Animal Ag News 2/21

Carrie Muehling

  • Paying tribute to Florida’s hardworking dairy farmers and the animals in their care, Florida Dairy Farmers have partnered to transform the T.G. Lee dairy, a farmer-owned processing plant of Dairy Farmers of America in DeLand, Fla into a larger-than-life tribute to agriculture. Located on a major highway and visible to tens of thousands of commuters each day, the T.G. Lee plant is a massive building and has been a landmark in the region for decades. At more than 5,500 square feet, the iconic mural is the largest in Central Florida.
  • The National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) Program shared the results of its Animal Care Version 5 Development Survey. The report summarizes stakeholder perspectives on animal care issues of importance and captures ideas and levels of support for potential changes to the industry’s animal care standards.
  • The quality of the traffic in the Expo halls, enthusiasm from attendees and exhibitors in reconnecting with their colleagues, and participation in the educational offerings made for a highly productive 2022 International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE). A total of 1,121 exhibitors showcased their latest technology and solutions, occupying more than 500,000 square feet of exhibit space. IPPE is the world’s largest annual poultry, meat and animal food industry event of its kind and is one of the 30 largest trade shows in the United States.
  • FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative members and delegates gathered on February 11-12 to take a deeper look at important industry topics, approve its 2022 public policy and review the cooperative’s accomplishments from the past year during its 10th annual meeting in Onalaska, Wis.
  • The National Pork Board shared more about its industry’s aspiration to produce a leading sustainable protein choice, with an announcement of goals and metrics and its first official U.S. Pork Industry Sustainability Report.
  • The World Pork Expo returns for its 34th year to the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, June 8-10. Presented by the National Pork Producers Council, World Pork Expo is expected to draw thousands of producers and industry professionals for three days of networking, education, innovation – and free pork, too.
  • The U.S. dairy sector has undergone substantial structural change characterized by a shift to larger and fewer dairy operations, concentrated in relatively few states. A report issued by USDA’s Economic Research Service, Sources, Trends, and Drivers of U.S. Dairy Productivity and Efficiency, measures and analyzes the dairy sector’s productivity growth and efficiency and identifies proximate drivers and sources of this growth in the face of the structural change observed from 2000 to 2020.
  • Austin Hill was first to the checkered flag, and the beef, as he won the 41st season-opening race for the NASCAR Xfinity Series – the Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner.® 300. For the second year the Federation of State Beef Councils, on behalf of the Beef Checkoff, partnered with the Daytona International Speedway to sponsor the race one day ahead of the legendary DAYTONA 500.
AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Animal Bites

