USDA Announces $633 Million in Climate-Smart Investments

Cindy Zimmerman

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack was in Pennsylvania Friday to announce $633 million in investments to reduce the impacts of climate change on rural communities.

In a press call with reporters, Vilsack highlighted 791 investments that USDA is making in five programs specifically designed to help people and businesses in rural areas. These programs include Community Facilities Disaster Grants, Electric Loan Program, Rural Energy for America Program, Rural Energy Savings Program, and the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program.

Vilsack also answered questions from reporters, several focused on the biofuels sector and delayed action from the Environmental Protection Agency on Renewable Fuel Standard obligations, as well as COVID aid for producers.

USDA Sec. Vilsack presser 12-3-21 (19:27)

Audio, USDA

Partnership Acquires Willamette Egg Farms

Cindy Zimmerman

Breaking news in the egg industry today.

Northwest Farms and Proterra Investment Partners (Proterra) has acquired the operations and assets of Willamette Egg Farms (Willamette) in the Pacific Northwest from Michael Foods, Inc., a subsidiary of Post Holdings.

Northwest Farms is a newly formed company that includes several egg farming families who also are owners in Versova Management (Versova). Versova, headquartered in Sioux Center, IA, has assumed day to day management of the farms, located in Washington and Oregon.

The acquisition includes Willamette’s egg farms in Moses Lake, WA; and Canby and Molalla, OR. The farms include three egg-laying sites housing more than three million hens in production and two feed mills. The sale closed December 2, 2021.

Poultry

Industry Ag News 12/3

Carrie Muehling

  • The U.S. Court of International Trade said that it will review an amicus brief submitted by the National Corn Growers Association and other ag groups in a case it’s considering on tariffs of phosphorous fertilizers imported from outside the country. But farmers, faced with severe shortages and high fertilizer costs, are calling on the Mosaic Company to withdraw the petition that led to the tariffs.
  • U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the Department has begun accepting applications for up to $1.15 billion in loans and grants to help people in rural areas get access to high-speed internet. This announcement comes on the heels of the recently enacted Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which provides another nearly $2 billion in additional funding for the ReConnect program. USDA anticipates issuing a new Notice of Funding Opportunity to make the additional funds in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law available in 2022.
  • Blue Diamond Growers, the world’s leading almond marketer and processor, is pleased to welcome Aubrey Bettencourt as President and CEO of the Almond Alliance of California. The depth of Bettencourt’s experience will accelerate the heightened advocacy to protect and promote almond farmers and the industry at large.
  • The National FFA Foundation announced its new chair for the Sponsors’ Board during the 94th National FFA Convention & Expo in Indianapolis. Paul Rea, senior vice president, BASF agricultural solutions North America, was named the chair for the upcoming year. Rea, born and raised on a farm in New Zealand, holds a master’s degree from the University of Sydney, graduate school of management and lives in Raleigh, N.C.
  • Register now to attend the 2022 American Farm Bureau Convention and catch these funny, motivating and inspiring speakers as they light up the general session stages. The speaker lineup includes comedian Jeff Allen, motivational speaker Jim “Murph” Murphy, and current AFBF president Zippy Duvall.
  • Sakata Seed America announces the appointment of Eduardo Flores to the role of Chief Operations Officer for Sakata Seed America, effective November 29th, 2021. Flores will assume responsibility for all of Sakata’s logistics, operations and seed production activity in North/Central America, reporting to John Nelson, Executive Vice-president, and administratively to Dave Armstrong, President-CEO. Flores will be based in Sakata’s Morgan Hill, CA headquarters.
  • National Sorghum Producers and the United Sorghum Checkoff Program recently strengthened Team Sorghum, hiring Hailey Gilbreath as communications manager and Jessi Lopez as administrative manager. Current team members Haleigh Erramouspe and Amanda Garcia will also take on new roles.
  • World Ag Expo® and E.M. Tharp, Inc. have teamed up for the 15th annual “We Believe in Growing” scholarship, created to support agriculture education. High school seniors from Madera, Fresno, Tulare, Kings, and Kern counties are encouraged to apply by January 14, 2022, to be considered. A $10,000 scholarship will be awarded to two students who attend a four-year university to major in an agricultural field. The scholarships will be disbursed over four years at $2,500 per year.
  • American Agri-Women (AAW) elected its national officers at its 2021 national convention recently in Phoenix, Ariz. AAW, a national coalition of farm, ranch and agribusiness women, is in its 47th year of advocating for agriculture. Heather Hampton+Knodle of Fillmore, Ill. is the new president.
  • Austin Walter, a farmer from Grand Ridge, Illinois, is the 2021 Syngenta#RootedinAg Contest grand prize winner. Online voters and a panel of judges were charmed by Walter’s story of how his grandfather’s influence drove his decision to return to the family farm.
  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the theme and program of the 98th Agricultural Outlook Forum, a virtual event that will be held on February 24-25, 2022. The 2022 Forum theme is “New Paths to Sustainability and Productivity Growth” and the program will focus on innovations to minimize the environmental footprint of agriculture and ensure sustainability while improving crop yields.
  • The National Pork Producers Council announced Bryan Humphreys has been chosen as the organization’s new chief executive officer, effective Dec. 21, 2021, following the retirement of long-time leader Neil Dierks.
Zimfo Bytes

