The Commodity Classic Trade Show kicked off today and Cindy was there with a camera. Watch the ribbon cutting and start to the show which is where we’ve spent a lot of time this afternoon.
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BASF’s The Science Behind Soybeans seminar at the 2010 Commodity Classic on Wednesday was focused on how the BASF Crop Protection portfolio for soybeans can help growers achieve higher yields, and how BASF is always looking to the future and what growers will want tomorrow.
“The soybean market has great potential for growth but yields haven’t increased that much in the last few years so what we really see is an opportunity is to get more from every acre by using some different practices and new technologies such as the new Kixor herbicide technology that BASF has,” said Paul Rea, Director of BASF US Crop Protection Division.
BASF Technical Service Manager Rick Chamblee says Kixor, which is the active ingredient in a number of new products that were just approved for use in this country last fall, is a great example of how BASF looked ahead to anticipate grower needs in the future. “When we started working on the Kixor family of products 9-10 years ago, glyphosate tolerant weeds were not even on the horizon,” Rick said. In fact, only one weed was resistant in the United States, today there are six broadleaf weeds that are tolerant to glyphosate that are commonly found in soybean production.
Not content to rest on their laurels, BASF has NINE active ingredients in the pipeline for the next FOUR years, expecting to introduce 28 new products. Compare that to 29 new products in the last nine years! Find out more in my back to back interviews with Paul and Rick in the player below.
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Illinois farmers are on a quest for higher soybean yields, according to University of Illinois soybean specialist Vince Davis, who spoke at the BASF Science Behind Soybeans seminar at the 2010 Commodity Classic on Wednesday. “There’s a lot of discontent about where they’re at with soybean yields,” Vince said. “A lot of them feel that soybean yields are not keeping pace with corn yields in Illinois.”
The average soybean yield in Illinois has been 45-46 bushels per acre the last two years, which Vince says has been pretty consistent for the past five years and growers would really like to see that improve by at least two bushels per acre. They would really like to see yields as high as the 100 bushels per acre that Kip Cullers sees on his farm, so Vince took a closer look at what Kip does last year to bring back to Illinois. “There’s a lot we have left to learn on how to maximize each individual plants’ productivity in soybean and really approach some of the levels of individual plant management like we’ve been doing in corn,” said Vince. He stresses the importance of early weed control as something growers can do to help improve yields. “Controlling weeds, starting with a clean field and making sure you don’t lose bushels to weeds early in the season is very important,” Vince said.
The Illinois Soybean Association, with the help of the universities and sponsors like BASF, is helping to provide some incentive for growers to increase yields with a new program called the Illinois Soy Yield Challenge. “It’s different than a contest in that we’re really focused on a team concept,” said Vince. “We’re also focused on being able to compare practices between farmers’ normal practices and experimental practices and see what we can do in Illinois,” he said. Find out more at soyyieldchallenge.com.
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Leica Geosystems is represented here at Commodity Classic by Harlan Little, North American Business Manager. He showed me information that has just been released about their new mojo3D which puts mapping and guidance in a “new perspective.”
Designed to help growers get the job done more quickly and efficiently, the system combines a unique, three-dimensional user interface with rugged, water-resistant metal hardware built to withstand tough rural conditions.
With a large 7” touch-screen display and high-quality three-dimensional graphics, the Leica mojo3D has been built for ease of use. It has an intuitive, icon-based menu structure and setup wizards to minimize the time it takes to set the controls and get on with the task at hand. Users can change settings quickly and easily by tapping the relevant icon, without having to navigate away from the main guidance screen.
Users can customize the Leica mojo3D to meet individual requirements, with a range of option packs available, including terrain-compensated electric auto-steer via the Leica QuickSteer motor and Leica TWIST terrain compensation unit. Single section or multi-section control to reduce overlap and misses in spraying, spreading and planting applications is also available. Additionally, users have the option to upgrade auto-steer accuracy to 2cm RTK positioning with the Leica mojoRTK.
The Leica mojo3D may be pre-ordered now, and will begin shipping March 29. For more information about the Leica mojo3D and other ag guidance solutions from Leica Geosystems visit www.AgGuidance.com.
I interviewed Harlan and you can learn all about the new features and benefits of the new mojo3D in our discussion. He also talks about the mojoMINI which he’s holding in his hands in the photo.
You can listen to my interview with Harlan below.
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You can never get enough of the always entertaining World Soybean Yield Champion Kip Cullers.
During the BASF Science Behind Soybeans seminar at the 2010 Commodity Classic on Wednesday, Kip talked about the recent trip he took to Brazil and what he learned there. “The reason I went to Brazil is because, if you want to learn something, you got to go where there’s a problem and Brazil is challenged by so many things,” Kip says. One of the problems he had on his farm in southwest Missouri last year was white mold, which is a big issue in Brazil. “I got about five or six brand new ideas from Brazil on how to control white mold,” he said.