Industry Ag News 2/18

Carrie Muehling

  • Meet two keynote speakers joining the Alltech ONE Conference lineup: Mick Ebeling, founder and CEO of Not Impossible Labs and author of “Not Impossible: The Art and Joy of Doing What Couldn’t Be Done,” will take the ONE mainstage in person, and his presentation will also be live-streamed for those joining virtually. Presenting virtually is Paul Polman, who has been described by the Financial Times as “a standout CEO of the past decade”. As CEO of Unilever (2009-2019), he stopped reporting quarterly earnings to focus on a long-term strategy that would successfully double revenues while reducing the company’s environmental impact by half.
  • Peggy Findley, Commodity Classic director for the past 26 years, has announced that she will be retiring later this year, once her replacement is hired and the transition of duties for managing the 2023 event in Orlando is complete. Commodity Classic is actively recruiting candidates for the position at commodityclassic.com/join-the-classic-team.
  • There’s still time to enter the IFAJ Star Prize competition! With categories in Print, Photography, Audio, Video and Digital/Multimedia, the Star Prize recognizes the best agricultural reporting in the world… and every entry receives feedback from our global judging panels. The entry deadline is March 10.
  • During the recent Growth Energy Executive Leadership Conference, National Corn Growers Association Communications Director Julie Busse received the TOBI Award for Public Affairs.
  • The Renewable Fuels Association welcomed six companies to the organization as its newest associate members. The new associate members are: The Greenbrier Companies, P&E Solutions, Richard Design Services, Texas International Terminals Ltd., Trucent Inc., and Unison Energy LLC.
  • The Agriculture Council of America (ACA) has announced the 2022 National Ag Day video and written essay winners. The winners were chosen based on the theme: American Agriculture: Growing a Climate for Tomorrow. The national written essay winner, Haden Coleman of Trinity, Texas, receives a $1,000 prize and will read his winning essay at the virtual Ag Day event on March 22, 2022. The winning entries can be viewed online at agday.org/2022-contest-winners.
  • GROWMARK, Inc. is honoring the 40-year career of CEO Jim Spradlin with gifts to his alma mater, Illinois College. The GROWMARK Foundation is providing $50,000 to establish the James Spradlin Endowed Scholarship Fund. This permanent endowed fund at Illinois College will provide financial assistance annually to a student or students majoring in agribusiness or a similar field.
  • The National Cotton Council announced that Ron Rayner, a third generation Arizona cotton producer, is the recipient of the 2021 Harry S. Baker Distinguished Service Award.
  • Ted Schneider, a Lake Providence, La., producer, was elected National Cotton Council chairman for 2022 during the organization’s annual meeting in Houston, Texas.
  • The BASF Board of Executive Directors has decided on changes to the responsibilities in two Board Ressorts. These will take effect on March 1, 2022, and are structured as follows: Saori Dubourg (Ressort IV) will assume responsibility for the Monomers, Performance Materials, Petrochemicals and Intermediates divisions. She will continue to be responsible for the region Europe. Michael Heinz (Ressort V), based in Florham Park, New Jersey, will assume responsibility for the Agricultural Solutions, Care Chemicals and Nutrition & Health divisions. He will continue to be responsible for the regions North America and South America.
Zimfo Bytes

Passing of Jerry Passer

Cindy Zimmerman

Sad to share the news that longtime farm broadcaster Jerry Passer died over the weekend. He would have been 79 years old today, born on Feb 17, 1943, in Wells, MN.

Passer was a veteran of the US Navy where he served as a corpsman for 4.5 years in Washington D.C. at the Bethesda Naval Hospital. After his time in the service, Passer joined KBEW Radio in Blue Earth, Minnesota, in 1967. From there, he moved on to spend time at KATE Radio in Albert Lea and Austin, Minnesota. He joined NAFB at KQAQ Radio in 1972 as an associate member, working as both a broadcaster and doing sales.

In 1973 when he became farm editor at WMT Radio in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and stayed for the next 18 years. After leaving WMT in 1991, Passer continued in farm broadcasting at KOEL Radio in Oelwein, Iowa, and Brownfield Ag News. He retired from Brownfield in June 2017.

Read more about Jerry and arrangements here.

NAFB

SABIC Signs Agreement With Intrinsyx Bio

Cindy Zimmerman

SABIC, a global leader in diversified chemicals with a focus on agri-nutrients, has signed a technology collaboration agreement with Intrinsyx Bio, a California based company focused on the development and commercialization of endophytes (plant microbes) that can increase crop yields and optimize fertilizer usage.

As part of this collaboration, SABIC will be evaluating Intrinsyx Bio’s patented endophyte products’ technology and their ability to fix nitrogen from the air and improve crop yield and farmers’ investment.

“SABIC Agri Nutrients Company focuses on responsive sustainable innovations to provide food and fiber to the world. This collaboration with Intrinsyx Bio would lead to the next generation bio-enhanced fertilizers,” said Munif Al Munif, General Manager T&I of SABIC Agri Nutrients Company.

“We are excited to partner with SABIC to commercialize this technology and meet their sustainability goals. Our solutions enable companies like SABIC to optimize nitrogen use on a global scale,” said Ahsan Ali, CEO of Intrinsyx Bio.

