2025 Agri-Marketing Conference

Industry Ag News 9/30

Carrie Muehling

  • More support and action are urgently needed to tackle the worsening global hunger and malnutrition crisis, exacerbated by climate change and other challenges, according to a side panel at the United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York. The panel event, hosted by Farm Journal Foundation, Catholic Relief Services, and Caritas Internationalis brought together leaders to discuss global malnutrition challenges and solutions that can address the root causes of food and nutrition insecurity.
  • The World Food Prize Foundation announced the selection of 10 students for the 2024-25 internship program. Since the creation of its collegiate internship program in 2001, the Foundation has welcomed over 400 students from around the country. Internship programs provide undergraduate and graduate students an opportunity to explore global issues of food insecurity, sustainability, and international development. Providing students the ability to take on significant responsibility and initiative within a wide variety of Foundation projects. Interns will focus on awards management, youth programming, archival research, and much more.
  • The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) has changed the publication date of the 2023 Irrigation and Water Management data report. The data from this 2022 Census of Agriculture Special Study was scheduled to be released Nov. 14, 2024, at noon EDT. The new release date is Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, at noon EDT. All NASS reports are available online at www.nass.usda.gov/Publications.
  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) long-awaited updates to the Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Farm Loan Programs are officially in effect. These changes, part of the Enhancing Program Access and Delivery for Farm Loans rule, are designed to increase financial flexibility for agricultural producers, allowing them to grow their operations, boost profitability, and build long-term savings.
  • During the 2024 National Association of State Departments of Agriculture Annual Meeting, members elected their 2025 officers. Arkansas Department of Agriculture Secretary Wes Ward will serve as NASDA’s 2024-2025 President.
  • Farm Journal, U.S. agriculture’s leading business information and data insights company, has named Chris Seper as executive vice president, Farm Journal brands. He will lead the company’s audience center of excellence, which includes the editorial, broadcast, audience development, events, content studios and product development teams.
  • The Renewable Fuels Association welcomed Specialist Nutrition and Mickelson & Company to its expanding roster of associate members. These organizations share a common vision with RFA’s membership and bring innovative approaches and fresh perspectives to the renewable fuels industry.
  • As part of their Thank You Farmers Project, Culver’s launched the third annual To Farmers With Love Contest today – this year more than doubling total prize money to reward deserving farmers across the country. This year’s contest begins today and will run through Oct. 11, leading up to National Farmer’s Day on Oct. 12.
  • Key findings from the 2024 Farmer Voice survey, a study among 2,000 farmers across Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, India, Kenya, Ukraine, and the United States, conducted by global market research firm Kynetec on behalf of Bayer, are now available. It reveals the challenges, aspirations, and needs of farmers in times of climate change, digitalization, and economic and political volatility.
    • Zimfo Bytes

    Evolving Weather Patterns Challenge Farmers

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Changing precipitation patterns continue to challenge farmers across the Corn Belt, according to Dennis Todey, director of USDA’s Midwest Climate Hub.

    “As the agricultural landscape evolves, it’s vital to keep farmers informed with the latest data and insights,” said Todey. “Understanding changes in weather patterns and other factors empowers them to make better decisions and optimize their operations.”

    Todey recently spoke to farmers in the Pivot Bio booth at the 2024 Farm Progress Show on a range of topics, from the potential threat of an early freeze to the changing dynamics of precipitation and its implications for growing seasons. Three of his main points were:

    1. Early-Freeze Concerns Are Minimal
    Todey reassured farmers that based on current weather models and historical data, there is no imminent threat of an early freeze this season. He highlighted that freeze-risk assessments are generally guided by trends such as seasonal temperature patterns and climatic conditions, which currently do not indicate a high probability of frost.

    2. Growing Seasons Are Extended Due to Warming Trends
    Warming trends have resulted in longer growing seasons, with the average dates for last spring and first fall freezes shifting. This provides more time for crop growth but also introduces new challenges for farmers, such as an increase in insects and weeds.

