New Pioneer Forages Communications Coordinator

Melissa Sandfort

Caitlin Keck has been named communications coordinator for the DuPont Pioneer global forages team. Keck will provide marketing and communications support for the Pioneer corn silage, alfalfa and inoculants product lines.

Prior to joining the global forages team, Keck was a Pioneer agronomist in York, Neb., with the Pioneer Emerging Leaders Program. Keck is a graduate of the University of Minnesota in St. Paul, Minn., where she received her bachelor’s degree in agricultural education, leadership and communications with a double minor in animal science and Spanish.

Keck brings a solid agricultural background to the forages team. She grew up on a dairy farm near Owatonna, Minn., and was involved in several agricultural organizations during her university career, including National Collegiate Agricultural Ambassador Program, Gopher Dairy Club, Collegiate Agricultural Women, the International Collegiate Agricultural Leadership Program and the Minnesota FFA Association.

Agribusiness, Pioneer

Pride & Progress for GROWMARK in 2012

Jamie Johansen

For 85 years GROWMARK has been a cooperative members could count on and they exhibited that through the theme for the 2012 GROWMARK Annual Meeting, Pride and Progress.

Dan Kelley, Chairman of the Board and President of GROWMARK, explained what pride and progress means to him and how the drought has and will continue to affect GROWMARK’s members.

“We are proud of our history. We are proud of the people who work with us. We are proud of our heritage, but we are also progressing. The last eight years have been the best in GROWMARK’s history in both sales and in a net income standpoint. We know agriculture, like all businesses, change and the speed of change increases everyday. We have to have great people to adjust to those changes and that is how we are going to progress.”

Listen to my interview with Dan here: Interview with Dan Kelley

You can find photos from the event here:2012 GROWMARK Annual Meeting

Also at the annual meeting, five of the cooperative’s 16 director seats, established by geographic zone, were elected and will serve three-year terms. GROWMARK directors elected include:
Rick Nelson of Paxton, Ill.; Kevin Malchine of Waterford, Wis.; David Uhlman of Tremont, Ill.; Dennis Neuhaus of Hoyleton, Ill.; and Allen Tanner of Creston, Iowa.

Agribusiness, Audio, Cooperatives, GROWMARK

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

    Farm Foundation Workshop to Focus on Free Trade

    John Davis

    Free trade agreements between the United States and South Korea, Colombia and Panama could mean big growth for U.S. animal products. To help you better understand implications of these agreements, our friends at Farm Foundation are hosting a two-day workshop, Sept. 27-28, 2012, entitled “Emerging Issues in Global Animal Product Trade: Assessing the Effects of Free Trade Agreements on Global Meat, Poultry and Dairy Trade,” at the USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) office in Washington, D.C.

    “By eliminating trade barriers, free trade agreements are changing the landscape of the animal products import and export market,” says Sheldon Jones, vice president of Farm Foundation, NFP. “This workshop will highlight ongoing research to examine potential challenges and opportunities for trade in animal products, as well as to identify issues where more information is needed.”

    The free workshop brings together experts from the government, private industry and several agriculture groups. More information and registration (space is limited) are available through this Farm Foundation website.

    Ag Groups, Farm Foundation, International, Trade

    Chilean Avocado Importers Unveil New Logo

    Melissa Sandfort

    The Chilean Avocado Importers Association (CAIA) has launched a fresh new logo in its latest move to distinguish the organization’s product for retailers and consumers.

    “The strategy behind this updated version of the logo was to elevate the country of origin by highlighting the personality of Chile and the seasonality of the product,” said Maggie Bezart, CAIA director of marketing.

    “We wanted to promote this elegant upscale product by incorporating the vibrant red, white and blue colors of the Chilean flag and details such as the ribbon and cursive typeface,” she said.

    In addition to more of a Chilean flair, the new logo was also inspired by the design of a label or seal of freshness.

    Agribusiness

    Monsanto FieldScripts Changing Testing Programs

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Monsanto’s new FieldScripts service, the first from their Integrated Farming Systems, is changing the company’s pipeline and testing programs. During our media visit at the Monsanto Huxley, IA location we learned more about this from Tracy Klingaman. In the video below you’ll see him talking in front of one of their field trial plots.

