BASF Presents Research on New Fungicides

Cindy Zimmerman

Last year at Commodity Classic, the buzz from BASF Crop Protection was the new fungicide chemistry Xemium. This year it’s new products incorporating that chemistry.

With the results of field trials from the 2011 season now available, three years of research show Priaxor™ fungicide and Merivon® fungicide provided effective disease control and consistent yield increases in a wide range of crops and the two new products are expected to receive EPA registration yet the first part of this year.

Priaxor research was conducted on row crops – focusing primarily on soybeans – as well as on some specialty crops, such as potatoes and tomatoes. Merivon research was conducted on specialty crops, specifically pome and stone fruits.

“Priaxor in soybeans provides a consistent level of disease control on Septoria brown spot and frog eye leaf spot,” said Nick Fassler, Technical Market Manager, BASF. From 2009-2011, soybeans treated with Priaxor showed nearly 17 percent less severity of Septoria brown spot and 13 percent decrease in the severity of frogeye leaf spot and compared to untreated soybean acres. Priaxor has also performed well in corn on several troublesome corn diseases, including gray leaf spot, common rust, and Northern and Southern corn leaf blight.

Listen to or download an interview with Nick here: BASF's Nick Fassler

Dr. Caren Schmidt, BASF Technical Service Representative for Michigan and Ohio says research shows Merivon fungicide will provide apple growers with protection against apple scab and powdery mildew. “We’ve been looking at Merivon and apple scab with Michigan State University,” she said. “We’ve seen very good protection with Merivon application programs compared to current commercial standards.”

Caren says there are current no systemic fungicides in Michigan that are effective against apple scab, so the introduction of Merivon will be very important.

Listen to or download an interview with Caren here: BASF Tech Rep Caren Schmidt
Find out more details about Priaxor™ fungicide and Merivon® fungicide.

2012 BASF Science Behind Photo Album

Coverage of the 2012 Commodity Classic Show is sponsored by BASF and New Holland
Audio, BASF, Commodity Classic, Corn, Soybean, specialty crops

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Kent Bamford of Haxtun, Colo., has been elected president of CattleFax, and Kevin Hughes, Boise, Idaho, was named president-elect.
  • The U.S. Grains Council has launched a significantly enhanced website.
  • Ag Leader Technology announces the launch of Insights magazine, a new precision farming publication produced by the Ag Leader team.
  • Fostera PRRS, a modified-live vaccine for growing pigs from Pfizer Animal Health, brings a new high standard of innovation to the costly battle against porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) respiratory disease.
    Zimfo Bytes

    New Holland Announces Major National Campaign

    Chuck Zimmerman

    New Holland has some big news and Abe Hughes, VP, New Holland North America, says it is their marketing development fund campaign which kicks off now. It’s a national advertising campaign in collaboration with New Holland dealers. As he puts it, “It’s a campaign to show that blue is back.” Abe is in the cab of a New Holland T9 Series SmartTrax tractor. I thought the New Holland exhibit was smaller this year until I realized that it’s the big machines on the floor, including this one, that just sort of dwarf everything else. Learn more about what this new campaign means to New Holland and its dealers and customers in my interview with Abe.

    Listen to my interview with Abe here: Interview with Abe Hughes

    2012 Commodity Classic Photo Album

    Coverage of the 2012 Commodity Classic Show is sponsored by BASF and New Holland
    Agribusiness, Audio, Commodity Classic, New Holland

    Commodity Classic Media Reception

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Not only does New Holland sponsor the media room here at Commodity Classic but they also sponsored a reception for the media again this year. Here’s John Elliott, New Holland, Director, Marketing NAR, welcoming the media and thanking them for their work. John is wearing a yellow daffodil because yesterday was the feast day of St. David in Wales, his home country and the daffodil is the national flower of Wales. As St. David would say, “Do the little things.”

    Also in attendance were the leadership from each of the participating commodity groups for the show.

    The media reception is a relaxing way for all of us to wind down for a while without feeling the need to turn on recorders and go “one the record.” It’s great seeing so many friends in the ag communications business.

    2012 Commodity Classic Photo Album

    Coverage of the 2012 Commodity Classic Show is sponsored by BASF and New Holland
    Commodity Classic, New Holland

    New Holland Rustler Winner

    Chuck Zimmerman

    His was the first name called and his name is Paul Casper, South Dakota. Paul was the winner of a brand new New Holland Rustler this afternoon at the close of today’s trade show session at Commodity Classic. A big crowd was on hand to see the drawing.

