Animal ID Conference Concludes

Chuck Zimmerman

ID-InfoExpoI was sent an end-of-the-week newsletter that talked about the ID-Info Expo 2005, put on by the National Institute For Animal Agriculture. This sounded interesting and there’s a conference website. However, eventhough it says “Visit often for updated meeting information…” all I can find is what I would call pre-conference information. The conference ended Thursday. There’s also a little box on the home page that says “MEETING UPDATES” but I guess that was for pre-meeting updates. Here’s a perfect example of an event that could benefit from a blog and someone to “blog” it! Animal ID is a hot topic. I’ll bet I saw at least 20 news releases this week from different organizations, mostly calling on Congress to do something. However, here you have a whole conference on it and I’ve seen no information on it except what a member organization put in their newsletter.

In fact, if you do a Google search for it in “news” there’s no results. I’m not writing this to pick on NIAA at all but to point out that with all the time and money invested in a conference website, it could be set up as a blog to start with. It would then be search engine optimized and someone could at least post a couple articles a day during the conference with pictures and maybe some audio. We’ve been doing this here at AgWired since early this year so if you’d like find out how to do this or would like us to “do it for you” just give us a call!!

Ag Groups

Philom Bios Gets Together With Australia’s GRDC

Chuck Zimmerman

Philom BiosPhilom Bios, a Canadian firm, has signed an agreement with an Australian organization to commercialize some new innoculant technologies. Sounds very technical to me.

Philom Bios Inc. and the Grains Research & Development Corporation of Australia (GRDC) have announced the signing of an agreement which will see Philom Bios evaluate and commercialize a number of novel inoculant technologies.

In case you’re not familiar with the GRDC, The GRDC is one of the world’s leading grains research investment organisations,
funded by grain growers and government and is responsible for planning, investing and overseeing research and development, delivering improvements in production, sustainability and profitability across the Australian grains industry.

Agribusiness

Resistance Fighters Unite & Email Your Friends

Chuck Zimmerman

Syngenta Resistance FighterEvery once in a while you see a cool website and you want to let others know about it. Actually that’s the goal of the new Syngenta Resistance Fighter website. It’s a viral thing. Meaning they want visitors to let others know. Kind of like I’m doing now, actually. Way to go Syngenta. I do have a question though. Does this come out of the tv budget, the radio budget, the public relations budget or better yet, has Syngenta created a viral budget or as I saw the other day, a digital media budget?

I really like the theme of this site and think growers will too. It has all the mood elements of a secret basement hideout for a bunch of “resistance” fighters who are planning their operations. In fact, if you leave your browser on the home page you’ll begin hearing sounds of the “other” people in the room.

The site is complete with forums you can read and participate in. It was introduced at Farm Progress Show, which I missed, or I would have pointed you to it sooner.

On the home page you can click on different items in the room. I had to use a part of the page of “Resistance Fighter Radio” because it uses audio and it’s very well-produced and just works. To get there you click on the radio that’s on the desk.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

Agribusiness, Internet

NAMA PDA Awards

Chuck Zimmerman

National Agri-Marketing AssociationThe National Agri-Marketing Association just announced the winners of their annual Professional Development Awards. Yours truly was nominated! I consider that an honor and I congratulate the people who have been chosen to receive the awards which will be presented during the Tuesday dinner at the NAMA Agribusiness Forum.

Bev Larson, NK Brand/Syngenta Seeds – Marketing Communications
Janice Person, Delta & Pine Land Company – Public Relations
Dennis Gehler, Croplan Genetics/Land O’Lakes – Product/Species Management
Margaret Wallace-Oldham, Beck Ag Com – Sales

NAMA

A Pioneer Dynasty

Chuck Zimmerman

Pioneer Hi-BredAdding to the list of new product announcements is one from Pioneer. The technology we’ve reported was in development for so many years is sure starting to show up in the products that companies like Pioneer have to offer.

Pioneer Adds Dynasty® Fungicide to Seed Treatment Lineup

Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., is expanding its offering of early-season seed protection for 2006 with the new seed-applied Dynasty¹ fungicide. The Dynasty fungicide, combined with Poncho² 250 or Poncho 1250 insecticide seed treatments (IST), offers unbeatable convenience and efficacy against a wide range of early-season challenges. “Any customer who orders Pioneer® brand hybrids with either level of Poncho insecticide will get seed-applied Dynasty fungicide as well,” says Michael DeFelice, senior marketing manager for Pioneer Hi-Bred.