    Here’s how FieldScripts will work:

    The farmer will provide inputs like field boundaries, yield data, and fertility test results to their seed dealer. The dealer will work with the farmer to select each field to enroll in FieldScripts. Using Monsanto’s extensive seed-by-environment data, the company will deliver a variable rate seeding prescription by yield management zone and a recommendation for the best hybrid for each field. The prescription will be provided through Precision Planting’s FieldView™ app for the iPad® handheld device to the farmer’s tractor. The prescription will then be executed using Precision Planting’s 20/20 SeedSense® monitor and planter control system.

    You can watch a video overview of FieldScripts here.

    2012 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

    AgWired coverage of the 2012 Farm Progress Show is sponsored by New Holland and Monsanto Roundup Ready Plus
    Agribusiness, Farm Progress Show, Precision Agriculture, Seed, Video

    Mobile Technology the Future of Agriculture

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Float Mobile Learning has several new research papers available for purchase that deal with the use of mobile technology and agriculture. According to their infographic forty percent of farmers own a smartphone and ninety four percent own a mobile or smart phone. Of course we know it’s a lot and that’s why we went directly to an app so you can get AgWired easily on your iOS or Android device!

    Here’s one of the papers currently available from Float Mobile Learning:

    Future Uses of Mobile Technologies in Farming, Fishing and Forestry

    The early and rapid growth of mAgriculture in developing areas of the world is due to the fact that in developing countries, mobile phones may be the only widespread computing and communications technology that is avail­able. In contrast to American agricultural publications, African and Asian newsletters and magazines have lots of stories about the use of mobile phones in agriculture all through the 2000s. This indicates that farmers in developed countries in North America, Australia, and Europe have lots to learn from the mobile computing experiences of farmers in developing countries.

    In other words, their present methods of using mobile agriculture have a good chance of being our future in North America.

    According to the company news release “mobile agriculture, or mAgriculture, has existed in other parts of the world for more than a decade, but it has only recently started to flourish in North America.”

    “The trend in North America is to larger farms, increasing automation, and striving for greater efficiencies,” said Float senior analyst Gary Woodill. “Mobile technologies will turn agriculture into more of an information business, as precision farming, geolocation data, and access to immediate market information, all become important. Consumers are also asking for more information about farming practices and the food that we eat, which can be gathered and sent via mobile devices.”

    Agribusiness, Apps, Farming, Technology

    New Executive Director at WLIC

    Melissa Sandfort

    The Wisconsin Livestock Identification Consortium (WLIC) recently announced the addition of Alan Clark as Executive Director. In his new role, Clark will be responsible for leading initiatives that strengthen the strategic plan of WLIC by providing operational oversight and direction in the use of financial, human and technology resources to effectively and efficiently achieve WLIC’s goals.

    Clark is a graduate of Colorado State University, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science. For the past eight years, Alan served as the Vice President of Operations at Optibrand LTD, LLC, a provider of solutions for veterinary diagnostics and livestock traceability systems. Prior to his time with Optibrand, he held a number of positions in private businesses and retail (customer relation) opportunities so he is versed in the value of developing and growing relationships. Being fluent in English and Spanish will allow him to communicate with all stakeholders in the livestock industry; as education is an important component in the success of any program. He and his wife Jen, have four children.

    Agribusiness, Livestock

    Fiscal Year Comes to an End for GROWMARK

    Jamie Johansen

    August 31st marked the end to GROWMARK’s fiscal year. To mark the year end members from across the Midwest attended the 85th GROWMARK Annual Meeting in Chicago. The meeting didn’t just consist of business reports and elections, laughter seemed to be a key element throughout the event. Comedian Jeanne Robertson was the highlight of the banquet Thursday evening and keynote speaker Tom Bodett kept the crowd rolling as well.

    It was a busy event for GROWMARK CEO Jeff Solberg who had to run off before I could interview him, but our friend and colleague Pam Fretwell of Farm Journal Media was happy to share her interview with us. Jeff was very pleased to be able to announce this year’s financial results for GROWMARK, which were very close to last year’s record.

    “We continue to grow. We’re very happy with the growth and success we have had. You can have growth without success, but in the GROWMARK system in the last decade or more we have had significant growth, but significant success that has come along with that. The results we produced this year are very close to 10 billion in sales, that’s a significant increase of the past decade. We have changed our business and the success that has come with that is showing up this year. This has been the second best year of pre-tax income in our history.”

    Listen to Pam’s interview with Jeff here: Interview with Jeff Solberg

    You can find photos from the event here:2012 GROWMARK Annual Meeting

    Agribusiness, Audio, Cooperatives, GROWMARK

    Zimfo Bytes

    Melissa Sandfort

      Zimfo Bytes