Intrinsyx Bio’s solutions are built on three decades of academic research in the plant microbiome and field trialing across the US and Europe. Its endophyte products rely on improved nutrient use efficiency to simultaneously increase crop yields and optimize the use of nitrogen fertilizers.

Studies show that conventional nitrogen management is only 30-50% efficient in terms of what the plant utilizes. The rest is lost to the environment through volatilization and leaching.

AgWired Precision, Biologicals, Farming, Fertilizer, Precision Agriculture

Precision Ag News 2/16

Carrie Muehling

  • Invaio Sciences, Inc., a Flagship Pioneering company focused on unlocking the potential of the planet’s interdependent natural systems to solve pressing agricultural, sustainability, and environmental challenges, announced the appointment of Hugh Grant to its Board of Directors.
  • Overall ag tractor sales in the U.S. and Canada continued rising into January 2022, while combine harvesters slowed for the month according to the latest data from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers. U.S. total farm tractor sales gained 1.5 percent for the month of January compared to 2021, while U.S. self-propelled combine sales for the month fell 41.4 percent to 205 units sold. The 100+ horsepower 2WD segment led all segments with a 10.8 percent gain, followed by the sub-40 horsepower 2WD segment up 2 percent. Mid-range tractors between 40 and 100 horsepower fell 2.8 percent while articulated 4WD tractors inched down 0.4 percent.
  • Ag Leader is growing their full-farm solution lineup with the newest addition to their DirectCommand application product line, trusted by farmers for nearly two decades. RightSpot offers nozzle-by-nozzle sprayer control for consistent and effective coverage plus added flexibility for a wider speed range, greater productivity and increased accuracy.
  • Biome Makers, AgTech leader in microbial soil analysis, releases their 2021 Impact Report measuring its progress toward soil health and sharing its goals for the next 5 years. Biome Makers’ impact focus is on 3 pillars: a nature-positive food production system, fair socioeconomic conditions for farmers, and empowering the ecosystem.
  • AGCO Corporation celebrates the 75th anniversary of Hesston by Massey Ferguson in 2022.
  • The American Society of Agricultural Consultants selected Traci Schermerhorn to serve as the ASAC executive vice president.
  • The Board of Trace Genomics announces the promotion of co-founder and VP Science, Technology and Innovation, Poornima Parameswaran, Ph.D to President. Since co-founding the firm in 2015 Parameswaran has been a driving force behind the science, development and lab-to-field application of the most comprehensive soil microbial database to advance production agriculture.
  • AgroLiquid, a liquid fertilizer company, launched “Season 2” of the Back 2 Basics free educational online course. The Back 2 Basics video series is intended to take an in-depth look at the nutrients that may make a difference for a grower’s crop.
  • Farm Journal’s Trust In Food and Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture today released the 2022 edition of their “State of Sustainable Ag” report, highlighting perspectives of 500 row-crop producers across the U.S. on pathways and barriers to accelerating conservation adoption.
  • Heliae® Agriculture, an algal tech company specializing in scalable regenerative agriculture solutions, is proud to announce PhycoTerra® ST, its innovative new seed treatment product, was named a Top 10 Most Innovative Product by leading seed industry publication, Seed World.
  • Syngenta announces EPA registration of Tendovo™ soybean herbicide which will be available for use next season, subject to state approvals. The first and only soybean three-way premix of its kind, Tendovo provides redefined early-season preemergence weed control, without the crop injury of competitive brands.
AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes, Precision Agriculture

ZimmCast 686 – Agri-Pulse Newsmakers

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCastHello and welcome to the ZimmCast. I’m Chuck Zimmerman.

Our friends at Agri-Pulse have launched a national news show called Agri-Pulse Newsmakers. The inaugural show was published this past Friday and you can find it on the Agri-Pulse website. The program designed for a broader audience and to engage lawmakers and key influencers on the hottest political topics.

I talked with Sara Wyant, Agri-Pulse Founder and Editor about the new program and that’s the topic for this week’s ZimmCast.

