Passing of Charlie Harness

Chuck Zimmerman

Charlie HarnessCharlie Harness passed away on April 25, 2025. He was very well known and a mentor to many people in ag communications.

Charles later used his communication skills as the Media Relations Manager and spokesperson for Iowa Beef Processors (IBP) in Sioux City from 1976 until 1983. After a brief stint as President of an advertising agency in Sioux City, Charles joined the National Pork Producers Council in Des Moines, Iowa. As Vice President of Communications for the Council, he was part of the group that popularized the phrase “the other white meat.”

Ag Groups, NPPC, Pork, Pork Checkoff, World Pork Expo

IFAJ Congress 2025

Chuck Zimmerman

IFAJ Congress 2025The IFAJ Congress 2025 registration is now open. It will take place October 15-18, in Nairobi, Kenya with the theme: Unlocking the Agricultural Potential in the Cradle of Mankind.

Find all about it on the Congress website.

The International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) is a globally respected organization committed to excellence in agricultural journalism. Since 1958, IFAJ has hosted the annual World Congress, bringing together top journalists, media professionals, and agricultural communicators to discuss critical issues shaping global agriculture.

In 2025, the IFAJ World Congress is making history returning to Africa for the third time and landing in East Africa for the very first time! After previous editions in South Africa (2004, 2017), this global gathering of agricultural journalists heads to Nairobi, Kenya, where the spotlight will shine on the power of storytelling in agriculture. Set against the backdrop of Kenya’s vibrant farming sector, the congress will be a game-changer, driving conversations, connections, and innovations that shape the future of agri-journalism worldwide.

There will be pre and post tours, Bootcamp Young Leaders/Master Class, meetings, receptions and much more.

Ag Groups, Agribusiness, IFAJ, Media

Precision Ag News 4/30

Carrie Muehling

  • U.S. Congressman Mike Flood testified before the House Committee on Appropriations’ Subcommittee on Agriculture April 29 highlighting the growing partnership of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) at the National Center for Resilient and Regenerative Precision Agriculture. Rep. Flood spoke on behalf of full funding for the project which, once fully completed, will serve as a central hub for collaboration and research to enhance agricultural profitability.
  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its final Insecticide Strategy that identifies practical protections for federally endangered and threatened species from the use of insecticides, while providing flexibility for pesticide users and growers. The Strategy identifies mitigations aimed at protecting more than 900 species listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) that EPA considers when it registers a new insecticide or reevaluates an existing one.
  • Syngenta Crop Protection sales in the first quarter 2025 increased by five percent to $3.4 billion (+11 percent CER). The Crop Protection business unit had a strong start to the year. North America sales were 20 percent higher due to a return to normal, pre-pandemic purchasing pattern in the US. Syngenta secured more than 250 product approvals in Q1, including 97 new registrations, 49 re-registrations and 112 label extensions.
  • Leaders of the National Corn Growers Association expressed disappointment with a decision by the International Trade Commission affirming that Corteva Agriscience was harmed by imports of a critical herbicide, called 2,4-D. This decision means that duties will be placed on imports of the herbicide at a final rate determined later by the Department of Commerce.
  • Application deadlines are fast-approaching for the 2025 AgLaunch Virtual Bootcamps. If you’re an agtech or agrifood founder in the early stages of building your business and are looking to move to the next level, this is your moment. The 2025 AgLaunch Virtual Bootcamps are here to fast-track your journey, familiarize you with the farmer-centric innovation model and give you an insider’s view beyond the hype.
  • PTx Trimble, formed as a joint venture in 2024 by AGCO and Trimble®, today announced its newest GNSS receiver for precision autoguidance – the NAV-960™ guidance controller – at the Agrishow in São Paulo, Brazil. This technology improves positioning accuracy and availability to deliver greater uptime while providing the computing power to easily support complex field operations and handle future developments.
  • Bushel, a leader in digital payments and workflow solutions for agriculture, announced the Cooperative Finance Association (CFA) will integrate with Bushel’s digital wallet as an embedded finance solution for its members. This partnership gives agribusinesses a simpler, more competitive way to enhance the payment experience within CFA’s financing options.
  • Kendall Bonds has joined Peterson Farms Seed as Director of Product. In this role, Bonds will oversee research, product selection and agronomy, ensuring that growers in the region have access to the best-performing seed genetics, backed by data-driven insights.
  • AgGateway is offering an upcoming webinar on Digitized Scale Tickets: Harnessing Data for Efficiency and Insights. The webinar will be held May 20 at 2:00 pm central time. AgGateway and its member organizations have been setting building blocks that will enable the digitization of scale tickets across the crop production channel. Register here.
    • AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes, Precision Agriculture

    New Data from Advanced Agrilytics Shows Higher Productivity

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Advanced Agrilytics has published a new study showing how its data-driven, predictive agronomic methodology helps growers boost productivity in good years and better withstand tough seasons.

