Obama Administration Partners with Ranchers to Combat Climate Change

Amanda Nolz

usda U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack today spoke at the key note event, Clean Energy Investments: Creating Opportunities for Rural Economies, at the climate change talks in Copenhagen, Denmark, according to a recent release by USDA. In an effort to improve the environment, Vilsack hopes to provide opportunities for food producers to do just that.

“Rural economies will benefit from incentives in comprehensive energy legislation that reward production of renewable energy and sequestration of greenhouse gases,” said Vilsack.

Climate change is one of the great challenges facing the United States and the world. But for our farmers, ranchers, and those who make a living off the land, the challenge presents unprecedented opportunities. Secretary Vilsack shared how the Administration is actively partnering with rural communities to create solutions for curbing greenhouse gases and preventing the worst impacts of climate change.

Secretary Vilsack shared how the Administration is actively partnering with rural communities to create solutions for curbing greenhouse gases and preventing the worst impacts of climate change.

To read the entire article and learn more about the program, link here.

Environment

Headline Harvest Report from Conrad, Iowa

Cindy Zimmerman

Getting these BASF Headline harvest reports done this fall (yes, it is still fall) has been a challenge, to put it mildly. We’ve been trying desperately to get interviews set up with farmers since late October – in Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. We did okay in Missouri, but when the harvest kept getting later and the rain kept falling, it just continued to get postponed. We had to cancel a trip to Iowa last week when the blizzard came through, but we went up this week even with below zero temperatures

BASF headline harvest brent schipperOur second day in the frigid state brought us to the home of Brent Schipper of Conrad, where we had to record in the office to avoid becoming popsicles. Despite the weather challenges and a late harvest, Brent is very pleased with his crop this year, which was helped by Headline fungicide. “With the late harvest, the corn did stand very well,” Brent said. “The yield increase helped because Headline eliminated some of the disease pressure we had from the cool, wet weather.”

Brent saw a yield advantage of 4-5 bushels on soybeans and 10-20 on corn because of Headline, which he has been using for about six years now. There were some acres he did not spray with Headline, but because he saw such a definite yield difference this year, everything will be sprayed next year. “It showed one year of not spraying everything cost us in the end,” he said. “It’s a good insurance policy.”

Watch the video interview and listen to or download the audio of my interview with Brent below.

Audio, BASF, Corn, Soybean

Learn About BBQ

Chuck Zimmerman

If you love BBQ then you might like BBQ Pitmasters, a new series on TLC. It airs Thursdays at 9pm Central.

The BBQ & Grilling channel is here to help you cook an amazing meal on the grill. Read how to smoke a chicken, grill a juicy hamburger and learn how to obtain the perfect grill marks on your foods.

Here’s a promo and description of the next episode:

Cooking skills, nerves and patience are tested at the historic Riverfest Barbecue Cookoff in Decatur, AL as the Pitmasters battle for the $3,000 top prize. Paul tries to avoid last place placement, Lee Ann’s schedule is threatened by a power outage and Tuff Stone uses spreadsheets for BBQ?!

Food, Video

Headline Harvest Report from West Union, Iowa

Cindy Zimmerman

BASF headline harvest henry millerI guess it would be more correct to call these BASF Headline POST-harvest reports, even though there is still about eight percent of the corn left in the fields at this point. Iowa farmers are pretty much done with this season, including Henry Miller of West Union, which is in the northeast part of the state. We caught up with him on Monday as Mother Nature was sending in a blast of frigid temperatures to welcome his 7th grandchild who was born early that morning.

Henry finished his corn harvest just about two weeks ago and he is very glad to see the 2009 season with its weather extremes coming to a close. “It was very far from normal,” Henry told me. His biggest challenge this year was summer hail storms. “In June we had corn knee high, we had hail that stripped it and beat the beans practically in the ground. Then in July, we got hit (with hail) on the other farm about tasseling time.”

Because of all the bruising to the crop, Henry’s agronomist recommended using Headline fungicide, which was the first time he ever used it. “The yields were better than what I expected, it stood good, we had no problems with standability – I guess Headline helped us out there,” Henry said.

Listen to my interview with Henry here:

Audio, BASF, Corn, Soybean

United Soybean Board Answering Grower Questions

Chuck Zimmerman

usb-expert-screenHow will the wet fall impact this year’s prices? How can I use social media to promote my farm? What are our competitors in Brazil doing right now? These are all questions you’ll find answered on the United Soybean Board’s Expert Advice Column. It’s part of the newly designed website and we’ve been featuring interviews with the experts who are writing the columns.

USB would like you to take a minute to register on the website and take advantage of all the information they have for growers including, seed selection tips, pest and disease diagnostic guides, a sustainability calculator and a directory with just about every new soy-based product your soybean checkoff has helped develop. You can customize the page too. Here’s how to register:

* Visit www.unitedsoybean.org, then click on login/register, located on the upper-left corner of the home page, to fill out your information fields.
* Congrats! Now you are ready to begin customizing your individual home page.
* Now, just click on add content in the upper-left corner. This will display your customization options.
* Add the modules that meet the needs of your operation, including localized weather, livestock and additional crop information.
* Click the X at the top of an individual module to remove it from your home page.
* To edit the module content, just click the diagonal pencil icon.
* Click the minus sign to minimize a module.

