ARA Recognizes BRANDT’s Tim McArdle

Cindy Zimmerman

Tim McArdle, executive vice president at BRANDT, was honored today with the with the Agricultural Retailers Association Distinguished Service Award for his support of the association and the agricultural retail industry.

McArdle’s long-term service to ARA through participating on the board of directors and in officer roles is one reason he is being recognized; however, it is how he stepped out of ARA leadership and into leadership roles for two allied organizations, ResponsibleAg and AgGateway, that secured his place as the 2019 winner of ARA’s Distinguished Service Award.

“Both of these organizations are rendering very important services to ag retailers, and McArdle plays a critical role as chairman of both,” says ARA President and CEO Daren Coppock.

McArdle grew up on a farm in south Alabama and received his Master of Science from Auburn University. Prior to joining BRANDT, McArdle was at Trace Chemicals for 25 years serving as partner and general manager of Trace Chemicals. Listen to his remarks upon receiving the award:

ARA19 DSA winner Tim McArdle, BRANDT (4:05)

2019 ARA Convention and Expo

Agribusiness, AgWired Precision, ARA, Audio, Precision Agriculture

Agricultural Retailers Association Conference Underway

Cindy Zimmerman

The Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) 2019 Conference & Expo is underway in New Orleans this week. The annual gathering draws nearly 600 agricultural retail industry professionals for speakers, educational sessions, a world-class expo and networking opportunities.

Tuesday’s events included the ARA Invitational Golf Tournament and the opening of the sold-out expo hall. The industry speaker lineup includes a keynote presentation and a Q&A session with CEO and Chairman of the FMC Corporation Pierre Brondeau, and a panel on competing retail models moderated by Margy Eckelkamp, editor of AgPro, and comprised of Alexander Reichert, co-founder and CEO of AgVend; Dave Thomas, executive vice president of Helena Agri-Enterprises LLC; and John Demerly, CEO of CommoditAg.

Earlier in the week, the ARA Board of Directors gathered for its quarterly meeting. The agenda included the review of regular business operations of the organization and opportunities to strengthen and create efficiencies. The Board took action to expand the Executive Committee to include two additional retailer seats, and to shift the seats on the Board of Directors from 24 to 27 retailers.

ARA Senior VP for Public Policy & Counsel Richard Gupton talks about this year’s conference and some of the issues facing agricultural retailers in this interview.
ARA19 Interview with Richard Gupton, ARA Sr VP, Public Policy & Counsel (6:34)

Follow the action on Twitter with the hashtag #AgRetailers19, and find content from the convention for sharing in the 2019 ARA virtual newsroom.

2019 ARA Convention and Expo
2019 ARA Convention Golf Tournament

Agribusiness, ARA, Audio

Precision Ag Bytes 12/4

Carrie Muehling

  • The J.R. Simplot Company and Pinnacle Agriculture Holdings, LLC have announced Simplot’s agreement to acquire all of the interests in Pinnacle Agriculture Enterprises, LLC and its subsidiaries. The target acquisition close date is in early 2020.
  • The project partners Clariant and GETEC have won the highly prestigious Energy Efficiency Award from the German Energy Agency in the category “Concepts for increasing energy efficiency.”
  • The Federal Communications Commission took another step to implement the Precision Ag Connectivity Act (PACA) with the announcement of the Precision Ag Task Force members. The Task Force will meet over the next year to identify gaps in in-field wireless coverage and develop policy recommendations to fill them.
  • A Purdue University-affiliated agbioscience startup is creating technology to help meet the growing global demand for bioenergy and, in partnership with Purdue, has received new support from the U.S. government. GRYFN offers precise geomatics solutions for coaligned and repeatable multi-sensor drone data collection.
  • The Alliance of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Science Societies (ACSESS), announced that Nicholas J. Goeser has been named Chief Executive Officer.
  • Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc. announced that company founder Dr. Pamela Marrone will retire from her position as chief executive officer. The board of directors has begun the search process for a new CEO. Dr. Marrone will continue as CEO during the search process, and she and Board Chairman Bob Woods will shepherd the transition process until the new CEO is retained.
  • CommoditAg launched a new and improved online experience to help meet the 21st-century demands of today’s farming community. The updated website features simplified navigation as well as a warehouse locator so customers can choose where to purchase products including adjuvants, fertilizers, fungicides, herbicides and insecticides. Customers who buy during pre-pay season will receive 2 percent off their orders now through Jan. 15, 2020.
AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes

Bayer Sees Advantage with Bioenhancers

Carrie Muehling

While many farmers are glad to see 2019 in the rear view mirror, Bayer wants growers to be prepared for another challenging growing season in 2020 in case tough conditions return. Using the correct seed treatment is one way to ensure the large investment farmers make on seed is protected.

“Well, the big buzz around seed treatment – and it’s really gained momentum over the past couple of years – is biologicals, or what we refer to as bioenhancers. We’ve had a pretty large bioenhancer portfolio particularly in soybeans for the past couple of years. A lot of farmers will refer to them as inoculants,” said A. J. Hohmann, U.S. Marketing Manager for Bayer Seed Growth Business. “These are products that can really help to jump start the nodulation process in soybeans, but biologicals are also becoming more of a play in other crops, specifically corn.”

Hohmann said Bayer recently launched its BioRise™ Corn Bio-enhancer offering, which can result in increased functional root mass and the ability to grab onto more nutrients and more moisture. Yield data suggests a three bushel advantage when using the product, which has been especially successful during times of drought. Hohmann was at the 2019 National Association of Farm Broadcasting Convention in Kansas City.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with A.J. here: NAFB19 AJ Hohmann, Bayer (3:45)

2019 NAFB Convention Photo Album

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ZimmCast 631 – Hemp in the Heartland

Chuck Zimmerman

In this week’s program you can hear Cindy talk with Wayne Gale, Stokes Seeds and Chairman of the American Seed Trade Association, about the upcoming ASTA CSS & Seed Expo. I then talk with Bill Cook, Executive Director of the Missouri Hemp Association about their inaugural Heart of America Agricultural Hemp Classic (registration started on Black Friday).

Wayne talks about hemp because it is a topic many members of ASTA have been asking about. Cindy and I will be attending the annual ASTA CSS & Seed Expo in Chicago this month.

Then I will be attending the Heart of America Agricultural Hemp Classic in January. 

There is a lot of information being published suggesting that growing hemp will provide new revenue streams for farmers but at the same time I’ve seen stories saying we have a glut of hemp on the market and farmers need to be very careful of their decisions. So what is right? I don’t know yet. This new crop, which is an old crop, has a lot of potential and the rules, regulations and infrastructure to support it is in the start up phase.

Learn some more about it in this week’s program and feel free to contact me if you have questions. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

Listen to the ZimmCast here: ZimmCast 631 - Hemp in the Heartland
Subscribe to the ZimmCast by clicking here.

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BASF Provides Choices to Soybean Growers

Carrie Muehling

With the 2020 growing season on the horizon, BASF is excited about an expanded soybean portfolio that now includes the Credenz seed brand, several soybean seed treatments, and Liberty herbicide.

“One key thing that we’re really focusing on is offering soybean growers more choices to manage their production system in that local environment,” said Nick Fassler, manager of BASF’s technical marketing group.

Fassler said the company still has a robust pipeline for crop protection products, and the addition of seed germplasm and seed traits to the portfolio really expands that scope. BASF has also created a dedicated seed sales team in the marketplace, working hand in hand with business representatives that are calling on retail and innovation specialists at the farm gate to help growers maximize soybean yield. Fassler was at the 2019 National Association of Farm Broadcasting Convention in Kansas City.

