Alltech ONE Equine Track is a Winner

Cindy Zimmerman

Horses have a special place in the heart of Alltech and the equine track for this year’s ONE Ideas Conference offers six amazing sessions for horse lovers.

Alltech Lifestyle and Companion Animal Director Tim Karl just joined the company last August and he is very excited about the lineup, which includes a look at the new World Equestrian Center (WEC) in Ocala, Florida with Jim Wolf, president of Wolf Sports Group. “He’s going to share his insights into this unique venue and what it has to offer,” said Karl. Other topics include equine welfare, sustainable equine management, senior horse feeding, marketing, and trace mineral research.

Karl is also excited about Alltech’s new line of Lifeforce premium equine supplements. “We developed Lifeforce back in 2010 for the Alltech World Equestrian Games and we’ve built on that with this refreshed launch,” he said.

Learn more about the ONE equine track and Lifeforce in this interview.
Alltech ONE Equine - Tim Karl, Alltech (7:30)

AgWired Animal, Alltech, Animal Agriculture, Animal Health, Audio, Horses

Alltech ONE Focus on Future of Flock

Cindy Zimmerman

Poultry is undoubtedly the most important segment of the livestock industry worldwide but the poultry industry must continue to find solutions that meet the needs of people and the planet.

Alltech U.S. Poultry Business Manager Karyl Hedden says the poultry track at the Alltech ONE this year gives producers a lot to think about. “We have four different presentations and they really do hit all parts of the globe,” said Hedden.

One panel includes a global view of how poultry farming differs around the world, with discussions about poultry myths, sustainability, animal welfare, ag-tech and innovation, antibiotics, vaccinations, nutrition and more. The sustainability presentation on “Future of the Flock” features Helen Anne Hudson, Senior Advisor for Corporate Social Responsibility with this year’s Alltech Canada Planet of Plenty Winner Burnbrae Farms. The track also includes “A New Way to Sell Chicken” and Planet of Plenty: Poultry Partner Spotlight Nobel Foods.

Learn more in this interview with Hedden, and register for ONE if you have not yet done so to have access to all of the exciting content.
Alltech ONE Poultry - US Poultry Business Mgr Karyl Hedden (4:15)

AgWired Animal, Alltech, Animal Agriculture, Animal Health, Poultry

Alltech ONE Ideas Conference Underway

Cindy Zimmerman

The 2021 Alltech ONE Ideas Conference opened its virtual doors Tuesday to officially welcome more than 10,000 attendees from around the world for an exploration of agri-food, business and beyond.

Now in its 37th year, Alltech’s flagship event continues to be an invaluable industry resource, with unmatched content and innovative ideas, inspiration and motivation from world-class speakers. Registrants from 99 countries have access to a virtual platform that includes on-demand tracks, streaming keynote presentations, live workshops and an interactive networking experience, allowing attendees to connect around the world.

“We are on the brink of a new beginning, and I don’t believe that is just a new beginning for Alltech. I think it’s a new beginning and a new golden era for agri-food, and it’s led by what we believe is a bold vision,” said Dr. Mark Lyons, president and CEO of Alltech, in his opening remarks. “We want to deliver smarter, more sustainable solutions for our customers and for all of agri-food.”

The program got off to a great start with Anna Rosling Rönnlund, vice president and head of design and user experience at Gapminder and co-author of “Factfulness,” who designed the user interface of the famous animated bubble-chart tool Trendalyzer for better understanding global development trends. She was followed by professional photographer, filmmaker and former photojournalist for National Geographic, Dewitt Jones, who has made a career of storytelling through images and has traveled the world on a mission to find the extraordinary in the ordinary. Both of their presentations and much more is available now on-demand for ONE registrants.

ONE was delayed by a month to finish the final tweaks in the custom built platform for the virtual event, but Dr. Lyons says it was important for them to make sure they got it just right. Listen to Lyons discuss day one of ONE and the recent news of Alltech’s partnership with HELM Agro.