    3. Rainfall Patterns Are Shifting
    The Corn Belt will still experience moderate rains; however, farmers should expect larger intense rainfalls. These heavy rainfalls, especially in the spring, can lead to rapid soil saturation, runoff, and potential erosion, impacting crop health and soil structure. Todey says this change in rainfall distribution affects soil-moisture levels. Additionally, rainfall is becoming more variable as to when or where it occurs during the year.

    “While farmers in the Corn Belt faced many challenges this year, the potential for nitrogen loss through leaching and denitrification was especially prevalent during the early planting season, when there was so much rain,” said Clayton Nevins, Ph.D., Pivot Bio senior agronomic scientist. “Our goal at Pivot Bio is to help farmers solve for a percentage of nitrogen loss by diversifying their fertilizer sources with nitrogen-fixing microbes that live on the plants’ roots and provide consistent access to nitrogen.”

    Learn more about what Pivot Bio can do for nitrogen loss in this interview with agronomist Karen Zuver from Farm Progress Show.
    FPS24 - Interview with Karen Zuver, Pivot Bio 4:30

    Audio, Farm Progress Show, Nutrient Management, Weather

    NAMA 2024 Professional Development Awards of Excellence

    Cindy Zimmerman

    The National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) is pleased to announce three marketing and agricultural leaders as winners of the 2024 Professional Development Awards of Excellence.

    Marketing Communications – Erin Kolstad, G&S Business Communications
    During her 7-year tenure at G&S, Erin has quickly learned new technical information and understands how to apply communication strategy to help achieve business goals. Erin demonstrates a keen understanding of the industries she supports and has leveraged that knowledge to drive successful and innovative campaigns. Over the past 18 months, Erin has been a key driving force behind several mission critical campaigns. As a member of the Carolinas-Virginia chapter board, Erin has served as the communications chair, promoting and helping plan the chapter’s key events. She also manages social and email communications to engage chapter members.

    Public Relations – Sandra Mason, Association of Equipment Manufacturers
    Sandra Mason has served as the Director of Public Relations for the Association of Equipment Manufacturers for over 8 years, responsible for setting and implementing the strategic direction of the public and media relations efforts for theassociation, as well as trade shows, including Commodity Classic, CONEXPO• CON/AGG, World of Asphalt and the Utility Expo. Additionally, within the last 18 months, Sandra has led the public relations charge on two high-profile initiatives for AEM: the Celebration of Modern Agriculture on the National Mall and the AEM Manufacturing Express. In addition to participating in conferences and meetings, she also serves on the Student NAMA Committee and has participated in Best of NAMA judging.

    Sales – Cheri Knoy, Farm Progress
    Cheri Knoy has been honored for bringing teams together, receiving Vance Publishing’s Tony Pugliese Award. An expert in relationship building, Cheri knows how to put together an overall proposal for a client to hit their goals. She focuses on more than traditional advertising and gets to know the strategy and objectives of her customers and puts together packages that achieve success. As a NAMA member since 1998, she has served in many roles including president of the NAMA Pacific and Southwest Chapters. She has served on the conference committee and judged the marketing competition.

    The awards will be presented in conjunction with the NAMA Fall Conference, October 14-16 in Minneapolis.

