HELM Agro and Alltech Crop Science Announce Partnership

Cindy Zimmerman

HELM Agro and Alltech Crop Science have announced a partnership to bridge the gap between traditional and biological crop input solutions. This new relationship applies a systems approach to support sustainable practices and provide growers easy access and product education on full-spectrum, integrated crop solutions.

HELM Agro will market, sell and distribute the Alltech Crop Science line of products in the U.S. Alltech Crop Science will continue to manufacture its crop science solutions while also focusing on scientific research and the development of new products. The collaboration brings together product lines from both companies and elevates science and service through expertise, resources and new, innovative product options.

The family legacies that make up the backbone of both HELM Agro and Alltech Crop Science offer a unique, synergistic partnership that furthers science and service to help deliver better performance and profitability for customers at every stage of crop production.

Learn more about the new partnership in this interview with Aaron Locker, vice president of sales, HELM Agro US, and Dr. Steve Borst, General Manager, Alltech Crop Science

Alltech Crop Science/HELM AGRO partnership (7:20)

Agronomy, AgWired Precision, Alltech, Audio, Crop Science, Precision Agriculture

New Events Manager for NAFB

Chuck Zimmerman

Mike LisecThe National Association of Farm Broadcasting announced a new events manager just in time for more live events to start happening. He’s Mike Lisec and comes to NAFB from Fern Exposition & Event Services Company (Kansas City, Missouri), where he most recently served as an account executive. He has more than 20 years of experience in corporate event execution.

“Mike has a working knowledge of the NAFB Convention that will serve him well in the Events Manager role,” said Tom Brand, NAFB executive director. “We look forward to him bringing his event experience and fresh perspective to this position to help to continue to elevate the role of farm broadcasting in today’s media mix.”

In addition to assuming the lead on the annual NAFB Convention, Lisec also will serve as lead contact for two other yearly events: Washington Watch and the NAFB Summer Agribusiness Luncheon. He will coordinate all Convention sponsorships, Trade Talk participation, advertising sales for the annual NAFB Membership Directory, and all other event-related tasks.

You can reach Mike at the NAFB office.

Media, NAFB

Precision Ag News 6/16

Carrie Muehling

  • Kubota Tractor Corporation announced the addition of seven new hay and forage products to provide comprehensive solutions for any size operation in today’s forage environment. New to the line are several products in the Kubota Disc Mower Conditioners Series (DMC), including additions to the DMC6300 Series with the DMC6332 and the DMC6336TVARIO, and the DMC8000 Series with the DMC8036 and the DMC8532.
  • The Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB) and its membership continue to place environmental stewardship as a top priority, following through by committing significant resources and voluntary practices to push forward in their efforts. In 2021, IFB has continued to reach farmer members and other stakeholders across the state through “hybrid” Nutrient Stewardship Field Days. This hybrid approach includes hosting in-person field days as well as producing video coverage of each field day program.
  • Sakata Seed America recently welcomed Mark Frahm to its growing Research & Development team as the company’s Melon Breeder.
  • A slowdown in the sales of sub-40hp units pulls total U.S. total farm tractor sales negative, while all other segments and Canada continue strong growth according to the latest data from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers. U.S. total farm tractor sales fell 3.9 percent in May compared to 2020, marking the first overall negative result in a year, while U.S. self-propelled combine sales climbed a healthy 33.2 percent.
  • CommoditAg has added Brumleve® as its newest supplier. The partnership provides CommoditAg with a new product line – tarp systems and replacement parts – to round out its extensive product offerings to farmers and ranchers.
  • Experienced ag account professional and team leader Melanie Burk has joined Meristem Crop Performance Group, LLC. Burk becomes Meristem’s sales and dealer coach in the Eastern Corn Belt, operating out of central Indiana.
  • The Soil Health Institute is seeking an assistant soil scientist, as well as a project manager and communications coordinator soil scientist. Click here for details.
  • The 6th Soil Health Institute Annual Meeting is scheduled for August 11 and 12. Registration is free but required to attend.
  • The National Corn Growers Association solidified U.S. corn farmers’ commitment to environmental, economic and social sustainability with the release of U.S. Corn Sustainability Goals and the first U.S. Corn Sustainability Report. The report documents a long history of continuous improvement by U.S. corn farmers and the goals set targets for further progress over the next decade.
AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes, Precision Agriculture

Alltech CEO Excited About 2021 ONE

Cindy Zimmerman

The Alltech ONE Ideas Conference returns virtually next week to unite thought leaders and change makers for an exploration of the power of science, sustainability and storytelling. The event was slightly delayed this year from its usual May time frame to June 22-24 because of Alltech’s commitment to ensure that attendees have the best virtual experience they can provide so they took the extra time to perfect a new online platform for an even more robust and interactive experience.

