RFA Ethanol Podcast

Introducing Agri-Pulse Newsmakers

Chuck Zimmerman

Agri-Pulse NewsmakersAgri-Pulse announces a new video and podcast program starting next week.

Agri-Pulse Communications, Inc. is launching a national news show created to reach a broader audience and engage lawmakers and key influencers on the hottest political topics each week. Agri-Pulse Newsmakers will feature members of Congress, federal and state officials, farmers, ag and food commodity groups and roundtable panelists for debates and discussions.

“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.

Founding sponsors of Newsmakers include the Farm Credit, American Farm Bureau Federation and Curious Plot.

Newsmakers will be produced in the recently renovated American Farm Bureau Federation studio in Washington, D.C.

Agri-Pulse, Farm Policy, Media, Video

Find Your Blueprint® for Beef Production

Cindy Zimmerman

Andy Schwab, Northern Ag Network, interviews Neil Bumgarner at #CattleCon22

What if you supplemented your cattle with only organic trace minerals?

That was the question Alltech set out to answer a few years ago and the result is Blueprint®, a supplementation program designed to target animal health and performance and help build upon the genetic potential at each stage of an animal’s life cycle. The program is formulated with Alltech’s Total Replacement Technology™, which consists of organic trace minerals that support absorption, retention, and utilization in beef cattle.

Neil Bumgarner is Blueprint® Program Manager for Alltech Feed Division in the U.S., working with Hubbard Feeds and Ridley through CRYSTALYX®, and he was talking about Blueprint at last week’s Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show.

In this interview, he explains what Blueprint is and the benefits it provides.
CIC22 Interview with Neil Bumgarner, Alltech 2:44

AgWired Animal, Alltech, Animal Agriculture, Animal Health, Audio, Beef

Animal Ag News 2/7

Carrie Muehling

  • Agri-Pulse Communications, Inc. announces a free webinar Feb. 17 focused on “Creating the path to more sustainable pork.” This complimentary one-hour program will share how pork producers are demonstrating their commitment to sustainability.
  • Jerry Moye, member of the international advisory board at Hendrix Genetics, was named USPOULTRY’s Workhorse of the Year during the International Poultry Expo, part of the 2022 International Production & Processing Expo.
  • Applications are being accepted for college scholarships that are awarded by America’s dairy farmers and importers through the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board (NDB). Eleven scholarships worth $2,500 each will be awarded, in addition to a $3,500 James H. Loper Jr. Memorial Scholarship to one outstanding recipient. NDB funds, in part, Dairy Management Inc. (DMI), which manages the national dairy checkoff program.
  • Precision animal health technology brings data insights together to help cattle producers make earlier, more informed decisions to help keep animals healthy and productive. The newest tools from Zoetis – Performance Ranch™ and BLOCKYARD™ – provide cattle producers the information they need at their fingertips, accessible from digital devices anywhere.
  • There were 91.9 million head of cattle and calves on U.S. farms as of Jan. 1, 2022, according to the Cattle report published today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).
  • Merck Animal Health, a global leader in animal health solutions, joins the Trust In Beef program as a founding partner to further its commitment to sustainability and providing real solutions and information to the beef industry. Trust In Beef is a new effort of Trust In Food and designed to empower beef producers and the trusted experts they rely on, such as veterinarians and nutritionists, to advance in their continuous improvement journey.
  • The Animal Agriculture Alliance announced a new chair-elect and nine new board representatives. The Alliance’s full board of directors, which includes representatives from across the animal agriculture community, is listed on its website at: animalagalliance.org/about/board.
  • Farmers and ranchers now can anonymously report potentially unfair and anticompetitive practices in the livestock and poultry sectors using an online tool the U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Justice (DOJ). The launch of the new tool, located at farmerfairness.gov, will advance the goals of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Action Plan for a Fairer, More Competitive, and More Resilient Meat and Poultry Supply Chain, including by creating more competitive agricultural markets that are fairer to producers and consumers.
  • World Dairy Expo is pleased to introduce Laura Herschleb, DeForest, Wis., as the next WDE General Manager. Herschleb will begin her duties on February 28, 2022, as current General Manager Scott Bentley prepares to retire.
  • Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative applauded an announcement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that schools will continue to be allowed to offer flavored low-fat milk for at least the next two years. The 1% milk option, which has been allowed since 2017, is included in new transitional standards for school nutrition programs that will be in place until a final rule is created for the 2024-25 school year.
  • The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, a contractor to the Beef Checkoff, has announced the winners of the 2022 Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) Awards, sponsored by Cargill. To read more about each of the award winners’ operations, visit www.bqa.org/about/bqa-awards.
AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Animal Bites

