2025 Agri-Marketing Conference

Passing of Gene Hemphill

Chuck Zimmerman 4 Comments

Gene HemphillCindy and I are very sad about the passing of Gene Hemphill. He was a great man who smiled a lot and always wanted to help anyone. He was also a very good friend. I don’t know how many hours or days we worked together, especially some unique projects like a trip to Jay Leno’s garage where we ate pizza with him or starting a Celebrity Tractor Race in Nashville during the CMA summer Fan Fair. We liked a lot of things in common like a good beer or maybe something stronger, while we talked for hours some times. We worked together with people like Michael Peterson and Chuck Leavell. And from a media perspective he helped so many over the years for the New Holland Farm Progress Show media tent to sponsored media room at Commodity Classic and more. I personally think it was genius since he had all these media folks interacting with him and the New Holland logo showed up on a lot of photos and videos.

Oh Lord, grant eternal rest to Gene who is no longer with us. Shine your perpetual light over his soul and to rise to you.

The obituary can be found here.

Cindy helped find some photos of Gene. I’m sure there are more and we knew him before we started taking photos. But there are some good memories in these pictures including many in the industry with Gene.

Our Friend Gene Hemphill Photo Album

Ag Groups, Agencies, Agribusiness, Media, New Holland, ZimmComm Announcement

Sen. Thune Calls for Farm Bill and Year-round E15

Cindy Zimmerman Leave a Comment

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) took to the floor yesterday to urge Congress to help farmers who are struggling.

“Many commodity producers are bracing for the prospect of serious financial losses this year,” said Thune. “These challenges are real. That’s why last December, Congress approved relief funding for agriculture producers hit by economic headwinds, as well as those affected by natural disasters.”

But, Thune says, that is only temporary relief and no substitute for a new farm bill and the stability nationwide E15 could provide. “When I became Majority Leader, I made it clear that a full and updated farm bill would be a priority for the new Republican majority. Secretary Rollins has been clear that this is a priority for the Trump administration as well….As is a stable biofuels policy, including year round access to E15 and timely and meaningful updates to the renewable volume obligations that matter to ethanol producers in America’s heartland.”

Sen. Thune floor speech 4:35

Audio, Ethanol, Farm Bill

Agrauxine Teams with Syngenta to Supply Ornamental Market

Cindy Zimmerman Leave a Comment

Syngenta Crop Protection and Agrauxine by Lesaffre have signed an agreement to private label and exclusively distribute products STROVEQ® and SPREXIMA® in the U.S. ornamental market.

STROVEQ is a systemic resistance inducer and SPREXIMA is a biofungicide and both utilize Agrauxine’s unique strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast. STROVEQ is a systemic resistance Inducer (SRI) that acts preventively to prepare plants to defend against fungal attacks. SPREXIMA prevents disease infections by protecting fruits, flowers and wounds.

“We are extremely excited to partner with Syngenta,” states Ariel Gohlke, North American Regional Manager for Agrauxine. “This agreement is another opportunity to expand the reach of our technology. Syngenta will be an excellent partner for us to reach more markets with our unique products.”

The agreement gives Syngenta the rights to sell the products through its own distribution channels in the U.S. for the next five years.

Biologicals, Crop Protection, Fungicide, Syngenta

Ag and Biofuels Groups Seek Exemption to Shipping Rules

Cindy Zimmerman Leave a Comment

The United States Trade Representative‘s office is holding public hearings this week on proposed actions in the Section 301 investigation of China’s targeting of the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors for dominance that would result in new fees being imposed on Chinese vessels. The first hearing was held on Monday, March 24 and the second will be on Wednesday, March 26.

More than 100 agricultural and biofuels organizations sent comments in a letter to USTR seeking an exemption for agricultural exports from both newly proposed fees on Chinese vessels and graduated sourcing requirements for U.S. built and flagged vessels “until such time as our nation’s ship production can meet the requirements needed to keep U.S. agriculture competitive in the global market.”

“While we support President Trump’s effort to rebuild the United States position and power in global shipping, we are worried the current fees and timelines cannot be achieved without substantial economic harm on the farm and in rural America,” the letter stated. “These are not idle concerns. U.S. commodity prices and agriculture exports have already been negatively impacted due to uncertainty regarding when trade actions would become effective. Vessel operators have told U.S. exporters they intend to pass on 100 percent of the cost of the port fees.”