    NAMA

    Precision Ag News 9/25

    Carrie Muehling

  • CropLife America elected Darren Dillenbeck, president, FMC North America, as its new chair of the CLA Board of Directors. Mr. Dillenbeck will hold the position for two years and utilize his strong leadership skills to help guide the association. He succeeds Andy Lee, president and CEO of Valent USA, who chaired the Board from 2022 – 2024. Mr. Dillenbeck previously served on the association’s Executive Committee as a Vice Chair.
  • Terviva, Inc., an agricultural innovation company partnering with farmers to grow and harvest pongamia, announced the appointment of two senior members of its executive leadership team – Simmarpal Singh as Chief Operating Officer and Manju Kohli as Senior Vice President, People Operations. Singh and Kohli will provide critical support as Terviva continues scaling its global pongamia production and pongamia bean processing technology across three main agricultural applications: food, feed, and fuel.
  • The Mid America CropLife Association (MACA) has awarded Dr. Christy Sprague the prestigious 2024 Educator of the Year award. The honor was presented by MACA President Jaime Yanes during the association’s Annual Meeting in Bloomington, Minnesota on Tuesday, September 3.
  • The Mid America CropLife Association (MACA) presented its prestigious Industry Vision Award to Ben Kaehler, former Vice President of National Accounts at Corteva Agriscience.
  • The Pesticide Stewardship Alliance (TPSA) is pleased to introduce a new logo and a revamped website. With the 25th anniversary of TPSA on the horizon, the new logo reflects a dedicated mission to pesticide stewardship and a revamped website reflects an ongoing commitment to a user-friendly experience.
  • UAS Magazine announced the keynote speaker for the 2024 UAS Summit & Expo, scheduled for October 8-9 at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The UAS Summit & Expo is designed for companies and organizations advancing UAS commercialization and utilization. Palmer Luckey is best known for founding Oculus VR and designing the Oculus Rift, a virtual reality head-mounted display, when he was 20 years old. At age 22, he sold the company to Meta for $2 billion in cash and stock. His most recent defense start-up is now turning heads and impressing military leaders around the world. In 2017, he founded Anduril Industries, a defense technology company focused on autonomous drones and sensors for military applications.
  • FS crop specialists have been collecting corn yield estimates in Illinois and Iowa as part of the FS Crop Tour. As of September 20, the data estimated a yield of 220 bushels per acre for Iowa, with 120 data locations, and 222 bushels per acre for Illinois, with 204 data locations.
  • The Illinois Sustainable Ag Partnership (ISAP) has recently accepted four new member organizations into the Partnership. Illinois Farm Bureau, Illinois Nutrient Research & Education Council (NREC), Savanna Institute, and Saving Tomorrow’s Agriculture Resources (STAR) are the newest members to join ISAP, whose mission is to create a network to support a systems approach to improve soil health and reduce nutrient loss.
  • Leaders from agInnovation, the network of agricultural experiment stations at the nation’s land-grant universities, revealed a new 10-year Research Roadmap in Washington D.C. The plan was created by a working group consisting of state agricultural experiment station directors from each of agInnovation’s regions: North Central, Northeastern, Southern, Western and 1890 land-grant universities, as well as members of the Association of Public and Land-grant University’s (APLU) Boards on Agriculture Assembly and Natural Resources, 1994 land-grant institutions and others. The Roadmap will address some of the primary obstacles to a prosperous future, according to George Smith, Michigan State University AgBioResearch director and agInnovation chair.
  • Farmers in Wisconsin are using data to better understand on-farm sustainability and the environmental impact of farming practices. These efforts are part of multi-year sustainability projects led by Farmers for Sustainable Food. The organization supports nine farmer-led watershed conservation groups, two of which have participated in the projects, using sustainability metrics to inform their farm management decisions. The release of the Peninsula Pride Farms Sustainability Project year four results and the Lafayette Ag Stewardship Alliance Sustainability Project year five results demonstrate continuous improvement in sustainability and water quality across Wisconsin.
    • AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes, Precision Agriculture

    ZimmCast 735 – Preview of 2024 NAMA Fall Conference

    Chuck Zimmerman

    ZimmCastHello and welcome to the ZimmCast.

    It’s time for the 2024 NAMA Fall Conference which will be held in Minneapolis, MN, October 14-16. The theme is “Fall Back” and you’ll hear why in my interview with Laura Rustmann, Director of Marketing and Sales, J.L. Farmakis, Inc. and Chair of the committee that is organizing the conference. BTW. You can register here.

