Merry Christmas from the Sisters of Carmel

Chuck Zimmerman

Carmelite Monastery of the Sacred HeartsMany really beautiful Christmas greetings have been showing up in my inbox. I’d love to share them all. Here is one with special meaning for me since I got to know several Carmelite nuns back during the time we lived in Jefferson City, MO. This email came from the Carmelite Monastery of the Sacred Hearts in Colorado Springs, CO. They have a wonderful store of religious articles, many that they make by hand.

Here is an excerpt from their message:

Dear Friends of Carmel,

By the blessing of the good God, we all come to another Christmas season, to renew—and look forward to—the Coming of Our Lord.

As we gather around the manger of Bethlehem, know that you will be in our prayers, for a Blessed and truly Merry Christmas.

In Our Infant King,
Your Carmelite Sisters

Also included in their message is this quote.

May each Christmas, as it comes, find us more and more like Him, Who at this time became a little child for our sake; more simple-minded, more humble, more holy, more affectionate, more resigned, more happy, more full of God.

– Cardinal John Henry Newman

Holiday

Precision Ag News 12/22

Carrie Muehling

  • Farmers and Ranchers have spoken with the release of the 2021 Progressive Farmer Reader Insights Study powered by SOCAL Approach, and Kubota ranks highest among tractor brands for both Overall Durability as well as Overall Customer Experience, while John Deere ranks highest among tractor brands for Overall Loyalty. At the segment level, Kubota and John Deere dominate the top of the rankings, with New Holland also taking home a top award.
  • Massey Ferguson®, a worldwide brand of AGCO, announced a fresh new look for its iconic MF Triple Triangle® logo and its new “Born to Farm” brand identity to celebrate its 175 year anniversary in 2022.
  • Growth in both ag tractors and combine harvesters continues in the U.S., while a slowdown in harvesters in Canada brings overall unit sales slightly below 2020 north of the border, according to the latest data from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers. U.S. total farm tractor sales climbed a healthy 8.7 percent in November compared to 2020, while U.S. self-propelled combine sales saw a gain of 37.8 percent, the fourth month in a row of growth near or above 20 percent for harvesters.
  • CLAAS of America announces CLAAS USED, a pre-owned equipment program for North America that combines the performance and efficiency of a CLAAS machine, with professionally inspected and protected “Certified” units and special low-rate financing through CLAAS Financial Services.
  • BASF announced its newest cotton innovation to prevail over resistant weeds, Axant™ Flex herbicide trait technology. This unprecedented quadruple-trait herbicide stack provides tolerance to Alite™ 27 herbicide 1, BASF’s latest herbicide offering for cotton growers battling difficult to control weeds.
  • Heliae® Agriculture, an algal tech company specializing in scalable regenerative agriculture solutions, announced the award of 40 acres worth of PhycoTerra® soil microbial food to Michael Brancato, an almond grower in Bakersfield, California.
  • Veteran Ag industry leader Peter Rousonelos has joined the senior management team at Meristem Crop Performance.
  • The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers has announced three AE50 awards to Case IH for outstanding agricultural innovations.
  • National Sorghum Producers announced the winners of the 2021 Sorghum Yield Contest, including Bin Buster winner Kasey Gamble from Kiowa County, Kansas, with the top yield in the contest at 244.03 bushels per acre—the highest dryland yield on record in contest history west of the Mississippi River.
AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes, Precision Agriculture

NCBA 2021 Policy Update

Cindy Zimmerman

2021 has been a busy year for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association working for the nation’s one million cattle farmers and ranchers. Members of the NCBA policy team took some time to update reporters on wins and losses this year and where the industry stands going into 2022.

Here are a few of the highlights:

Ethan Lane, NCBA Vice President of Government Affairs, provided an overview of 2021, including fighting against proposals such as stepped-up basis and capital gains tax increases.
Ethan Lane, NCBA (11:17)

Tanner Beymer, Government Affairs and Market Regulatory Policy, discussed the recent House passed bills supported by NCBA and how it differs from Senate legislation.
Tanner Beymer, NCBA (4:59)

Danielle Beck, Director of Government Affairs, updates on lab grown meat policy
Danielle Beck, NCBA (2:58)

Scott Yager, Chief Environmental Counsel, on WOTUS redo and EPA agenda
Scott Yager, NCBA (3:50)

Full Q and A with reporters –
NCBA presser Q&A (26:51)

