Heading South for U.S. Ag Associates Conference

Joanna Schroeder

photo4I’m packing my bags for Houston as I get ready to head to the U.S. Ag Associates Conference. I’m a kind of a self-proclaimed geek so I’m really excited to hear the research presentations from professors, consultants, growers, and StollerUSA group representatives.

The conference began 17 years ago as a gathering of seven people, mostly consultants, whose goal was to enlist a group of people who were doing different things in the field and were willing to share their results. People went home, tested out a few things on their farm, or went back to the lab to conduct more research and field tests and came back the next year to give updates. Eventually, StollerUSAlogothis became a gathering of the minds with more than 100 people from around the world coming to share their advancements in ag. As neat as this is, there is just one catch. You can attend for one year as an observer, but if you want to come back the next (and everyone does) then you have to give an update on something that you have done.

I will be blogging from the conference beginning tomorrow evening here on AgWired, and complements of StollerUSA, there will also be day-to-day conference coverage on their website at www.stollerusa.com. Oh, and I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag but there will be a big announcement made during the conference this week so check back often – you’ll not want to miss it!

Agribusiness

Beef Board Blogging Again

Chuck Zimmerman

cic-2010It’s time once again for the Cattle Industry Convention & NCBA Trade Show and I’ll be Beef Board Blogging again. It’s hard to believe but this will be my 5th year of blogging for the Cattlemen’s Beef Board. Wow.

Of course I’ll be providing coverage of the convention right here on AgWired and with support from new sponsor Novus International.

novusSo while Cindy is in Atlanta at the International Poultry Expo and Joanna is in Houston for the U.S. Ag Associates Conference I get to go to San Antonio. Looking at the current midwest weather forecast I’m glad I’m going south.

I’ll be heading that way on Monday and should have coverage start on Tuesday.

Ag Groups, Beef

Peanut Butter for Haiti

Cindy Zimmerman

The nation’s peanut industry is helping out the relief effort in Haiti by donating high protein peanut butter and you can support that effort with your own donations. Peanut butter is especially good for emergency situations like this because it’s a great source of nourishment that needs no refrigeration.

peanutsThe peanut industry has already donated $108,500 in contributions and four truckloads of peanut butter have been shipped so far totaling nearly three million servings. The peanut butter is being delivered to families in Haiti through Operation Blessing, Catholic Relief Services and Food for the Poor.

Donations can be sent to: EC 2055 – PB for Haiti P.O. Box 725 Blakely, GA 39823

Make checks payable to Early County 2055 and note on check: PB for Haiti. All donations are tax deductible and you will receive a letter acknowledging the donation.

Find out more on-line here from the Georgia Peanut Commission.

Peanuts

Novus Sponsors Poultry Expo Coverage on Agwired

Cindy Zimmerman

novusFor the second year in a row, Novus International is sponsoring coverage of the International Poultry Expo (IPE) here on Agwired. This is a huge event for the poultry industry, with about 20,000 attendees, but it really doesn’t get much in the way of “mainstream” ag media coverage, so we are pleased to be able to be there for those who are unable to attend.

poultryIPE has a great deal to offer for everyone. In addition to the massive trade show, featuring nearly 900 exhibitors, it is also home to the International Poultry Scientific Forum, Animal Agriculture Environmental Sustainability Summit, International Feed Education Program, Pet Food Conference and lots of educational programs and workshops. Look for lots of interviews and photos from the event – and to our friends in the ag media, please feel free to download and use whatever you want.

Thanks to Novus for their sponsorship!

Novus International, Poultry, Poultry Expo

ZedX Does Wireless Precision

Chuck Zimmerman

Nathan Taylor ZedXWe read a lot about precision agriculture hardware but you’ve got to have good software too. That’s what ZedX, Inc. is all about. On the floor of last week’s AG CONNECT Expo I met Twitter Master, Nathan Taylor, Business Analyst for the company.

Nathan says the company supplies precision support tools for the management of production agriculture. He says they also have a strong focus on R&D through universities government and private. They also have a weather division. The software ZedX offers is fully web based and Nathan claims they’re the only company that can make that claim right now.

Nathan says that “what’s new” with the company is an expansion of their AgFleet product so that growers can wirelessly sync from the field. He says they’re also hoping to have some new product releases very soon.

You can listen to my interview with Nathan below:

AG CONNECT Expo Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, Precision Agriculture

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • New Holland’s TS6030 high-clearance tractor puts the power of 96 PTO horses into rows of tall vegetables or specialty crops without worry of plant damage.
  • EMD Crop BioScience has recently added three sales representatives in new territories in the United States and Canada: Lynn Justesen, sales representative for Western Iowa; Chuck Haefele, Nebraska territory; and Wyatt Burnett, South Western Prairies territory in Canada.
  • Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health announces the introduction of RESFLOR GOLD, the only medication on the U.S. market that combines the antibiotic florfenicol and the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug flunixin meglumine into one convenient dose for treatment of bovine respiratory disease (BRD).
  • The Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) is preparing for the upcoming Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board (WMMB) director elections. Producers interested in representing their district should click here to learn more, or contact Noel Favia at (608) 224-5140.
    Zimfo Bytes

    Challenger’s E3 Technology & Big Biomass Baler Draw Crowds

    Joanna Schroeder

    ChallengerAGCO’s Challenger brand is designed for professional producers, those who view farming as a business decision rather than a lifestyle decision. This year, Challenger had two new pieces of equipment on display during the AG CONNECT Expo including the MT600C and the MT595B. Both of these are prototypical equipment of what’s to come next explained Allison Bass with AGGO.

    Last year the company launched the 600C with E3 technology and this technology has to do with fuel economy and emission reduction. Company expert Phil Jones told me that the E3 technology is important as the whole industry is approaching what’s known as Tier 4, which is emission reduction policy. Jones notes that meeting these requirements must be done in a smart way.

