House to Consider Farm Bill Extension

Cindy Zimmerman

Despite the fact that the House Agriculture Committee has a new farm bill ready to go to the floor for a vote, leadership decided late on Friday to instead vote this week on a one-year extension of the current legislation, coupled with an extension of disaster aid for livestock producers.

The reason is the drought, according to House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK). “It is critical that we provide certainty to our producers and address the devastating drought conditions that are affecting most of the country and I look forward to supporting and advancing this legislation,” Lucas said in a statement.

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Vice President, Government Affairs, Colin Woodall says they like the idea of getting help to livestock producers hurt by the drought. “We need to get these drought relief programs put back in place so we’re excited that we’re going to have some opportunities to move this thing forward,” he said. “At the same time we’re still concerned about what the future is for a long-term omnibus bill.”

Listen to or download Colin’s comments here: Colin Woodall, NCBA

National Corn Growers Association President Garry Niemeyer says they would rather Congress move ahead with new legislation, which has already been passed by the Senate. “America’s farmers need a new farm bill that will allow them the ability to make sound business decisions for the next five years. An extension of current law fails to provide the needed level of certainty,” he said. “It is important to get to conference and pass a bill before the current law expires September 30. Continuing outdated farm policies will negatively impact agriculture, the federal budget, consumers and the economy.”

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Newbies to Precision Ag Credit Pioneers for Success

John Davis

Getting more out of your fields… that’s the name of the game in agriculture these days, and precision techniques are helping farmers optimize those yields to their fullest potentials. Success by some pioneers in the field is helping more new companies also offer more products. At the recent International Conference on Precision Agriculture, Chuck caught up with Nick Koshnick (on the right in the picture), the founder of one of the newest players to the field, a company called Solum. “Solum was founded in 2009. The whole goal is to create measurements and analytics that allow farmers to efficiently increase their yields.” One example he pointed out is the ability to measure nitrogen inputs, which used to take days, but through Solum’s software, can now can be done in just a few minutes. “And the cool thing is you don’t have to be a trained PhD, labcoat person to do this,” Koshnick said.

Koshnick said they’e seeing a lot of interest in what they do and credits some of the bigger companies out there, such as John Deere, Ag Leader, and Raven, for blazing the trail in precision ag tools. “We’re standing on the success and quality of their products. Working with them is key to our success.”

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Nick here: Interview with Nick Koshnick, Founder, Solum

11th International Conference on Precision Agriculture Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the International Conference on Precision Agriculture is sponsored by John Deere
Ag Groups, Agribusiness, Audio, International, Precision Agriculture

NCBA Federation Div. Approves Comm. Structure

Chuck Zimmerman

The NCBA Federation Division, which we’ve known as the Federation of State Beef Councils, is chaired by Craig Uden, fourth generation cattleman from Elwood, Nebraska. I visited with him to find out what’s on the agenda for the Federation here at the Cattle Industry Summer Conference. Craig says the main issue before the Federation here is the committee restructuring. He says, “We wanted to make it more efficient.” Craig explains the rationale behind the new structure. During this morning’s business meeting the Federation voted to approve the new committee structure proposal which had been approved by the Cattlemen’s Beef Board earlier this week.

Listen to my interview with Craig here: Interview with Craig Uden

2012 Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album

Ag Groups, Audio, Cattle Industry Conference

2012 W. D. Farr Scholarship Recipients

Chuck Zimmerman

During the Cattle Industry Summer Conference two graduate students, one studying animal science and the other agricultural water management, received the 2012 W.D. Farr Scholarships from the National Cattlemen’s Foundation. The $12,000 awards recognize superior achievements in academics and leadership and will allow the students to further their study in fields that benefit the cattle and beef industry. The scholarships were presented by John Lacey and Dick Farr.

First up was Curtis Pittman of Glenford, Ohio., (pictured on left) a Ph.D. candidate in animal science at Colorado State University (CSU). Pittman received his bachelor of science degree Cum Laude with Distinction in Animal Science from The Ohio State University (OSU), and his master of science degree in animal science from CSU. He expects to receive his Ph.D. in December, 2013.

Listen to remarks Curtis made here: Curtis Pittman Remarks

Also receiving a scholarship was Jenna Rodriguez of Linden, Calif., a Ph.D. candidate in hydrologic sciences at the University of California, Davis. Rodriguez received her bachelor of science in environmental science from UCLA, and her master of science in hydrologic sciences from UC-Davis. Her master’s project involved research of irrigation techniques in the San Joaquin Valley of California.

Listen to Jenna’s remarks here: Jenna Rodriguez Remarks

2012 Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album

Ag Groups, Audio, Cattle Industry Conference, NCBA

NCBA Leading Forward

Chuck Zimmerman

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association CEO, Forrest Roberts, gave a passionate speech this morning during the closing business session at the Cattle Industry Summer Conference. He encouraged everyone to keep “leading forward.” I visited with him beforehand to find out what his vision is for NCBA moving ahead and he focused on three key areas, Challenge, Change and Courage. He says one challenge is to motivate the millennial generation to enjoy beef since they think very differently about this great protein source than those in an older generation. He also says that NCBA’s number one priority between now and December 31 is the estate tax.

