Syngenta Donating To Weeding Out Hunger Via Halex GT Sales

Chuck Zimmerman

As Cindy has reported on earlier this year, Syngenta has started a program called Weeding Out Hunger. They just announced that a portion of their sales of Halex GT will be donated to the program.

This season, growers can join the fight to weed out hunger by purchasing Halex® GT post-emergence corn herbicide for their glyphosate-tolerant corn acres. Through the Halex GT Weeding out Hunger™ campaign, a portion of 2010 herbicide sales will be donated to local Feeding America® food banks to help alleviate hunger in local communities across the Corn Belt.

“When growers purchase Halex GT in 2010 to treat their corn, they’ll be giving back to their neighbors in need,” said Carroll Moseley, herbicide brand manager for Syngenta Crop Protection. “We’re going to donate a portion of sales, up to $100,000, to Feeding America food banks in communities across the country and that gives growers another reason to choose Halex GT over the competitors.”

According to the USDA, more than 49 million Americans, one in six people, are food insecure, which means they do not have enough food to eat because of limited money or other resources. This startling statistic prompted Syngenta to develop the Weeding out Hunger campaign in conjunction with Halex GT.

You can follow the program on Twitter.

Agribusiness

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • The National Sustainable Agriculture Standards Committee will hold its third meeting in Fayetteville, Ark., on June 14 and 15, 2010.
  • Bayer CropScience Canada has officially retained M2 Universal, one of Canada’s largest media services companies. M2 Universal assumes all media planning (online & off-line) and purchasing responsibilities for Bayer CropScience Inc., Canada.
  • The RISE President Search Committee is pleased to announce Aaron Hobbs has been selected as the President-Elect of RISE, effective June 1st.
  • Ken Dalenberg, a Mansfield, Ill., corn and soybean farmer, is the 2010 Farmer Award winner in the PrecisionAg Awards Of Excellence program sponsored by The PrecisionAg Institute.
    Zimfo Bytes

    NCBA Answers Questions About New Governance Proposal

    Cindy Zimmerman

    A proposal to restructure the nation’s largest beef cattle organization is generating some controversy.

    National Cattlemen's Beef AssociationRepresentatives of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and the Federation of State Beef Councils met with USDA officials today to discuss NCBA’s proposed governance structure and held a conference with reporters afterward to review the outcome of the meeting.

    U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack sent a letter last week to Illinois cattle producer and NCBA President Steve Foglesong expressing the need for additional clarity regarding the proposed governance structure. “The effort NCBA has undertaken to change our governance structure has received an awful lot of attention, more than I thought we would going into this,” said Foglesong. “I’m going to take that as a compliment – people really do care about NCBA and what we do.”

    Steve says NCBA’s goals are to fuel producer profitability by building and protecting beef demand and to preserve producers freedom to operate without excessive government intervention. “I believe our proposed governance model helps deliver on these goals by increasing producer input into our programs and policies and by enabling quicker decision making through a 29 member board, rather than our current 274 member board.”

    Vilsack expressed concern that the proposed structure would “weaken the firewall between policy and checkoff funded activities, thereby jeopardizing the Beef Checkoff program and set a bad precedent for checkoff programs in general.” Foglesong and Scott George, NCBA Federation Division Chair and Wyoming dairy/beef producer addressed each of Vilsack’s concerns one at a time in answer to questions from reporters.

    “The problem we’re having here is a break down in understanding what ‘firewall’ is,” said George. “We believe the firewall is an accounting firewall and that has been strictly enforced and will continue to be strictly enforced.”

    Foglesong stressed their transparency throughout the restructuring process. “This is a draft,” Foglesong said. “That’s one of the reasons that it passed by 94 percent at the convention. We made changes and we listened to people.”

    Industry representatives will be meeting with other groups who have concerns about the restructuring this week.

    Listen to or download the entire press conference here:

    Audio, Beef, NCBA, Uncategorized

    Novus International in a Growth Phase

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Novus International executive vice president Giovanni Gasperoni is excited about the company’s new acquisitions announced this week, IQF Group in Spain and IQF-ENAMEX in Mexico.

    novus“We have been dealing with both companies for a long while so we know the quality of their product,” Gio said in an interview today. “These products are very high quality and they are a natural, complementary extension of our existing product portfolio.”

