Peanut Policy Remarks from Congressman Michael Cloud, R-TX

Chuck Zimmerman

Congressman Michael CloudCongressman Michael Cloud (R-Texas), shared thoughts on the state of U.S. peanut policy during the 2022 Southern Peanuts Growers Conference. He said the American agriculture industry continues to do a great job even amid policies that are sometimes restrictive.

“What we’ve seen over the last year is the American ag industry continues to have higher yields with less inputs. That’s an amazing story that needs to continue to be told,” Cloud said.

In the meantime, he recognized that farmers need solutions for supply chain breakdowns and high input costs rather than electric tractors.

Interview with Congressman Michael Cloud, R-TX: Interview with Congressman Cloud (3:12)

Full remarks from Congressman Michael Cloud, R-TX: Remarks from Congressman Cloud (22:17)

2022 Southern Peanut Growers Conference Photo Album

Ag Groups, Audio, Farm Policy, Peanuts, SPGC

Industry Ag News 7/29

Carrie Muehling

  • The American Farm Bureau Federation and Arkansas Farm Bureau presented Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) with AFBF’s Golden Plow award. The Golden Plow is the highest honor the organization gives to sitting members of Congress.
  • During the 2022 Ag Media Summit (AMS), held in Raleigh, North Carolina, on July 16–20, agricultural communications students were honored for their excellence, professionalism and leadership. The Livestock Publications Council (LPC) Student Award Program, sponsored by Alltech, provides travel scholarships for four students to attend AMS. This year’s finalists were Lydia Johnson, Iowa State University; Faye Smith, Kansas State University; Lindsey Okuley, The Ohio State University; and Sydney Garrett, Kansas State University. Following a competitive application and interview process, Lydia Johnson from Iowa State University was awarded the LPC Forrest Bassford Student Award.
  • Nurturing and investing in our youth is the goal of The Agricultural Communicators Network (ACN) scholarships. Rachel McGreal, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has been selected to receive the Dr. James Evans Scholarship. This $3,000 scholarship is in honor of Dr. James Evans who has had a tremendous impact on the establishment and growth of agricultural communications programs. Sydney Garrett, Kansas State University, is being awarded the Past Presidents’ Scholarship in the amount of $1,500. This award recognizes her leadership, dedication, and hard work in the agriculture community.
  • U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced the Farmland Security Act to increase scrutiny over foreign investments in American agricultural land. The legislation ensures that the American people and Congress can address the impacts foreign investments have on family farms, rural communities, and the domestic food supply.
  • The Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City invites you to join Wednesday, August 17 a luncheon meeting at the Grand Street Cafe featuring Steve Censky, CEO, American Soybean Association.
  • The National Agri-Marketing Association will hold a webinar on August 4 at 11 a.m. Central titled “Why Influencer Marketing Should be Part of Your Strategy–How to Execute a Functional Approach.” Click here to register.
Zimfo Bytes

Performance Nutrition Launches NutriWise Biofertilizers

Cindy Zimmerman

Performance Nutrition is announcing its new NutriWiseTM brand, a granular fertilizer and water-soluble powder (WSP) that replaces the previous NutriSmart® product line.

NutriWise will be manufactured in the United States from components produced here. “This allows us to provide our customers with a practical alternative for agricultural applications,” said Wendy Kemmerer, Vice President of Performance Nutrition. “We felt that the time was right for us to offer a U.S.-made biofertilizer.”

The new core product features an analysis of 5-3-0 with 3% humic acids, 1.5% Fe and 0.5% Zn. It also contains three species of Bacillus, Trichoderma plus the Saccharomyces that was the core component of the NutriSmart line. “Adding additional microbial horsepower to NutriWise makes perfect sense as more customers are looking to improve their soils instead of just providing the same old NPK,” said Kemmerer.

NutriWise is available exclusively through Performance Nutrition and NovusAg distribution networks.

AgWired Precision, Fertilizer, Nutrient Management, Precision Agriculture

másLabor Announces Merger with AgWorks H2

Cindy Zimmerman

másLabor, the nation’s leading provider of comprehensive services for employers participating in the H-2A and H-2B nonimmigrant visa programs, has announced a merger with AgWorks H2, LLC (“AgWorks”) a Georgia-based H-2A and H-2B consulting firm that ranks among the nation’s top providers.

Together, the two companies obtain approvals for their clients to employ over 60,000 foreign workers per year – more than the next three largest service providers combined. This gives the companies unique insight into issues faced by clients in every geography and industry.

