Another new farm radio network was just announced.
The Ag Information Radio Network just launched a Florida, Georgia, Alabama Radio Network –Southeast Regional Ag News. Here’s more information.
“With over 150 Affiliate Radio Stations in 14 states including the top Agricultural News network in California, our transition into Florida and the Southeast was a natural step” said Tom Allen co-owner of the Network. According to Allen, “The launch of Southeast Regional Ag News coinciding with the splashdown of SpaceX Dragon capsule was monumental because agriculture, like space exploration, is the next frontier. In this new era, ag-tech changes in virtual nanoseconds. (Think big data, micro-organic farms, precision ag, driverless tractors, drones, sustainability, aquaculture……) We are extremely proud of the fact that local radio still provides the BEST “uncensored” platform to tell agriculture’s compelling story. The team of Aginfo reporters bringing this news to the Southeast region are respected throughout the Ag Industry”.
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Ethanol Report Highlights Exports
Ethanol exports have taken a hit this year due to the pandemic, but there are still reasons to be optimistic about this important market for the industry. In this episode of The Ethanol Report, we hear from Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) General Counsel Ed Hubbard, who doubles as the organizations international trade expert.
We also learn about a new program geared toward young professionals in the ethanol industry 39 years old and younger from RFA Manager of Member Relations Jackie Pohlman.
Finally, we get an update from RFA CEO Geoff Cooper on where the Senate is on getting a coronavirus relief package that includes ethanol producers.
Ethanol Report 7-31-20 (24:06)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.
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Precision Ag News 8/5
- Valley Irrigation has acquired PrecisionKing, a Mississippi-based ag tech company with products focused on moisture monitoring, pump control and remote sensing, especially of flood irrigation.
- Greg Crawford has been named Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Hocking International Laboratories effective August 1, 2020.
- CropTrak, a global leader in food industry digitalization and Growers Insight, the farm-to-food innovation planning and implementation experts, have formed a strategic alliance to increase the adoption, interoperability and overall success of modernization across the Agriculture and food supply chain.
- Nichino America, Inc. and Nufarm Americas, Inc. have announced a supply agreement for Nufarm to market and sell pyraziflumid fungicide for use in the turf market.
- Farmers are invited to join the Golden Harvest Virtual Field Days taking place in August and September. The events will provide farmers with in-season agronomic management recommendations to finish the 2020 corn and soybean growing season strong.
- BRANDT, a leading retailer of professional agronomic services and manufacturer of specialty input products, has acquired a retail agronomy company, Morton Fertilizer, with full-service locations in Wyanet, IL, and Grand Mound, IA.
- The 2021 NK® soybean portfolio from Syngenta features the industry’s broadest choice of herbicide-tolerant traits. NK varieties available for 2021 include all three of the most in-demand traits: Enlist E3® soybeans, Roundup Ready 2 Xtend® soybeans and LibertyLink® GT27™ soybeans. As growers start to consider their corn and soybean seed selections for next season, Syngenta is also releasing 21 new soybean varieties for 2021.
- Kim Lutz has been named as the new Executive Director for the America’s Watershed Initiative. AWI is a collaboration among hundreds of business, government, academic, and civic organizations, including the National Corn Growers Association, with a mission of finding solutions to the challenges facing the Mississippi River and its tributaries.
American Soybean Association Marks 100 Years
The American Soybean Association (ASA) returned to its roots this week to celebrate a century of representing U.S. soybean growers. ASA celebrated its 100th anniversary on the Indiana farm where it all started with a small but significant historical marker dedication and tours of heirloom soybean plots.
ASA was formed when brothers Taylor, Noah and Finis Fouts hosted the first Corn Belt Soybean Field Day at their “Soyland Farms” operation in Camden, Indiana, Sept. 3, 1920. Unlike today’s more quaint and socially distanced ceremony, that event drew nearly 1,000 farmers and their families from six states, all of whom were interested in discovering more about an emerging new commodity called soybeans. The National Soybean Growers’ Association—later renamed the American Soybean Association—was formed that very day.
The outdoor ceremony was streamed live for soy supporters to celebrate safely across the country. Originally planned was a group picture emulating a historic black and white photo of the original attendees, but instead, farm families from throughout the soybean states submitted dozens of photos for a special video montage leading up to the live event. Among those helping the organization celebrate in Indiana were USDA Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Steve Censky, who served the soy industry as ASA CEO for two decades, and Indiana governor Eric Holcomb, along with other notable guests from Purdue University, Indiana Soybean Alliance, the Fouts family and ASA’s past and present leadership.
Western Ag Network Announced
Here’s a big announcement from some of my favorite people. Way to go Russell, Lane and Evan!
Radio listeners in Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming have a new source for the latest agriculture news and markets-the Western Ag Network.
Owned and operated by veteran National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) broadcaster Russell Nemetz, the network’s programs are heard on 47 radio affiliates in 6 states including Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.
For nearly 25 years, he was part of the Northern Ag Network’s farm broadcast team; the majority of those years as it’s Ag Director.
In 2019, he had the opportunity to assume operation of and eventually purchase the Evan Slack Network; another well-known Ag Radio Network in the Rocky Mountain West and Northern Plains.
“It’s a tremendous honor to have this opportunity to continue to serve America’s agriculture industry on the airwaves” said Nemetz. “I want to thank Evan Slack for his legendary career as a trusted friend to agriculture and I will be forever thankful to the hall of fame farm broadcaster for this opportunity to carry on his legacy and still have him part of our broadcast team as an honorary member as he enjoys retirement in Arizona.”
