Soybean Champion Coach

Cindy Zimmerman

Dennis BelcherEvery successful champion has at least one good coach and world soybean yield champ Kip Cullers has several.

One of his main advisers is BASF Technical Services Rep Dennis Belcher, who is based in Columbia, Missouri. “Kip and I over the last few years have worked very closely together,” Dennis says. In fact, Kip is in touch with Dennis on an almost daily basis and Dennis says what Kip has accomplished with his yields is really important to all growers to show them what good crop protection can do.

“All the crops that we have here at Kip’s expo have BASF products on them – herbicides, insecticides and fungicides,” says Dennis. Kip’s favorite product by far is Headline. “He is looking for something that will actually help him increase yields, and Headline brings growers three things – good disease control, better plant growth efficiency and the ability to handle stress better.”

Dennis also talks about a new herbicide that BASF hopes to receive approval for next year, which I will tell you more about in the next post.

Kip Culler’s Record Breaking Field Day photo album

Listen to my interview with Dennis here: basf-kip-dennis.mp3

Audio, BASF, Farming

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • A recent nationwide survey conducted by the United Soybean Board and soybean checkoff revealed that U.S. consumers strongly back U.S. soybean farmers and biodiesel. The “National Agriculture Image Survey” indicated 82 percent of consumers agree foreign oil-producing countries and the high cost of fuel impacting farming and processing, packaging, storing and shipping food are to blame for food price increases, not U.S. farmers. For complete survey information, click here.
  • John Deere’s Worldwide Commercial & Consumer Equipment Division announces STIHL Inc. and STIHL Ltd. as the preferred supplier of gas powered and corded handheld power equipment in the United States and Canada.
  • Jessica Osterman of Conde was selected 2008 South Dakota Beef Ambassador during the state-wide contest July 25 in Huron. Osterman, who will be a freshman majoring in Animal Science at South Dakota State University this fall, is the daughter of Todd and Sandy Osterman. As winner of the contest’s senior division (age 17-20), she will be representing the state in the National Beef Ambassador Contest in Oklahoma City in October.
    Zimfo Bytes

    Top BASF Exec Visits SW Missouri

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Kip Cullers and Markus HeldtThe chance to visit a tiny town in southern Missouri where the biggest soybean yields in the world have been achieved was a great opportunity for Markus Heldt, BASF Group Vice President responsible for the ag chemical business in North America.

    Markus was really interested to see BASF products in the field and he was very impressed with the turnout at the first ever Kip Cullers Record Breaking Field Day. “It’s the first time we participated in such a large grower event,” said Markus. “More important than the number of growers is the quality of those growers who are looking for innovation and new solutions to improve their productivity.”

    Markus says Kip is a great example for other growers. “Not everybody will grow their crop according to Kip’s recipe but his own experience in the field can help every farmer.”

    Kip Culler’s Record Breaking Field Day photo album

    Listen to my interview with Markus here: basf-kip-markus.mp3

    Audio, BASF, Farming, Soybean

    Kip Shares His Secrets

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Kip Field Day signWhen Kip Cullers told me two weeks ago that they were expecting 2000-3000 people for the first ever Kip Cullers Record Breaking Field Day, I really couldn’t believe it. But I wouldn’t be surprised if there were more than that by the time this event ends on Thursday because there had to be at least 500 out there today in the time I was there and that was just half of the first day!

    Kip at Field Day“I’m just honored that everybody drove all the way down here,” Kip told me. “We got Canadians here!”

    Kip’s main message to the growers is the mantra he has been repeating continuously since becoming the celebrity all-star of the soybean world. “I preach about plant health over and over and over, I sound like a broken record,” Kip says. “A happy plant is a healthy plant.”

    His secrets to high yields are simple – plant the best genetics for your farm and protect your crop with a good insecticide and fungicide program. He is especially strong on BASF Headline fungicide, so much so that he did double applications for both his corn and soybean crops this year since he had some 52 inches of rain early in the season. For growers who might be hesitant about spending the money to buy that protection for their crop, Kip says it’s a no-brainer as far as he’s concerned. “If you’re not using fungicide, you obviously can’t stand prosperity,” he says.

    Kip Culler’s Record Breaking Field Day photo album

    Listen to my interview with Kip here: basf-kip-kip.mp3

    Audio, BASF, Corn, Pioneer, Soybean

    Big New Holland Equipment Rolling Along

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Big New Holland Equipment Rolling AlongIt’s kind of hard to miss a pair of these rolling along the Interstate next to you. Not a bad picture for my Blackberry at 70 mph, eh?

    I saw a lot of farm equipment moving up and down the highway today. This picture is on I-35 north bound just as it runs into I-80 at Des Moines.

    I’ll be heading the other way by tomorrow afternoon.

    Agribusiness, Equipment, New Holland

    Monsanto Technology Showcase

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Monsanto Technology ShowcaseMonsanto is conducting the 2008 Technology Showcase as a tour of stops in 13 midwest locations. I’ve got the opportunity to attend tomorrow’s event in Alleman, IA. I just like saying Alleman, don’t you? So you can expect some interviews and pics right here on AgWired as we see what’s new in the world of agribusiness from Monsanto.

