Pray for Farmers and Ranchers Hit by Drought

Cindy Zimmerman

The American Farm Bureau Federation is asking everyone today to remember the many individuals and families facing severe struggles due to this year’s devastating drought. According to AFBF President Bob Stallman, suggestions for a National Day of Prayer for Drought Victims have come from a number of people throughout farm country as a way to support people facing challenges related to the ongoing drought.

“There is hardly a person involved in agriculture this year who has not been adversely affected by the drought of 2012,” said Stallman. “Due to the terrible impact the drought disaster has dealt, we think it is fitting to come together as an organization and as a nation for unified prayer for all those who are hurting and who face serious challenges in the months ahead. As we all know, the agriculture community is about coming together during the tough times, and this is yet another time that calls for unity, compassion and faith for better days ahead.”

Bow your head, get down on your knees, say a short prayer or a long one – but pray. God never gives us more than we can handle, with His help. Amen.

AFBF, Farming, Weather

Farm Progress Preview

Cindy Zimmerman

More than a dozen agricultural journalists this week got the annual sneak preview of the Farm Progress Show being held August 28-30 in Boone, Iowa. FPS media tent organizer since 1986, Gene Hemphill, was on hand to meet and greet every one and sent us a few photos.

In this picture, Mark Lovig, Operations Manager for the Farm Progress Show, gestures toward a FPS attraction during the Media Advance tour of the Tent City as journalists enjoy a ride on the rubber-wheeled train pulled by a new tractor from New Holland Agriculture, sponsors of the Media Tent for the past 26 years. The Boone site got the first phase of a major infrastructure upgrade in time for this year’s show, with more and better roads, but just wait until 2014 when all of the nearly 5 miles of roads at the permanent site will be asphalt.

Don Tourte, Vice President of Sales & Events for Farm Progress Show, welcomed the journalists attending the Media Advance and talked about some of the new information technology that will be used to help visitors navigate and enjoy the show this year.

Four web cameras, sponsored by Slingshot brand from Raven Industries, have been installed on the show site to see what’s going on during show days right from the FPS website.

Interactive map and exhibitor list is also featured to allow visitors to map their days at the show in advance.

A Farm Progress Show app is now available for free download to your Android or iPhone. Just search for “Farm Progress Show” in your store and download for free.

Phone delivered voice messages from Max Armstrong during the show days you choose when you register. Updates will include traffic updates, field demo reminders, program info and more! Call 708-675-4648 and follow prompts to register.

And FPS is also on Facebook and Twitter – oh, and on AgWired, too! It’s the next best thing to being there!

AgWired coverage of the 2012 Farm Progress Show is sponsored by New Holland and Monsanto Roundup Ready Plus
Farm Progress Show, New Holland

Farm Progress Preview Pics

Chuck Zimmerman

Yesterday was media preview day for next week’s 2012 Farm Progress Show and our good friend Gene Hemphill sent us a few pics from the event with his commentary.

It’s a bird … it’s a plane … No, it’s a wagon? For many years the seemingly flying Kinze wagon has towered over the Farm Progress Show’s Tent City, giving arriving travelers one of the first signs that they were nearing the legendary City’s annual exhibits of agriculture – past, present, and future. And, while Ag-Wired’s Chuck has scaled many a grain bin to capture a breathtaking view of the Tent City, the flying wagon remains beyond his reach!

Oh, what a tangled web the Media can be! At least that might be how it feels for Dena Morgan, Marketing Specialists for the Farm Progress Show. Dena is preparing identification tags for the media guests arriving at Tent City for the annual Media Advance Day, always held the Wednesday before the FPS begins. Maybe the lanyards for the ID cards are tangled, but the agricultural media gets stand-along top billing for its dedication to the industry it represents. Truly, the ag media considers itself part of the industry!

We’ll be there next week – hope to see you then!

Farm Progress Show

In Perfect Design

Melissa Sandfort

Being the mother of a little farm boy, I fully expect to find leaves in his jeans pockets, worm “dirt” under his fingernails and an assortment of other wigglers and crawlers under the seat of his big wheel. In fact, the day he came toting his first fish into the house on the stringer, dripping on the wood floor the whole way, my smile couldn’t have been any bigger. I was so proud of him.

On the farm, we have all kinds of things for little boys to explore and entice their amazement. And I love their curiosity and figure for most things, it will wash off, and for those stains that don’t come out of the shirt, well, that shirt becomes a “work with daddy” shirt.

I wish he would’ve been here this morning as I stepped outside to get the mail and almost stepped right on this monster-sized moth. It’s beautiful – the perfectly symmetrical circular designs painted on faint green fuzzy canvas. I have no idea what kind of moth it is, but if I were a little boy, I would’ve tried to catch him and keep him.

Guess as the mom of a little boy I’ll be doing a lot of Googling about what moths eat, how to keep toads alive, and how to build a healthy environment for turning a caterpillar into a butterfly.

Until we walk again …

Uncategorized

Kinze Has Tips for a Breakdown-Free Harvest

Chuck Zimmerman

This year’s drought has made it tough enough for farmers; the last thing they need is a breakdown or equipment failure when trying to get in what crop they can. Phil Jennings, the service manager at Kinze Manufacturing, reminded me at the recent Ag Media Summit that there are some basic items producers should be checking before they head out to harvest. “We’re going to look for wear on our augers. We’re going to check our hoses to make sure they’re not scuffed or leaking.” Plus, he said we need to check the belts on the auger and, of course, the warning lights, flashers and slow-moving vehicle signs. Phil also said that with tougher conditions out there, checking the tires and track systems, including wheel lugs and bearings, is always a good idea.