Audio, Beef, Livestock, NCBA

Animal Ag News 12/20

Carrie Muehling

  • The U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (USRSB) joins the Trust In Beef program as a founding partner and technical advisor. Trust In Beef is a new effort to empower beef producers to accelerate the adoption of their sustainability journey and provide consumers with real-life proof of the continuously improving environmental performance of American beef. The program is led by Farm Journal‘s social purpose division, Trust In Food, and its industry- leading beef brand, Drovers.
  • PIC (Pig Improvement Company) announces the PIC Total Carcass Value Handbook, a new business resource for pork processors and producers.
  • The Animal Agriculture Alliance announced the winners of the 2021 College Aggies Online scholarship competition. Students from Oklahoma State University, South Dakota State University, West Texas A&M University, Kansas State University, University of Florida, and University of Wisconsin-River Falls took home the top prizes as they were named overall winners of this year’s nine-week program. The Alliance awarded more than $20,000 in scholarships to students and clubs this year.
  • Applications are being accepted until March 11, 2022, for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association 2022 Environmental Stewardship Award. Established in 1991, the Environmental Stewardship Award Program annually recognizes outstanding stewardship practices and conservation achievements of cattle producers across the nation.
  • USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is providing more than $200,000 dollars in Farm Bill funding to support the American Sheep Industry Association (ASI) and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) in developing movement decision criteria for sheep and cattle grazing public land allotments during a potential foreign animal disease (FAD) outbreak.
  • “Everything is bigger in Texas,” and that includes the speaker lineup for the 2022 Cattle Industry Convention & NCBA Trade Show to be held Feb. 1-3, in Houston. General session speakers will hit audiences hard with powerful messages that educate, motivate and inspire.
AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Animal Bites

Jeremy Wilson to Join AgGateway as Executive VP

Cindy Zimmerman

AgGateway has announced that Jeremy Wilson is joining the organization as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, and North America Regional Director, effective January 1, 2022.

Wilson takes the job of Brent Kemp, who was selected to serve as the organization’s President and Chief Executive Officer with the retirement of Wendy Smith at the end of this year.

Wilson brings more than three decades of diverse agriculture experience to AgGateway, working within organizations serving farmers including crop insurance, data collection and analysis, systems development, and field agronomy as a consultant. For nearly a decade, he has been a dedicated AgGateway volunteer and a passionate advocate for the organization’s mission. He most recently served as Senior Vice President, Field Data Solutions with agriculture software manufacturer EFC Systems of Brentwood, TN.

AgGateway is a global, non-profit organization that develops the resources and relationships driving digital connectivity in global agriculture and related industries. Wilson will be part of a brand new AgGateway team in 2022 which also includes Paul Schrimpf, who is joining the organization as its new Director of Marketing and Communications.

AgWired Precision, Precision Agriculture

Merry Christmas/Happy New Year from USSEC

Chuck Zimmerman

USSEC HolidayThis holiday greeting comes from Jim Sutter and the U.S. Soybean Export Council.

2021 was a challenging yet deeply fulfilling year that brought many milestones – record participants in our programs, numerous recognitions for U.S. Soy, larger volumes than ever before and great partnerships around the world as we work together to sustainably enable food security and nutrition globally.

Thank you for the collaboration and we wish you and yours a happy and successful 2022!

Soybean, USSEC

Industry Ag News 12/17

Carrie Muehling

  • The VISION Conference 2022 will take place in-person January 18-19 at the Renaissance Phoenix Glendale Hotel & Spa.
  • If you are unable to join the 2022 American Farm Bureau Convention in Atlanta, not to worry. Convention content is available online.
  • Join USDA and other industry leaders for the agricultural sector’s premier event, the 2022 Agricultural Outlook Forum. This year’s Forum, New Paths to Sustainability and Productivity Growth, will be held virtually on February 24-25, 2022.
  • Bushel announced the addition of Nathan Jennings as Chief Revenue Officer. Jennings will be leading efforts in building channel partnerships, growing accounts and sales team development.
  • The first phase of construction on the Ag Innovation Campus schedule is completed, as the non-profit crush and research facility moves a step closer to its 2022 production goal.
  • During the Sorghum Checkoff’s annual December meeting, leaders of the United Sorghum Checkoff Program elected Charles Ray Huddleston of Celina, Texas as the 2022 Chairman along with three additional elected officers.
  • Corn growers showed the amazing possibilities open to agriculture with the use of modern seed varieties, advanced production techniques and innovative growing practices this year as David Hula topped the 600 bushel-per-acre mark again this year in NCGA’s National Corn Yield Contest.
  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) mails the National Agricultural Classification Survey (NACS) this month to more than a million potential U.S. agricultural producers, in preparation for the 2022 Census of Agriculture.
  • The Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance added one new member to its Board of Directors, re-elected two others and tabbed Rob Prather of Global Processing as its new board chair during its 2021 Annual Meeting.
  • During its annual meeting in St. Louis, the American Soybean Association (ASA) elected the leaders who will steer the organization through a new year of soybean policy advocacy, including planning for the 2023 farm bill and other soy priorities. Brad Doyle (AR) will serve as 2022 ASA president.
Zimfo Bytes

