Agri-Pulse Newsmakers – CRP acreage, FSA agency staffing and equity

Chuck Zimmerman

The newest episode of Agri-Pulse Newsmakers is now live and the focus this week is on CRP acreage, FSA agency staffing and equity.

The Department of Agriculture has responded to farm group entreaties to consider allowing production on Conservation Reserve Program acres, leaving many wondering what comes next. Farm Service Agency Administrator Zach Ducheneaux joins Agri-Pulse to discuss the future of the program as well as the current state of FSA programs.

Then, a panel of experts explores farm programs, this year’s production expectations, and what it all means for the upcoming farm bill.

Newsmakers is also available as a podcast and/or you can sign up to get free access to Newsmakers.


Agri-Pulse, Audio, Farm Policy, Podcasts, Video

Industry Ag News 4/8

Carrie Muehling

  • AAEA The Ag Communicators Network announced it is accepting applications through April 18th for one marketing internship with Vive Crop Protection for the summer of 2022.
  • The Corn Utilization and Technology Conference (CUTC) will be held in St. Louis, Missouri, at the DoubleTree Hotel and Conference Center from June 6 through June 8, 2022. To learn more about the agenda, registration, sponsorship or exhibitors, visit ncga.com/cutc.
  • Registration is now open for the Southern Peanut Growers Conference July 21-23, 2022 at Edgewater Beach and Golf Resort in Panama City Beach, Florida
  • After a two-year hiatus, The California Antique Equipment Show™ is back and bigger than ever! A vintage tractor pull starts the weekend on Friday, April 22 at 3:00 p.m. The full show kicks off Saturday, April 23 at the International Agri-Center® show grounds in Tulare, CA.
  • Farm Credit recently awarded $51,000 in grants to 51 FFA members across the country, as well as $51,000 in grants to the winners’ respective FFA chapters. Nearly 6,000 students nationwide competed for the Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) grants. These grants help FFA members create or expand their SAE projects, leverage classroom learning, and gain hands-on experience in the agriculture industry.
  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will hold its biannual Data Users’ Meeting on Tuesday, April 19, 2022, from 1–4:30 p.m. CDT. The event will be held at the University of Chicago’s Gleacher Center. A virtual attendance option will also be available. The meeting is free and open to the public, but registration is required.
  • Minneapolis Grain Exchange, a Designated Contract Market and Derivatives Clearing Organization, reported record March 2022 trading volume of 342,172 contracts, representing a 31.8% year-over-year increase and the highest volume total for March in MGEX history. Total year-to-date volume reached a record 931,091 contracts, an increase of 18.1% from the same period in 2021.
  • The World Food Prize Foundation announced that Jon Wogman has joined the Foundation as the new Senior Program Manager, Global Youth Programs and Partnerships.
  • Children of all ages can discover the joys and challenges of growing one of spring’s sweetest treats through “I LOVE Strawberries,” the newest title from Feeding Minds Press, the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture’s publishing venture. To complement the book, Feeding Minds Press has created a full educator’s guide and coloring pages, with samples available here.
  • Three young leaders, each with a passion for sustainable global agriculture, have been named winners of Bayer’s Youth Ag Summit Thrive for Change Awards. Bruno Ferreira from Bolivia, Chidinma Ezeh from Nigeria and Emiliano Barbero from Argentina will each receive a €5,000 bursary award to help put their winning Thrive for Change project ideas into action. From September 2021 to March 2022, the awardees developed their project plans to make a difference in the fight against food insecurity and climate change.
  • IFAJ and Corteva announce the opening of applications for the 2022 IFAJ/Corteva Master Class, a leadership and professional development training program for agricultural journalists and communicators from developing countries. Click here for more information on the 2022 Master Class and the application form.
  • Country music singer and songwriter, farmer and Case IH brand ambassador Lee Brice will celebrate the tireless work of producers this summer throughout his ‘Label Me Proud Tour’ with his song “Farmer.” The song was written as part of Case IH’s Built by Farmers initiative. The campaign connects the company’s employees, dealers and their families rooted in agriculture with the farmers who use Case IH equipment and technology.

 

Zimfo Bytes

NAMA Honors Industry Award Winners

Cindy Zimmerman

The National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) honored the winners of its 2022 Agribusiness Leader, Ag Association Leader, and Marketer of the Year Awards on Thursday at the Agri-Marketing Conference in Kansas City.

