Get The Most Out of Your Feed

Chuck Zimmerman

Dr. Stephan LangeOur emcee for today’s Boehringer Ingelheim Swine Seminar is Dr. Stephan Lange, Director of the Swine Division. He oversees sales and marketing.

I asked him what he thinks of this conference. “I think it’s crucial these days to share knowledge and insure that what we know and what the producer knows is kind of aligned.” He says that besides the speakers on the program there’s plenty of time for Q&A and direct interaction with producers so that BI gets feedback they need.

The main thing he’d like producers to take away from this seminar is how important it is to keep animal health under control in light of high input costs. “Those who survive will be the ones having their animal health under control.” He says that using vaccines will get you a lot further with what you get out of your feed. In other, words, prevention is the best medicine for getting the most out of your feed.

You can listen to Dr. Lange’s opening remarks here: bi-nc-08-lange-open.mp3

You can listen to my interview with Dr. Lange here: bi-nc-08-lange.mp3

BI Swine Health Seminar Photo Album.

Animal Health, Audio, Boehringer Ingelheim, Swine

Master Swinecaster

Chuck Zimmerman

Ned ArthurThe Swinecaster is on location with me here at the BI Swine Health Seminar.

Ned Arthur is not only a master of audio production and farm podcasting but he’s also fully equipped to record video. See, it’s not just the “young” people who are using these new media tools. One of the producers here noticed that we do some similar types of things and wondered if Ned is my mentor since as he put it, “Ned looks like he might be your Grandad.” He said it, I didn’t.

Ned is recording the speakers and utilizes the video/audio along with their slide presentations on Swinecast.

BI Swine Health Seminar Photo Album.

Boehringer Ingelheim, Podcasts, Swine

Producers Sharing Ideas

Chuck Zimmerman

Dan JohnsonThe Boehringer Ingelheim Swine Health Seminar has started. The man who handles this territory for BI is Dan Johnson. He welcomed everyone to the seminar and introduced Dr. Stephen Lange, BI Swine Marketing Manager, who is emceeing our program.

Dan says that participants come from a number of states, mostly east of the Mississippi River. We have the full range of people working in the industry including both corporate and independent producers, veterinarians, nutritionists, as well as BI representatives. Dan says they’ll be learning new things about the industry and that the biggest benefit to producers is the sharing of information and building bonds with other producers. This is the 7th year of the Seminar and he says it just keeps getting bigger.

You can listen to my interview with Dan here: bi-nc-08-johnson.mp3

BI Swine Health Seminar Photo Album.

Animal Health, Audio, Boehringer Ingelheim, Swine

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • A groundbreaking study at Colorado State University may lead to early identification of animals with less susceptibility to feedlot diseases, especially bovine respiratory disease (BRD). The study is the first of its kind and is sponsored by Pfizer Animal Genetics and the National Beef Cattle Evaluation Consortium. The study, which began in 2007 and ends next year, involves more than 3,000 steers. The first-year data already is being used to discover and identify possible genetic marker panels that are indicative of animals less susceptible to common feedlot diseases. Currently in its second year, researchers are beginning to validate research results.
  • Successful Farming magazine announces a major expansion of its approach in bringing products and solutions to America’s farmers and agri-marketers. John Walter is named Executive Editor for Successful Farming and Agriculture Online. Jason Meeker has been appointed Multimedia Producer, and will manage Successful Farming Video Solutions. Jeff Caldwell is named Multimedia Editor. Mike McGinnis is named Markets Bureau Chief for the newly formed Successful Farming Chicago Bureau. Dave Mowitz and Laurie Potter also have expanded machinery roles.
  • Feed Energy Company has launched a new Web site designed to meet the ever-changing needs of its current and potential customers. The new site offers more resources for customers when developing their feed programs, including case studies, planning tools and comprehensive information about Feed Energy products for both agricultural and industrial market segments.
    Zimfo Bytes

    Sunrise On Boehringer Ingelheim Seminar

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Carolina Beach SunriseThe sun has risen on Carolina Beach, NC as participants in the Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Swine Health Seminar get ready for today’s program.

    We’ve got presentations starting soon. Right now breakfast is served and it’s time for some coffee after a morning run.

    I think I could get used to this place!

    BI Swine Health Seminar Photo Album.

    Boehringer Ingelheim

    Moonlight On Carolina Beach

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Carolina Beach Moon LightHundreds of people are gathered here in Carolina Beach, NC for the Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Swine Health Seminar. The program gets kicked off tomorrow morning.

    I’m hoping my photos will keep up with these swine producers since I’ve already run into one who was shooting fireworks on the beach from his tripod this evening. A few of mine are in the photo album I’ve started and were all hand held.

    We’ve got a beautiful moon out over the ocean tonight. This picture is through the sea oats behind the hotel.

    So, look for more tomorrow after the program gets started. In the meantime, feel free to check out the BI Swine Health Seminar Photo Album.

    Agribusiness, Boehringer Ingelheim

    East Coast Swine Health Seminar Bound

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Boehringer IngelheimAfter some fun agricultural marketing networking in Kansas City at NAMA Boot Camp I’m on my way to North Carolina for the Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc., Swine Health Seminar.


    ZimmBite – Boehringer Ingelheim on 12seconds.tv

    The program kicks off in the morning so you can expect to see some posts about what they’re doing in this area. In case you’re not familiar with the company:

    The mission of Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. is to benefit the health and well-being of mankind by contributing to an adequate supply of safe, nutritious food and by promoting the emotional and physical benefits arising from the human-animal bond.

    Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc., headquartered in St. Joseph, Missouri, is a subsidiary of Boehringer Ingelheim Corporation, based in Ridgefield, Connecticut, and is a member of the Boehringer Ingelheim group of companies.

    Animal Health, Boehringer Ingelheim, Swine

    University Champions In The Field

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Tim ElliottThe folks at Kruger Seeds were very involved in the Technology Showcase tour stop in Elkhart, IA. Their Regional Business Manager, Tim Elliott, was there to make sure things ran smoothly. Tim manages a group of district sales managers. He started off the event with safety instructions and a review of the education stations out on the farm.

    I kept seeing Kruger Seeds caps and banners with the slogan, “University Champions” emblazened on them, so when I got a chance to talk with Tim, the first question I asked him was what it meant. He says that it’s their tag line. “The reason we chose that is, we spend a lot of effort in making sure we test all our products with third party testing.” Tim says they work with all the Universities in their territory.

    I asked him what he thought the mood of the growers attending the field event was and the word he chose was, “excitement.” One of the things that growers were able to see that would get them excited is how well the plants were doing in the field demonstration plots. This particular farm has seen some tough weather conditions that has included high winds and hail. You could see some of the effects of that but you could also see that the plants were standing well and looked to be coming along just fine in spite of those conditions. This impressed a few of the farmers I spoke with. On the subject of stress mitigation, Tim says that new biotechnology is “tightening up the yield trend line and moving it upward.” This means less yield volatility year to year.

    The tour stop was very well attended and Tim encourages growers to go to these events every year since the technology is changing so rapidly. He says that Kruger Seeds requires its dealers to attend.

    You can listen to my interview with Tim here: monsanto-tech-showcase-elliott.mp3

    Monsanto Technology Showcase Photo Album

    Audio

    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