U.S. House Enters Can Kicking Event

Cindy Zimmerman

I have to give Kentucky farm broadcaster Jeff Nalley the credit for this one – If “can kicking” were an Olympic sport, we’d have a “gold medal Congress”.

The leadership of the U.S. House has apparently decided to kick the farm bill can down the road and not to move forward with a vote on five-year farm legislation before the August recess, but will instead consider a separate disaster bill that reinstates livestock disaster programs that expired in 2011 to help producers impacted by the severe drought conditions.

A coalition of agricultural organizations is urging the House to reconsider and vote on the bill from the House Agriculture Committee. The organizations include the American Farm Bureau Federation and National Corn Growers Association, and ten other general farm and commodity groups.

“We are disappointed that the House Republican leadership has decided to not move forward with the House Agriculture Committee’s bill before adjourning for the August recess. That bill would provide the disaster relief our farm and ranch families need at this time,” said a statement from the groups. “We do not oppose passage of a disaster assistance bill, but note that almost identical provisions to retroactively extend these four programs are included in the Senate-passed farm bill and the bill reported by the House Agriculture Committee. Those measures would likely be included in any conference committee report. It is imperative that we pass a comprehensive, long-term farm bill.”

Specifically, the disaster bill in the House would retroactively extend the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP), the Livestock Forage Program (LFP), the Emergency Livestock Assistance Program (ELAP) and the Tree Assistance Program (TAP) so that producers are helped for Fiscal Year 2012. All of those programs expired in 2011. Offsets to pay for the disaster assistance would come from imposing caps on two conservation programs, the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). The groups point out that the bill “potentially costs more than $600 million and would only provide relief to livestock producers a month or two earlier than a farm bill debated and passed in September.”

The House scrapped plans to vote on a one-year extension of the current farm bill when it became clear that the votes for passage were not there. Senate leadership meanwhile has indicated it will not consider stand-alone disaster aid legislation in an effort to force a vote on a five-year bill.

AFBF, Farm Bill, NCGA

Ag Leader Technology Celebrating Twenty Years

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCast 359Here’s an inspirational story about a man with an idea and a willingness to work hard to create a company that would not only help farmers but also support his family. He’s Al Myers, founder of Ag Leader Technology.

I had the opportunity and pleasure to sit down with Al at the company’s headquarters in Ames, IA. We had a great conversation during which we talked about the start of the company in his basement to the international firm now employing 300 people with a relatively new office in the Netherlands and plans for more in South America and Australia. Here’s a little bit of information about how things got started from the Ag Leader Technology website.

Ag Leader was unofficially born in 1986 in the basement of Al Myers’ home with a handful of parts from an electronics store and a vision to improve agriculture through high-tech innovation. By June of 1992, after developing and testing the world’s first practical and accurate on-the-go yield monitor, Myers left his day job as a design engineer to start Ag Leader Technology. In his first year, he sold a total of ten yield monitors.

I think you’ll enjoy hearing how Al got his company off the ground and has grown it. We appreciate the support Ag Leader Technology shows us as the primary sponsor of our Precision Pays.com website!

Listen to this week’s ZimmCast here: Visiting with Al Myers Founder of Ag Leader Technology

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.

Ag Leader, Agribusiness, Audio, Precision Agriculture, Technology, ZimmCast

Leave RFS Alone For Now?

Chuck Zimmerman

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “How will drought impact the Renewable Fuel Standard?” We’re certainly in a major drought at this point and we know it will have an impact on the corn crop. Of course who knows how significant that will be? The next crop report ought to be very interesting.

Our results show that 39 percent think we should Modify for lower ethanol production, 31 percent think No change and 30 percent chose Eliminate entirely. What do you think? Is it a little premature to call for a change?

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “Will you use the cloud to store your data?” We’re now seeing cloud based data storage specifically designed for the ag industry and there are a growing number of options to store and handle all those records, field maps, photos and more. Is the infrastructure and the services available up to the task? Your data is fast becoming one of your most valuable assets. How are you planning to handle that growth?

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

ZimmPoll

Visiting Ag Leader Technology

Chuck Zimmerman

I have spent a great afternoon visiting with my friends at Ag Leader Technology, Ames, IA, sponsors of Precision Pays.com. It is the 20 year anniversary of the founding of the company by Al Myers. In fact, I’ll have a conversation with Al to share with you soon. He’s got a fascinating story.

Precision agriculture is an expanding business as more and more applications are developed. We’ve been sharing that story from Ag Leader and will continue to do so in coming years.

Ag Leader, Precision Agriculture

Zimfo Bytes

Jamie Johansen

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Beck’s Hybrids purchases 150-acres in Henderson, Ky. Plans for the property include building a distribution center, conducting Practical Farm Research studies, operating the southern Choice Trials program, as well as providing farmers with education and agronomic support.
  • The State of Vermont, the Vermont Agriculture and Culinary Tourism Council and Vermont Fresh Network debuts DigInVT.com. The site connects vistors and Vermonters alike to nearly 400 authentic Vermont food experiences around the state.
  • Broadhead promoted Ryan Krumwiede as account supervisor for the Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. account. Amanda Sollman was promoted to account executive, working with Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. and Almond Board of California. And Mitchell Koch was appointed account executive contributing to The Mosaic Co. and AGCO account teams.
    Zimfo Bytes

    Tyson Foods to Host AgCareers HR Roundtable

    Jamie Johansen

    Tyson Foods is excited to be hosting AgCareer’s 2012 North American Ag & Food HR Roundtable at their headquarters in Springdale, Ar. The event is right around the corner on Aug. 7-9, but it’s not too late to add it to your calendar. Rashad Delph, Director of Recruiting with Tyson Foods, was able to talk with Cindy about their involvement and preparations with the upcoming festivities.