Kent Harrison, Vice President of Marketing and Premium Programs with Tyson Foods Fresh Meats, was honored as the 2022 Agribusiness Leader of the Year. In 2008, Harrison joined the Tyson Fresh Meats Team as director of marketing. Today, as the vice president of marketing and premium programs, Harrison is involved in nearly all facets of the company’s domestic and international business operations.
2022 NAMA Agribusiness Leader remarks (4:55)

U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) president Kasey Cronquist is NAMA’s 2022 Ag Association Leader of the Year. Soon after taking the helm at USHBC in 2019, Cronquist’s ability for long-term strategic visioning became apparent and proved vital. Through the “Grab a Boost of Blue” program, Cronquist has placed the blueberry health benefits at the center of every story told.
2022 NAMA Ag Association Leader remarks (3:46)

Lisa Homer, Senior Communications Manager, FMC, is the 2022 NAMA Marketer of the Year Award. Throughout a marketing and advertising career spanning more than 20 years, Homer has spent time on the client side, agency side and as a consultant. This unique perspective, coupled with a ‘can-do’ attitude, has enabled Homer as a skilled builder and driver of brands.
2022 NAMA Ag Association Leader remarks (3:23)

2022 Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

Ag Groups, Agencies, Agribusiness, Audio, NAMA

Congrats to the Best of NAMA

Cindy Zimmerman

A grand total of 60 Best of NAMA awards were handed out this week at the 2022 Agri-Marketing Conference in Kansas City, with Wyffels Hybrids/O&H Brand Design being crowned the Grand Champion at the end of the night.

Best of Show awards winners were:
Advertising: BASF/VMLY&R
Public Relations: AGCO/Colle McVoy
Digital: Zoetis/Bader Rutter
Consumer: Wyffels Hybrids/O&H Brand Design
Specialty: Cat Health & Royal Canin/WS

Check out all the photos of all the winners:
2022 Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

Ag Groups, Agencies, Agribusiness, NAMA

Gevo and Farmers Edge Partner for Carbon Program

Cindy Zimmerman

Gevo and Farmers Edge have signed an agreement to work together on a new type of carbon inset management program.

The potential combination of Farmers Edge highly precise and proprietary datasets with Gevo’s Verity Tracking platform and blockchain technology is expected to create value around agriculturally driven carbon impact. The companies plan to launch a program with US growers to measure and track carbon intensity scores for corn and soy in the production of sustainable aviation fuel and other low-carbon hydrocarbon fuels.

“We think farmers should be paid for their corn and then be rewarded for the benefit they provide all of us in capturing carbon,” said Gevo CEO Patrick Gruber, who presented testimony before a House Agriculture Committee hearing on energy this week.

Gruber outlined Gevo’s concept of a Net-Zero manufacturing plant for SAF they hope to be operational by 2025 and how existing ethanol plants can decarbonize to add jet fuel and hydrocarbon production by updating our lifecycle carbon accounting method to the Argonne GREET model. “There’s lots of carbon accounting models used around the world and we need to use the best, that’s the Argonne GREET model, it’s the gold standard, it’s the foundation for others.”

Here is Gruber’s opening statement to the committee:
GEVO CEO Testifies at House Ag Hearing (4:55)

AgWired Precision, Audio, Biofuels, carbon, Corn, Ethanol, Sustainability

Precision Ag News 4/6

Carrie Muehling

  • The Corn Utilization and Technology Conference (CUTC) answers the question of how can we produce more quality corn, build new markets and continue to create opportunities for agriculture. CUTC will be held in St. Louis, Missouri, at the DoubleTree Hotel and Conference Center from June 6 through June 8, 2022. To learn more about the agenda, registration, sponsorship or exhibitors, visit ncga.com/cutc.
  • UPL is reimagining sustainability in North America through its OpenAg purpose. Natural Plant Protection increases UPL’s agility to deliver innovative BioSolutions for greater crop resilience and environmental sustainability. Environmental Solutions business unit strengthens UPL’s focus for customer-centric solutions across key markets in North America.
  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Assistant Administrator for Water, Radhika Fox, released a new policy memorandum on Accelerating Nutrient Pollution Reductions in the Nation’s Waters. This memo reaffirms EPA’s commitment to working with federal agencies, state co-regulators, Tribes, water stakeholders, and the agricultural community to advance progress in reducing excess nutrients in our nation’s waters.
  • Syngenta announced the launch of its 2022 Find More Bushels program. By helping growers plan their 2022 National Corn Growers Association Yield Contest entries, Syngenta aims to help growers find more bushels and more rewards through the use of Acuron® corn herbicide – the only corn herbicide shown to outyield others by 5-15 bu/A due to its powerful weed control, longest-lasting residual and proven crop safety.
  • Vocational agriculture instructors and FFA advisors for grades 7-12 will be provided free access to the regenerative agriculture online course, Regen Ag 101, the non-profit Soil Health Academy (SHA) announced. Thanks to a grant from global food company General Mills, SHA is providing the course on a first-come, first-serve basis.
  • Ontario-based software startup, IntelliCulture, has secured US$1.36 million in seed financing to fuel the growth of its farm management platform. The round consisted of a group of strategic investors and industry experts, led by Emmertech (an agtech focused VC fund managed and operated by Conexus Venture Capital) and supported by 519 Growth Fund.
AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes, Precision Agriculture