    The new article, “How Crop Resiliency Can Be Your Strongest Risk Management Tool,” highlights how growers using Advanced Agrilytics’ patented spatial analysis system are experiencing significantly lower loss cost ratios than USDA benchmarks.

    “Resilience isn’t just a buzzword – it’s a measurable advantage,” said Jon Fridgen, Chief Science Officer at Advanced Agrilytics. “Our customers are seeing more stable yields, reduced input waste, and greater profitability because of how we manage risk before the season even begins.”

    Fridgen’s comparative analysis shows Advanced Agrilytics-managed acres consistently maintain a flatter yield-loss trendline—even during years marked by heavy rain, drought, or other stressors. Using USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) data alongside internal metrics, the research underscores that Advanced Agrilytics growers face reduced financial and agronomic risk.

    This scatter plot illustrates the relationship between yield performance and crop insurance loss cost ratios—the higher the ratio, the greater the insurance payouts due to yield losses. The trendline for Advanced Agrilytics customers (represented by the green dots and the green trend line) shows a much flatter decline compared to the RMA/NASS-reported average (gray dots/trend line). This means that as weather variability or other risk factors increase, Advanced Agrilytics growers’ yields remain more stable.

    To read the complete article and see all of Fridgen’s risk loss analysis click here.

    Agronomy, AgWired Precision, Precision Agriculture

    Alltech Agri-Food Outlook Releases Global Feed Survey

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Alltech has released its 2025 Agri-Food Outlook, which includes the company’s 14th annual global feed production survey showing world feed production increased in 2024 by 1.2% to 1.396 billion metric tons.

    The annual survey that serves as the foundation of the Agri-Food Outlook collected data from 142 countries and 28,235 feed mills in 2024. By analyzing compound feed production and prices — collected by Alltech’s global sales team and in partnership with feed associations and official data-collecting organizations — the survey provides a comprehensive snapshot of global feed production. These insights serve as a barometer for the overall livestock industry, highlighting key trends across species, regional challenges and opportunities for growth.

    The top 10 feed-producing countries in 2024 were China (which produced 315.030 million mt of feed, down 2.03% from 2023), the U.S. (269.620 million mt; +0.68%), Brazil (86.636 million mt; +2.43%), India (55.243 million mt; +4.56%), Mexico (41.401 million mt; +1.38%), Russia (38.481 million mt; +8.53%), Spain (35.972 million mt; +1.46%), Vietnam (25.850 million mt; +3.41%), Türkiye (24.502 million mt; +4.83%) and Japan (24.297 million mt; +0.14%). Together, the top 10 countries produced 65.6% of the world’s feed — and 52% of all global feed production was concentrated in just four countries: China, the U.S., Brazil and India.

    By species, the survey found that feed production for poultry, beef, and dairy increased last year, while pig and aquaculture feed production showed slight declines.

    Alltech, Beef, Dairy, Feed, Livestock, Pork, Poultry

    Jord BioScience Trials Show Boost in Soybean Yields

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Jord BioScience, a leading science and analytics company providing customizable microbial solutions for agriculture, has just released two years of field trial data showing its proprietary microbial solutions can increase soybean yield by up to more than three bushels per acre in the Midwest.

    The company’s approach, powered by its 6,500-isolate global microbial bank and advanced analytics, demonstrated win-rates* exceeding 80% and improved performance over leading biological and chemical benchmarks by 11 percent to 25 percent, signaling a new era of reliable, field-ready biologicals for farmers facing mounting pressures to deliver higher productivity and sustainability.

    “Jord BioScience is committed to discovery of microbial solutions that consistently improve return on investment, while improving plant and soil health,” said Dr. Keri Carstens, president and CEO at Jord BioScience. “Our field data show that our microbial leads not only outperform current benchmarks but also provide much-needed reliability for farmers seeking sustainable, high-performing crop inputs. Through partnerships with leading agribusinesses, we aim to be a trusted, science-driven partner to advance better and more consistent crop protection products.”