    Cindy and I have enjoyed a few weeks without travel since the Farm Progress Show but things will get started again the beginning of October. I will not be able to attend the NAMA Fall Conference this year due to a conflict but we’re going to get a preview from Laura.

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

    Listen to the episode here:
    ZimmCast 735 - Preview of the 2024 NAMA Fall Conference (13:23)

    I hope you enjoyed it and thank you for listening.

    Subscribe to the ZimmCast in:

    Agencies, Agribusiness, Audio, Media, NAMA, ZimmCast

    Trump Puts John Deere on Notice

    Cindy Zimmerman

    During a roundtable discussion on agriculture in Pennsylvania Monday, former President Donald Trump called out John Deere for moving its manufacturing to Mexico.

    “I’m just notifying John Deere right now, if you do that we’re putting a 200% tariff on everything you want to sell into the United States,” said Trump, pointing out the Deere tractors in the backdrop and saying he loves the company. “John Deere’s a great name, I buy a lot of John Deere products as a private person.”

    Deere announced plans in June to acquire land in Mexico to build a new facility and shift some production from Dubuque, Iowa to Mexico. Trump warned what will happen if that if that is successful. “If they build in Mexico, they start closing plants. In this case, it was in Iowa…The problem is that’s just the beginning. Then all of a sudden you’ll hear in a year from now, they’re gonna do another one, another one. All of a sudden, they’re not gonna be in the country anymore. They’re gonna have to pay a very big price to be able to sell that product into the United States.”

    Listen to some of Trump’s remarks here:
    Trump talks to farmers in PA 12:52

    Audio, John Deere, politics, Tractor, Trade

    Animal Ag News 9/23

    Carrie Muehling

  • Kansas State University is joining a new pilot program from Farm Journal Foundation to support veterinary students in their career development and address the national shortage of rural, food-systems veterinarians. The university is one of nine schools participating in the Veterinary Workforce Solutions Program, which seeks to address structural challenges facing the food animal veterinary industry. The program, backed by support from the Zoetis Foundation, supports veterinary students across a number of areas, including tackling student debt and financial planning, developing business management skills, and learning how to engage with rural communities.
  • Zoetis ended the second quarter of 2024 with a $250,000 contribution to Folds of Honor. This brings the total contribution from Zoetis to $1.55 million over its three years of support to the organization. Proceeds from the sales of select Zoetis products continue to raise funds for Folds of Honor scholarships. Folds of Honor provides academic scholarships to the spouses and children of men and women who have fallen or been disabled while serving in the U.S. armed forces or as first responders.
  • The Public Lands Council (PLC) closed out their 56th Annual Meeting by announcing Colorado rancher Tim Canterbury as the new PLC President. Tim owns and operates his family ranch in Howard, Colorado, where his family has been ranching since 1879. He has previously served as a member of the PLC Board of Directors, President of Colorado Cattlemen’s Association (CCA), and chair of the Colorado Public Lands Council.
