Just Say No to PRRS

Cindy Zimmerman

Boehringer Ingelheim PRRSBoehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica (BIVI) is hosting its second annual “Area Regional Control of PRRS” seminar in Chicago today, prior to the start of the 2009 International PRRS Symposium. The theme this year is “From Ideas to Implementation” – actually getting the concept of area regional control (ARC) on the ground and running.

Boehringer Ingelheim PRRSBIVI has taken an active role in the challenge of managing PRRS (Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome) for the benefit of the swine industry. I talked with BIVI’s Stephan Lange who told me the purpose of today’s seminar is “to get the swine industry together to talk about a ‘game changing’ approach to PRRS control, meaning you step away from individual farm control and really go into area control.”

I will be posting much more from the seminar after I get back in the office, since internet access is very slow here. Listen to or download my interview with Stephan here:

Boehringer Ingelheim, Swine

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Midwest Direct Marketing, Inc., and Farm Journal Media jointly announced that Midwest Direct will represent Farm Journal’s FarmReach database to national list brokers and managers.
  • Minnesota Farmers Helping Families recently donated 125,000 pounds of cheese and ground pork to Hunger Solutions Minnesota.
  • For the 2010 growing season, growers using Headline fungicide will receive returns on their investment in multiple ways. Click here for more information.
  • DuPont announced that Dean C. Oestreich, DuPont vice president and Pioneer Hi-Bred chairman has elected to retire effective Dec. 31.
    Zimfo Bytes

    New Shipping Port In Morocco

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Corn MissionMorocco is nearing completion of a major new port facility south of Casablanca. The El Jaddah Port was one of the stops for the U.S. Grains Council Corn Mission.

    While there we met with Ammar Bouchaib, pictured left, who is not only involved in shipping grain into the country but also has a large storage facility for feed products. I interviewed USGC Consultant Mustapha El Youssoufi, pictured to the right, about the project and what it means to Morocco and our grain imports.

    USGC Corn Mission In Morocco Photo Album

    Ag Groups, Corn, International, USGC, Video

    Expert Advice From David Asbridge

    Chuck Zimmerman

    dave-asbridgeLet me introduce you to the David Asbridge and his United Soybean Board, Expert Advice column – Market Production Analysis & Market Outlook. David operates NPK Fertilizer Advisory Service, an independent consulting firm that covers the crop and fertilizer markets, both domestically and globally. Here’s an excerpt from his current column.

    The already record large U.S. soybean crop just keeps getting bigger, at least according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in its latest monthly supply-demand report. The department now expects U.S. soybean production to reach 3.32 billion bushels for 2009. This represents a 3.8 percent increase over the previous record set in 2006 and nearly 12 percent higher than last year’s crop. USDA bases this production estimate on the record 77.5 million acres planted this year coupled with a record 43.3 bushel per acre yield. The yield is 0.2 bushels per acre higher than the previous record set back in 2005.

    David is one of several Expert Advice columnists I’ve had the opportunity to introduce you to over the past couple weeks. Producers can got to the website, read the information and submit questions and get answers.

    Ag Groups, Soybean, USB

    Tools for Producers Facing Volatile Prices

    Amanda Nolz

    LawrenceJohn_small I attended the 61st Annual South Dakota Cattlemen’s Association’s Convention and Trade Show this week in Sioux Falls, S.D. where we discussed beef industry hot topics such as estate planning, lawsuit protection, money saving ideas and the economy. In a speech given during the Pfizer sponsored Cattlemen’s College, Dr. John Lawrence of the IA Beef Center presented, “Economic Outlook & Feeding in the Midwest,” where he introduced a few valuable tools for producers to check out in tackling the current economy and the industry’s incredibly volatile prices.

    The first tool Dr. Lawrence offered to producers was the new ISU Extension Margin Maker, where “Cattle Crush Margins” are updated each Wednesday for cow/calf operators and feeders to reference. The goal of this tool is stated as, “a risk management education project for livestock producers. Margin maker programs and materials center on the concept of managing the risk of declining revenues and increasing costs.”

