Senate Hearing Examines Cattle Markets

Cindy Zimmerman

The Senate Committee on Agriculture held a hearing Wednesday on “Examining Markets, Transparency, and Prices from Cattle Producer to Consumer” to address a wide range of issues, including the urgent need for robust price discovery and differing industry views on how to achieve it, greater market transparency and oversight, and expanded beef processing capacity.

Among the witnesses was Mark Gardiner, owner-operator of Gardiner Angus Ranch in Kansas, who testified on behalf of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA).

In his opening remarks, Gardiner confirmed the importance of solutions that put producers in the driver’s seat. “Please do not create regulations and legislation that have the unintended consequence of harming value-based marketing. Doing so would undo many years of progress for producers such as my family and those of our customers,” said Gardiner. “Onerous legislation has the potential to result in a reversal of quality that is simply unacceptable to consumers.”

Earlier this month, NCBA and 37 affiliate state cattle organizations sent a letter urging the leadership of the U.S. Senate and House Agriculture Committees to address critical areas of concern in the cattle and beef industry. Multiple lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have written the U.S. Department of Justice calling for the swift conclusion of their investigation into whether or not anticompetitive practices have taken place in the meatpacking sector. NCBA was also at the forefront in 2019 of calling for an investigation after the “black swan” market event of a fire at Tyson Foods’ Finney County beef plant in Holcomb, Kansas.

Recent industry meetings in Phoenix, Arizona and Kansas City, Missouri have also brought together economists, associations, and market participants to discuss industry-led solutions.

Listen to Gardiner’s opening remarks here:
Mark Gardiner, Kansas, testifies for NCBA (5:12)

Last week in Washington DC, NCBA Directory of Market Regulatory Policy Tanner Beymer discussed the issue and said there is no one answer to the problem.
Tanner Beymer, NCBA (2:11)

AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Audio, Beef, Livestock, NCBA

Alltech ONE Loves Pets

Cindy Zimmerman

Pets have played a vital role in the mental health of millions during the past 18 months as COVID pandemic measures kept us home, but many are experiencing separation anxiety now that businesses are getting back to more normal and people are going back to work.

Dealing with the post-pandemic pet blues is just one of several interesting presentations on-demand for pet owners and industry representatives as part of the virtual Alltech ONE Ideas Conference debuting this week. Alltech Companion Animal Sales Manager Kami Grandeen says they have a great line up. “I really think this is probably the best track that we’ve put together so far because we are addressing a lot of different topics and trends that pet owners are concerned about,” said Grandeen. “We have a wide variety speakers and perspectives, including perspectives from China and Latin America.”

Other presentations include Supporting Cognitive Function in Pets, Minimizing the Environmental Pawprint of Your Brand, and What’s in Store for the Future of Brick-and-Mortar Retail. Learn more about what the ONE Pet Track offers this year in this interview with Kami.

Alltech ONE Pets - Kami Grandeen, Companion Animals (8:51)

AgWired Animal, Alltech, Animal Agriculture, Audio

Precision Ag News 6/23

Carrie Muehling

  • The Scoop and Trust In Food, a Farm Journal initiative, have been named exclusive media partners of the 2021 InfoAg Conference, presented by The Fertilizer Institute. The event is set for Aug. 3-4, 2021, at the St. Louis Union Station Hotel.
  • Join Farm Foundation on Tuesday, June 29 from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. CDT online via Zoom as we survey the landscape of biological crop protection (aka “biologicals”) in agriculture.
  • Indigo Agriculture announced plans to unveil a new brand identity for its carbon farming program: Carbon by Indigo. The refreshed identity will officially debut at the inaugural “Carbon Farming Connection” learning session on June 23. The session will bring together farmers with private industry and scientific experts supporting the development of a robust global market for agricultural carbon credits.
  • In a recent election at the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST), Dr. Sally Flis — Sustainable Ag Field Manager with Nutrien Ag Solutions — was chosen as the President-Elect for 2021-2022.
  • Bushel, an independently-owned software technology company for growers, grain buyers, ag retailers, protein producers and food companies, announced its acquisition of FarmLogs, a leading provider of technology farm management systems for row crop farms. The addition of FarmLogs’ technology and team to Bushel creates a stronger digital connection between growers, commodity buyers, ag retailers and consumer packaged goods companies.
AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes, Precision Agriculture

Alltech ONE Equine Track is a Winner

Cindy Zimmerman

Horses have a special place in the heart of Alltech and the equine track for this year’s ONE Ideas Conference offers six amazing sessions for horse lovers.

Alltech Lifestyle and Companion Animal Director Tim Karl just joined the company last August and he is very excited about the lineup, which includes a look at the new World Equestrian Center (WEC) in Ocala, Florida with Jim Wolf, president of Wolf Sports Group. “He’s going to share his insights into this unique venue and what it has to offer,” said Karl. Other topics include equine welfare, sustainable equine management, senior horse feeding, marketing, and trace mineral research.

