Water for Food Forum Features World Food Prize Laureate

Cindy Zimmerman

The Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute this week kicked off its “Water for Food Global Forum,” a virtual series of events convening international experts, growers, and organizations to focus on achieving global water and food security. The event features both on-demand and live virtual events and the first live panel Thursday discussed the need for change in global food and water systems.

Dr. Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted is the Global Lead for Nutrition and Public Health at WorldFish and was recently named the 2021 World Food Prize Laureate for her pioneering work in aquatic foods research.

She spoke about the great diversity of aquatic foods that can be harvested from bodies of water. “Aquatic foods are this generation’s ‘super foods,'” she said. “They’re powerhouses that provide multiple highly available micronutrients, vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids, as well as protein.”

Listen to Thilsted’s remarks to the Water for Food global forum here:
Water for Food forum - Shakuntala Thilsted (4:54)

Aquaculture, Audio, Water, Water for Food

House Ag Committee Hearing on Livestock Industry

Cindy Zimmerman

The House Agriculture Committee held a hearing Thursday to address the current state of the livestock industry, meat processing, production and supply.

Among the witnesses testifying were Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Vice President Todd Wilkinson of South Dakota, and François Léger of FPL Food, on behalf of the North American Meat Institute.

Sen. Grassley spoke on behalf of his bill, known as the 50/14 bill, that would require a minimum 50% of a meat packer’s weekly volume to be purchased on the open or spot market, noting the 14-day window for delivery of the cattle. “I want to make it clear that I’m not upset about paying more for my beef. I’m upset the farmer isn’t getting paid,” said Grassley.

Secretary Vilsack said USDA is implementing the structure for the $500 million fund announced in July to spark the growth of small and medium-size meat processing plants. “The expectation is that structure will take place sometime before the end of the year, and we will begin to make decisions and investments hopefully in the first quarter of 2022. We need additional capacity. We also need to strengthen our existing local, regional, small, and very small processing facilities.”

Wilkinson addressed the need to avoid one-size-fits-all policy prescriptions, and the importance of considering nuanced policies that properly address transparency, processing capacity, price discovery and oversight in the cattle markets. “As producers struggle to get by, large meatpackers have realized record-breaking windfall profits. These profits have not been shared equitability with cattle producers,” Wilkinson said.

Léger offered his perspective on the market as a beef packer and processor in Georgia. Léger told the Committee that production in meat packing and processing plants is tied to the number of employees working the line, and the pandemic has only exacerbated labor shortages. “We need cattle producers. And cattle producers need packers. And we need workers. Currently we see on average 20 percent daily absenteeism in our plant,” said Léger.

House ag hearing - Sen. Chuck Grassley (5:18)

House ag hearing - USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack (3:13)

House ag hearing - NCBA VP Todd Wilkinson (4:58)

House ag hearing - François Léger, NAMI (5:11)

Audio, Beef, Livestock, Meat, NCBA, USDA

NAMA PDA Winners Receive Awards

Chuck Zimmerman

Susan CarneyDuring the 2021 NAMA Fall Conference the winners of the Professional Development Awards of Excellence received their awards. Presenting were Sara Steever, NAMA President/Paulsen and Don Tourte, Farm Progress.

First up was Susan Carney, Corteva Agrisciences, who was honored in the area of marketing communications. In her remarks she talks about her career and how she developed her success in marketing which included fully understanding the customers.

Listen to Susan’s remarks here:NAMA PDA winner Susan Carney, Corteva

Amy BradfordNext, Amy Bradford, GROWMARK, was honored in the area of public relations.

In her remarks she talked about the people who have influenced her and how she always tried to find the right spokesperson to be in front of the camera when it came time for media interviews. Although, she did admit that she gained that skill from some of her influencers.

Listen to Amy’s remarks here: NAMA PDA winner Amy Bradford, GROWMARK

The other winner this year was Nicole Bechtel, National Cattlemens’ Beef Association, in the area of Sales. She was not able to attend. It was her work leading her team in media sales and contributing greatly to sponsorship sales for the 2021 Cattle Industry Convention and the Winter Reboot that in part, gained here this honor.

2021 NAMA Fall Conference Photo Album

Audio, Marketing, NAMA

Syngenta Seeds Creates COVID Connections with Customers

Cindy Zimmerman

With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to make larger, in-person gatherings a challenge across the world, Syngenta Seeds has come up with more personal ways of working with farmers and resellers that could remain beyond the pandemic. For example, NK Seeds hosted 400+ customer events during the course of the 2021 season, five times the amount they normally host in a season.

G.W. Fuhr, head of U.S. sales for Syngenta Seeds, says he and his team of agronomists and sales representatives had to find different ways to connect. “Whether it’s keeping social distance, doing small group tailgate tours instead of the big customer meetings, or more digital communications,” said Fuhr during an interview at Farm Progress Show.

Fuhr says they’ve also been able to use drones to connect with customers. “I think we had over 30,000 visits this summer with drone flights,” he said.