    Jord has studied five microbial leads in soybean seed treatments over the past two years to identify biological ingredients that can spur emergence, plant health and yield. Across 16 locations in Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota and Illinois, Jord’s microbial leads, integrated into standard commercial soybean seed treatments, delivered yield increases of 1.4 to 3.1 bushels per acre during both the drought-affected 2023 season and the wet 2024 season.

    Learn more details of the field trials in this interview with Dr. Keri Carstens.
    Dr. Keri Carstens, president and CEO at Jord BioScience 11:51

    AgWired Precision, Audio, Biologicals, Precision Agriculture, Soybean

    2025 ARC Annual Meeting Registration Open

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Agricultural Relations Council Annual MeetingIt’s that time. You can register for the 2025 ARC Annual Meeting which will take place June 24-25 in KC, MO. The hotel is The Fontaine:

    Located in the heart of Kansas City’s best upscale shopping at Country Club Plaza, The Fontaine is a sophisticated, new destination for business and leisure travel. Walk across custom tile mosaics inset into the gleaming marble floor, enjoy intricately carved wood paneling and playful Renaissance artwork adorning the walls and marvel at the hand-blown Venetian glass chandeliers floating overhead. Each detail is designed to delight the senses while setting a scene of serene sophistication—a place in which guests are both dazzled and utterly relaxed.

    You can look at the schedule here.

    ARC

    Animal Ag News 4/28

    Carrie Muehling

  • U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins sent a letter to her counterpart in Mexico demanding Mexico eliminate restrictions on USDA aircraft and waive customs duties on eradication equipment that are critically impairing the U.S. response to spread of the New World Screwworm.
  • The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) announced support for U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins’ actions to protect the American cattle industry from the rising threat of New World screwworm.
  • The Farm Credit Dairy Center, a long-standing venue at the International Agri-Center, will now be known as the Farm Credit Dairy and Livestock Center. The name change reflects the facility’s growing role as a year-round event facility for a variety of equestrian and livestock events, in addition to its use during the annual World Ag Expo®.
  • The Public Lands Council (PLC) opened the registration for their 57th Annual Meeting to be held in Flagstaff, Arizona from September 16-18, 2025.
  • Barentz Animal Nutrition, a manufacturer of animal feed and proprietary products such as MegAnion® and K-Carb Plus®, is excited to announce the continued investment into its technology, equipment, and people with the addition of a new dryer to increase efficiency. This investment will allow Barentz Animal Nutrition to deliver more product and value to its customers.
  • Dairy food companies are stepping up to make America healthier by announcing a significant commitment that will reshape school meal menus across the nation for 30 million children. The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) announced the IDFA Healthy Dairy in Schools Commitment, a voluntary, proactive pledge to eliminate the use of certified artificial colors in milk, cheese, and yogurt products sold to K-12 schools for the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs by the start of the 2026-2027 school year, or July 2026.
  • TARGAN, a leading animal AgTech company, has appointed Vincent Fevrier as its new Vice President (VP) of Sales and Marketing for Europe, the Middle East, Africa (EMEA), Asia, and Oceania, as the company scales operations to meet growing global demand for its innovative solutions.
  • In just its second year, the American Royal Spring Livestock Show is already seeing remarkable momentum. The 2025 event saw significant growth in participation and prize money, drawing exhibitors from across the country and reinforcing the American Royal’s commitment to advancing youth involvement in agriculture and livestock exhibition. With nearly 1,500 entries—a 25 percent increase from its inaugural year—the show welcomed 1,190 animals from 27 states across the goat, sheep, cattle and swine divisions. A total of $33,000 in payouts was awarded, including $3,000 in new added money for top exhibitors.
  • McFaddin Ranch was presented with the Texas Environmental Stewardship Award at the 2025 Cattle Raisers Convention & Expo held in Fort Worth April 11-13. The award recognized exceptional stewardship and innovation of the South Texas cattle ranch. This 2025 Texas Environmental Stewardship Award is presented as a joint effort between Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association and Texas Grazing Land Coalition. As the 2025 winner, McFaddin Ranch will compete among other outstanding ranchers for the 2025 Environmental Stewardship Award Program.
  • The California State Fair proudly announces the winners of the 2025 Commercial Cheese Competition, recognizing excellence in cheesemaking from across the state. This year’s competition showcased the finest cheeses crafted by both small artisan producers and large-scale cheese production companies. A distinguished panel of 12 judges, led by Head Judge Phillip Tong, evaluated 113 entries based on appearance, aroma, texture, and taste.
    • AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Animal Bites

    Full Agenda Set for 2025 AgGateway Mid-Year Meeting

    Cindy Zimmerman

    AgGateway is pleased to announce that the agenda is now available for the 2025 North America Mid-Year Meeting. The meeting will be held June 9-11 at Prairie Meadows Casino and Hotel in Altoona, Iowa.