    IQF’s natural feed additives can be mixed with feed to enhance meat and egg nutrition and color and Gio says they are especially suited for the broiler, layer and aquaculture markets. “Pigments are really natural anti-oxidants,” said Gio, with the benefit of enhancing natural color, “of the skin of the chicken, or the color of the yolk, or for aquaculture, especially salmon.”

    Gio says Novus is in a growth phase with this year’s acquisitions. “Basically, either they are expanding our current product line, like Albion, or they are taking us to a different platform like the pigment, or a different market area,” he said.

    “I’m really thrilled seeing us growing this week, to see the fact that we are really helping to feed the world wholesome and affordable food,” Gio added.

    Listen to or download my interview with Giovanni Gasperoni here:

    Audio, Novus International

    Corn Utilization Information

    Cindy Zimmerman

    The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) just came up with another reason to attend the 2010 Corn Utilization and Technology Conference (CUTC) in Atlanta next month.

    cutcFormer USDA undersecretary and “Next Green Revolution” expert, Dr. Gale Buchanan, who is also dean and director emeritus of the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, will give the keynote address at the CUTC grand opening on June 7.

    Before assuming his current role at the University of Georgia, Dr. Buchanan served as chief scientist and under secretary for Research, Education and Economics at the U.S. Department of Agriculture during the Bush Administration. He is active in agriculture’s scientific community, and recently chaired a panel of notable scientists and government leaders who released an update to Dr. Norman Borlaug’s 1973 CAST Paper No. 1, addressing future challenges in agricultural productivity.

    NCGA Director of Biotechnology and Economic Analysis Nathan Fields says this year’s CUTC agenda and theme of “Corn: America’s Renewable Resource,” showcase how corn research and commercial pipelines are already addressing the world’s sustainability challenges. “It’s the only conference of it’s kind really focusing on corn as a core feedstock for a myriad of different products,” Nathan says. CUTC will feature a distinguished list of speakers covering topics such as life cycle analysis of new technologies, land use issues, aquifers, water quality and usage, and greenhouse gas emissions. Participants can also attend sessions on health and nutrition, wet and dry milling processes, biocatalysts, gene transformation technology, unique specialty corns, new products and revenue streams.

    Nathan is chairman of the biocatalyst, or enzyme, portion of the CUTC program. “This is a critical piece in corn processing today,” he said. “What efficiencies can be gained through new enzymes, new processing microorganisms.”

    CUTC will be held June 7-9 at the Atlanta Hilton Hotel in downtown Atlanta, Ga. Registration information is available on-line.

    Listen to or download an interview with Nathan talking about CUTC in general and his session in particular.

    Audio, Corn, CUTC, NCGA

    Become An Urban Farmer

    Chuck Zimmerman

    If we can have urban cowboys then I guess we can have urban farmers.

    Following the astounding growth of Urban Farm magazine, and the burgeoning interest in urban farming, BowTie, Inc. announced the launch of UrbanFarmOnline.com.

    “The sustainable lifestyle is of interest to a growing number of people,” said June Kikuchi, Vice President Chief Content Officer. “People want to live in a manner that encourages energy conservation, healthy foods and supporting local goods and services.”

    UrbanFarmOnline.com will feature a wide variety of topics, including urban livestock, sustainable living, and gardening in an urban environment as well as an online community for sharing tips and ideas for starting your own backyard or patio farm.

    To celebrate the launch, visitors have the chance of winning daily prizes from May 18, 2010 to May 28, 2010. Prizes include chicken coops, pens, feeders, garden tools, trimmers, food dehydrators, outdoor grills, work-wear for women and more! Over 40 prizes totaling more than $6,500 in value will be given away in one week.

    Farming, Sustainability

    New Acquisitions for Novus International

    Cindy Zimmerman

    St. Louis-based company Novus International announced a couple of major acquisitions this week.

    novusNovus International, Inc. announced today that it has acquired IQF-ENAMEX and its sister company, Operadora ENAMEX, both based in Córdoba, Mexico from Grupo Porres and other shareholders. IQF- ENAMEX produces feed carotenoid pigments, mineral and vitamin premixes, anti-caking agents and mold inhibitors. Novus also announced it has acquired the IQF Group, including Carotenoid Technologies, S.A. and Investigaciones Químicas y Farmacéuticas, S.A. based in Tarragona, Spain and IQF-ENAMEX, S.A. de C.V. based Córdoba, Mexico.

    novus enamexIQF-ENAMEX (IQF Enamex Group) was established in 2001 through a merger with the IQF Group. IQF was established in 1970 and has a customer base extending across more than 60 countries. The acquisition of IQF-ENAMEX enables Novus to expand their product offering for new and existing animal agriculture customers in Mexico and in Latin America.