Alltech ONE 21 CEO Mark Lyons comments (4:50)

Over the course of the Alltech ONE Ideas Conference, more than 70 on-demand presentations will explore challenges and opportunities in aquaculture, beef, business, crop science, dairy, equine, health and wellness, pet, pig, and poultry sectors. Registration for the Alltech ONE Ideas Conference will remain open, offering attendees 24/7 access to all on-demand content, including keynote presentations and tracks, until April 2022.

AgWired Animal, Alltech, Animal Agriculture, Audio

Alltech ONE Honors International Journalists

Cindy Zimmerman

The winners of the 2021 IFAJ-Alltech International Award for Leadership in Agricultural Journalism were announced in conjunction with the Alltech ONE Ideas Conference Tuesday. They are Kallee Buchanan of Australia and Craig Lester of Canada. The award, in honor of Dr. Pearse Lyons and his love of storytelling and journalism, recognizes and rewards excellence and leadership of young journalists within their local IFAJ guild.

Kallee Buchanan has worked as a journalist, presenter and producer since 2008 across radio, print and digital media. She is currently the President of the Australian Council of Agricultural Journalists.

My vision is to develop the ACAJ into a professional development organisation that assists rural and remote journalists and agricultural media specialists to connect with the IFAJ and the broad knowledge these organisations contain to help them grow as reporters.”

Hear more from Kallee in her video and the interview below.
Alltech ONE 21 IFAJ award winner Kallee Buchanan (19:04)

Craig Lester is the co-owner of Rural Roots Canada, a multimedia agriculture
production and distribution company that brings together independent content producers from across the country under one roof to tell stories about agriculture. He is the current President of the Alberta Farm Writers’ Association.

“As journalists in agriculture, we have a responsibility to contribute to the industry’s sustainability by covering the stories that matter and sharing them with the world, inspiring the next generation of leaders. Media has the power to connect people, ideas, and resources.”

Watch Craig’s video and listen to an interview with him below to learn more about him.
Alltech ONE 21 IFAJ award winner Craig Lester (8:06)

Alltech, Audio, IFAJ, Media

Dairy Trends on Track at Alltech ONE

Cindy Zimmerman

Today is the big day for the kickoff of the Alltech ONE Ideas Conference 2021 virtual edition and we are “dairy” excited!

The Dairy Track offers a wide variety of topics ranging from farm management and animal welfare to sustainability, milk alternatives, and meeting market demands. This time last year, the disruption caused by the global pandemic was near its peak and the industry is still adjusting to the new normal of the moment.

Alltech On-Farm Dairy Specialist Jorge Delgado says Alltech worked quickly when the pandemic started to develop COVID-19 information graphics for farm workers to help them understand the protections being implemented and were able to continue educational on-farm training on-line. “Now that we are back to a little ‘new normal’ we are going slowly back on to the farmers, following CDC regulations,” said Delgado.

Learn more about what’s on the Dairy Track at the conference starting today. Register here.
Alltech ONE Dairy Track - Alltech On-Farm Dairy Specialist Jorge Delgado (7:28)

AgWired Animal, Alltech, Animal Agriculture, Animal Health, Audio, Dairy

Field Notes From Koch Agronomic Services – Episode 12

Chuck Zimmerman

The Field Notes podcast series from Koch Agronomic Services (Koch) breaks down the science and technology behind agronomy to help growers do more with less.

The experts we’ve heard from on our previous episodes have covered topics ranging from how different crops use nitrogen to the 4R’s of Nutrient Stewardship and how growers and retailers work together to choose the best input for an operation. If you haven’t checked out the previous episodes, you can find them on your favorite podcast platform.

Micronutrient Assets

In this episode, we learn more about Koch’s micronutrient assets from two of the leaders who worked on their acquisition. Koch’s Steve Coulter, senior vice president, and Michael Berry, director of Ag Market Portfolio, discuss how these new products will further the organization’s commitment to help growers around the world improve nutrient efficiency, utilization and uptake.

