- Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business, announces it is commercializing soybean varieties developed using a technology that increases yields by as much as 12 percent per acre. Pioneer is introducing five varieties with the technology for 2008 planting, pending wide-area product advancement trial results. This announcement officially launches one of the company’s three soybean yield traits from its pipeline to commercial status. It will be commercially known as Accelerated Yield Technology™ (AYTTM). AYTTM uses proprietary molecular breeding techniques to rapidly scan and identify genes that increase yield then incorporate them into elite soybean genetics.
- Strategies to reduce GHG emissions in the dairy industry have to be evaluated at a global level to ensure that mitigation strategies to reduce emissions do not increase emissions at another point in the chain of production. Some reasonable reductions have already been done in the input amount at farm level in most dairy countries (fertilizer, concentrate, energy consumption, etc.), and should continue in the future. These reductions should help to reduce GHG emissions in the dairy industry. Carbon dioxide and perfluorinated hydrocarbons are the greenhouse gases that the dairy processing sector can have a significant influence on. Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions at farm and manufacturing levels” is the new Bulletin of IDF n°422/2007. It can be ordered in electronic form via the IDF Web site.
- Farms.com is pleased to announce that Bob Brcka has been promoted to General Manager PigCHAMP, a Farms.com business unit. Bob joined PigCHAMP in 2005 as Marketing Manager. Under Bob’s leadership, PigCHAMP has recently launched PigCHAMP CARE 3000, a Windows-based software program that is setting new standards for pork production record keeping and data analysis. Brcka has more than 25 years of agricultural management experience with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Principal Financial Group and Pioneer Hi-Bred International.
- Jeff Springsteen has accepted the position of market manager for non-selective corn herbicide products with Bayer CropScience. In his new role, Springsteen has the product management responsibility for Bayer CropScience corn products, including Radius®, Balance®, Option® and Autumn® herbicides. In addition, Springsteen is responsible for introducing new products to the marketplace, including Laudis™ herbicide, which the company anticipates launching by 2008, along with three additional corn herbicides to be launched in 2009. Most recently, Springsteen held the marketing responsibilities as manager of Bayer CropScience marketing programs and customer relationship management (CRM).
Obligatory Agri Talk Picture
We are covering World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin this week, along with over 175 other media representatives from all over the world.
Many of them are farm broadcasters – and here is our obligatory Agri Talk picture, kind of a tradition for us to post a photo of them from every event we both attend.
Some other farm broadcasters I have seen today include Pam Jahnke, Cliff Mitchell, Don Wick, Emery Kleven, and Bob Bosold. Not to mention all the ag publications and dairy industry media, including one of our World Dairy Diary sponsors Hoard’s Dairyman magazine, the appropriately named Lee Mielke of Dairyline, and Dairycast podcaster Ned Arthur.
Our coverage of World Dairy Expo on World Dairy Diary is being sponsored by:
Shell Pumps Up Ethanol Frenzy Before Atlanta’s Petit Le Mans
Consumers enjoyed discounted fuel and free fountain drinks and coffee at the Sam’s Mart in Atlanta, GA this afternoon. The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council sponsored an ethanol pump promotion where consumers could fuel up with E10 fuel for 50 cents less than the going rate.
The promotion officially kicked off the 2007 Petit Le Mans race weekend for EPIC. American Le Mans Series drivers Tom Milner and Peter Dumbreck manned the pumps, handed out autographs and divulged the benefits of ethanol fuel to consumers. E10, a blend of 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline, is “the official ethanol-enriched fuel” of the ALMS. This is the first year an endurance-based racing series has used a street legal renewable fuel.
The Sam’s Mart at New Northside Drive in Atlanta, GA pumped more than 1500 gallons of discounted E10 fuel for customers between 11:30 a.m and 1:30 p.m. Consumers were filling their tanks at a rate of $2.25 per gallon. This morning the fuel was selling for $2.75.
Racing fans also got to check out Peter’s #31 Ferrari F430GT, the official ALMS car for Petersen Motorsports/White Lighting Racing. Click here to check out the Ferrari’s deep, throaty throttle:
ferrarithrottle.mp3
EPIC Represents Product of the Year
In a near unanimous decision, ethanol has been chosen as the 2007 AgriMarketing Product of the Year by AgriMarketing Magazine.
According to the magazine, the entry was submitted by long time ZimmComm client, the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC).
In just the past year, ethanol production has increased over 50%, given several segments of the ag economy a much needed boost, and increased household income by $6 billion.
The combined Nov/Dec issue of AgriMarketing magazine will feature a special supplement about ethanol and its impact on North American agriculture and agribusiness.
Early Numbers Show Successful 2007 Rice Harvest
U.S. rice harvesting is just about a quarter from being complete in six of the major rice-producing states. Early data shows the harvest is well ahead of last year.
The U.S. rice harvest is progressing ahead of last year’s harvest in California and Missouri, at 50 percent vs. 41 percent harvested in California and 80 percent vs. 67 percent harvested in Missouri. The Missouri harvest is substantially ahead of the five-year average of 58 percent harvested. Mississippi and Arkansas are 75 percent and 95 percent harvested respectively, while Louisiana and Texas are 99 percent and 98 percent harvested respectively, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) Crop Progress report released today.
The Milking Parlor Podcast
The ranks of the farm podcast now have a new addition. It’s “The Milking Parlor” podcast, the official podcast of World Dairy Diary. The Milking Parlor will feature interviews with dairy industry leaders and producers. World Dairy Expo and our event coverage sponsors are providing us with a great platform to launch this new service. The podcast provides you with an easy way to subscribe to our audio content and get it on your computer/iPod/other mp3 player so you can listen to it when and where you want!