Vilsack Talks Trade With Mexican Officials

Cindy Zimmerman

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack met with his counterpart Mexico Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development Victor Villalobos this week to “continue cooperation on shared priorities including open trade, science-based policy making, and sustainable and climate-smart agricultural production.”

That meeting resulted in Vilsack and Villalobos announcing that the two countries have agreed to final actions to expanded access to the entire Mexican market no later than May 15 for all U.S. table stock and chipping potatoes.

The Secretaries reaffirmed their shared commitment to promoting food security by facilitating trade and continuing to support rural development by expanding market opportunities for agricultural producers and their products; and enhancing plant and animal health cooperation to meet emerging threats and to promote food security.

Vilsack also met with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador for over two hours to discuss a number of issues, including labor and biotechnology.

Listen to a press call with Vilsack from Mexico in which reporters also ask the secretary about CRP signup and Avian flu.
Secretary Vilsack press call (31:19)

Audio, USDA

It’s Time for the Agri-Marketing Conference

Chuck Zimmerman

2022 Agri-Marketing ConferenceIt is Agri-Marketing Conference week in Kansas City, MO. Today the Executive Committee met followed by an afternoon of NAMA Foundation Topgolf. Meanwhile on the Student’s schedule is the Student Sales Competition. The winner will be announced in the Student Orientation right before a reception.

Tomorrow things really get rolling down the track with meetings, workshops, the Best of NAMA Awards ceremony and a celebration of those awards in the Connection Point where ZimmComm will be exhibiting and conducting short interviews with attendees with the Golden ZimmComm Mic. We’ve got a drawing for an Apple HomePod mini (blue) and are donating a free news release distribution via our AgNewsWire service to the silent auction to raise money for the NAMA Foundation. Keep your eye out for more here on AgWired and we have a virtual newsroom on AgNewsWire too.

I’m taking lots of photos as you might image and just got started this afternoon. You can find my album here: 2022 Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

NAMA

Field Notes from Koch Agronomic Services – Episode 18

Chuck Zimmerman

The Field Notes podcast series from Koch Agronomic Services (Koch) breaks down the science and technology behind agronomy to help growers do more with less.

The experts we’ve heard from on our previous episodes have covered topics ranging from how different crops use nitrogen to the 4R’s of Nutrient Stewardship and how growers and retailers work together to choose the best input for an operation. If you haven’t checked out the previous episodes, you can find them on your favorite podcast platform.

4R Advocate Award Winners

In this episode, we’ll hear from two winners of the 2022 Fertilizer Institute’s 4R Advocate award, Shannon McClintock, a staff agronomist with MFA, and Wyatt Harris, a grower he works with in Hepler, Kansas. They’ll discuss how integrating the 4R Nutrient Stewardship framework on Wyatt’s operation worked to control input costs and helped them become better stewards of the land.

You can listen to the program here: 4R Advocate Award Winners (19:42)

And to make sure you don’t miss an episode, choose an option to subscribe

For Spotify on your computer download the desktop app.

Agribusiness, Audio, Koch Agronomic Services, Podcasts, Soil

Yield Forecast Challenge Launches April 15 on AEI Premium

Cindy Zimmerman

AEI Premium, the online community for agricultural decision makers, is launching a new online contest called the Yield Forecast Challenge.

Beginning April 15, you are invited to forecast 16 questions about USDA yield estimates for corn and soybeans. The questions will span the USDA World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) reports from May through November 2022.

You can earn points after each question based on how well your forecast stacked up and how often you participate. The overall winner will receive the grand prize at the end of the contest: $1,600. Additional prizes will be awarded throughout the contest.

“We’re excited to provide a new way for farmers, agribusiness leaders, farm policy wonks, and students to engage with AEI.ag,” said AEI Premium co-founder David Widmar. “This contest supports our broader mission to help agriculture decision makers navigate today’s uncertainty and information overload. The Yield Forecast Challenge will empower you to be your own guru.”

Learn more about the Yield Forecast Challenge at aei.ag/16-questions.

Corn, Soybean, USDA