New President of International Seed Federation

Chuck Zimmerman

The new President of the International Seed Federation is Tim Johnson, Illinois Foundation Seeds. I spoke with Tim about his induction to the position at the ISF World Seed Congress 2012 in Rio de Janeiro. He says it’s an honor to be selected by the general assembly of ISF for the two year commitment. He calls it the “global ASTA” and is also very involved in the American Seed Trade Association.

Tim says the ISF represents almost eighty national and regional seed associations around the world. Seed is Life is their tag line.

The mission of the ISF is to facilitate the international movement of seed, related know-how and technology; to mobilize and represent the seed industry at a global level; to inform its members; and to promote the interests and the image of the seed industry.

In order to fulfil its mission the ISF promotes strong co-operation among national and regional seed associations. It endeavours to work in partnership with organizations responsible for international treaties, conventions and agreements and those that shape policies that impact the seed industry.

The ISF deals with many of the same issues that we’ve learned that ASTA deals with, phtyosanitary, intellectual property rights, co-existence and more. He is happy that English is the official language of the ISF.

Listen to my interview with Tim here: Interview with Tim Johnson

2012 ASTA Convention Photo Album

Ag Groups, ASTA, Audio, International, Seed

The John Deere PowerStick

Chuck Zimmerman

As I sit in the Des Moines airport one of my helpful gadgets is the new John Deere PowerStick. It’s a 2GB USB drive that also charges up and includes multiple connectors to power up your other gadgets! That’s a cool combo. You charge it while you use it and it charges your iPhone or other device when you need it.

Thank you John Deere for this creative and useful gift. I received it for participating in the John Deere FarmSight Tech Summit. Much appreciated and is now an official part of my mobile journalism kit.

John Deere FarmSight Tech Summit Photo Album

Agribusiness, Equipment, John Deere

John Deere Does Agile Development

Chuck Zimmerman

Agile Development is not something you might think of when you think of John Deere. It’s a term associated with software development that is “based on iterative and incremental development, where requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration between self-organizing, cross-functional teams.” Guess what? That’s what John Deere is doing according to Aaron Senneff, Development Manager at John Deere Intelligent Solutions Group. He leads and participates in the groups formed to conduct this “agile development” of new John Deere products of all kinds.

During the John Deere FarmSight Tech Summit I talked with Aaron about how John Deere is using agile development. He says that the company sees it “as an opportunity for us to accelerate not just our product development cycle but our innovation portfolio.” The process works by having groups meet every two months to set a vision for what they want to accomplish over the next two months. At the end of those two months they start all over again. The process includes personnel from all of John Deere’s divisions. Some of the products being announced now like MyJohnDeere.com came directly out of this process.

You can listen to my interview with Aaron here: Interview with Aaron Senneff

John Deere FarmSight Tech Summit Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, Equipment, John Deere

Farm Groups React to Obamacare Ruling

John Davis

In a split 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has voted to uphold the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. Two major farm groups were also split in their evaluation of the decision, with the American Farm Bureau and National Farmers Union both issuing statements yesterday.

Here’s what Bob Stallman, President, American Farm Bureau Federation had to say:

“Farmers, ranchers and rural residents need affordable and accessible health care. We remain concerned that mandating individuals and businesses to buy insurance will impose an expense that creates economic hardship, particularly for self-employed individuals and small businesses.

“We believe one of the primary goals of health care reform should be to reduce costs for participants. The plan reviewed by the Supreme Court would impose a new financial burden on our members. As the legal and political interpretation of this ruling is further analyzed and debated in the weeks and months ahead, it is important to remember that access to affordable health care eludes many American families across the country.

Stallman went on to say he hopes Congress and the President work together to solve some of Farm Bureau’s concerns about the law.

Meanwhile, NFU President Roger Johnson supported the court’s action:

“Farmers, ranchers and rural residents face significant barriers to obtaining accessible, affordable health care. The ACA contains significant, necessary reforms that help all Americans, including those who are self-employed and purchasing expensive care from the individual market, afford insurance and the preventive care they need; provides resources to rural health care providers and incentives to physicians serving in rural areas; bars health care companies from denying coverage to individuals with preexisting conditions; and closes the Medicare prescription drug coverage ‘donut hole.’

“All Americans deserve health care that is comprehensive, affordable and accessible, regardless of occupation or geographic area. NFU commends the Supreme Court on its decision to uphold the ACA, and looks forward to continuing to work with the administration to ensure the law is implemented as written.”

AFBF

Kicking Off National Hot Dog Month

Melissa Sandfort

To celebrate the start of July’s National Hot Dog Month, the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council (NHDSC) is proud to announce the winner of its t-shirt slogan contest. ‘Hot Dogs: Relish the Moment’ was America’s top choice for the Council slogan, beating seven other finalists in a Facebook poll. Gadi Lefkowitz of Baltimore, MD, who submitted the winning slogan, wins a $250 gift certificate to the grocery store of his choosing to build the perfect summer picnic and a custom designed t-shirt with his slogan immortalized on it.

