Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Dow AgroSciences and Pioneer Hi-Bred have resolved a dispute regarding the marketing of certain corn seed products sold through Pioneer’s PROaccess business unit. As part of the resolution, Pioneer will continue to distribute products through its PROaccess business unit, with modified packaging.
  • The Organic Materials Review Institute has approved Alltech’s application for Sel-Plex 1000.
  • National Association of Farm Broadcasting president Lindsay Hill recently launched CowsAndCoffee.com, a place to read the latest agricultural news while you sip your morning cup of coffee.
  • The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture presented its fourth “Book of the Year” award to Cris Peterson for Seed Soil Sun: Earth’s Recipe for Food.
Zimfo Bytes

Average Cattleman Explains Farm Life To HSUS President

Chuck Zimmerman

I love Xtranormal movies. Just saw a tweet link to this one where an average cattleman tries to explain things to the president of the HSUS. It would be funny if it wasn’t so sadly true.

Animal Activists, Animal Health, Farming, Video

AgriSolutions Offers Financial Producer Education Sessions

Cindy Zimmerman

AgriSolutions® is offering “Producer Education Sessions” this month and next to help farmers achieve their 2011 financial goals.

According to Valerie Bates, AgriSolutions Training and Education Manager, AgriSolutions’ coursework is designed with the company mission in mind – to help agricultural producers become more effective business managers. Sessions are instructor-led in a classroom setting at AgriSolutions’ offices in Brighton, IL. Sessions planned for January and February will help producers learn to manage operations more efficiently and effectively, she said.

Coursework begins with a review of accounting principles, and includes financial reporting, analysis of operational and capital cash flow, and debt analysis. AgriSolutions coaches help participants understand true profit and cost, in order to enhance decision-making. Participants in some courses build business plans and strategic plans, and learn to better control their business’s finances to achieve their goals and objectives.

The courses include:

January 20-21, or February 3-4, 2011
AS 203 – Managerial Analysis
Producers attending will measure and monitor factors of managerial accounting centers, examining area performance, profitability, and assessing efficiency and cost control. Participants will leave with an understanding of true profit and costs, resulting in enhanced decision-making.

January 27-28, or February 17-18, 2011
AS 104 – Growth and Debt Funding
Participants will learn to analyze the impact of asset decisions on the operation, review key debt and equity principles, and assess the benefits of funding an operation with debt and equity. Producers evaluate their operation’s working capital requirements, conduct a complete debt analysis.

February 1-2, or February 15-16, 2011
AS 103 – Taking Action to Improve Performance
This class will explore basic accounting principles, financial reporting, analysis of operational and capital cash flow, and managing business finances to achieve goals and objectives.

For additional information, registration assistance or questions, please contact AgriSolutions Education by emailing asiEducation@agrisolutions.com, or call 800-454-4524. Online training options are available, as well, offering 24-hour access, 7 days a week.

Uncategorized

Farmers Engaging Farmers and Non-Farmers

Chuck Zimmerman

I’m glad I could get farmers in the title three times. The reason for this post is the excellent response in comments to a recent story post Cindy did about Farm Bureau members engaging in social media. I really appreciate one AgWired reader who posted a comment with her observation after looking at some of the Twitter accounts of the farmers mentioned in the story, “. . . they do a good job of having conversations, but it seems to be with just other people in the ag industry and not “non farmers” as they call them.” So I tweeted this question with a link to the post “Are farmers only talking to other farmers?” That generated a number of responses through the blog as well as Facebook and Twitter. One of the recurring themes is that you can’t judge social networking and new media with just a quick look. This is about having an ongoing conversation that ebbs and flows. Some times it may just be with a few friends. Some times it might be with a whole new group of people. Kind of like real life, eh? And as some point out, they have both a business and a personal presence although there are some like me who combine both at the same time. What are your thoughts?

Here’s a list of excerpted comments that were posted:

I have to agree with everything that has been said. Social Media use in Agriculture is in it’s infancy and is growing by leaps and bounds. If each farmer reaches out to just a few outside farming amazing things will happen. I have spent quite a bit of time thinking of more than one way to reach out and not just through social media.

