2025 Tech Hub Live

Animal Ag News 1/4

Carrie Muehling

  • Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative, one of the largest dairy co-ops in the country, urged Congress to help broaden the milk options children have in school. The call for greater flexibility came after the federal government on Tuesday released the 2020 update to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
  • The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association commends the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for finalizing the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which recognizes the role of lean beef in a healthy diet across all life stages and ages.
  • The International Dairy Foods Association, representing all segments in the U.S. dairy industry, applauded the release of the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans affirming that dairy products will maintain their historically important role in federal nutrition recommendations, including recommending most Americans consume three servings of dairy each day.
  • A fun, rewarding and engaging opportunity is available for college students wanting to attend the 2021 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show in Nashville, Tennessee, Aug. 10-13, 2021. A team of interns – vital to the success of the largest annual meeting in the U.S. beef cattle industry – will gain first-hand experience and be able to interact with leaders of every segment of the cattle and beef industry. Students must be able to work Aug. 8 – 13, 2021, in Nashville. Interested students must complete a Student Internship Application and send college transcripts, two letters of recommendation and a resume. Deadline for applying is April 15, 2021.
  • The digital 2021 International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) Marketplace will feature more than 70 innovative products and services as part of the Innovation Station/New Product Showcase offered through the IPPE Marketplace. Participation in the IPPE Marketplace is free for attendees. However, personal guides for the IPPE Marketplace must be requested to access the Innovation Station/New Product Showcase and other events and education programs.
AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Animal Bites

ZimmCast 663 – AWIS Helping America Grow for 25 Years

Chuck Zimmerman

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast, a podcast started in 2004 to focus on agricultural marketing and what is new in the world of agribusiness. Happy New Year to y’all.

Here at ZimmComm we’ve been living in the virtual world of communications for almost 17 years. We started out distributing news releases with pre-recorded sound bites and interviews before jumping into blogging and podcasting and then starting social media channels in YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, Facebook and so many more. We’ve seen many of these platforms come and go too. And it looks like we’ll continuing using these and other new apps like Zoom, Meetings and Skype as travel bans and the inability for large gathering to happen, continue into the foreseeable future.

But that’s where our virtual newsroom and virtual coverage of various events comes into play and we’ve already got quite a few on our calendar. Please give me a call or send an email if you would like to discuss how we can do this for you to enhance your communications efforts, especially reaching out to the media.

So, let’s move on in this first ZimmCast episode of 2021 with a conversation with AWIS Weather Services and one of the founders, Karl Harker. IDK about you but I definitely open my mobile weather apps more often than any other. But I’ve always been fascinated by the weather and when it comes to farming, getting reliable forecasting is critical in decision making. AWIS specializes in custom forecasting and consultation. Let’s learn about how they are doing after 25 years of helping America grow.

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.

That’s the ZimmCast for this week. Thank you for listening.

Listen to the ZimmCast here: ZimmCast 663 - AWIS Celebrates 25 Years (12:12)

Subscribe to the ZimmCast in:

Agribusiness, Weather, ZimmCast

Deere Adapts to Virtual Trade Shows

Carrie Muehling

The new year already holds a number of virtual events, which create special challenges for equipment manufacturers who are used to having their products on display for people to touch and kick tires. John Deere Corporate Business Manager Chad Brusveen attended the Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) virtual event last month and talked about some of the challenges and opportunities.

“This year it’s obviously different than normal,” said Brusveen. “Being a hard iron company and technology-driven organization, it’s fun to have things to see and touch. Going virtual kind of gave us an opportunity to leverage a lot of the resources that are already out there for people to look at, but pull it together in a way that hopefully makes sense for the average visitor.”

Key areas of John Deere’s virtual display included application equipment solutions, material handling products, equipment solutions, and John Deere Financial.

Interview with Chad Brusveen, John Deere (6:17)

ARA, Audio, John Deere

2020 Top Stories

Cindy Zimmerman

These were the top viewed posts on AgWired in 2020

AMVAC Conducts On-Farm Testing of SIMPAS System
So Long to Farm Broadcaster Evan Slack
Quick Dick McDick Protestor Diets
Farm Workers Not Included in Immigration Order
Syngenta Makes Leadership Changes
Kansas Rancher Named Beef Advocate of the Year
Bayer Makes Innovation and Pipeline Announcement
New Peterson Bros Video Will Rock You
Bayer Initiatives Focus on Sustainability
Senators Stress COVID-19 Relief for Agriculture

