Big Turnout For International Poultry/Feed Expo

Chuck Zimmerman

IPE/IFEThis year’s International Poultry Expo/International Feed Expo has done very well on attendance as was expected. Here are some summary statistics just released by the organizers:

The 2011 International Poultry Expo and International Feed Expo drew over 20,000 poultry and feed industry leaders from all over the world. In addition, the show had over 900 exhibitors, almost a 12% increase from last year. Sponsored by U.S. Poultry & Egg Association and the American Feed Industry Association, the annual Expo is the world’s largest poultry and feed industry event of its kind.

“We were excited about the number of exhibitors and attendees on the exhibit floor,” said 2011 USPOULTRY chairman Gary Cooper, Cooper Farms, Oakwood, OH. “We were up in numbers in both areas from last year. We are very pleased with the great turn-out for this year, and the excitement on the floor has been tangible.”

This morning I met the Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture, Gary Black, and sat down with him to discuss the impact of the show on the state and hear his outlook for Georgia agriculture. He says that one of his key goals is to help the general public better understand how important agriculture is to the state. One example he points to is making a number of changes in his department’s offices which will provide more in-office educational opportunities working with various farm groups. He also says that they are working on a plan to utilize social media in their efforts to reach out to the non-farm sector. Other subjects we talk about include alternative energy production and challenges to farming.

You can listen to my interview with Gary here: Interview With Gary Black

2011 International Poultry Expo/International Feed Expo Photo Album

AgWired IPE/IFE coverage sponsored by: Novus

Audio, Poultry Expo

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Thanks to the work of researchers at Dow AgroSciences, LLC, who have been collaborating with a University of Missouri researcher, a new weapon may be on the horizon to eliminate superweeds.
  • Rhino is proud to introduce the new AGM disc mower series.
  • Balchem Corporation announced expansion at two of its Animal Nutrition and Health production plants in St. Gabriel, La., and Verona, Mo.
  • Effective Jan. 1, 2011, CGS Tires US, Inc., has changed its corporation name to Mitas Tires North America, Inc.
    Zimfo Bytes

    Novus Supports AWARD

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Salome MutayobaAs a truly global company Novus International supports outreach and education programs in many countries. One of those is African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD). As a part of this fellowship program Novus hosts a researcher at their headquarters. Currently that is Salome Mutayoba, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania.

    Established in 2008, African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) is a project of the Gender & Diversity Program of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). It was launched following a successful three-year pilot program in East Africa with support from the Rockefeller Foundation from 2005-2008.

    AWARD is a professional development program that strengthens the research and leadership skills of African women in agricultural science, empowering them to contribute more effectively to poverty alleviation and food security in sub-Saharan Africa.

    Our goal is to help them increase their contributions in the fight against hunger and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa.

    Salome teaches poultry nutrition and management and conducts poultry research. She says she is using her time at Novus to analyze feed stocks since in her country poultry farmers have problems obtaining good feed. They also don’t have resources to do good analysis of potential feed options.

    You can listen to my interview with Salome here: Interview With Salome Mutayoba

    2011 International Poultry Expo/International Feed Expo Photo Album

    AgWired IPE/IFE coverage sponsored by: Novus

    Audio, Education, International, Novus International, Poultry, Poultry Expo

    Novus Celebrating With Focus On Innovation Through Integrity

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Thad SimonsWhile speaking with Thad Simons, Novus International President/CEO, I got to congratulate him on his 2010 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year in Distribution and Manufacturing Award and on the 20th anniversary of the company.

    “Innovation with Integrity” is going to be the company theme for the 20th anniversary. They will be celebrating all year long beginning this month, with events and customer appreciation dinners at Asian-Pacific Aquaculture in Kochi, India and here at the International Poultry Expo in Atlanta, Georgia.

    “ ‘Innovation with Integrity’ has been a central attribute of Novus’ culture from the beginning. Our heritage has been built on developing innovative, science-based health through nutrition products for livestock, pets and people,” explained Thad Simons, President and Chief Executive Officer of Novus. “We are very proud of our global network of employees, customers and partnerships and excited to embark on a year of celebration with the many people who support our continued growth and success.”

    The company was founded in 1991, and today, has employees working in over 90 countries, serving more than 3,000 customers worldwide. Novus has facilities including corporate offices, research and development laboratories, and manufacturing operations in more than 35 countries, as well as offices with field staff in an additional 60 countries.

    In my interview with Thad I asked him about the unique design of their exhibit which includes “living walls.” It is a visual testament to the importance of sustainability to Novus. In the photo Thad is standing in front of one of the living panels.