Agri-Pulse Newsmakers“Our editorial team has demonstrated a strong ability to bring people together for high-level discussions that can both inform and engage,” said Agri-Pulse Founder and Editor Sara Wyant. “I’ve long thought that we could harness these strengths and produce a high-quality political show for the agricultural community. With the 2022 midterm elections right around the corner and discussions on the 2023 farm bill underway, our timing could not be better.”

The 30-minute program will be broadcast on www.Agri-Pulse.com and distributed every Friday via Agri-Pulse.com and other partner channels. If you are not already part of the Agri-Pulse viewer community, you can opt into this free show by clicking here. Newsmakers will be available in both video and podcast formats, and available on iTunes, Google Play and Spotify.

To sign up for updates from the new weekly Newsmakers program and daily newsletters just go to the Agri-Pulse website.

Listen to the ZimmCast here:
ZimmCast 686 - Agri-Pulse Newsmakers (12:27)

So, that’s the ZimmCast for this week. I hope you like it and thank you for listening.

Want to sponsor the ZimmCast? Just let me know and we can talk through ideas for your company. I’m AgriBlogger on Twitter or just email me at chuck@zimmcomm.biz.

Subscribe to the ZimmCast in:

Agri-Pulse, Audio, Farm Policy, Media, ZimmCast

CIRB Emerging Leaders Program Back on Track

Cindy Zimmerman

After having to skip a year due to the pandemic, the Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau (CIRB) Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) got back on track for 2021-22 with a brand new crop of bright and talented industry representatives.

ELP is designed for professionals in the crop insurance industry that seek to increase their knowledge and hands-on experience with key issues. Throughout the program, Emerging Leaders receive advocacy and communications training, and have the opportunity to attend three CIRB Executive Committee Meetings.

This year’s class was one short of a dozen and nine of them were able to attend last week’s annual meeting in California.

Hear why they signed up for ELP and what they have learned in these interviews.

CIRB22 interview with Dave DeCapp, Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance

CIRB22 interview with Jerod Dowell, AgriSompo North America

CIRB22 interview with Brenda Dozier, COUNTRY Financial

CIRB22 interview with Lurinda Gilliand, Rural Community Insurance Service

CIRB22 interview with Sandon Lawrence, American Farm Bureau Insurance Services, Inc.

CIRB22 interview with Ken Ripley, Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance

CIRB22 interview with Colleen Sizemore, Crop Risk Services

CIRB22 interview with Jeff Van Genderen, Farm Bureau Financial Services

CIRB22 interview with Stephanie Wolfe, Rural Community Insurance Services

Audio, CIRB, Crop Insurance

Cotton Council Reveals Planting Intentions Survey

Cindy Zimmerman

According to the National Cotton Council’s 41st Annual Early Season Planting Intentions Survey, U.S. cotton producers intend to plant 12.0 million cotton acres this spring, up 7.3 percent from 2021.

Upland cotton intentions are 11.9 million acres, up 7.1 percent from 2021, while extra-long staple (ELS) intentions of 158,000 acres represent a 24.8 percent increase. The detailed survey results were announced during the 2022 National Cotton Council Annual Meeting.

Dr. Jody Campiche, the NCC’s vice president, Economics & Policy Analysis, said, “Planted acreage is just one of the factors that will determine supplies of cotton and cottonseed. Ultimately, weather and agronomic conditions are among the factors that play a significant role in determining crop size.”

Cotton newsline audio with Dr. Jody Campiche (4:04)

The National Cotton Council also provided the annual economic outlook for the industry at the annual meeting.

This past year can be characterized as a year with significant uncertainty and volatility in the global economy and the world cotton market. The global economy recovered at a much faster pace than expected as COVID-19 restrictions were relaxed and world economies reopened. Strong world cotton demand has resulted in the highest cotton prices in a decade. However, the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic’s shock to global trade have created an unprecedented level of stress and disruption on the entire supply chain, from transportation costs to labor availability.

