The Quest for Higher Yields Starts with the Root Tips

Joanna Schroeder

“The main objective that Stoller has is crop productivity. We’re interested in enhancing yields,” said Dr. Albert Liptay, the Director of Research and Development with StollerUSA, during an interview with me at the Ag Associates Conference this week. “We’re trying to understand what in the system of productivity will enhance yields.”

Yield enhancements was one of the focuses during the week-long conference for good reason – yield enhancements mean more profits. To improve yield, StollerUSA has been researching a new product called STO-01 which in early tests is seeing substantial results. While Dr. Liptay was enthusiastic to share his results, he also cautioned that the product was still being tested and it would be several more years and many more tests before it would be ready for market.

Dr. Liptay explained that STO-01 not only builds incredible root systems, but also builds strong root tips. “It’s the root tips that a lot of the hormones are synthesized that are sent up to the shoots and develop branching, develop fruits and develop seeds. So it’s this whole plant combination of good roots, good root tips, good type of branching, and good canopy performance that gives us the enhanced yield.”

Plants are regulated by the control systems they have, explained Dr. Liptay, and the control systems are basically the root tips and the shoot tips. “These systems are regulated by molecules that activate gene expression and it’s this gene expression that is important to us and what combination of molecules and minerals best effect the desired type of gene expression for productivity. Therefore, product quality and also pest tolerance.”

He also mentioned the importance of understanding epigenetics and learning how to turn on the set of genes that will get the desired result.

To learn more about the importance of root tips, shoot tips and epigenetics for yield enhancements, listen to my interview with Dr. Liptay below.

Ag Associates Conference Flickr Album.

Agribusiness, Audio

Mark Vail New Executive Director For NAFB

Chuck Zimmerman

I’d like to congratulate Mark Vail in his new position of Executive Director for the National Association of Farm Broadcasting. NAFB just made the announcement this morning.

Vail brings with him 34 years of experience in the broadcast arena, encompassing a variety of positions including farm broadcaster, general manager and director of operations.

“I’m very excited to have Mark on board as our executive director,” said Greg Akagi, NAFB president. “Mark has truly done it all for NAFB, and his knowledge and experience will give the organization a strong voice for many years to come.”

For the past 19 years Vail has worked for Eagle Communications, Hays, Kan., in various capacities, during which he was executive producer and co-creator of the national ag show AgriTalk. Since 1998, he has served as vice president of radio for the employee-owned company.

“It is an honor to be selected as the executive director of NAFB. I look forward to working with the board and the many dedicated industry leaders as we build on a strong foundation established by generations of legacy farm broadcasters and innovative agricultural and rural partners,” Vail said. “The association has a solid strategic plan in place, and I am confident the membership will continue to use the plan as a guide for continued growth in a very dynamic media environment.”

NAFB

Quality Forage Leads to More Profitable Dairy Cows

Joanna Schroeder

Les Yoder is an expert on dairy cattle. His company Homestead Nutrition works not only to help improve the nutritional value of dairy feed, but also works on crop and soil nutrition. I spoke with him during the Ag Associates Conference to learn more about the benefits of good feed nutrition.

“The forage component of the rations is extremely important to how we’re able to balance that program and make that cow very productive while maintaining health and profitability,” said Yoder.

The better quality the forage is, the less a farmer has to depend on other things like the purchase of additional feed (corn and soybeans). “Quality forage is extremely, extremely important in a profitable dairy nutrition’s diet,” he said.

Yoder began using Bio-Forge nearly 10 years ago implementing that product for corn silage for dairy rations and as a result, really started seeing some benefits of improved quality, improved digestibility and improved plant health all of which made a better ration. He also noted that it helped to make a healthier and less expensive diet.

His early successes led him to work more with Stoller to understand the “language of the plant.” In other words, learning how to understand how the plant grows, how it reacts to environmental stresses, diseases and insect pressures.

I asked him if he could impart some personal wisdom to the diary farmers across the world, what it would be? He answered, “Anything they do to improve forage quality improves animal health, decreases the need for supplementation and just make a better ration.” And a better ration, he concluded, means a healthier cow and a more profitable dairy operation.

Listen to my interview with Les below.