ZimmComm Announcement

Precision Ag News 12/30

Carrie Muehling

  • Even in an unpredictable year, the innovative Agrisure® traits portfolio delivered strong in-field performance across the Midwest. The portfolio offers numerous proven solutions for growers striving to protect their corn’s genetic yield potential from common pests. Agrisure Duracade trait stacks feature novel, alternate modes of action to help preserve trait durability and delay insect adaptation for long-term field health, yielding up to 4.1 bushels per acre more than non-Agrisure Duracade hybrids in Syngenta Seeds trials. Hybrids with the Agrisure Viptera trait provide better, more complete control of corn earworm for a 7.3 bushels per acre advantage, as seen in Syngenta trials.
  • No-Till Farmer has announced it will transition the 2021 National No-Tillage Conference from a live event previously planned in Indianapolis, to a virtual event taking place online January 12-15, 2021.
  • The World Food Prize Foundation has opened the 2022 nominations period for the internationally renowned World Food Prize. The Prize recognizes the accomplishments of individuals who have worked to improve the quality, quantity or availability of food for all. Nomination criteria, the selection procedure and other information can be found at www.worldfoodprize.org/nominate. Nominations will be accepted through May 1, 2021, for the 2022 Prize.
  • UPL announces that the Environmental Protection Agency has granted approval for IMIFLEX™ Herbicide, the companion herbicide for igrowth®, the first non-GMO, commercially available herbicide-resistant technology for grain sorghum from Alta Seeds.
  • Genetically engineered cotton and classical pest control tactics combined to rid the United States and Northern Mexico of a devastating pest, according to a new study by Agricultural Research Service and University of Arizona scientists published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Removal of pink bollworm saved U.S. cotton farmers $192 million from 2014 to 2019 alone, according to the study.
AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes, Precision Agriculture

John Deere Introduces New Combines

Carrie Muehling

Farmers can choose from two new John Deere combines as they look toward harvest in 2021. The company is introducing the X9 1000 and X9 1100 combines, as well as new front end products.

Harvesting Product Manager Matt Badding compared the new X9 1100 combine to the current S790 model.

“When we’re talking about high yielding, high moisture corn, we can look at an increase in capacity up to 50 percent over today’s S790, said Badding. “So a substantial increase in capacity, but with that, we can also look forward to saving over 20 percent in fuel.”

Badding encouraged growers to contact a local John Deere dealer for more information. He participated in the National Association of Farm Broadcasting virtual Trade Talk event.

2020 NAFB Interview with Matt Badding, John Deere harvesters (3:38)

Audio, Equipment, John Deere, NAFB

Industry Ag News 12/29

Carrie Muehling

  • The U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services hosted a virtual event to announce the release of Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025. The latest edition of the guidelines was built upon Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2015-2020, with updates grounded in the scientific reviews of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, along with comments received from the public and input from federal agencies.
  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that President Trump has named Dr. Carrie Castille as the new, permanent director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Dr. Castille will start her new role on Monday, January 4, 2021.
  • The American Farm Bureau Federation recently appointed farmer and rancher members to the organization’s Promotion & Education and Young Farmers & Ranchers committees. National committee members are nominated by their respective state Farm Bureaus. Learn more online: Promotion & Education and Young Farmers & Ranchers.
  • Meristem Crop Performance Group, LLC and Ag To Go, LLC announce a new strategic supply agreement to serve farmers in eastern states. Under the new relationship, the Meristem Crop Performance product line becomes a key component of Ag To Go’s new crop input offering and Ag To Go becomes Meristem’s ally in helping farmers all along the Atlantic Seaboard from Maine to Florida make the most of every dollar they spend on crop inputs.
  • During the Sorghum Checkoff’s annual meeting—held virtually to adhere with COVID-19 guidelines proposed by the Center for Disease Control—five board directors were reappointed or sworn in on the checkoff’s board. After being appointed by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, these directors will serve three-year terms starting December 2020 and commencing December 2023.
  • As opportunities for producers to connect with each other and the companies that serve their operations have become more difficult, an impressive and growing list of sponsors is showing support for the 2021 Top Producer Summit, which is being offered in both in-person and online formats in February. Leading companies including BASF, Beck’s, CASE IH, Fendt, Indigo Ag, Pioneer and Pivot Bio are taking a leadership role by supporting the event.
Zimfo Bytes

Animal Ag News 12/28

Carrie Muehling

  • The nation’s largest union for meatpacking workers and the association representing meat producers joined forces to urge all 50 U.S. governors to urgently prioritize COVID-19 vaccination for frontline meat and poultry workers across the United States, in accordance with official Centers for Disease Control guidance. In a new joint letter to governors, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union and the North American Meat Institute emphasized that quickly vaccinating the sector’s diverse workforce of some 500,000 employees across the country will maximize health benefits, especially in rural communities that often have limited health services, while keeping Americans’ refrigerators full and our farm economy working. Click here to read the full letter to governors.
  • House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin C. Peterson of Minnesota pointed to multiple provisions to benefit dairy farmers in the new COVID-19 relief compromise package passed by the House and Senate and signed by President Trump.
  • As of Dec. 1, there were 77.5 million hogs and pigs on U.S. farms, down 1 percent from December 2019 and down 1 percent from Sept. 1, 2020, according to the Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.
  • The Animal Agriculture Alliance announced that its 2021 Stakeholders Summit, set primarily for May 5-6, will be hosted virtually and themed “Obstacles to Opportunities.” The annual Summit brings top thought leaders in the industry together to discuss hot-button issues and out-of-the-box ideas. In addition to announcing the theme and virtual format for 2021, the Alliance also issued a call for proposals to speak at the event.
AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Animal Bites

Thank God It’s Christmas

Cindy Zimmerman

This year our Christmas message comes from a relatively unknown but very appropriate Christmas song by Queen called Thank God It’s Christmas. These lyrics have never been so true:
“Oh my friends it’s been a long hard year – But now it’s Christmas, Thank God it’s Christmas.”

We here at ZimmComm are especially grateful to God this Christmas after this very long, hard year. We have been so blessed and as we anxiously await the coming of the Lord we continue to pray for the our nation and the world.
“What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (Jn 1:4-5)

Thank you to all of our friends and may God abundantly bless you in this season of Light.


Video, ZimmComm Announcement