Indiana soybean farmer and American Soybean Association director Mike Koehne testified Monday that the proposed solution offered by USTR in this investigation creates unintended consequences for soybean farmers. “Imposing port fees on most of the maritime fleet that exports from and imports to the U.S. will increase costs for U.S. farmers—both in terms of inputs like fertilizer, seed, etc., and getting crops to market. At the same time, our competitors in Brazil and Argentina will not be subject to the same regulations. While well-intended, this proposal would ensure U.S. soybeans will bear higher costs and be less competitive in the global marketplace.”

Ag Groups, Agribusiness, transportation

ZimmCast 744 – Agri-Pulse Summit & Ag Day

Chuck Zimmerman Leave a Comment

ZimmCastHello and welcome to the ZimmCast.

The first day of spring started the day after the annual Agri-Pulse Ag & Food Summit and National Ag Day Activities. We have published virtual newsrooms on our AgNewsWire website and story posts on AgWired. So, in this episode I’d like to share a few of the interviews and audio from the events.

I’ll start out with Agri-Pulse. You can listen to the opening remarks from Ireland’s Ambassador to the United States Geraldine Byrne Nason. Next will be Jim Sutter, CEO, USSEC and then Jane Franch, Sr. Director, Climate Impact, Pivot Bio.

I’ll move to the National Ag Day Activities with a student panel discussion. The students are Taylor Rogers, National Grange Youth Ambassador; Lance Williams, AFA advisor; Caroline Groth, FFA Eastern Region Vice President; and Matias Habib, National 4H. Moderated by Miles Chiotti, Manager, Public & Industry Relations – Agriculture & Turf Division at John Deere.

It is Cindy’s time to be in Washington, DC this week for the ACE Fly-in. After that the next event coming up soon is the 2025 Agri-Marketing Conference. If you haven’t registered, you can still do so. I’ll see you there.

Listen to the episode here:
ZimmCast 744 - Agri-Pulse & Ag Day (42:18)

That’s the ZimmCast for now. Please let us know if you have ideas for a future podcast. Just email Chuck at chuck@zimmcomm.biz.

We hope you enjoyed it and thank you for listening.

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Ag Day, Ag Groups, Agri-Pulse, Agribusiness, Audio, ZimmCast

Ethanol Report on Industry Roots

Cindy Zimmerman Leave a Comment

The theme of the recent 30th National Ethanol Conference was Back to Our Roots and it was a celebration of how the industry started and how it’s going.

One panel featured a walk down memory lane with some industry pioneers who talked about the early days and how the roots of the ethanol industry were firmly planted by farmers. Included in this edition of The Ethanol Report podcast are comments from Karol King, Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy (SIRE); Rodney Jorgenson, Al-Corn Clean Fuel, MN; Todd Brown, Dakota Ethanol, SD; Rod Gangwish, KAAPA Ethanol, NE; and Dave VanderGriend, CEO, ICM, Inc.

Ethanol Report 3-19-25 17:55

Audio interviews, presentations and photos from the NEC can be found in the conference virtual newsroom.

The Ethanol Report is a podcast about the latest news and information in the ethanol industry that has been sponsored by the Renewable Fuels Association since 2008.