Audio, Cotton

Animal Ag News 2/14

Carrie Muehling

  • Zoetis announced it will support the Folds of Honor Foundation by donating a portion of purchases from the industry-leading Zoetis anti-infective portfolio to support the legacy of America’s fallen and disabled military members.
  • Zoetis, CowManager and Select Sires Inc. announced the launch of a strategic collaboration to integrate genomic tools and predictive sensor systems. The goal of this collaboration is to create value for cattle producers in farm management through better advice supported by more accurate, intelligent cow data.
  • Cattle producers Norman Voyles, Jr., Jimmy Taylor and Andy Bishop are the new leaders of the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion & Research Board. This officer team is responsible for guiding the national Beef Checkoff throughout 2022.
  • Michelle Sutton, a senior at Texas A&M University, was named the Frank Perdue Scholarship Student of the Year during the USPOULTRY Foundation College Student Career Program, held in conjunction with the 2022 International Production & Processing Expo.
  • Register today for the Beef X Dairy: Hits and Misses webinar on February 17th, 2022 @ 6:00 p.m. Central time.
  • For more than a decade, the U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards program has been celebrating dairy farms, businesses and partnerships for their dedication to advancing sustainability across the industry. The nominations period deadline for the 2022 U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards has been extended to March 4.
  • The United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is announcing the expansion of wild bird surveillance for avian influenza to include the Mississippi and Central Flyways. This expansion also enlarged the existing surveillance program in the Atlantic and Pacific Flyways, which is in place to conduct surveillance of birds that may interact with wild birds from Europe and Asia.
  • The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and Public Lands Council expressed opposition to the U.S. District Court’s ruling to remand and vacate the gray wolf Endangered Species Act delisting announced by the Trump administration in 2020.
  • The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame awarded the Jerry Ann Taylor Best Dressed Award during the final round of the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo to WPRA barrel racer Sissy Winn.
  • On behalf of U.S. dairy producers and manufacturers, the National Milk Producers Federation and the U.S. Dairy Export Council lauded the industry’s decades of work that’s led to a record year for U.S. dairy exports after the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced record sales of $7.75 billion in 2021, accounting for over 17% of U.S. milk production.
  • Josh Meissner, a dairy farmer in central Wisconsin, will serve an interim term on the Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative board of directors, the co-op announced.
AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Animal Bites

Crop Insurance Premium Benefit Offered for Cover Crops

Cindy Zimmerman

USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) has announced details of the 2022 Pandemic Cover Crop Program (PCCP) that both benefits farmers and supports climate smart production practices.

Agricultural producers who have coverage under most crop insurance policies are eligible for a premium benefit from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) if they planted cover crops during the 2022 crop year. To receive the benefit from this year’s Pandemic Cover Crop Program (PCCP), producers must report cover crop acreage by March 15, 2022. The new program comes on the heels of the recently announced Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities which creates market opportunities for U.S. agricultural and forestry products that use climate-smart production practices and include innovative, cost-effective ways to measure and verify greenhouse gas benefits.

RMA Administrator Marcia Bunger attended the 2022 Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau (CIRB) Annual Meeting this week where she talked about the program. “It is exciting that we are able to offer this again,” said Bunger. “I’m anticipating there will be even more acres that will fall under that premium credit option.”

PCCP was first offered in 2021, and producers with crop insurance received $59.5 million in premium subsidies for 12.2 million acres of cover crops. PCCP helps farmers maintain their cover crop systems, despite the financial challenges posed by the pandemic and is part of USDA’s Pandemic Assistance for Producers initiative, a bundle of programs to bring financial assistance to farmers, ranchers and producers who felt the impact of COVID-19 market disruptions.

Listen to an interview with Bunger from CIRB here:
CIRB22 interview with RMA Administrator Marcia Bunger (3:58)

2022 CIRB Annual Meeting Virtual Newsroom

Audio, CIRB, cover crops, Crop Insurance, USDA