Dr. Mark Lyons, Alltech President and CEO.

Alltech President and CEO Mark Lyons is excited about the updates they made to the conference since last year when the company was one of the very first to employ a virtual format for a meeting after the pandemic lockdown forced cancellations and delays in events around the world. “The situation last year was a very intense period of time, around 70 days or so the team had to pull things together,” said Lyons. “One of the big things we wanted to work on this year was to make sure the level of interaction was much higher.”

“We recreated the Lexington Convention Center and we even have an Alltech pub in there and so people can go around, they can interact, go to booths, and talk to people about topics they are interested in,” said Lyons. Find out more about the conference in this interview.

Alltech ONE preview - Dr. Mark Lyons (14:03)

Now in its 37th year, the 2021 Alltech ONE Ideas Conference (ONE), features tracks in the aqua, beef, crop science, dairy, equine, health and wellness, pet, pig, and poultry sectors. Registration is still open and the first session will start on Tuesday morning, June 22.

AgWired Animal, Alltech, Animal Agriculture, Animal Bites, Audio

ZimmCast 673 – Preview of 2021 Agri-Marketing Conference

Chuck Zimmerman

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast. This is episode 673 since starting the podcast back in 2005. We’ve come a long way baby!

When I started the podcast and AgWired.com, my target audience was the membership of the National Agri-Marketing Association. This program will focus on NAMA and specifically the annual Agri-Marketing Conference coming up in just over a month.

With me in this program is Greg Lammert, Corteva Agriscience who is chair of this year’s conference. Last year we had a virtual conference and this year we’re back to in-person. We start out the preview with the theme of this year’s conference, “Breaking New Ground.” From there we cover the keynote sessions, breakouts, Best of NAMA Awards, Connection Point and other networking opportunities.

If you have not registered then just click on this link to do so.

BTW. I will be attending and ZimmComm has a booth in the Connection Point. So, stop by and say hi. And while you are there please bid high on the NAMA Foundation silent auction. We’ve donated an Apple HomePod mini (grey) for your podcast listening pleasure.

So, that’s the ZimmCast for this week. Look us up on your favorites podcast platform. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

Listen to the ZimmCast here: ZimmCast 673 - Agri-Marketing Conference Preview (19:11)

That’s the ZimmCast for this week. In case you didn’t know it you can find more podcasts we produce in all your favorite podcast apps. That includes the Golden ZimmComm Mic Podcast, The Ethanol Report, Field Notes from Koch Agronomic Services and the Daugherty Water for Food Podcast. We hope you enjoy listening to them.

If you would like to advertise in the ZimmCast or become an on-going sponsor please let me know and we’ll work out a plan just for you.

Subscribe to the ZimmCast in:

Audio, NAMA, ZimmCast

USDA Announces Pandemic Aid for Producers

Cindy Zimmerman

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced implementation of additional aid to agricultural producers and businesses as part of the USDA Pandemic Assistance for Producers initiative, including support to timber harvesters, biofuels producers, dairy farmers and processors, livestock farmers and contract growers of poultry, assistance for organic cost share, and grants for PPE.

“USDA is honoring its commitment to get financial assistance to producers and critical agricultural businesses, especially those left out or underserved by previous COVID aid,” said Secretary Vilsack. “These investments through USDA Pandemic Assistance will help our food, agriculture and forestry sectors get back on track and plan for the future. Since January, USDA has provided more than $11 billion of assistance directly to producers and food and agriculture business.”

In March, USDA announced $6 billion to support a number of new programs or to modify existing efforts. The programs announced today include:
$200 million: Small, family-owned timber harvesting and hauling businesses
$700 million: Biofuels producers
$400 million: New Dairy Donation Program to address food insecurity and mitigate food waste and loss
$580 million: Supplemental Dairy Margin Coverage for small and medium farms
Assistance for poultry and livestock producers forced to euthanize animals during the pandemic
$700 million: Pandemic Response and Safety Grants for PPE and other protective measures to help specialty crop growers, meat packers and processors, seafood industry workers, among others
Up to $20 million: Additional organic cost share assistance, including for producers who are transitioning to organic

Biofuels, Dairy, Food, Livestock, Meat, Poultry, USDA

NAMA Announces Top Award Winners

Cindy Zimmerman

NAMA LogoThe National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) has announced the winners of its top annual awards for Agribusiness Leader, Ag Association Leader and Marketer of the Year.

The AgriBusiness Leader of the Year award recognizes outstanding leadership in private, public or academic service and is conferred each year to a senior executive at an agribusiness.

