Farmer Cooperatives Can Tell Story at Workshops

Cindy Zimmerman

Workshops on competition in agriculture, like the one held last week in Iowa, can allow farmer-owned co-ops to tell their story.

ncfcAccording to the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives (NCFC), Friday’s joint workshop between the Department of Justice (DOJ) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) set the stage for farmer-owned co-ops to show how they promote a more competitive agricultural sector.

“Family farmers across America have built farmer cooperatives that promote competition, bolster farm income and the rural economy, and help to bring transparency to the marketplace,” said NCFC President Chuck Conner. “While farmer cooperatives were touched on only briefly in this workshop, I hope that DOJ and USDA will use the future workshops to look more closely at how producers can use co-ops as a tool to level the playing field.

“In addition, we continue to be concerned about rhetoric from some that equates being large in size with stifling competition. A large farmer co-op simply has more member-owners—many of whom have medium to small-sized operations—than a smaller cooperative,” Conner continued. “At the same time, the statement made by Christine Varney, the assistant attorney general for the Antitrust Division, that ‘with [being] big comes a lot of responsibility’ is true and a standard that, we believe, large farmer co-ops in this country meet.”

Friday’s workshop in Ames focused on competition issues for crop farmers, especially the issues of seed technology and livestock marketing. As the kick off event for the first of several workshops to be held this year, it featured opening comments from Attorney General of the United States Eric Holder and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. Future workshops around the countrywill focus on the poultry, dairy and livestock industry.

Agribusiness, Cooperatives, USDA

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

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    Zimfo Bytes

    Happy Ag Week

    Chuck Zimmerman

    ZimmCast 252Happy Ag Week to you. Isn’t American agriculture amazing? You bet it is and it’s time to thank our farmers and ranchers for the abundant supply of safe economical food, fiber and fuel they produce for us. And without a lot of thanks in urban areas and increasing pressure from governmental regulations.

    Thank you farmers for all you do!

    In this week’s program you can hear my conversation with Linda Tank, CHS, Inc., who is Chair of the Agriculture Council of America, the coordinating group for National Ag Day which we’ll celebrate officially on March 20.

    In our interview Linda talks about this year’s celebration and we note the new communication channels now available to help get the message out about the importance of agriculture. She points out that there will be a big three part celebration in Washington, DC on Thursday. Wish I could be there. Here are the planned activities:

    Coffee with the Secretary

    The coffee will take place at 8:00 a.m.on March 18 on the Whitten Patio of the USDA.

    Over 3,500 industry leaders have been invited. This includes sponsors, commodity group leaders, Ag Day supporters, members of congress, etc. Also in attendance will be students from AFA, FFA & 4-H who will be making Hill visits after the coffee concludes.

    Seating is limited to 150 people. The Secretary is confirmed and will speake briefly and the coffee will conclude by approximately 8:30 – 8:45 a.m.

    There is no charge for the coffee but attendees do need to register so we have a list for the security staff at the USDA.

    Mix & Mingle Luncheon

    11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
    U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, Washington, D.C.

    Complimentary admittance to Luncheon

    This is a standing luncheon and featured speakers include an Outstanding Young Farmer Honoree and national officers from AFA, FFA & 4-H.

    National Ag Day Dinner & Cocktails

    5:30 p.m.
    USDA Whitten Building Patio, Washington, D.C.

    Tickets: $100 per person, or $1,000 for a reserved table of 10
    Hosted by the Agriculture Council of America in recognition of Ag Week.

    The pork for the dinner will be donated by the National Pork Producers Council and will be prepared by Chef Mark Salter from the Inn at Perry Cabin. Seating is limited (we have about 20 seats left).

    INVITED GUEST SPEAKERS:
    Senator Blanche Lincoln, Chair, Senate Ag Committee
    Congressman Collin Peterson, Chair, House Ag Committee

    Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsors, Novus International, and Leica Geosytems for their support.

    You can listen to this week’s ZimmCast below.

    The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired. Subscribe so you can listen when and where you want. Just go to our a Subscribe page.

    Ag Day

    Headline News from Commodity Classic

    Cindy Zimmerman

    BASF commodity classicBASF Headline fungicide continues to make headlines, even after years on the market. The more research they do with growers using this product, the better it gets.

