America’s Farmers Grow Communities

Chuck Zimmerman

MonsantoThere are booths on the floor of three different buildings at the Iowa Power Farming Show. They’re also in the hallways. I stopped at this one to learn about the Monsanto sponsored America’s Farmers Grow Communities Project. Lots of farmers were stopping by to sign up their favorite local charity. To tell us all about it I interviewed Gayla Daugherty, Monsanto Communications Manager.

She says it’s a new project for farmers to sign up a local non-profit of their choice to win via a random drawing. There are 179 counties involved in Iowa/Missouri/Arkansas and you can see them listed on the official rules page.

Plant $2,500 in your community and watch it grow.

As a farmer, you care for our land and grow our economy. You make everyone’s lives better – locally, nationally and globally. To thank you, Monsanto wants to make a contribution in your name to your local community with the America’s Farmers Grow Communities™ Project.

One nonprofit community organization in each eligible county will receive a $2,500 award. It’s up to farmers like you to help decide where it goes.

Together we can grow rural America…one community at a time. Apply now.

You can listen to my interview with Gayla below.

Iowa Power Farming Show Photo Album

Farm Shows

Novus Stays Close to Customers

Cindy Zimmerman

novusNovus International Executive Vice President of marketing and sales Giovanni Gasperoni, pictured here with a delegation from Thailand, seemed to know everyone at the International Poultry/Feed Expo in Atlanta last week and he greeted them all as close friends. His genuine and effusive personality reflects his passion for the business of animal agriculture and the people in the industry who produce food for the world. He is firmly dedicated to Novus’ vision to help feed the world affordable, wholesome food and achieve a higher quality of life. “This is really important to us, this is our vision, and we’ve maintained the same vision for the last 20 years,” Gio told me during an interview.

novusOne of the ways Novus is working to achieve that vision is by maintaining a close relationship with their customers in every one of the more than 90 countries they serve. In January, Novus opened a new blending plant in Singapore for animal feed supplements. “It’s part of our overall strategy to be closer to our customers with our specialty products,” Gio said. “We needed to address that in the Asia Pacific and northern China.” The plant will serve as a distribution hub for regional Novus clients in industries including aquaculture, poultry, ruminant and pork.

Gio says in the coming year, Novus will be focused on Africa. “It’s kind of a last frontier for us in helping feed the world affordable and wholesome food,” he says.

Listen to or download my interview with Gio in the player below, and check out our photo albums from the IPE – especially if you had a photo taken with baseball great Bob Gibson at the Novus booth.
International Poultry Expo 2010
Bob Gibson/Novus Photo Album

Audio, International, Novus International, Poultry, Poultry Expo

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Extreme Makeover Home Edition has just “knocked on the door” of the home of Brian and Audra Skaggs, Lexington, Okla., active in the Limousin breed and a familiar face in the cattle industry. The reveal will be held Sunday, Feb. 7, and members of the cattle and livestock industry are encouraged to be there when they “move that bus”!
  • Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc., announces the promotion of three professional service veterinarians. Tom Wetzell, DVM, Angela Baysinger, DVM and Greg Cline, DVM, have been promoted to senior veterinarian.
  • BASF and Farm Plan have teamed up to help growers finance their purchase of two crop protection products from BASF through Farm Plan with 0% interest through next fall. To take advantage of this special offer, growers need to sign up by Feb. 15, 2010.
  • Newsham Choice Genetics is launching a new Web site to benefit pork producers.
Zimfo Bytes

Priority Setting For FY 2011 Beef Budgets

Chuck Zimmerman

Robert Fountain, Jr.After all the committees meet during convention the leaders got together for a special extra meeting to set their priorities. This was done via a wireless electronic process. You can see CBB Board member Robert Fountain, Jr. (Secretary/Treasurer) holding up his device before they got started.

I spoke about the process with Rick Husted who managed the session. He says that in the past the priority setting has happened in each of the committee meetings. This year they have evolved that process to bring all the committee leaders together in one session to set and rank priorities. This will be used to set the FY 2011 plan. You can learn more about the process by listening to Rick.

You can listen to and download my interview with Rick below.

Cattle Industry Convention Photo Album

Ag Groups, Audio, Cattle Industry Conference

Coming to Your Farm: Weekly Video Crop Reports

Joanna Schroeder

If you are interested in getting up-to-date ag reports from growers around the world, then you need to check out Ag Reports Network (ARN). The site utilizes video clips from farmers and agronomists to give growers timely and accurate crop condition reports from farms around the world. The newly designed site gives updates from around the United States as well as from Brazil. Within the next few months, reports will also be coming from farmers in the Ukraine and Argentina.

In addition to crop reports, growers can also buy and sell equipment, also featured via video, as well as view educational pieces focused on various crops such as corn and soybeans. There will also be weekly market reports available that are designed to help a grower manage risk.