  • At the Public Lands Council (PLC) Annual Meeting this week, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced winners of the 2024 Rangeland Stewardship and Rangeland Innovation awards to recognize exemplary management and outstanding accomplishments in restoring and maintaining the health of public rangelands.
  • The National Pork Industry Foundation (NPIF), a nonprofit dedicated to advancing research and education within the pork industry, is now accepting applications for the Neil Dierks Scholarship. This scholarship honors Neil Dierks, the National Pork Producers Council‘s (NPPC) former longtime CEO, and his remarkable contributions to the industry. The $5,000 scholarship is awarded annually to a graduate student enrolled in a land-grant university pursuing a field of study that directly supports the pork industry.
  • Known as the “Father of the Brand Specifications,” Dr. Bobby VanStavern was committed to improving beef quality. His legacy lives on in the Dr. Bobby VanStavern Award for Beef Quality Research. Established by Certified Angus Beef (CAB), the award was created to recognize outstanding student research dedicated to advancing beef quality. The 2024 recipient is William Boyd for his research titled, “Instrumental Assessment of Marbling and Objective Color Post-Ribbing.”
  • The American Lamb Board (ALB) is looking for 150 sheep producers to participate in its Climate Smart Sheep program. Producers enrolled in the program will be paid up to $7,000 to develop and implement Climate Smart Sheep management practices and measure and report emissions and life cycle analysis.
  • National Milk Producers Federation and U.S. Dairy Export Ccouncil expressed their strong disappointment with a preliminary ruling by Colombia’s government that unfairly targets U.S. dairy exporters by advancing baseless claims that U.S. milk powder was unduly subsidized.
  • The dairy checkoff has awarded 12 academic scholarships to students enrolled in programs that emphasize dairy and who have shown potential to become future dairy leaders. The National Dairy Promotion and Research Board (NDB), through Dairy Management Inc., which manages the national dairy checkoff, annually awards $2,500 scholarships to 11 students. In addition, the NDB awards a $3,500 James H. Loper Jr. Memorial Scholarship to one outstanding scholarship recipient.
  • USPOULTRY and the USPOULTRY Foundation are accepting research preproposals from colleges, universities and research facilities through Nov. 1, on further understanding highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Since the HPAI outbreak began in early February 2022, thousands of cases have been reported in both commercial poultry and backyard flocks, leading to the loss of millions of birds. The H5N1 strain has affected domestic and backyard flocks across 48 states, impacting farmers and communities nationwide. Additionally, the virus has been transmitted to commercial dairy cattle, and several human infections have been reported.
  • “The Integrated Value of the U.S. Genetic Evaluation System” is the focus when dairy genetic enthusiasts gather on October 2, 2024, for the 10th Industry Meeting of the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB). This annual meeting will be in Madison, Wis., on Wednesday morning during World Dairy Expo in The Tanbark. All dairy producers, industry professionals and genetic enthusiasts are invited to participate. View the agenda and register online for the in-person or livestream option.
    • AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Animal Bites