    During a press conference at Commodity Classic, BASF Regional Sales Manager Gary Schmitz and Technical market Manager Nick Fassley talked about the more than 6,000 on-farm trials that have been held just in the United States on various crops. While we talk a lot about Headline in the major crops of corn, soybeans and wheat, Nick says the fungicide also provides plant health benefits for crops like peanuts, citrus and even sugarcane. “We’ve done a lot of work on southern crops,” Nick said. “We actually see some added benefits on our plant health label for citrus growers who see their crop mature more at the same time.” Nick says peanut growers have seen an overall increase in quality and yield with Headline, and some new rust species in sugarcane moved Florida to requested a section 18 for the use of Headline in that crop.

    Gary talked about Headline AMP™, which is being offered for the first time this year for corn. “What they’ll get with Headline AMP is all the benefits that they’ve seen with Headline over the years, plus it has an additional active ingredient called metconazole, which is a best in class triazole and has very broad spectrum control of many of the diseases you find in corn,” Gary said. In trials, Headline AMP provided control for tough diseases like Rust and Southern and Northern corn leaf blight and delivered higher yields.

    Download or listen to back to back interviews with Nick and Gary in the player below.

    Commodity Classic Photo Album

    AgWired coverage of the 2010 Commodity Classic
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    Cooking with Soybean Oil at Classic

    Cindy Zimmerman

    pioneer corporate chef at commodity classicThe Pioneer exhibit at Commodity Classic got lots of attention from pancake lovers with the Pioneer corporate chefs demonstrating the versatility of soybean oil for cooking.

    I stopped by and happened to catch Adam Moore flipping flapjacks on the griddle and later was able to do a video interview with Chef Charlie Baggs who showed off the dishes they were making for the trade show crowd, including Chicken Marsala and a sweet Romaine and cranberry salad with feta cheese and a soy oil/mustard vinagrette dressing. Charlie is president and founder of Charlie Baggs, Inc., and he and his Chicago-based staff travel around the country doing this kind of gig for Pioneer and other corporate clients. Seems like a pretty sweet job!

    Commodity Classic Photo Album

    AgWired coverage of the 2010 Commodity Classic
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    Commodity Classic, Food, Pioneer, Video

    IFAJ Congress 2010 – Ostend, Belgium

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Between Passion and Pressure is the them of this year’s International Federation of Agricultural Journalists Congress. It’s going to be held seaside April 17-21 in Ostend, Belgium at the Thermae Palace hotel. I’ll be attending and get back just in time for the start of the NAMA convention in Kansas City.

    This year’s IFAJ Congress is being hosted by the Belgian Association of Agricultural Journalists (BVLJ-ABJA), a founding member of IFAJ. Here’s a look at the program:

    Saturday April 17th, 2010 – Arrival at the Thermae Palace Hotel (Ostend)

    * Beach animation in the morning and afternoon
    * Executive meeting at 2 P.M.
    * Welcome dinner at 8 P.M

    Sunday April 18th – The city of Ghent

    * Symposium ‘Ghent, cradle of biotech’ (morning)
    * Partner program: ancient city of Ghent (morning)
    * Visit to the Floralies (afternoon)
    * Dinner at ‘t Boerenhof and tribute to the sax” by the new Orleans Night Owls

    Monday April 19th – Tours

    * Tour 1 – West-Flanders : Intensive horticultural production, horticultural auction, arable crops and
    beef production
    * Tour 2 – East-Flanders : Pig production and processing, biogaz and agro-environmental management
    * Tour 3 – Antwerp & Flemish Brabant : Intensive horticultural production & horticultural auction, horticultural research, Belgian endive and dairy
    * Tour 4 – Antwerp :Janssen Animal Health, veal production and dairy
    * Tour 5 – Wallonia : Agricultural machinery (Joskin), artificial insemination, cattle breeding (Belgian White Blue), beef production

    Tuesday April 20th

    * Partner program: city of Bruges: historical centre, Belgian chocolate and lace(morning)
    * Specific technical tours (morning)
    * Partner program: city of Ostend (afternoon)
    * Workshop: ‘Agricultural journalism, between passion & pressure’ (afternoon)
    * General assembly at 4 P.M.
    * Farewell dinner – IFAJ Band

    I’d like to thank in advance AgWired sponsors for coverage of this year’s IFAJ Congress, Novus International and Pioneer Hi-Bred.

