Rosy Outlook for Seed Industry From Dan Basse

Cindy Zimmerman

The American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) CSS and Seed Expo has seen a number of changes over the years, but Dan Basse of AgResource Company has given his annual agricultural outlook at the event since 2013, and he was there once again this year in the virtual world.

Basse is bullish on agriculture for the year ahead. “In my 40 years I’ve never seen a change as dramatic as we had in August and September in which we lost crops from a flash drought in the central U.S. and then we had this demonstrative Chinese demand that was pent up because of years of trade war,” he said. “We’re optimistic, we think the Chinese need to put on a happy face for the Biden administration.”

In this interview, Basse summarizes some of his main points in the agricultural outlook. If you missed his presentation on the ASTA CSS Main Stage, it will be available on demand for registrants – and yes, indeed, you can still register and get access to all the great content at this year’s virtual event.
ASTA Interview with Dan Basse, AgResource (11:45)

Find more content from ASTA CSS here:
2020 ASTA CSS & Seed Expo Virtual Newsroom

Ag Economics, ASTA, Audio, Seed

Trying Out Some Kodiak Boots While Hunting and Working

Chuck Zimmerman

Kodiak BootsLooking for a good pair of work boots? How about Kodiak Boots? I was able to work with the company for a “trial” pair for my brother, Paul, who has a small farm and a restaurant in central Georgia. Like me, he hunts deer and we do that in some challenging terrain so good ankle support is a must have. I asked him to tell us about his experience with his Kodiak Men’s McKinney 6” Waterproof Boots.

Here’s his story:

I run a BBQ restaurant and live on a farm. That’s a life that requires long days of really, really tough work, requiring a really, really tough pair of boots. However, tough is not enough when it comes to a pair of boots to get the job done; they must be light, comfortable, AND tough.

Kodiak Boots at ZimSkilletI found my boots in a new pair of Kodiak lace-ups. I got these boots just before Halloween, 2020, just in time to be a part of my Paul Bunyan costume for Halloween festivities at the restaurant. I was in love with my Kodiak boots instantly; I wore them for several days straight out of the box. Instantly comfortable, lightweight, and plenty of support to be worn for 14 hours of being on my feet. I did not wear thick socks those first few days, and I developed blisters on the backs of my heels. I had to leave my new Kodiaks in the closet until the blisters healed, and since then, they have become my day-to-day go-to footwear. They are stylish (I switched to the red laces that came in the box) enough to be worn on date night with my wife, and look great while I smoke ribs and brisket while talking with customers.

My Kodiaks are now broken-in, conformed to my feet, and I love them more than ever. Yes, I hated the first time that I dripped pork grease on them out at the smoker, but they look great. More importantly, they FEEL great, and my feet don’t get tired while wearing them.

I would recommend these Kodiak boots to anyone who wants a lightweight, comfortable boot that appears to be tough and durable. This is my first pair of Kodiak boots, on a 1-10 scale, these are a 10. They won’t be my last!

Now I’m jealous and wish I had done the trial! But if you would like to find out more about the Kodiak brand and products you can do so here.

Boots, Hunting

Seed Industry Focused on Trade, Innovation and Regulations

Cindy Zimmerman

Trade challenges, regulatory issues, and innovation top the list of seed industry concerns in 2020.

Attendees at the virtual American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) CSS and Seed Expo this week have the opportunity to participate in round table discussions on domestic policy and phytosanitary issues as well as innovation and trade.

ASTA Vice President of Scientific Affairs & Policy Fan-Li Chou joined the staff of the organization in June of this year, replacing the retiring Dr. Bernice Slutsky. Chou comes to ASTA direct from USDA where she served as Agricultural Biotechnology Advisor to the Secretary. In this interview, she discusses regulatory issues and innovation, and elaborates on USDA’s Secure Rule introduced in May.
ASTA Interview with Fan-Li Chou (10:21)

Abigail Struxness is ASTA’s Senior Director for International Programs and Policy and represents the organization on USDA’s Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee for Trade (ATAC) in Grains, Feed, Oilseeds, and Planting Seeds. In this interview, she discusses trade challenges and opportunities for the seed industry in 2020 including, COVID impacts, USMCA, and China.
ASTA Interview with Abigail Struxness (7:33)

Find more content from ASTA CSS here:
2020 ASTA CSS & Seed Expo Virtual Newsroom

ASTA, Audio, Seed, Trade

Syngenta Sets New Goals for Good Growth Plan

Carrie Muehling

After launching the original Good Growth Plan in 2013, Syngenta has met the initial goals and is looking further into the future of sustainability in agriculture.

The company has four new commitments they will focus on through the year 2025, including accelerating innovation for farmers and nature.