    This annual event is where member volunteers gather to discuss the work of AgGateway connectivity initiatives and working groups through the first half of the year and set plans for the months leading up to our Annual Meeting and Conference in November. In addition to task-focused working sessions, segment-based committees share ideas for new projects to initiate. Business presentations and keynote speakers provide additional context for the work of the organization, and fuel high-value networking opportunities throughout the event.

    This year features more sessions taking place on Monday morning, as well as an all-day Entity ID Working Group meeting on Thursday, following up a recent in-person session held in Charlotte, NC.

    This year AgGateway is celebrating 20 years of active engagement with leading agriculture companies in the pursuit of seamless digital connectivity and interoperability across the value chain.

    AgGateway, AgWired Precision, Precision Agriculture

    Industry Ag News 4/25

    Carrie Muehling

  • U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced $340.6 million in U.S. Department of Agriculture disaster assistance to deliver relief to farmers, ranchers and rural communities impacted by natural disasters that have caused devastation across the country. In support of President Trump’s January executive order, which expedited assistance to communities who were left behind by the Biden Administration, Secretary Rollins is delivering critical aid through the USDA Disaster Assistance Fund to provide immediate relief to communities that have waited far too long to receive the aid they need to recover.
  • AgCareers launched the Application Motivation Survey in late 2024 to assess what entices candidates to apply and what deters them from completing the process. The analysis found that salary/benefits information was the most critical detail for employers to include in a job advertisement and the most encouraging to apply for candidates. Only 32 percent of candidates said they would apply to a job posting that did not include salary details.
  • Nine individuals will make up the second cohort of the American Agri-Women (AAW) Road to influence. The Road to Influence (RTI) is a program developed by AAW designed to provide a bold and innovative personal development experience for AAW members. The program is designed to identify and overcome limiting beliefs and behaviors, ultimately yielding stronger leaders for AAW and beyond. The 2025 cohort kicked off their journey on April 6 in conjunction with the AAW Mid-Year meeting in Grapevine, TX.
  • Brownfield’s Melanie Rice was named president of the National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) during its 2025 Convention held in Kansas City, Missouri. With more than sixteen hundred members, NAMA is the nation’s largest professional association for professionals in marketing and agribusiness. Melanie is set to assume the role of NAMA president on May 1, 2025. Melanie has been a Marketing Strategist for Brownfield Ag News since 2018. She works with national, regional, and local clients to help them connect their brand messages with farmers and those who live in Rural America.
  • Following a national search, Mykel Taylor was named head of the Auburn University Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, effective April 15. She had served as interim head of the department since fall 2024.
  • Connor Henry of Stuttgart, Arkansas, is the recipient of the 2025-2026 Soy Scholarship award, sponsored by the American Soybean Association and BASF. The ASA/BASF Soy Scholarship is a $7,000 award presented to an exceptional high school senior who excels in both academic and leadership roles and who plans to pursue a degree in an agriculture-related field of study at an accredited college or university. The scholarship is open to children and grandchildren of ASA members.
  • The World Food Prize Foundation announced that it will send 16 students abroad for the Borlaug-Ruan International Internship program at renowned international research centers and NGOs this summer. These exceptional students hail from six U.S. states, Honduras and The Netherlands. The 2025 Borlaug-Ruan intern cohort will delve into issues related to global food security, sustainability and development during their eight-week internships at leading international research centers and development organizations in Costa Rica, India, Kenya, Mexico, China and Taiwan.
  • Meister Media Worldwide, the leading agriculture media and events company, has been named a national finalist for the 2025 Azbees American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) Awards of Excellence for editorial content in American Vegetable Grower.
  • The American Farm Bureau Federation and Pennsylvania Farm Bureau presented House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (R-PA) with AFBF’s Golden Plow award. The Golden Plow is the highest honor the organization gives to sitting members of Congress. This is the second Golden Plow award for Chairman Thompson. He was previously honored in 2014.
  • Agri-Pulse is pleased to announce a new webinar, “Economic Stakes: How Thoroughbred Racing Fuels Rural Economies” on May 19 at 12:30 CT/1:30 ET. Free registration is available here. The webinar is sponsored by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, and the Breeders’ Cup.
    • Zimfo Bytes