Industry Ag News 12/4

Carrie Muehling

  • Brownfield Ag News is proud to partner with the University of Missouri Extension for their 2021 Agricultural Market and Policy Outlook Webinar.  The webinar is scheduled for December 8, 2020. The registration fee is $20 and a link to register can be found at www.brownfieldagnews.com.
  • The Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance added one new member to its Board of Directors, re-elected another and tabbed Bob Sinner of North Dakota-based SB&B Foods as new board chair during its 2020 Annual Meeting on Thursday. Raquel Hanson of Pipeline Foods was elected to one of two open seats on the board, and Keith Schrader of Wheeling Grain Partnership was re-elected to the other open seat.
  • Join us January 10-13, 2021 for the 2021 American Farm Bureau Virtual Convention. For the first time ever, registration fees are being waived to give you the opportunity to experience one of ag’s premier events from the comfort and safety of your home. Register now.
  • FLM Harvest has significantly expanded its global reach and ability to leverage local market insights from around the world by joining Worldwide Partners, the world’s largest and fastest growing network of independent advertising and marketing agencies.
  • For the first time in its history, GROWMARK, Inc. held its 2020 Annual Meeting in a virtual online event. Hundreds of people from across North America, including shareholders, boards of directors, and friends of the GROWMARK System all participated in the interactive live broadcast.
  • On Sat., Dec. 5, Discovery Park of America will open “AgriCulture: Innovating for Our Survival” in the museum and heritage park’s Simmons Bank Ag Center.
  • The NAMA Foundation Online Auction is open for bidding! The deadline to submit bids is December 31. Proceeds from the Online Auction support Student NAMA and the future of agri-marketing. The Online Auction can be accessed through the NAMA website. Click here to view the packages and start bidding!
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ZimmCast 661 – Going Virtual with ARA in 2020

Chuck Zimmerman

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast.

The Agricultural Retailers Association annual 2020 ARA Conference & Expo went virtual this year Dec. 1-2. Ag professionals from across the country went “All In For Ag Retail” with interactive workshops, engaging networking opportunities, and a 3D Expo Hall. During the event the ZimmComm Team collected relevant screenshots, conducted interviews with speakers, award winners and staff.

2020 ARA Virtual Conference & ExpoProviding us with a wrap-up of the conference is ARA Chairman, Rod Well, GROWMARK. He summarizes the activities and talks about future priorities for the organization.

You can still register if you would like to see on-demand presentations/sessions.

So, that’s the ZimmCast for this week. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

Listen to the ZimmCast here: ZimmCast 661 - Going Virtual with ARA in 2020 (16:07)

Subscribe to the ZimmCast in:

Ag Groups, ag retailers, Audio, Virtual, ZimmCast

ARA Conference Wraps Up with Post-Election Panel

Cindy Zimmerman

The Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) concluded its annual Conference & Expo this week with a panel featuring industry experts sharing insights on what impact the 2020 election results will have on the ag retail industry.

The Scoop’s Margy Eckelkamp moderated the closing panel discussion featuring insights on the impact the 2020 election results will have on ag retailers and their farmer customers with panelists such as ARA’s Richard Gupton and ARA members Scott Rawlins with Wilbur-Ellis and Chuck Spencer with GROWMARK, Inc.

Listen below to interviews with the three panelists but if you want to see their great presentations, registration is still open to be able to access ARA Conference session recordings to watch on demand.

Interview with Richard Gupton, ARA (7:54)

Interview with Chuck Spencer, GROWMARK (11:46)

Interview with Scott Rawlins, Wilbur-Ellis (6:30)

ag retailers, ARA, Audio, GROWMARK, politics

Golden Harvest Seeds Ready for 2021

Carrie Muehling

Growers choosing Golden Harvest Seeds will have a strong portfolio backed by consistent customer service in 2021.

Better than expected yields in some areas and market rallies are providing some optimism heading into the new year, said Dave Young, head of marketing.

“I think a lot of farmers were very happy with soybean yields, probably happier than they had a right to do with some of the weather experiences we had. Corn, also, a little more segmented by pocket but a lot of people were really happy. Even with some of the drought we had, we had some great yields off of some pretty droughty soils,” said Young, who participated in the National Association of Farm Broadcasting virtual Trade Talk event.

Young said the company’s agronomy book is available again this year.

“We brought that back last year. There was a hiatus of a number of years, but if you go on goldenharvestseeds.com, you can download that and it’s real world agronomy data that’s compiled by our agronomy research team. It’s relevant, it’s real, and it’s a great resource for growers.”

He said seed advisors are available to help all season long and also touted the company’s Golden Advantage financing program that is continuing after great success in 2020.

2020 NAFB Interview with Dave Young, Golden Harvest 4:40

Audio, Seed, Syngenta

Water for Food Podcast – Episode 4

Cindy Zimmerman

Daugherty Water for Food PodcastThe fourth episode of the Daugherty Water for Food Podcast features a woman who is literally in the backyard of the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.

Meghan Sittler is Director of the Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center, located about 15 minutes from downtown Lincoln, which focuses on conservation of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem and the birds that rely on it.

Meghan joined the center two years ago with a background that included eight years as the Coordinator of the Lower Platte River Corridor Alliance, and most recently she served as the Domestic Water/Wastewater Management Educator with UNL Extension where she helped to facilitate and coordinate a statewide partnership focused on the protection of Nebraska’s water resources.

Meghan also has close family ties to Spring Creek Prairie as her parents Lyle and Alice farmed land nearby and her sister and brother-in-law currently farm there. Her father was a member of Spring Creek Prairie’s stewardship advisory board and her parents received much recognition over the years for their conservation ethic they passed on to her.

