Ag Steward of the Chortí Maya

Laura McNamara

There is a group of indigenous people in Honduras that live off an average of $300 a year… less than one dollar a day. At least two months out of every year they starve. That’s the reality as Billy Collins sees it. Billy has been working with the Chortí Maya, the direct descendants of the Mayan Indians, for five years.

I met Billy in Copán Ruinas, a charming town in Western Honduras not far from the Guatemalan border. The small, cobblestoned town is “base camp” so-to-speak for visiting Honduras’ famous ancient Mayan ruins. That’s why I am here: to see the ruins. But, it’s been three days and I have yet to explore them. Instead, I’ve been exploring the harsh realities of the Chortí Maya, realties that Billy, his wife Mary and a handful of others are committed to changing. And, they’re making those changes largely through agriculture. I spent an entire day with Billy touring villages of adobe huts with straw roofs, bumping and bouncing along dirt roads consistently washed out by the wet season’s frequent rains to get to them.

While Billy and his wife are involved in more than a handful of projects with the Chortí, their SALT project, or Sloping Agricultural Land Technology, is among one of the biggest. It’s a project that’s aimed at training the indigenous people how to cultivate their rolling, mountainous lands more efficiently and successfully. Through a double hedgerow terracing technique, Billy says the Chortí Maya can double, even triple their current crop yields.

“We give them enough to plant like a half acre, enough seeds,” Billy said. “I’m talking about seeds for their terracing. We use leguminous seeds to terrace. We use the A-frame to mark out how terraces should go and then they plant it… We want to stop water long enough to let it drop the soil, let plants get taller, this soil will get higher and they’ll have good soil. In three to four years, if they do this right they can double their harvest.”Read More

Ag Groups, Agribusiness, Corn, Education, Environment, Farming, Food, Forestry, International, Precision Agriculture, Technology

Iowa Grower Ready To Roundup Some More Yield

Chuck Zimmerman

John BenedictLots of midwest corn and soybean growers attended the Monsanto Technology Showcase tour stop in Elkhart, IA. Attendees not only came from around Iowa but also Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska and Kansas.

One of the growers I got to speak with was John Benedict, Logan, IA. John is pictured on the right, discussing what he’s learned with other growers who were looking at the demonstration plots with him.

John has a diversified corn, soybean, hay, alfalfa and cow/calf operation. He’s a big fan of Monsanto technology and says he used YieldGard VT Triple (corn) for the first time this season. He says, “I just went out into it the other day and it looked good.” John says his part of the state is a little dry but his corn is performing very well and he thinks the root system must be great.

I also asked him about the new Roundup Ready 2 Yield Soybeans that will be available for the 2009 growing season and he says, “I’m looking forward to planting some of that because I really think that’s the upcoming thing right now.”

John says he’s feeling pretty good about the harvest season even though his fields are a “little short on rain.” Like most corn growers right now, he’d also like to see the market bounce back a little.

You can listen to my interview with John here: monsanto-tech-showcase-benedict.mp3

Monsanto Technology Showcase Photo Album

Audio

More Yield From Roundup Ready 2 Yield

Chuck Zimmerman

Walter MayhewOne of the newcomers to Kruger Seeds is Walter Mayhew. He’s their new brand lead and was on hand at the Technology Showcase field day in Iowa. I asked him why they are conducting these events. Walter says that since business is changing so fast, growers need this kind of opportunity to to see new technology options first hand. You can see him here, welcoming growers to the event.

We spoke about the new Roundup Ready 2 Yield Soybeans which will become available next season. Walter says that they asked growers what they need and the answer was “more yield.” So, without adding more inputs, RR2 Yield is expected to give growers from seven to eleven percent more yield potential per acre. That’s what all the trial data is showing. Essentially, the new traits provide more seeds per plant.

When it comes to supply, Walter says that there will be a limited amount for the 2009 growing season but that they’ll be producing more supply as fast as they can for 2010. He adds that, “All growers remember when we launched Roundup Ready 1. There was a big difference there. You could drive down the road and see the difference out in a field. With Roundup Ready 2, it’s going to be different. You won’t see it driving down the road. You’ll see it with your combine.”