If you don’t have an iPod or don’t want to subscribe we’ll still post our interviews for you to click and listen just like we have been doing. Now you’ll have more choices. The first three episodes of our podcast feature interviews with our sponsors.
Cindy and I will be attending World Dairy Expo this week and posting lots of interviews here on the website and they’ll also be part of The Milking Parlor podcast. If you’re not sure how to subscribe then we’ve got some instructions for you.
World Dairy Diary coverage of World Dairy Expo is sponsored by:
Making Some New Media Plans
Today I met with ZimmComm web guru, Robert, pictured here in the middle. If you look at any ZimmComm site, including all that we’ve built for our clients then Robert has been the primary designer and developer. We had a very productive session today. You’ll be seeing the results of some of our ideas soon.
On the left is Gary Cooper, Southeast AgNet. Gary and I attended the Podcast and New Media Expo before spending some time with Robert today. We’re working on some website revisions for Gary which will be showing up in the near future.
Tomorrow’s a travel day for me as I head to the World Dairy Expo. Cindy should be arriving as I get this posted. Keep an eye on World Dairy Diary to keep up with the activity there.
BoVir Named Top Drug in Animal Disease Management
BoVir(R) receives high praise at the International Animal Pharm Awards. The drug earned the award for the ‘Best New Veterinary Diagnostics Product.’
A highly sensitive, easy-to-use test that accurately detects bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) was selected as the Best New Veterinary Product for Diagnostics in the annual Animal Pharm Awards. BoVir(R) BVDV real time PCR test was selected for its excellence and innovation by an independent judging panel representing members of the global community of animal sciences practitioners and professionals.
According to the judges, BoVir(R) was selected as best in the diagnostic category for its ability to address the four key issues that make current BVDV detection problematic — the test is easy to use, it’s highly sensitive and specific, it provides unprecedented early detection of the virus, and it produces the most advanced genotype and strain diversity detection.
The newly available BVDV test was developed by AnDiaTec GmbH of Germany, and is distributed globally by Enfer Diagnostics.
Ceres, Texas A&M Partnering in High-Biomass Sorghum Production
Biofuel development and marketing is getting a boost. Energy crop company Ceres, Inc. and the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station of The Texas A&M University System are collaborating in high biomass sorghum production for biofuels, through an exclusive, multi-year joint research and commercialization agreement.
These plants are not designed to produce grain, but rather vast amounts of biomass — the raw material for a new generation of biofuels made from stems, stalks and leaves.
Today, sorghum-to-ethanol production uses the grain, like corn, but the plants themselves hold the greatest potential for biofuel production, says Peter Mascia, Ceres Vice President of Product Development. He notes that new technologies are making it possible to utilize the carbohydrates that comprise plant cell walls, called cellulose.
“As these technologies mature, farmers will transition from growing as much grain per acre to producing as much biomass as they can per acre, with as little energy and agronomic inputs as possible. This means new crops and specialized hybrids like these high-biomass sorghum types will be needed,” Mascia said.
As part of this agreement, Ceres will obtain exclusive commercialization rights to TAES’s high biomass sorghum hybrids developed in the joint research program. The TAES program will receive royalties as well as financial and technology support from Ceres. Other aspects of the collaboration were not disclosed.
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Zimfo Bites
- Fat-phobic girls are mistakenly shunning calcium-rich dairy foods, just at the time when their young bodies most need it. A recent Canadian study found no difference in changes in percent body fat over two years between girls eating varying amounts of calcium from food. The study, published in the journal Obesity, found girls concerned with body shape and size had a lower intake of calcium from dairy foods. But Dairy Australia dietitian Maree Garside said dietary advice recommended dairy foods as a key source of calcium and other essential nutrients. “Dairy foods play a vital role in growth and development. An adequate intake should be encouraged in children, regardless of their weight. Most girls should aim to eat three servings of dairy foods each day,” said Garside. To hinge on this: Including milk and other milk products as part of a healthy weight management plan may help women keep off the weight they’ve lost. In a new study published in the Journal of Nutrition, researchers found that higher calcium intakes, mostly from milk and other milk products and not supplements, was linked to less weight gain 18 months after a significant weight loss.
- Dow AgroSciences announces its 2008 Grower Rewards program, which provides profit opportunities to growers who plant Mycogen® brand seed and use crop protection products from Dow AgroSciences. This program allows growers to earn cash rebates of up to 10 percent on their Mycogen brand seed products and Dow AgroSciences crop protection purchases for the 2008 production season.
- Newsham Genetics, LC announced that it has entered into a definitive purchase agreement to acquire Monsanto Choice Genetics, Inc. The transaction will be completed as soon as practical. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The acquisition of Monsanto Choice Genetics, Inc. (MCG) will further strengthen Newsham’s expanding base of business, according to Newsham Genetics Co-CEO Brent Mitchell. As part of the agreement, a three-year research alliance has been established between the two companies. The alliance will focus on technology and the genomics platform to maximize the value created in the industry from these tools.
- Asian Soybean Rust has been discovered in Pemiscot and Scott counties in the Bootheel of Missouri. The USDA confirmed the rust findings, which marks the first time rust has been discovered in Missouri this year. The fungus has been detected in 13 states so far in 2007, including Illinois and Kansas. At this point in the growing season, rust is not expected to have a significant impact on soybean yields.