Intrinsyx Biology Appoints New Board Chairman

Cindy Zimmerman

Intrinsyx Bio, one of the nation’s leading biological companies focused on the development and commercialization of plant microbes, has appointed Greg Thompson as Chairman of the Board.

Thompson, 48, was one of the original founders of Verdesian Life Sciences, a North Carolina-based agricultural technology company specializing in nutrient use efficiency technologies. As President and Chief Operating Officer, he led the acquisition and integration of six companies to expand Verdesian’s global market presence.

Thompson also has extensive experience leading companies in the food ingredients and biofuel industries. He previously served as CEO of PureField Ingredients, the nation’s leading producer of wheat protein, and White Energy, a leading manufacturer of low-carbon biofuels. Thompson spent the first 10 years of his career with BASF.

“The growing emphasis on environmental sustainability gives Intrinsyx Bio the opportunity to make its mark in the agricultural field,” Thompson said. “It has developed natural biological fertilizers, backed by decades of research, with benefits that have broad appeal to farmers.”

Biologicals, Fertilizer, Soil

ZimmCast 681 – What’s New for 2022

Cindy Zimmerman

ZimmCastThe recent National Association of Farm Broadcasting Trade Talk gave us an opportunity to find out what’s new for 2022.

In this edition of the ZimmCast, we hear interviews from six companies about what they have in store for farmers and ranchers in the new year.

Our guests for this episode are:
AMVAC Technical Service Manager, Midwest Region, Joe Bruce
Bayer Channel brand agronomist Morgan Schmidt
Helena Senior Brand Manager Mike Powell
Novozymes BioAg North American Commercial Operations Lead Jason Ward
Nutrien Ag Solutions VP Innovation and Technology Adoption Rob Dunlop
Purina Animal Nutrition Senior Technical Support Consultant Dr. Katie Boesche

Listen to the ZimmCast here:
ZimmCast 681 - What's New for 2022 from NAFB Trade Talk (22:23)

2021 NAFB Convention Virtual Newsroom

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.

Subscribe to the ZimmCast in:

Audio, NAFB, Podcasts, ZimmCast

Precision Ag News 12/1

Carrie Muehling

  • Syngenta Crop Protection announces PLINAZOLIN® technology a new and innovative active ingredient with a novel Mode of Action (IRAC Group 30) for insect control that will help growers protect their crops from a wide range of pests.
  • The Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council’s efforts to grow farmers’ return on their soybean checkoff investments have taken another leap forward. In a cutting-edge partnership, Missouri Soybeans has teamed up with Sipcam Oxon to release the first commercial license of the innovative SOYLEIC trait outside of the United States.
  • Meristem Crop Performance Group, LLC and Bill Rutledge of Buckeye Ag Solutions of New Washington, Ohio announced a new dealership agreement to serve farmers in North Central Ohio.
  • Pursell Agri-Tech, LLC and Huntsman International, LLC announce the issuance of U.S. Patent No. 11,180,429 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. This patent relates to the innovative PurActive® polyurethane-based coating technology used in the production of controlled-release fertilizer (CRF) for a broad range of markets including turf and ornamental, specialty agriculture, row crop agriculture, and consumer home and garden.
  • AgGateway recently announced its 2022 Board of Directors and regional Steering Committees as elected by AgGateway Members.
  • Synthetic nitrogen fertilizer is a major contributor to climate change and environmental pollution. Modern day agriculture was not developed to be highly nitrogen efficient and growers apply 22 million pounds of nitrogen fertilizer to crops in the U.S. annually, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Scientists at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center have established a new Subterranean Influences on Nitrogen and Carbon (SINC) Center of Excellence to address this global challenge.
  • CNH Industrial N.V. announced that it has completed its acquisition of Raven Industries, Inc., a U.S.-based leader in precision agriculture technology. The acquisition builds upon a long partnership and is an important milestone in CNH Industrial’s digital transformation.
  • GROWERS, a North Carolina-based agriculture technology company, announced that after a year of testing, its flagship product GROWERS Rally™ is available for commercial use.
AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes, Precision Agriculture

RIP Tom Riter, WNAX

Cindy Zimmerman

So sad to hear over the weekend about the passing of Tom Riter, farm broadcaster with WNAX radio in Yankton, South Dakota. Tom was a member of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) for over 25 years.