“It’s really around helping farmers deal with some of the extreme weather conditions that we’re seeing emerge globally,” said Liz Hunt with Syngenta’s Business Sustainability Team.

That includes investing $2 billion in sustainable agriculture breakthroughs and striving for the lowest residues in crops and the environment. The company also plans to work toward carbon neutral agriculture by measuring and enabling carbon capture and mitigation, enhancing biodiversity and soil health, and reducing the carbon intensity of operations by 50 percent by the year 2030. Keeping people safe and healthy is a third initiative, focusing on fair labor, training farm workers on safe use, and a goal of zero incidents in operations. Finally, Syngenta will partner for impact with others and publish sustainability objectives.

“From our perspective, we look at this as conducting production and business in a way that meets our current needs, but also provides for future generations to meet their needs, too,” said Hunt, who participated in the National Association of Farm Broadcasting virtual Trade Talk event.

2020 NAFB Interview with Liz Hunt, Syngenta sustainability 10:15

Audio, Sustainability, Syngenta

Animal Ag News 12/7

Carrie Muehling

  • On November 5-6, the virtual California Dairy Sustainability Summit welcomed 900+ registrants, with more than 600 tuning in live throughout the two-day online event. All session recordings from the virtual event can now be accessed here using the password, CDSSV20.
  • The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association‘s (NCBA) Vice President of Government Affairs, Ethan Lane, issued the following statement in response to U.S. Representative GT Thompson’s (PA-15) nomination by the Republican Steering Committee to serve as the next Ranking Member of the House Agriculture Committee: “Cattle producers in Pennsylvania and across the country are well represented by Congressman Thompson. From his long-standing track record of bipartisan legislative victories to his work mentoring the next generation of agriculture leaders, GT does it all. He is an exemplary choice to guide the Committee for years to come and we are excited to work with him and his team in the next Congress.”
  • The U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, National Chicken Council, National Turkey Federation and United Egg Producers have released an updated economic impact study that highlights the positive impact the poultry industry has on jobs, wages, and federal and state revenue in the United States. A dynamic and integral part of the national economy, the U.S. poultry industry provides 2,139,617 jobs, $121.1 billion in wages, $576.6 billion in economic activity and $41.9 billion in government revenue. Since the last study conducted in 2018, the poultry industry has created 154,833 additional jobs, and the economic impact has increased by more than 15 percent.
  • The 2021 Latin American Poultry Summit will be held virtually Monday, Jan. 25, and Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021 from 10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. each day, with a Q&A session after each presentation. This year’s theme, “Examining Key Growth Parameters for the Future,” will be explored through an online platform, making it accessible for participants from all over North and South America.
  • Hamlet Protein, global leader in the production of soy based protein ingredients, announced a sales team expansion. Chelcee Hindman and Lamar Rider are joining the Findlay (Ohio) headquartered North America organization.
  • Bison business leaders hailed an announcement from U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service that the agency had approved the National Bison Association’s request for a $17 million purchase of ground bison under the Section 32 Surplus Removal program.
AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Animal Bites

ASTA CSS and Seed Expo Offers Future Outlook

Cindy Zimmerman

American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) Chair John Latham with Latham Hi-Tech Seeds kicked off the virtual 2020 ASTA CSS and Seed Expo Monday with nearly 1000 attendees from around the world registered to participate.

“This virtual format has been great,” said Latham. “I think we really hit it out of the park this week.”

Latham talks about how the industry faced the challenges of 2020 and what priorities are for 2021 in this interview.
ASTA Interview with Chair John Latham (6:58)

ASTA hit the ground running Monday morning with the “Majors Crystal Ball” featuring a panel of speakers from the industry’s largest companies, each presenting their company’s perspective on what lies ahead for the seed industry after a year of upheaval for the entire world. The panelists included Linda Trolinder of BASF, Michael Graham with Bayer, Neal Gutterson with Corteva Agriscience, Trevor Hohls of Syngenta.

After this year, predicting the future is less accurate than ever before, but the major seed company players took a stab at it. As Linda Trolinder with BASF said, “The most clever way to predict the future is to create it yourself.”

Here are a couple of the Majors’ comments from the session
ASTA CSS Majors' Crystal Ball sound bites (7:21)

Register here to see the whole session.

Find more content from ASTA CSS here:
2020 ASTA CSS & Seed Expo Virtual Newsroom

ASTA, Audio, Seed

National Ethanol Conference Going Digital

Cindy Zimmerman

One of the very last live, in-person events to be held this year in the agriculture industry was the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) 25th annual National Ethanol Conference in Houston. The 26th annual NEC however, will be an all digital format. Information about the conference can be found on the NationalEthanolConference.com website.