    The second resource for producers to reference is Beef Basis, a free website offering cattle basis risk analysis tools with the information needed to improve marketing decisions influenced by cattle basis risk. According to the site, “The BeefBasis website was developed by Custom Ag Solutions, Inc. (CAS) and Kansas State University (K-State) in partnership with the USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA). BeefBasis gives you relevant information and analytics you need to evaluate marketing decisions and manage your price risk.”

    These look like valuable tools for anyone in the business, and I encourage you to share these with your friends in the industry. Check them out, and let me know what you think!

    Beef

    Shopping in Morocco

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Corn MissionAfter our morning meetings at the Morocco Ministry of Agriculture the U.S. Grains Council team got a little time off to “shop.” We wandered through an area of shops and I did make a few purchases that included a couple of quality Fez’s for friends of mine.

    Here’s a picture of some fruit stands we passed along the way.

    The Morocco photo album is up to date and yet there’s so much more to come. We’ve got a dinner mtg. tonight still to go.

    USGC Corn Mission In Morocco Photo Album

    USGC

    Morocco Ag Attache Working For U.S. Agribusiness

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Corn MissionThe Regional Agricultural Attache for the United States in Morocco is Hassan Ahmed. I first met Hassan when he was posted to Cairo and I was traveling on a USDA FAS trip that included stops in Cairo and Alexandria. I haven’t seen him since then until today but we still remember the “camel story” among others. Some of you have heard it. If you’re really interested I’ll share it with you some time.

    Hassan spoke to the U.S. Grains Council about the work that his office does on behalf of American agribusiness. He started out by telling us that USDA’s FAS has a new mission statement which says, “Linking U.S. agriculture to the world to enhance export opportunities and global food security.” So he works along with “Cooperators” like the U.S. Grains Council and others to help create and enhance trade opportunities.

    Hassan came on board in Morocco during the recent record U.S. grain export years. However, he says 2009 has not been so good but there are a number of factors to explain it and he’s very confident that the market will change. One factor he points to is the Morocco Green Plan for the growth of agriculture.

    You can listen to a portion of Hassan’s presentation below.

    USGC Corn Mission In Morocco Photo Album

    Audio, Corn, International, USGC

    Morocco’s Office of Cereals

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Corn MissionThe Moroccan government’s “Office of Cereals” is led by Mr. Abdelali Aziz, General Director (pictured center). He spoke to the U.S. Grains Council Corn Mission this morning about the status of corn imports into Morocco and touched on quantity, quality and standards. He also commented on the impact of the USGC’s programs on the poultry and beef sectors. He says, “There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the U.S. Grains Council has a clear vision . . . has an absolutely beautiful relationship with Moroccans.”

    You can listen to those remarks and download them here: usgc-corn-aziz-1.mp3 Download mp3 file

    Mr. Aziz also spoke to us about the Moroccan Government’s “Green Plan” for Agriculture. This is a strategy for agriculture that basically says, “You must invest in agriculture to get money.” The government essentially provides land to investors who agree to farm the land. This is important from the standpoint of how much and how quickly Morocco grows into a larger market for American grain.

    You can listen to his comments on the Green Plan and download them here: usgc-corn-aziz-2.mp3 Download mp3 file

    USGC Corn Mission In Morocco Photo Album

    Audio, Corn, International, USGC

    Illinois Student Agribloggers

    Cindy Zimmerman

    agmastersThis fine looking group of students from the University of Illinois are the ones responsible for most of the content on the AGMasters Conference blog this week. This group worked as a team to cover every one of the speakers at the event, including doing audio interviews. I was extremely impressed with their work!

    The bloggers are (standing) Crop Science majors Ross Recker and Jared Roskamp. Seated are, left to right, Agricultural Communications major Alyssa Eade, Crop Sci major Caitlin Allen, and Ag Comm major Megan Ott.

    They deserve a big round of applause for their great work. I expect to see every one of them working in the industry and making a name for themselves in the very near future. Thanks to all of you!

    University

    On The Road In Morocco

    Chuck Zimmerman

    While we get back on the road in Morocco today to the capital city of Rabat and visits with the Ministry of Agriculture I thought you might like to see what the country looked like from the road. Here’s a short video clip in which you can hear U.S. Grains Council Consultant Mustapha El Youssoufi, doing the play by play.

    USGC Corn Mission In Morocco Photo Album

    Ag Groups, International, USGC, Video