    IFAJ

    State Soybean Checkoffs Team Up for Research

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Taking a team approach to problem solving often saves both time and money and that has been the goal of the North Central Soybean Research Program (NCSRP) in using soybean checkoff dollars more efficiently for the benefit of growers.

    NCSRP David Wright with Michelle Rook at Commodity ClassicDuring the Commodity Classic I talked with NCSRP executive director David Wright, seen here with South Dakota farm broadcaster Michelle Rook, about the program which is run by soybean producers for soybean producers. “NCSRP is a grower-based organization that invests soybean checkoff dollars into research and education activities to improve soybean yield,” he told me. “These are state checkoff dollars combined with some national checkoff dollars. We’re a regional organization, we pool money from both sides, and then invest it at approximately 20 land grant universities throughout the United States.”

    Twelve states participate in the program, from Kansas to North Dakota and east across to Ohio and Michigan, and the dollars are distributed each year through a very competitive grant process. “We don’t just do research, we target research to solve problems,” David said.

    NCSRP has a website (www.ncsrp.com) where growers can find all of the latest management recommendations to increase soybean yields, and they also hold numerous meetings in the various states during the year to get the information out to farmers. In addition, NCSRP has a producer communications effort called the Plant Health Initiative which aims to help growers manage soybean from the ground up. That site features a regular update on soybean health issues by David called David’s Desk.

    Listen to or download my interview with David in the player below.

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    AgWired coverage of the 2010 Commodity Classic
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    Audio, Commodity Classic, Soybean

    Fungicides Explained In BASF Podcast

    Chuck Zimmerman

    The chemical company, BASF, produces a podcast called The Chemical Reporter. In the latest episode you can learn about fungicides.

    Just like animals and human beings, plants can get sick. In many cases, the cause is a fungus. Not a mushroom like you see poking up out of the ground in the woods, but a network of branching, filamentary cells that botanists call ‘hyphae’. In entertaining episodes our Chemical Reporter answers questions of our Podcast listeners on Chemistry in our everyday life.

    You can listen to the latest episode here:

    BASF, Podcasts

    Preparing For Ag Day and Week

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Spring is near and that means so is AgDay which is coordinated by the Agriculture Council of America. This year you can follow AgDay on Twitter and Facebook. AgDay also has a blog now too.

    Tune in to the ZimmCast on Monday for an interview with ACA Chair, Linda Tank, CHS, Inc.

    Every year, producers, agricultural associations, corporations, universities, government agencies and countless other across America join together to recognize the contributions of agriculture. This year, Ag Day will be celebrated on March 20, 2010, and Ag Week during the week of March 14-20, 2010.

    Ag Day

    World Soy Foundation Helping the Malnourished Through Soy Protein

    Joanna Schroeder

    The world’s population is growing and simultaneously, malnutrition is growing. The World Soy Foundation (WSF) is a nonprofit organization that is helping to eradicate malnutrition around the world through soy protein. I had the chance to spend a few minutes with Nathan Ruby, Executive Director of the World Soy Foundation to learn more about what they do.

    Ruby explained that they address malnutrition issues through soy protein in four ways:

    1. Food distribution of soy protein
    2. Microenterprise – helping people start small businesses like the soy cow where people add 1 lbs of soybeans to 1 gallon of water to produce soy milk which they then sell in the local community
    3. Research – studying soybeans in different nutritional settings
    4. Education – working with people around the world to help them learn how soy protein can increase nutrition

    WSF is currently working in areas with high malnutrition including Haiti. “Our program there is really about development,” said Ruby. “We’re not a diasaster relief agency so we’re more concerned about what happens when the television cameras leave and go away and the world kind of forgets about Haiti. We’re still going to be there developing and we have a long-range plan to do that.”

    The organization is typically anywhere where people live in areas that are disconnected form the general flow of resources and opportunities. Currently, they are considering some programs in Iraq to help them learn how to farm soybeans and a similar program in Central America.

    As a nonprofit, WSF is always looking for more people to become involved in their programs. Soybean farmers around the world can participate through the Acre Challenge. Ruby explained that in this program, soybean farmers donate the proceeds from one acre of production.

    To learn more, click here and you can listen to my full interview with Nathan below.

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    AgWired coverage of the 2010 Commodity Classic
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