Archer Malmo Wins Second in State Corn Yield Contest

Cindy Zimmerman

Archer Malmo is an agency that really knows ag so well they can produce contest winning corn yields.

The ag team at Archer Malmo, in partnership with the research team at Agricenter International, achieved their Project 300 corn yield goal by growing 333 bushel per acre of corn on a 3.3-acre plot area. The agency also placed second in the state of Tennessee at the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) Yield Contest.

As a top 3 finisher in their state (conventional tillage, irrigated category), the Archer Malmo ag team will be recognized by NCGA, along with the top farmers in the country, at the 2022 Commodity Classic trade show in New Orleans, March 10-12.

“Archer Malmo established Archer Acre, our agency’s very own farm, in 2016,” said Fred Nichols, senior vice president at Archer Malmo. “It was intended to educate our ag team on crop production. Over the years we’ve grown 15 different crops, tested various client products, conducted on-farm agronomic research trials and created our own line of branded food products.”

Last year, the team grew 268 bushels per acre of corn on one acre, which inspired them to enter the NCGA contest this year. The team will continue to enter the contest again next year and expand on the farm.

Several factors went into this year’s high yield: superior genetics, ideal planting conditions, outstanding crop nutrition and excellent pollination, to name a few. The corn was planted with AgriGold 6659, a 116-day corn hybrid. YaraVera® AMIDAS, a slow-release fertilizer, was used – helping to feed plants all the way through pollination. Biovante® products were applied to boost plant energy. During the critical phase of pollination, there were relatively mild temperatures, where irrigation occurred only twice during the time.

Read more about this accomplishment.

Agencies, Corn, NCGA

Hula Wins Corn Yield Contest – Again

Cindy Zimmerman

Not another world record, but Virginia farmer David Hula once again topped 600 bushels per acre this year in NCGA’s National Corn Yield Contest to take the number one spot.

Hula, who has won the contest for multiple years, produced 602.1694 bushels per acre, which is down from his previous world record of 616.1953 bushels per acre accomplished in 2019. The second-highest yield for 2021 came from David’s son Craig Hula with 583.07 bushels per acre in the no-till, irrigated category.

The National Corn Yield Contest is now in its 57th year and remains NCGA’s most popular program for members. The 27 national winners in 9 production categories had verified yields averaging more than 376.7593 bushels per acre, compared to the projected national average of 177 bushels per acre nationwide. While there is no overall contest winner, yields from first, second and third place farmers overall production categories averaged 285.5971 bushels per acre.

Corn, NCGA

ZimmCast 682 – The Latest from Syngenta

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCastHello and welcome to the ZimmCast.

Since Syngenta was at all the fall meetings I attended and they had many stories to tell I thought I’d share some of them in this week’s episode. We really appreciate Syngenta’s support which helps make what we do at ZimmComm possible. So let’s get started.

At the NAFB Trade Talk we heard about Syngenta’s sustainability efforts from Caydee Savinelli and Steven Wall.

Next, it was on to the Farm Journal MILK Business Conference where Enogen was in the spotlight to help dairy producers. Describing this are Todd Lunde, Ted Koehler, Liz Novotny, Katie Edmunds and from Penn State, Dr. Alexander Hristov.

Last but not least, Syngenta was a major sponsor at the ASTA CSS & Seed Trade Expo where I spoke with Eric Boeck and Mary Kay Thatcher.

So that’s the ZimmCast for this week. I hope you enjoyed it and thank you for listening.

Listen to the ZimmCast here:
ZimmCast 682 - The Latest from Syngenta (40:53)

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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Agribusiness, Audio, Syngenta, ZimmCast