Evaluating 2020 to Prepare for 2021

Carrie Muehling

Longer residual control from products like Miravis and Trivapro will help growers fight disease in 2021.

“We’re protecting that plant longer and that’s what’s adding that extra ROI and benefit because we have maximized that photosynthetic area to put into that ear to get that yield and that’s where that benefit is coming from,” said Dean Grossnickle, Syngenta Agronomic Service Representative from Central Iowa.

Grossnickle said these products provide 40-45 days of residual control, covering the corn crop from pollination through grain fill and almost to black layer. He said it is important to consider several factors when choosing products, including what crop was planted the previous season and whether or not diseases were present in the field last year. Grossnickle participated in the National Association of Farm Broadcasting virtual Trade Talk event.

2020 NAFB Interview with Dean Grossnickle, Syngenta agronomic services 7:50

Audio, Fungicide, NAFB, Syngenta

Industry Ag News 12/22

Carrie Muehling

  • Richard Rominger, fifth-generation California farmer who served as Deputy Secretary of Agriculture under President Clinton from 1993 to 2001, died Sunday of a heart attack at the age of 93.
  • Building on its legacy of support for FFA, John Deere announced this week that it is donating $1 million in 2021 to help support the National FFA Organization’s mission to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.
  • The National Dairy Promotion and Research Board has honored Mike Kruger as the 2020 recipient of the Richard E. Lyng Award for his contributions and distinguished service to dairy promotion.
  • The Alabama-Florida Peanut Trade Show scheduled for Feb. 4, 2021 in Dothan has been postponed until February 2022. The Alabama Peanut Producers Association and Florida Peanut Producers Association made the decision after the Alabama COVID-19 Safer at Home order was extended until Jan. 22, 2021. Should the mandate be extended past Jan. 22, the trade show staff would not be able to regulate social distancing and mask guidelines for attendees to enjoy the trade show safely.
  • The Georgia Peanut Farm Show and Conference, originally scheduled for Jan. 20-21, 2021 at the University of Georgia Tifton Campus Conference Center, has been postponed until January 2022.
  • Frenchman Valley Farmers Cooperative, Inc. announces the launch of a strategic new partnership, VantagePoint™.
  • Wounded Warrior Project® expanded partnerships to include 12 new and existing veteran and military service organizations to help meet the needs of our nation’s wounded, ill, and injured veterans and their families. Farmer Veteran Coalition was one of the dozen awarded.
  • A belief in transparency, a core value at CLUTCH, and putting people first, were among the ingredients in the mix that enabled the firm to add eight new clients in 2020. Among the new CLUTCH clients spanning the agribusiness, food business and construction categories heading into 2021: Heartland Ag Systems, the largest Case IH Application distributor in North America; Real American Hardwood Coalition; the Sod Industry Checkoff; genetics company Benson Hill; the Ag Climate Partnership, led by U.S. Farmers and Ranchers in Action, Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, and the World Farmers Organisation; and crop nutrition company AdvanSix.
  • The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol welcomes its first ten U.S. cotton textile manufacturers – Buhler Quality Yarns, Cap Yarns, CCW, Contempora Fabrics, Cotswold Industries Inc., Frontier Yarns, Hamrick Mills, Inman Mills, Parkdale Inc., Swisstex Direct as members. U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol membership enables these mills and manufacturers to prove that they are an approved supply chain partner for brands and retailers who are sourcing more sustainably grown cotton.
  • Growth Energy announced the return of Dave Vander Griend to the association’s Board of Directors during its December 2020 board meeting in a move to further unify the industry and develop winning strategies on clean fuels, air quality, and climate goals.
  • The American Gelbvieh Association is excited to announce the addition of Laura Handke to the AGA publications team, serving as editorial contractor.
Zimfo Bytes

Merry Christmas from the Livestock Publications Council

Chuck Zimmerman

LPC Holidays

As we approach the end of 2020, we wish you and your a blessed Christmas holiday! We appreciate your continued support of the Livestock Publications Council and its programs, and we are looking forward to reaching new heights in livestock communications next year.

May you be happy, healthy and prosperous in 2021!

