Boehringer Ingelheim is holding an ag media day to provide an overview of changes in the company and its product line due to the recent acquisition of a portion of the Ft. Dodge Animal Health products.
As an example, in the opening presentation on cattle products, Colin Meyers told us that the new products “complete their cattle vaccine and pharmaceutical portfolio.”
I’ll be conducting interviews and taking photos so you can count on more to come as we learn about the changes at BIVI.
Novus International has launched a new bi-weekly podcast series – “What’s New with Novus,” hosted by Novus public relations manager Jeremy Lutgen.
The inaugural podcast, featuring Novus executive VP for marketing and sales Dr. Giovanni Gasperoni, went on line today and is available on iTunes, Zune and www.novusint.com/podcasts to subscribe, download or stream.
Gasperoni discusses ALIMET® and Novus’s 30 year commitment to the product and 25 years of production in Texas. Upcoming topics of “What’s New with Novus” will focus on issues facing the global agriculture community today, such as the global food crisis and sustainability, and how Novus is meeting those challenges.
Broadhead + Co is opening an office in the nation’s capitol to serve its growing association and government practice.
Tom DiBacco, Broadhead’s Director of Consumer and Government Relations, and a former network journalist based in Washington, DC, will return to familiar territory to lead the effort.
“I’m very excited and honored to be given this opportunity to come home and build upon a lifetime of contacts in a city where I have deep roots,” said DiBacco. “It is the best of both worlds. I’ll be continuing to work for a great agency in a challenging arena at an exciting time in the nation’s capitol.”
Prior to joining Broadhead + Co in 2006, DiBacco helped establish a firm that provided broadcast and interactive solutions to federal government clients. From 1984 to 2000, he was a journalist at ABC News and CNN in Washington, DC. A member of the White House Press Corps, DiBacco traveled extensively with Presidents George Herbert Walker Bush and Bill Clinton aboard Air Force One.
The Minneapolis-based agency was approved as a federal contractor on the General Services Administration (GSA) schedule in August 2008.
During NAFB Trade Talk last week, BASF announced that Headline AMP™ fungicide has received full registration from the Environmental Protection Agency. I talked with Reed Barrett and Nick Fassler about Headline AMP and Headline Advantage.
Nick says Headline AMP is the first combination fungicide specifically developed for corn growers. “There’s a segment of corn growers that desire a combination fungicide and we went out and developed the best combination available on the market for them,” Nick told me.
Headline AMP™ has federal registration and expect to have all major state registrations completed to be available in time for the 2010 season. Reed says Headline is already the number one product used in corn and soybeans and usage just keeps growing. BASF is offering an even better ROI for growers using Headline in the coming season, with Headline Advantage. “Through this program, growers can be eligible for up to $100 per gallon back directly from BASF for their 2010 purchases,” Reed says.
Listen or download back-to-back interviews with Nick and Reid from NAFB Trade Talk.
Superior Livestock Auction, Inc., the largest livestock auction company in the U.S. and the number one in the livestock marketing industry, is now owned by SLAI, LLC, a wholly owned entity of Farm Credit West, ACA.
According to company materials, Superior Livestock is the nations’ leader in marketing load-lots of cattle via satellite and the Internet, and pioneered video cattle marketing in 1987. On an annual basis, the company offers more than 1.5 million cattle and to date, has sold more than 1.6 million head of cattle in 2009.
In its first move as the new owner, Farm Credit West has asked Jim Odle to return to the company as general manager. Odle was one of the company co-founders and played a significant role of the development and growth the the company.
Pfizer Animal Health has announced today that it selected Bader Rutter, a full service agency based in Milwaukee, Wis. to service its U.S. cattle business. The agency will begin work on the account in January 2010.
In other recent news, Pfizer Animal Health unveiled a new look in October after its acquisition of Wyeth, including its subsidiary Fort Dodge Animal Health. The acquisition makes the company the, “world’s leader in the discovery, development, manufacture and sales of veterinary vaccines and medicines for livestock and companion animals.”
In a company press statement, Clint Lewis, president of U.S. Operations for Pfizer Animal Health said of the acquisition, “We’re extremely proud to offer our customers even more best-in-class and innovative products. The products, services and expertise we are gaining strengthen what is already a robust U.S. portfolio and will enhance our leading position in the animal health marketplace.”
It was a year ago this month that ethanol advocacy group Growth Energy was formed, absorbing the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC) and more recently merging with the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition (NEVC).
Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis has been with the organization since March, after leaving the National Farmers Union and he was on hand at the National Association of Farm Broadcasters Trade Talk last week discussing ethanol issues with ag reporters like Gary Cooper of Southeast Agnet pictured here.
I talked with Tom about what Growth Energy has accomplished in one year and what the organization is working on now.
I went to bed last night thinking I should write an ode to oil. It would be partially flattering as some of my favorite things come from petroleum by-products, and partially lambasting as our addition to it has caused such harm. The fuel to my passion last night? The book “Power Trip“ by Amanda Little.
Little traveled the country for two years to take us on the journey of fossil fuels including oil and coal. One area where she spent considerable time is fossil fuel’s role in our food. It’s used to fuel the farming equipment. It’s used in fertilizer. It’s used to transport the food to market (on average, our food travels 1500 miles from farm to table).
To help us better understand the relationship between petroleum and agriculture, and agriculture and fuel, Little visited the Kansas farm of a dear agricultural friend of ours – former National Corn Growers Association President, Ken McCauley, where she was treated to a lesson in precision fertilizer application technologies, and the role of corn in ethanol production.
Farmers have been getting harassed of late about their use of fertilizer, and when Little asked McCauley what would happen if he, “cut out fertilizers altogether?” he answered, “If you don’t put your fertilizer on, you’ll cut your yields by half or more…Look at poor countries–when you travel to places that don’t use fertilizer you’ll see they’re raising a third of the yield.”
But what about organic farming that uses no fertilizer, asks Little in response to Micheal Pollen’s claims most notably made in his book Omnivore’s Dilemma? Well, I’m only going to give you a taste of what McCauley said….you’ll just have to read the book to discover his thoughtful answer. “It’s not a way to maximize production…”
To read more about this book check out my separate review on energy.agwired.com. Ready to learn what McCauley’s answers are to sustainable farming, and why corn ethanol is so important to America? Then buy the book.
A FOOD FIGHT got underway today with dairy farmers and beef producers joining forces to fling facts in the face of food foes.
The main message is to Give Thanks for food and farmers as we prepare for the holiday season. Giving thanks can even get you a steak – actually, an Omaha Steaks Ideal Gift Collection of steaks and burgers valued at $135. Just leave a message of thanks for our farmers and ranchers here on the Pasture to Plate website. Producers can join the Beef Checkoff’s five-day FOOD FIGHT by visiting the
Cattlemen’s Beef Board chairman Lucinda Williams, a dairy producer from Massachusetts, was at NAFB Trade Talk last week talking about why livestock producers need to be armed with the facts to defend themselves against critics. “There’s an awful lot of people trying to tell our story,” Lucinda says. “This is our time to get out and tell our story.”
She says they are encouraging producers to get out an tell that story on Facebook and Twitter and email, (as well as traditional methods like actual face to face communication!) and encouraging everyone to give thanks for the safe and abundant food supply we enjoy in this country.
Listen to Chuck’s interview with Lucinda from NAFB here:
