Atrazine Settlement a Relief for Farmers

Cindy Zimmerman

Syngenta is hoping that a settlement reached last week over atrazine in water supplies will help the farmers who depend on the herbicide that is more than 50 years old.

The proposed settlement agreement will cost the company $105 million and still requires court approval but the hope is that it will “end the uncertainty and expense of almost eight years of litigation.”

“This settlement is good for the company and the farmers who depend on atrazine, as well as our retailers, distributors, partners, and others who have been inconvenienced by this ongoing and burdensome litigation,” said Syngenta officials in a press release.

“We’re relieved that a settlement has been reached that will allow our farmer members to use this proven and safe tool on their farms,” said National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) President Garry Niemeyer. “Atrazine safety has been verified by thousands of studies and numerous reviews by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and we’re happy to have this nuisance lawsuit behind us so our growers can move forward and do what they do best – help feed and fuel the world, sustainably.”

In making the settlement, Syngenta “acknowledges no liability and continues to stand by the safety of atrazine,” while the $105 million will be used for water systems that have “detected any amount of atrazine in its raw or finished water in the past or up to approximately 90 days after the date of preliminary approval of the settlement.”

According to the settlement, the scientific evidence continues to make it clear that no one ever has or ever could be exposed to enough atrazine in water to affect their health when the product is used according to its label. The plaintiffs acknowledge that they have not commissioned and are not aware of any new scientific studies relating to the safety of atrazine.

The court settlement hearing is scheduled for tomorrow.

Corn, Crop Protection, NCGA

Wheat Growers Hires Director of Grain Merchandising

Melissa Sandfort

Wheat Growers grain and agronomy cooperative announces that Tom Bright has been hired as Director of Grain Merchandising.

He brings more than 20 years of merchandising and management experience in the grain industry to Wheat Growers with background from an experience base across the Midwest, working with a variety of grain industry buyers, sellers, transportation providers and other key members of the industry.

Prior to joining the Wheat Growers team, Bright was the Director of Grain Management at Panda Ethanol. Before that he spent four years as Senior Merchandiser at W.B. Johnston Grain Company and had 17 years experience with Bartlett and Company in various roles. He’s a graduate of Oklahoma State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Economics.

Wheat

Building a Megrabrand

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCast 351How would you go about building a megabrand? Alltech has some ideas. Eight of them to be precise.

One of the presentations during the 2012 Alltech Annual International Symposium was titled, “Building a Megabrand.” Our presenter was Catherine Keogh. Catherine shared Alltech’s eight branding principles which can be conformed to your business. I’ve included this portion of her presentation in this week’s program and hope you enjoy it.

Listen to this week’s ZimmCast here: Alltech Megagranding Strategies

2012 Alltech International Symposium Photo Album

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.

Agribusiness, Alltech, Audio, ZimmCast

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

    Locust Trace AgriScience Farm

    Jamie Johansen

    Locust Trace AgriScience Farm is the newest career and technical high school in Lexington, Kentucky with energy and environmental being key factors in the facility design and agriculture being the educational focus.

    Locust Trace features spacious classrooms with adjoining labs, 6.5 acres for gardening, a state-of-the-art greenhouse with an aquaculture area for raising native fish, a soaring auditorium with a garage door for brining in livestock and machinery, an expansive equine barn and arena and an on-site veterinary clinic.

    Students study in one of five programs: Intro to Agriculture, Environmental and Wildlife Science, Agriculture Power Mechanics, Equine and Vet Science, and Small and Large Animal Science.

    The school is designed to be net-zero in energy through the use of photovoltaic solar panels and net-zero in waste disposal through the utilization of constructed wetlands. The school is also minimally hooked up to water municipalities. All the rain water is collected from the classroom building and the equine barn/arena to be utilized for all crop irrigation and livestock watering. An on-site well has been accessed to back up the rain water collection system in case of a drought. Sustainable agriculture is a focus in all programs.

    I had the opportunity to catch up with Sara Tracy, who serves as the Community Lesion for Locust Trace, Brian Miller, Administrative Dean, and Danielle Milbern, Jr. at Locust Trace AgriScience Farm. They explain what it is like to work for and attend such a unique high school as well as a perspective into the diverse set of opportunities students can take part in.

    Listen to my interview with Sara, Brian and Danielle here: Interview with Locust Trace Representatives

    Locust Trace AgriScience Farm Photo Album

    Agribusiness, Alltech, Animal Agriculture, Aquaculture, Beef, Conservation, Dairy, Education, Energy, Environment, Farming, FFA, Horses, Livestock, Poultry, Technology, Veterinary

    Talking Social Media at Alltech Symposium

    Chuck Zimmerman

    I attended the 2012 Alltech International Symposium Discuss Dinner titled, “Creating Raving Fans: How can you embrace the digital world for your business?” Our moderator was Michele Payn-Knoper, Cause Matters. Michele had a very diverse group to deal with. I think we had folks from about 15 countries in the room! They had a lot of questions about social media and some reservations. However, there were several in the room that were able to provide good examples of how they are using social media in their business. Michele gave everyone some great advice: “Know your purpose. Build a community around your purpose. And then serve your community well with that purpose.”

