Wyffels Hybrids Expands into Western Iowa

John Davis

The success of Wyffels Hybrids has been demonstrated in how many more farmers are using the Illinois-based seed company and how rapidly it is expanding. “As we’ve moved forward, we’re kind of calling this year a revolution. We’re expanding into western Iowa with more focus,” Bill Backhaus the new Region Manager with Wyffels in Southwest Iowa told Chuck during the recent Wyffels Hybrids Corn Strategies event at the Harmon Farm in Vincent, Iowa. “We’re really excited and working hard to do what we can to take care of the customers!”

Backhaus said they have several numbers specially designed for his part of the state. In Southwest Iowa, he said closer to the Missouri River crops are doing pretty good, especially considering the flooded conditions of a year ago. But the further east you go, the more it is apparent that a good rain is desperately needed.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Bill here: Interview with Bill Backhaus, Southwest Iowa Region Manager with Wyffels Hybrids

2012 Wyffels Hybrids Corn Strategies Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, Corn

Tour Demonstrates Ag’s Commitment to Conservation

John Davis

Events such as the the recent Indian Creek Watershed Project Field Tour are giving agricultural producers a chance to show their commitment to conservation practices in the field. “We see this great opportunity for a volunteer collaboration between environmental groups and the farm community,” said Richard Breckenridge, Agriculture and Rural Affairs Advisor for the Illinois EPA during an interview with Chuck. He said it’s been an evolving, successful relationship, and agricultural interests need to tell their story.

“A lot of times we have forgotten about how to talk about that message of conservation on the farm, and because of the water quality issues, we now see a number of opportunities to not only talk about it from the agricultural and environmental perspective, but we can also begin to look at what are the things we can do,” Breckenridge said. He added that best management practices, such as water sampling and modeling, slow-release nitrogen products, tile drainage, buffer strips, and biomass, help the ag community talk about how it is taking care of the water quality. Breckenridge concluded that these kind of practices happen every day. This tour is just highlighting how those efforts actually happen across the country.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Richard here: Interview with Richard Breckenridge, Agriculture & Rural Affairs Advisor, Illinois EPA

2012 Indian Creek Watershed Project Field Tour Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the CTIC Indian Creek Watershed Field Tour is sponsored by AGROTAIN
Agribusiness, Audio, Conservation, CTIC, Farming

Grand Opening Attendees Tour Clayton Research Farm

Jamie Johansen

After the grand opening of Greenhouse 5, Bayer CropScience hosted a tour of the Clayton Research Farm, where Chuck caught up with Karl Morris, Bayer CropScience, Environmental Science, Clayton Research Farm site manager. Morris discussed the research efforts of the center and what’s new in pest management.

“I am one of six biologist that are here at our Clayton Development Center, but I am also the site manager. We are a subsidiary division of Bayer CropScience and our efforts here are directed a little different than your normal crop kind of things. We are developing products here that go into the professional turf area. We are also developing products that go into the pest management area, this would be products that protect your home from roaches, fleas, ticks and termites. And we are developing products that go into the consumer market and available in big box stores and garden centers.”

Listen to or download Chuck’s entire interview with Karl Morris here: Interview with Karl Morris

You can find the photo album for the Bayer event here: Bayer CropScience Greenhouse 5 Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, Bayer

Bayer CropScience Brings Biotech into Agriculture

Jamie Johansen

The grand opening of Bayer CropScience’s Greenhouse 5 brought many biotech industry stakeholders together to discuss the future of agriculture and biotechnology. Chuck met up with Gwyn Riddick, VP, Agricultural Biotechnology, North Carolina Biotechnology Center, to discuss what they do to bring more biotech to the world of agriculture.

“What we do is work to get more biotechnology in agriculture because for the future one of the big things is to be able to feed the world and fuel the world and heal the world. Agriculture plays a big role in this and is going to play a bigger role coming into the next 40 to 50 years, as its predicted that we’ve got to produce twice as much food to keep everyone alive. The Biotechnology Center is a economic development organization that brings together resources and people to solve problems like that.”

Listen to or download Chuck’s entire interview with Gwyn Riddick here: Interview with Gwyn Riddick

You can find the photo album for the Bayer event here: Bayer CropScience Greenhouse 5 Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, Bayer

Bayer CropScience Greenhouse 5 Media Briefing

Chuck Zimmerman

Bayer CropScience just held an online media briefing for ag journalists who could not make last week’s grand opening of Greenhouse 5. I was actually in the air but our John Davis was able to dial in and record the call.

Opening up the online media briefing was Courtney Beck, U.S. BioScience Outreach Manager. She welcomed the participants and introduced presenters Dan Tomso, BioScience Research & Development and Amy McCaskill, one of the scientists working in the facility. We missed introductions on our recording but you’ll hear Dan’s comments followed by Amy and then the audio of a tour video. I’ll be adding a link to that video when one is available.

So if you missed the grand opening or today’s briefing feel free to listen or download and use: Bayer Greenhouse 5 Media Briefing

You can find photos from the grand opening event that you are also welcome to download and use here: Bayer CropScience Greenhouse 5 Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, Bayer

Greenhouse 5 = New Products for Bayer CropScience

Jamie Johansen

Mathias Kremer is head of Global BioScience for Bayer CropScience LP and Chuck took the opportunity to chat with him at the grand opening of Greenhouse 5. They discussed Bayer’s upcoming plans for new product development that will help farmers across the world.

