commitment to NAMA and ABEF

Melissa Sandfort

The National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) is pleased to announce that Monsanto has committed $10,000 a year, over the next three years, to both NAMA and ABEF. The company will become a Sustaining Partner with NAMA and will be the primary sponsor of the ABEF Student Competition.

“Monsanto is committed to sustainable agriculture,” said Gary Sakin, Monsanto Marketing Communications Lead. “That means providing solutions for farmers that help them meet consumer demand today, while developing innovative products to meet future demands of our growing planet. Continued agricultural innovation requires strong leadership in agriculture, which is exactly what Monsanto’s commitment to NAMA and ABEF is all about. NAMA events provide professional development opportunities for today’s agribusiness leaders and ABEF is committed to helping prepare the agribusiness leaders of tomorrow.”

Agribusiness, NAMA

John Deere Expands 6 Series Tractor Family

Cindy Zimmerman

John Deere’s expanded family of 6 Series tractors were in the spotlight at the 2012 Farm Progress Show, spanning the spectrum to cover just about any need you have in a tractor.

“We have 6D tractors which is our value spec tractor, we have a 6M which is our mid spec tractor – which replaces our 6030-7030 standard tractors, and then we have a full line of 6R tractors which is our premium spec model in the 6 family,” said Jeff Ostermann, senior marketing rep with John Deere Waterloo Works.

The whole family offers new features including a redesigned cab on the 6D, increased horsepower on the 6M, and new direct drive transmission on the 6R. The new 6D Series include 4 models – 6105D, 6115D, 6130D, and 6140D – ranging from 105 to 140 engine horsepower. The all-new John Deere 6M Series Tractors features six models, including the 6140M is pictured here, from 105 to 170 engine horsepower. And the expanded 6R tractors for the row-crop market includes two mid-horsepower model, 6140R and 6150R.

Listen to my interview with Jeff here: John Deere's Jeff Ostermann

Audio, Farm Progress Show, John Deere, Tractor

Latest Yield Results on Pioneer.com/yield

Melissa Sandfort

Harvest is progressing at a faster than average pace this year and yield data continues to stream into Pioneer.com/yield. The variability in weather experienced throughout the growing season will impact yields this fall. For a quick snapshot of harvest yields in your area and across the country, visit www.pioneer.com/yield.

The Pioneer yield site provides a brief summary of each plot as well as a detailed individual plot report with competitive comparisons, planting information and harvest data. The process to find local yield results and comparisons is easy. Simply select a crop, zip code and preferred radius to obtain a custom view of harvest yields in your area of interest.

As harvest continues to progress, visit www.pioneer.com/yield to see how Pioneer and other products are performing in your area and across the country.

Agribusiness, Pioneer

BASF to Acquire Becker Underwood

Melissa Sandfort

BASF plans to acquire Becker Underwood for a price of $1.02 billion. The company, headquartered in Ames, Iowa, is one of the leading global providers of technologies for biological seed treatment, seed treatment colors and polymers, as well as products in the areas of biological crop protection, turf and horticulture, animal nutrition and landscape colorants and coatings. Becker Underwood has 10 production sites worldwide and 479 employees. BASF came to an agreement with Norwest Equity Partners (NEP) to acquire Becker Underwood which has been a portfolio company of NEP since 2004. The purchase is subject to approval by the responsible authorities and legal closing of the transaction is expected by the end of 2012.

Becker Underwood is expected to achieve sales of $240 million for fiscal year 2012, ending on September 30. As part of the acquisition, BASF’s Crop Protection division will create a strategic global business unit called Functional Crop Care. The unit will merge BASF’s 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.

Agribusiness, BASF