ARN is currently looking for additional growers from around the world, growing a diversity of crops, to participate in the weekly video reports. You can visit the website to learn more at www.agreportsnetwork.com. And while you’re there, register to win an all expenses paid trip for two to Bahia, Brazil to learn, first hand, about Brazilian agriculture.

Agribusiness, Farming

Soybean Man

Chuck Zimmerman

Soybean ManYou never know what you’ll run into at a farm show. In this case it’s the Bayer CropScience Soybean Man.

He didn’t talk so I didn’t interview him. Just saw him wandering around and took his picture. I’m sure that if you want to know more you’ll need to talk to your local Bayer CropScience representative.

Iowa Power Farming Show Photo Album

Farm Shows, Soybean

Auditorium View of Iowa Power Farming Show

Chuck Zimmerman

Iowa Power Farming ShowI enjoyed day one of the Iowa Power Farming Show. You’ve got to like a show that’s indoors when the day starts out at 14 degrees. Cindy will be attending next week’s National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville which is an indoor show too.

From all indications it was a good start here today. Like many farm shows, the second day is supposed to be the best day for attendance. I heard only positive comments today and still have some more interviews to post in the next day or so. I’ll actually be traveling home tomorrow to get ready for this Saturday’s Chicago Farmers Farmland Investment Fair before heading directly to the National Biodiesel Conference in Dallas.

Iowa Power Farming Show Photo Album

Farm Shows

Ag Leader Launches Blue Delta Dealer Network

Chuck Zimmerman

Mike OlsonAg Leader Technology has announced the Blue Delta Dealer Network. At the Iowa Power Farming Show I spoke with Mike Olson to learn more about it. He’s pictured working in the booth here at the show.

Basically, Ag Leader Technology has developed a new elite precision farming distribution network in an effort to bring more structure to a growing precision agriculture community.

The network is designed to help precision farming dealers become well-rounded precision farming experts, as well as help farmers locate and identify elite precision farming dealerships throughout North America.

“There are thousands of precision farming dealerships and specialists out there; our goal with Blue Delta is to create an opportunity for the best of these dealers to separate themselves with in-depth training, and increased product and marketing sup- port so they can become an even better resource for their customers,” says Mike Olson, North American Sales Manager. “We recognize the end user’s most important resource is their precision farming dealer. This is a great way to bring more consistency and expertise to the marketplace.”

Blue DeltaAg Leader unofficially launched the Blue Delta network in December at the grand opening of Ag Leader Academy in Ames. Since that time Ag Leader has been working with dealers on intense product training and marketing efforts.

“Our goal is to provide these dealers with a number of tools to help them better educate and sup- port their precision farming customers,” continues Olson. “We’ve learned that the more educated growers are about precision farming, the more they embrace it. We believe this will have a significant impact on the industry.”

You can listen to my interview with Mike below.

Iowa Power Farming Show Photo Album

Ag Leader, Audio, Farm Shows, Precision Agriculture

Iowa Power Farming Show

Chuck Zimmerman

Tom Junge IA Power Farming ShowI’m attending my first ever Iowa Power Farming Show courtesy of PrecisionPays.com sponsor Ag Leader Technology. The first person I met this morning was show manager, Tom Junge. The show is conducted by the Iowa-Nebraska Equipment Dealers Association.

Tom says they represent about 400 dealers and have been doing the show for 55 years. They have a show in December in Nebraska now too. Here at the Iowa show they use 3 different buildings with 6 acres of exhibits. They’re hoping for another record attendance this year like they had last year.

You can listen to my interview with Tom below. I also uploaded a short video clip from above the show floor with my iPhone so you can see what it’s like.

And of course I’ve got photos for you in the Iowa Power Farming Show Photo Album.

Ag Leader, Audio, Farm Shows, Video

Study Shows Environmental Benefits of Soybeans

Cindy Zimmerman

Soybeans are better than ever for the environment, which makes soy-based products greener than ever.

usb lifecycleThat’s the findings of a new peer-reviewed life cycle profile just released by the United Soybean Board (USB) that documents multiple energy and environmental benefits of U.S. soybean farming and processing.

“This profile is the first comprehensive life cycle study covering U.S. soybean production through four major biobased products,” said Arkansas soybean farmer John Cooper, a USB Director and Member of the USB Domestic Marketing Committee. “U.S. soy already delivers environmental and energy benefits. It’s exciting to see the trends point to even more in the future.”

A key objective was to update life cycle inventory (LCI) databases for soybean production and processing as well as conversion into four key soy-derived feedstocks (methyl soyate, soy lube base stock, soy polyol, and soy resin) used in fuel and industrial products. Its cradle-to-gate scope begins with soybean farming (the cradle) and goes through processing of products (the gate).

Among the study’s key findings are that soybean production results in significant greenhouse gas reductions and that soybean yields are 12 percent higher than 10 years ago and should increase 40 percent over the next decade.

The updated data show approximately 20% less direct energy used in soybean farming due to reduced diesel and gasoline usageand soybean processing facilities reduced their energy consumption by 45% compared to 1998 data.

Soybean, USB