Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Pioneer Hi-Bred International is suing Monsanto, accusing the seed giant of illegally using seed production methods developed by Dupont.
  • Japan is preparing to ease restrictions on U.S. beef imports: Japan may raise the age limit of cattle from which U.S. beef can be imported from 20 months of age or younger to 30 months and younger.
  • The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is offering financial assistance to young producers who wish to attend the 2012 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show: ten $250 travel fellowships to Young Producer’s Council members.
  • Agricultural Future of America is pleased to announce Paul F. Engler and Sara R. Wyant have been selected as 2011 Leader in Agriculture Award winners.
Zimfo Bytes

GROWMARK Offers Grain Bin Safety Tips

Cindy Zimmerman

Every year there are dozens of grain bin accidents reported across the Corn Belt, with far too many ending in fatalities.

GROWMARK grain systems operations manager Randy Holthaus says the harvest season is an especially dangerous time on the farm around grain bins. “During the harvest, with the need to get it in and get it done, people get in a hurry and work long hours,” he said. “They’re running non-stop to get the crop out so fatigue plays in as well.”

Randy says they recommend that growers never enter a grain bin if at all possible, but realistically he knows there are times when it might be necessary. “Don’t get into the bin unless you lock out the power and make sure someone knows you are getting in to the bin,” he says, adding that the person on the outside should ideally be able to observe you getting in and out and have a rescue line tied to you.

The biggest hazards often occur when someone gets trapped in a bin and another person automatically tries to help. “The first reaction of family members or co-workers is to get in the bin to help,” which Randy says often results in making a bad situation worse by sending grain cascading on the victim and totally engulfing them. “Getting into the bin with a victim is twice as bad because you are not only endangering yourself but you may be creating a bigger problem for the person in the bin.”

The buddy on the outside should instead make sure the power is shut off, call 911 and possibly try to get a line thrown to the victim if that can be done safely. “The main thing is, you need professional help,” he stresses.

Bottom line – be alert, be aware and just be careful out there!

Listen to or download my interview with Randy here: Randy Holthaus Interview

Audio, Grains, GROWMARK

New Officers for National FFA

Chuck Zimmerman

Congratulations to the newly elected National FFA officers for 2011-2012. Here they are closing out the 84th National FFA Convention.

Ryan W. Best of New Mexico, Jason Troendle of Minnesota, Kenneth D. Quick Jr. of New York, Alicia Hodnik of Wisconsin, Cain Thurmond of Georgia and Seth Pratt of Idaho have been elected National FFA officers for 2011-12.
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FFA

AgWeb Launches Mobile App

Chuck Zimmerman

Now there’s an app for AgWeb. Farm Journal Media just announced the launch of their mobile app.

“Our online user base—the largest web audience in agriculture—repeatedly turns to AgWeb for current market information, agriculture news and online tools and databases. The new mobile app will help keep growers connected to AgWeb from their mobile phones or tablets, even when they are in the field or on the road,” said Greg Vincent, AgWeb Editor.

Vincent anticipates that two of the most popular features of the new app will be its weather and markets sections. Users can get current local weather conditions, 12-hour weather history and forecasts, precipitation, wind forecasts and a seven-day forecast. The weather radar can also be expanded to show weather activity down to the road level, allowing farmers to see if they are getting rain on a particular field.

The new app is free to download, and available through iTunes and Android app stores for use on iPhones and Android mobile devices.

Don’t forget to include the AgWired app on your smartphone too. 🙂

Apps, Media

Farmers Want To Share CommonGround About Food

Chuck Zimmerman

With all the World Food Day and Food Day talk does it seem like the farmer kind of gets left out of the conversation? CommonGround thinks so. By the way, what’s with having multiple food day deals held very close together? I’m sure it makes sense to someone. As far as I’m concerned, every day is a food day. I’m sure the hungry people in the world without enough to eat think so too.

In the past, if someone wanted to talk about how our food is grown and raised, they would talk to a farmer. Today, the way we receive information about food seems to have changed. Conversations about food flow through many channels, and often the farmers who produce most food are not involved. Food Day is an example of a public conversation that could be enhanced by including the voice of the farmer.

Fourteen states now participate in the CommonGround movement, which continues to gain momentum across the nation. Farmers behind the program want to reach consumers in urban areas to dispel misconceptions and share facts about farming and food.

Ways to join in with CommonGround:

Website: www.FindOurCommonGround.com
YouTube: www.youtube.com/findourcommonground
Twitter: @CommonGroundNow
Twitter Hashtag: #CGConvo
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CommonGroundNow

Ag Groups, Food

FFA Becomes Farm American Communications Partner

Chuck Zimmerman

I Believe the National FFA Convention is in full swing. Watch it live via the Alltech Ag Network.