Agribusiness

World Ag Expo’s Billion Dollar Impact

Chuck Zimmerman

World Ag ExpoI’m assuming that the economic impact referred to here is to the local economy. I’ve always believed that a big show like this one has a huge impact on local businesses. It’s interesting that the World Ag Expo has put together a report to show that impact. I think it would help with local business relationships.

According to a contingent of independent and verifiable studies,* the 2005 World Ag Expo’s total economic impact is $1.2billion.

Some other interesting facts they came up with include:

42 percent: Attendees with a gross farming income of $500,000 or more; 2,036: Number of attendees who pass by an exhibitor’s booth per hour; 89 percent: Attendees that attend World Ag Expo for technology, information or business purposes

Farm Shows

A New Variety Bonanza From Garst

Chuck Zimmerman

GarstThere is certainly a lot of new product news showing up all the sudden! Take this announcement from Garst. There’s a lot of new varieties available. Growers are going to have their hands full deciding what to buy for next year. I know this is the time of year they’re making those decisions but as I’ve also learned the last couple weeks, it’s also a really bad time to bother them. It’s harvest time!

Garst Seed Company announces the introduction of 18 new Garst® brand soybean varieties for the 2006 growing season. This outstanding lineup includes: 15 new varieties with the Roundup Ready1 trait — seven of which also offer resistance to soybean cyst nematodes (SCN) and one variety that offers the Roundup Ready trait and the new CystX2 technology. Three new conventional varieties also are available. A total of 77 Garst brand soybean varieties offering top yields, exceptional agronomics and proven performance are available to growers for the 2006 season. Garst will also offer 43 NK brand soybeans in 2006.

Agribusiness

Bambi’s Dad In AgriFinance

Chuck Zimmerman

The Hartford I’ll be honest with you and say that what most attracted me to this story is the large rack on the the stag in the logo. I want to see one of those opening day this deer season! In fact, 2 years ago I at least saw a deer that looked like The Hartford stag. So I know he’s out there.

Now the well-know insurance and financial services company (195 years and going strong) is getting into agrifinance.

Hartford Investment Management Company, the investment management subsidiary of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., announced it has added an agricultural finance team located in Fresno, California. David Dunlap joined Hartford Investment Management in late July to lead the Fresno-based team of agricultural finance professionals with more than 90 years of combined experience in agricultural lending. “The AgriFinance Group, a leader in this specialty lending arena, capitalizes on its significant experience and industry knowledge to provide more complicated loan structures to finance permanent planting developments,” said Hartford Investment Management President David Znamierowski. The four-member team of agricultural finance professionals includes Dunlap, along with Mark Peterson, Ann Bridges and Karen Micheli.

Agribusiness

CNH Reorganizes

Chuck Zimmerman

CNHI’m not real sure how this announcement is a departure from what the company has already been doing. I remember when CaseIH came under the New Holland umbrella and CNH was announced. We joked about seeing purple tractors (red + blue) but instead the brands have remained separate and marketed separately. They’ve even retained separate staffs to do this. So I’m not clear from today’s announcement how this is actually different but I guess we’ll see. I guess that when you see words like “underperforming” and new leadership it at least means that the HR department has been busy.

CNH Global today announced it will reorganize its operations into 4 distinct global brand structures: CaseIH and New Holland agriculture and Case and New Holland construction equipment.

“This represents an aggressive transformation agenda to invigorate our brands, whose heritages and loyal dealer networks are our most powerful asset. We’re convinced that organizing the company around the brands is a strong first step to increase shareholder return,” said CNH President and CEO Harold Boyanovsky. “CNH has been underperforming the industry and the challenge for CNH, as with all Fiat Group companies, is to achieve competitive excellence over the next two years. Realizing our growth plans requires a resolute focus for each of our brands to satisfy even more the differentiated needs of brand dealers and customers.

Four presidents with full profit and loss accountability for their global brands are appointed. Heading the agricultural business are Mario Ferla, CaseIH and Marco Mazzu, New Holland. Heading the construction equipment business are Jim McCullough, Case and Franco Fenoglio, New Holland.

The previous functions of global presidents responsible for the agricultural and construction equipment business are eliminated. Roland Sunden, Ag president since January 2004, has left the company.

Agribusiness

Charter For Cereal Seeds

Chuck Zimmerman

Charter FungicideGood news for cereal eaters and growers. BASF just received registration on it’s Charter Fungicide.

Cereal Seed Treatment Controls Key Seed and Soil-Borne Diseases
With the registration of Charter™ fungicide, cereal growers in the United States have access to a new, leading-edge seed treatment technology that promotes healthier, higher yielding wheat and barley. Charter provides control of key diseases including fusarium in wheat and true loose smut in barley.

Agribusiness