Farm Groups Launch Free Stress Management Course

Cindy Zimmerman

Farm Credit, American Farm Bureau and National Farmers Union today announced the launch of a farm stress management online training course available for the general public.

Developed by Michigan State University Extension (MSU Extension) and University of Illinois Extension (Illinois Extension), the course will help farmers, their families and neighbors identify and cope with stress. It provides participants the skills to understand the sources of stress, manage their own stress, learn the warning signs of stress and suicide, identify effective communication strategies, and connect farmers and ranchers with appropriate mental health and other resources.

The challenges of ongoing low commodity prices, trade wars and extreme weather events have dramatically affected farmers and ranchers for years. Add the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic disruptions, and that stress multiplies. Stress among farmers and ranchers is felt throughout farm operations and seeps into cities and towns across the country.

The course builds on past training materials developed beginning in 2016, and tailored for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency in 2019. Additional courses and specific training have since educated employees and members of Farm Credit, Farm Bureau and Farmers Union nationwide.

Making the announcement today via webcast were:
• Todd Van Hoose, President and CEO, Farm Credit Council
• Zippy Duvall, President, American Farm Bureau Federation
• Mike Stranz, Vice President of Advocacy, National Farmers Union
• Cheryl L. Eschbach, Director, Health and Nutrition Institute, Michigan State University Extension
• Courtney Cuthbertson, Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist, University of Illinois Extension

Listen here:
Farm Stress Management Course announced

AFBF, Audio, Farm Credit, Farming

Alltech ONE June Session Explores Life Sciences Research

Chuck Zimmerman

Dr. Ronan Power, AlltechThe opening presentation of the Alltech ONE Virtual Experience, June Focus Session Tuesday morning will look at “Unlocking the Future: Advances in Alltech Life Sciences Research.” Presenting will be Alltech Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Ronan Power.

Applying more than 40 years of research experience and scientific expertise to human health, the team at Alltech Life Sciences is making exciting strides in cellular health and wellness. They’re on a mission to help people live their best lives, particularly by focusing on two areas of human health that are often described as pandemics in their own right: Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes. From conducting promising clinical trials for supplements that support brain health to developing an oral alternative to insulin treatments, learn how revolutionary research is unlocking the future of health and wellness.

Dr. Power’s presentation kicks off the first monthly installment of the Alltech ONE Virtual Experience, which debuted last month. New content is being added each month to the experience and you can register anytime to still access it all.

Get a preview of Dr. Power’s presentation here: Interview with Dr. Ronan Power, Alltech

Alltech, Audio

Animal Ag News 6/22

Carrie Muehling

  • Merck Animal Health announced the completion of its acquisition of Quantified Ag®, a leading data and analytics company that monitors cattle body temperature and movement in order to detect illness early. In April 2018, Merck Animal Health invested in Quantified Ag® and partially funded their development work in data analytics in livestock. Specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
  • The International Dairy Foods Association released a statement recommending three servings of dairy per day and putting dairy in the healthy foods category with fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains.
  • Kent Nutrition Group continues to uncover dietary options to help manage market hog growth rate and weight gain to help keep pigs at viable weights until packing plant capacity is available.
  • Over the last 13 months, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, a contractor to the Beef Checkoff, has submitted 21 sets of public comments and more than 100 research studies in support of beef’s role in a healthy diet to the 2020 – 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans Advisory Committee. To view a list of the comments submitted, visit www.beefresearch.org/humannutrition.aspx.
  • An economic analysis published recently shows the serious impact of the European Union’s Skim Milk Powder Intervention Program on the U.S. dairy industry — especially to U.S. farm-gate milk prices — in the years 2016-2019. The report authors conclude that the United States was “economically harmed by the EU’s Intervention program for SMP” in three ways.
AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Animal Bites