Karl is also excited about Alltech’s new line of Lifeforce premium equine supplements. “We developed Lifeforce back in 2010 for the Alltech World Equestrian Games and we’ve built on that with this refreshed launch,” he said.

Learn more about the ONE equine track and Lifeforce in this interview.
Alltech ONE Equine - Tim Karl, Alltech (7:30)

AgWired Animal, Alltech, Animal Agriculture, Animal Health, Audio, Horses

Alltech ONE Focus on Future of Flock

Cindy Zimmerman

Poultry is undoubtedly the most important segment of the livestock industry worldwide but the poultry industry must continue to find solutions that meet the needs of people and the planet.

Alltech U.S. Poultry Business Manager Karyl Hedden says the poultry track at the Alltech ONE this year gives producers a lot to think about. “We have four different presentations and they really do hit all parts of the globe,” said Hedden.

One panel includes a global view of how poultry farming differs around the world, with discussions about poultry myths, sustainability, animal welfare, ag-tech and innovation, antibiotics, vaccinations, nutrition and more. The sustainability presentation on “Future of the Flock” features Helen Anne Hudson, Senior Advisor for Corporate Social Responsibility with this year’s Alltech Canada Planet of Plenty Winner Burnbrae Farms. The track also includes “A New Way to Sell Chicken” and Planet of Plenty: Poultry Partner Spotlight Nobel Foods.

Learn more in this interview with Hedden, and register for ONE if you have not yet done so to have access to all of the exciting content.
Alltech ONE Poultry - US Poultry Business Mgr Karyl Hedden (4:15)

AgWired Animal, Alltech, Animal Agriculture, Animal Health, Poultry

Alltech ONE Ideas Conference Underway

Cindy Zimmerman

The 2021 Alltech ONE Ideas Conference opened its virtual doors Tuesday to officially welcome more than 10,000 attendees from around the world for an exploration of agri-food, business and beyond.

Now in its 37th year, Alltech’s flagship event continues to be an invaluable industry resource, with unmatched content and innovative ideas, inspiration and motivation from world-class speakers. Registrants from 99 countries have access to a virtual platform that includes on-demand tracks, streaming keynote presentations, live workshops and an interactive networking experience, allowing attendees to connect around the world.

“We are on the brink of a new beginning, and I don’t believe that is just a new beginning for Alltech. I think it’s a new beginning and a new golden era for agri-food, and it’s led by what we believe is a bold vision,” said Dr. Mark Lyons, president and CEO of Alltech, in his opening remarks. “We want to deliver smarter, more sustainable solutions for our customers and for all of agri-food.”

The program got off to a great start with Anna Rosling Rönnlund, vice president and head of design and user experience at Gapminder and co-author of “Factfulness,” who designed the user interface of the famous animated bubble-chart tool Trendalyzer for better understanding global development trends. She was followed by professional photographer, filmmaker and former photojournalist for National Geographic, Dewitt Jones, who has made a career of storytelling through images and has traveled the world on a mission to find the extraordinary in the ordinary. Both of their presentations and much more is available now on-demand for ONE registrants.

ONE was delayed by a month to finish the final tweaks in the custom built platform for the virtual event, but Dr. Lyons says it was important for them to make sure they got it just right. Listen to Lyons discuss day one of ONE and the recent news of Alltech’s partnership with HELM Agro.

Alltech ONE 21 CEO Mark Lyons comments (4:50)

Over the course of the Alltech ONE Ideas Conference, more than 70 on-demand presentations will explore challenges and opportunities in aquaculture, beef, business, crop science, dairy, equine, health and wellness, pet, pig, and poultry sectors. Registration for the Alltech ONE Ideas Conference will remain open, offering attendees 24/7 access to all on-demand content, including keynote presentations and tracks, until April 2022.

AgWired Animal, Alltech, Animal Agriculture, Audio

Alltech ONE Honors International Journalists

Cindy Zimmerman

The winners of the 2021 IFAJ-Alltech International Award for Leadership in Agricultural Journalism were announced in conjunction with the Alltech ONE Ideas Conference Tuesday. They are Kallee Buchanan of Australia and Craig Lester of Canada. The award, in honor of Dr. Pearse Lyons and his love of storytelling and journalism, recognizes and rewards excellence and leadership of young journalists within their local IFAJ guild.

Kallee Buchanan has worked as a journalist, presenter and producer since 2008 across radio, print and digital media. She is currently the President of the Australian Council of Agricultural Journalists.

My vision is to develop the ACAJ into a professional development organisation that assists rural and remote journalists and agricultural media specialists to connect with the IFAJ and the broad knowledge these organisations contain to help them grow as reporters.”