Choose an option to subscribe

Audio, Corn, Ethanol, National Ethanol Conference, RFA

Industry Ag News 3/21

Carrie Muehling Leave a Comment

  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the appointment of Dr. Jaye L. Hamby as the Director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). As Director, Dr. Hamby will lead USDA’s efforts to advance agricultural innovation, community outreach, and fostering the next generation of agricultural leaders.
  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that starting on March 19 farmers can apply for the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program. Corn growers are eligible for the program with a payment rate of $42.91 per acre for the 2024 crop year.
  • Stine® Seed Company is proud to announce that March 27, 2025, will be officially proclaimed Women in Agriculture Day in Iowa. For the sixth consecutive year, Stine has helped secure a proclamation honoring the contributions and accomplishments of women in agriculture. This year’s proclamation recognizes the more than 50,000 women leading, managing operations and making key decisions across Iowa’s 85,000 farms and those whose impact extends far beyond the farm. These women excel in agribusiness, research and development, education, international trade, advocacy, and community engagement, shaping Iowa’s agricultural success.
  • Bayer announced the opening of a new maize seed facility in Kabwe, Zambia. Through the 32-million-euro facility alongside further investments in organization and the grower network, Bayer triples its existing capacity for high-quality maize seed production in the country in 2025.
  • Kenny Kuhn has joined Stratovation Group as Vice President of Insights. He will play a pivotal role in expanding the firm’s capacity in agricultural marketing and stakeholder research, consulting and strategic communications.
  • CNH announces the appointment of Cameron Batten as Chief Communications Officer effective March 31, 2025. Mr. Batten will join the Company’s Global Leadership Team (GLT), which is empowered to carry out the fast and effective delivery of CNH’s strategic priorities for profitable long-term growth.
  • The National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) announced the results of a comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) showing significant progress in the sustainability of U.S. wheat production. The study highlights substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, water usage, land use, and soil erosion on a per-bushel basis over the past several decades.
  • The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture announced the hiring of Logan Moss as Associate Director Public Policy. As Associate Director, Moss will lead NASDA’s Animal Agriculture and Natural Resources and Environment Policy Committees.
  • Farm Credit Administration Board Member Vincent Logan will retire from federal service effective March 31. Mr. Logan was appointed to the board by President Joseph Biden on Oct. 3, 2022, and was named chairman a few weeks later, on Oct. 21. He led the agency as board chairman and CEO until Jan. 20 of this year.
  • Farm and ranch families from across the nation donated 34.8 million pounds of food and raised $658,606 to help fight hunger and assist in other community service outreach in 2024 through Farm Bureau’s “Harvest for All” program. Combined, the monetary and food donations totaled the equivalent of 29 million meals.
  • The application window is now open to apply for 2025 NAFB Foundation scholarships. This year, the NAFB Foundation will offer five $7,500 college scholarships and one $10,000 scholarship (the latter sponsored by the Robert E. & Patricia A. Schmidt Foundation). Applicants must be a college junior, senior, or graduate student for the fall 2025 semester and enrolled in or transferring to an agricultural communications curriculum. Strong consideration will be given to candidates with concentration and/or application in broadcast media (includes internet/online media distribution). Applications for 2025 scholarships are due Monday, June 2, 2025. No late applications will be accepted.
  • Global demand for food, feed, fiber and fuel continues to grow, meaning that innovative solutions have never been more important for agriculture. To clearly represent the value that we deliver, Crop Protection and Seeds are uniting under one brand – Nufarm. Nufarm will continue to deliver through specialized Seeds and Crop Protection teams, bringing innovation across multiple categories while maintaining depth of expertise. Nuseed moves forward as Nufarm, operating the Seeds platform, while the Crop Protection platform continues to supply solutions to its full range of segments, spanning broad acre and specialty crops, vegetation management, turf and ornamentals.
    • Zimfo Bytes

    USDA Farm Production and Conservation Leaders Announced

    Cindy Zimmerman 3 Comments

    Key presidential appointments to the USDA’s Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) mission area were announced today.

    Brooke Shupe Appleton is already serving as the Deputy Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation. Previously, she served as Vice President of Public Policy for the National Corn Growers Association. She spoke in place of Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins Tuesday during National Ag Day at USDA.

    Bill Beam will serve as the Administrator for the Farm Service Agency (FSA) within Farm Production and Conservation. Bill is from Elverson, Pennsylvania where he owns and operates Beam Farms Inc. with his family.

    Pat Swanson will serve as the Administrator for the Risk Management Agency (RMA) within Farm Production and Conservation. Most recently, Pat has served as a director for the American Soybean Association (ASA) and completed her term on the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Board.

    Aubrey Bettencourt will serve as Chief of the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). Aubrey is a prominent leader in agriculture, water, and sustainability, most recently serving as the Global Director of Government Relations and External Affairs for Netafim, an Orbia Company. Bettencourt spoke on a panel at the Agri-Pulse Ag and Food Policy Summit earlier this week on the topic of transforming agriculture productivity through AI and new technologies.

    Aubrey Bettencourt

    “I think one of the great things that you heard from every panelist was we have to be driving innovation in tech for ag from the farmer back up,” said Bettencourt during an interview at the event. “I think that bottom up influence, the power of data as these new technologies come on board, making sure the farmers are armed with that data in the marketplace and in the regulatory space is going to be really, really important and something I’m very passionate about because these are voluntary investments farmers are making to produce more with less inputs on less land as we’ve seen the continued decline of productive agricultural land. If we want to see a stable food system and food security in the United States we’re going to have to figure out how to grow more with less.”

    Aubrey Bettencourt, Netafim 4:03

    Ag Day, Ag Groups, Agri-Pulse, Audio, USDA

    Feeding the Economy Report

    Cindy Zimmerman Leave a Comment

    In conjunction with the National Ag Day celebrations this week, 36 food and agriculture groups released the ninth annual Feeding the Economy report, a farm-to-fork study of the entire agricultural supply chain that analyzes the economic contributions of one of America’s most essential industries to U.S. jobs, wages, economic output, and taxes.

