Industry Ag News 4/22

Carrie Muehling

  • Syngenta announced David Flakne has been named team lead for U.S. state affairs. Flakne succeeds Dennis Kelly who retired on April 1 after 44 years of service with the company.
  • The Packer and PMG announce the launch of ProduceEDU, an online education platform offering courses tailored for both the buy-side and supply-side audiences of the produce industry. ProduceEDU coursework is developed by The Packer and PMG editorial team in conjunction with subject matter experts within and outside the industry.
  • The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture has launched a first-of-its-kind online platform for K-12 and STEM educators who seek to bring science to life through the lens of agriculture. The Food and Agriculture Center for Science Education supports educators who teach, coach or advise K-12 science coursework in public and private, formal and informal educational spaces through a three-pronged approach consisting of classroom resources, professional development and partnerships.
  • The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR), a nonprofit that builds public-private partnerships to fund audacious food and agriculture research, announced that its Board of Directors selected Dr. Saharah Moon Chapotin as FFAR’s executive director.
  • No Farms No Food: Uniting Farmers and Environmentalist to Transform Agriculture by Don Stuart, published by Island Press, recounts the history of American Farmland Trust and its success uniting disparate interests to bring about the protection of farmland and ranchland and the conservation of environmental resources on which our food, fuel, feed and fiber production rely—on which society and the planet relies.
  • Bayer announced that the company is pursuing an agreement whereby Ginkgo Bioworks will acquire Bayer’s West Sacramento Biologics Research & Development site and internal discovery and lead optimization platform. The contemplated transaction, projected to close before the end of 2022 pending final negotiation of the agreement terms and subject to regulatory approvals, would also bring Joyn Bio’s nitrogen-fixing technologies to Bayer, successfully closing the joint venture created between Leaps by Bayer and Ginkgo Bioworks in 2017.
  • In the latest episode of Something Greater, Land O’Lakes, Inc. Chief Marketing Officer Heather Malenshek shares how Land O’Lakes is bringing to life the stories of the cooperative as a powerful engine working in service of its farmer and retailer owners.
  • The new ASTA Leadership Summit is coming this June in Indianapolis. In designing this program, the ASTA Board of Directors and staff have focused on developing the professional skills and educational needs to further the future leaders of the seed industry.
  • Mickie French, an accomplished global expert in food value chain communications and marketing strategy, is the new executive director of The Center for Food Integrity (CFI). CFI is a not-for-profit with a diverse membership whose sole mission is to help today’s food system earn consumer trust.
  • The Renewable Fuels Association announced that GreenAmerica Biofuels Ord LLC has joined the organization as its newest producer member.
  • Video interviews explaining the role and value of professional farm managers and rural appraisers are now available for public viewing at the website of the Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers. Videos are free to watch and are behind the Video Series link on the website.
Zimfo Bytes

Agri-Pulse Newsmakers – Dan Glickman and Food Security

Cindy Zimmerman

The newest episode of Agri-Pulse Newsmakers is now live and features former Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman on what global food security means for the U.S.

New figures released this week by the International Monetary Fund were cause for concern around the world as the potential for increased food costs is weighed against potential political uncertainty that might result. Dan Glickman, the ag secretary for the majority of the Clinton administration, joins Newsmakers to discuss what the report means and what the U.S. can do about it.

Then, an esteemed panel – oilseed industry analyst John Baize, Krysta Harden with the U.S. Dairy Export Council and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture Kip Tom – discuss what they’re hearing about global food prices, supply chain issues, and the potential for role of the 2022 crop year in the conversation.

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


Agri-Pulse, Video

Precision Ag News 4/22

Carrie Muehling

  • Registration is now open for Tech Hub LIVE in Indianapolis on July 20-21, 2022.
  • The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) Hall of Fame recognizes the pioneers
    whose inventions, ideas, leadership and courage have contributed to the industry and our community’s quality of life. Submit your nomination at AEM.org/hall-of-fame. Nominations are open until June 17, 2022.
  • Two more leading agronomic professionals have joined Meristem Crop Performance, one of the fastest-growing crop input suppliers in America. Izaak Rathke becomes Meristem’s director of large farm business accounts and Jim Sitar becomes sales representative for the upper western Corn Belt.
  • Burger King and Cargill announce a partnership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), the largest private conservation grant provider in the U.S., to support cattle ranchers committed to addressing climate change through regenerative agriculture practices in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. This five-year initiative with up to $5 million in funding, brings together two major beef brands dedicated to emissions reduction, reinforcing the important role beef and cattle play in helping the Great Plains thrive. The funding is expected to generate 1:1 matching contributions from NFWF, creating a total on-the-ground impact of up to $10 million.
  • The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its first-ever comprehensive workplan to address the decades-old challenge of protecting endangered species from pesticides. The plan establishes four overall strategies and dozens of actions to adopt those protections while providing farmers, public health authorities, and others with access to pesticides.
  • Ceres Imaging, the precision agriculture data analytics company that combines AI with remote sensing technologies to increase farm profits, has announced that its Field Disease Risk product will be made available to growers as part of Evergreen’s Agtrinsic platform.
  • Nutrien Ag Solutions is partnering with corn, cotton and wheat growers to generate sustainable outcomes through a new Sustainable Nitrogen Outcomes (SNO) program. Growers will receive compensation for credits generated when using a suite of products that can increase productivity and reduce nitrogen application by at least five percent overall. The deadline for enrollment is now May 31.
  • FieldReveal, LLC announced an operating agreement with AgWorks, LLC which deepens their already-strong partnership that was announced in early 2020. This operating agreement harnesses robust leadership experience from both companies and delivers to FieldReveal, a strengthened and unified management team that is highly focused on the ever-evolving needs of ag retail companies across the country.
AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes, Precision Agriculture

