Nuseed Expands Seed Platform with Acquisition

Cindy Zimmerman

nuseedNuseed, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nufarm Limited, this week announced the acquisition of Seeds 2000 Inc, based in Breckenridge, Minnesota, USA.

Seeds 2000 is a seed research, production, sales and marketing company focused primarily on the development of elite oil and confection sunflower hybrids that benefit both the farmer and end-use food customer. The company has significantly expanded its international activities in recent years and today conducts development and sales activities in the USA, Canada, China, Argentina and a number of European markets.

Nuseed is a global seed and traits company focused on the enhancement of food and feed value through seed technology. The company develops proprietary canola, sunflower, and sorghum products that are marketed in over 25 countries. Nuseed has existing sunflower breeding and marketing operations based in California, Argentina, Serbia and Australia.

Sunflower is an important oilseed and snack food crop, occupying approximately 24 million hectares of land globally and producing approximately 32 million metric tonnes of grain annually.

Seeds 2000 President, Steve Kent, said he expected the transition to be seamless and to facilitate additional opportunities to expand the business in both the US domestic market and globally.

Nufarm, Seed

2011 Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica PRRS Seminar

Chuck Zimmerman

Hello from the agriblogging highway at the Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica PRRS ARC&E Seminar in Chicago. We’ve got a good crowd. The ARC&E stands for Area Regional Control & Elimination of this seriouis swine disease.

I’m collecting photos and interviews. The interview will be posted during the next week since I’ve almost completely lost my voice. I’ll have to edit myself back in so you can understand me better. Hate it when this happens. Actually it has never happened like this before!

So, here’s where you can find photos from this event: 2011 Boehringer Ingelheim PRRS ARC&E Seminar Photo Album

Agribusiness, Boehringer Ingelheim, Swine

BASF Urges Sites of Action for Weed Management

Cindy Zimmerman

BASFAs the spread of resistant weeds continues, the term “site of action” is becoming a factor in managing resistance. BASF wants growers to understand herbicide site of action – and what it means to their weed management plan – because it can spell the difference between losing yield or gaining profit.

BASF offers four tips to unlock the benefits of herbicide sites of action:

Know the tool
Site of action is a term used by weed scientists to group or classify different herbicide active ingredients. A critical element in managing or preventing development of herbicide resistant weed populations is employing multiple sites of action during a growing season. Therefore, classifying herbicides by their site of action provides a tool that enables grower and retailers to design an effective weed management program.

“Site of action specifically refers to the biochemical site within a plant where a herbicide has its direct impact on weed growth and development,” said Dan Westberg, Ph.D., BASF Technical Market Manager. “In other words, the site of action is where a herbicide controls a weed.”

Recognize the enemy
The Weed Science Society of America has confirmed 13 different species of glyphosate-resistant weeds across 28 states. Some weeds, such as waterhemp, are developing resistance to multiple herbicide sites of action. Waterhemp, along with its close cousin Palmer pigweed, is especially scary because of its ability to produce at least one million seeds from a single plant. That seed production could result in 6.25 million waterhemp plants in one acre if not adequately controlled with multiple sites of action.
Read More

BASF

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • The Kansas Soybean staff now includes a director of operations: Adam O’Trimble.
  • The National Cattlemen’s Foundation is announcing ten $1,500 scholarships to be awarded to outstanding students who are pursuing careers in the beef industry.
  • The U.S. Grains Council announced that registration is now open for its 9th International Marketing Conference and 52nd Annual Membership Meeting to be held Feb. 13-15 in Panama City, Panama.
  • A new video, “U.S. Dairy Farmers Care,” tells the story of dairy farmers and their commitment to their animals, the environment, local communities and consumers.
Zimfo Bytes

AgChat Foundation Planning For The Future

Chuck Zimmerman

The board of the AgChat Foundation has been hard at work for two days planning for the future. We’re still in the process and will have some very positive and exciting announcements coming out soon.

It’s hard to believe that farmers have been engaging online via a weekly Twitter chat that began over two years ago. The AgChat Foundation has grown out of that effort and community and now encompasses much more than just one social media platform. The organization is specializing in training agvocates. As the mission statement says:

Empower farmers and ranchers to connect communities through social media platforms.

We do that by reaching out and engaging with farmers and conducting an annual training conference. Let’s just say that the effort is going very well and I’m proud to be a part of it. I’m also proud of all the people who are volunteering past and present. We’ve got a lot more work to do but in retrospect it’s amazing what we’ve accomplished so far. I’ll have more after we get done with the rest of our agenda here.

Uncategorized

February 1 Deadline for National Ag Day Essay Contest

Melissa Sandfort

The Agriculture Council of America (ACA) calls on ninth- to 12th-grade students to submit an original, 450-word essay or a two-minute video essay about the importance of agriculture for this year’s National Ag Day Essay Contest. This year’s theme is “American Agriculture: Feeding the Future, Filling the Gaps” and the deadline is Feb. 1, 2012. The ACA asks teachers and parents to encourage student participation.

The theme “American Agriculture: Feeding the Future, Filling the Gaps” presents an opportunity for students to address how the agriculture industry continues to feed a growing population. Entrants may choose to either write an essay and/or create a video focusing on how today’s growers are overcoming challenges to provide a safe, stable food supply and sustain the significant role agriculture plays in everyday life.

The national written essay winner receives a $1,000 prize and round-trip ticket to Washington, D.C., for recognition during the Celebration of Ag Dinner held March 8 at Whitten Patio at the USDA. During dinner, the winner will have the opportunity to read the winning essay as well as join with industry representatives, members of Congress, federal agency representatives, media and other friends in a festive ag celebration. The video essay winner wins a $1,000 prize, and the winning video will play during the Celebration of Ag Dinner.

Ag Day

NORAD Tracking Santa Again

Chuck Zimmerman

I’m sure this is applicable to agriculture somehow. I just think it’s pretty cool and wanted to share it. With all the talk about geo-located services and precision agriculture it’s neat to think that you can track Santa’s progress as he does his thing at Christmas time. Get the official NORAD Tracks Santa app for your iPhone or Android phone.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command is getting ready to track Santa’s yuletide journey! The NORAD Tracks Santa website, www.noradsanta.org, went live today featuring a Countdown Calendar, a Kid’s Countdown Village complete with holiday games and activities that change daily, and video messages from students and troops from around the world. With the addition of Brazilian Portuguese, the website is now available in eight languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese, and Chinese.

This year, using free apps in the Apple iTunes Store and in the Android Market, parents and children can countdown the days until Santa’s take off on their smart phones! Tracking opportunities are also offered on Facebook, Google+, YouTube, and Twitter. Santa followers just need to type “@noradsanta” into each search engine to get started. Read More

Video

The Co-op

Melissa Sandfort

I think it’s hard sometimes for city-folk to imagine what it’s like to live in the country. When I tell them we have two horses out front in the pasture, they can’t imagine having that much room in the “front yard”. Then I tell them we have to drive at least 18 miles for groceries but if you want cheaper ones, you have to drive 26 miles. Our closest neighbors are my grandparents and they’re about ¼ mile away. Living where we do, I’ve learned to make lists, too because if you get to the store and forget something, you can’t just turn right around and be back to the store in a blink. It’s thoughtful and planned which sometimes drives my husband crazy because he likes to be more spontaneous. I on the other hand like to combine my trips to save on gas and time.

This is a picture of our local co-op, 5 miles from our house. This is where we get gas. There’s no pizza, no restroom, no candy, but the air is free. (Imagine that – not charging $1 for AIR.) And you have to have a card or you can’t fill up.

The co-op at my in-laws in Kansas is the same way except they have a candy and pop machine inside where our son’s Grandpa always makes a purchase when the grandkids are visiting. It’s tradition…going to the co-op, seeing all the men sitting around drinking coffee and gossiping, then getting chocolate and a pop for the ride home. Even if it is 10 minutes before lunch.

The nice thing about the pump at the co-op? It’s always open as long as you have a card.

Until we walk again …

Uncategorized

Wonder Women Wanted

Cindy Zimmerman

Attention women in agriculture – there’s a new reality show in the works seeking Wonder Women who do tough jobs.

I got a notice from the casting company looking for “the hardest working women in America to celebrate the tough women who aren’t afraid of disgusting, terrifying, or even backbreaking labor. Women who are proud to be Wonder Women!”

They gave a few examples – mining, roofing, hanging from scaffolding, installing power lines, deep sea fishing, fighting fires, working in sewers, slaughterhouses – but not farming or ranching! I think ladies of the ag persuasion need to apply and show these folks the real Wonder Women of this world!

The application form can be found at wonderwomencasting.com.

Farming

Iowa Corn Caucus Grades Candidates on Farm Issues

Cindy Zimmerman

ICGAThe Iowa Corn Caucus released its report card for presidential candidates today, giving grades for different policy areas related to agriculture with an overall grade for each candidate.

The highest overall grade went to Newt Gingrich, who scored straight As on every single policy issue. Second in the class was Rick Santorum, who had mostly A’s but faltered under farm programs in the areas of crop insurance and conservation. President Obama received a grade of B, as did Mitt Romney, but the rest of the four major Republican candidates got no more than a C minus. Rick Perry received that grade, while Michelle Bachmann was close behind with a D+ and both Herman Cain and Ron Paul got Ds. Cain in particular failed miserably in the energy policy category and farm programs – getting straight Fs in all those areas.

“Our purpose wasn’t to endorse any candidate, but instead to give farmers a tool that they could take with them to the caucuses in January,” said Iowa Corn Growers senior policy advisor Amanda Taylor. The survey for candidates was developed in conjunction with the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) to include ten questions directly related to agricultural issues.

ICGA president Kevin Ross noted that only half of candidates responded to the survey, so the Corn Caucus used other methods to determine the grades. “We tracked interviews, speeches, media quotes and all things related to agriculture, including voting records of candidates who held office,” he said. The candidates who did return the survey were Obama, Cain, Gingrich and Santorum.

Find out more about the Corn Caucus project results from the ICGA website, and listen to a press conference this morning about it here: Iowa Corn Caucus Results

Audio, Corn, Farm Policy