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

Happy Holidays from Syngenta Media Group

Chuck Zimmerman

Syngenta Media Group Holidays

Dears,

We wish you a healthy and prosperous start to 2021.

Enjoy the festive season,
Syngenta Group Media Relations

Also included is this interesting information. For larger image, click on it.

Syngenta Media Group Holiday Info

Agribusiness, Syngenta

Cattle Industry Sets 2021 Reboot for February

Cindy Zimmerman

The 2021 Cattle Industry Annual Convention and NCBA Trade Show has been rescheduled as a live event for August in Nashville, but there are still business meetings to be held and members to be updated. To take care of that, a brand new virtual 2021 Cattle Industry Winter Reboot will be held February 23-24 featuring education, industry updates, market outlook and a virtual market place with some of the top companies in the industry.

Sessions will include an update from Washington D.C. and what to expect with the new administration, as well as ten educational sessions covering topics such as sustainability and an introduction to tech tools. The program will conclude with a preview of the 2021 Cattle Industry Convention & NCBA Trade Show happening August 10-12 in Music City, Nashville, Tennessee.

Registration will open on January 6. Find out more here.

Beef, Cattle Industry Conference, NCBA

Merry Christmas from the Pork Checkoff

Chuck Zimmerman

Here’s a message from CEO Bill Even about how the Pork Checkoff is taking lessons learned in 2020 to prepare the industry for the future.


While 2020 has been far from what any of us could have imagined, as we begin the holiday season we are optimistic about what is in store for 2021. We will continue to leverage all that 2020 has taught us as we pave a path forward for the pork industry. 

I know the holidays will look different this year, but I hope you find time to rest, restore and connect with family and friends.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Bill Even
CEO

Ag Groups, Pork Checkoff, Video

Time to Consider 2021 Weed Management Strategy

Carrie Muehling

As growers look back on 2020, they saw another year where low commodity prices meant more bushels were the best path forward. Syngenta‘s Dane Bowers pointed to Acuron corn herbicide as a great weed resistance management tool.

“Certainly, understanding the value that a herbicide product brings is really important. I think what I would like growers to think about is not just saving money, but thinking about what is the return on the money that I spend on my herbicide?” said Bowers, who serves as the Technical Product Lead on Syngenta’s Herbicide Team.

Acuron contains four active ingredients and three different sites of action, and has shown a 5-15 bushel yield increase in multiple trials. Bowers said that’s in part due to a unique active ingredient called bicyclopyrone, which sets Acuron apart from many other corn herbicides on the market

“I know resistance just continues to grow in the marketplace so it’s really important for growers to make sure that the herbicides they choose have multiple, effective sites of action that will control the target weeds, the weeds that are really giving them fits,” said Bowers, who participated in the National Association of Farm Broadcasting virtual Trade Talk event.

He said growers need to plan on using two-pass programs, as well.
2020 NAFB Interview with Dane Bowers, Syngenta herbicides lead 6:05

Audio, Syngenta, weed management

Industry Ag News 12/18

Carrie Muehling

  • Kentucky Venues announced the 56th annual National Farm Machinery Show and 53rd annual Championship Tractor Pull would shift the scheduled 2021 dates from February to March 31-April 3.
  • KEY Apparel, NY Farm Girls, and American Agri-Women have joined together to bring awareness to the ‘Face of a Female Farmer’. KEY apparel will donate $4 to AAW for every #FaceofaFemaleFarmer item sold. By using #FaceofaFemaleFarmer, you will access all their stories and photographs.
  • Doug Catt, vice president, crops division for Farm Journal, announced his pending retirement from the company. A long-time and valued member of the Farm Journal sales and publishing teams, Catt will continue to work into the new year, retiring Feb. 28, 2021.
  • The 2021 Kansas Soybean Expo, which was scheduled for Jan. 6, is cancelled. The Kansas Soybean Association Expo committee has been closely monitoring event guidelines related to the COVID-19 pandemic and decided to cancel the event in the best interest of attendees.
  • In advancing its mission to fight global climate threats, Heliae announced the addition of two more global leaders to its growing team. Each brings the expertise and commitment necessary to help the organization create sustainable impact. Barbara Freund joins as Chief Financial Officer bringing more than 30 years of extensive financial and leadership experience. Heliae gains a seasoned Human Resources Director with Stephanie Schwartz.
  • U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced that U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Chief Economist, Robert Johansson, will be leaving USDA to become Associate Director of Economics and Policy Analysis for the American Sugar Alliance at the end of January. Additionally, the Secretary announced Dr. Seth Meyer will return to USDA to be the new Chief Economist.
  • Nominate a deserving individual for the Livestock Publications Council Hall of Fame or Headliner Award before January 11, 2021. Applications for the Don Norton Professional Development Scholarship are also being accepted. If you are interested in attaining some professional development in 2021 and could benefit from financial assistance, apply today! Up to three $1000 scholarships will be given for utilization during the 2021 year.
  • Truterra, LLC, the sustainability business at Land O’Lakes, Inc., has announced a new collaboration with Cotton Incorporated, a not-for-profit research and marketing company representing Upland cotton, to advance the adoption of sustainable farming practices across 50,000 acres of cotton in the Mid-South sourcing region. The new initiative will tap the Truterra™ Stewardship platform and Truterra™ retailer member GreenPoint Ag to help connect consumer brands to verified sources of more sustainable cotton in their supply chains.
  • Syngenta Seeds and the Analytics Society of INFORMS have announced the prize committee for the 2021 Syngenta Crop Challenge in Analytics, a competition in which students and professionals in the fields of statistics, data analytics and mathematics develop data-driven models to address some of the most pressing issues in agriculture.
  • The Packer’s Global Organic Produce Expo has been reinvented for 2021, offering organic fresh produce buyers and suppliers two chances to engage in this increasingly important segment of the industry. GOPEX will maintain its late-January presence with an online event, GOPEX Home. A second, in-person event, GOPEX Go, will be held in August 2021, with dates and location to be announced soon.
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