You can listen to my interview with Walter here: monsanto-tech-showcase-mayhew.mp3

Monsanto Technology Showcase Photo Album

Audio, Soybean

Monsanto Mitigates Crop Stress

Chuck Zimmerman

Shannon HaufGetting more corn yield per acre was the theme of an interview I did with Shannon Hauf, Monsanto Area Technology Development Manager for Minnesota and Iowa. Shannon was attending a Monsanto Technology Showcase Tour event in Elkhart, IA.

I got to speak with her after listening to a field stop that was all about “stress mitigation.” Shannon says that about three years ago during drought conditions in Illinois, farmers who had planted Monsanto’s YieldGard Rootworm technology were getting yield increases that were two to three times better than what Monsanto had anticipated. So in the following years she says they’ve been doing a series of stress mitigation trials. Those are now being done with the YieldGard VT Triple technology. In plots like the ones we were able to see, you can physically see the difference on the plants themselves.

Simulating drought here on the farm for this tour stop was accomplished by using a tent that allows light to pass through but not rainfall.. . The purpose of the stress mitigation tent is to determine how biotech traits help protect the corn plants from dry weather and other stresses. I can vouch for the fact that the drought-applied plants looked just as healthy as those that received plenty of moisture. Shannon says they monitor conditions below the ground using soil moisture probes and those show that the root structure for the YieldGard VT Triple plants under stress is significantly deeper than the conventional corn hybrids.

She finds it very interesting that this stress mitigation benefit is an “added value” to the technology that was originally developed to assist with weed control and to control pests.

One other thing that Shannon wants growers to consider to increase corn yield is planting more plants per acre. Because advances in germplasm and traits enable corn plants to tolerate higher plant densities, she says a 10 percent increase in plant populations per acre is recommended which will put “more ears on that acre.”

You can listen to my interview with Shannon here: monsanto-tech-showcase-hauf.mp3

Monsanto Technology Showcase Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, Corn, Research

Advice For Iowa Corn & Soybean Growers

Chuck Zimmerman

Palle PedersonAfter a hearty lunch at the Monsanto Technology Showcase tour stop in Elkhart, IA, last week, growers got to hear from Palle Pederson, Iowa State University Soybean Extension Agronomist. Palle’s work focuses on soybean yields and profitability for growers.

Palle says the field day concept is a nice opportunity for growers to see new technology on display before they need to use it. I spoke with him before his presentation in which he decided to focus on what happened early in the season and what’s going on right now. He also intended to tell growers what they can expect for the rest of the season.

I asked him what he thought about crop conditions across Iowa. He said, “I don’t believe we have that good of crops as people are talking about. I don’t see it in either soybeans or corn.” He says the best crop conditions are in the northwest part of the state. Palle says the current cool weather isn’t helping growing conditions since they’re already 110 to 140 growing units behind a normal year. So part of his message to growers is, “We can’t increase yields right now but we can protect what we have.”

He recommends that growers get out and scout their fields since aphids are showing up in many areas. He believes that at this point, scouting is what it’s all about.

You can listen to my interview with Palle here: monsanto-tech-showcase-pederson.mp3

Monsanto Technology Showcase Photo Album

Audio, Corn, Soybean

Obligatory AgriTalk Post

Cindy Zimmerman

AgriTalk at ACEWe put AgriTalk on AgWired so often you would think they paid us!

They don’t – but, who knows? Maybe someday they will.

Here is Mr. AgriTalk – Mike Adams – interviewing American Coalition for Ethanol executive vice president Brian Jennings live on the trade show floor at the 21st Ethanol Conference and Trade Show in Omaha on Wednesday. Mike says they have been doing the “state fair” circuit lately – making stops in Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, etc.


See the ACE 2008 Photo Album here

Uncategorized

Live Blogging AgNite at the RNC

Chuck Zimmerman

Ag NiteI just found out that I’ll be live blogging AgNite during the Republican National Convention. This is going to be very cool and a lot of fun. There’s an impressive list of companies and organizations already supporting this opportunity to showcase American agriculture to a national audience.