Listen to the interview with Nick here: NAFB19 Nick Fassler, BASF (3:52)

2019 NAFB Convention Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, BASF, NAFB, Soybean

Animal Ag Bites 12/2

Carrie Muehling

  • Online cheese sales are experiencing major growth. By the end of 2019, IRI data shows that e-commerce sales will surge past $440 million. The 54% annual growth in online sales over the past four years signals that shoppers are embracing the convenience and variety available when ordering cheese online. Find tips on how to serve Wisconsin Cheese, including seasonal recipes, cheeseboard inspiration, cheese and wine pairing guides and more on WisconsinCheese.com.
  • Leading regional dairy council Dairy MAX recently launched its two redesigned websites, DairyMAX.org and DairyDiscoveryZone.com, to invigorate target audiences’ knowledge of dairy and support dairy sales.
  • A new educational program hosted by the American Feed Industry Association will focus on biosecurity as it pertains to foreign animal diseases, such as foot and mouth disease, African swine fever and avian influenza. The program, “Biosecurity in the Face of Foreign Animal Disease – What the Feed Industry Needs to Know,” will take place on Jan. 29, 2020, in conjunction with the 2020 International Production & Processing Expo, taking place Jan. 28-30 in Atlanta, Ga.
  • Securing zero-tariff access to China for U.S. pork would be an economic boon for American agriculture and the country, according to the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC). Based on an analysis by Iowa State University Economist Dermot Hayes, NPPC says unrestricted access to the Chinese chilled and frozen market would reduce the overall trade deficit with China by nearly six percent and generate 184,000 new U.S. jobs in the next decade. NPPC launched a digital campaign to spotlight the importance of opening the Chinese market to U.S. pork as trade negotiations continue. For more information, click here.
  • R-CALF USA hosted its 20th Anniversary Convention in Deadwood, SD on August 15-16, 2019. The convention proclaimed success boasting approximately 400 attendees; the organization’s largest convention in its 20-year history. An additional 800 guests viewed the convention through online streaming.
  • Up to five regional Stockmanship & Stewardship events will be coordinated throughout the United States by the producer education team at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association in 2020, thanks to sponsorship from Merck Animal Health. Additional funding and support for the program is provided by the Beef Checkoff-funded Beef Quality Assurance program.
AgWired Animal, Animal Bites

GrainBridge Introduces STRATUM Platform

Carrie Muehling

A small Omaha-based tech company aims to change the future of farming with a new grain marketing platform called STRATUM, which will connect farmers and grain buyers and provide analytics and decisions for farmers to sell their grain at the best price.

“The technology itself will be very easy to use and very seamless,” said Faith Larson, chief strategy officer of GrainBridge. “We want to eliminate any manual entry for the farmer because we know that timing is crucial and so we will have connectivity with data that the farmer is using on the farm.”

Larson described a “one stop shop” where farmers can access any grain buyers, elevators or agribusiness accounts. They can view cash bids for elevators they have connected with, as well as contracts, location information, scale tickets and wait times. They can connect with other agribusiness accounts to further understand input costs, productivity, yield expectations and look at break even or profitability targets.

The first version will be released early in 2020 and farmers can sign up for an account free of charge. More information is available at grainbridge.com.

Listen to the interview with Faith here: Interview with Faith Larson, GrainBridge

2019 NAFB Convention Photo Album

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Woodall Shares Priorities for NCBA

Carrie Muehling

This year’s National Association of Farm Broadcasting Convention in Kansas City brought an opportunity to talk with Colin Woodall since his appointment as CEO of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA). Woodall recognized challenges that continue to grow within the industry and the need to protect members and their investment into NCBA.

“The message to the producers is, just hang on. We’re doing a lot right now on the trade front that we think will have some positive impacts on cattle markets,” said Woodall. “That includes the Japanese trade agreement that we expect to go into place on the first on January. That’s also the U.S country specific quota into the EU. We also expect to have the USMCA ratified. And as long as we can provide some certainty in international markets, I think that will also provide a lot of certainty in the domestic market, too.”

Woodall said in addition to trade, the association will focus on ensuring there is honesty in marketing when it comes to products like fake meat. NCBA is working with the Federal Trade Commission to challenge incorrect marketing claims about the environmental impact of the cattle industry on natural resources. The association is also working on legislation to restrict the ability of companies to use the term “beef” for these types of products.

Listen to the interview with Colin here: NAFB19 Colin Woodall, National Cattlemen's Beef Association (4:18)

2019 NAFB Convention Photo Album

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