CUTC is Back in Person

Cindy Zimmerman

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) will once again host its biennial Corn Utilization and Technology Conference (CUTC) in person, June 6-8 in Chesterfield, Missouri.

The conference answers the question of how can the industry produce more quality corn, build new markets and continue to create opportunities for agriculture. While the ag industry can often be the target of unfavorable attention, CUTC brings an optimistic and forward-thinking focus on corn production quality and new technologies to build greater corn demand. Productivity, adaption and resilience are key pillars at the forefront of 2022’s CUTC agenda.

Dr. Todd Werpy, senior vice president and chief science officer for ADM Company, will be the keynote speaker at the 2022 CUTC and will address growth opportunities for sustainable materials from corn.

Post Update:

CUTC 2022 has been canceled in-person.

Thank you for registering for the Corn Utilization and Technology Conference. There is a great community of science and business leaders that NCGA is committed to supporting but unfortunately, we had to make the decision to cancel the in-person event due to continuing travel complications in the wake of COVID. We will be refunding all registration fees and hotel arrangements will be automatically cancelled. We please ask you to stay tuned as we work on alternative plans to disseminate the quality information in the confirmed sessions.

Please watch your email for information on virtual CUTC sessions.

Corn, CUTC, NCGA

Animal Ag News 4/18

Carrie Muehling

  • House Agriculture Committee Chairman David Scott released a statement announcing the participation of the CEOs of Cargill, Tyson Foods, JBS, and National Beef Packing for the House Agriculture Committee’s upcoming hearing on cattle markets.
  • USPOULTRY and the USPOULTRY Foundation are accepting nominations for the Dr. Charles Beard Research Excellence Award through July 1. To submit a nomination, please send a letter to Dr. Denise Heard (dheard@uspoultry.org), vice president of research, that includes the nominee’s name, a brief description of the nominee’s research accomplishments and the impact of the research.
  • The USA Poultry & Egg Export Council (USAPEEC) and U.S. Poultry & Egg Association (USPOULTRY) recently held individual ribbon-cutting ceremonies for their newly renovated office space in Tucker, Georgia. The space is owned by “The Coop Group, LLC,” a partnership of USAPEEC and USPOULTRY.
  • Erik Weihenmayer has joined the Alltech ONE Conference keynote speaker lineup. Weihenmayer is one of the most sought-after speakers in the world. Despite losing his vision at age 14, he is an accomplished climber, paraglider, skier and kayaker who never allows blindness to interfere with his passion for pursuing an exhilarating and fulfilling life.
  • Farm Journal Foundation is partnering with the Zoetis Foundation to launch a new program to surface solutions for relieving student debt in the veterinary industry, with the long-term goal of addressing shortages of veterinarians to work with farmers in rural areas. The new Veterinary Debt Solutions Program will convene leaders from across the livestock, academic, nonprofit, and veterinary sectors to address barriers that veterinarians face in building long-term careers in rural areas.
  • McLanahan Corporation announced Lori Lulich has joined its agricultural team as regional sales manager, serving the Midwest and Western United States.
  • The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Cattlemen’s Webinar Series continues on April 21 at 7:00 CDT. Register here to learn more about tools available to manage risk associated with drought.
AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Animal Bites