    Here’s a picture of Paul receiving the key to his New Holland Rustler from Abe Hughes, VP, New Holland North America. Announcing today’s drawing once again was Mike Adams, Host, AgriTalk.

    Paul is a soybean grower and is currently the President of the South Dakota Soybean Association. He was in the American Soybean Association booth when his name was called and he had 30 seconds to make it to the New Holland booth. It was not a short walk and he came running and made it in time. He told me he’s got a lot of good uses for this vehicle on his farm.

    Listen to my interview with Paul here: New Holland Rustler Winner

    2012 Commodity Classic Photo Album

    Coverage of the 2012 Commodity Classic Show is sponsored by BASF and New Holland
    Agribusiness, Audio, Commodity Classic, New Holland

    BASF Supports Scholars with ASA, NCGA and Now NAWG

    Cindy Zimmerman

    BASF Crop Protection is expanding its support of young people pursuing careers in agriculture by joining with the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) Foundation to establish a memorial scholarship to honor longtime wheat industry friend and BASF employee Jerry Minore. As a BASF Senior Market Manager, Minore was a liaison to the wheat industry, including NAWG and the Foundation, and an advocate for wheat growers.

    Paul Rea, Vice President of U.S. Crop Protection for BASF, says Jerry passed away suddenly just a few weeks ago. “It was a real loss and everyone was looking for a way we could remember his service so what better way than to award a memorial scholarship in his name,” said Paul.

    Listen to or download Paul talking about BASF’s commitment to the future of agriculture and the new scholarship: BASF VP U.S. Crop Protection Paul Rea

    BASF has funded the Jerry Minore Memorial Scholarship for up to $5,000 per year the next three years. Applications for the scholarship program will be accepted through the end of 2012, with the first recipients to be announced at next year’s Commodity Classic.

    This year, for the fifth consecutive year, BASF partnered with the American Soybean Association (ASA) and the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) to present another six students with scholarships.

    Recipients of the $1,000 NCGA scholarships, pictured here with Paul Rea and NCGA Chairman Bart Schott, are (left to right): Andy Chamra, a junior at Iowa State University pursuing agricultural business; Denise Beam, a sophomore at Pennsylvania State University pursuing a degree in animal sciences with an agricultural business management minor; Gracie Weinzierl, a sophomore at Illinois State University majoring in agricultural education in addition to crop and soil science; Andrew Perry, a sophomore at the University of Missouri-Columbia, studying agricultural economics and plant science; and Bethany Olson, a junior at Iowa State University specializing in agricultural business and international agriculture.

    Melissa Schenck of Boston, Kentucky – pictured here with Paul and ASA president Steve Wellman – was chosen as the 2012-2013 ASA SOY scholarship recipient. Schenck, a senior at Nelson County High School, will pursue a degree in agriculture communications at Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky, beginning this fall.

    Melissa says she plans to go to Murray State University and major in ag communications or ag business. “Getting a scholarship from ASA and BASF means that college is going to be easier to pay for,” she said. “This scholarship has taken a load off my shoulders” and her parents too! She’s never been to Commodity Classic before and is really enjoying it.

    Listen to or download an interview with Melissa here: ASA-BASF Scholarship Winner Melissa Schenck

    See video of all scholarship winners here:

    2012 BASF Science Behind Photo Album

    Coverage of the 2012 Commodity Classic Show is sponsored by BASF and New Holland
    ASA, Audio, BASF, Commodity Classic, Corn, NCGA, Video, Wheat

    Commodity Classic Trade Show Ribbon Cutting

    Chuck Zimmerman

    The trade show at the 2012 Commodity Classic is officially underway here in Nashville, TN. Of course things got started with a ribbon cutting where representatives from each of the four participating commodity groups made brief welcoming comments. We’ll hear more from them at tomorrow’s general session that also includes a speech from U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack. There’s a lot going on here as this annual event just keeps getting bigger and bigger.

    We’ve started uploading photos which you can find at the link below and will be adding to them periodically. Please feel free to use and share.

