Agvocating With Kenny Wallace

Chuck Zimmerman

Illinois Corn Growers got to hang out with “The Agvocate” Kenny Wallace at Chicagoland Speedway today. It’s NASCAR racing weekend and Kenny will be driving in tomorrow’s Nationwide STP 300 race.

Kenny attracted a big crowd to the exhibit area outside the grandstands this afternoon. He talked to them and signed autographs for an hour. I heard one fan say after he got an autograph that he had just had a conversation with Kenny Wallace and his day was complete. You’ll see why his fans love him in the video below.

Kenny loves farmers and he loves ethanol and lets everyone know about it. He says there may be some people who disagree about using ethanol but they need to talk to him because he knows everything there is to know about the subject. I hope a lot of people talk to him!

Listen to my interview with Kenny Wallace here: Interview with Kenny Wallace

You can find photos from the weekend activities here: Illinois Corn Growers NASCAR Weekend Photo Album

I’ll be doing some guest blogging for the Illinois Corn Growers Corn Corps this weekend.

Ag Groups, Audio, Corn, Ethanol, NASCAR

House Ag Committee Chair at Peanut Conference

Cindy Zimmerman

Peanut growers are very happy with House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK) for his work in crafting a farm bill that is very different than the Senate bill in that it addresses the needs of southern farmers.

Speaking at the Southern Peanut Growers Conference in Panama City Beach on Saturday, Rep. Lucas (R-OK) went through the process of how his committee worked to mark up a farm bill, technically called the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management (FARRM) Act, following the legislation that was passed by the Senate. “The Senate language works really well in the Midwest, but it doesn’t work very well, according to my experience as a farmer, for everybody else,” he said. “It violates that fundamental rule of everybody needs to be able to participate.”

During a press availability after addressing the farmers, Lucas talked about might happen now with the bill, since Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) has yet to commit to bringing it to the floor. “I served with him for three farm bills, John understands the base principals,” he said. “Mechanically, in the US House, it’s actually the majority floor leader who assigns floor time. That’s Mr. Cantor’s responsibility. So, I’m spending time with both of them.”

“But, regular order, or whatever process we have to take, we have to have a farm bill,” he said.

Listen or download Lucas’ press availability or watch the video below. Rep. Frank Lucas

Check out the SPGC blog for his remarks to the growers and see the SPGC photo album for all pictures from the event.

Audio, Farm Bill, Peanuts, SPGC, Video

NASCAR and Ethanol at Chicagoland Speedway

Chuck Zimmerman

It’s NASCAR race weekend in Joliet, IL at Chicagoland Speedway. My home today and tomorrow. I’m joining the Illinois Corn Growers and Family Farmers for two races. First up will be tonight’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series American Ethanol 225.

Then on Sunday we’ve got the second annual STP 300 which is part of the NASCAR Nationwide Series. The Sprint Cup Series has the weekend off.

Family Farmers cannot be missed at the event, with a 17,000 square foot exhibit area onsite to be complemented with both a Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series “Family Farmers” entry. This work is aimed at improving the trust between consumers and family farmers. In corn checkoff funded research, it was revealed that most influential people in the Chicago area think that corporations own most of the farms in Illinois. This erodes the base of support among that same group for issues that are important to farmers regarding regulations, food safety, transportation, and trade.

I’ll be hanging out with Kenny Wallace and Illinois Corn Growers this afternoon. Kenny will be driving the #99 Family Farmers car in the STP 300.

“Chicagoland Speedway is a great track for me. We finished seventh in this race last year with our Family Farmers Toyota Camry. Since they closed Gateway International Raceway in 2010, Chicago has become sort of like a home track for me since it is only about four hours away from my hometown of St. Louis. Not only that, but it is the home of Family Farmers and American Ethanol, so I want to run well for them and I feel confident that we will run well.”

So, look for photos and interviews later today and tomorrow from an Illinois NASCAR weekend. See you from the track.

Ag Groups, Corn, Ethanol, NASCAR

Bayer CropScience Greenhouse 5 Grand Opening

Chuck Zimmerman

The ribbon has been cut to open the Bayer CropScience Greenhouse 5. This massive facility will be the home to corn/soybean/cotton/canola research as soon as the company can get “moved in.” This morning we got a tour of the facility and you can see photos just as soon as I get them uploaded to the photo album.

To learn more about the facility and what it means to Bayer CropScience and its customers I visited with Dr. Wolfgang Plischke who is on the Bayer Board of Management in Germany. He cut the ribbon as you can see in the photo and video clip below.

Dr. Plischke says that it was about two years ago that they decided to “build a new world class greenhouse to accommodate the research for our corn and soybean programs.” The 30,000 sq. ft. of greenhouse space facility has massive air handling capabilities as well as complete control over lighting and other important elements of doing new plant research. You can more about the new facility in my conversation with Dr. Plischke.