LPC

COVID Relief Bill Passes with Help for Agriculture

Cindy Zimmerman

Agricultural groups and farm state lawmakers are pleased that the new COVID relief package passed by Congress last night includes help for producers excluded from previous aid legislation.

Sen. John Thune (R-SD) says relief includes the Paycheck Protection Program for Producers Act. “The bill also includes funding to allow the Department of Agriculture to provide additional assistance to ag producers who were dealing with a tough economy before the pandemic hit,” said Thune.

Audio – Sen. John Thune (R-SD) on COVID relief for agriculture :58

Many farmers and ranchers who were previously left out will now qualify for assistance, including livestock and poultry producers who were forced to euthanize animals during the initial wave of the pandemic. They will receive 80% reimbursement for losses due to premature euthanization or canceled orders. Nearly $1 billion will support a dairy donation program and supplemental Dairy Margin Coverage payments for small and medium-sized producers. More help will be made available to specialty and non-specialty crop growers, and biofuels producers are now explicitly eligible for USDA assistance, at the discretion of the secretary. The bill also includes aid for the cotton industry in the form of payments to domestic users of upland cotton and extra-long staple cotton.

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is pleased the deal includes additional Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) support for cattle producers, expanded resources for state-inspected meat processors through inclusion of the Requiring Assistance to Meat Processors for Upgrading Plants (RAMP UP) Act, certainty that cattle producers can recoup payment losses by establishing a dealer trust, funding for agriculture quarantine inspection services and an extension of Livestock Mandatory Reporting (LMR).

Audio, Biofuels, Dairy, Ethanol, Farming, Food, NCBA, Poultry

NAMA Moves 2021 Agri-Marketing Conference to July

Chuck Zimmerman

2021 Agri-Marketing ConferenceThe National Agri-Marketing Association has announced that the 2021 Agri-Marketing Conference will be rescheduled for July 20-22, 2021.

“This decision was made after much discussion with leadership and our host hotel,” said Jenny Pickett, CEO, National Agri-Marketing Association. “We feel this is the best option to host the conference safely.”

The conference will include the usual NAMA favorites, including top-notch keynote presentations and the Best of NAMA awards. The event takes place at the Sheraton Crown Center Hotel in Kansas City.

“The Conference Committee is working to put together a terrific NAMA experience,” continued Pickett.

Watch www.nama.org for program details.

Marketing, NAMA

AWIS Celebrates 25 Years with Expanding Services

Cindy Zimmerman

One of the nation’s premiere agricultural weather services is celebrating 25 years in 2021 as the founders continue to provide accurate and detailed weather information to clients around the nation in a variety of industries.

AWIS was founded in 1996 as the Agricultural Weather Information Service after the National Weather Service (NWS) began to downsize and decrease its emphasis on agricultural forecasting. Rodger Getz, Stephen Adams, and Karl Harker were all NWS meteorologists who felt the need to provide weather forecasting for farmers and ranchers in the southeast was important enough to start their own business.

“Originally being part of the weather service, we focused on the southeast – Alabama, Florida and Georgia,” said Harker, who is Vice President for Operations. “We basically expanded our services to the rest of the United States and even worldwide.”

Over the years, as the company began to grow into other areas and industries, the name became AWIS, but the team remains the same dedicated group of meteorologists who take pride in being able to help their clients protect their businesses with accurate forecasting. Despite expanding into areas such as construction and energy, AWIS is still very much focused on agriculture.

“It’s what we founded our company on, so it is still a critical part of our business,” Harker said, noting that AWIS specializes in freeze/frost forecasting for citrus, fruit, vegetables, nursery crops, and other cold sensitive crops.

Audio sound bite – AWIS VP for Operations Karl Harker (2:10)

AWIS has one of the most extensive databases in the weather business, housing hourly and daily observations from over 15,000 locations around the world, some dating back to the early 1900s. The AWIS Ag Weather Subscription Service is designed to provide comprehensive weather information geared towards all aspects of agriculture, including field crops, livestock and irrigation management.

To celebrate 25 years, AWIS is offering a free one-time consultation for an upcoming weather event in 2021, as well as a 7-day free trial subscription to the Ag Weather Service. Contact through the website awis.com and type 25 YEARS in the message box.