Trailblazers and Beef Advocates

Cindy Zimmerman

Speaking of beef, Markie Hageman was selected as the 2021 Beef Advocate of the Year and also named as one of the very first industry Trailblazers.

The Advocate of the Year award, given by the Beef Checkoff-funded Masters of Beef Advocacy (MBA) program, recognizes one outstanding beef advocate for their efforts in educating consumers about cattle and beef. Hageman was selected for her success in creating social media content that highlights the benefits of beef production, the cattle industry and what it’s like being a first-generation rancher in California.

She is also one of ten beef community spokespeople chosen through a competitive application process for the industry’s new Trailblazers program, developed by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), a contractor to the Beef Checkoff. Chandler Mulvaney, NCBA director of grassroots advocacy & spokesperson development, says the Trailblazers will receive specialized training to serve as industry spokespeople and inform beef advocates at the local and state levels on advocacy, media and spokesperson best practices. Every year new Trailblazers will be accepted into the program.

Listen to interviews from the 2022 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show last week with both Hageman and Mulvaney.
CIC22 Interview with Chandler Mulvaney, NCBA 5:44
CIC22 Interview with Markie Hageman, Beef Advocate 8:15

2022 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show Photo Album

AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Audio, Beef, Beef Checkoff, Cattle Industry Conference

Heil Sound, Makers of ZimmComm Gold Mics, Changes Owners

Chuck Zimmerman

Heil SoundHeil Sound, makers of the famous Golden ZimmComm Microphone, have transferred ownership from the founder and his wife. I have had the fortune to talk with Bob Heil about the model PR 20 microphones. He was intrigued by the fact that we use them to interview farmers and all kinds of people involved in agribusiness around the world.

Heil Sound, the Fairview Heights, Illinois-based manufacturer of professional microphones, has announced the successful transfer of ownership from Bob and Sarah Heil to current President and CEO, Ash Levitt, and Director of Operations, Steve Warford. Sarah Heil has retired, but Bob will continue to do outreach work and product design within the amateur radio space under the title Founder and CEO Emeritus.

Gold Heil PR 20When discussing the transition, Heil said, “My life has been about achieving great sound, whether on the concert stage or in the amateur radio world. I’ve watched Heil Sound go from a regional sound company to a world-class microphone manufacturer. This company has been my passion but it is time for me to step aside. There is no better team to carry the company forward than Ash and Steve, and I have the utmost confidence in them.”

We wish Bob and his wife all the best. Their microphones have been used to conduct thousands of interviews over the years. If you have been interviewed by us then you are a member of the ZimmComm Golden Mic Club, a special group that includes U.S. Secretaries of Agriculture, global company CEOs and farmers of all commodities.

Two people are responsible for our choice in using this microphone and especially the gold color (a special edition). Steve Mays, who I worked with at Learfield Communications mentioned them to me and Tom Slunecka, Minnesota Soybeans, coined the Golden ZimmComm Microphone name. Here’s a big thank you to both of them for what has been one of the best equipment decisions we’ve made.

Equipment, Podcasts

Preview of the 2022 CIRB Annual Meeting

Cindy Zimmerman

The 58th Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau (CIRB) Annual Meeting is coming up this week, February 9-11, at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa in Indian Wells, CA.

CIRB Executive Vice President Mike Torrey says everyone will be happy to be in person again after having a virtual meeting last year. “Because it’s been so long since we’ve been together, a lot happened in the market place and in the ag economy,” said Torrey. “The theme of this is Resilience and everything is going to be geared around these challenges.”

