Honoring Gene Hemphill at Farm Progress Show

Chuck Zimmerman

This week the Farm Progress Show held a preview day for the media. Our good friend Gene Hemphill sent along a photo.

With Gene in command again this year, New Holland is sponsoring the media tent and our coverage of the show on AgWired. Cindy and I will be arriving on Monday and we’re there for the duration. You should start seeing content from the show by Monday evening. We’re looking forward to seeing many friends and clients. In fact we’ve got a record number of sponsors for our coverage of the show this year for both AgWired and Precision Pays. More on that later.

Getting back to Gene, the FPS took him by “surprise by unveiling a poster recognizing me for my 25 years of service to the Farm Progress Publications for my work with the media. I think there were a few young journalists in the audience that might not have been born then — or a least they looked at me with questioning eyes when I mentioned the 15 typewriters we had at the first media tent. LOL.”

Thanks to Mike Wilson of Illinois Prairie Farmer, a Farm Progress publication, for taking the photo of Gene with FPS Show Manager Matt Jungmann (left) and Don Tourte, Farm Progress director of sales and national events (right).

Farm Progress Show, New Holland

BIVI’s New State of the Art Research Facility

Cindy Zimmerman

bivi sioux center iowaIt may not look like much on the outside, but the new Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica (BIVI) livestock vaccine research facility in Sioux Center, Iowa is everything a pig could want on the inside.

“It’s a state of the art facility,” said Dr. Phil Hayes, BIVI Executive Director for Biologicals Development. “To demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of new vaccines, we must start with pigs that are healthy.”

bivi sioux center iowaTo keep the research pigs healthy, Phil says there is very limited access – which is why the dedication ceremony this week was held at the Ridge Golf Clubhouse down the road. “Shower in, shower out. The researchers who enter the facility gown as if they were entering a surgical operating room,” Phil explains. “The air that enters the facility is sterile-filtered. Anything that could interfere with the health of the pigs is excluded.”

Listen to my interview with Phil Hayes here. Dr. Phil Hayes at BIVI research facility dedication

BIVI Sioux Center Facility Dedication Photos

Audio, Boehringer Ingelheim, Swine

GROWMARK Annual Meeting is Value Driven

Cindy Zimmerman

growmark annual meeting 2011The theme of the 2011 GROWMARK Annual Meeting is Value Driven and there are over 1,000 stakeholders attending the meeting in Chicago this week.

I spent a few minutes with Dan Kelley, Chairman of the Board and President of GROWMARK, prior to the opening reception Thursday night about what value-driven means to GROWMARK. “The GROWMARK system has historically been recognized for having a high standard of ethics and we carry that into customer responsiveness and being able to satisfy our customers’ needs and hopefully exceed their expectations,” he said.

growmark annual meeting 2011Dan says it has been a very good year for GROWMARK and agriculture in general. “Agriculture has been one of the stellar industries in this economic downturn over the last 2-3 years,” he said. “We have now recorded our best seven years in the history of the GROWMARK system, which is 84 years.”

Dan operates a grain farm in partnership with his two brothers and son, and he says it has been a challenging growing season for the Midwest, so every bushel counts. “I’ve heard yields from almost zero, in the low 40s, to as high as 240,” and that’s just in McLean County, where Dan farms in Normal and where GROWMARK headquarters are located in Bloomington.

Listen to my interview with Dan Kelley here. GROWMARK President Dan Kelley

2011 GROWMARK Annual Meeting Photos

Audio, Farming, GROWMARK

NCBA’s Forrest Roberts Wraps It Up

Joanna Schroeder

Within all discussions, the core question always asked is, “How do we get more people to eat more beef?” This question was the center of all the business decisions made during the 2011 Cattle Industry’s Summer Conference, explained National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) CEO Forrest Roberts.