More information on Kinze equipment and how you can avoid a breakdown is available at www.kinze.com.

You can listen to my interview with Phil here: Interview with Phil Jennings

2012 Ag Media Summit Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the 2012 Ag Media Summit is sponsored by FMC
Ag Media Summit, Audio, FMC

Farm Bill Now Coalition Calls for Action by Congress

John Davis

A coalition of 39 farm groups, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Corn Growers Association, and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, is calling on Congress to pass a new farm bill before the old one expires at the end of September. The group, Farm Bill Now, has an interactive web portal at www.FarmBillNow.com, that lets you connect with your members of Congress and show your support for a new five-year farm bill. The coalition points out that this isn’t just for farmers; consumers need to get involved in the effort as well since any farm bill is really a jobs, food, conservation, research, energy and trade bill… something for every American!

Members of Farm Bill Now plan to meet at Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa this coming Tuesday, August 28th to discuss the effort. In addition, representatives of many of the groups in the coalition will gather on September 12th, 2012 at the U.S. Capitol to encourage Congress to pass the bill before programs expire at the end of that month.

AFBF, Farm Bill, NCBA, NCGA

Pipestone System Explained at BIVI Swine Seminar

Chuck Zimmerman

One of the presentations at the recent 12th annual Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Swine Health Seminar held in North Carolina included information about the Pipestone System in Minnesota. “The Pipestone System is an organization of about 250 farmers who own their sows and hire us to manage them,” Barry Kierkart, one of the managing partners at the Pipestone Veterinary Clinic explained to me. Pipestone then produces high-quality, weaned pigs and return them to those independent farmers for them to raise and bring to market.

During his presentation, Barry wanted producers to understand the importance of research and the importance of very small numbers that could make the difference in their bottom lines. “That’s really been our focus for them: to measure things that we think are important that they can change to try and improve their efficiency,” he said. One example includes how to improve the gut health of the animal to better use the feed they get. He added that most people are interested in how to apply research done by others to their individual operation.

Interview with Barry Kierkart

2012 BIVI Swine Health Seminar Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, Boehringer Ingelheim, Swine

FMC Launches “Meat and Greet” Road Tour

Chuck Zimmerman

Our friends at FMC are on the road with the Capture® LFR® Insecticide “Meat and Greet” Road Tour, a series of meeting events that are taking place at more than 20 retailer locations across the Midwest now through September 28. “We’ll be visiting retailers to talk with them and their growers about Capture LFR and the benefits of using Capture with a starter fertilizer to control seed and seedling pests,” FMC’s Amie Dunn explained to me during the recent Ag Media Summit.

Amie added they’ll be cooking hot dogs and burgers at these events, which are open to the public and have prize drawings for attending. Capture LFR insecticide is a unique at-plant, liquid insecticide that has been proven to significantly increase corn yields. It works by eliminating soil pests before they ingest (bite and damage) Bt or seed-treated crops. You can find out more about Capture LFR and the “Meat and Greet” Road tour by going to www.zoneofprotection.com.

You can listen to my interview with Amie here: Interview with Amie Dunn

2012 Ag Media Summit Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the 2012 Ag Media Summit is sponsored by FMC
Ag Media Summit, Audio, Corn, FMC

Bayer Crop Protection for Corn and Soybeans

Cindy Zimmerman

At the recent Bayer CropScience Respect the Rotation event in Collinsville, Illinois, growers learned more about some of the company’s crop protection products for corn and soybeans to help them better avoid resistance issues in the future.

“We want to continue to use the products that we have,” said Mark Waddington, Bayer tech services rep, who talked about insecticides and fungicides for soybean management. Among the products he discussed was Stratego YLD, a dual mode of action product. “Last year we had 51 on-farm trials and saw a positive yield response about 90% of the time, resulting in an average increase of 4.75 bushel per acre.”

Listen to my interview with Mark: Mark Waddington interview

Bayer seed treatment marketing lead for corn and soybeans Ethan Luth talked to growers mainly about Poncho/VOTIVO, which provides a biological seed treatment opportunity to control nematodes in both corn and soybeans. “The bacteria is really the unique part of Poncho/VOTIVO,” he said. “They’re a living organism that grows with the seed.”

Listen to Ethan explain more and talk about what’s in the pipeline: Ethan Luth interview

Mike Weber talked about both Stratego YLD and Poncho/VOTIVO for corn, but also about Corvus and Capreno residual herbicides. “Corvus is our soil-applied herbicide, kind of our one-pass solution for the corn market,” he said. “Capreno is our post-emerge product.” He notes that, like all residuals, these products need some water to work, so the drought had a significant impact on them this year, but normally they work very well and they expect use of these relatively new products to continues to grow because they offer a complementary mode of action to help control weed resistance.

Listen to my interview with Mike: Mike Weber interview

See pictures from the field day in Collinsville in the Bayer CropScience Respect the Rotation photo album.

Audio, Bayer, Farming, weed management

2012 NAMA Boot Camp Kicks Off

Jamie Johansen

The 2012 NAMA Boot Camp just got underway in Kansas City, Mo. Those just entering the working world, as well as veterans have come together to learn more about the agri-marketing industry. I had the opportunity to chat with Erin Nash with Woodruff Sweitzer and the events chair person, about what attendees can look forward to in the coming days.

“We are covering any and all things related to agriculture. Topics, events, new and notes that are timely and kind of the bread and butter of our industry to help either those new to the communications industry within the agriculture sector or those that need a little primer and help them to get up to speed on the lastest topics.”

Listen to my interview with Nash here: Interview with Erin Nash

Follow the event on Twitter using #12NAMABootCamp.

2012 NAMA Boot Camp Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, NAMA