You can listen to the program here: Micronutrient Assets (20:50)

And to make sure you don’t miss an episode, choose an option to subscribe

For Spotify on your computer download the desktop app.

Agribusiness, Audio, Koch Agronomic Services, Podcasts, Soil

Animal Ag News 6/21

Carrie Muehling

  • The 33rd World Pork Expo made a much-anticipated return to the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, June 9-11. The Expo is presented by the National Pork Producers Council and features the world’s largest pork-specific trade show. More than 10,000 producers, employees and pork industry professionals attended the three-day event.
  • The U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards program – celebrating its 10-year anniversary – has a new class of seven winners who demonstrate excellence in sustainability and contributions to the industrywide 2050 Environmental Stewardship Goals as well as positive efforts in communities. The awards, hosted by the farmer-founded Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, recognize exceptional farms, businesses and partnerships for their socially responsible, economically viable and environmentally sound practices and technologies that have a broad and positive impact. Nearly 80 winners from more than 270 nominees have been recognized over the past decade.
  • The 2021 Cattle Industry Convention will hit all the right notes when country music stars, inspirational speakers and hot topics converge in Nashville, Tenn., Aug. 10-12, 2021. New to this year’s convention is an additional general session, which provides even more value to registration.
  • National and local checkoff organizations have launched a monthly Your Dairy Checkoff podcast to showcase how checkoff programs across the country are collaborating to build dairy sales and trust in today’s changing marketplace. Each episode will be hosted by dairy farmers or industry experts. Listeners will hear conversations focused on local, national and global dairy promotion, including consumer research, dairy nutrition, science and issues updates. Farmers will help guide the selection of topics through their feedback.
  • The National Grazing Lands Coalition has announced some speakers for its 8th National Grazing Lands Conference at the Embassy Suites Kingston Resorts in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Dec. 6-9, 2021.
  • The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) awarded a $10 million grant to the Dairy Research Institute (DRI) to support the dairy community’s Net Zero Initiative, an industry-wide effort to adopt practices and technologies that reduce GHG emissions and improve environmental health. FFAR’s six-year grant is addressing research gaps in feed production and manure-based products that enhance the dairy industry’s sustainability goals. Dairy Management Inc. (DMI), Newtrient and other Net Zero Initiative partners, including Nestlé, are providing funding and in-kind support for a total project value of $23.2 million.
AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Animal Bites

CNH Industrial to Acquire Raven Industries

Cindy Zimmerman

CNH Industrial has entered into an agreement to acquire Raven Industries with the goal of enhancing the company’s precision agriculture capabilities and scale.

“Precision agriculture and autonomy are critical components of our strategy to help our agricultural customers reach the next level of productivity and to unlock the true potential of their operations,” said Scott Wine, Chief Executive Officer, CNH Industrial. “Raven has been a pioneer in precision agriculture for decades, and their deep product experience, customer driven software expertise and engineering acumen offer a significant boost to our capabilities. This acquisition emphasizes our commitment to enhance our precision farming portfolio and aligns with our digital transformation strategy. The combination of Raven’s technologies and CNH Industrial’s strong current and new product portfolio will provide our customers with novel, connected technologies, allowing them to be more productive and efficient.”

Headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Raven Industries has three business divisions: Applied Technology (precision agriculture), Engineered Films (high- performance specialty films) and Aerostar (aerospace) with consolidated net sales of US$ 348.4 million for the twelve months ended January 31, 2021. The company is a global technology partner for key strategic OEMs, agriculture retailers and dealers.

The deal is expected to be completed by the end of this year. Listen to Scott Wine outline the acquisition in a conference call for investors and media.

Scott Wine, Chief Executive Officer, CNH Industrial (7:49)

Agribusiness, AgWired Precision, Audio, Precision Agriculture

Alltech ONE is Big on Pigs

Cindy Zimmerman

Innovations in technology and nutrition are helping farmers around the globe protect the health of both their pigs and our planet and this week’s Alltech ONE Ideas Conference features the latest information on how producers can improve their productivity, profitability and the biosecurity of their farms.