Ag Associates Conference Flickr Album.

Agribusiness, Audio, Dairy, Feed

Asian Barbeque Featured By U.S. Premium Beef

Chuck Zimmerman

U.S. Premium BeefOne of the most popular attractions at Wednesday’s grand opening of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Trade Show in San Antonio belonged to U.S. Premium Beef. Thanks to Joe Schuele, USMEF for this story including photo and audio.

The company, a member of the U.S. Meat Export Federation, decided to promote the value of beef exports by serving samples of the Asian barbecue dish Yakiniku (YAK-A-NEE-KOO) – a thinly sliced cut derived from the beef short rib that is especially popular in South Korea and Japan. The samples were enjoyed by a steady stream of cattle producers throughout the evening.

Bill Miller, director of communications for U.S. Premium Beef, explains that the purpose of the barbecue promotion was to illustrate for cattle producers the critical importance of U.S. beef exports to their industry, and to the bottom line of their operations. Listen to or download (mp3) Bill here: cic-10-premium-1.mp3

Miller also comments on the important role played by the Beef Checkoff Program in promoting U.S. beef in overseas markets. Listen to or download (mp3) Bill here: cic-10-premium-2.mp3

Cattle Industry Convention Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the Cattle Industry Convention is sponsored by:
Novus

Audio, Beef, Cattle Industry Conference

RIP Milt Bliss

Cindy Zimmerman

nafbVeteran farm broadcaster Milt Bliss received his heavenly reward this week on January 27 – 100 years and 6 days old, bless his soul.

Milt’s century mark was recognized by Willard Scott on the Today show last week and he received numerous birthday wishes from friends around the world. Milt was inducted into the NAFB Hall of Fame in 1994 after a career in agricultural communications that spanned six decades.

You can find out more about Milt’s long and accomplished life, arrangements for his funeral and visitation, and even send condolences to the family on-line here.

NAFB

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Vermeer is pleased to announce a 3-Year Cutterbar Warranty on new Vermeer mowers.
  • Joey Spicola, owner and operator of a West Texas cattle ranch, is developing and marketing a computer driven, hand-held livestock weighing device, ClicRweight.
  • AG CONNECT Expo 2010 attracted more than 7,700 registered attendees, making it a resounding success in these tough economic times. Planning is already underway for AG CONNECT Expo 2011, which is set for Jan. 7-10, 2011, in Atlanta, Ga.
  • EMD Crop BioScience has introduced a new formulation of Torque IF with LCO Promoter Technology for corn that offers growers and Retailers more flexibility and convenience.
    Zimfo Bytes

    Novus Welcomes Baseball Great to Poultry Expo

    Cindy Zimmerman

    novusNovus International brought a game changing baseball great to the International Poultry Expo in Atlanta to symbolize their company strategy of changing the game in livestock productivity to meet the challenge of feeding a growing global population.

    Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson, who played for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1959-1975, was a big hit at the Novus booth, with hundreds lining up to get a photo and autographed baseball. We took about 500 photos in three hours, which we are slowly but surely adding to a separate Flickr photo album for easy downloading by the lucky ones who got to meet “Hoot.”

    Novus International Bob Gibson Photo Album

    novusGibson’s jersey number 45 was retired by the St. Louis Cardinals, and in 1981, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall Of Fame. In 1999, he ranked Number 31 on The Sporting News’ list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. In 2004, he was named as the most intimidating pitcher of all time from the Fox Sports Net series The Sports List.

    This is the second year that Novus brought a baseball theme to the expo. Last year, it was the legendary Lou Brock, also a St. Louis Cardinal – a tribute to Novus’ hometown.

    *Post Update* Just got around to adding this video – which actually turned out pretty good!

    Novus International, Poultry, Poultry Expo

    Novus International Announces Beef Industry Commitment

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Gary WinterNovus International announced its commitment to the beef industry today at the Cattle Industry Convention. They held a press conference this afternoon and I spoke with Gary Winter, Ruminant Sales Manager, North America afterward. I’m also posting the full press conference for you in case you’d like to listen in.

