Blog Training at NCGA

Chuck Zimmerman

NCGA MailboxCan you tell that this is the National Corn Growers Association mailbox?

I spent some time there today doing a training session on Corn Commentary. If you haven’t checked it out then you’re missing a great application of blogging by an ag group. Of course I’m biased since we built and help manage content for the site.

In our session we performed a comprehensive look at how to manage the website including comments, posting, editing, adding pictures and links and all the ways you can use the software. We’re going to continue to insert Corn Commentary into the online conversation!

Fred, I was taking a picture of the mailbox for a post.

Ag Groups, Corn

Lower Insurance Premiums for Farmers Using Monsanto Hybrid

Laura McNamara

MonsantoMonsanto says its latest agreement with the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation means farmers can opt to have their insurance premiums slashed by up to 24 percent in four states. Monsanto is launching an innovative crop insurance pilot program with its hybrid corn seeds.

A new pilot program recently approved by the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) will provide farmers an opportunity to pay lower premiums if they plant a majority of their corn acres using hybrid seeds that feature YieldGard Plus® with Roundup Ready® Corn 2 or YieldGard VT Triple™ technology from Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON).

The insurance product will be offered as a pilot program in cooperation with Western Agriculture Insurance Company and will be called the Biotech Yield Endorsement (BYE). Western Agriculture Insurance will make the program available to all other approved insurance providers to offer to their farmer customers.

The pilot program will be initially available in four states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Minnesota. Implementation of BYE has yet to be determined pending available resources and priorities for the deployment and administration of the program by the Risk Management Agency (RMA). Read More

Agribusiness, Corn, Farming, Research, Technology

CropLife America Elects Board Members

Laura McNamara

CropLifeLeaders from top crop science companies monitor pesticide management regulation as newly elected and re-elected board members of CropLife America. CropLife has elected its new Board of Directors.

Eric Wintemute, president and chief executive officer of American Vanguard Corporation, was elected chairman of the Board of Directors of CropLife America, the nation’s largest trade association for pesticide manufacturers, formulators, developers and distributors, at its annual meeting September 24-26 in White Sulphur Springs, W.V. Wintemute most recently served as vice chairman of the board and chair of the communications committee.

Valdemar Fischer, president of Syngenta Crop Protection, Inc., William (Bill) Buckner, president and CEO of Bayer CropScience LP, and Mike McCarty, president and CEO of Helena Chemical Co. were elected vice chairmen, and Mike Frank, vice president of Monsanto Global Chemistry, was selected secretary/treasurer.Read More

Ag Groups, Agribusiness, BASF, Research, Technology

Bunge Expands With Growth of Ag Shipping Industry

Laura McNamara

Bunge North AmericaThe number of shipments of raw and processed agricultural commodities is steadily increasing and Bunge North America is expanding its trade capabilities to meet that growth. The food and feed ingredient company has added a Georgia port to its shipping operations.

Bunge North America, the North American operating arm of Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG) , announced that it has signed a cargo-handling agreement with the Georgia Ports Authority to coordinate shipments of all agriculture products through the Port of Brunswick’s Colonel’s Island Terminal.

The facility is among the largest deepwater agri-bulk operations in the U.S. South Atlantic and features a dedicated agri-bulk berth. Capable of handling grains, oilseeds and their by-products, the facility is served by the CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern railroads and has truck access via Interstate 95. With the Brunswick Harbor Deepening Project having been completed in June 2007, Brunswick now maintains a harbor depth of 36 feet at mean low water enabling the handling of Panamax-class vessels. Read More

Agribusiness, Farming, Food

CropLife Rewards Pesticide Excellence

Laura McNamara

CropLife The nation’s largest trade organization for agriculture pest management, CropLife, has named the recipients of its annual awards for excellence in pesticide development. The CropLife awards are meant to recognize responsible and effective use of pesticides to provide a safe, affordable and abundant food supply.

Fourteen recipients of 2007 CropLife America industry awards were honored in six categories for excellence in and dedication to the pesticide industry. The winners, recommended by industry professionals and chosen by CropLife America leadership, were named during the CropLife America Annual Meeting: One Vision. One Voice. Endless Possibilities on September 24-26 in White Sulphur Springs, W.V.

“The CropLife America awards honor individuals within the pesticide industry who are truly making a difference. For the first time this year, we are also recognizing state policymakers and agricultural ambassadors who are instrumental in carrying pesticide benefits messages to their communities. Their commitment to supporting the world’s finest food supply network is commendable,” said Jay Vroom, president and CEO of CropLife America. “Without the benefits of pesticides, Americans would not be able to enjoy the world’s safest, most affordable and abundant food supply.” Read More

