Lowell Catlett Sees Bright Future for Ag

Cindy Zimmerman

Dr. Lowell Catlett, New Mexico State University economist and futurist, has been looking into the agricultural crystal ball for nearly 30 years. I remember seeing him speak back when Timbuk3 had their one-hit wonder “The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades” and Lowell used to gallop on stage to that tune wearing sunglasses.

That song was a hit back in 1986 and Lowell is just as funny, interesting and relevant as ever. I saw him at the Pursuit of Maximum Yields event organized by the GROWMARK system’s FS Green Plan Solutions in Bettendorf, Iowa Thursday and haven’t laughed so hard and learned so much in a long time.

One thing that makes him so entertaining is his facial expressions – that’s why I wanted to use several photos here. He makes his points without the aid of power points – he certainly doesn’t need them!

All of the 250 farmers at the event this week will certainly remember without the aid of a power point what Dr. Catlett called “The Crap Factor” – that is higher disposable income to buy more crap. “The quality of our life has gone up dramatically and the price to have (the necessities) relative to our income has gone down,” he says. That allows people to buy more extras, and in the case of developing countries, it means they have more income to buy more protein.

Lowell also talked about how smart phones are helping farmers. “You’ve got the ability to take that mobile technology and do plant diagnostics with it,” he said. In the future, he sees the use of open source hardware (not just software) and 3D assembly that could allow manufacturing to actually be done on site with local materials, like building tractors on farms in developing nations.

Listen to my interview with Lowell Catlett here: Lowell Catlett Interview
Photos from Iowa Pursuit of Maximum Yields Event

Audio, GROWMARK, Precision Agriculture

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • ADVOCIN (danofloxacin mesylate) is now available from Pfizer Animal Health – offering a cost-effective fluoroquinolone alternative for the treatment of bovine respiratory disease.
  • Agriculture Future of America works to assist young people pursuing agricultural-related careers by providing academic financial support and by partnering with other organizations to offer scholarship opportunities.
  • Farm Press and Penton Media are bringing back the Mid-South Farm and Gin Show Mobile App for the 2012 edition of the “Gin Show.”
  • Purfresh, Inc., announced the appointment of Dr. Brian Westcott as president and chief executive officer.
Zimfo Bytes

The SoilWeb App

Chuck Zimmerman

Add another app to your Ag Apps folder on your smartphone. It’s free for both iPhone and Android users. The app, SoilWeb, combines online soil survey information with the GPS capabilities of smartphones.

The SoilWeb app is a portable version of the UC Davis California Soil Resource Lab’s Web-based interface to digital soil survey data from USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Because the app provides soil survey information in a mobile form, it is particularly useful for those working in the field.

Until recently, a disadvantage of Web-based soil survey formats was that user access was limited to desktop computers with an internet connection. That’s one reason that NRCS soil scientist Dr. Dylan Beaudette, while still a graduate student at UC Davis, developed the SoilWeb app in collaboration with NRCS and the UC Davis California Soil Resource Lab.

SoilWeb can retrieve a graphic summary of soil types in response to a user inquiry in the form of soil profile sketches. Each profile sketch shows soil horizons, often compared to a vertical ice cream sandwich made up of layers of soil. Soil names, locations and taxonomic categories are also shown.

Apps

2012 BlogWorld & New Media Expo

Chuck Zimmerman

A growing number of farmers and agribusiness people are becoming not only social media savvy (as in using social media) but proficient in using it to strategically communicate with consumers and each other. But we can all learn more and get better and the 2012 BlogWorld & New Media Expo is one of the places you can go to immerse yourself in social media. Registration is now open.

BlogWorld is a must-attend social media event, hosting thousands of attendees from 50+ countries, with more than 200 speakers. This will be our second year in New York and we’ve planned 3 days of cutting-edge conference sessions and eye-opening keynotes. It’s not just the conference content that BlogWorld attendees boast about, 2012 attendees will also find a thriving trade show and great evening networking mixers. This is the only industry-wide event bringing the global community of content creators and publishers together all under one roof.

BTW. This might be a good event opportunity for your company to get some great AgWired branding as our sponsor to cover the event!

Uncategorized

Can You Identify These Animals?

Melissa Sandfort

Growing up in southeast Nebraska, I’m used to seeing cattle, hogs and even a herd of buffalo. But about 10 miles up the road from us lives this eclectic collection of animals, most of which I cannot identify. The large cow with long, straight horns is an Ankole-Watusi, a breed native to Africa. How he ended up here in Nebraska is beyond me!

Can you click on the picture and help me identify the other animals in this picture?

Until we walk again …

Uncategorized

Commodity Classic to Feature Night at the Opry

Cindy Zimmerman

commodity classicSome of Nashville’s top talent will take the stage at the Grand Ole Opry for the 2012 Commodity Classic Evening of Entertainment on March 3, sponsored by Monsanto.

commodity classicEntertainers in the lineup for the evening include Darryl Worley, John Conlee, Sarah Darling, Mike Snider, and Joey+Rory. (We just saw Joey+Rory, best known for their hit “Cheater, Cheater, last week in Nashville at the Cattle Industry Convention – they’re great!)

“The Evening of Entertainment will cap off three days of learning sessions, policymaking, networking and a sold-out, record-setting trade show that has the 17th annual Commodity Classic on pace to be the largest in history,” said Commodity Classic co-chair Jeff Sollars.

Commodity Classic will be held March 1-3 at the Gaylord Opryland Convention Center in Nashville, Tenn., and is presented annually by the National Corn Growers Association, American Soybean Association, National Association of Wheat Growers and National Sorghum Producers.