    “Our path, we believe, is the most farmer friendly way. Farmers absolutely get why it matters, but are also concerned. Their concern is that in every step of the way, they have had to make trade-offs in terms of power, performance, fuel efficiency, and reliability as it relates to things done previously to achieve various tier standards in terms of emissions.” Jones continued, “We call this compliance without compromise.”

    The E3 technology achieves emission reduction while also increasing fuel economy by 15 percent versus where the company and industry were in the past. Eventually the technology will expand beyond their tractor line into combines, other tractors and more.

    ChallengerBigBiomassBalerAnother product of great interest during the show was the prototype of the Big Biomass Baler. Dean Morrell spoke to me about this cutting-edge piece of equipment. It is designed to be able to take the corn cobs and leaves coming right out of the combine delivering it directly to the baler to make a 3 x 4 Big Bale.

    This is a one-pass combine-baler system saving the farmer time and money. Morrell said they call the material it picks up MAWG – material other than grain — and it never touches the ground. Ultimately the bales can be delivered to cellulosic ethanol plants that will convert the MAWG to ethanol. This is exactly what Poet is doing in their Emmetsburg, Iowa plant and Morrell said their Big Biomass Baler was tested in 2009 in conjunction with the Poet plant. (The plant is expected to be operational in 2012.)

    Biomass harvesting has been a challenge and Morrell said, “We feel we have the solution to the problem because we have something that they can pick up, move and transport very easily.”

    The Big Biomass Baler is not yet available and Morrell stressed that they will keep testing it to ensure they concept can do what they say but should be to market within the next several years.

    Listen to my interview with Allison, Phil and Dean below.

    AG CONNECT Expo Photo Album

    Audio

    Agrotain Talks Sustainability at AG CONNECT

    Joanna Schroeder

    Sustainable agriculture is a much talked about trend right now and Agrotain International has a product that can help a farmer be profitable and sustainable at the same time – the Agrotain line of products. Micheal Stegmann, President of the company, explained to me during the AG CONNECT Expo what Agrotain does and why it is both economical and sustainable.

    AgrotainAgrotain is a product to be used with urea fertilizer. “Urea is a really great product for farmers to be using because it’s safe and abundant and it’s relatively inexpensive,” said Stegmann. “But it’s got a problem and that problem is when its applied to the surface, part of it is lost back into the environment.” A third actually. Stegmann continued, “When that loss occurs it’s not only an economic loss to the grower but also represents an environmental issue.”

    Agrotain is not crop specific and can be used with any urea fertilizer. It is actually added to the fertilizer by the dealer and then the farmer applies the product as usual. The benefit to the grower is that it makes the urea more efficient and is a lot less expensive to use than the cost of the loss of nitrogen.

    The company is a big believer in sustainability needing to be a big part of their future of agriculture. However, Stegmann notes that sustainability means different things to different people. “In my opinion, sustainable means a way to endure that reconciles the needs of society, the needs of the environment and economic needs as well.” He stresses the importance of the general public in understanding that farming is a business and needs to make a profit. “If we’re going to meet the growing demands and if we’re going to do it in a way that is satisfactory to the public, we have to be able to make money in the process.”

    He concludes that regulations or rules or pactices that prevent the industry from being profitable are also going to prevent it from doing the things the public wants them to do — feed the world.

    Listen to my interview with Michael below.

    AG CONNECT Expo Photo Album

    Audio, Precision Agriculture, Sustainability

    Giant Miscanthus Fuel

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Sunbelt BiofuelsIn the growing field of biomass conversion to fuel there’s a plant that Mississippi State University thinks will help farmers and all Americans. It’s Giant Miscanthus and you can follow it on Twitter @GiantMiscanthus. They’ve actually licensed the product which is Freedom Giant Miscanthus that’s being marketed by Sunbelt Biofuels LLC. On the show floor at AG CONNECT Expo to talk about it were John Holmes (l) and Sunbelt’s Chairman Phil Jennings (r).

    Phil says they’re taking the product commercial for MSU. He says they’ve been in the turf grass business for years and this new product caught their attention. He says they’re off to a great start and expect to see a lot of acres signed up in the next couple years as the demand for cellulosic ethanol production increases. John says Freedom is a play on words to denote the ability to become independent of foreign produced oil. Phil says “We know of no other plant that is a perennial, that is renewable as fast as it is that can give us the masses of biomass that we’re looking for.” He says Freedom provides four times the yield per acre of switchgrass.

    You can listen to my interview with Phil and John below:

    AG CONNECT Expo Photo Album

    Audio, Biofuels, Ethanol

    Leica Geosystems Gets Its mojo On

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Leica GeosystemsMost any photographer will know the Leica name. Oskar Barnack created a small 35mm camera back in 1925 that pretty much changed the way we look at things. What a lot of people are now learning about Leica is that they’re into precision agriculture technology in a big way. The company has three distinct divisions and the one on display at AG CONNECT Expo was Leica Geosystems. It was there that I met with Rob Kiernan, Global Sales & Marketing Manager.

    Rob says that since they come from the optical business they’re basically a measurement company that has moved into GPS and that has led them into agriculture. At the show he says they’re promoting their mojoRTK which was launched in early 2008. He thinks they’re just now hitting their stride with the product. Service has been one of their priorities and they offer Virtual Wrench which allows the operator to get help without leaving the cab using mobile phone technology. The newest addition to their product lineup is their mojoMINI which does field guidance as well as standard navigation and will be available starting in February. You can see the unit on the display in the photo.

    You can listen to my interview with Rob below:

    AG CONNECT Expo Photo Album

    Agribusiness, Audio, Precision Agriculture