Dealing with a tough subject at the Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Swine Health Seminar was Dr. Michael Appley, Kansas State University. He talked about antimicrobials and the control of enteric disease and the future of using them including the issue of resistance. He says producers need to know how and why they use them. But he also says that a lot of the concerns over their use are driven by people and organizations with an agenda that is not based on science. That makes it tough to respond to those concerns. He talks about a specific concern of MRSA which is an overblown concern if you look at the science, especially here in the United States.
TopCon’s New System 350
What’s new at TopCon Precision Agriculture is their System 350 which features their X30 console. TopCon was one of the exhibitors at the Ag Media Summit. The console features:
- Mini-view windows with drag-and-drop positioning
- Interaction keypads with “expandable menus”
- Dashboard readouts provide constant, convenient basic data
- Integrated LED lightbar for manual guidance
- Full-screen views available for more detailed information
- Advanced setup wizard provides simple icon based setup control
To learn more about it I spoke with Javier Hernandez. He says the system provides variable rate control, auto-steer and more. He wants people to know that TopCon is pioneer in the use of ISO control with plug and play options.
You can listen to my interview with Javier here: Interview with Javier Hernandez
2012 Ag Media Summit Photo Album
AgWired coverage of the 2012 Ag Media Summit is sponsored by FMCFarm Foundation Webinar on RFS Waiver Impact
There’s been a lot of talk about waiving the Renewable Fuels Standard for ethanol, especially since the USDA’s latest estimate shows the drought knocking down the projected corn crop 13 percent. Our friends from the Farm Foundation will be hosting a web conference, Thursday, August 16, 2012 at 10 a.m. CDT. Three Purdue University economists will take part in the free conference, which you can register for here.
Severe drought has reduced corn production and driven up the price of corn. Faced with significantly higher feed costs, livestock producers have asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a partial waiver of the Renewable Fuel Standards, which mandates blending of ethanol in gasoline. Purdue University economists Wally Tyner, Farzad Taheripour and Christopher Hurt have completed an analysis of a potential waiver and what it could mean for the ethanol industry and the price of corn. Their findings will be presented at Thursday’s web conference. Read More
Time For Hog Producers To Check Protocols
Working as a herd health and production veterinarian for Standard Nutrition Services is Keith Kinsley, one of the presenters at the Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Swine Health Seminar. Keith’s topic was “A Review of Nursery Scouring.”
I asked Keith what he wanted the attendees to take away from his talk and he says that it’s not always scours that is the problem but other issues and “we’ve got to be good at measuring all aspects of what’s going on in these barns so we know if we’re dealing with an enteric disease and how we can correct it.” He says it’s a good time for hog producers to review their protocols they’ve got in place.”
Interview with Keith KinsleyMonsanto Working on Drought Tolerant Cotton
Doug Jost is a Technology Development Representative for Monsanto and was visiting with us at the Ag Media Summit. Doug says what they do for the company is “test our new technologies usually in an experimental form and not commercialized yet . . . from cotton varieties to roundup formulations to drought tolerant cotton, things like that.”
When it comes to cotton he says they’re in phase two development of some drought tolerant varieties but that it’s still several years away from commercialization. In the meantime they’re looking at their existing varieties and seeing how they perform under different amounts of water.
You can listen to my interview with Doug here: Interview with Doug Jost
2012 Ag Media Summit Photo Album
AgWired coverage of the 2012 Ag Media Summit is sponsored by FMCFarming Rock Star of YouTube
One of the YouTube Farming Rock Stars attended the Ag Media Summit. He’s Greg Peterson, one of the Peterson Brothers who made the hit, Farming and I Grow It.
Greg really does sing and showed his talent at AMS. Here’s Greg on stage singing the National Anthem during one of our lunches. Great voice and a great job.
I sat down with him to talk about the making of the hit YouTube video. Greg says that he and his brothers edited the video and help from their sister to shoot the video. It took a whole summer since there is a lot of work today between school and the farm. The video has been viewed over 6.6 million times as of this post.
If you haven’t seen the outtakes you need to watch them too: Outtakes 1 – Outtakes 2 Need the lyrics? Here they are.
Listen to this week’s ZimmCast here: Greg Peterson Farms & He Grows It
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.
2012 Ag Media Summit Photo Album
AgWired coverage of the 2012 Ag Media Summit is sponsored by FMCPork Export Market Opportunities
“Trade Policy for a Dynamic Pork Industry” was the topic for one of the first presentations at the Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Swine Health Seminar. Our presenter was Laurie Hueneke, National Pork Producers Council.
During her presentation Laurie provided an overview of what the trade situation is for the industry in various regions and countries around the world. I spoke with her afterward. She says the growth opportunities for the industry include the ability to continue to export and access markets by reducing barriers. This includes China which has a lot of potential. Japan and Mexico continue to be good markets for us.
You can listen to my interview with Laurie here: Interview with Laurie Hueneke
I finally got all my photos uploaded. Please feel free to view and share: 2012 BIVI Swine Health Seminar Photo Album
It’s Time For The 2012 IFAJ Congress
It’s time for Sweden and the 2012 International Federation of Agricultural Journalists Congress in and around the Stockholm area. I’m leaving in the morning and should have some of my first coverage starting on late Tuesday.
I’d like to extend a special thank you to Dupont Pioneer for once again sponsoring my coverage of this annual event. Dupont Pioneer has supported my coverage and IFAJ since my first Congress years ago.
Administration Supports Ethanol
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack demonstrated the Obama administration’s strong commitment to ethanol and the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) by spending over an hour at the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) conference on Friday morning.
“This is an industry that is worth supporting,” he told the crowd of about 250 ethanol industry leaders. “Which is why the president is supporting the Renewable Fuel Standard, and it’s why I’m supporting the Renewable Fuel Standard.”
In light of the lowered crop forecast for corn due to the drought, Vilsack noted that the RFS has built-in flexibilities and the market is responding as it should. “The market responds, the market reacts, the market pays attention, and we’re already seeing that,” he said.
Vilsack also stressed the need for the industry to defend itself in the face of attacks by critics and for friends of the industry to step up as well.
Listen to Vilsack’s remarks here: Secy Vilsack at ACE Visack answers audience questions: Secy Vilsack Questions
NCGA CEO Addresses Ethanol Producers
National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) CEO Rick Tolman shared the farmer’s perspective to the American Coalition for Ethanol’s conference while addressing the group on the 2012 corn crop, the drought and NCGA’s support for ethanol and all markets for U.S. corn.
“It could all change tomorrow,” was the theme of Tolman’s talk, just hours after the USDA released a new crop forecast showing a 13% drop in corn production this year compared to last. “This too shall pass,” said Tolman. “We think the future’s going to be bright still.”
Tolman stressed the importance of withholding judgment on the final size of the total corn crop until more complete information is available and harvest is complete and reminded attendees that a few short months ago it appeared that farmers would produce a record crop, far exceeding forecast demand. Despite the significant short-term impact of the drought, he noted that conditions will improve, production will increase and ethanol will remain a key market for corn.
NCGA remains committed to maintaining the Renewable Fuel Standard corn ethanol requirement and Tolman said they are working to set the record straight about the RFS and correct misinformation that has been distributed by those who want to waive or dismantle the program. Most important is the inaccurate statement that more corn is used for ethanol than is used for livestock. “That is not true,” said Tolman. “More corn is GROUND for ethanol, but more still is consumed for livestock” when the co-product distillers grains is added to the equation.
Listen to my interview with Tolman at ACE: Interview with NCGA CEO Rick Tolman
Listen to Tolman’s comments at ACE: NCGA CEO Rick Tolman remarks at ACE