Under the new structure, AgWorks will expand its service offerings to align with those offered by másLabor, including assistance with domestic job applicants, comprehensive audit services, and other visa categories. The companies will also consolidate their compliance teams to provide clients with expertise and best practices unrivaled in the industry. Finally, integration also comes with a significant investment in technology to provide clients with a more efficient and effective process throughout.

labor

Precision Ag News 7/27

Carrie Muehling

  • Conference registration is now open for ASTA’s CSS & Seed Expo 2022, December 5-8 in Chicago. A time-honored tradition each December, this year’s event will be the last year in Chicago, where it has been held since 1946. Visit the conference webpage for the latest agenda details and to register.
  • BIO is hosting the Impact Ag & Environment Conference, in-person for the first time in two years, in Omaha, Neb., Sept. 19-21, 2022. Headlined by Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, the event will convene leaders across the bioeconomy whose cutting-edge companies are using science to tackle some of our world’s most pressing challenges—from food security to climate, supply chains to energy security, and more.
  • Leading industry associations have launched the Ag Bioeconomy Coalition to advance federal policy initiatives that foster growth toward a circular economy based on innovative products derived from agricultural commodities. Founding Coalition members include: American Farm Bureau Federation; American Soybean Association; Corn Refiners Association; Growth Energy; National Association of State Departments of Agriculture; National Corn Growers Association; National Hemp Association; and Plant Based Products Council.
  • The National Corn Growers Association has launched a call-to-action asking advocates to submit comments to EPA in response to the recent announcement that they are revising the registration for atrazine. On June 30, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that they are amending the registration of this well-studied herbicide that allows farmers to do more with less. The new level of concern for atrazine will vastly reduce the herbicide’s effectiveness, hindering farmers’ ability to utilize this critical tool.
  • As news broke that Florida’s citrus industry ended this year’s growing season with its lowest production in eight decades, an unlikely union has formed between two University of Florida startup companies to help reverse the trend. By combining expertise in precision agriculture with leading-edge aerospace technology, the two companies housed in one of UF’s business incubators, Agriculture Intelligence and Satlantis, believe they can offer a powerful tool to help the state’s growers more closely monitor their trees and manage problems faster.
  • Aerobotics has launched a new yield management platform for growers to help them with measuring, managing and protecting their yields every season. Growers will now be able to gain an accurate view of their yields and take action – a state-of-the-art technology that no one offers in terms of accuracy of the information on irrigation management, fertilizer spreading, and yield sizing, and counting.
AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes, Precision Agriculture

Cattle Industry Summer Meeting Underway in Reno

Cindy Zimmerman

More than 600 cattle industry leaders are attending the Summer Business Meeting in Reno this week to provide direction for important industry programs. The event includes meetings of cattlemen and women representing the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board (CBB), American National CattleWomen and National Cattlemen’s Foundation.

NCBA Vice President of Government Affairs Ethan Lane provides an overview of some issues on the plate for their business meeting this week.
NCBA Summer Meeting interview with Ethan Lane (5:50)

Audio, Beef, Livestock, NCBA

2022 Peanut Efficiency Award Winners

Chuck Zimmerman

2022 FarmPress PEA Award WinnersDuring the Southern Peanut Growers Conference four peanut producers received the annual FarmPress Peanut Efficiency Awards presented at the Friday Saturday breakfast. Producers were praised and recognized for efficiently growing high-yielding peanuts.

The 2022 winners are:
Upper Southeast: Ben Cowin, Williamston, N.C.
Lower Southeast: Wayne Hobbs, Irwin County, Ga.
Delta: Mitchell Rogers, Covington County, Miss.
Southwest: Karl Stutzman, Weatherford, Okla.

Pictured are the three winners in attendance (l-r) Karl Stutzman, Wayne Hobbs and Ben Cowin. Mitchell Rogers, was not able to be there.

I asked each winner a couple questions about receiving the award and you can listen below. Key elements of their answers were to pay attention to detail and trust in God. All these winners made remarks about how important their faith is to them and their families.

Peanut Efficiency Award Winner, Upper Southeast States, Ben Cowin, North Carolina: Interview with Ben Cowin (1:27)

Peanut Efficiency Award Winner, Southwest States, Karl Stutzman, Oklahoma: Interview with Karl Stutzman (1:20)

Peanut Efficiency Award Winner, Lower Southeast States, Wayne Hobbs, Georgia: Interview with Wayne Hobbs (1:44)

2022 Southern Peanut Growers Conference Photo Album

Ag Groups, Audio, Peanuts, SPGC

ZimmCast 696 – Yield10 Bioscience

Cindy Zimmerman

ZimmCastHello and welcome to the ZimmCast.