Industry Ag News 6/19

Carrie Muehling

  • Syngenta Group Co. Ltd. announced the official launch of Syngenta Group, a new global leader in agricultural science and innovation. Under a single entity, it unites the strengths of Syngenta AG, headquartered in Switzerland, ADAMA, based in Israel, and the agricultural businesses of Sinochem, based in China. The new entity, headquartered in Switzerland, has 48,000 employees in more than 100 countries, and had sales of US$23 billion in 2019.
  • Representative Sanford Bishop, Chairman of the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, Representative Jeff Fortenberry, Ranking Member of the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, and Representative K. Michael Conaway, Ranking Member of the House Agriculture Committee, issued a statement regarding the recent court ruling on the use of dicamba.
  • A coalition of national grower trade associations that represents farmers, ranchers, and their families nationwide is urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to reject an NGO call to invalidate EPA’s dicamba existing stocks order for three dicamba products whose registrations were immediately vacated by the court earlier this month.
  • The National Corn Growers Association’s Corn Board elected Chris Edgington to become the organization’s first vice president for the next fiscal year, which begins October 1.
  • The National Corn Growers Association is kicking-off summer with a new contest, focusing on the benefits of using corn in the feed ration. The contest started Monday, June 15, 2020, and runs through Monday, November 2, 2020.
  • Growers Edge Financial, Inc., a provider of data-backed financial technology solutions for the agricultural industry, announced the appointment of Tracy Linbo as executive vice president and chief commercial officer.
  • The American Soybean Association is pleased to hire Scott Gerlt, who will be the first person to join the organization in the role of economist. Gerlt, who lives in Missouri, starts July 20 and will be based out of the St. Louis office.
  • The Environmental Protection Agency has appointed American Soybean Association Chairman Davie Stephens, a soybean grower from Kentucky, to its Farm, Ranch, and Rural Communities Committee.
  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture received a proposal from the National Pecan Federation requesting the establishment of a research and promotion program to strengthen the position of pecans in the marketplace, maintain and expand markets for pecans and develop new uses for pecans.
  • Western Growers is pleased to announce the addition of De Ann Davis, PhD, as Senior Vice President, Science. Davis brings extensive expertise to the leadership team with more than 25 years of experience in the development and execution of technical global programs, including food safety, quality assurance and regulatory compliance.
Zimfo Bytes

Alltech ONE Virtual Experience – Health & Wellness

Chuck Zimmerman

Alltech ONE Virtual ExperienceThe highly successful Alltech ONE Virtual Experience continues with new content. It’s the June Edition – Health & Wellness. You can find the agenda here.

Our health and well-being are universally important, particularly in light of COVID-19. Join us for an exploration of topics that include boosting immunity, supporting the mental health of your teams in a WFH environment and the pioneering field of science that could change the way we eat and produce food.

I got a preview of the two day event next week from Alltech’s Nikki Putnam-Badding, who is a registered dietician and Chair-person for the Health & Wellness Session. Nikki describes sessions and presenters and says that if you haven’t registered for the on-going Alltech ONE Virtual Experience, you still can. Besides the new session presentations you’ll still be able to also see all the content from the very start.

You can listen to my interview with Nikki here: Interview with Nikki Putnam-Badding, Alltech

Alltech, Audio

Corn and Sorghum Groups Urge Aid for Ethanol Industry

Cindy Zimmerman

Members of the Congressional Biofuels Caucus held a virtual town hall Wednesday to discuss the challenges currently facing the ethanol industry and what can be done to help.

Caucus members participating in the meeting were including Reps. Collin Peterson (D-MN), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Dave Loebsack (D-IA), and Rodney Davis (R-IL) as well as ethanol and agricultural group leaders.

House Agriculture Committee Chair Peterson says while the Senate has yet to vote on the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, he will not vote for any bill that provides no aid for biofuels producers – and he is still hopeful USDA could yet find dollars for producers in the previous legislation.

Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN) on help for biofuels producers 4:45

Commodity and ethanol group leaders participating in the meeting included National Sorghum Producers (NSP) CEO Tim Lust who talked about the importance of the ethanol market for sorghum farmers.
Biofuels Caucus Town Hall NSP CEO Tim Lust 3:05

National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) CEO Jon Doggett discussed revenue losses this year for corn farmers and why EPA needs to support the Renewable Fuel Standard and not allow any more small refinery exemptions.
Biofuels Caucus Town Hall NCGA CEO Jon Doggett 5:15

Audio, Biofuels, Corn, Ethanol, NCGA, NSP, sorghum

FMC Announces New Arc™ Farm Intelligence Platform

Chuck Zimmerman

FMC Corporation Arc™ Farm Intelligence PlatformFMC Corporation just announced the launch of Arc™ farm intelligence, an exclusive precision agriculture platform that enables growers and advisors to more accurately predict pest pressure before it becomes a problem.

Arc™ farm intelligence is the first mobile platform to use predictive modeling based on real-time data to help ensure the right crop protection products are applied precisely where and when they are needed to improve sustainability, optimize crop yield and enhance grower return on investment (ROI).

I spoke with Brian Angeli, FMC Chief Strategy Officer and Treasurer, about the new platform. We talk about what makes it a first in the ag industry and how it will integrate with other FMC precision offerings in the future as well as other ag applications. The platform is focused on insects first with plans to expand in the future. You can learn more about the new offering in our interview.

