Pepper Protection for Plants

Cindy Zimmerman

If pepper spray can protect a person from an assault, maybe it can protect plants, too.

umnThat’s why researchers at the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) have licensed a unique plant protection product to keep deer and rodents from eating up the ornamentals.

UMD scientist Tom Levar (pictured) adapted a chemical used to deliver medicines through the skin to a natural hot pepper concentrate that is delivered through the roots of young plants, making them inedible. Tablets with the delivery formulation are placed near the roots of a plant and, when watered, release a natural hot pepper concentrate known as capsicum that is absorbed by the plant.

“This is a great application because capsicum is very safe and very effective,” said Levar. “There is no genetic modification. Eventually the plant will outgrow the capsicum treatment, but it lasts much longer than spray repellents.”

Repellex USA has licensed the technology from the university and company president Elizabeth Summa says it is game-changing. “We’re excited because there really is no other systemic deer repellent like this. It goes right into the plant, and doesn’t wash off like spray deterrents.”

“We did a lot of testing, mostly with tree growers in nurseries where they have a huge problem with mice eating away at their plants,” said Summa. “We think professional growers and homeowners will find value in planting two tablets with their trees and not having to worry about their investment.”

The product has been submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for registration. Once approved, it will be available to commercial growers and shipped to retailers, likely in time for the spring planting season.

Research

Greasing the Rails with Soybeans

Cindy Zimmerman

New research is investigating the use of soybean-based lubricants in the rail industry.

nablThe University of Northern Iowa’s National Ag-Based Lubricants Center (UNI-NABL) is the recipient of a $370,000 competitive grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to test biobased lubricants and greases. UNI-NABL, the country’s leading bio-lubricant research center, will perform a side-by-side study of the biobased rail curve grease and hydraulic oils with petroleum-based versions of the same products. The goal is to compare the performance as well as the environmental and economic impact of each.

According to Lou Honary, founding director of UNI-NABL and UNI professor, replacing the 10 million pounds of petroleum-based railroad grease used each year with a soybean-based product benefits U.S. farmers and the environment, while decreasing the nation’s dependence on foreign oil. “Biobased greases are available for many applications,” Honary said, “including the railroads, but they require formal proof that they perform as good as petroleum-based greases before we’ll see their use nationwide.”

UNI-NABL has been a leading developer of biobased greases and has licensed several greases for use in the railroad and trucking industries. The center will call upon industrial collaborators to help with the coordination of the research activities and to ensure the comparative tests are credible and meet industry performance requirements.

Research, Soybean

New BASF Top Plots Video

Cindy Zimmerman

My good buddy Kip Cullers of Purdy, MO is the latest star of the BASF Top Plots video series.

basfKnown in farming circles as a “soybean celebrity,” Cullers has established world records for soybean production at 139 bushels per acre in 2006 and 154 bushels per acre in 2007. He’s also placed numerous times in the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) National Corn Yield Contest with consecutive first-place finishes in the Irrigated Class.

As Cullers describes further in the video, he begins planting his crops early every season to help keep plants alive, happy and healthy throughout the year. According to Cullers, “A happy plant is a plant that’s going to produce.”

basfBASF also wants to remind growers that they have a chance to be one of 10 to win an iPod nano® just by learning about their Kixor® herbicide technology.

BASF recently introduced a new online training program for Kixor herbicide technology– www.kixoreducation.com – that provides valuable information on how Kixor helps address growers’ toughest weed challenges, including those resistant to ALS inhibitors, triazines and glyphosate. Growers and retailers who complete the training before Sept. 30, 2010 will be entered into a drawing to be one of 10 people to win an iPod nano®.

BASF

NAFB Announces 2010 Hall of Famers

Cindy Zimmerman

The National Association of Farm Broadcasting will honor two of its finest at the Thursday night Honors Celebration Banquet during the 66th Annual NAFB Convention, November 10-12 in Kansas City.

national association farm broadcastingTaylor Brown and Gene Millard have been selected for induction into the NAFB Hall of Fame this year.