Get to know Meghan and how her parents influenced her career path in this podcast: Daugherty Water for Food Podcast Episode 4

How to subscribe:

Audio, Conservation, Farming, Podcasts, Water, Water for Food

ARA Honors Johnny Council with Lifetime Achievement Award

Cindy Zimmerman

The Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) has honored Johnny Council of Grow West with the Jack Eberspacher Lifetime Achievement Award. Council received ARA’s highest individual honor for his contributions to ARA activities and his role in fundamentally advancing the ag retail industry. The ARA Lifetime Achievement Award was established in 2001 and renamed in 2010 to honor the late Jack Eberspacher, who served as ARA president and CEO from 2001 until his death in 2009.

Council served on the ARA Board of Directors from 2005 until 2014, serving in various leadership roles, including chairman of the Public Policy Committee and finally Chairman of the Board in 2013. His leadership in Grow West and its legacy companies contributed greatly to Grow West being recognized as the ARA Retailer of the Year in 2011. Council was Chairman when the first concepts that led to ResponsibleAg were being developed. This industry-led initiative now has more than 2,500 locations registered in the program and half of those have achieved certification.

Listen to an interview with Council here:
Interview with Johnny Council, Grow West, ARA Lifetime Achievement Award (4:40)

ag retailers, ARA, Audio

USDA Under Secretary McKinney Addresses Ag Retailers

Cindy Zimmerman

USDA Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Ted McKinney addressed the 2020 Agricultural Retailers Association Conference & Expo Wednesday to update attendees on the U.S. trade situation at the end of 2020.

In a quick spin around the world, McKinney touched on trade and COVID19 in different countries, including Mexico and Canada with USMCA, China and the Phase One agreement, Japan, the United Kingdom, Africa and more. He also talked about the EU Farm to Fork strategy, which he calls the European Union “Green New Deal”, and how it might impact the United States.

Listen here:
ARA20 Remarks from USDA Under Secretary Ted McKinney (26:58)

ag retailers, ARA, Audio, Exports, Trade, USDA

Sand-to-Soil Technology Could Help Achieve Food Security

Cindy Zimmerman

Heliae Development, LLC and Agricola Cerro Prieto (ACP) have just announced findings of a year-long water retention trial, revealing a major advancement in transforming sand to soil, which could lead to greater food security, improved nutrition and more sustainable agriculture

The significance of global warming and climate change on global food production cannot be overestimated. The goal to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture through the Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG 2) is a top focus for Heliae. With deserts comprising an estimated one-third of the Earth’s total landmass and 23 hectares of arable land lost per minute to desertification, Heliae’s microalgae based innovation, PhycoTerra®, could be a just-in-time natural breakthrough in enabling global food production on marginal land.

The water retention trial began in November 2019 on 100 barren acres of desert with 99% sand, where conventional methods of agriculture are not supported. The crops selected were water-intensive table grapes, asparagus, avocado trees, and blueberry bushes. PhycoTerra® was introduced as a natural intervention for crop growth in adverse conditions and it increased the microbial population and improved the water holding capacity by close to 15%, giving sand the same water retention properties as fertile soil.

Heliae President and CEO Eric Lichtenheld said, “The results from this desert trial, along with results from our other converntional soil/crop trials point to one thing – that it is possible to regenerate the soil microbiome, and the structure of almost any soil type with Phyocterra. I believe SDG 2 is achievable, so long as we focus on the soil beneath our feet in honor of world soil day.”

Read more about this exciting development and what it could mean for the future of food production from Heliae Development.

AgWired Precision, Farming, Food, Precision Agriculture, Soil, Sustainability

NCBA President Reviews 2020 for Cattle Industry

Carrie Muehling

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) has continued to support cattle producers throughout a difficult year in 2020, said NCBA President Marty Smith.

“Producers got direct money to cattle producers all over the country, and throughout all of that, NCBA was the only organization to submit any kind of economic damage studies,” said Smith, speaking of the group’s work on the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP). “We commissioned a group of our top livestock economists from our land grant institutions and asked them to develop some numbers for us, to do some damage analysis. They did that, and we hit very close in terms of what we ultimately got. In other words, we know we’re not going to get everybody back to where they’d like to be, but it’s going to keep us in business.”

The Florida cattle rancher said NCBA also worked diligently to keep packing plants open in March and April when shutdowns impacted beef demand and prices. Other priorities include policy and regulatory issues, as well as market transparency. Smith also discussed the group’s reaction to the 2020 election. NCBA participated in the National Association of Farm Broadcasting virtual Trade Talk event.

2020 NAFB Interview with Marty Smith, President, NCBA 12:14

AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Audio, Beef, NAFB, NCBA

John Oster Receives ARA Distinguished Service Award

Cindy Zimmerman

The Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) leadership recognized have awarded John Oster of Morral Companies with the ARA Distinguished Service Award for his support of the association and the agricultural retail industry. The award was announced Wednesday during the virtual 2020 ARA Conference & Expo.

Oster served on the ARA Board of Directors from 2013 through 2019, entering the officer rotation in 2016, and finally serving as Chairman of the Board in 2018.

“John has always been the biggest supporter and recruiter for membership in ARA,” said ARA President and CEO Daren Coppock. “His support of membership recruitment has continued beyond his time in ARA leadership roles and is the main reason he was selected for this award. Of course, his contributions to the ag retail industry reach beyond ARA, as he is also an active supporter of the Ohio Agribusiness Association.”

Selected by the ARA Executive Committee, the ARA Distinguished Service Award honors individual members of the association who have gone above and beyond the traditional volunteer responsibilities.

Listen to an interview with Oster here:
Interview with John Oster, Morral Companies (8:25)

Virtual 2020 ARA Conference & Expo Newsroom

ARA, Audio