Listen to or download my interview with Dr. Plischke here: Interview with Dr. Wolfgang Plischke

I’m putting photos from the Bayer event here: Bayer CropScience Greenhouse 5 Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, Bayer, Video

Other New Products Promoted During Anthem Tour

John Davis

While the focus of the recent Anthem Field Plot Tour in Ames, Iowa, has been on FMC‘s new herbicide, Anthem, farmers are also hearing about some other new FMC products in the works. One of those is Marvel. “This is a combination of two PPO products,” Brent Neuberger, Senior Technical Sales Manager for FMC, told Chuck during an interview. Neuberger said since it is actually two products, the soybean-only compound will give some differences in spectrum without sacrificing the individual control of each product.

He said they will soon be submitting a package to EPA, looking for approval to make it available for next year’s growing season. Since it is two products already approved, he expects a pretty quick turnaround from the government on this compound. Neuberger said look for FMC to have more information on Marvel at the trade shows coming up this winter.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Brent here: Interview with Brent Neuberger, Senior Technical Sales Manager for FMC

You can find photos from the event here: FMC Anthem Field Plot Tour Photos

Agribusiness, Audio, FMC

Bayer CropScience Opens New Greenhouse

Chuck Zimmerman

Bayer CropScience is about to cut the ribbon on the grand opening of Greenhouse 5 in RTP, NC. I’m here for the grand opening and will be conducting interviews and learning more about this new facility and the kind of work Bayer is doing in the seed and trait area.

To get a preview I spoke with Scott Kohne during the dinner get together for our group at Chatham Hill Winery. Our group got a fascinating tour from Marek Wojciechowski, Owner/Winemaker, that included a barrel tasting and a post dinner wine tasting. Let’s just say I know where to get some good North Carolina wine!

Scott says that “Bayer wants to show that we are growing a business in this seeds and traits industry. We’re traditionally known as more of a chemical company but we are expanding and growing a seeds and traits business that we feel will be a large and key competitor for this type of seeds and traits activity.”

Listen to my interview with Scott here: Interview with Scott Kohne

I’m putting photos from the Bayer event here: Bayer CropScience Greenhouse 5 Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, Bayer

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

    Drop in USDA Estimates Talk of Wyffels Event

    John Davis

    Some significant drops in USDA’s expected corn and soybean yields due to the drought have been the talk of the recent Wyffels Hybrids Corn Strategies event. “USDA took 20 bushels off of its yield, end of July, and dropping the soybean yield down to 40 and a half bushels… that makes a huge statement, and USDA probably thinks it’s smaller than that,” said Arlan Suderman, Market Analyst, Farm Futures Magazine. He talked about corn prices during the event, and in an interview with Chuck, said that big of a drop in yields will mean a lot… once the funds traders start looking at the corn market. “They’re still more worried about Europe, and so if they were to happen to come in, we could drive prices much higher than what’s justified.”

    Suderman said we’re not at the same level of drought widespread as in 1988. But he cautions that if we do hit that level, it could cause some real problems in the corn market. He’s got some great tips on how to marginalize risks in the complete interview with Chuck here: Interview with Arlan Suderman, Market Analyst, Farm Futures Magazine

    2012 Wyffels Hybrids Corn Strategies Photo Album

    Agribusiness, Audio, Corn, Soybean, USDA

    Peanut Growers Gather to Work and Play

    Cindy Zimmerman

    The 14th annual Southern Peanut Growers Conference kicked off Thursday with the usual scoop of southern hospitality at the ice cream registration reception.

    Georgia Peanut Commission Executive Director Don Koehler is very excited about this year’s meeting of the Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi peanut producers.

    “It’s our biggest conference we’ve ever had, largest attendance. We’ve got more sponsors, we’ve got more going on,” Don says. “What’s really important is we’ve got a fantastic program this year.”

    That includes sessions today on a variety of topics such as nutrition and research, and an update on the farm bill situation from the Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee on Saturday. Don says peanut growers are much happier with the bill developing in the House, since the Senate bill basically left them out of it. “There’s no safety net for our farmers (in the Senate bill),” he said. “The House has given us a little better safety net and we’re very appreciative to Chairman Lucas.”

    We’ll be posting all of the SPGC happenings on the SPGC blog.

    Listen to my interview with Don here: Don Koehler Interview

    Check out the SPGC photo album

    Audio, Farm Bill, Peanuts, SPGC

    GROWMARK: Uniting for Conservation is Refreshing

    John Davis

    Different groups coming together for a common good… that’s the name of the game on the recent Indian Creek Watershed Project Field Tour. Chuck caught up with one of our good friends from GROWMARK, Howard Brown, manager of agronomy services and one of the participants during the tour. He said it was refreshing to see various groups coming together to promote that common cause: conserving resources.

    “It’s not about selling one thing or promoting one idea. It’s collectively a systems approach to nitrogen management,” Brown said. He added that if farmers dedicate themselves to only one approach to nitrogen management, they will fail. The dry summer was a classic example of that this year. If farmers only put all their nitrogen on at once post-emergence, they wouldn’t see much value out of that nitrogen because the rains didn’t come. And that also sets up more nitrogen runoff later on. Brown suggested an incremental approach to nitrogen application to minimize any liabilities. It’s just part of GROWMARK’s overall approach to making things work better for their member owners.

    Listen to Chuck’s interview with Howard here: Interview with Howard Brown, GROWMARK manager of agronomy services

    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, GROWMARK