    “We’re hosting this event because it’s never been hosted in the southern region and were happy to support the 10th anniversary of the Roundtable and the partnership we have had with AgCareers over the past six or seven years. We thought it would be a great opportunity to kind of kick off something a little bit different compared to the Roundtables that have been hosted in the Midwest.”

    “I don’t think its been hosted at a corporation in awhile. I think we will bring a new flavor so different people in the industry can see Tyson Foods. They will get to see our pilot plant, our discovery center and learn a little about our processing of beef, pork and chicken.”

    “We have had a great partnership and have attended numerous AgCareers events. We use their services a lot for job postings and work with their college relations division as well.”

    For more information about the event go to AgCareers.com, where you can find out how to get registered along with a detailed schedule for the event.

    Listen to or download Cindy’s entire interview with Rashad here: Interview with Rashad Delph

    AgCareers, Audio, Events

    Chocolate Lovers Unite

    Jamie Johansen

    Chocolate lovers make plans to attend The National Chocolate Show and Chicago Fine Chocolate Show Nov. 16-18 at Chicago’s Navy Pier. These shows will premiere as the preeminent chocolate event and the only dual consumer and trade shows dedicated to the chocolate industry in the country.

    The National Chocolate Show and Chicago Fine Chocolate Show were created to address both the trade professional and consumer, respectively. Each will showcase Chicago as the leader in the chocolate industry, drive advancements in chocolate and educate both audiences through two distinct events.

    Show founder, Mario Pi, saw the need for a platform for chocolatiers and companies in the niche chocolate industry to showcase their products. “We’ve heard from our sponsors and exhibitors alike that chocolate deserves its time in the spotlight,” says Pi. “We designed The National Chocolate Show and Chicago Fine Chocolate Show to create a forum for the advancement of the industry of chocolate through not just exceptional tasting experiences, but educational conferences and interactive demonstration and feature areas.”

    The National Chocolate Show fulfills an unmet need for a trade show dedicated solely to chocolate in the United States. Exhibitors will be leaders in chocolate product, supplies, ingredients, equipment, packaging, point of purchase, displays, apparel and uniform and more.

    The Chicago Fine Chocolate Show will allow guests to explore artisanal products in the world of chocolate. Tickets are just $25 for adults and $10 for children. Guests can enjoy and learn more about the craft of fine chocolate in addition to finding unique gifts for the upcoming holidays.

    You can learn more about the upcoming event on Facebook and Twitter.

    Events, Food

    Where Ag Media Summit People Are Coming From

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Wondering where people are coming from to attend the 2012 Agricultural Media Summit? You can find out on a map. Click on the photo for the link.

    Thanks to John Blue, Truffle Media Networks, for the map. Looking forward to it!

    Ag Media Summit

    Senators Celebrate “Meat Mondays”

    Cindy Zimmerman

    The offices of U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) today celebrated ‘Meat Monday’ with barbeque beef brisket, ribs, and sausage from Hill Country BBQ restaurant.

    For the senators from beef producing states, it was a response to last week’s USDA employee newsletter promoting “Meatless Mondays” that was accidentally approved and put on line, and subsequently removed but not forgotten.

    “In some of the toughest times they’ve seen in recent memory, Texas cattle ranchers and farmers deserve an Administration who works with them, not one who undermines them with boneheaded decisions from bureaucrats in Washington,” said Sen. Cornyn.

    “This is a reminder to USDA that it’s supposed to advocate for American agriculture, not against it,” Sen. Grassley added.

    We’re having barbeque pork for dinner tonight, how about you?

    Food, Livestock, USDA

    Corn and Ethanol Groups Respond to RFS Waiver Request

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Corn growers would rather see a waiver request than attempts to eliminate the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) but the ethanol industry thinks it will still be denied by EPA.

    In response to the request for a waiver announced this morning by livestock and poultry groups, National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) President Garry Niemeyer of Illinois called it “premature to ask for a waiver of the RFS right now,” but better than asking for a change in the law. “With the crop still in the field, it is too early to determine this year’s final corn supply. In addition, the ethanol industry now has a significant surplus of ethanol and RFS credits that can greatly offset ethanol’s impact on the corn supply,” he said. “However, we recognize the severe impact of the drought on our farmers and our customers, here and abroad, with livestock, poultry, ethanol and other processing facilities, and we believe the flexibility of the RFS does work, and will work. NCGA also supports the waiver process that is embodied in the current RFS, and respects the right of those that may file a waiver petition to do so.”

    Ethanol industry organizations are opposed to a waiver of the RFS requirements and expect that EPA will ultimately deny the request. “Given the flexibilities inherent to the RFS, and the fact that waiving the program would not result in any meaningful impacts on corn prices, we fully expect Administrator Jackson to deny any waiver request,” said Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen. “A dispassionate review of the facts can lead to only one conclusion: a waiver of the RFS would simply reward oil companies that have long sought to repeal this very important and successful program.”

    “Higher corn process facing livestock and poultry users is a result of Mother Nature, not ethanol,” said Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy. “To try and blame the ethanol industry is disingenuous and absurd. We have never run out of corn and this year will be no different. While there is no doubt this year’s crop yield will be reduced, it is premature and irresponsible to blame ethanol for a lack of rain.”

    Corn, Ethanol, NCGA, RFA