“We have really interesting topics coming from all over the globe,” says Russell Gilliam, Alltech US Swine Business Leader. “This is pig industry focused and pigs are produced all over the world.”

Some exciting topics on the Pig Track this year include High-Rise Piggeries: The Future of Production and Smart Barns: Improving Pig Production with Better Tech.

The Alltech ONE Ideas Conference starts TOMORROW. Listen to this interview with Gilliam to learn more about what’s in store for pig producers.

Alltech ONE Pig Track - Russell Gilliam, US Swine Business Leader (7:49)

AgWired Animal, Alltech, Animal Agriculture, Animal Health, Audio, Pork, Swine

Industry Ag News 6/18

Carrie Muehling

  • The Scoop and Trust In Food, a Farm Journal initiative, have been named exclusive media partners of the 2021 InfoAg Conference, presented by The Fertilizer Institute. The event is set for Aug. 3-4, 2021, at the St. Louis Union Station Hotel.
  • Norman Kidd, 77, of Jamestown, North Dakota, passed away Monday, June 14, 2021, in Jamestown. Kidd, also known as “Ole Olson,” was born January 18, 1944, in Dixon, Illinois, the son of Virgil and Eunice (Billingsley) Kidd. After high-school graduation, he served in the National Guard before moving to Jamestown, North Dakota, in 1964. He became known as Ole Olson on KSJB radio, calling thousands of Class B basketball games and other sporting events, and hosting many broadcasts. Ole Olson joined NAFB in 1964 while at KSJB Radio in Jamestown, North Dakota, and remained on the air there until 1996. He then continued his broadcast career at KYNU Radio through 2009. He returned to KSJB and maintained his NAFB membership through 2014.
  • Ten Acre Marketing expanded their team, tapping fresh produce marketing veteran, Mary Coppola Heslep. Coppola Heslep joins Ten Acre Marketing as Senior Vice President, Creative after leading the communication and marketing function for United Fresh Produce Association over the past seven years.
  • The Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (GFVGA) is excited to commemorate 25 years of service and advocacy to the Georgia produce industry. GFVGA will recognize this milestone, in Tifton, on August 21, 2021, at the UGA Tifton Conference Center with a reception, dinner, awards program and dance.
  • Agricultural Retailers Association President and CEO Daren Coppock issued a statement in response to the announcement by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of the Army on their intent to revise the definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS).
  • Noah Wicks joins the Agri-Pulse editorial team as an associate editor, where he will write and work on multi-media projects for the company’s subscription-only newsletter and website.
  • Join Livestock Publications Council, AAEA – The Ag Communicators Network, and Connectiv for the 2021 Agricultural Media Summit (AMS) in Kansas City this summer. Early-bird registration ends June 30.
  • Clearfield and Provisia rice growers know one thing’s for sure: Great rice varieties mean great yields and great quality, too. To celebrate growers who achieve both, BASF and Horizon Ag have created the ClearPro Rice Challenge. To apply for the ClearPro Rice Challenge for the 2021 season, access the Contest Rules and submit your entry form available at www.ClearProRice.com.
  • MyLand Company LLC announced the appointment of Dr. Pradeep Monga, former Deputy Executive Secretary, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) to the Board of Directors.
  • Swanson Russell has been selected as the agency of record for Seed Consultants. Based in Washington Court House, Ohio, Seed Consultants offers a wide selection of high-performing corn, soybean and alfalfa seed to farmers throughout the eastern Corn Belt. Swanson Russell will handle and execute the company’s public relations and paid media strategies.
  • The National Corn Growers Association’s Corn Board elected Tom Haag to become the organization’s first vice president for the next fiscal year, which begins October 1. Haag is a fourth-generation family farmer in south-central Minnesota.
Zimfo Bytes