USDA Under Secretary Visits SE Fruit and Vegetable Growers

Cindy Zimmerman

Under Secretary of Agriculture for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Ted McKinney visited the Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference on Friday and talked trade issues with members of the GA Fruit & Vegetable Association before touring the trade show.

With the China Phase One trade deal slated to be signed next week, and USMCA getting one step closer to the Senate floor this week, McKinney had a lot to discuss in this interview from the conference. He also addresses skepticism about whether China will actually buy $40 billion in U.S. farm products this year, and concerns fruit and vegetable growers have about USMCA.

2020 SRFVC Interview with USDA Under Secretary Ted McKinney (6:17)

2020 Southeast Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference Photo Album

Audio, Ethanol, Produce, Trade, USDA, Vegetables

BASF Values Grower Feedback

Carrie Muehling

The second annual BASF Agronomic Performance Trials (APT) Summit was a great opportunity for the company to get input from key customer growers who help them with on-farm trialing.

“It’s a time for us to listen to our customers,” said Monty Christian, BASF Marketing Director for Cotton. “If we need any last minute tweaks before we go into ending our processing season but beginning our planting season, this is a good time for us to listen to them.”

Christian said even with challenges to weather and seed quality, BASF received few complaints from growers during the 2019 growing season. The company continues to focus on getting seed to growers in a timely and efficient manner, while bringing new varieties that will increase choices for farmers.

“If you are a grower, making sure you have seed to plant the day you want to plant is paramount. Some years, that is a given because there is plenty of supply out there. But a grower knows they have to plant a crop. It’s their livelihood. We’re keenly aware of that,” said Christian.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Monty here: Interview with Monty Christian, BASF

2020 BASF APT Summit Photo Album

Audio, BASF, Cotton

2020 SE Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference Underway

Chuck Zimmerman

Charles HallThe Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference returns to Savannah, Ga. and really kicks in to gear today. In 2019, the educational event and trade show hosted more than 3,300 attendees and 290 vendor companies.

Sponsored by Georgia Fruit & Vegetable Association and the Georgia Peach Council the conference is held at the Savannah International Trade and Convention Center. The event features three days of educational workshops and seminars, a two-day trade show and several other evening networking opportunities.

To get an overview of the event I sat down with Charles Hall, Executive Director, Georgia Fruit & Vegetable Association, pictured on the right with current association president Aries Haygood. We discussed the work of the association and how this conference came in to being.

I was interested to find out that big general sessions were discontinued years ago. Instead the conference features many, many educational sessions on a variety of commodities like peaches, blueberries and so many more. However, a “super session” is scheduled when needed and this year we have one on trade. The session is setup in a larger room in anticipation of a larger attendance. We’re expecting Under Secretary of Agriculture for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, Ted McKinney to be here.

Learn more about this conference in my preview interview with Charles.

2020 SRFVC - Interview with Charles Hall, GA Fruit & Vegetable Association

2020 Southeast Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference Photo Album

Ag Groups, Audio, Vegetables

Zimfo Bytes 1/10

Carrie Muehling

  • The 36th class of American Soybean Association (ASA) Corteva Agriscience Young Leaders recently began its leadership journey at the Corteva Agriscience Global Business Center in Indianapolis, Indiana.
  • Andrew Wheeler has been appointed Iowa Farm Bureau Federation Public Relations manager starting Jan. 13. He will replace Laurie Johns, who is retiring.
  • The American Farm Bureau Federation is pleased to welcome two new members to its media engagement team, Mike Tomko and Cole Staudt. Mike Tomko assumed the position of Director of Communications focused on media engagement on January 1, 2020. Cole Staudt joined the team in November as Media Relations Specialist.
  • Organic Farmers Association, the nation’s unified voice for certified organic farmers sponsored by the nonprofit Rodale Institute, has named Patty Lovera as its new Policy Director.
  • American Agri-Women announced the winners of their ‘Gen Z Speaks Ag’ contest. Young advocates showcased their creativity and passion for agriculture in AAW’s “Gen Z Speaks Ag” contest sponsored by Crop Science, a division of Bayer.
  • The 2020 Agri-Pulse Ag & Food Policy Summit, scheduled for March 23 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., will explore links between food and national security.
  • Minnesota Soybean Growers Association secretary Darin Johnson opened his farm to presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg this week for his first Minnesota campaign stop.
Zimfo Bytes

Promoting Sustainability with e3 Cotton

Carrie Muehling

Those attending the 2020 BASF Agronomic Performance Trials (APT) Summit had the opportunity to learn more about the e3 Sustainable Cotton Program.

“What makes it unique is that we offer a program that can actually trace the cotton bale from the time it’s harvested at the grower’s field all the way through the entire value chain until it shows up in a garment on the shelf in your favorite retailer,” said Malin Westfall, BASF’s U.S. Cotton Lead.

The program gives cotton growers the opportunity to share with consumers the many sustainable practices they use, providing a platform to help farmers to tell those stories. Consumers have indicated they have a desire to purchase products that are made and grown sustainably, and Westfall hopes the increased premium consumers are willing to pay can end up back in the pockets of the growers that are doing the work.