    2012 Commodity Classic Photo Album

    Coverage of the 2012 Commodity Classic Show is sponsored by BASF and New Holland
    Commodity Classic, Video

    Ready For Record Commodity Classic

    Chuck Zimmerman

    ZimmCast 340I’d like to thank New Holland for sponsoring the media room at Commodity Classic once again this year. And I’d especially like to thank them for being one of our sponsors for AgWired coverage of the event again this year. New Holland was one of the first companies to support our unique brand of “live” event blogging. This is the 7th year the company has been our sponsor for Commodity Classic. Thank you to Gene Hemphill and to Abe Hughes. I’m looking forward to seeing Abe this afternoon in the New Holland exhibit at the trade show. Now back to our program.

    Here are (l-r) Patrick Delaney, Communications Director, American Soybean Association and Ken Colombini, Communications Director, National Corn Growers Association. These two organizations coordinate the media room that we have the privilege to work out of. Cindy caught up with both of them yesterday to find out how attendance at this year’s Classic is looking as well as what some of the important issues are facing each farm group.

    Listen to this week’s ZimmCast here: A Look At 2012 Commodity Classic

    Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsor, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong, 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.

    Coverage of the 2012 Commodity Classic Show is sponsored by BASF and New Holland
    Ag Groups, ASA, Audio, Commodity Classic, NCGA, ZimmCast

    How Tall?

    Melissa Sandfort

    Four feet tall. Do you think my flowers will grow to be 4-feet tall in this old ice cream pail? It was the only package of flower seeds I had around when I found myself in need of an activity to entertain four children under the age of 10 and three of them were girls. So we dug in the dirt (a favorite activity for my son) and planted flowers.

    They’re cosmos flowers and really supposed to be outside, but it was the middle of February and 60 degrees so we couldn’t resist. Actually, I think I tricked the four kids into an activity just to fulfill my desire to start doing outside gardening activities just a bit early.

    That said, if these flowers grow to be 4-feet tall in an old ice cream bucket inside on my dinner table, we’re in trouble.

    The older girls were excited to see the flowers spouting. For my son, the experience was short-lived and as soon as the trowels were cleaned off and put away, he was on to the next project. Maybe if I can keep them alive, I can transplant them outside when all signs of frost are gone.

    Until we walk again …

    Uncategorized

    Experts Offer Weed Insights at BASF Event

    Cindy Zimmerman

    “The total post-emergence weed control era is over and I don’t think it’s ever coming back.”

    That was probably the most memorable quote of the entire BASF Crop Protection “Science Behind the Future of Weed Control” event prior to the kick-off of the 2012 Commodity Classic in Nashville on Wednesday. It came from Row Crop Weed Specialist Dr. Larry Steckel with the University of Tennessee.

    “I often tell our growers, think back to 2002-2003, you’re going to think of that as the good old days, because weed control is never going to be that easy again, or simple or cheap,” he said.

    Dr. Steckel estimates that resistant weeds in Tennessee cost growers $45 an acre more in herbicides last year. “We got 1.6 million acres so that’s $72 million in herbicide costs,” he said, not counting other costs like having to actually weed by hand, as many farmers in the south have had to start doing the past couple of years.

    What this means is that growers just have to use all the tools in the toolbox now to fight resistant weeds, including pre- and post-plant herbicides, cultural practices, cover crops, row width, crop rotation.

    Listen to or download Dr. Steckel interview: Interview with Larry Steckel

    Dr. Jeff Stachler, extension agronomist with North Dakota State University and the University of Minnesota, says the weed resistance problem is growing bigger. “The entire Midwest and even us in the northern plains are having a big issue,” he said. “The number one problem clearly is waterhemp, and not just glyphosate-resistant waterhemp, we have to deal with multiple resistant waterhemp.”

    And then there’s the ragweeds and marestail, which he thinks is being managed to some degree “compared to the waterhemp, which I think is getting out of control,” he said. “Weeds are here on the planet Earth for a reason, to cover the soil, and they have a huge genetic diversity that we don’t truly appreciate.”

    Not to mention a tremendous survival instinct, which is why they are finding ways to adapt and outsmart the weapons designed to kill them. “It is hard to prevent resistance, but there are certainly things we can and need to do to reduce the risk and that simply is being more diverse in our practices,” he said.

    Listen to or download Dr. Stachler interview: Interview with Jeff Stachler

    2012 BASF Science Behind Photo Album

    Coverage of the 2012 Commodity Classic Show is sponsored by BASF and New Holland
    Audio, BASF, Commodity Classic