Industry Ag News 4/15

Carrie Muehling

  • Alltech took steps to advance its leadership in sustainability through the company’s first global renewable energy project, a photovoltaic solar energy system, located in its production plant in Serdán, Mexico. The plant also presented its new source of compressed natural gas, which will help to considerably mitigate its environmental impact.
  • Potatoes USA elected new leadership during its Annual Meeting on March 9, 2022. The newly elected Chairman and Executive Committee will lead the Board through 2022-2023. Jason Davenport of Bakersfield, California was elected as Chairman of the Board.
  • Farmers are invited to submit nominations for the 2023 Farm Bureau Farm Dog of the Year contest, supported by Purina. This is the fifth year of the contest, which celebrates farm dogs and the many ways they support farmers and ranchers in producing nutritious food for families and their pets across America. The grand prize winner – Farm Bureau Farm Dog of the Year – will win a year’s worth of Purina dog food and $5,000 in prize money. Farm Dog of the Year nominations, which include written responses to questions, at least one still photo and a video clip (optional), must be received by July 1, 2022, for consideration.
  • The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture announced Lauren Zajicek has been hired as Coordinator, Communications. In this role, Zajicek will assist in facilitating strategic public engagement including social media and website management, graphic design, event branding and promotion and newsletter development.
  • Ag Media Summit will feature Scott Mason as the opening keynote speaker at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, July 18. Scott Mason is known as the Tar Heel Traveler. His Monday-Thursday series on WRAL-TV, the NBC affiliate in Raleigh, takes viewers along the back roads of North Carolina where he meets memorable characters, finds out-of-the-way places, and unearths fascinating historical footnotes. The series has become so popular it has led to Tar Heel Traveler half-hour specials, which Mason produces each quarter.
  • A committee of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) grower leaders has selected the finalist for the 2022 NCGA Scholarship Programs. As a result, eleven students will be awarded scholarships for the fall 2022 semester. NCGA is proud to support these programs in partnership with BASF Corporation. Learn more about the program winners below and read their full bios here.
  • EasyKnock announced the relaunch of FarmlandFinder, the first online sale-leaseback platform for farmland, with a renewed focus on helping America’s farmers achieve their goals. The new FarmlandFinder will exclusively offer sale-leasebacks to farmers and can help them achieve goals such as strengthening balance sheets, funding operations, eliminating debt, and buying more land.
  • The National Pork Producers Council has hired Chase Adams as manager of congressional relations in its Washington, DC, public policy office. He joins Jack Frye on the organization’s lobbying team.
Zimfo Bytes

Agri-Pulse Newsmakers – Rep. Feenstra, on E15 and WOTUS

Chuck Zimmerman

The newest episode of Agri-Pulse Newsmakers is now live and features Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, on E15 news and WOTUS discussions.

The Biden administration made news this week with the announced emergency action to allow E15 to be sold this summer. The move satisfies a major request of the biofuels industry but also leaves the sector wondering what comes next. Iowa Republican Randy Feenstra joins Newsmakers to discuss that as well as ag input issues and efforts to define a Water of the U.S.

There’s also a panel discussion on the future of ethanol policy and agriculture’s current relationship with the Environmental Protection Agency.

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


Agri-Pulse

DDGS Mistaken for Bird Poop on Biden’s Lapel

Cindy Zimmerman

The ag story of this week may be what hit President Joe Biden on the lapel during his appearance at an Iowa ethanol plant Tuesday.

Video of the moment went viral since it appeared to be bird droppings, but instead of being by-product of a bird, turns out it was a co-product of an ethanol plant, the high protein animal feed known as distillers dried grain with solubles or DDGS.

Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper was an eyewitness in the distillers grains barn with President Biden and he confirmed it was definitely DDGS responsible for spotting the POTUS lapel. “We did see something falling from the ceiling and it landed right there on his lapel and I can confirm it was not a bird dropping,” said Cooper, who took this photo at the event which shows the mound of DDGS off to Biden’s left side and the spot on his jacket. It came just as President Biden started to talk about products made in America and the amount of corn used at the Menlo, Iowa POET plant.

The Des Moines Register was first to report the actual culprit which has given some media outlets a chance to learn about distillers grains for the first time. Even Snopes has issued a fact check on the claim now and White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield tweeted, “If you guys knew your way around a corn silo at all, you’d know it was corn.”

Cooper says it provides a great opportunity for the ethanol industry to explain how each bushel of corn used in ethanol production generates about 17.4 pounds of DDGS to be used as feed for both dairy and beef cattle.

RFA CEO Geoff Cooper confirms DDGS on Biden lapel (3:30)

Audio, Corn, Ethanol, Feed

ZimmCast 690 – From the 2022 Agri-Marketing Conference

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCastHello and welcome to the ZimmCast.

The topic of this episode is the 2022 Agri-Marketing Conference which took place last week. Besides exhibiting in the Connection Point I was also taking photos for NAMA, over 500 of them, which you can find in our online album. Just click on the Flickr icon on AgWired.com or AgNewsWire.com to view and share.

During the conference I recorded remarks from our industry award winners as well as interviewing the new president of NAMA, Deron Johnson, Curious Plot. The Golden ZimmComm Microphone was active in our Connection Point booth and I conducted interviews with a number of attendees and other exhibitors. You can find them all on the virtual newsroom on AgNewsWire.com.

I’m sharing a number of these remarks and interviews with you in this week’s program. Congrats to Kelly Loganbill for winning the Apple HomePod mini in our Connection Point booth drawing. And thank you to Julie Lux, Rural Minds, for winning the distribution of a news release using our AgNewsWire service in the NAMA Foundation Silent Auction

If you would be interested in sponsoring the podcast please let me know. Just email chuck@zimmcomm.biz or message me on social media.

I hope you enjoyed this episode and thank you for listening.

Listen to the ZimmCast here:
ZimmCast 690 - 2022 Agri-Marketing Conference (32:02)

Want to sponsor the ZimmCast? Just let me know and we can talk through ideas for your company. I’m AgriBlogger on Twitter or just email me at chuck@zimmcomm.biz.

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Advertising, Agencies, Agribusiness, Audio, Marketing, Media, NAMA, ZimmCast