BASF is looking for more cotton growers to participate in the program, and Westfall encouraged farmers to talk with a local BASF sales representative if they are interested in learning more.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Malin here: Interview with Malin Westfall, BASF

2020 BASF APT Summit Photo Album

Audio, BASF, Cotton, Sustainability

FieldReveal and AgWorks Excited About Partnership

Cindy Zimmerman

With 20 years experience in understanding soils and getting accurate product placement for growers, FieldReveal CEO Matt Hesse is excited to take that to the next level of precision with AgWorks.

“We were looking for analytics and an ROI engine and they were looking for a precision ag tool for variable rate,” said Hesse at the AgWorks User Conference this week in Kansas City, featuring FieldReveal. “So, right out of the gate it was a really good fit for both sides.”

Interview with FieldReveal CEO Matt Hesse (6:10)

AgWorks President Greg Duhachek agrees that it was the perfect match for them.

“When we met FieldReveal, we immediately found synergies, from ownership in ag retail to the way we sell and service our customers,” said Duhachek. “So, we are excited to see where both companies can go moving forward.”

The AgWorks User Conference this week focused on the partnership with FieldReveal and how it works with AgWorks’ HighQ data aggregation tool.

Learn more in this interview.
Interview with AgWorks President Greg Duhachek (7:40)

2020 AgWorks+FieldReveal User Conference photos

AgWired Precision, Audio, data, Precision Agriculture

New Holland Partners with National Hemp Association

Cindy Zimmerman

Agricultural equipment manufacturer New Holland is partnering with the National Hemp Association to accelerate the return of hemp commodity crops on farms across North America, with the theme “Pushing Progress Together.”

As part of this partnership, the National Hemp Association will participate alongside New Holland at 16 national farm shows throughout North America to build out this sustainable new industry and will provide educational sessions and panel discussions as well as exhibit the multitude of products that can be produced from the hemp crop.

The alliance will also seek to move forward on solving the industry’s biggest challenge: the absence of commercial scale harvesting and decortication equipment uniting the demand of the product to the farmers that supply it. In order to begin laying the foundation of an integrated North American hemp supply chain, the alliance calls on other partners – corporations and entities to join a “Hemp Pledge” and commit to purchasing hemp grown and processed in the U.S. by U.S. farmers.

The announcement was made this week at the Pennsylvania Farm Show. Watch New Holland’s video on hemp farming below.


Cannabis, Equipment, hemp, New Holland, Video

NCGA CEO Launching Podcast

Cindy Zimmerman

If you have ever wanted to follow the CEO of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) on his adventures around the country, now you will have your chance.

NCGA’s new podcast “Wherever Jon May Roam,” hosted by CEO Jon Doggett, will provide listeners an insider’s view of corn issues, the thinking behind them and the people behind the thinking. Episode 1 will be available on ncga.com/podcast, iTunes, Google Play and wherever you get your podcasts on Jan. 22.

Watch the preview here:


Corn, NCGA, Podcasts, Video

Pork Producers Say Impossible Pork is Impossible

Cindy Zimmerman

Pork producers have a beef with impossible pork.

As Impossible Foods debuted its latest plant-based food offering at the Consumer Electronics Show this week, the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) called out the company for violating food labeling laws.

Citing law that prohibits the use of words that redefine pork as it has been known by consumers for centuries, Dr. Dan Kovich, director of science and technology for the National Pork Producers Council, issued the following statement:

“What’s impossible is to make pork from plants. This is a brazen attempt to circumvent decades of food labelling law and centuries of precedence. Any adjective placed in front of the word pork can only refine it, not redefine it. It’s not pork. It’s not pork sausage. It can’t be labelled as such.”

The pork producer group’s position is that plant-based and cell-cultured products designed to mimic real meat must face the same stringent regulatory requirements as livestock agriculture, including truthful labeling standards.

AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Food, Meat, NPPC, Pork

Precision Ag Bytes 1/8

Carrie Muehling

  • Marrone Bio Innovations Inc. announced that two of its biofungicide products — Stargus® and Regalia® — have been approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency for indoor and outdoor use on hemp plants.
  • Lindsay Corporation, a leading global manufacturer and distributor of irrigation and infrastructure equipment and technology, and Farmers Edge, a global leader in digital agriculture, announced a plan to connect and digitize two million irrigated acres by the end of 2021.
  • The third largest indoor U.S. farm show, presented by Farm Credit Services of America and AgDirect, will be held January 28-30 in Des Moines, Iowa at the Iowa Events Center. Spread across nearly 8 acres, the Iowa Power Farming Show features the broadest mix of ag-related products and services found in the Midwest.
  • Two companies have jointly developed a high-speed planting system to be introduced for the 2021 planting season. Ag Leader announced its high-speed planting system SureSpeed, to serve row crop farmers with accurate seed placement at speeds up to 12 miles per hour. The meter with integrated delivery system was developed in collaboration with Kinze Manufacturing, which will market it as True Speed™. The two companies will distribute the technology through their respective dealer networks.
AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes