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.”
At the recent NAMA Trends in Agriculture conference one of our panel discussions focused on “Trends In Energy/Alternative Fuels.” On the panel were Nathan Schock, POET & Matt Roberts, PhD.
What are the main influences escalating the demand for ethanol and other plant-based energy? This session examines the trends in the alternative fuel market and the initiatives needed to drive the production to meet the demand. You’ll also discover the messages and opportunities on which ag communicators and marketers need to focus.
Thanks to Paulsen Marketing for supplying this video clip with Nathan who talks about government’s role in ethanol’s future.
I admit it. I got a lump in my throat when I read this release from Learfield Communications about naming Studio D, the Derry Brownfield Studio. The first image that came to my mind was seeing Derry in his chair getting ready for his talk show. He would start snapping his fingers and bounce around in his chair saying, “Let’s get whomped up!” Yeah man. He used to whomp up a lot of people! Thank you Clyde Lear and company for doing this. Here’s Clyde pictured with Derry’s wife Verni at the naming ceremony. Thanks to Tom Steever for the photo. Sure wish I could have been there.
When Derry Brownfield and Clyde Lear teamed up to start a farm radio network nearly forty years ago, neither of them could have dreamed their brand new company would become what it is today: America’s largest agricultural radio network service and one of the country’s leading sports marketing firms. Brownfield died on March 12, 2011 and his contribution as a company founder is being commemorated by the naming of the Derry Brownfield Studio at Learfield Communications.
The company Lear and Brownfield started was called Missouri Network, Inc., which changed its name to Learfield Communications, Inc. in 1982. “Learfield” was a combination of the names of the two founders. Today, the Brownfield Ag News radio network is heard throughout the heartland on more than 320 radio stations and Learfield Sports owns the collegiate multi-media rights to over 50 major universities, including the University of Missouri.
The studio, where for years Brownfield hosted his daily talk show, is situated next to the newsrooms for Brownfield Ag News and the Missourinet, another Learfield-owned service. “Derry Brownfield was not only my business partner, but also my friend. It’s wonderful to be able to honor him and recognize not only his contribution to the formation of this company, but also his stature in the agriculture community as one of the country’s most-listened to farm broadcasters,” said Lear, Learfield Communications’ chairman.
The commemoration ceremony at the Learfield building was attended by members of the Brownfield family and employees of Learfield.
The ZimmPoll is one year old! And you can re-visit all of them since they are all archived right here on AgWired. Thank you Rhea + Kaiser for your sponsorship and support.
In our latest ZimmPoll we asked the question, “Will higher cost (13%) of Thanksgiving dinner affect your meal?” Apparently it won’t for most of our respondents. 64% said, No, same as usual; 22% said Yes, Fewer items on table; 9% said Yes, Planning smaller portions and 5% said No, Bigger dinner this year. A story in yesterday’s USA Today seems to reflect this response. It says that some will be cutting back.
Some are holding potluck dinners instead of springing for the entire feast. Others are staying home rather than flying. And a few are skipping the turkey altogether.
Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “Do you use Facebook or Google+?” Google+ now allows company pages but so far they don’t seem to have attracted the kind of audience found by companies using Facebook. Which “house” do you live in? Feel free to chime in. We appreciate it.
ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.
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. 
“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.” 