    You can listen to my interview with Thad here: Interview With Thad Simons

    2011 International Poultry Expo/International Feed Expo Photo Album

    AgWired IPE/IFE coverage sponsored by: Novus

    Audio, Novus International, Poultry Expo

    Biotech Alfalfa Deregulated

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Farmers can prepare to “grow the feed, not the weeds” once again, anywhere they want, with the complete deregulation of alfalfa that has been genetically engineered to be resistant to Roundup.

    USDA made the announcement today. “After conducting a thorough and transparent examination of alfalfa through a multi-alternative environmental impact statement (EIS) and several public comment opportunities, APHIS has determined that Roundup Ready alfalfa is as safe as traditionally bred alfalfa,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said.

    This means that, for the first time since 2007, U.S. farmers will have the choice to plant Genuity® Roundup Ready® alfalfa, which makes Monsanto very happy.

    “This is great news for farmers who have been waiting for the green light to plant Roundup Ready alfalfa,” said Steve Welker, alfalfa commercial lead at Monsanto. “USDA’s action gives farmers the choice to enjoy the benefits of this product, including superior crop safety and high-quality yield opportunity.”

    The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) is also pleased by the USDA decision. “This is the right decision,” said Wisconsin farmer Jim Zimmerman, vice chairman of NCGA’s Trade Policy and Biotechnology Action Team. “A clean, full deregulation is the best decision for producers and lets farmers plant the kind of alfalfa they choose this spring.”

    The USDA announcement comes just one week after the U.S. House Agriculture Committee held a hearing to review the biotechnology product regulatory approval process where biotech alfalfa was in the spotlight and Secretary Vilsack testified.

    Let the complaining by those opposed to genetically modified crops begin!

    Corn, Dairy, Feed, NCGA, USDA

    Dick Butkus Meets Novus International

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Chuck and Dick ButkusThe biggest crowd in the trade show at the International Poultry Expo/International Feed Expo today was at the Novus International booth. Having a former NFL player/coach and Hall of Fame member didn’t hurt. Dick Butkus was there signing autographs and talking with all the customers and attendees who came by. Thanks to James Hermann, E-Marketing Mgr. for Novus for taking my photo.

    I was able to talk with Dick and he told me about a program he’s very committed to called, Play Clean. He started it with his son a few years ago. Here’s what the mission of Play Clean is.

    Novus Team and Dick ButkusTo educate and encourage high school students to make the right choice of playing clean – that is, training hard, eating well and playing with attitude, instead of resorting to illegal and dangerous steroids and performance enhancing products.

    He says attending a poultry show “is kind of unusual” although his parents raised chickens and he did too once upon a time. He pointed out that he’s learned how important it is to the health of chickens to be raised in cages unlike what some animal activist organizations would have you believe. Pictured is the whole Novus team here with Dick.

    You can listen to my interview with Dick here: Interview With Dick Butkus

    The man signed a lot of autographs as seen in this little video clip:

    2011 International Poultry Expo/International Feed Expo Photo Album

    AgWired IPE/IFE coverage sponsored by: Novus

    Agribusiness, Audio, Novus International, Poultry Expo

    Novus International Started In Poultry

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Scott CarterWorking with Novus International yesterday I conducted several interviews that I’ll be featuring here on AgWired. To start out, I talked with Scott Carter (left). Scott is the global poultry market manager so he was a good one to provide an overview of how important the poultry market is for the company. He says it’s the market they started in and their largest customer segment.

    There are several key issues that Novus is addressing in the poultry sector right now that Scott says include feed efficiency, gut health and feed safety. I always like to learn what’s new and he points to their IDEA assay:

    IDEA™ assay allows users to determine the protein and amino acid digestibility of feed ingredients. IDEA assay analyzes the ingredients in a formulation in order to optimize feed balance and nutrition. IDEA is an excellent tool to help users screen different batches and sources of a given ingredient and gives them the opportunity to use alternative feed ingredients.

    You can listen to my interview with Scott here: Interview With Scott Carter

    2011 International Poultry Expo/International Feed Expo Photo Album

    AgWired IPE/IFE coverage sponsored by: Novus

    Animal Health, Audio, Novus International, Poultry Expo

    iFeeder Helping Communicate Safe Food Messages

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Joel NewmanThe American Feed Industry Association recently created iFeeder, the Institute for Feed Education and Research. To learn more about it I spoke with AFIA President/CEO, Joel Newman. He says the mission of the foundation is “To sustain the future of food and feed production through education and research.” He describes the challenge faced by the feed industry which is summed up on their website:

    Today the average U.S. farmer feeds 144 people. In 1940 that number was only 19 people. We’ve made great progress but we have a long way to go. Today 1 acre feeds 1.6 people. By 2050 1 acre must feed 4 people. To feed the world in 2050, investment in agriculture must reach $83 billion per year. This equals a 50% increase in investment from current levels. The U.S. feed industry is a critical part of this chain.