Yield10 Bioscience is an agricultural bioscience company that is developing improved Camelina varieties for the production of proprietary seed products, and to discover highly valuable genetic traits for the agriculture and food industries. The company is working to establish a high-value seed products business based on developing superior varieties of Camelina for the production of feedstock oils, nutritional oils, and PHA bioplastics, and to license yield traits for commercialization in row crops, including corn, soybean, and canola.

Yield10 recently announced an open enrollment program for contract production of winter Camelina in Montana and Idaho, as well as southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada.

We talked with Yield10 President and CEO Oliver Peoples about the company’s goals and the opportunities for camelina production. Listen to the ZimmCast here:
ZimmCast 696 - Yield10 Bioscience and Camelina (21:01)

Want to sponsor the ZimmCast? Just let me know and we can talk through ideas for your company. I’m AgriBlogger on Twitter or just email me at chuck@zimmcomm.biz.

Subscribe to the ZimmCast in:

Audio, Biofuels, Seed, ZimmCast

Animal Ag News 7/25

Carrie Muehling

  • There were 98.8 million head of cattle and calves on U.S. farms as of July 1, 2022, according to the Cattle report published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).
  • The U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) recently updated its export numbers and the value to corn and soybean farmers. The study shows in 2021, beef and pork exports accounted for 537 million bushels of corn usage, which equals $2.94 billion (estimated using an average corn price of $5.48 bushel).
  • The Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin (DFW) board of directors unanimously elects Janet Clark as Board Chair at its annual reorganization meeting. Clark is a second-generation dairy farmer from Rosendale representing District 16 (Fond du Lac, Green Lake and Marquette counties). She, along with the newly elected Executive Committee, will lead the organization through the next fiscal year, which began July 1 and will conclude June 30, 2023.
  • Cargill and Continental Grain Company announced the completion of the previously announced acquisition of Sanderson Farms, Inc. by a joint venture between Cargill and Continental Grain. The acquisition was announced on August 9, 2021. As a part of the closing of the transaction, Cargill and Continental Grain have combined Sanderson Farms with Wayne Farms, a subsidiary of Continental Grain, forming a new privately held poultry business. The new business, named Wayne-Sanderson Farms, will be headquartered in Oakwood, GA.
  • The Missouri Beef Industry Council announced the addition of Sydney Thummel as Executive Director. Thummel will work directly with the MBIC Board of Directors and will be responsible for all operational and budgetary functions of the organization. As the Executive Director she will also serve as a representative at all state and national functions.
  • Dairy Management Inc. (DMI) has hired Lori Captain as executive vice president of global sustainability strategy, science and industry affairs, effective July 25. Captain comes to DMI after serving more than 20 years working at Corteva Agriscience and its predecessor DuPont, most recently as chief of staff, external affairs and counsel to the CEO. She also has worked at Syngenta and has significant experience in sustainability, corporate communications, media relations, policy, and executive and stakeholder engagement.
AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Animal Bites

Southern Peanut Growers Update

Cindy Zimmerman

From left: Jacob Davis, Alabama; Ken Barton, Florida; Don Koehler, Georgia; Malcolm Broome, Mississippi

The 2022 Southern Peanut Growers Conference was held once again in Panama City Beach, Florida last week, and once again we got an update from the executive directors of the Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi peanut grower associations about their state situations.

Questions include what the crop looks like and how many acres were planted, effects of the pandemic and supply chain issues, crop inputs and early discussions on the farm bill that will be more formally worked on in 2023. In general most areas of these states had good early rain followed by a dry spell and then more moisture so that the crop is in pretty good shape. Input costs have basically doubled for producers since last year and even parts to fix equipment has been more expensive and difficult to get in a timely manner. One of the big issue looking ahead to legislation include an adjustment in the peanut reference price due to the high cost of production.

Listen to the interviews here.
Jacob Davis, Alabama Peanut Growers Association (5:30)

Ken Barton, Florida Peanut Producers Association (3:51)

Don Koehler, Georgia Peanut Commission (4:54)

Malcolm Broome, Mississippi Peanut Growers Association (4:30)

Southern Peanut Growers Conference Blog

Photos

2022 Southern Peanut Growers Conference Photo Album

Audio, Peanuts, SPGC