Dow AgroSciences Develops SmartStax for Corn

Joanna Schroeder

A recent focus of Bill Hendrix, the Biology Team Leader, Insect Management Traits & Seeds Treatments for Dow AgroSciences, is developing the new SmartStax technology for corn with Monsanto. I spoke with Hendrix about the new SmartStax traits in more detail during Commodity Classic.

The SmartStax technology brings eight traits in a package of corn. It received registration in 2009 and is now available for the 2010 growing season. I asked Hendrix how this new technology benefited farmers.

“It’s a benefit to growers because it offers the broadest spectrum. It will bring the best of both the Herculex trait as well as the Yield Guard traits. So it’s got double modes of action, above ground and below ground. Plus, it has Liberty, Link and Roundup Ready herbicide traits,” answered Hendrix.

According to Hendrix, another major benefit for the farmer is that because of the resistance management protection and the extra modes of action, the EPA has granted a reduced refuge from 20 percent traditionally, to 5 percent.

Hendrix added that no matter where the farmer is in the country, the traits will bring them protection.”

You can get more information here as well as by listening to my interview with Bill below.

Commodity Classic Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the 2010 Commodity Classic
is sponsored by: BASF and New Holland

Audio, Commodity Classic, Corn, Seed

Channel Brand Launches Genuity SmartStax Products

Joanna Schroeder

Commodity Classic was full of new products and technologies and two new product lines have come from the Channel Brand. The Channel Brand is under the Channel Bio company (launched in September 2009) which is a Monsanto company.

I spoke with Stacy Markovich, Channel Brand Manager about Channel Bio and the new Channel Brand products. “Our mission is to serve as the American farmers most trusted source for seed, and Channel is one of the largest seed companies in the United States,” said Markovich.

The company’s primary products are corn and soybean but they also have alfalfa and sorghum. This year, they have a new corn lineup with 18 new products including six Channel Brand Genuity SmartStax products. On the soybean side, they have 24 new products including 20 Channel Brand Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield products.

Also in the Monsanto pipeline are products that will address drought, drought tolerance and water utilization needs. Click here to learn more about the Channel Brand products.

You can listen to my interview with Stacy below.

Commodity Classic Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the 2010 Commodity Classic
is sponsored by: BASF and New Holland

Audio, Commodity Classic, Corn, Seed, Soybean

Golden ARC Awards Are Back

Chuck Zimmerman

Do you remember the Golden ARC Awards? I do. And they’re back.

Are you one of the best in agricultural public relations? Do you contribute valuable professional communications to your position? Are you proud of your work?

Since its inception in 1990, the Golden ARC Award came to represent the pinnacle of success in agricultural public relations. Now reintroduced after a multi-year absence, the Golden ARC esteem will undoubtedly wow clients, bosses and colleagues.

Now is the time to submit your best work to the prestigious 2010 Golden ARC Awards. The deadline is Saturday, May 1, 2010.

The Golden ARC Awards Program consists of two divisions, the “Campaigns Division” and the “Tactics Division.” Within each portion, individual categories exist. Check out the rest of the site for more information on how you can win in 2010.

Download entry form here (pdf). Get the FAQ’s here.

ARC

Future of Soybean International Marketing Efforts

Chuck Zimmerman

Phil BradshawInternational marketing was the focus of a press conference held by the United Soybean Board at Commodity Classic. First up on the podium was Phil Bradshaw, USB Chairman and a soybean farmer from Griggsville, IL.

He spoke about future efforts to increase soybean exports as conducted by the USB. A record 1.56 billion bushels of soybeans were exported in the most recent marketing year which is “every other row of soybeans produced in the United States.” He says the USB has just selected a new organization to represent soybean growers on the international level. That will be the newly re-organized U.S. Soybean Export Council.

You can listen to or download (mp3) Phil’s remarks here: cc-10-usb-bradshaw.mp3

Jim CallThe next person to speak was Jim Call, USB International Marketing Chair and a soybean farmer from Madison, MN.

Jim says the new model that USB has selected to increase soy exports will allow them to better coordinate on planning with exporters and customers. They expect to decrease the duplication of efforts and invest Checkoff dollars more wisely.