Founded in 1964 and headquartered on Capitol Hill, CIRB offers advocacy, support and membership services to the crop insurance and reinsurance community, and coordinates the Crop Insurance Coalition, which Torrey says has proven to be helpful over the past two years with limited access to lawmakers in Washington DC. “When it was built, nobody knew something like COVID would happen,” Torrey said. “But the coalition has allowed the industry to continue to have the means to educate new members of Congress.”

CIRB22 preview interview with Mike Torrey, CIRB (12:26)

Audio, CIRB, Crop Insurance

Industry Ag News 2/4

Carrie Muehling

  • Exhibit space at the 2022 Commodity Classic in New Orleans has nearly sold out, with 389 companies committing to the trade show floor.
  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a new USDA Market News Mobile Application, providing producers and everyone else in the supply chain with instant access to current and historical market information. The initial version of the free app includes nearly 800 livestock, poultry, and grain market reports, with additional commodities added throughout the coming year.
  • The Progressive Agriculture Foundation has named Susan Turner of Tompkinsville, Kentucky, as its new outreach specialist, and announced the promotion of Jana Davidson to program manager.
  • The Renewable Fuels Association welcomed Farmers Business Network/Gradable as its newest associate member. FBN is an independent ag tech platform and farmer-to-farmer network with a mission to power the prosperity of family farmers around the world while working towards a sustainable future.
  • Transportation Go!, the premier conference for soybean and grain transportation and trade issues in the Upper Midwest, announced that Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Daniel B. Maffei and Surface Transportation Board Vice-Chairman Robert E. Primus have agreed to appear at this year’s conference, March 3-4 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
  • The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture is celebrating and uplifting outstanding agricultural literacy programs with a total of $26,000 in scholarships and grants to help educators, volunteers and communities connect agriculture to students’ daily lives.
  • California walnut growers recently voted to continue their marketing order, which means the California Walnut Board will continue its efforts to advance the industry and drive demand for walnuts. The continuance referendum vote was held from December 6-31, 2021 for eligible growers and is required by its Federal Marketing Order every six years.
  • Land O’Lakes, Inc. kicked off the third season of its Something Greater podcast with a conversation about the future of carbon markets and sustainable farming. In the episode Jason Weller, President of Truterra, the sustainability business of Land O’Lakes, and Lukas Fricke, a Nebraska farmer, discussed how farmers can be compensated for implementing sustainable practices.
  • Syngenta announced that after 44 years of dedicated service with the company, Dennis Kelly, head of State Government Relations, will retire on April 1, 2022.
  • Curious Plot announced Dean Huff – an agency veteran with wide experience integrating traditional and digital communications functions across the food, agriculture and pet sectors – has joined the company as executive vice president, integration lead.
  • Meister Media Worldwide announced the sale of the Florida Grower brand and related assets to AgNet Media, effective March 1, 2022.
Zimfo Bytes

Minnesota Cattleman Takes Reins as New NCBA President

Cindy Zimmerman

Don Schiefelbein, a Minnesota seedstock breeder and cattle feeder, became the new president of the National Cattlemens Beef Association (NCBA) during the 2022 Cattle Industry Convention this week in Houston. Schiefelbein and his family operate Schiefelbein Farms, a diversified farming operation in Kimball, Minn.

The 2022 NCBA officer team, approved by the NCBA board of directors, took office at the end of this year’s convention. Todd Wilkinson of South Dakota was named president-elect and Mark Eisele of Wyoming was elected vice president. Nebraska rancher Buck Wehrbein was elected chair of the NCBA Policy Division and stocker/backgrounder Gene Copenhaver of Virginia was elected policy vice chair. Brad Hastings of Texas and Clark Price of North Dakota were elected as chair and vice chair of the NCBA Federation Division, respectively.

Before returning to the family farm, Schiefelbein served as the executive director of the American Gelbvieh Association, and previously worked for the North American Limousin Association after graduating from Texas A&M University. Schiefelbein has a long history of industry service, most recently in the role as chair of the Beef Industry Long Range Planning Committee. He has also held several positions on committees and the board of directors of the American Angus Association. In addition, Schiefelbein is a past president of the Minnesota Cattlemen’s Association.

Schiefelbein plans to focus on several priorities, including ensuring NCBA members’ voices are heard as the organization continues to grow, uniting its membership and making sure NCBA is at the forefront of issues that impact the cattle industry to protect producer interests.