    Gary has been with the company for about ten years. He says they’ve been getting a lot of interest from producers here and the trade show is providing them with a great opportunity to get their name out in front of them since there are a lot of beef producers who aren’t familiar with their name yet. He says they’ve had ingredients going into the beef business for a while but are just now launching their marketing campaign into the market. He points to products like Alimet, Mintrex and Agrado Plus as some of the names that producers can look to to increase herd efficiency.

    You can listen to or download (mp3) Gary’s remarks here: cic-10-novus-winter.mp3

    You can listen to or download (mp3) the full press conference here: cic-10-novus-press-conference.mp3

    Cattle Industry Convention Photo Album

    AgWired coverage of the Cattle Industry Convention is sponsored by:
    Novus

    Agribusiness, Animal Health, Audio, Cattle Industry Conference, Novus International

    Techniques for Increasing Corn Yield

    Joanna Schroeder

    Dr. Ron Heiniger with North Carolina State University is an expert in corn. For many years, he has been researching how to increase corn yields and some of the research he has done in his test plots are showing promising results – 300+ bushels per acre results. To put this number in perspective, the average bushel per acre yield for his area is between 120-125. “Our goal is to try to explore yield levels. The idea is yield equals profit,” said Dr. Heiniger. These results were unveiled during his presentation as part of StollerUSA’s Ag Associates Conference.

    In order to achieve higher yields, Dr. Heiniger said that first he and his team knew that they needed to address stress as well as find ways to get their plants more productive. As a result, he said, “We learned what some of the key factors are such as plant population, intercept more light, and doing something for stress.” He continued that early growth roots become very critical as well as finding ways to combat heat and other stresses.

    I asked him why root growth was so important and he told me that a stronger, larger root mass helps the plant combat stress as well as absorb nutrients more effectively. However, there are limited ways to do this including early fertilization and some products like Bio-Forge to help hormone stimulation and to get more root tips growing as well as get longer roots. He stressed that better root growth and getting a better way to intercept water is crucial. Especially since his area can be hot and dry for most of the growing season.

    His research has looked at many ways to improve root health including when applications are most successful. He said they’ve looked at applying the treatments to seed, in-furrow, as a two-by-two band and even at different stages of the plant life. Although he is not ready to endorse which way is best, he stressed that what they have unequivocally discovered is that the treatments need to be applied as early as possible, meaning within the first few weeks of planting. “That really changes the game right off the bat.”

    I asked him what he would recommend to growers to help them improve yield and he said first, in-furrow applications and second, if that is not an option, a seed application. He concluded by saying that, “Growers have a great opportunity to use some new innovative products.”

    To learn more about his research, listen to my full interview with Dr. Heiniger or click here.

    Ag Associates Conference Flickr Album.

    Agribusiness, Corn, Research

    How to Grow Scrumptous Blueberries

    Joanna Schroeder

    Dr. Micheal Orzolek, a professor in Pennsylvania State University’s horticulture department, can grow a mean blueberry. Orzolek has been involved in growing blueberries for the past few years. He has incorporated some of SollerUSA’s technologies to help rejuvenate the blueberry crop. Currently, he is using both a root applied and folio applied program with drip irrigation and early field tests have shown that this program has increased his yield between 50-100 percent.

    DrOrzolekDuring the Ag Associates Conference in Houston this week, Dr. Orzolek shared his results to a crowd of more than 100 people from all over the world. He told me during an interview that specifically he uses Flower Power, which gets really good flower production and also uses Fruit Power which increased the size of the berries as well as made them more succulent.

    I asked Dr. Orzolek why treating the roots was so important. He said, “Roots are important because the root caps produce two of the plant hormones we use in plant production and also because all the nutrients come in through the caps. The result,” he continued, “of healthier plants is that we have less diseases and insect problems.”

    He mentioned that he is getting a much better crop production with a lot less inputs of insecticides and fungicides.

    I asked him what he recommended for other growers currently growing blueberries or considering growing them. He answered that he should consider both soil and foliar treatments and especially stressed the use of the Fruit Power.

    Well, it must work because people have been known to try to sneak into his test plots but you’ll have to listen to the full interview with Dr. Orzolek to hear the full story.

    Ag Associates Conference Flickr Album.

    Agribusiness