Commodity Classic, Corn, NCGA, sorghum, Soybean, Wheat

Busy Year for Federation of State Beef Councils

Cindy Zimmerman

There was a changing of the guard for the Federation of State Beef Councils during the Cattle Industry Convention last week after a busy year for the leadership working on changes in the Joint Committee structure between the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and the Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB).

“It’s obviously been a year of identity,” said outgoing Federation chairman David Dick of Sedalia, Missouri (pictured right). The proposal the Federation developed last year, which was approved by the CBB and NCBA during the convention, outlines how joint checkoff committees will function in the future. “Basically it allows us to start building a new committee structure.”

David says he’s satisfied with the changes that have been made and the identity that has been put forth for the Federation and he is especially grateful for his fellow executive committee members who worked many long hours over the past couple of years to make it happen.

Listen to my interview with David Dick here: David Dick Interview

One of those who has worked closely with David for the past two years is the new chairman of the Federation – Craig Uden, a cow-calf producer and feeder from Elwood, Neb. “In the Federation we act as a team,” he said. “We utilize the people who dedicate their time and efforts into making this industry better and moving the needle on beef demand and the only way to do that is with a team approach.”

The Federation is made up of the 45 state beef councils that collect the $1 per head national beef checkoff but its roots stretch back to the days of voluntary state checkoffs. “Back in the 60s, on a voluntary basis, a lot of these beef councils wanted to pool their money together, and that was kind of the basis for the Federation,” Craig said.

That cooperative spirit remains the primary mission of the Federation, the sharing of beef checkoff dollars from states that have large cattle populations, like Nebraska, with the national effort or states like New York that have less cattle but a larger consumer population.

Listen to my interview with Craig here: Craig Uden Interview

The Federation team also now includes Richard Gebhart of Claremore, Oklahoma as vice chairman. Newly elected to represent the Federation as regional vice presidents on the NCBA executive committee are Garry Wiley of Michigan, Clay Burtrum of Oklahoma and Sid Viebrock of Washington who join existing RVPs Jennifer Houston of Tennessee, Terri Carstensen of Iowa, Jane Frost of New Mexico and Becky Walth of South Dakota, as well as Richard Ayers of New York who is the new veal representative.

2012 Cattle Industry Convention Photo Album

Audio, Beef, Cattle Industry Conference, NCBA

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • The Board of Directors of Wheat Growers elected their officers for 2012 at their January meeting.
  • The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service is requesting proposals for matching grant funds under the Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program.
  • Six new faces are laced through numerous Osborn & Barr departments: Anna Bethmann, James Coston, Jim McWilliams, Kelsey Phelps, Sheryl Melton and Nancy Lester-Dean.
  • FMC Corporation announced it has signed an exclusive distribution and development agreement with Consumo em Verde for the unique patented fungicidal active ingredient blad, which has a new mode of action.
    Zimfo Bytes

    Most Think Proposed Egg Products Inspection Legislation Dangerous

    Chuck Zimmerman

    In our latest ZimmPoll we asked the question, “What do you think about the proposed Egg Products Inspection legislation?”. I was surprised to find that although 59% said Dangerous precedent for livestock production, 41% said Necessary to save egg farming industry. Kind of a divided reaction. Does this surprise you?

    Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “How do you think farm equipment sales will do this year compared to last?” Let us know what you think. Will there be more new equipment sales this year? Is it time to replace a worn out piece of equipment?

    ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.

    ZimmPoll

    NCBA Says Egg Deal Opens Pandora’s Box

    Cindy Zimmerman

    If there was one issue that was most talked about at the Cattle Industry Convention, it was probably eggs – and producers are definitely not sunny-side up on the proposed agreement between the United Egg Producers (UEP) and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) that would require larger cages for egg-laying hens.

    “You might ask why we as the beef industry care about laying hens,” said National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) legislative affairs director Kristina Butts. “The reason why we care is because currently there’s no production practices in federal statute and we want to keep it that way.”

    Butts said legislation codifying the agreement was introduced in the U.S. House by Congressman Kurt Schrader (D-OR), who is a veterinarian. “This legislation opens up Pandora’s Box on Capitol Hill. While this bill currently only applies to the egg industry, it’s not a far stretch to see it applied to all animal agriculture,” Butts said, noting that Rep. Schrader believes that since he’s a vet and is on the House ag committee that he can control this legislation. “One thing we know from other issues where we’ve dealt with HSUS is that you can never be too trusting of where they’re going to go in terms of parliamentary procedure.”

    Listen to Kristina’s comments on the bill here: Kristina Butts Comments

    NCBA Government Affairs Vice President Colin Woodall says UEP is looking at this agreement as a partnership with HSUS. “But there is no such thing as a partnership with HSUS,” Colin said. “HSUS operates in the mode of ‘this is what we want you to do and if you don’t do it, we’re gonna do it to you.”

    Colin says it is unfortunate that the issue has driven a wedge between UEP and nearly all other livestock and agricultural organizations, including other poultry groups. “But we cannot allow them to move forward. So we will defeat this,” he said.

    Listen to Colin’s comments here: Colin Woodall HSUS comments

    What do you think about the UEP-HSUS agreement and pending legislation regarding laying hens? There’s still time to vote on the question regarding the issue in our ZimmPoll on the left side bar.

    2012 Cattle Industry Convention Photo Album

    Audio, Cattle Industry Conference, Livestock, NCBA, Poultry