The purpose of the conference, said Roberts, was to come together and make business decisions that drive action over the next six months when the group will reconvene in Nashville for its winter conference. “So as we wrap up our fiscal year in the next few months and head into our new fiscal year on October 1 this is the opportunity to bring all those plans together and where the final business decisions are made. So it’s a very roll-up your sleeves kind of meeting where everyone gets down to work,” said Roberts.

One area they really focused on was the relationship with both the beef industry as well as with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Board. Roberts said the industry expects that to be one of a partnership and that is exactly one that he feels has been demonstrated during the week.

I asked him what the most pressing policy discussions were and he noted that the EPA is a big area of discussion as is trade – both free trade agreements that are pending as well as how to gain access to new markets. Another big issue is GIPSA. The last two months certified Angus beef had the highest volume month on record in history, and that particular proposed rule, said Roberts, would have a detrimental impact on what the beef industry has done in adding value back into the beef industry.

You can learn much more about how the Cattle Summer Industry Conference went by listening to my interview with Forrest Roberts here: NCBA's Forrest Roberts Wraps It Up

Photos from the conference are posted to this photo album: 2011 Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album.

Ag Groups, Audio, Beef, Cattle Industry Conference, NCBA

John Deere Introduces Machine Sync

Chuck Zimmerman

John Deere unveiled a product that you couldn’t see on the show floor at this week’s product launch. It’s called Machine Sync. This new technology provides “timely, critical information on equipment location, operational status and automates equipment during harvest.”

“Having real-time data is critical for equipment operators during harvest,” says Holli Brokaw, AMS product manager for John Deere. “Our new Machine Sync and Machine Communication Radio provide the accurate, in-field information producers need to maximize efficiencies during the hectic harvest season.”
The Machine Communication Radio is the first radio on the market that can create an in-field, high-speed wireless network to facilitate machine-to-machine communication. The radio is designed to enable up to 10 vehicles in a single network to distribute data between one another when operating within a three-mile radius.

The radio, which is easy to set up and use, teams up with the Machine Sync activation and GreenStar™ 3 2630 Display and StarFire Receiver to create the in-field network to share logistics information.
Machine Sync is a John Deere exclusive system that takes harvest automation to the next level and the first application that uses the Machine Communication Radio hardware.

We got a field demonstration of how Machine Sync work from John Deere’s Bob Dyer. This was a simulated corn harvest demonstration where the combine and tractor/grain cart were “in sync.” I asked Bob to describe how the system works and you can also see the demonstration in the video.

You can listen to my interview with Bob here: Interview with Bob Dyer

2011 John Deere Product Launch Photo Album

Audio, Equipment, John Deere, Video

BIVI Research Facility Meets VTI Vision

Cindy Zimmerman

bivi sioux center iowaBoehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica’s (BIVI) new livestock vaccine research facility in Sioux Center, Iowa meets the company’s vision of Value Through Innovation, or VTI, according to Dr. Edward Robb, vice president of research and development for BIVI.

“The facility really allows us to test novel vaccine concepts to really see if these ideas can have an impact on the welfare of pigs and cattle,” he said. “To do and fund innovative research you have to work on ideas that will really change the way we do things.”

Robb says the new facility is also a good fit with their other locations in Iowa and St. Joseph, Missouri.

Listen to my interview with Dr. Robb here. Dr. Edward Robb at BIVI research facility dedication

BIVI Sioux Center Facility Dedication Photos

Audio, Boehringer Ingelheim

John Deere Product Launch Overview

Chuck Zimmerman

The S Series Combines introduced this week by John Deere got a lot of attention during the floor show last night.

I spoke with Barry Nelson, John Deere Manager, Media Relations, to get an overview of all the products being launched. He says it is the largest product launch in the company’s history. John Deere will be 175 years old next year! The equipment unveiled here will be on display at next week’s Farm Progress Show. Get a “picture” of the whole lineup in our interview.

You can listen to my interview with Barry here: Interview with Barry Nelson

2011 John Deere Product Launch Photo Album

Audio, John Deere

Riding in a New John Deere 7R Series Tractor

Chuck Zimmerman

The most fun part of the John Deere product launch is getting in the cab out in the field. I rode along with Jessica Kroug, Program Development Program, 7R Series Tractors. We were in a 7215 R model. See what it’s like in the video below.