    Here’s why Monsanto is holding these events:

    • To demonstrate the multiple benefits of Monsanto corn and soybean systems can provide under different types of stressors including: insects, weeds and weather.
    • To showcase Monsanto pipeline technologies in corn and soybeans.
    • To educate farmers about the direct and indirect benefits of Monsanto systems in order to prepare for future agronomic input traits including drought, nitrogen utilization, and cold-tolerance. These tours help farmers experience first hand how biotech crop shelp to manage crop stress and ultimately a farmer’s risk of growing biotech crops. No other company research or demonstration plots have attempted to demonstrate (to this scale) the potential impact that certain environmental stressors could have on field crops.
    • To date, an estimated 30,000 farmers and /or agriculturalists have viewed these demonstrations and learned how to increase profitability on their farms over the past three years!

    Agribusiness, Technology

    NAFB Making Waves and Lifting Tides

    Chuck Zimmerman

    NAFB ConventionJust when we got done with the Ag Media Summit, it’s time to get registered for the NAFB convention. This year it’s all about “Making Waves and Lifting Tides.” Isn’t it hard to do that in Kansas City? How about somewhere on the Gulf coast?

    Join your NAFB broadcast and agri-marketing friends in Kansas City come November 12-14 for the premier agri-media event of the year. It’s a long wait, but always worth it!

    Again headlined by our high-energy interview forum Trade Talk, NAFB promises a terrific experience of education, networking, and flat-out fun. In barely six hours, Trade Talk generates $423,903 in commercial radio airtime value for participating organizations!

    NAFB’s annual gathering will feature the much-anticipated results of the 2008 National Producer Media-Use Wave Study. This ambitious and comprehensive research will illuminate what 2,400 large crop and livestock producers say about the agri-media they favor and consume. The 2008 Wave Study comes 10 years after the first wave study was commissioned by NAFB, in 1998-99.

    Register here.

    Media, NAFB

    Honduras: The Dry Land Panama Canal?

    Laura McNamara

    Honduras lies just about 1,000 miles southwest of Miami. A great location for commerce with the U.S. if you ask Antonio Young. Antonio is the Executive Vice President of FIDE, Honduras’ Foundation for Investment and Export Development. He says Honduras’ strategic location provides an invaluable access to Latin American markets. And, with the continued development of Honduras’ north-south highway, called the Logistic Corridor, Antonio says Honduras could be the dry land version of the Panama Canal.

    And, there are a lot of reasons why it should be, if you ask him. Antonio says the more than 70,000 square miles of tropical terrain and climate can support year-round cultivation and growth of an array of crops and produce. He says the country is a gem for agribusiness development because the government allows 100 percent foreign ownership, there are no import and export duties, there are no taxes on profit or profit repatriation and businesses can go online in as little as 21 days.

    San Pedro Sula, Antonio says, is the hub of the country’s agribusiness. The city of nearly 1 million people is the country’s second largest, second to the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa.

    With a total population nearing 8 million, Antonio adds that Honduras has a highly available workforce with many families seeking second and even third sources of income.

    Antonio says Honduras is already the second largest exporter of Tilapia to the U.S. He says freshly caught fish can leave Honduras’ Puerto Cortes seaport and arrive in the U.S. in as little as 6 hours. The seaport of Puerto Cortes is unmatched in Latin America for Antonio. He says the port is a model for security in the Americas because of its Container Safety Initiative or CSI. The initiative, he explains, safeguards against terrorism. Plus, he says Puerto Cortes is the most efficient deep sea seaport in Central America.

    I spoke with Antonio briefly about why he thinks Honduras represents great opportunity in U.S. agribusiness investment. You can listen to my interview here: antonio-young-honduras08.mp3

    Agribusiness, Audio, Farming, International

    Record Breaking Field Day

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Kip and Michelle CullersA record breaking field day on a record breaking farm kicked off Monday night in Purdy, Missouri at the home of Kip and Michelle Cullers.

    Kip is the man who put this tiny town in southwest Missouri on the map by being the world champion soybean yield grower two years in a row, not to mention numerous National Corn Yield Contest wins. This week he is giving over 2,000 growers a first hand look at how yields that were previously thought impossible are within reach for them.

    Headline flower arrangementBASF’s Headline fungicide is an important part of Kip’s management strategy for his crops and his wife Michelle had the clever idea of using some of their leftover containers as table centerpieces for the kickoff BBQ at their lovely home Monday evening. Pretty nifty, if you ask me.

    The record breaking field day is co-sponsored by Pioneer and BASF, two companies that have been instrumental in helping Kip achieve his phenomenal yields. His world record soybean yield last year was 154.7 bushels per acre. Even more impressive was his average yield across the whole farm – at 74 bushels per acre it was almost double the Missouri state average. But, he is hoping to break both those records this year!

    The Kip Culler’s Record Breaking Field Day photo album is up and ready for viewing here.

    BASF, Corn, Pioneer, Soybean

    Agri-Tour in Honduras

    Laura McNamara

    Business leaders in Honduras are boasting that their country is a country ripe for foreign investment, especially American investment. Honduras’ Foundation for Investment and Export Development is hosting an “agri-tour” of sorts, showcasing what the tropical, Central American country has to offer to U.S. agricultural investors. I’m fortunate enough to be ZimmComm’s representative on the trip. I’ll be getting a first-hand look at Honduras’ only brewery, a cocoa processing plant, a crocodile farm, a Tilapia fish farm and much more.

    Honduras’ agricultural appeal was apparent even before we landed. During our descent into the country’s industrial capital, San Pedro Sula, I spied acres of cultivated farmland. I could positively identify the sugarcane from my aerial view. I’m looking forward to learning about all the other crops I caught a glimpse of from the air. So, look for more posts from Central America these next few days.

    Agribusiness, Farming, International