“Our key message is that we want to be one of the most innovative and most professional biotech companies in the world. This new facility is going to help enhance our research work in row crops, especially in soybean, cotton and corn. We have done this in the past with other greenhouses in the area, with universities and now we have this wonderful new facility.”

“Our lab facility is close so we are now perfectly equipped to advance in our work and to bring more innovative products to the market to benefit farmers all over the world. We are working here on new products such as wheat resistance, something that is spreading intensely in the United States, so we are working on new solutions to deal with that problem.”

Listen to or download Chuck’s entire interview with Mathias Kremer here: Interview with Mathias Kremer

You can find the photo album for the Bayer event here: Bayer CropScience Greenhouse 5 Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, Bayer

USDA Announces More Drought Aid for Farmers

Cindy Zimmerman

Following President Obama’s directive last week to take additional steps to support struggling producers, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack today announced new measures that will help livestock and crop farmers in drought-stricken areas of the country.

Vilsack announced new flexibility and assistance in USDA conservation programs to get help to livestock producers as the most wide-spread drought in seven decades intensifies in the United States. Vilsack also announced plans to encourage crop insurance companies to provide a short grace period for farmers on unpaid insurance premiums, as some farming families can be expected to struggle to make ends meet at the close of the crop year.

“USDA will open opportunities for haying and grazing on lands enrolled in conservation programs while providing additional financial and technical assistance to help landowners through this drought,” said Vilsack. “And we will deliver greater peace of mind to farmers dealing with this worsening drought by encouraging crop insurance companies to work with farmers through this challenging period. As severe weather and natural disasters continue to threaten the livelihoods of thousands of our farming families, we want you and your communities to know that USDA stands with you.”

Vilsack stressed that options to help farmers are very limited and what is needed most now is passage of a new food, farm and jobs bill.

Listen or download Vilsack’s announcement here. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack

Audio, USDA

Sustainability in Bayer CropScience Expansion

Jamie Johansen

During the Bayer CropScience Greenhouse 5 grand opening, Chuck took a few minutes to sit down with James Blome, president and CEO for Bayer CropScience LP and head of Crop Protection for the North American region. Sustainability was the goal for Bayer CropScience as plans came into place in building Greenhouse 5.

“Greenhouse 5 is our lastest expansion with 62,000 sq. ft. of steel and greenhouse capability here in North Carolina and is the pinnacle for our new research operations for cotton, corn, soybean, canola and our leadership position in biotechnology to feed a growing world.”

“It is state-of-the-art. We focused on sustainability; capturing rainwater, filtering everything. Pollination is very important in separating research trials so everything is separated out with different air handling capabilities. We have flexibility in our heat lamps and in our lights to change crops as our research needs change in the future and really just optimizing the latest state-of-the-art use of water, light and air conditioning capabilities for this facility in North Carolina.”

Listen to or download Chuck’s entire interview with James Blome here: Interview with James Blome

You can find the photo album for the Bayer event here: Bayer CropScience Greenhouse 5 Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, Bayer

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • The 2012 Cambridge Tractor Show and Ag Day will be held Aug. 4, 2012 in Heritage Park in downtown Cambridge. For more, contact Karen Hutchinson at 309-937-5859 (Home) or 309-945-2858.
  • NCBiotech has established theBiotechnology Crops Commercialization Center, targeting potentially valuable crops adapted to the state’s diverse soil, climate and agribusiness conditions.
  • Broadhead announces six new hires at the Minneapolis office: Chris Strohmeyer, Matt Connell, Travis Thompson, April Hollander, Phil Rademacher and Amy O’Brien.
  • Leica Geosystems announces the new Leica GeoAce RTK base station.
    Zimfo Bytes

    RIP Beloved Farm Broadcaster Dix Harper

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Our beloved friend and veteran farm broadcaster Dix Harper went to his eternal reward today, surrounded by his devoted wife and members of their church family.

    Many of us have been following the journey of Dix and his wife Harriet after he was diagnosed with cancer in the spring of this year. She has been keeping friends and family up to date with Dix’s condition on CaringBridge, especially in the last couple of weeks. It has been a beautiful story of facing the end of life on Earth with the promise of eternal life in Heaven. Harriet’s description of her husband’s last moments are very poignant. “It was a Holy time, a moment of peace and love and joy that there was no longer any pain but a joyful reunion with those he loved who were waiting for him,” she wrote.

    Harriet says she is considering having his service at St. Luke’s in Hickory on Saturday morning, but no details yet. Dix was 89 years old and is survived by Harriet, two children and several grandchildren.

    Dix will be remembered by many in this industry as a prominent farm broadcaster who began his career in 1946 after graduating from Iowa State University. He was best known for his time with WRAL-TV and the Tobacco Radio Network with Ray Wilkinson and Ken Tanner. Dix was an integral part of the National Association of Farm Broadcasters (NAFB) for 65 years of the association’s 69 year history as both a broadcaster and allied industry member. Dix received the Meritorious Service Award in 1959, served as President in 1988 and was Historian for a number of years. NAFB has honored Dix by inducting him into the Hall of Fame in 1988 and naming the meritorious service award in his honor in 2006.

    Watch Dix talk about farm broadcasting and his career on YouTube below:

    Rest in Peace with the Lord, Dix. You will be missed.

    NAFB, Video