Ag Groups, Agribusiness, BASF, Research, Technology

Zimfo Bites

Melissa Sandfort

  • Beck’s Hybrids, a leading corn seed company in Indiana, is teaming up with Bayer CropScience to offer growers an opportunity to earn up to $6.25 back per acre when they apply Liberty® herbicide to their Beck’s stand alone LibertyLink™ hybrids and Herculex® hybrids through the Liberty Greenback Offer. The Liberty/LibertyLink system is the only non-selective alternative to the Roundup Ready® system and offers growers similar convenience, ease and cost effectiveness. More program details are available here.
  • LibertyLink® soybeans are a step closer to reaching commercialization now that the European Food Safety Authority has issued a positive safety opinion on LibertyLink soybean. LibertyLink soybeans will bring important benefits to soybean farmers in the United States and Canada by providing an effective alternative to the Roundup Ready® system widely used today. The LibertyLink trait in soybeans will deliver similar benefits to that system -– less tillage, labor, and equipment usage, and the ease and convenience of non-selective, post-emergent weed control -– with the added advantage of being a highly effective tool in the management of glyphosate resistant weeds, an increasing problem in U.S. soybean production areas. Bayer CropScience is currently collaborating with leading soybean breeding companies to develop well-adapted and high-yielding LibertyLink soybean varieties.
  • Potato growers have a new, easy-to-use tool to control wireworms and protect yields with the recent federal registration of Regent® insecticide (active ingredient fipronil) from BASF for use in potatoes. “Wireworms are one of the worst soil pests for potato growers,” said Richard Warriner, BASF Product Manager. “Regent helps protect seedpieces and tubers from wireworm damage, preserving yields and quality, and provides growers with the potential for high returns on their investment.” Regent can be put out in-furrow at planting in a dust-free liquid formulation that eliminates the need for special equipment and offers growers the conveniences of a low-use rate and less time spent handling and refilling.
  • Novus International, Inc. is proud to announce the appointment of Wendell Knehans as Director, Feed Quality. Knehans will lead the Feed Quality Unit within marketing which includes responsibility for yeasts, mycotoxin binders, enzymes, and antioxidants as well as continued development in the area of DDGS. Knehans joins Novus from the American Soybean Association (ASA) where he served as Executive Director, Member & Industry Relations. Knehans has spent 22 years in crop input businesses between Monsanto, United Agricultural Products, and Corn States Hybrid Service and in 2001, was named NAMA Marketer of the Year.
  • Dow AgroSciences LLC has been named a winner of the United Nation’s Montreal Protocol Innovators Award at the annual Meeting of the Montreal Protocol, an international agreement designed to protect the earth’s ozone layer. Dow AgroSciences was also named a winner of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) “Best of the Best” Ozone Protection Award, which honors an elite group of companies, organizations and individuals who have demonstrated long-term excellence in efforts to protect the stratospheric ozone layer. Both awards honor the company’s long-standing commitment to providing critical alternatives to methyl bromide, an ozone-depleting substance used for preplant, postharvest and structural fumigation uses.
  • Elanco Animal Health has announced the hiring of Dr. Bill Mies as a beef feedlot consultant — global beef group. In this role he will work with Elanco’s marketing-and-sales teams, providing technical support to feedlots in North America and other locations throughout the world. Mies will work from his home office in College Station, Texas. Most recently, Mies worked in integrated beef production and animal-data management after having taught livestock marketing and feedyard management at Texas A&M University in College Station.
    Zimfo Bytes

    Hereford Product Best In Years

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Lee HaygoodTexas cattle producer Lee Haygood is a board member of the American Hereford Association. He chairs the breed improvement committee which he says is a busy committee but he thinks it’s fun.

    Lee says the committee oversees the research projects like those we learned about today. He says the industry needs to get more efficient and that the Hereford breed can help accomplish that. So the Heterosis project which we got the first year results of this morning is one that he thinks is key.

    As a producer he thinks projects like it will document what they already know but that will attract people back to the breed. He thinks they’re raising the best product they have in years.

    Listen to my interview with Lee here: aha-07-haygood.mp3

    Or you can download and listen to the interview here: Listen To MP3Lee Haygood Interview (5 min MP3)

    AHA Media Day Photo Album

    Audio

    National Beef Sells Certified Hereford Beef

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Nick RauschOne of the companies that Certified Hereford Beef is working with to market their product is National Beef. On hand with us today at lunch was Nick Rausch, National Beef Brand Manager, CHB.

    He says they target retailers to market the beef and sees penetration into the food service industry as a real growth area but only if they get full carcass utilization. Right now food service only represents about 10 percent of what they market. He says they work closely with CHB which provides the infrastructure of the pipeline to cattle as well as marketing assistance and sales.

    Nick says the future is in developing the brand so it becomes a household word. He thinks they’ve got some work to do to compete with some of the other brands out there.

    Listen to my interview with Nick here: aha-07-rausch.mp3

    Or you can download and listen to the interview here: Listen To MP3Nick Rausch Interview (4 min MP3)

    AHA Media Day Photo Album

    Audio, Beef

    Managing Certified Hereford Beef

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Arden GremmertThe General Manager of Certified Hereford Beef is Arden Gremmert.

    Arden spoke to us today about the program including giving us a lot of facts and figures. For example, they’re shooting for 25 percent growth in sales in the coming year and one of the ways they’re going to try to accomplish that is through a new food service expansion plan that includes increasing carcass utilization. He says they sold about 38 million pounds of CHB last year. CHB was founded in 1995 and is covering 28 states around the country.

    Listen to my interview with Arden here: aha-07-gremmert.mp3

    Or you can download and listen to the interview here: Listen To MP3Arden Gremmert Interview (4 min MP3)

    AHA Media Day Photo Album

    Audio

    Certified Hereford Beef

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Bill CoxHere at the American Hereford Association media day I got to eat Certified Hereford Beef and learn more about the program. The President of Certified Hereford Beef is Bill Cox. He’s a producer from Pomeroy, WA.

    Certified Hereford BeefBill says he loves the Hereford breed and I think you’ll hear that in my interview with him. Bill says that the research programs being done by the American Hereford Association validate what he already knows. He says their goal is to provide a pleasurable eating experience for the American public. I can testify that you’ll get just that if you try a Hereford steak.

    Listen to my interview with Bill here: aha-07-cox.mp3

    Or you can download and listen to the interview here: Listen To MP3Bill Cox Interview (6 min MP3)

    AHA Media Day Photo Album

    Audio, Beef