    “We are very excited about this acquisition as it will take Novus into a world leadership position in natural pigments as well as in new geographical segments which will benefit our customers and our industry,” said Giovanni Gasperoni, Executive Vice-President, Marketing and Sales, Novus International, Inc. “These products are very high quality and they are a natural, complementary extension of our existing product portfolio.”

    IQF-ENAMEX’s natural feed additives can be mixed with feed to enhance meat and egg nutrition and color. Feed carotenoid pigments from the acquisition, with their natural antioxidant properties, align with Novus’s feed preservative and dietary antioxidant product families. IQF-ENAMEX is currently active with complementary product lines in the poultry, ruminant and pork markets. Key brands include: Enacol®, Desmycotox®, Enamold®, PMX Vitaminica®, Inclorfos® and Canthacol.®

    This is the third acquisition Novus has made in recent months. Novus recently announced the acquisition of IQF Group, which followed its acquisition of the Animal Nutrition Division of Albion Laboratories in December 2009. The acquisition of Albion’s Animal Nutrition Division expanded Novus’s existing chelated trace mineral offering, particularly to the beef and dairy industries.

    Read more here.

    Animal Health, Novus International

    Discussing Dairy With Alltech

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Kevin TuckDiscussion dinners are an important part of the Alltech Symposium program. I attended the dairy discussion.

    Kevin Tuck is Global Ruminant Product Manager and has been with the company for about 20 years. He was our discussion leader. He says that the dairy business outlook is pessimistic right now even though we have a growing population. So, for Alltech, he is seeking input from customers so they can come up with solutions to help them during this challenging time. Kevin has done this on a global basis and says he hears one common denominator from all areas of the world. That is to “reduce the cost of producing a pound or liter of milk.” Another way of putting it is “how can I get more out of my existing feeds.”

    You can listen to my interview with Kevin below.

    2010 Alltech Symposium Photo Album

    Alltech, Audio, Dairy

    AllzymeSSF Making Dried Distillers Grains More Valuable

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Alltech AllzymeSSFAt last week’s Alltech International Animal Health and Nutrition Symposium I learned about what the company is doing in the area of making DDGS, a by-product of ethanol production, more nutritious from Brian Hoskins, SSF Development Coordinator.

    Allzyme® SSF is a natural complex that improves profitability through maximizing nutrient release. In feed, the complex works synergistically to break down the different substrates. As a result, more nutrients are available to the animal, thus improving growth and economic efficiency. The multiple activities in Allzyme SSF allows for a more flexible approach to feed formulation through the inclusion of by-products or by reducing nutrient constraints in the diet, particularly energy, calcium and available phosphorus.

    You can listen to my interview with Brian below.

    2010 Alltech Symposium Photo Album

    Alltech, Audio, Biofuels, Ethanol

    Great Debate at Alltech Symposium

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Alltech Great DebateThe Great Debate at the Alltech Symposium included some interesting personalities from around the world. The moderator for the session was Aidan Connolly, Vice President, Alltech. Panelists included:

    Gordon Butland, Director, G&S Agriconsultants.Co. Ltd., Thailand, Osler Desouzart, Managing Director, OD Consulting Planning and Strategy, Brazil, Trent Loos, Loos Tales, Nebraska, USA and Patrick Wall, Associate Professor of Public Health, University College Dublin, Ireland.

    You can see a recording of the live stream of the session on the Alltech website. To give you a flavor for their comments I’m posting their answers to the first question which was, “Is being green a fad for the 21st century?”

    Trent Loos: alltech-symposium-10-debate-loos.mp3

    Patrick Wall: alltech-symposium-10-debate-wall.mp3

    Gordon Butland: alltech-symposium-10-debate-butland.mp3

    Osler Desouzart: alltech-symposium-10-debate-osler.mp3

    2010 Alltech Symposium Photo Album

    Alltech, Audio