You can count on seeing some live video via AgWired Live TV and lots of photos and interviews. My coverage will be sponsored by the Minnesota Agri-Growth Council and AgStar Financial Services. I’m betting some additional sponsors will come on board too. If you’re interested please contact the Minnesota Agri-Growth Council.

Now that I’m going to be in Minneapolis for the convention, I’m working on media credentials for the RNC itself. This is proving to be a challenge but one I’m certainly going to continue to work on. If I’m going to be there early in the week I think it would be great to stay longer and find interesting stories about rural America and agriculture.

My coverage is planned for AgWired and Domestic Fuel primarily but I’m sure I’ll find content we can use in a variety of other outlets we contribute to as well.

I’ve just started working with the Minnesota Agri-Growth Council on logistics for the venue that AgNite will held at (The Depot) but assuming I can get credentialed for the RNC, here’s what their venue looks like (Xcel Energy Center):

Ag Groups, Agribusiness, Farm Policy, ZimmComm Announcement

NAMA Boot Camp Chairman Says Biggest Ever

Chuck Zimmerman

Matt ConiglioAccording to NAMA Boot Camp committee chairman, Matt Coniglio, Fastline, this year’s event has the highest attendance since it was started 5 years ago. He says there are quite a few non-members and the attendees are with a very diverse group of companies and organizations. I know I spoke with several last night who are getting their first look at NAMA.

This year’s program features a producer panel which is kind of a mainstay element of the program. It’s taking place right now and I’ll have an interview with one of them posted later.

Matt says the committee that put this program together has for the most part been the same members for a couple of years now. He says they make a great team and that it’s a real team effort putting this event together. Matt would like to see the program be a great learning experience for more than just newcomers to agricultural marketing.

You can listen to the conversation I had with Matt over coffee this morning here: nama-boot-camp-08-coniglio.mp3

Check out the NAMA Boot Camp Photo Album.

Audio, NAMA

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • DuPont has been awarded a 2008 R&D 100 Award for DuPont Rynaxypyr, an advanced insect control product that optimizes a grower’s potential to produce high-quality, high-yielding crops. Rynaxypyr was one of 100 new products chosen by Research & Development magazine as the most innovative products introduced in 2008.
  • United Egg Producers has unveiled a new Web site that gives consumers the chance to become educated shoppers and learn more about modern egg farming. In its new user-friendly format, the site serves as an informative and educational resource for consumers and those who make egg purchasing decisions. The site also enables visitors to search expanded sections that offer in-depth, behind-the-scenes information about egg farming, its history and safety guidelines.
  • Interested readers can follow Alltech’s efforts to fight HIV/AIDS by visiting the blog site. Dr. Kate Jacques, Director of Nutrition at Alltech, and former nurse Mrs. Liz Frank, journeyed to Africa two years ago to champion the cause of nutrition’s impact on HIV/AIDS. On July 28, 2008, they returned to Africa to continue their efforts. The blog will highlight their experiences with different clinicians and societal organizations that partake in the care and treatment of people with HIV/AIDS. This blog is part of a continued effort to investigate how Alltech’s organic selenium Sel-Plex is making an impact on HIV/AIDS.
    Zimfo Bytes

    ACE Fueling Revolution Conference

    Cindy Zimmerman

    “Fueling Revolution” is the theme of the 21st Ethanol Conference & Trade Show which kicked off Tuesday in Omaha at the Qwest Center. The event is the big show of the year for the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE).

    ACE 1The conference is expected to draw more than 1,200 attendees, with more than 200 companies represented at the trade show. Topics that will be covered during sessions over the next two days include ethanol blender pumps and mid-range blends, innovations in corn ethanol, cellulosic ethanol commercialization and feedstock logistics, and much more.

    I am here in Omaha to blog the event today on Domestic Fuel and also the Renewable Fuels Association‘s blog Good Fuels, but ACE has also developed a new blog to follow the convention proceedings – at ethanol.typepad.org. Check it out!


    See the ACE 2008 Photo Album here

    Ethanol