Yesterday Farm American and Furniture Row Racing made a big announcement about a new relationship with FFA. Pictured are Farm American’s Pat Driscoll (left) and National FFA Organization COO Bill Fleet (right) along with FFA members. (Photo by DeLoss Jahnke/National FFA Organization).

Together, FFA and Farm American announced today that the National FFA Organization will become a communications partner with Farm American for the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Season. FFA and Farm American will work hand in hand in furthering American agriculture by telling the story of agriculture’s important role both today and tomorrow.

The National FFA Organization, on the heels of announcing major increases in nationwide membership in the past year, will support Farm American’s effort to grow the role the of American agriculture because of the basic connection it has with the goals of FFA and agriculture education.

“FFA is all about making a positive difference in the lives of our members by expanding their leadership and career horizons,” said National FFA Organization COO Bill Fleet. “By working with Farm American to increase the stature of American agriculture, we’re hoping to increase their future career possibilities while also assisting American agriculture as a whole.”

The Farm American program promotes the importance of U.S. agriculture, which employs directly and indirectly more than 22 million people in the American workforce. The details and schedule of the 2012 Farm-American program are still being worked out and will be announced at a later date.

So what’s your take on a member organization becoming a “communications” partner. The media world is very different than it used to be!

Ag Groups, FFA

Farming First For A Sustainable World

Chuck Zimmerman

Putting Farming First is the theme of a “coalition of organisations that articulates, endorses and promotes practical and actionable programmes and activities to further sustainable agricultural development worldwide.” This effort has produced a video to promote this concept called ‘The Story of Agriculture and the Green Economy.” It “highlights the importance of sustainable agriculture in creating sustainable livelihoods, feeding a growing population and safeguarding the environment. It illustrates the many links between agriculture and the green economy, including increased food production, more efficient water use, further access to women farmers and improved livelihoods.”

You can learn more about Farming First on their website. What do you think about efforts like this?

Farming First is a coalition of multi-stakeholder organisations, not an organisation. The coalition exists to articulate, endorse and promote practical, actionable programmes and activities to further sustainable agricultural development worldwide. There is no secretariat and it is not intended that one will be created.

Ag Groups, International, Video

Mobile Technology In Dairy Industry

Chuck Zimmerman

Mobile app technology is growing fast in the ag industry. Even the dairy sector is seeing more and more of it. Take Select Sires which took their Select Detect activity monitoring system to a new level this year when they introduced the mobile optimized version at World Dairy Expo. I spoke with King Smith to learn more about it. In the photo he’s showing the new mobile app on an iPad.

This new mobile application allows dairy producers to access cow records from the barn, from the field or when they are on the go.

The mobile Select Detect application is optimized for iPhone®, iPod touch®, iPad® and Android™-based phones. It allows for a quick remote review of cows on the high activity list, low activity list and heat expectancy list. Both daily and hourly activity charts can be viewed to determine if and when A.I. should be performed. This removes the need for dairy producers to be in the office to review the software and allows for a quick snapshot of activity that is updated every hour.

You can listen to my interview with King here: King Smith Interview

2011 World Dairy Expo Photo Album

Agribusiness, Apps, Audio, Dairy, World Dairy Expo

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the Public Lands Council welcomed news from EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson that the decision has been made to retain the current coarse particulate matter (dust) standard.
  • Brownfield Ag News reports that the U.S. corn and soybean harvests have progressed steadily over the past week and that the harvest is running ahead of the past five years averages.
  • Farm Credit System and Agrium Inc. join the Progressive Agriculture Foundation to educate children about healthy eating habits in an effort to help curb the growing obesity epidemic among children and adolescents.
  • Syngenta has introduced 105 new corn hybrids for the 2012 planting season.
Zimfo Bytes

Novus Launches New Sustainability Website

Cindy Zimmerman

Novus International has launched a new interactive sustainability website to promote the company’s global sustainability initiatives.

The website includes the 2010 Novus Sustainability Report which documents and measures the company’s comprehensive social, environmental and economic sustainability program at a global level following the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework, the most widely used guidelines for sustainability reporting standards.

“This website outlines the goals and progress of our integrated sustainability initiatives worldwide,” said Joyce Cacho, Ph.D., Chief Sustainability Officer at Novus. “This allows us to engage with a diverse group of stakeholders: our customer base, the agricultural industry and the public.”

Novus’s sustainability program forges strong links between performance, food safety, the environment and animal well-being – market drivers shared by urban and rural communities worldwide. In achieving GRI Level B-Check, Novus reports sustainability performance in the areas of economic, environmental, human rights, labor, society and product responsibility.

The website can be found at sustainability.novusint.com.

Novus International, Sustainability