Taylor Brown, owner and president of Northern Broadcasting System, Inc. in Billings, Montana, has put his stamp on the farm broadcasting industry since his start in 1979. In 1989 he was named NAFB Farm Broadcaster of the Year and served as NAFB President in 1992. Additionally, Taylor has been a long-time supporter of the NAFB Foundation, serving as President since 1997. Taylor is also currently serving his first term as a Montana State Senator.

Gene Millard, NAFB Emeritus member, former Farm Director/General Manager at KFEQ Radio in St. Joseph, Missouri, and head of Millard Family Farms, Inc., has been and continues to be a great farm communicator and ambassador. In 1990 Gene received the NAFB’s Dix Harper Meritorious Service Award and served as the NAFB Interim Executive Director in 2004. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Citizens Bank and Trust and as Chairman of the Board of Golden Triangle Energy.

Register for the NAFB convention here.

NAFB

Novus Presents Awards at JAM 2010

Cindy Zimmerman

Novus International had the opportunity to award excellence in animal science education at the recent Joint Animal Meeting 2010 (JAM 2010) held in Denver. Publicized as one of the largest animal science meetings ever, JAM 2010 included the membership of the Poultry Science Association (PSA), American Society of Animal Science (ASAS), the American Dairy Science Association® (ADSA®), the Canadian Society of Animal Science (CSAS) and the Asociación Mexicana de Producción Animal (AMPA).

novusDr. Gary Allee (right), University of Missouri Professor of Swine Nutrition, was presented with the Novus International 2010 Distinguished Professor Award by Novus VP of research and development Dr. Chris Knight.

“Dr. Allee has been a major influence on the Novus Graduate Scholars Program,” Knight said. “We feel a deep responsibility to transfer the knowledge and technology we gain to people around the world to improve agricultural practices in their local communities. Dr. Allee has been willing to help us transfer this knowledge and has even traveled abroad with Novus researchers.”

novusDr. Dennis Ingram, Associate Professor at Louisiana State University’s School of Animal Sciences, was presented with the prestigious Poultry Science Association (PSA) Novus International Teaching Award. The award is the top honor for exceptional teaching by the association. “The goal with this award is to recognize poultry faculty members whose sustained excellence inspires their colleagues, incite academic curiosity and raises student awareness as to the impact their future careers will have on the larger world,” said Dr. Scott Carter, Global Poultry Market Manager, Novus International. In addition, Carter says they were thrilled that Novus’s Technical Manager, Andrew “Drew” Giesen was named a PSA Fellow, which recognizes members of the Poultry Science Association for professional distinction and contributions to the field of poultry science without concern to longevity.

Novus also recognized three graduate students for the Graduate Student Poster Competition Awards. The posters were presented during the technical sessions for the Graduate Student Poster Presentation Competition and each winner received a check and a certificate from Novus.

Animal Health, Novus International, Poultry, Swine

Legislators Question USDA Objectivity On GIPSA/Workshops

Chuck Zimmerman

The forums and USDA/DOJ public workshop I’ll be attending in Ft. Collins, CO get more interesting by the minute it seems like. Today a letter was sent to Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack from Senators Pat Roberts (R-KS), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Mike Johanns (R-NE), Sam Brownback (R-KS), and Tom Coburn (R-OK) expressing some concerns about a USDA official helping to promote “a message from an interest group soliciting attendance at the workshop.” Now who do you think they could be referring to? Here’s the text of that letter:

“We continue to have concerns about the objectivity of your Department’s actions with regard to the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration’s (GIPSA) proposed rule of June 22, 2010 and the ongoing Department of Agriculture (USDA)/Department of Justice (DOJ) competition workshops. Even though you assured us that the workshops would “be organized and conducted as open and balanced forums to provide an opportunity for diverse viewpoints to be heard”, recent press accounts of an email sent by a USDA official concerning the upcoming agriculture competition workshop in Fort Collins, CO, would suggest otherwise. A USDA employee in a Colorado field office used his official government email account to pass along a message from an interest group soliciting attendance at the workshop.

“This raises serious concerns about the objectivity of your department. To that end, we request:

1. the number of USDA and non-USDA recipients who received the email in question from an official email account;

2. the content of subsequent email messages to and from the official email account responding to the original message;

3. any memoranda or directives sent to USDA employees asking for assistance in soliciting workshop participants;

4. a description of how the Administration will ensure the August 27, 2010 joint DOJ/USDA workshop will be conducted in a fair and unbiased manner; and,

5. all solicitations or position statements from any USDA agent or employee regarding the competition workshops.
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Livestock, USDA

Cows Under The Influence?