You can listen to or download (mp3) Jim’s remarks here: cc-10-usb-call.mp3

Ike BoudreauxLast to address the press conference was Ike Boudreaux, USSEC Chairman and a soybean farmer from Lebeau, LA.

Ike says the USSEC is proud to have been selected by the USB to execute the new international marketing model. The new efforts will begin October 1, 2010. He says that USSEC is updating its operational structure in order to earn the business. He describes some of the elements of the plan they will be putting in place which includes targeting six key markets.

You can listen to or download (mp3) Ike’s remarks here: cc-10-usb-boudreaux.mp3

Commodity Classic Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the 2010 Commodity Classic
is sponsored by: BASF and New Holland

Ag Groups, Audio, Commodity Classic, Soybean, USB

Cadet and Authority Assist Big Sellers for FMC

Joanna Schroeder

I had a chance to spend some time with Gail Stratman, the Midwest Technical Sales Lead for FMC, during Commodity Classic and I learned two things. First that Cadet and Authority Assist are big sellers, selling out the past two years, and second, why both products work so well.

Cadet is a post emergence herbicide that was introduced about two years ago for corn and soybeans. “It’s a very good product for growers using Roundup Ready or glyphosate tolerant crops, that are looking for an additional herbicide to put with their glyphosate to help control those weeds they may be experiencing some trouble controlling with straight glyphosate,” explained Stratman.

Some of the weeds that are controlled using Cadet (and Authority Assist) are velvet leaf, water hemp, morning glory, and lambs quarters. Stratman noted that it’s a unique product in that it has a very broad spectrum of weed control and it’s labeled for use at the same rates for corn and soybeans so if a grower has both crops, you don’t have to worry about spray drift.

Authority Assist is a pre-emergence herbicide for soybeans used to control early season weeds. The product limits weed competition, which researchers have found to be as important in soybeans as in corn, and helps to improve yields.

You can learn more about the two products by listening to my interview with Gail below.

Commodity Classic Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the 2010 Commodity Classic
is sponsored by: BASF and New Holland

Audio, Commodity Classic, Corn, Soybean

Vermeer Launches Corn Cob Collector

Joanna Schroeder

As Project Liberty gets closer every day to completion (The POET project is set to be online no later than 2012), farm equipment manufactures, such as Vermeer, are developing corn cob harvesting technology. During Commodity Classic, I caught up with Jay Van Roekel, the product manager for Vermeer’s Ag Division to learn more about their biomass technologies.

Van Roekel explained that they have a current hay tool line that is a big help in collecting round bales of switchgrass or corn stover. In addition, their latest and most focused is their corn cob collector, the CCX770. Vermeer has been working on this technology full steam ahead for two years but bought the patent from a farmer in Nebraska who had been working on the technology for 10 years.

Here’s how it works. You hook the CCX770 behind a Class 7 or greater combine. Then the machine catches all the materials coming out of the back of the combine and then it sorts out the cobs from the other residue and then the leaves and husks are blown back onto the soil and just the corn cobs are left.

This is a one-pass system but Van Roekel said the farmer will still need to add to his system a way to transport the cobs to storage. The CCX770 is currently available for purchase or lease and you can get more info by clicking here.

You can listen to my full interview with Jay below.

Commodity Classic Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the 2010 Commodity Classic
is sponsored by: BASF and New Holland

Audio, Commodity Classic, Corn, Farm Machinery

LEGO Artist

Chuck Zimmerman

Nathan SawayaBeing a brick artist doesn’t sound like a high pressure job but when you’ve got to finish your LEGO creation by the close of the Commodity Classic trade show it can get a little tense. Nathan Sawaya got this art work done for BASF in their Commodity Classic booth just in time. I think he actually had a couple seconds to spare.

I spoke with him while he was building the project to learn more about what he does and his plan for this project. He basically uses LEGO bricks to create art. In this case he was asked to create “crops” out of LEGO bricks. By the end he had corn, soybeans, wheat and a barn. He says he had an idea in his mind of what he’d do before the show to make sure he brought enough bricks. He also tours with an Art of the Brick Museum Exhibit.