Audio, Weather

Successful Deer Hunt with a John Deere Gator

Chuck Zimmerman

This deer season at my mid-Georgia hunting lease property I was selected to test drive a John Deere Gator XUV 855M S4 model year 2021. I’ve been deer hunting for over 30 years and my Crystal Pig Hunt Club buddies and I have test driven a number of vehicles. I have to say I got most excited about them when we moved from 4-wheelers to utility vehicles. This is the second Gator we’ve used and it’s a beauty. Our local dealer, Blanchard Equipment, delivered the unit which had brush guards and front/back windows attached. Those are very handy for the amount of weeds and vines we have to run through. This is also the first diesel I’ve tested too.


So, let’s get started with a little bit about what’s new on this model that I was most impressed with. This includes improvements to the transmission controls, digital displays, gear positions and power steering. The power steering is huge when you’ve got very tight turns that come up fast!

Some of the key uses for a Gator for us include hauling corn to fill feeders, getting to and from stands and hauling a harvested deer back to camp which also includes driving a little off trail in the woods to get to it. The standard lights package also provides more visibility at night than any vehicle I’ve driven and that’s great for those end of the day hunts.

Likes: Power, hey it’s a diesel. Two seats for comfort and back seat flips into a table with storage compartments below that. Digital display to see what gear we’re in along with speed, fuel level and messaging. One touch 4-wheel drive. Super responsive power steering. Much more comfortable suspension for rugged trails. Very easy cargo bed dump control.

Suggestions: Cup holders need to move away from transmission stick. I know this sounds minor but you can’t put a full size tumbler there. Seat side rails need some cushion. Very easy to catch on them sitting down onto the seat, especially a big body. If you’re hunting, a gun rack accessory is a must. I also think a winch is too. Too many times over the years they have been more than worth it.

In the video you can see some footage of the Gator in action and I end with a recap on location before the unit was returned to John Deere.

I want to thank John Deere for allowing me and my hunt camp members to use one of the newest Gator models. We have had a very successful season and using a Gator made it very enjoyable. Hope we can do it all again next year.

If you would like to see some photos of the Gator in the field you can find lots of them here: John Deere Gator Hunt Photo Album

Agribusiness, Hunting, John Deere, Video

Animal Ag News 12/21

Carrie Muehling

  • Frontline meat and poultry workers should be amongst the first to be vaccinated after health care workers and those in long-term care facilities, according to federal guidance approved by the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Priority (ACIP). Meat Institute President and CEO Julie Anna Potts applauded ACIP’s guidance and urged state governments to follow CDC’s decision.
  • In support of cattle producers across the country dedicated to preventing disease, improving animal welfare and reducing production losses, the Beef Checkoff-funded Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) program developed a Daily Biosecurity Plan for Disease Prevention template. The template, which helps cattle producers implement daily biosecurity measures on their operations, is available digitally as a PDF or can be printed for handwritten plans.
  • New research developments, along with other industry topics, will be discussed during the International Poultry Scientific Forum, held online in conjunction with the 2021 International Production & Processing Expo Marketplace.
  • The end of 2020 is a little brighter for students from Iowa State University, St. George’s University, State University of New York College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill, Oklahoma State University, and South Central College as they take home scholarships for being named winners of the Animal Agriculture Alliance’s College Aggies Online competition. The Alliance awarded more than $20,000 in scholarships to students and clubs this year.
AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Animal Bites

COVID Deal Includes Previously Excluded Ag Sectors

Cindy Zimmerman

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN) says the latest COVID relief deal moving through Congress this week has new provisions to provide help for food and agriculture sectors impacted by the pandemic restrictions.

In addition to a 15 percent increase in benefits for recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for six months, Peterson pointed specifically to the inclusion of important support for those who were left out earlier assistance, including contract livestock and poultry growers, ethanol producers that saw a drop in demand, and livestock and poultry producers who had to depopulate herds and flocks as a result of supply chain disruptions. The bill also contains much-needed help for dairy farmers, funding for small and mid-sized livestock processors to attain federal inspection in order to accommodate increased demand, as well as animal health work and grants to state departments for ongoing farm stress programs.

Read the full breakdown of the food and agriculture provisions in the bill.

Agribusiness, AgWired Animal, Farming, Food