    Only through education and scientific based research done today will our future generations be able to support the increased world food demand.

    Joel says that one of the things the foundation will work on is communication to audiences outside of the industry including the consuming public to help them better understand the safety of the food they eat. Of course social communications plays a role in that!

    You can listen to my interview with Joel here: Interview With Joel Newman

    2011 International Poultry Expo/International Feed Expo Photo Album

    AgWired IPE/IFE coverage sponsored by: Novus

    Ag Groups, Audio, Education, Feed, Poultry Expo

    Potential Presidential Hopefuls at Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Potential presidential candidates for 2012 were already testing the waters in the all-important Hawkeye State this week, appearing at the 5th annual Iowa Renewable Fuels (IRFA) Summit.

    newt gingrichFormer speaker of the U.S. House Newt Gingrich spoke to a full house of more than 700 at the summit in Des Moines on Tuesday. Gingrich supports all types of energy and strongly believes in the ability of modern agricultural technology to grow enough crops for all purposes. “The people who talk about food versus fuel are just plain flat wrong,” he said. He said if anyone is to blame for any food shortages, it is the European opposition to using genetically engineered crops.

    Probably the biggest applause came when Gingrich gave his opinions on the U.S. EPA. “One of the things we are working on at (his action network) American Solutions is to develop an Environmental Solutions Agency to replace the Environmental Protection Agency,” he said.

    Listen to or download Newt’s entire speech at IRFA here: Newt Gingrich at Iowa RFA Summit

    IRFA Rick SantorumFormer Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, a conservative Republican who served two terms in the U.S. House and two terms in the Senate, closed out the summit by telling his story of being a biofuels convert.

    “I looked at this issue differently, until 9/11,” Santorum said. “Post 9/11, I went from someone who was skeptical at best of developing domestic sources of energy, to being a grand proponent of such things,” he said. “My pledge to you is to work with this industry to create a bigger and bigger place in the market for domestically produced ethanol and biodiesel.”

    Santorum served on the Senate Agriculture Committee during his time in office. “I was the first Pennsylvanian to serve on the agriculture committee in the United States Senate in over 100 years,” he said.

    Listen to or download Santorum’s address at IRFA here: Rick Santorum at Iowa RFA Summit


    More photos from the IOWA RENEWABLE FUELS SUMMIT

    Audio, Biodiesel, Biofuels, Ethanol

    State of the Union Talks Trade and Biofuels

    Cindy Zimmerman

    President Obama made some folks in the ag industry happy with his State of the Union (SOTU) address Tuesday talking about the importance of both biofuels and free trade agreements.

    Corn farmers and representatives of the renewable fuels industry were especially pleased to hear the president say that America needs to “break our dependence on oil with biofuels.”

    Obama SOTU 2011“The success of all biofuels hinges on the success of ethanol from corn – on the growth of an ethanol industry that is leading the way, sustainably increasing in economic, environmental and energy efficiency,” said National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) Chairman Darrin Ihnen of South Dakota.

    Tom Buis, CEO of the ethanol organization Growth Energy, released a video statement in reaction to the SOTU. “Mr. President, thank you again for providing leadership,” said Buis. “The idea is to move this nation forward and we stand ready to work with you and Congress to help achieve these goals because we all know it’s best for America.”

    The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) was pleased to hear the president address “the sacred cow of oil subsidies” to pay for his initiatives, saying “instead of subsidizing yesterday’s energy, let’s invest in tomorrow’s.” RFA’s Matt Hartwig noted that there’s no need to wait until tomorrow. “There are great technologies available to us today. Current ethanol and biofuel production is already contributing to our nation’s prosperity by adding jobs and reducing our reliance on foreign oil.”

    On the issue of trade, President Obama called on Congress to pass the recently finalized agreement with South Korea “as soon as possible,” something that 60 food and agricultural groups and companies encouraged lawmakers to do in a letter sent Monday. “We are hopeful President Obama truly makes the immediate implementation of this trade agreement a priority,” said National Cattlemen’s Beef Association President Steve Foglesong.

    American Farm Bureau Federation president Bob Stallman noted trade agreements pending with Korea, Colombia and Panama would add an additional $3 billion to the U.S. economy through agricultural trade. “These trade agreements are not only important to the bottom line of America’s farmers and ranchers but the economic health of our rural communities and the overall U.S. economy,” said Stallman.

    Read the full SOTU transcript here.

    Corn, Ethanol, NCBA, NCGA, RFA