Tom Riter was born and raised in Rock Rapids, Iowa, where he spent many summers walking beans and detasseling corn. After graduating from the University of Northern Iowa and attending Brown Institute, Tom filled a variety of roles on the air as a morning-show personality, sportscaster, overnight announcer, and then news director for KORN radio in Mitchell, South Dakota, and KGRN in Mitchell, Iowa. His first introduction to farm broadcasting came in Aberdeen, South Dakota, where he was part of a pilot project at KKAA and KQAA radio, serving as both news and ag director.

In 1991, he moved to Colorado, where he served as farm director until 1998 before taking a position with WNAX radio in Yankton, South Dakota, where he contributed to both the farm and news departments.

A celebration of life service with family fellowship is set for 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021 at Calvary Baptist Church, 2407 Broadway Ave., Yankton, SD. Goglin Funeral Home in Yankton is handling arrangements.

NAFB

Douglas Plant Health Rebrands as DPH Biologicals

Cindy Zimmerman

As of today, Douglas Plant Health will now be known as DPH Biologicals. The new name was officially announced this morning at the Biostimulants World Congress in Hollywood, Florida and recognizes the century-long commitment of its parent company, Douglas Products, to deliver effective and high-quality products to its customers while more clearly focusing on expanding its biologicals product platform to deliver value to customers by sustainably increasing productivity, yield and profitability.

In 2018, the assets of AgriEnergy Resources and Growth Products were acquired to form Douglas Plant Health. Over the next three years, complementary technologies were brought together and further developed to meet the needs of customers. Today, DPH Biologicals was created to further scale the business and expand access to one of the most complete biofertility solutions available – SP-1 Classic.

“As we look to the future, we are excited to build upon the proven track record of this innovation. We value the trust our customers put in us to deliver quality products that consistently improve overall soil and plant health,” said Mick Messman, President and CEO. “As supply chain challenges escalate and fertilizer shortages loom, uncertainty remains as to how growers will fertilize their crops. In addition to our name change, today we are also announcing plans to scale production of our flagship biofertilizer to help meet the immediate market demand for expanded fertility options and ensure growers access to a leading biological product to sustainably manage yield and margin per acre.”

DPH Biologicals will celebrate the new brand name at leading industry events and customer meetings over the next several months.

Listen to Messman talk about the history of the company and the new focus moving forward in this interview.
DPH Biologicals CEO Mick Messman (9:54)

Read more

Audio, Biologicals, Fertilizer, Soil

CSS & Seed Expo 2021 Coming up Fast

Cindy Zimmerman

ASTA’s CSS & Seed Expo 2021 is less than a week away but there is still time to register to attend, in-person or virtually, the nation’s largest seed industry conference, Dec. 6-9 in Chicago.

Recent additions to the program include a panel discussion on Monday exploring the rapidly growing topic of plant-based proteins. “It’s a growing business and somebody’s going to have to provide the seed for those beans, peas and lentils, and it’s going to come from the seed industry,” said American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) CEO Andy LaVigne during an interview at the recent NAFB Trade Talk.

LaVigne talks about some of the current issues facing the seed industry and how many of them will be topics at the CSS & Seed Expo. This year’s conference offers an all-new “Villages” concept, showcasing interactive programming in the following key areas: ag tech innovation, operations and logistics, career skills and research/lab facilities, and treated seed. The Seed Expo’s “Field Village” offers a first-hand look at the latest in large field equipment, seed sorting and processing and seed logistics and packaging.

Interview with Andy LaVigne, ASTA (4:04)

Agribusiness, ASTA, Audio, Seed

Golden Harvest Thrilled with Gold Series Soybeans

Cindy Zimmerman

Golden Harvest is reporting outstanding performance with its Gold Series line of soybeans.

“The performance that we’re seeing is just frankly out of this world,” said Dave Young, Golden Harvest Marketing Head, during the recent NAFB Trade Talk. The new lineup includes Enlist E3® soybeans and XtendFlex® soybeans is are available for the 2022 season.

Young says overall performance of Golden Harvest hybrids was “absolutely fantastic” in the field around the country this season despite many different weather challenges.

Interview with Dave Young, Syngenta (2:52)

Audio, NAFB, Soybean, Syngenta