Chuck Zimmerman

I have got to agree with Trent Loos on this. He says, “Tell me why a good video about how cows improve human lives get no traction on YouTube and this thing has 4.1 million views….OOOOOHHHHHH Why? By the way how many cows were used to make this?” I am not sure the answer to that. Perhaps the cows weren’t under the influence. Maybe the creator of this video was. He’s a “freelance animator based near Brighton UK.”

Video

Iowa Farmers Participate in Biomass Harvest

Joanna Schroeder

Eighty-five farmers in and around Emmetsburg, Iowa have become early adopters by participating in the world’s largest biomass harvest for cellulosic ethanol ever. Over the next year, nearly 60,000 tons of bone-dry light corn stover and corn cobs will be delivered to Project Liberty in an effort to refine biomass harvesting, storage and transportation techniques in time for the production debut in early 2012.

I spoke with Scott Weishaar to learn more about the role these pioneering farmers will play and also what concerns have been raised and how POET is addressing them. Farmers have been concerned about the effect of removing the cobs and stover on soil health and yield. Early tests by Iowa State University show that these will be minimal as long as no more than approximately 25 percent of the biomass is removed. In fact, Iowa State is working on creating variable rate removal technology that will ensure that only the appropriate amount of biomass is removed from each field.

Over the next 12 months, the farmers who are participating in the program will harvest their biomass into either round or square bales and then store the at either the edge of their field or at their actual homestead. Eventually, the biomass will be delivered to Project Liberty and the research team will conduct tests to determine the best ways to store the biomass and how long it can be stored before the biomass is compromised to an extent it can’t be converted to ethanol.

Once the date is compiled, POET will publish a white paper that will help guide farmers who plan on harvesting biomass for ethanol in the future. Weishaar stressed that POET’s goal is to arm farmers the tools to become successful.

“Because if they’re not successful, we’re not successful,” said Weishaar. “So we want to make sure we address all their questions and concerns so they not only have a positive experience, but profitable one that moves us towards sustainability.”

You can see photos from the Biomass Harvest Kickoff here.

Listen to the interview with Scott Weishaar here: Scott Weishaar Talks Biomass

Audio, Corn, Ethanol, Video

“Big Bud” at Farm Progress

Cindy Zimmerman

The world’s largest tractor is sure to be a big attraction at the 2010 Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa next week.

The Big Bud 747 tractor was built in Havre, Montana by Ron Harmon and the crew of the Northern Manufacturing Company. Measuring 27 feet long, 20 feet wide, and 14 feet tall, and weighing in at 100,000 pounds, Big Bud can work more than one acre per minute, at speeds up to 8 mph. Except for its new paint job, chrome stacks, and a whopping 900 plus horsepower – the Big Bud looks like it did when it rolled out of the Northern Manufacturing Company building back in 1977.

Crop Production Services (CPS), Dyna-Gro Seed and Loveland Products Inc. will be featuring Big Bud to reinforce their “Think Big” theme for 2010.

Here’s a promo video of Big Bud:

Equipment, Farm Progress Show, Tractor, Video

Soybean Board Sponsors Jeff City, MO Tractor Pull

John Davis

This weekend, Friday, Aug. 27 & Saturday, Aug. 28, the folks in Jefferson City, Missouri will enjoy the power of the National Tractor Pullers Association (NTPA), courtesy of the United Soybean Board (USB).

Todd Gibson, the director of the USB and a soybean farmer from Western Missouri’s Carroll County, says this will be his first professional tractor pull he’s attended, and he’s satisfied to leave his own equipment back home. “I’ll let the big boys take care of it.”

The pullers, many of whom are associated with agriculture, will be available for the public to meet and talk to about the performance of soy biodiesel.

The video below is from last year’s event in Jeff City.

NOTE: This version of the story corrects an error that said the tractors will be running on soybean-based biodiesel. While the pullers MAY use biodiesel, they are not REQUIRED to do so. Much of the support equipment in the tractor pull will be using biodiesel.

Biodiesel, Soybean, USB