Listen to my interview with Forrest here: Interview with Forrest Roberts

Listen to Forrest’s NCBA CEO Report here: NCBA CEO Report

2012 Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album

Ag Groups, Audio, Beef, Cattle Industry Conference, NCBA

Int’l Attendees Take Info Back Home from ICPA

John Davis

With 45 countries in attendance, the International Conference on Precision Agriculture truly had an international feel to it. And many are hoping to take what they learn back home to apply to their agricultural operations. “We’re trying to promote farmers to work as scientists to help themselves,” said Rachel Nwakwasi, a poster presenter from the Federal University of Technology Owerri in Nigeria. In her interview with Chuck, Nwakwasi said her work has been with farmers taking pH soil levels and turning in that information for analysis.

Nwakwasi said she’s using the information gained at the conference for work back in her country. “Already, [I’m thinking about how] famine should be about exactness, which is what precision agriculture is all about,” she said, adding that solving problems through precision agriculture is the way forward for her country. “So when I go home, I go back to my school and take back the technologies I’ve seen today. I think the things I’ve seen and I’ve been to exposed to are things I’m sure will help my country to progress more.”

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Rachel here: Interview with Rachel Nwakwasi, Federal University of Technology Owerri in Nigeria

11th International Conference on Precision Agriculture Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the International Conference on Precision Agriculture is sponsored by John Deere
Ag Groups, Audio, International, Precision Agriculture

Timely Poll Shows Most People Eat Meat

Cindy Zimmerman

The environmental and health effects of livestock production and meat can be debated, but one fact is for sure – most people like to eat it.

A brand new Gallup Poll finds that only 5% of people in the United States consider themselves vegetarians – and only 2% say they are vegans who eat no animal products. According to Gallup:

Vegetarianism in the U.S. remains quite uncommon and a lifestyle that is neither growing nor waning in popularity. The 5% of the adult population who consider themselves to be vegetarians is no larger than it was in previous Gallup surveys conducted in 1999 and 2001. The incidence of veganism is even smaller, at a scant 2% of the adult population.

We get lots of vegetarian comments whenever we do stories like the one this week about USDA and Meatless Mondays. They tend to make claims about environmental and human health impacts that they call facts but are not necessarily true. This is a fact: People like meat. Thank God we live in a free country where people can choose to be vegetarians for whatever reason they want to be, but the problem is trying to force that diet down the throats of the rest of us, which is what the radical fringe of that 5% would like to do. Many of them would like nothing better than to shut down animal agriculture for good, and that makes it an agenda.

So, for the 95% of us who love our meat – let’s have some steak tonight to celebrate our freedom to do so!

Animal Activists, Beef, Livestock

Understanding Beef Board Committee Structure

Chuck Zimmerman

Polly Ruhland, CEO of the Beef Board, is making a point in answer to a question during the first Beef Board business session in this photo. I spoke with Polly to get a better understanding of the new committee structure that was approved during that session.

Polly explains the process that led to the proposal for restructuring that was presented here. She says that “What the working group came up with was a structure that relies on the industry long range plan and consumer demand drivers.” It was a big step forward in focusing Checkoff work on consumer demand. Learn more about this in my interview with Polly.

Listen to my interview with Polly here: Interview with Polly Ruhland

2012 Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album

Ag Groups, Audio, Beef, Cattle Industry Conference

Cattle Industry Summer Conference Going Well

Chuck Zimmerman

The President of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is J.D. Alexander. I talked to him about how the Cattle Industry Summer Conference is going. He says it’s going well in spite of challenges like the drought. There are over 700 people registered which is about normal for this meeting. When it comes to the weather related issues affecting the industry he says that “We develop a nice business, take care of the land, take care of the animals, the agriculture, put it back better than what we had it, hopefully make a nice living off it.” The ultimate goal is to turn it over to a new generation. So they’re in it for the long haul and that includes making it through this situation.

When it comes to the work being done here at this meeting J.D. says the biggest thing being discussed is the joint committee restructuring with the Beef Board. He says it will help dictate the future including staffing and who is going to serve on which committees. It’s an election year and a farm bill year. He says NCBA will continue to work on it but admits it can get frustrating. He says the farm bill is almost as cyclical as the cattle market.

Listen to my interview with J.D. here: Interview with J.D. Alexander

2012 Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album

Ag Groups, Audio, Cattle Industry Conference, NCBA

National Beef Quality Audit Updated

Chuck Zimmerman

During the Cattle Industry Summer Conference the results of the 2011 Beef Checkoff funded National Beef Quality Audio were released. It shows that progress has been made but that there is still room for improvement. To learn more about it I spoke with Tom Field, Director of the Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program at the University of Nebraska. He’s a fifth generation cattleman. He was also integrally involved in the start of the NBQA. Tom was on a panel that presented the results during a media conference call.

Tom says the National Beef Quality Audit is meant to perform one main function, “In a multi-segmented semi fragmented industry to actually take the time and allocate the resources to stop, take our eyes up off the work we’re doing inside our individual sectors and actually ask questions up and down the supply chain with customers, vendors and suppliers – How are we doing as an industry?” Tom says there are a couple of key messages that came out of the audit. One was that each sector of the industry defines quality differently so there needs to be some consensus on that. Another item learned was that it’s not just a focus on a particular trait like marbling but also on the process since the marketplace is concerned about how animals are handled and processed. Additionally, he says that farmers are doing a lot of things really well but their biggest shortcoming was documenting it. He says that the overall quality of U.S. beef has improved.

Listen to my interview with Tom here: Interview with Tom Field

You can learn more about the 2011 results by visiting the NBQA website.

2012 Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album

Ag Groups, Audio, Beef, Cattle Industry Conference, Research