NAFB farm broadcaster Lane Nordlund has also joined the Western Ag Network team. Read More
Animal Ag News 8/3
- Michael Dykes, D.V.M., President and CEO of the International Dairy Foods Association, released a statement in support of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s award of nearly $1 million to the Baylor University Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty to implement the new pilot program designed to encourage Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants to purchase and consume milk as part of a healthy, balanced diet.
- Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin is stepping private label discussions into high gear with grocery stores and restaurants to increase dairy product market opportunities. Increasing sales of private label cheese supports dairy farmers by increasing milk volume and growing cheese sales.
- Driving demand for dairy foods through partnerships is critical for the dairy industry’s future. One dairy checkoff tactic has been working together with food service partners for over a decade. Partnerships with Domino’s, Pizza Hut, McDonald’s, Taco Bell and KFC are driving innovation and dairy sales. These types of partnerships have grown by 2.2 billion milk pounds and experience an average 3% growth rate each year (three times the average). Learn more at DairyMAX.org.
- 2020 marks the 80th year of the Sturgis ® Motorcycle Rally™ and South Dakota Beef Industry Council looks to expand beef demand through a continued partnership with the City of Sturgis as the official meat of the Rally™. The venue allows beef to reach nearly a half million consumers from all over the world throughout the ten-day event scheduled for August 7-16, 2020.
- The Checkoff-funded National Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) Program, managed by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), is now recognized as an industry-leading animal welfare program. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has reviewed and certified that the BQA program complies with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Animal Welfare Management/General Requirements and Guidance for Organizations in the Food Supply Chain.
- Merck Animal Health announced the completion of its previously announced acquisition of the worldwide rights to VECOXAN® (diclazuril), an oral suspension for the prevention of coccidiosis in calves and lambs, from Elanco Animal Health.
2020 Ag Media Summit is Going Virtual.
Here is the official announcement from the Ag Media Summit.
We were looking forward to seeing everyone at AMS 2020 in Kansas City. However, the safety and well-being of our participants is our priority. Based on growing concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on our community’s ability to travel to the conference, the Ag Media Summit Steering Committee is now moving AMS 2020 to a fully virtual conference.
As the AMS Steering Committee works to move AMS 2020 completely online, we look forward to offering you the same vibrant programming, impactful networking, and opportunities to connect. In addition to participating in the virtual event, all attendees will have access to on-demand recordings. Stayed tuned for more information regarding registration and support opportunities.
We hope that you will join us for this reimagined event and celebrate our collective resilience and dedication to forging connections. Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions at info@agmediasummit.com.
ZimmCast 651 – NCBA Virtual Newsroom and More
Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast, featuring weekly interviews with agribusiness industry leaders and all about what’s new, with a focus on agricultural marketing.
In this week’s program you’ll hear from Marvin Kokes, Senior VP of Corporate Relations, NCBA. We talk about this week’s Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting and the virtual ag newsroom we created on AgNewsWire.
From there I share a few more of my conversations with sustaining partners of the National Agri-Marketing Association. You’ll hear from Curt Blades, Senior VP, Agricultural Services, Association of Equipment Manufacturers; Laurie Fleck, President/CEO, FLM/Harvest and Laurel Caes, Public Relations Manager, North America, John Deere. I’ll have more to come in future episodes.
BTW. If you haven’t registered for the Virtual Agri-Marketing Conference you can still do so at NAMA.org.
I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.
Listen to the ZimmCast here: NCBA Virtual Newsroom and More
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Industry Ag News 7/31
- National Corn Growers Association President Kevin Ross joined Iowa and national agriculture leaders for an AgTalks virtual town hall to discuss the future of agriculture, with a focus on trade, supply chains and global competitiveness.
- The National Corn Growers Association urges any farmers who have received suspicious, unsolicited packages of seed that appear to be coming from China to follow guidance being provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on how to proceed. USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is working closely with the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection, other federal agencies, and State departments of agriculture to investigate the situation.
- Alabama peanut farmers voted to continue the current assessment on peanuts that is collected by the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries and administered by the Alabama Peanut Producers Association (APPA). In a referendum conducted on July 23, 2020, ninety-five percent of those who voted said “yes” to continuing APPA’s programs in education, promotion and research.
- Despite turbulent economic times, an investment in senior level talent continues to reap benefits for CLUTCH, a hybrid consultancy and agency with a roster of clients across the agriculture and food value chain. Chris Strohmeyer joins the Minneapolis-based firm as Vice President, Operations and Quality, while Erin Heidecker takes on the role of Senior Manager of Client Engagement.
- Heliae® Agriculture is pleased to announce the promotion of two team members, Karl Wyant to Vice President of Ag Science and Shelley Baugh to Director of Marketing.
Marketing Policy Session Wraps up NCBA Summer Meeting
A capacity crowd of cattle producers worked for more than six hours Wednesday to agree on a policy that would help resolve concerns about live cattle marketing issues and lead the industry to more robust price discovery.
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s Live Cattle Marketing Committee considered several proposals, each aimed at encouraging greater volumes of cash cattle trade. After intense debate, the committee and the NCBA Board of Directors unanimously passed a policy that supports voluntary efforts to improve cash fed cattle trade during the next 90 days with the potential for mandates in the future if robust regional cash trade numbers are not reached by the industry.
Over 400 cattle producers turned out in person for the NCBA Summer Meeting this week in Denver, and this issue was one of the reasons the organization went ahead with a live event with virtual options.
Ethan Lane, NCBA Vice President of Government Affairs, discusses the final policy resolution on voluntary efforts to improve cash fed cattle trade.
Interview with Ethan Lane, NCBA (6:38)
The policy passed by the Live Cattle Marketing Committee and approved by a vote of the NCBA Board of Directors can be viewed here.