Our ride and drive track provided multiple real field conditions and situations. The tractor is unbelievably comfortable and with the heat we had the air conditioning was a welcome relief. Here’s some information on the new model line.

With a focus on increased power, versatility, capacity and improved operator comfort, John Deere introduces the 7R Series Tractors for the 2011-2012 season. These completely new row-crop tractor models have many of the performance features found in the larger 8R Series, making them even more productive in the field.

The five new 7R models available this fall include:
7200R – 200 engine horsepower; PowerTechTM PSX 6.8L Engine
7215R – 215 engine horsepower; PowerTech PSX 6.8L Engine
7230R – 230 engine horsepower; PowerTech PVX 9.0L Engine
7260R – 260 engine horsepower; PowerTech PVX 9.0L Engine
7280R – 280 engine horsepower; PowerTech PVX 9.0L Engine

The 7R Series Tractors come with a wide array of new customer-driven features including the new IVT and Command QuadTM transmissions, options for larger tires, compact chassis, and greater engine horsepower ratings. These features give the 7R Tractors the versatility to handle the tillage, planting, haying, loader work and many other tough chores on the farm.

2011 John Deere Product Launch Photo Album

Audio, John Deere, Tractor

It’s Electric

Melissa Sandfort

I’ve heard so many stories from my husband about things he did when he was a little boy and I carefully remind him not to talk about them in my son’s presence for fear he’ll think it sounds like fun!

One such story involves an electric fence and a little boy’s small bladder. You can fill in the rest. However, my story doesn’t start out quite that way.

Last week, they trenched a water line from the well house to the horse fence so we didn’t have to drag three hoses out to give them water. The hydrant was leaning up against the electric fence, causing it to spark. So my husband pulled out his guns (a.k.a. muscles) and pulled the hydrant back far enough away from the fence to fix the problem.

With his solution came another problem for me – the faucet was too far away from the water trough so the water was spilling out over the edge. I gracefully pushed it forward just ¼ of an inch and then not-so-gracefully felt the electric shock on my hand. Needless to say, the fence is working! Boy did my fingernail on my right ring finger hurt for some time. I’m just glad it was me and not the hands of a 2-year-old.

I think I got two new gray hairs from the experience.

Until we walk again …

Uncategorized

A Farm Bill for the Cattle Industry

Joanna Schroeder

Kristina Harris Butts is the Executive Director of Legislative Affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA). She sat down with me during the Cattle Industry Summer Conference to give me an update on a policy that hasn’t been so top of mind for policymakers these past few months due to their work on the budget. And that’s the 2012 Farm Bill. I asked her what some of the key points were for the cattle industry that need to be included in this bill.

During the meeting, NCBA put forth a Guidance Document that is the foundation of what the members would like NCBA to pursue in the Farm Bill. The Guidance Document doesn’t replace current policy but rather illustrates those priorities, explained Butts.

One key issue is maintaining the conservation programs that NCBA producers take part in. Like so many other programs, it has been cut. “We’re trying to figure out how we can maximize all these cost share programs where producers put in money and the government matches the dollars,” said Butts.

Another area that has been heavily debated is research. The research, says Butts, includes production research on animal diseases, production measures, genetics, and how we the producers can continue to use natural resources to produce the most amount of meat possible to not only feed our country but a growing world population.

Butts said there is a running joke that the Farm Bill is the nutrition bill since so much focus of the bill is on nutrition. But she says NCBA members support nutrition efforts and understand that beef is a healthy part of a diet and also believe that the USDA is the right agency for the programs being administered.

You can learn much more about the 2012 Farm Bill by listening to my interview with Kristina Harris Butts here: A Farm Bill for the Cattle Industry

Photos from the conference are posted to this photo album: 2011 Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album.

Ag Groups, Audio, Beef, Cattle Industry Conference, NCBA