    Listen to my closing interview with Michele here: Interview with Michele Payn-Knoper

    2012 Alltech International Symposium Photo Album

    Agribusiness, Alltech, Audio

    Zimfo Bytes

    Melissa Sandfort

      Zimfo Bytes

    • Syngenta announced that, during the 2012 calendar year, ROGERS, Synergene Seed & Technology and Pybas Vegetable Seed Company brand varieties are being transitioned to the Syngenta brand.
    • The North American Equipment Dealers Association released its 2012 Dealer-Manufacturer Relations Survey and Kubota Tractor Corporation tops the charts across several key categories.
    • CP Bio Energy announced two new national programs for the management of discarded seed of all varieties, including treated seed, regulated seed, and any other seed types that create disposal challenges.
    • CAST presented prominent farm broadcaster Orion Samuelson, host of the “This Week In Agribusiness” TV show, its President’s award.
      Uncategorized

      GROWMARK Hosts French Cooperative

      Cindy Zimmerman

      In the spirit of cooperation between cooperatives, Illinois-based GROWMARK hosted leaders from the French cooperative Terrena last week as part of a 12-day tour of United States agriculture.

      “We were approached by the tour leader about coordinating an exchange of ideas between the Terrena leadership and GROWMARK’s leadership,” said Chuck Spencer, GROWMARK director, Government Affairs. “Because our agricultural products compete in a global marketplace, we saw great value in having a discussion with our counterparts at Terrena to learn more about agricultural market conditions and ag supply and product infrastructure in the European Union, which will ultimately benefit our members.”

      The visitors from Terrena toured the Stone Ridge Dairy near Mansfield and One Earth Energy in Gibson City. Following the tours, a luncheon was served on a nearby farm and GROWMARK senior management and board members talked about cooperative structure and governance. Dr. Aslihan Spaulding of Illinois State University also shared her research on food trends with the group.

      “One of the questions we were asked was our view of cooperatives here in the United States, and we certainly see a strong need and role for cooperative businesses, especially in agriculture,” said Rick Nelson, GROWMARK vice chairman of the board. “Terrena has the same view, and we definitely had a connection with them in recognizing the services cooperatives provide to farmers.”

      Terrena serves more than 22,000 farmers in France. Its business units include grains, livestock, viticulture, and horticulture. It also supplies meat, dairy, and wine products to market under several private brands.

      Thanks to GROWMARK’s Karen Jones for providing us with the story and photos!

      GROWMARK

      Iowa Great Grower Pleased with Progress

      Cindy Zimmerman

      Another of our 2012 BASF Great Growers is Steve Miller of West Union, Iowa in the northeast part of the state. He farms with his dad Henry and is pictured here with his adorable son Cam – the picture of a true family farm!

      I was actually supposed to interview Steve and his dad back in the freezing December of 2009 for BASF Headline Harvest reports, which was certainly not the best harvest year to do interviews! It just so happened that the frigid day we were scheduled was the same day that little Cam decided to enter the world, so dad and granddad both were a little tired and preoccupied. We did interview Henry but Steve had other matters on his mind that took priority.

      This year, little Cam is big enough to start learning about farming and the season so far has been fabulous. As of last week, Steve says they were already half done with beans and the corn was coming up. “We got the corn sprayed so we’re sitting pretty good,” Steve said.

      According to USDA      , nearly all of the corn in Iowa is planted already and over 80% is emerged and most of it in good to excellent condition. Steve probably has the rest of his beans planted by now since 85% was planted in the state as of Sunday with over a quarter of the crop emerged.

      Last year, the wind blew all their corn down, “so we definitely took a look at height on corn and root structure and doing more of the smart stacks,” he said. They are sticking to their normal 50/50 rotation and were happy to be able to get lots of preparation for planting done last fall.

      Steve said they did change their herbicide program for corn this year. “We went to a pre-emerge herbicide. Last year, we went post-emerge and we got caught when it started raining and rained for about two weeks,” he explained. “So we’re doing things differently to make sure we get the chemical where it needs to be at the right time.” They scout both corn and soybeans to determine the best time to apply Headline.

      BASF wants to know – what types of crop protection products are you using this year on soybeans? Answer the Production Poll here.

      Listen to or download my interview with Steve here and watch for more Great Grower interviews coming up. BASF Great Grower Steve Miller

      Audio, BASF, Corn, Crop Protection, Farming, Soybean

      Farm Families Return to DC This Summer

      Melissa Sandfort

      The nation’s top crop and the farm families who grow it will return to the U.S. capital this summer for the fourth year in a row as part of the Corn Farmers Coalition educational program that debuts June 1, at Union Station, an important venue for reaching policymakers inside “The Beltway.”

      Corn farmers from 14 states and the National Corn Growers Association are supporting the Corn Farmers Coalition program to introduce a foundation of facts seen as essential to decision making, rather than directly influencing legislation and regulation.

      The Corn Farmers Coalition is launching its major advertising campaign by taking over every available ad space at Union Station. The effort will also put prominent facts about family farmers in Capitol Hill publications, radio, frequently used websites, and other Metro locations in June and July.

      The coalition will meet with media, members of Congress, environmental groups and others to talk about farming’s bright future: how U.S. farmers, using the latest technologies, will continue to meet the demands of a growing population and how this productivity can be a bright spot in an otherwise struggling economy.

      Corn, Farming