Learn more about him in this interview.
CIC22 Interview with Don Schiefelbein, 2022 NCBA President 4:38

2022 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show Photo Album

NCBA Convention Virtual Newsroom

AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Audio, Beef, Cattle Industry Conference, NCBA

2021 Environmental Stewardship Award Regional Winners

Cindy Zimmerman

Seven of the nation’s top cattle operations were recognized as Environmental Stewardship Award Program (ESAP) regional winners for their environmental conservation efforts during the 2022 Cattle Industry Convention & NCBA Trade Show in Houston, Texas this week. The regional winners will compete for the national award, which will be presented during NCBA’s Summer Business Meeting in Reno, Nevada, July 25-28, 2022.

Established in 1991, by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association to recognize outstanding land stewards in the cattle industry, the Environmental Stewardship Award Program (ESAP) is generously sponsored by Corteva Agriscience, McDonald’s, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Cattlemen’s Foundation.

Here is a list of the winners, with interviews for five of the seven. Pictures of all the winners can be found on the convention website.

Region I: EZ Acres, LLC, Homer, New York
Brothers Mike and Pete McMahon manage more than 2,500 acres of the sixth-generation family-owned dairy cattle farm and beef operation.

Region II: Vaughn Farms, Forsyth, Georgia
James Vaughn, his wife, children and sister manage nearly 5,600 acres which are devoted to producing forage crops, providing pastureland for their cattle, and managing timberland for pulp, lumber and energy production.

Region III: Robbins Land & Cattle, Scranton, Iowa
Justin and Lacie Robbins manage their Iowa row crop and cattle operation based on the responsible use of natural resources.
CIC22 Interview with ESAP winner Justin Robbins, Iowa 2:26

Region IV: Dry Creek Ranch, San Angelo, Texas
After a 26-year career in the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps, Carl and his wife, Pat, returned to the family ranch to establish a registered Hereford cattle herd and continue conservation practices and improvements.
CIC22 Interview with ESAP winner Carl and Pat Schlinke, Texas 4:56

Region V: Joe C King & Sons Ranch, Winnett, Montana
The King family operates with the belief that their area of Montana is best left as native range where cattle, wildlife and the landscape can live in harmony with each other and act as a mutually beneficial system.
CIC22 Interview with ESAP winner Chris King, Montana 1:52

Region VI: JY Ferry & Son, Inc., Corinne, Utah
Sustainability has long been an objective for JY Ferry & Son, with a 100-year history of conservation focusing on agricultural practices that conserve water, energy and other natural resources.
CIC22 Interview with ESAP winner John Ferry, Utah 2:05

Region VII: Blair Brothers Angus Ranch, Vale, South Dakota
Blair Brothers Angus Ranch is a family-owned operation focused on embracing conservation practices that enhance soil, water, livestock and wildlife.
CIC22 Interview with ESAP winner Ed Blair, South Dakota 2:34

AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Audio, Beef, Cattle Industry Conference, Environment, NCBA

Beef – Here and There, Domestic and Abroad

Cindy Zimmerman

British Ambassador Dame Karen Pierce at #CattleCon22

Cattle producers heard from Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm Production and Conservation Robert Bonnie, and British Ambassador Dame Karen Pierce for the last day of the 2022 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show Thursday.

Secretary Vilsack committed to addressing challenges that producers are facing regarding the supply chain, processing capacity and drought. He recognized the need for increased processing capacity and announced continued assistance for producers who have suffered loss from catastrophic disasters. Under Secretary Robert Bonnie noted the industry’s role in conservation efforts and that cattle producers play a critical role in environmental stewardship goals.

Dame Karen Pierce shared her optimism in strengthening the relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States through continuing negotiations to reach a free trade agreement. As the U.K. places the upmost importance on sustainable beef production, Pierce shared her confidence in the sustainability goals set by NCBA last year.

Listen to their remarks below:
CIC22 USDA Secretary Vilsack 29:29

CIC22 USDA Undersecretary Bonnie 24:45

British Ambassador, Dame Karen Pierce 24:37

2022 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show Photo Album

NCBA Convention Virtual Newsroom

AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Audio, Beef, Cattle Industry Conference, NCBA