I also agree that ones total social media presence cannot be judged by just a brief look at a Twitter account. There’s so much more out there (blogs, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Quora, Foursquare, etc.).

And there are a ton of people who consume information without acting on it. My guess is the amount of people who have read this conversation, but haven’t said anything is overwhelmingly higher than those who are participating. And remember, there’s nothing wrong with preaching to the choir once in a while either…especially when it gets them singing the same tune!

I do talk to other farmers a lot using social media. They are my friends and I enjoy hearing updates about their farm’s. I have learned a lot about farms across the US and have even made some improvements to my farm after hearing some creative ideas by other farmers via twitter and Facebook.

Don’t discount the fact that we talk to other farmers a lot though, we do talk to others outside of agriculture a lot. Just this morning I enjoyed a conversation with a young lady from New York City. I also get at least one email or direct message a week from somebody that found me from social media and has a specific question about agriculture that they want to learn more about.

At the same time, the analysis of SM is not easily tackled in a quick one off. First, considering a tiny point in time isn’t representative of any efforts on SM. It’s about relationships. Second, I’d also suggest that my social media connections go WAY beyond Twitter with Facebook, blogs, etc.

Indeed many of us talk to farmers, but we talk to many non farmers as well. I talk with many moms, foodies and others of interest to me. I would say more than 75% of those I follow are non-farmers. I learn a lot from farmers and nonfarmers a like.

AFBF, Social Networking

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • DuPont has entered into a definitive agreement for the acquisition of Danisco for $5.8 billion in cash and assumption of $500 million of Danisco net debt.
  • Beck’s Hybrids will be hosting 52 grower meetings in January and February to summarize key topics and findings from Beck’s 2010 Practical Farm Research, as well as discuss long-term management procedures.
  • Farm Market iD, a leading provider of farm-level U.S. agricultural data, announced the availability of state-by-state “private applicator” permits.
  • The Makhteshim Agan Group announced that on Jan. 8, 2011, the agreement was signed with a subsidiary of the China National Chemical Corporation to carry out a merger.
Uncategorized

Leica Geosystems Announces Lineup of New Precision Products

Chuck Zimmerman

AG CONNECT ExpoI found out what’s new with AgWired sponsor, Leica Geosystems, at AG CONNECT Expo from Harlan Little, North American Business Manager – Agriculture. He says they’ve just announced a full suite of new products that include expanding the line of SteerDirect steering solutions and adding a number of new features to the Leica mojo3D and Leica mojoMINI displays.

Listen to Harlan explain each of these and what they offer to farmers who want to take advantage of the efficiencies offered by the latest precision products here: Interview With Harlan Little
Leica’s SteerDirect Solutions

The new SteerDirect Hydraulic option is a compact, integrated solution designed to work with the Leica mojoRTK auto-steer console.

New Leica mojo3D

The new Leica mojo3D guidance display has been upgraded with a number of new features, including the new Ultimate Curve guidance option, Boundary Recording, and the ability to upgrade to GLONASS satellites.

New Leica mojoMINI

The Leica mojoMINI also has a number of new features, making this entry-level display a must-have for any farm operation. The Leica mojoMINI is a great solution for anyone looking for an affordable way to start saving money in the field by enhancing driver accuracy and reducing overlap. Plus, with new features like Boundary Recording, Coverage Mapping and Continue Field, the Leica mojoMINI is even more useful.

2011 AG CONNECT Expo Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, Leica Geosystems, Precision Agriculture, Video

Alltech Kicks off Lecture Series at AG CONNECT

Cindy Zimmerman

2010 was a big year for Alltech, what with hosting the FEI World Equestrian Games and all, but in 2050 the company is talking about having 9.3 billion people for dinner.

“Feeding the World – 9.3 billion people for dinner in 2050” is the theme of Alltech’s lecture tour this year that kicked off during AG CONNECT Expo on Saturday. Dr. Mark Lyons, International Project Director for Alltech, says AG CONNECT was a great place for them to start. “We have operations in 90 countries, we’re selling into almost 120 countries,” Mark said. “So for us, it’s an excellent venue. Having a stop in Georgia is one thing, having a stop here at this event is much different.”