    Ethanol Report on Election Issues

    Cindy Zimmerman

    No matter what happens in November, there will be a new president in January and a new administration that could be radically different than the current one, and that could mean a big difference in the outcome of policy issues for the ethanol industry.

    In this edition of the Ethanol Report, Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper discusses with reporters some of the key issues that could carry over into a new administration, including 45Z and other tax credit programs under the Inflation Reduction Act, EPA’s tailpipe standards, year-round E15, the Renewable Fuel Standard, and trade.

    Ethanol Report 9-18-24 21:36

    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, Ethanol, Podcasts, RFA

    Industry Ag News 9/20

    Carrie Muehling

  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), launched a collection of interactive maps to allow data users to access key Census of Agriculture information. The newly redesigned Ag Census Web Maps application offers the public access to maps and accompanying data to help visualize, download and analyze Census of Agriculture data down to the county level. The application assembles maps and statistics from the 2022 Census of Agriculture in five broad categories – crops and plants, economics, farms, livestock and animals, and producers – as well as associated subcategories.
  • Join us for the NAAA Ag Aviation Expo in Fort Worth, Nov. 18-21. Attendee registration is open here and booth sales are open here. This is the premiere global trade show for agricultural aviation. It includes an exposition covering the A-Z’s of everything ag aviation related.
  • The Best of NAMA awards program honors the best work in agricultural communications. Actually, the best of the best, since companies and agencies must first qualify through regional competition to advance to the national level. The national awards ceremony will take place ​April 9, 2025, at the Sheraton Crown Center in Kansas City. The Call for Entries is live on the web. NAMA members can enter their best work by October 18, 2024.
  • Four National FFA corporate partners will be honored with the Distinguished Service Citation during the National FFA Convention & Expo in Indianapolis, Oct. 23-26. Ball Horticultural Company, Blue Diamond, Domino’s and Wrangler will be celebrated during an onstage ceremony on Friday, Oct. 25, this year during the event.
  • The Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved final guidance regarding the listing for trading of voluntary carbon credit derivative contracts. The guidance applies to designated contract markets (DCMs), which are CFTC-regulated derivatives exchanges, and outlines factors for DCMs to consider when addressing certain Core Principle requirements in the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations that are relevant to the listing for trading of voluntary carbon credit derivative contracts. The guidance also outlines factors for consideration when addressing certain requirements under the CFTC’s Part 40 Regulations that relate to the submission of new derivative contracts, and contract amendments to the CFTC.
  • Join the Nebraska Water Center in Lincoln October 9 and 10, 2024, for the annual Nebraska Water Conference. The 2024 conference theme is “Collaboration and Innovation in Nebraska Water.” Held at the Nebraska Innovation Campus conference center, this two-day event will feature discussions on emerging contaminants, drought preparedness, nutrient management, climate smart practices, urban water resilience, and modeling. Experts from the state and region will share their work and lead discussions on future opportunities for innovative partnerships.
  • The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), joined by 25 other agriculture groups, sent a letter this week to the chairmen and ranking members of the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways & Means Committee encouraging them to reauthorize a lapsed trade program, called the Generalized System of Preference.
  • Torrey Advisory Group (TAG), a boutique lobbying firm specializing in food, agriculture, and forestry issues, welcomes Grace Walker as its new Member and Events Manager. Walker will focus on providing support for meeting and event planning, along with handling the firm’s association management arm.
  • U.S. potato export value grew 4.0 percent to a record $2.3 billion in the 12-month period from July 2023–June 2024. Export volume decreased slightly (-1.6 percent) to 3.3 million metric tons (fresh weight equivalent) during that time.
  • SCS Global Services is happy to announce the arrival of the world’s first Sustainably Grown® certified mandarins to the United States market this summer. Jac Vandenberg, known for its commitment to bringing premium and responsibly sourced produce to the market, has partnered with Agricola Pampa Baja, located in Peru, and Forbel SA, based in Uruguay, to make this significant milestone possible.
  • FAPRI-MU’s 2024 Baseline Update for U.S. Agricultural Markets is now available on the FAPRI-MU website. This report provides an update of the 2024 FAPRI-MU long-term baseline to reflect information available in mid-August 2024. Increased supplies, a strong dollar and several other factors have caused prices for many agricultural commodities to fall sharply from their 2022 peak levels. In the absence of new shocks to the weather, the macroeconomy or policy, projected prices generally remain near current levels over the next five years. This report, based on information available in mid-August 2024, updates the 2024 FAPRI baseline outlook released earlier this year. Crop production in 2024 is assumed to equal the values reported by USDA in its August Crop Production report and macroeconomic assumptions are based on July 2024 forecasts by S&P Global. Current government policies are assumed to continue.
    • Zimfo Bytes

    USDA Awards More Processing Plant Grants

    Cindy Zimmerman

    USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Thursday more than $35 million in grants to 15 independent meat processors in 12 states to increase processing capacity, the final installment in the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP) launched in 2022. Over $325 million total investment in 74 independent meat and poultry processing projects have been awarded.

    Joining Sec. Vilsack in making the announcement were Carl Cushing, Vermont Livestock Slaughter & Processing; Zach Fine, Holly Poultry; and Walter Schweitzer, Montana Premium Processing Cooperative and President of Montana Farmers Union.

    USDA announcement 9-19-24 13:03

    Reporters’ questions to Secretary Vilsack included asking for his thoughts on getting a farm bill done yet this year as farmers are struggling with lower income. “What producers want and need, I think is certainty and what they need and want is for the House and the Senate to conclude the work on getting a farm bill done.. I think it is obviously a positive sign that folks are talking about getting a farm bill done before the end of the year,” said Vilsack.

    USDA press call questions 9-19-24 18:31

    AgWired Animal, Audio, Beef, Farm Bill, Meat, Poultry, USDA