Contest runner ups were:
1st runner up: ‘Make the Dog Days of Summer a Footlong by Joe Lilli
2nd runner up: ‘We Know How the Sausage Gets Made’ by Susan Schonfeld

They will receive $150 and $100 gift certificates to their favorite grocery store respectively and each will get a t-shirt with their slogan. Altogether the contest drew more than 225 unique entries from around the country.

The contest results were announced just as the Fourth of July week was about to begin – a week when Americans will eat more than 150 million hot dogs. That’s just part of the seven billion hot dogs that Americans eat between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

Agribusiness, Food

New Chairman of American Seed Trade Association

Chuck Zimmerman

It’s the passing of the gavel. This time at the American Seed Trade Association convention. Here is new ASTA Chairman, Blake Curtis, Curtis & Curtis, Inc. (left) with past Chairman Mike Gumina, Pioneer Hi-Bred. I spoke with Blake at the end of the convention to find out things went in his opinion and what the future priorities are for the organization.

Blake says the convention was held at a very opportune time with the discussions and action on the farm bill and that served as a reminder about how important it is to be involved politically. The idea of meeting on a regular basis in Washington, DC has been raised. Looking ahead Blake says one of the most important goals is to continue the things they’ve been working on. One of those is an intellectual property rights bureau which he says provides an opportunity to educate people about the benefits of intellectual property rights. He also points to the ASTA strategic plan and importance of staying in touch with members to make sure they’re providing the benefits members need.

In conclusion, Blake says “ASTA should be seen as a pacesetter organization helping to set the ground rules for not only national but international trade.” He says they have people on staff who work to facilitate the movement of seed around the world and can be seen as a resource for any issues related to it.

Listen to my interview with Blake here: Interview with Blake Curtis

2012 ASTA Convention Photo Album

Ag Groups, ASTA, Audio, Seed

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Woodruff Sweitzer announces the addition of five team members to the staff roster: Tori Powers, Kristin Witt, Dan Hood, Laura Tyson and Michelle Hanko.
  • Pioneer Hi-Bred will now be known as DuPont Pioneer.
  • Land O’Lakes Purina Feed LLC launches the Feeding for 30 Facebook page, offering tips on proper sow nutrition and management as well as industry insights for swine producers working towards the industry goal of 30 pigs per sow per year.
  • Wheat Growers grain and agronomy cooperative announces that Dale Gilyard has been hired as Director of Grain Operations.
    Zimfo Bytes

    John Deere Announces MyJohnDeere.com

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Today John Deere announced MyJohnDeere.com and to learn a little about it I spoke with David Everitt, President, Agriculture and Turf Division. Dave has just announced his retirement from John Deere after a long career with the company. The announcements are being made at the John Deere FarmSight Tech Summit.

    David says this is the most exciting time to be in agriculture. He says the company has created a “cloud” with infrastructure in 43 countries for information sharing with over 50,000 pieces of equipment already connected. They’re adding about 3,000 pieces of equipment a month. He says it’s all about productivity and managing information and data.

    Developed as part of the John Deere FarmSightTM strategy, the MyJohnDeere toolbox gives customers a centralized online portal to access, view, archive and manage a wide variety of business information.

    Nathan Greuel, product manager, John Deere Intelligent Solutions Group, says users can log into MyJohnDeere.com and access key applications such as JDLink which allows them to view real-time information about their farm operations, field locations and important performance data from their equipment. Other applications include AgLogicTM, JDParts, John Deere Financial, Stellar Support and My Equipment.

    You can listen to my interview with Dave here: Interview with David Everitt

    I’m posting photos from the summit online here: John Deere FarmSight Tech Summit Photo Album

    I’ll have a lot more news from the John Deere FarmSight Tech Summit but we’ll be in the field most of tomorrow and then it’s time to head on back to ZimmComm World Headquarters for a break.

    Agribusiness, Audio, Equipment, John Deere, Precision Agriculture

    It Will Be Dupont Pioneer

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Beginning this weekend you’ll see a new name for Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business. As of July 1 it will be known as DuPont Pioneer. According to information I received the change is a part of the company extending DuPont’s efforts in the agricultural and food industries. The change in the name is to reflect a joint mission to find solutions to ensure that the world’s growing population has enough food. The new DuPont Pioneer name reflects this joint commitment, allowing DuPont and Pioneer to work closer together, strengthening their alignment publicly.

    The DuPont Pioneer goal remains the same – to provide the best products, services and information to help growers get the highest return on every acre they farm. Nothing in that commitment will change, and Pioneer remains an important brand as it has been for more than 85 years.

    Agribusiness, Pioneer

    Ready For John Deere Technology Summit

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Hello from the John Deere Technology Summit in Des Moines, IA. This is the welcoming committee for ag media.

    Starting this evening and continuing out on the farm tomorrow we’ll be learning about what’s new from John Deere. I don’t have any of that information to share with you yet but you can be sure I will. For those of you who can’t make it, keep an eye on AgWired for photos and interviews I’ll be sharing and follow along on Twitter with the hashtag – #JDTech. I’m sure we’ll be having lots of tweets from here.

    Agribusiness, John Deere