CHS Inc. announced it has signed an agreement with Solbar Industries Ltd., to acquire 100 percent of the shares of Solbar.
A special webinar focusing on dealing with the complex issues that can arise in family farm relationships will be held on Wednesday, January 11 beginning at 2 p.m. CST.
The National Association of Farm Broadcasting has named Greg Akaki, farm director at the Kansas Ag Network and WIBW radio, Topeka, Kan., the 2011 Farm Broadcaster of the Year.
I could crack some walnuts with this thing.
I could break open the ice that forms in the horse’s water tank.
I could threaten … well … better not.
I could pound in some nails with this thing.
Or I could use it for its intended purpose – to pull nails.
Today, I’d just flip over the hammer and yank them out by their head, but back in 1904 when this was patented, they used it to pull nails.
It kind of looks like a toenail trimmer, too. I pity the poor soul that has toenails that big!
At the NAFB Trade Talk I visited with Russ Berndt, Becker Underwood. We had visited earlier this year at the Ag Media Summit where we talked about their bio-based, growth-promoter for soybeans, Vault HP. Russ says that’s still the big news with Becker Underwood.
Russ says they’ve had a big increase in sales this year which is the second year the product has been out. He thinks the return on investment that growers are seeing is driving this increase. Looking ahead to 2012 he encourages growers who saw flooding or water-logged fields to consider using a seed treatment that contains an inoculant product.
Maximizing corn yields in 2012 was the theme of information shared during the NAFB Trade Talk this year by FMC. I visited with Gail Stratman (not pictured), FMC Midwest Technical Lead to find out what’s new with FMC. He says that as demand for corn continues to grow worldwide, farmers are trying to eke out every bushel they can from their crop. He provides some thoughts for how to achieve this using FMC products.
Listen to my interview with Gail to learn more about how FMC products can help increase corn yields here: Interview with Gail Stratman
The Illinois 4-H Livestock Judging Team bested a field of 28 states to become the 2011 national champions at the National 4-H Livestock Judging Contest.
The Mid-America Alfalfa Expo & Conference has announced its program for the 2012 event, which features an impressive line-up of alfalfa and agriculture experts as well as an industry trade show and auction.
Soybean farmers will gather Jan. 11, 2012, in Topeka for the Kansas Soybean Expo, themed “Kansas Soybeans: Growing Opportunities.”
For starters, we can’t say enough how much we appreciate our clients and sponsors. Your support means more than we can say. We also thank everyone in the ZimmComm community. We’ll continue to strive to bring you our best. We’re also thankful to America’s farmers and everyone involved in the production/processing/distribution of food.
A few months ago, we cleaned out my parents’ house that they lived in since I was just 9 months old. Without giving away my age, let’s just say it’s been a few years. In the boxes buried in basement closets, we found all sorts of things from when my brother and I were kids: flattened basketballs, R2D2, Strawberry Shortcake, whiffle ball and bat, and these old ice skates.
In my town of 120 people, across the road from our house was a ¼ acre field. Each winter, the farmer would flood the field to make a skating rink for the kids in town…all six of us. The nice part was, mom could just yell out the front door when it was time for supper.
I didn’t master the ice skates like I did the roller skates though I used to lay awake at night and dream of doing a triple lutz. That was also back in the day when a few hours in the cold didn’t phase me and now if I’m out for more than 10 minutes I’m claiming frostbite so I can head back to the house.
These skates put a few laps on around the old rink, but you had to watch out for corn stalks sticking up through the ice. I was always glad when he rotated to soybeans – it made for a cleaner ice skating surface!
Thanksgiving dinner this year will cost more, but it’s still a bargain no matter how you slice it.
According to the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), the retail cost of menu items for a classic Thanksgiving dinner including turkey, stuffing, cranberries, pumpkin pie and all the basic trimmings increased about 13 percent this year. That may seem like a lot, but it still means that the average cost to feed a hungry table of ten is less than $50 – not even five bucks a plate. Try to get that in any other country for the same price!
“The quality and variety of food produced for our dinner tables on America’s diverse farms and ranches sets us apart from our contemporaries around the world,” said AFBF President Bob Stallman. “It is an honor for our farm and ranch families to produce the food from our nation’s land for family Thanksgiving celebrations.”
The turkey itself is what gobbled up most of the price increase this year. According to AFBF, a 16-pound turkey will cost about $21.57 this year at $1.35 per pound, an increase of about 25 cents per pound over last year. “Turkey prices are higher this year primarily due to strong consumer demand both here in the U.S. and globally,” said AFBF economist John Anderson.
Those into the organic scene can expect to pay double the amount for the average Thanksgiving meal this year, according to the Arizona Farm Bureau. The Organic Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings will cost $106.39, with a 16-pound organic turkey at $63.84 or $3.99 per pound. But really, even that is a bargain at just over $10 per person.
So, gobble up and give thanks this week for the most abundant and affordable food supply in the world.
During the recent NAFB convention, AgriTalk recorded a panel discussion about new research on Atrazine. This herbicide, which has been on the market for more than 50 years is very beneficial from an economic and environmental standpoint in the production of corn, sorghum and sugar cane according to this new research.
I interviewed one of those researchers, Dr. Mike Owen, during the NAFB Trade Talk in the Syngenta booth. He says his role was to investigate the issue of herbicide resistance. He says the information basically reinforces what most people already knew about the impact of using glyphosate resistant crops with glyphosate to the exclusion of a lot of the other tools in the agricultural toolbox. He says farmers are still in denial about this issue. They need to diversity in weed management! You can find a number of links on this subject posted by Dr. Owen here.
According to a release from Syngenta (pdf) on this subject:
U.S. consumers and society benefit from atrazine and other triazine herbicides by up to $4.8 billion per year, due to increased yield as well as decreased producer costs and reduced soil erosion, according to new studies released today in Kansas City.
In addition, the U.S. economy benefits from atrazine and other triazine herbicides by as much as $22 billion over a five-year period. Benefits to farmers and consumers from the triazine herbicides include increased corn, sorghum and sugar cane crop yields, lower weed-control costs, significantly reduced soil erosion and less carbon released into the atmosphere. Atrazine and the triazine herbicides account for as many as 48,000 American jobs in corn production alone.
You can watch the AgriTalk program with all the researchers, as they share highlights of the new data, documenting atrazine’s impact on weed management, crop yields and jobs.
The Cattlemen’s Beef Board is enjoying the best relationships with its contractors in years according to new CEO Polly Ruhland. I spoke with Polly, pictured on the right, at the NAFB Trade Talk session to find out how things are going after some of the recent changes.
Polly says that the Beef Board is taking a look at the structure of its joint committees to see if they can be better or re-structured. She says they’re also looking at their by-laws and some of the antiquated language that’s now twenty five years old. The Beef Checkoff is celebrating its silver anniversary. Polly also mentions that they’re starting a big life cycle analysis project that “allows us to put metrics on how we’re doing as far as sustainability goes and to communicate those to consumers.”
“The quality and variety of food produced for our dinner tables on America’s diverse farms and ranches sets us apart from our contemporaries around the world,” said AFBF President Bob Stallman. “It is an honor for our farm and ranch families to produce the food from our nation’s land for family Thanksgiving celebrations.” 