You can listen to my interview with Nathan below.

See more photos of Nathan’s work in progress in the BASF Commodity Classic Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the 2010 Commodity Classic
is sponsored by: BASF and New Holland

Audio, BASF, Commodity Classic

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • The Pork Checkoff will honor Dale Miller, editor of National Hog Farmer, as the winner of its Distinguished Service Award. He will be recognized at the National Pork Industry Forum, March 4-6, 2010.
  • The National Pork Board recognized the latest class of Environmental Steward Award winners at the National Pork Industry Forum. These winners exemplify excellence in environmental care and conservation in pork production. Honored at the ceremony were: JAC Pork of Hartley, Iowa; Schafer Farms of Goodhue, Minn.; Bryant Worley Farms of Princeton, N.C.; and Sensenig Farm of Mohnton, Pa.
  • Kansas wheat producer Jerry McReynolds was elected president of the National Association of Wheat Growers at the organization’s Board of Directors meeting.
  • Land O’Lakes Purina Feed LLC announces the launch of its newest multi-media tool for dairy producers and calf enthusiasts — Calf Wise — on Facebook.
Zimfo Bytes

Ag Groups Defend Biotech Alfalfa

Cindy Zimmerman

gm alfalfaThe Supreme Court will soon make a decision on whether or not farmers can grow biotech alfalfa – and it could ultimately impact other genetically modified crops.

That’s why the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and several other agricultural organizations have filed an amicus curiae brief with the court in the case of “Monsanto Co. v. Geertson Seed Farms” regarding Roundup Ready® alfalfa.

The groups urge that the lower courts’ decision to approve an injunction without adequately hearing the key evidence must be reversed “to protect the farmers who choose to grow genetically-engineered crops, as well as the public benefits that agricultural biotechnology brings to producers and consumers around the world.” They argue that USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has studied Roundup Ready® alfalfa and found no significant human environment impact and has recommended that farmers be allowed to grow it. APHIS just recently concluded a comment period on the draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for the crop.

This case is important case because it marks the first time the high court has weighed in on the risks of genetically engineered crops. It is scheduled for oral argument on April 27 and a decision is expected from the Court by June.


Read more here.

AFBF, Biotech

Syngenta Announces New Sustainaiblity Team

Joanna Schroeder

Syngenta made two announcements during Commodity Classic last week – a new sustainability team and that their water optimization technology is on track. I spoke with Terry Stone who is heading the new sustainability team as well as Tracy Mader, Project Marketing Head who is working with the team developing the water optimization technologies.

I asked Stone to tell me what the mission of the new sustainability team was and he explained, “Our focus is helping growers produce more from less and to realize where they’re at in terms of not just how much they are producing but now much energy, water, soil loss and other impacts they are having from production.”

There is a lot of talk now about how the world will need to feed nine billion people in the next 30 years so I asked Stone how sustainability and world food production go hand in hand. “Farmers are the original stewards of the land and when you think about land, you have to think about soil and the soil is the farmer’s bread and butter,” explained Stone. “They’ve been very careful about the health of their soil and the more healthy the soil, the more productive it will be.”

Water optimization also goes hand-in-hand with sustainability and Mader gave me an update on their technology that is close to market. “Our water optimization technology is on track and has made several technical milestones. We plan to introduce this technology in the 2011 planting season for growers in the plains and the Western cornbelt of the United States.”

Nebraska and California are the two most irrigated states and Syngenta did research in both of these states as well as other regions. However, they are developing the technology to both work during drought conditions and during optimal conditions.

“We are really committed to two guiding principals,” said Mader. “Number one to help the plant maximize its yield based on the available water and number two, when growing conditions are ideal, that the technology doesn’t offer any yield penalty. And our initial hybrids will meet both of these criteria.”

Listen below to my back-to-back interviews with Terry Stone and Tracy Mader.

Commodity Classic Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the 2010 Commodity Classic
is sponsored by: BASF and New Holland

Audio, Commodity Classic, Sustainability, Syngenta