Visit www.unitedsoybean.org today and come back often for time saving updates that can help increase your profitability.

We’d like to thank the United Soybean Board for their support of the AgWired community!

Ag Groups, Soybean, USB

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

    Farmland Investment With Chicago Farmers

    Chuck Zimmerman

    ZimmCast 242With winter fast approaching it’s time to make your farm meeting plans. Make one of them the Chicago Farmers Farmland Investment Fair, February 6, 2010. I’ll be one of their seminar presenters with the topic of social media.

    chic-farmers-fair-10To learn more about Chicago Farmers and their annual program I spoke with the Chairman of the upcoming event, Jeff Martin, an Illinois “downstate” farmer. Jeff was in his combine working to get the last of his corn crop in before Christmas. I hope he makes it!

    Jeff says the Farmland Investment Fair was started back in the early ’80s when interest rates were high and with the idea of bringing investors together with farmers who had land to sell. He says the event still has that same basic purpose and has expanded to include other educational topics. There will be nearly 60 exhibitors and 15 different seminars on the program including:

    • Farmland Values
    • Traits of a Successful Farm
    • Managing Machinery Costs
    • International Investment
    • Farm Land Leasing
    • Biomass for Energy
    • Income from Small Farms
    • Rural Development
    • Social Media
    • Wind Farms
    • Acre Program FSA
    • 1031 Exchanges
    • Organic Farming
    • Climate Change

    To register as an attendee – visit www.chicagofarmers.org or call (312) 388-FARM. Direct questions to The Chicago Farmers Administrator’s office at (312) 388-3276 or you may speak to the Fair Chairperson, Jeff Martin, at (217) 792-3934.

    Thanks to AgWired Sponsor, Fluidigm, for their support of the ZimmCast.

    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 Groups, Audio, Farming, ZimmCast

    Vote In Alpharma Student Video Contest

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Alpharma Student Video ContestIf you haven’t voted for your favorite video in the Alpharma, Reach Teach Learn Student Video Contest, now’s the time. Voting began on Monday, November 30 and goes through December 28, 2009.

    Earlier this fall ag students from across the country submitted short video clips depicting anything related to agriculture and food production. Students received a $25 gift card for each video accepted, up to 10. Students submitted more than 140 clips to the contest Web site. In the second phase of the contest, students used these clips, along with their own footage and media, to compile a video conveying the role of modern agriculture in American society.

    Video titles and submitting universities are as follows:
    • Perennial Wheat – Michigan State University
    • Naked and Hungry – University of Missouri
    • A Call to Farm – University of Florida
    • Agriculture: Who Cares? – Oklahoma State University
    • Corn and Its Many Lives – University of Wisconsin-River Falls
    • Agriculture is Our Soul – Sam Houston State University
    • The AgriQuiz – Ohio Northern University

    The video with the combination of the most votes and judges score will receive $5,000, with second and third place receiving $2,000 and $1,000 prizes, respectively. The winning videos will also be posted on YouTube and other social networking sites where visitors will be able to see the video and have a better understanding of how food is produced, as well as the care that is given to farm animals.

    Agribusiness

    Ag Council Ag Day Essay Contest

    Chuck Zimmerman

    ag-council-americaIt’s time once again for the Agriculture Council of America’s Ag Day essay contest. The contest is open to seventh- to 12th-grade students who are asked to submit an original, 450-word essay about the importance of agriculture. This year’s theme is “American Agriculture: Abundant, Affordable, Amazing,” and the deadline is Feb. 12. Teachers and parents are asked to encourage their students to participate.

    This year, the theme highlights the importance of agriculture and how the industry continues to overcome new challenges. These include keeping food affordable, meeting the demands of a growing population with fewer acres, working with legislative influences and addressing consumer concerns. Students may choose to specifically address one or more of these challenges in their essay. Agriculture has a touch point in each of our lives and is an amazing industry.

    This year’s national winner will receive a $1,000 prize and round-trip ticket to Washington, D.C., to be recognized during the Celebration of Ag Dinner held March 18 at Whitten Patio. At dinner, the winner will have the opportunity to join with industry representatives, members of Congress, federal agency representatives, media and other friends in a celebration of agriculture. Statewide winners of the contest also will be selected. Each state winner will receive a $100 prize.

    The entry form and information may be found online here.

    Ag Groups

    Holiday Greetings

    Chuck Zimmerman

    AEM Holiday GreetingIt’s Holiday Greeting time and the wishes are rolling in. Here’s the Association of Equipment Manufacturers saying Happy Holidays. I’m looking forward to spending a lot of time with them in January at their AG CONNECT Expo of which we’re a supporting organization.

    Do you have a holiday greeting card you’d like to share with AgWired fans? If so, please send them to me and I’ll do my best to feature them here over the next few weeks. Please don’t hesitate to send if it mentions Christmas too. I and everyone I know are okay with that. After all, it’s the reason for the season.

    AEM