You can listen to my interview with Brian here: Interview with Brian Angeli, FMC

AgWired Precision, Audio, FMC, Insecticides, Precision Agriculture

Precision Ag News 6/17

Carrie Muehling

  • Share the story of how conservation is part of your farm operation and you could be recognized with a Conservation Legacy Award. The awards recognize farm management practices of U.S. soybean farmers that are both environmentally friendly and profitable. The Conservation Legacy Awards are sponsored by the American Soybean Association (ASA), BASF, Bayer, the United Soybean Board/soybean checkoff and Valent U.S.A. All applications must be submitted by Sept. 1, 2020.
  • To help growers face another challenging year, Syngenta will share the latest crop management technologies and best practices at Grow More™ Experience and Golden Harvest® Agronomy in Action sites across the United States. Updates from sites across the country will be posted on KnowMoreGrowMore.com in the Field Trials section.
  • The newest issue of New Ag International is now online.
  • U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue issued the following statement on Secretary Perdue Statement on Dicamba Plaintiffs’ Attack on EPA Order: “USDA supports the actions taken by the EPA to respond responsibly to the decision of the Ninth Circuit regarding Dicamba. At a time when the security of the food supply chain is paramount, the Center for Biological Diversity and its allies seek to cripple American farmers and further limit their ability to feed, fuel, and clothe this nation and the world. The Ninth Circuit should not allow plaintiffs’ hostility against the American farmer to cloud the fact that the EPA’s actions follow both legal precedent and common sense.”
  • The Soil Health Institute is accepting submissions for a virtual Video Poster Session during its 5th Annual Meeting, July 30-31, 2020. Video poster submissions must be no longer than three minutes, self-contained, self-explanatory, and relevant to soil health. The submission period will remain open through 5:30 p.m. Pacific Time, Tuesday, June 23, 2020.
  • Overall unit sales of agricultural tractors and self-propelled combines in May 2020 rose in the U.S. according to the latest data from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, with smaller machine sales growth overpowering declines in the bigger segments and combines.
  • Leading soil scientist Dr. Rattan Lal was announced as the 2020 World Food Prize Laureate for developing and mainstreaming a soil-centric approach to increasing food production that conserves natural resources and mitigates climate change. The 2020 Laureate Announcement Ceremony featured pre-recorded remarks from the U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue with World Food Prize Foundation President Barbara Stinson announcing the name of the Laureate.
  • The GROWMARK System is pleased to recognize the 2020 Endure Advocate award winners. The Endure Advocate award is given to FS Crop Specialists who engage in 4R Nutrient Management and Sustainable Farming Practices with their grower customers.
  • New self-service features on farmers.gov will help farmers and ranchers manage their conservation activities online. Farmers now be able to view, download, and e-sign documents, request conservation assistance, view technical references and submit questions, access information on current and past conservation practices, and view detailed information on all previous and ongoing contracts, including the amount of planned and received cost-share assistance.
AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes, Precision Agriculture

Field Notes from Koch Agronomic Services – Episode 4

Chuck Zimmerman

Welcome to Episode 4 of the Field Notes podcast series from Koch Agronomic Services, where we break down the science and technology behind agronomy to help growers do more with less. Crop science experts and others in the agriculture industry will discuss topics ranging from nitrogen loss and soil health to ways growers can increase operational efficiencies.

The Decision-Making Process

In this podcast, two retailers discuss the decision-making process that agronomists walk growers through each year. Field Notes from Koch Agronomic ServicesDonnell DeLosh, agronomy production supervisor for Country Partners Cooperative, and Thad Russell, field sales agronomist with Central Valley Ag, talk about the information most important to growers when deciding how to protect their nitrogen investments. Discover how and when they start those conversations and what products are working for their growers.

You can listen to the program here: The Decision-Making Process

And to make sure you don’t miss an episode, choose an option to subscribe

For Spotify on your computer download the desktop app.

Audio, Koch Agronomic Services, Podcasts, Soil

Virtual is the New Reality

Chuck Zimmerman

Virtual is the new reality for 2020.

As events continue to be cancelled or postponed this year, it’s becoming obvious that conferences and meetings going forward will have at least some component of virtual content to provide for people unable to make it in person.

ZimmComm has been doing virtual meetings and conferences since 2005 – it’s really our specialty.

When we go on-site to a conference, creating audio, video and photo content for media, attendees, and others, what we have have been doing is creating a virtual experience of the meeting for people who can’t be there, or those who want to see or hear it again. It’s why we call AgNewsWire the “virtual newsroom” for agricultural news and events.

Here are a few examples:

Virtual newsroom on AgNewsWire
2019 ASTA CSS & Seed Expo
Customized blog for conference
National Biodiesel Conference blog since 2006
Customized webpage for conference
Cattle Industry Conference
Interviews to supplement virtual conference
Alltech ONE Virtual Experience
Exhibitor content to share from trade show
AMVAC at 2019 Commodity Classic

Companies are restricting travel – we can help create a virtual experience for a trade show. Reporters are also being restricted in their travel, so what we do is even more important to increase your media exposure at events. We are brainstorming lots of ideas with clients so give me a call 573-230-3024 to see how we can help you.

ZimmComm Announcement