Hear more from Kallee in her video and the interview below.
Alltech ONE 21 IFAJ award winner Kallee Buchanan (19:04)

Craig Lester is the co-owner of Rural Roots Canada, a multimedia agriculture
production and distribution company that brings together independent content producers from across the country under one roof to tell stories about agriculture. He is the current President of the Alberta Farm Writers’ Association.

“As journalists in agriculture, we have a responsibility to contribute to the industry’s sustainability by covering the stories that matter and sharing them with the world, inspiring the next generation of leaders. Media has the power to connect people, ideas, and resources.”

Watch Craig’s video and listen to an interview with him below to learn more about him.
Alltech ONE 21 IFAJ award winner Craig Lester (8:06)

Alltech, Audio, IFAJ, Media

Dairy Trends on Track at Alltech ONE

Cindy Zimmerman

Today is the big day for the kickoff of the Alltech ONE Ideas Conference 2021 virtual edition and we are “dairy” excited!

The Dairy Track offers a wide variety of topics ranging from farm management and animal welfare to sustainability, milk alternatives, and meeting market demands. This time last year, the disruption caused by the global pandemic was near its peak and the industry is still adjusting to the new normal of the moment.

Alltech On-Farm Dairy Specialist Jorge Delgado says Alltech worked quickly when the pandemic started to develop COVID-19 information graphics for farm workers to help them understand the protections being implemented and were able to continue educational on-farm training on-line. “Now that we are back to a little ‘new normal’ we are going slowly back on to the farmers, following CDC regulations,” said Delgado.

Learn more about what’s on the Dairy Track at the conference starting today. Register here.
Alltech ONE Dairy Track - Alltech On-Farm Dairy Specialist Jorge Delgado (7:28)

AgWired Animal, Alltech, Animal Agriculture, Animal Health, Audio, Dairy

Field Notes From Koch Agronomic Services – Episode 12

Chuck Zimmerman

The Field Notes podcast series from Koch Agronomic Services (Koch) breaks down the science and technology behind agronomy to help growers do more with less.

The experts we’ve heard from on our previous episodes have covered topics ranging from how different crops use nitrogen to the 4R’s of Nutrient Stewardship and how growers and retailers work together to choose the best input for an operation. If you haven’t checked out the previous episodes, you can find them on your favorite podcast platform.

Micronutrient Assets

In this episode, we learn more about Koch’s micronutrient assets from two of the leaders who worked on their acquisition. Koch’s Steve Coulter, senior vice president, and Michael Berry, director of Ag Market Portfolio, discuss how these new products will further the organization’s commitment to help growers around the world improve nutrient efficiency, utilization and uptake.

You can listen to the program here: Micronutrient Assets (20:50)

And to make sure you don’t miss an episode, choose an option to subscribe

For Spotify on your computer download the desktop app.

Agribusiness, Audio, Koch Agronomic Services, Podcasts, Soil

Animal Ag News 6/21

Carrie Muehling

  • The 33rd World Pork Expo made a much-anticipated return to the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, June 9-11. The Expo is presented by the National Pork Producers Council and features the world’s largest pork-specific trade show. More than 10,000 producers, employees and pork industry professionals attended the three-day event.
  • The U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards program – celebrating its 10-year anniversary – has a new class of seven winners who demonstrate excellence in sustainability and contributions to the industrywide 2050 Environmental Stewardship Goals as well as positive efforts in communities. The awards, hosted by the farmer-founded Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, recognize exceptional farms, businesses and partnerships for their socially responsible, economically viable and environmentally sound practices and technologies that have a broad and positive impact. Nearly 80 winners from more than 270 nominees have been recognized over the past decade.
  • The 2021 Cattle Industry Convention will hit all the right notes when country music stars, inspirational speakers and hot topics converge in Nashville, Tenn., Aug. 10-12, 2021. New to this year’s convention is an additional general session, which provides even more value to registration.
  • National and local checkoff organizations have launched a monthly Your Dairy Checkoff podcast to showcase how checkoff programs across the country are collaborating to build dairy sales and trust in today’s changing marketplace. Each episode will be hosted by dairy farmers or industry experts. Listeners will hear conversations focused on local, national and global dairy promotion, including consumer research, dairy nutrition, science and issues updates. Farmers will help guide the selection of topics through their feedback.
  • The National Grazing Lands Coalition has announced some speakers for its 8th National Grazing Lands Conference at the Embassy Suites Kingston Resorts in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Dec. 6-9, 2021.
  • The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) awarded a $10 million grant to the Dairy Research Institute (DRI) to support the dairy community’s Net Zero Initiative, an industry-wide effort to adopt practices and technologies that reduce GHG emissions and improve environmental health. FFAR’s six-year grant is addressing research gaps in feed production and manure-based products that enhance the dairy industry’s sustainability goals. Dairy Management Inc. (DMI), Newtrient and other Net Zero Initiative partners, including Nestlé, are providing funding and in-kind support for a total project value of $23.2 million.
AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Animal Bites