Now the lecture tour moves on to stops along the eastern part of the U.S. and then the western part. “We’ll have 23 stops in North America and over 100 stops globally,” Mark said. “It culminates in our symposium in May in Kentucky. It’s a very important part of what we do. We estimate that we get in front of about 20,000 people a year.” There were several hundred at the event in Atlanta.

Listen to my interview with Mark here: Dr. Mark Lyons

Watch Mark’s portion of the lecture tour here:

2011 AG CONNECT Expo Photo Album

AEM, Alltech, Audio, Video

USDA Outlook Board Chair at AFBF

Cindy Zimmerman

Appearing at the American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting in Atlanta this week almost cost USDA Outlook Board Chairman Gerald Bange a 28 year perfect record.

Gerald Bange has not missed a lockup prior to the release of a crop report since 1983, but it was a close call getting out of the snow-bound south in time after his crop outlook presentation at AFBF on Monday. “It’s amazing to see what five inches of snow and some ice will do in Atlanta,” he told USDA Radio. “It shuts that city down and when they shut that airport down, things get a little bit difficult.”

In his presentation at AFBF, Bange said that high commodity prices for corn, soybeans, wheat and cotton indicate higher crop acreage in 2011, as much as 10 more million more acres. “We won’t know until we get the planting intentions report. It won’t be until June until we know for sure,” Bange said.

High prices and very low stocks for corn should mean more corn acreage in 2011, but Bange said indicators right now are actually pointing to more soybean acres. “As farmers look to the future, they may be looking to soybeans,” Bange said. “That intrigues us a little bit because I think everybody is of the opinion that corn would be the favored crop as we move into 2011.”

One factor driving greater prospects for soybeans may be high fertilizer costs associated with corn production as well as greater weather risks for corn production, according to Bange.

2011 AFBF Annual Meeting Photo Album

AFBF, USDA

UC Davis Wins $40M in Ag Grants

Joanna Schroeder

UC Davis has won $40 million in federal grants to develop climate-change-tolerant plants and plants better suited to produce fuel. UC Davis scientists, who will led the various projects, will work with researchers at more than 50 universities spanning 20 states. UC Davis wheat geneticist Jorge Dubcovsky will receive $25 million to head a team that will work to develop new varieties of wheat and barley, and UC Davis forest tree geneticist David Neale will receive $14.6 million to head a team that will work to sequence the genomes of loblolly pine and two other conifers.

“Each of these projects features transdisciplinary, regional, integrated teams, including scientists from institutions that represent underserved populations.” said Roger Beachy, director of USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture that awarded the grants.  “This approach represents a new paradigm in how USDA science can best solve critical issues facing agriculture today.”

Linda P.B. Katehi, UC Davis Chancellor, added, “We are honored and pleased that the grant awards recognize the expertise and leadership of UC Davis in the field of plant genomics. We look forward to the practical solutions for agriculture and for the environment that will arise from these collaborative projects.”

Biofuels, Research, Wheat

USFRA Update

Chuck Zimmerman

AFBF Annual MeetingAt the American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Meeting I got an update on how things are going with the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance from General Manager Hugh Whaley. He’s seen here in their booth out on the trade show floor.

Hugh says they now have 23 national and regional organizations that have joined in the alliance with an eleven member board. They just added a board member from the National Milk Producers Federation. Of course, the Chairman is Bob Stallman, President of AFBF! Now that the organizational structure is in place Hugh says the next step is to select or identify a company with a proven track record of creating opinion changes with the general public. He says they are also talking with and open to more organizations joining in and the board just approved a strategy to involve agribusinesses as well. They’ve received proposals from 4 firms to become their legal counsel and hope to have a selection made soon.

You can listen to my interview with Hugh here: Hugh Whaley Interview

2011 AFBF Annual Meeting Photo Album

AFBF, Ag Groups, USFRA