FPS21 Interview with G.W. Fuhr, Syngenta Seeds (4:29)

Audio, Farm Progress Show, Seed, Syngenta

Precision Ag News 10/6

Carrie Muehling

  • UPL Ltd. has announced that it has joined The Climate Pledge. UPL joins as the first signatory from the agricultural inputs, solutions, and technologies sector. The Climate Pledge was co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism in 2019, and it’s a commitment to reach net-zero carbon by 2040, and meet The Paris Agreement 10 years early. As of September 2021, The Climate Pledge has more than 200 signatories across 26 industries and 21 countries.
  • Join U.S. and EU government leaders for a transatlantic dialogue on the role of agricultural innovation in sustainable food systems. The event, hosted by the American Seed Trade Association and Euroseeds, will take place virtually on October 12.
  • New research from The Center for Food Integrity identifies driving factors of consumer acceptance or rejection of technology, providing farmers and other organizations with insights to advance the innovation crucial to U.S. agriculture and a safe, sustainable food supply.
  • Mercaris announced updates to the 2021 acreage analyzer for non-GMO and organic crops. The tool, which was released earlier in 2021, helps users track organic and non-GMO crops including corn and soybeans, as well as other organic crops such as wheat and oats.
  • National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Peters announced the installment of Jen Nelligan as the organization’s Chief Program Officer (CPO) and Karla Maldonado as its Chief Operations Officer (COO). These newly created positions reflect a realigned organization chart, effective October 1 with NACD’s 2022 Fiscal Year, to bolster support for NACD’s substantial portfolio of programs and membership services.
AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes, Precision Agriculture

Mizzou Students Help Support NAMA Foundation

Cindy Zimmerman

Mizzou students Kate Thompson and Sophia Liefer

University of Missouri students Kate Thompson and Sophia Liefer are enjoying their time this week at the National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) Fall Conference in St. Louis while helping out the NAMA Foundation.

“The best thing about NAMA is that we are all super competitive,” said Thompson, who talked about the foundation fundraiser they were doing at the conference. “It’s a really great opportunity to connect the professional side with the student side.”

The NAMA Foundation is the backbone of Student NAMA, helping to provide students with the tools they need to succeed through scholarships, networking and competitions. Thompson and Liefer said Mizzou NAMA is planning to participate in the live conference next April and were disappointed the competition was cancelled this year due to the pandemic.

Student NAMA interviews (3:25)

2021 NAMA Fall Conference Photo Album

Audio, Education, NAMA

SD Senator Speaks Out on Policy Impacting Agriculture

Cindy Zimmerman

Sen. John Thune (R-SD) spoke out on the Senate floor this week about Democrat policies that he says are harmful to farmers and ranchers.

“For starters, I’m worried that Democrats’ bill could mean the end of some family farms thanks to the bill’s expansion of the death tax,” said Thune. “Death should not be a taxable event.”

Sen. Thune also criticized Democrats for focusing on electric vehicles at the expense of biofuels when it comes to climate policy and manipulating farm policy.

“Democrats are extending farm programs without bipartisan input and without real involvement from many in the agriculture community,” Thune said. “And of course they’re not extending all farm bill programs. They’re not, for example, extending – or providing money for – the farm safety net. Instead they’re targeting money at programs that they feel will allow them to advance their climate agenda.”

Sen. John Thune (R-SD) floor speech (7:50)

Audio, politics

New NCGA President Meets the Media

Cindy Zimmerman

Chris Edgington of St. Ansgar, Iowa, became president of the Corn Board of the National Corn Growers Association as of October 1.

Edgington raises corn and soybeans along with his dad, brother and son. Chris and his wife, Vanessa, have two children, Alex and Elizabeth. In addition to his row crop operation, he gains insight into livestock through a small business run by his son. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in animal science from Iowa State University.

As NCGA President, he also serves as president of the National Corn Growers Association Foundation, an executive committee member of NCGA’s Allied Industry Council, and as the association’s delegate to the U.S. Grains Council. He also serves as the liaison to the Agriculture Markets Advisory Council and the Renewable Fuels Association.

Edgington held a Zoom call with members of the media Tuesday to discuss issues of importance to corn growers.

NCGA president Chris Edgington, Iowa (18:18)

Audio, Corn, NCGA

2021 NAMA Fall Conference Underway

Chuck Zimmerman

2021 NAMA Fall ConferenceThe National Agri-Marketing Association is holding it’s 2021 Fall Conference in St. Louis, MO. Attendance is normal for this conference and everyone seems to really be enjoying being in-person!

After a reception last night, sessions are underway this morning, starting with the General Session with Karen Post, Turn Chaos into Competitive Edge. There are a number of breakout sessions and networking breaks throughout the day. At the end of the day a reception will be held offsite at Brighton.

Of course you can see photos here and on the NAMA Flickr account and the session audio is being recorded for attendees to listen to after the conference is over.

2021 NAMA Fall Conference Photo Album

NAMA

Administration Plans to Press China on Trade Agreement

Cindy Zimmerman

United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai delivered remarks Monday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) “outlining the Biden-Harris Administration’s new approach to the U.S.-China bilateral trade relationship.”

Ambassador Tai said they will begin by having discussions with China about its performance under the Phase One Agreement and commitments made “that benefit certain American industries, including agriculture, that we must enforce.”

USTR Katherine Tai comments related to agriculture (5:46)

During a press availability Monday, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack was asked about the administration’s “new approach” and the ambassador’s characterization of China’s market as “unpredictable” for U.S. farmers and ranchers.

USDA Secretary Vilsack comments on trade approach to China (4:00)

Audio, Exports, Trade, USDA