In this edition of the Ethanol Report podcast, we hear about the digital decision from RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper, who participated in the recent virtual National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) Trade Talk. RFA Director of Special Projects and Events Mary Giglio provides more details about the 2021 NEC, and RFA Vice President of Industry Relations shares some of the good news for ethanol in 2020.

Ethanol Report on 2021 NEC (25:56)

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, National Ethanol Conference, Podcasts, RFA

Benson Hill Expands Soybean Processing with Rose Acre Farm

Cindy Zimmerman

Benson Hill is collaborating with family-owned Rose Acre Farms to optimize its soybean processing capacity in Seymour, Indiana, and build out the supply chain for high-protein, high-oleic, low anti-nutrient soybeans. The partnership opens a new pipeline for plant protein ingredients and supports Benson Hill’s plans to scale soybean production and grower relationships.

This collaboration will allow local growers to tap into price premiums for food- and feed-grade identity-preserved, non-GMO soybeans, and support Benson Hill as it meets growing demand for high-protein animal feed and plant protein ingredients for plant-based foods. The new collaboration will also support jobs in the area and boost the local economy.

Benson Hill’s portfolio of high-quality soybean varieties delivers a full range of in-demand premium attributes, including better digestibility, heart-healthy omega fatty acids, and higher protein that serve the plant-based food, healthy oils, animal feed and aquaculture markets.

Benson Hill has partnered with growers to contract more than 30,000 acres of premium soybeans this growing season, including significant acreage in Indiana. To minimize cost and the carbon footprint of transportation, Benson Hill sought out Rose Acre Farms as a partner to develop a processing facility in close radius to its grower partners. This announcement will also support Benson Hill’s plans to significantly increase its future contract acres in the area. Benson Hill and Rose Acre Farms are now actively enrolling interested growers for the 2021 growing season.

Read more about this exciting new partnership.

Farming, Feed, Food, Soybean

Heliae Agriculture Partners with WinField United Canada

Cindy Zimmerman

Saturday, December 5, was World Soil Day and Heliae® Agriculture celebrated by announcing a new collaboration with WinField® United Canada to bring new value to ag retailers through assisting farmers’ transition to regenerative agriculture practices.

Through this collaboration, WinField United will integrate the PhycoTerra® soil microbe food into their comprehensive product and technology offerings, starting November 19, 2020.

“At WinField United, we are helping to shape the future of Canadian Agriculture, as we get started with regenerative agriculture,” says Greg McDonald, General Manager at WinField United Canada. “We believe this partnership with Heliae® Agriculture will allow us to support retailers and farmers in Canada with innovative new technology that will provide regenerative agriculture solutions, as well as benefits for farmers that extend far beyond yields.”

Heliae® Agriculture is focused on developing microalgae products and bringing them to the market. The groundbreaking development of PhycoTerra® provides a balanced food for the soil microbiome to improve plant vigour and crop performance, even under stressed conditions.

Eric Lichtenheld, President and CEO of Heliae remarked, “This partnership opens the doors to Canadian farmers for an opportunity to improve soil structure to see dividends today while building the soil for future generations.”

Read more about this collaboration

AgWired Precision, Precision Agriculture, Soil

ASTA CSS and Seed Expo Kicks Off Monday

Cindy Zimmerman

The biggest seed industry event of the year kicks off Monday, December 7, as the American Seed Trade Association presents the annual ASTA CSS and Seed Expo with a state-of-the-art virtual format that is almost like being there.

The organization has already conducted two virtual member meetings this year and Jennifer Crouse, ASTA Senior Director of Meetings and Services, says they have put a great deal of effort into making this event engaging for attendees. “What they are going to experience in our virtual event is geared toward as much interpersonal interaction and engagement as possible,” said Crouse.

She says they had some fun designing their custom platform to be like the Chicago Hyatt hotel where the meeting is normally held, but with some upgrades like putting the Big Bar right in the middle of the trade show and having fields of corn outside the windows instead of downtown Chicago. “But one of the biggest things strategically is that we are going to extend the life of this … there’s going to be several months where you can visit the trade show.”

Monday’s agenda starts with a general session featuring a panel of speakers from the industry’s largest companies, each presenting their company’s perspective on what lies ahead for the seed industry after a year of upheaval for the entire world. That sets the stage for three full days of informative sessions and trade show visiting.

Registration and more information can be found here. Learn more about what is in store next week in this interview with Jennifer.
ASTA Interview with Jennifer Crouse on Seed Expo (7:05)

Find more interviews and information from the expo on the AgNewsWire virtual newsroom.

ASTA, Audio, Seed