Tim Hassinger is retired Pres/CEO of Dow AgroSciences and Lindsay Corporation. He was raised on a farm in central Illinois and graduated with a degree in Ag Economics from the University of Illinois. One of his last initiatives as at Dow AgroSciences, was leading the company through the merger between The Dow Chemical Company and DuPont which led to the formation of Corteva Agriscience in 2019. In 2017 he joined Lindsay Corp., Omaha, NE, a leading developer of water management solutions for agriculture—including center pivots–as President/CEO. He presently serves on the Board of Directors of Intelinair, the developer of Agmira, a crop monitoring service, and AgData, which provides marketing program management and other services for the crop input, animal health and retail markets.

Ag Association Leader of the Year recognizes outstanding achievement and excellence among senior executives who have made significant contributions to the agriculture industry in their roles with trade association or commodity organization.

Chad Gregory is President/CEO of United Egg Producers (UEP), Alpharetta, GA. A 1993 graduate of Southern Illinois University—Carbondale he joined UEP in 1999 and has served in his present position since 2013.

As the leader of this farmer cooperative, Gregory is charged with working collaboratively to address legislative, regulatory and advocacy issues that impact the industry through active farmer-member leadership. Today, UEP members represent more than 90% of all eggs produced in the U.S.

NAMA Marketer of the Year is awarded to an active member of NAMA and recognizes outstanding accomplishments in the field of agri-marketing.

Amy Bugg is Brand Marketing Lead of AgroLiquid, St. Johns, MI. As an agri-marketer, she has worked in the agricultural industry for more than 25 years from seed, crop protection, animal health and now crop nutrition. Her passion for the industry led to her current role where she leads a 10-person communications and marketing team for the fertilizer company, AgroLiquid.

She led an upbrand initiative with four agency partners that has since achieved 82% brand awareness and familiarity among grower and retailer target audiences just in the first eight months of the new campaign. Not only that, Bugg has directed six product launches with multifaceted campaigns in one year, with two of these launches exceeding marketing forecasts. Key to all of this is Bugg’s passion for great relationships, team building and prioritizing communications goals, objectives and strategies.

All will be honored at the 2021 National Agri-Marketing Conference July 20-22 in Kansas City.

Ag Groups, Agencies, Agribusiness, NAMA

Koch Agronomic Services Completes Acquisition

Chuck Zimmerman

Koch Agronomic Services has completed its acquisition of Compass Minerals’ North American micronutrient assets. The acquisition includes global intellectual property rights, with trademarks and patents and certain other assets associated with Wolf Trax®, Rocket Seeds® and Hydro Bullet™ product platforms.

I interviewed Michael Berry, Director Brand Expansion, Koch Agronomic Services. He talks about what the acquisition means to retailers, growers and the company. Listen in here: Interview with Michael Berry (10:48)

In early April 2021, Koch announced the agreement to purchase Compass Minerals’ North American micronutrient assets to further Koch’s commitment to help growers around the world improve nutrient efficiency, utilization and uptake.

“The agreement with Compass Minerals is consistent with Koch’s vision of providing our customers with innovative solutions focused on plant nutrition,”said Steve Coulter, senior vice president of Koch. “We are excited to offer these products in conjunction with our current portfolio of nitrogen efficiency solutions to help growers across the globe meet their operational goals.”

“We look forward to fully integrating the products into our existing portfolio, along with the addition of new team members to better support new customers and geographies,” said Coulter. “The Koch team will focus on delivering the entire portfolio of Koch products to new and current customers.”

Learn more about Koch Agronomic Services in the Field Notes podcast series which breaks down the science and technology behind agronomy to help growers do more with less.