That’s what Kip does best – try new things to help increase his yields, not just for contests, but for his overall production. “60-80 percent of all my experiments fail miserably, but we never quit trying and we’re able to average 100 bushel soybeans across our whole farm,” Kip says, and that’s what pays the bills. To that end, he is a strong believer in BASF Headline for plant health, and the new Kixor technology herbicide, which he helped test for BASF prior to registration last fall.
The last time I talked to Kip was on his farm toward the end of the 2009 harvest season. You will have to check out that post and listen to the interview or watch the video to hear the goat story that he references in the interview below.
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David Roehm and his lovely wife Sue of Leesburg, Ohio are the grand prize winners of the 2009 SOY Challenge Program. David was on the program for the BASF Science Behind Soybeans seminar for the media Wednesday at the 2010 Commodity Classic in Anaheim and he gave Sue plenty of credit as his partner for their achievement in the 2009 Secure Optimal Yield (SOY) Challenge, sponsored by the American Soybean Association and BASF Crop Protection.
In the challenge, they used a couple of BASF products – Scepter and Headline – and did a side by side yield comparison on several different varieties beans. “We did come up with a yield bump, about four bushels better in every case, pays for the application – especially with $10 beans,” David told me. “I think the economics were especially good in 2009, as well as the pressures with the added rain and moisture we had.”
As winners of the challenge, the Roehms got a new Dodge truck, but as an added benefit, they also got a new kitchen.
Since Sue takes care of the bookkeeping on the Roehm farm and she admits to being a little skeptical when they entered the challenge because of the additional upfront cost involved. “With the chemicals, that’s a very big portion of our budget for farming,” Sue said. One of those additional costs was for Headline, which increases plant health. “And by increasing the plant health, you hopefully get a better yield – and it was through that better yield that I got to remodel my kitchen!”
Listen to or download back to back interviews with the Roehms in the player at the bottom. And watch a video of David’s presentation at “The Science Behind Soybeans” below.
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Here at Commodity Classic a group of us media types are learning about The Science Behind Soybeans from BASF. We have a panel of experts that includes soybean growers like world record holder Kip Cullers.
Cindy and I are attending the seminar and will posting photos and interviews here soon. The media who could not attend are invited to download and use them if they would like.
“At BASF, we know growers are focused on higher yields and improving their return on investment,” said Eric Kalasz, BASF Soybean Market Manager. “That is why we wanted to get together with the media to discuss the tools growers can employ to address current challenges in soybean production and get the most out of every soybean acre.”
The ‘Science Behind Soybeans’ event showcases the most recent information on soybean management, including weed resistance management, disease control and Plant Health. Speakers include Vince Davis, University of Illinois; record-breaking soybean grower Kip Cullers; ASA-BASF SOY Challenge winner David Roehm of Leesburg, Ohio; Paul Rea, Director of BASF US Crop Protection Division; and Rick Chamblee, BASF Technical Service Manager.
Commodity Classic Photo Album
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Merial has announced that it has selected Sullivan Higdon & Sink (SHS) as its agency of record. The agency will be handling all advertising, public relations and online efforts for the company’s U.S. large animal business.
The addition of Merial’s large animal business bolsters SHS’s growing list of animal and food-related clients including companies such as Cargill, Dairy Farmers of America, Midwest Dairy Association and Meyer Natural Foods.
The program of work will be handled by Sullivan Higdon & Sink’s Kansas City office.
One of the friendly faces you’ll meet when you check in to the media room at Commodity Classic is Cassandra Schlef, Communications Coordinator for ASA. She helps with press releases, their weekly Leader Letter and website updates that include Twitter and Facebook.
Cassandra says the media room this year has been expanded to include more work tables and internet access that includes wireless. They’ve also expanded the hours the room is open too. She says it should make it easier for us to do our jobs and I agree.
Cassandra thinks the pre-registered number of media is about 130 but they expect more to walk in and I’m sure that will happen.
I’ve just started a photo album for Classic which you can find here: Commodity Classic Photo Album
You can listen to my interview with Cassandra below.
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Joining the ranks of the Farm Podcasters is Cathryn Wojcicki Dixson, NCGA Communications Manager. I met Cathryn here at Commodity Classic and talked with her about her job and the new audio program she’s producing for NCGA.
The program is called “Off The Cob.”
Welcome to “Off the Cob”, an original podcast series produced by the National Corn Growers Association. This series features interviews with grower-leaders on hot topics in agriculture and will expand media options for those wishing to further their knowledge of the industry.
Cathryn works on NCGA editorial content like their publications and now the podcast series. It’s her first time for creating an audio podcast series which will be produced once a week. She says it’s one element of their social media emphasis to communicate which really ties in to their organizational grass roots culture.
You can listen to my interview with Cathryn below.
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