    The 2025 report confirms the agriculture industry is at the heart of the U.S. economy, generating more than $9.5 trillion in economic value, which amounts to 18.7% of the overall national economy. While these findings highlight the enormous impact of the agriculture industry, this is a modest decrease compared to 2024, when agriculture contributed more than $9.6 trillion to the economy, about 20% of total economic output.

    The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture was one of the many organizations that support the annual report. “The annual Feeding the Economy report alongside National Ag Day illuminates the essential contributions of farmers, ranchers and all food producers, driving economic growth and stability for the entire nation,” NASDA CEO Ted McKinney said.  

    McKinney was at the Agri-Pulse Ag and Food Summit in Washington D.C. this week where we got a brief interview with him.
    Ted McKinney, NASDA 3:33

    Ag Day, Ag Groups, Audio

    Precision Ag News 3/20

    Carrie Muehling Leave a Comment

  • Save the date for the Soil Health Institute’s 10th Anniversary Meeting Sept. 30-Oct. 2 in St. Louis, Missouri, where we’ll exchange ideas, spark new collaborations, and shape the future of soil health.
  • The Renewable Fuels Association submitted formal comments to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Energy and Environmental Policy regarding the interim rule on Technical Guidelines for Climate-Smart Agriculture Crops Used as Biofuel Feedstocks. RFA commended USDA for its efforts to support climate-smart agriculture (CSA) and emphasized the importance of policies that empower farmers while ensuring a robust and efficient renewable fuels market.
  • The fifth cohort of Cultivo® Virtual Academy hosted by America’s Cultivation Corridor® launched on Feb. 18, 2025. Nine companies from the United Kingdom will participate in the six-week virtual program with sessions facilitated by Iowa business and university leaders. The ground-breaking program provides entrepreneurs with mentorship and interaction with Iowa’s agricultural leaders and a curriculum focused on U.S. market entry, regulatory and financing systems, and customer perspectives.
  • National Farmers Union announced the launch of the Farmers Capital Fund, a $25 million investment initiative dedicated to supporting early- and growth-stage companies that accelerate agricultural productivity while advancing the economic success of family farmers and ranchers.
  • Agmatix, a leading provider of AI-powered agronomic solutions, announced a strategic collaboration with BASF, one of the world’s largest chemical and agricultural solutions companies, to develop a cutting-edge digital solution for detecting – and predicting – the presence of soybean cyst nematode (SCN). This collaboration started through AgroStart, an open innovation and partnership platform by BASF, that aims to empower soybean growers with real-time, scalable insights to mitigate yield losses caused by SCN, one of the most damaging and often invisible soybean pests.
  • As leaders in agrochemicals and AgriTech meet in Shanghai at the 2025 China International Agrochemical and Crop Protection Exhibition (CAC), Clariant has unveiled its next-generation solutions for biologicals and innovative approaches to sustaining plant health by optimizing soil water management.
  • With the market for agricultural drones and related farm-level services rapidly expanding, Stratovation Group is launching a farmer-centric research study to cut through the hype and deliver the farmer perspective on drone adoption, trusted advisors, challenges, and opportunities.
  • Pivot Bio, one of the world’s leading innovative agtech companies, announced that it has launched a new product in its line of innovative ag solutions for growers in the U.S. Pivot Bio PROVEN® G3 will join the company’s notable Pivot Bio PROVEN® 40 nitrogen-fixing solution, which has been successfully used by growers on millions of acres to date. PROVEN G3, the company’s third-generation nitrogen solution for corn, will be commercially available in 2026, pending state registrations. This marks a major advancement in nitrogen innovation, as PROVEN G3 is the first PROVEN product with multiple modes of action and significant benefits to American farmers, who work hard to feed, clothe and fuel the world.
  • Indoor Ag-Con, Inside Grower magazine and presenting sponsor BPGrower.com are proud to announce the winners of the inaugural CEAs — Cultivating Excellence Awards. This prestigious new awards program was designed to recognize and celebrate excellence, innovation, and leadership within the controlled environment agriculture (CEA) sector, spotlighting achievements across three categories Operational Excellence, Good Stewardship, and Product Innovation.
  • Syngenta, leader in technology and innovation in agriculture, and PepsiCo, global leader in food and beverages, are working in collaboration with the aim of boosting regenerative and traceable agriculture in the food industry value chain in a transparent and verifiable way. During the first year of joint work, Syngenta provided PepsiCo with 4,000 tons of sunflower oil from fields of farmers in the province of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, San Luis and Santa Fe, who applied regenerative agriculture practices.
    • AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes, Precision Agriculture