Koch Agronomic Services, Nutrient Management, Precision Agriculture

Animal Ag News 6/14

Carrie Muehling

  • Dairy Management Inc. has entered a partnership with Alamar Foods Company, which owns 455 Domino’s stores in the MENAP (Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan) region. DMI’s partnership will focus on about 300 locations in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates with a goal of increasing U.S. cheese sales.
  • Phibro Animal Health Corporation has partnered with Dr. John Goeser, Animal Nutrition, Research and Innovation Director, Rock River Laboratory, to host a webinar on the topic of feed hygiene. Dr. Goeser’s “Animal Nutrition Tools for Diagnosing Dairy and Beef Health and Efficiency Issues Associated with Feed Hygienic Challenges” is now available as part of the MYCOmpass™ webinar series on the Phibro Academy platform and can be accessed here: https://academy.pahc.com/catalog/info/id:352.
  • Merck Animal Health is expanding its SEQUIVITY ® veterinary prescription vaccine platform to include a vaccine for sapovirus, an emerging virus causing diarrhea in young pigs.
  • The U.S. dairy industry continues to play a strong role in the U.S., supporting 3.3 million total jobs and $41.6 billion in direct wages, according to the latest economic impact report from the International Dairy Foods Association. IDFA’s 2021 Economic Impact Study, which measures the combined impact of the dairy products industry, showed the U.S. dairy industry’s economic impact totaled $752.93 billion. The U.S. dairy industry continues to play a strong role in the U.S., supporting 3.3 million total jobs and $41.6 billion in direct wages, according to the latest economic impact report from the International Dairy Foods Association. The study’s findings are also available in an interactive economic impact tool on IDFA’s Dairy Delivers® webpage where users can click on an interactive map of the U.S. to learn how dairy impacts their community.
  • Norbrook® North America announces it has expanded its portfolio of swine products available to help pork producers and veterinarians enhance the well-being of their animals and improve their operations. Recently, the company added Cefenil® RTU to its growing portfolio of generic products for use in swine.
  • New information based on updated USDA databases shows milk packs 13 essential nutrients in every serving, including zinc, selenium, iodine and potassium, plus nine more vitamins and minerals contributing to health, immune function and strong bones and muscles. To learn more about how dairy fits in a nutritious diet, visit usdairy.com/dairy-nutrition.
  • Chuck Bradley, from Rockford, Ala., was named the 2021 World Livestock Auctioneer Champion at the 57th annual competition held at Dickson Regional Livestock Center, Dickson, Tenn., and presented by the Livestock Marketing Association.
  • Cargill announced that it has joined U.S. CattleTrace as an official packer member. Cargill is the second beef processor to invest in the effort formed by multiple state cattlemen’s organizations to develop a national infrastructure for animal disease traceability in the U.S. cattle industry.
  • The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association filed a petition with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) to eliminate the use of “Product of the USA” (POTUSA) and other broad U.S. origin labeling claims for beef products that are potentially misleading to consumers.
AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Animal Bites

Alltech Canada Planet of Plenty Winners on Tap for ONE

Cindy Zimmerman

Alltech created the Planet of Plenty™ Awards to reward those who are furthering a world of abundance through nutritional and digital technologies, innovation and sustainable management practices in the agri-food sector. In the inaugural year of the Alltech Canada Planet of Plenty Awards, the recipients of the award for 2021 are Burnbrae Farms of Lyn, Ontario, and Shipwheel Cattle Feeders of Taber, Alberta.

Burnbrae FarmsBurnbrae Farms are among Canada’s leading egg producers and thriving participants in the agriculture, and local, communities they serve. Their vision is to provide nutritious food for Canadians while respecting their employees, the animals entrusted in their care and the environment. Sustainability, community engagement and social responsibility have been a part of the Burnbrae Farms’ culture for generations. Their commitment to innovation and the environment has allowed the company to achieve significant milestones on its mission to reduce the environmental impact of its operations and goal of continuously reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The business also has strong community foundations and provides support in the areas in which they do business, including egg and food donations and Earth Day roadside clean-ups. Six generations of the Hudson family have been involved in Burnbrae Farms for over 130 years.

Over several generations, Shipwheel Cattle Feeders have maintained an unwavering dedication to their goal of continually improving their land base, the animals entrusted to their care and the community around them. All management decisions are made through the lens of their holistic goal: any actions must be congruent with their purpose while also building their future resource base and improving quality of life. Shipwheel is a place of continual learning, where curiosity and innovation are tempered with thoughtfulness and proper planning, thereby setting the stage for expanding our understanding of regenerative agriculture practices.

Both winners will be part of the virtual Alltech ONE Ideas Conference next week during the Planet of Plenty Live Workshops on Awarding Sustainability. Margaret Hudson, CEO and president of Burnbrae Farms and Andrea Stroeve-Sawa, manager of Shipwheel Cattle Feeders, will share their insights on June 22 at 11:00 am Eastern. Get a preview in these interviews.

Margaret Hudson, President and CEO, Burnbrae Farms and Dr. Kayla Price, Alltech Canada technical manager
Canada Planet of Plenty - Hudson and Price (18:34)

Andrea Stroeve-Sawa, manager, Shipwheel Cattle Feeders, and Vicky Horn, Alltech Canada beef account manager
Canada Planet of Plenty - Stroeve-Sawa and Horn (7:36)

The Alltech ONE Ideas Conference kicks off virtually on Tuesday June 22 at 8:30 Eastern with a keynote session featuring Alltech CEO Dr. Mark Lyons, author Anna Rosling Rönnlund, and filmmaker Dewitt Jones. Find registration and more information here.

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