Animal Ag Bites 12/23

Carrie Muehling

  • The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the Public Lands Council’s Government Affairs office in Washington, D.C., is accepting internship applications for the Fall 2020 semester. Positions for next fall include public policy interns and a law clerk. The deadline to apply for either position is March 6, 2020.
  • For decades USPOULTRY and the USPOULTRY Foundation have provided critical support to the UGA Department of Poultry Science in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. This funding has been crucial for research and student recruitment. Since 1993, more than $6,164,000 has been provided in research funding to UGA, with another $396,340 provided for student recruitment since 1994.
  • The National Dairy Council and the U.S. Dairy Export Council came together to tackle a challenge: spore contamination in powders that are shipped internationally. The effort spanned seven years and included 33 projects conducted at 10 universities. USDEC reports that since 2000, the U.S. has grown NDM/SMP exports from just over 100,000 metric tons in 2000 to more than 700,000 in 2018. In 2002, the U.S. accounted for less than 7 percent of total SMP trade. Today, that number hovers between 25 and 30 percent annually.
  • A new video demonstrates the value of GENYOUth, which brings money, resources and influence to help support dairy farmer priorities around youth wellness and Fuel Up to Play 60.
AgWired Animal, Animal Bites

Next Generation Wheat Markets

Carrie Muehling

Jeffrey Koscelny – Bayer; Mark Gold – Top Third Ag Marketing, LLC; Jody Pollok-Newsom – MI Wheat Program

A panel at the 2019 American Seed Trade Association CSS & Seed Expo dove deeper into the subject of next generation wheat markets.

Mark Gold of Top Third Ag Marketing discussed wheat trends, while Jeff Koscelny of Bayer tackled adding value to wheat. Jody Pollok-Newson with the Michigan Wheat Program shared more information about private/public wheat partnerships.

Listen to each presentation here:
ASTACSS19 Mark Gold, Top Third Ag Marketing (22:21)

ASTACSS19 Jeffrey Koscelny, Bayer (20:06)

ASTACSS19 Jody Pollok-Newsom, MI Wheat Program (23:18)

2019 ASTA CSS & Seed Trade Expo Photo Album

ASTA, Audio, Wheat

Happy Holidays for Hemp

Cindy Zimmerman

The burgeoning hemp industry got some early Christmas gifts last week as it celebrated the one year anniversary of the 2018 Farm Bill which legalized hemp farming in the U.S.

EPA approved adding hemp to the use sites of 10 pesticides. Nine of the products are biopesticides and one is a conventional pesticide. As EPA receives additional applications to amend product labels to add use on hemp, the agency will process those applications on an ongoing basis and update this list.

The new budget passed by the U.S. House includes $16.5 million for the USDA to implement the hemp provisions and another $2.5 million for the research of hemp production systems through Agriculture Research Service (ARS) sites nationwide. Also included are measures urging the FDA to issue formal enforcement discretion guidance for CBD products and directing the Farm Credit Administration to offer services to hemp producers and businesses.

In addition, USDA extended the public comment period for the Interim Final Rule (IFR) for Establishment of a Domestic Hemp Production Plan by 30 days until January 29, 2020. Vote Hemp requested the extension in conjunction with the American Herbal Products Association and Hemp Industries Association, along with other stakeholders that had expressed the need for an extension of time. USDA published the interim final rule on Oct. 31.

Cannabis, hemp

Zimfo Bytes 12/20

Carrie Muehling

  • The American Soybean Association Board of Directors elected the leaders who will guide the organization through its 100th year during its annual meeting in St. Louis. Bill Gordon of Minnesota will serve as 2020 ASA president.
  • Hemp Industry Daily is now the exclusive hemp and cannabis media partner of World Ag Expo®, focusing on the Hemp Education & Marketing Pavilion and Hemp Innovation Challenge in Tulare, CA, February 11-13, 2020.
  • Results are in for World Ag Expo’s® Top-10 New Products Competition, sponsored by Bank of America. The winners will be showcased February 11-13, 2020, during the World Ag Expo® in Tulare, California.
  • Kelly Registration Systems, a leading provider of essential information and automation solutions to the agribusiness and pesticide industry, recently announced it has extended its existing contract with the South Carolina Department of Agriculture to build the software system that will manage and automate the state’s hemp licensing program.
  • Farm Foundation is pleased to announce that it is partnering with the USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) to create the new Farm Foundation Agricultural Scholars Program that will take 10 graduate-level students of agriculture through a year of programming.
  • The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture has recognized the winning teams in the fall 2019 Purple Plow Challenge, Growing Green. Each team received a 3-D printer and a $100 gift card for their class.
  • The inaugural Board of Directors has been named for the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol, a new standard developed to help the U.S. cotton production sector further reduce its footprint by enabling producers to assess their performance against specific sustainability goals.
  • UnitedAg celebrated the graduation of the 3rd Leadership Class of the WomenAg Leadership Academy and the 2nd Emerging Leaders Academy.
  • The Board of Directors of the Midwest Organic & Sustainable Education Service (MOSES ) just announced the promotion of Lauren Langworthy to executive director.
  • BigIron Auctions announced that on Dec. 26-27, 2019 it will hold its largest ever online auction increasing the number of equipment items it is selling to more than 3,300 over the two-day event.
  • The American Farm Bureau Federation has appointed farmer and rancher members to the organization’s Young Farmers & Ranchers and Promotion & Education committees. National committee members are nominated by their respective state Farm Bureaus. Learn more online: Young Farmers & Ranchers, http://www.fb.org/programs/young-farmers-and-ranchers/ and Promotion & Education, http://www.fb.org/programs/promotion-education/.
Zimfo Bytes

SAGE says Let’s Go Chiefs

Chuck Zimmerman

Sage Let's Go ChiefsI missed the SAGE party again this year. But they always seem to have something to share to get us in the Christmas spirit.

How about a little Let’s Go Chiefs love? Featuring a certain quarterback who has helped bring the Kansas City Chiefs the excitement and success fans have been aching for.

It was an ugly sweater party just in case you were wondering.

In 2015, Sage evolved from BCS Communications, which has been helping companies and organizations with their marketing communications efforts since 2003. Leigh Ann Cleaver and Kelly Schwalbe left years in the big-agency world to create a more nimble, responsive, cost-effective agency model where they have more direct day-to-day contact with clients.


Agencies

U.S. Hemp Growers Association Launched

Cindy Zimmerman

The U.S. Hemp Growers Association (USHGA) was announced this week in Indianapolis as the “only national farmer-directed hemp trade association.”

Founding partners that came together to create USHGA include U.S. Hemp Farming Alliance, First Crop, International Hemp Solutions, HiLo Seed, GenCanna and Farm Journal. At launch, more than 300 farmer-members of U.S. Hemp Farming Alliance will fold into USHGA.

Caren Wilcox will serve as the inaugural USHGA executive director. Wilcox is a well-known ag and food leader who has held executive roles at Hershey, the USDA and the Organic Trade Association. USHGA will meet in late February 2020 in San Antonio to secure founding partners and to install an initial board of directors. A majority of the board leaders will be active hemp farmers.

Learn more from USHGA.

Cannabis, Farming, hemp

Biofuels Stakeholders Disappointed with EPA Final Rule

Cindy Zimmerman

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a final rule today that establishes required renewable volumes under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program for 2020 that is basically the same as the proposed rule that industry stakeholders say still falls short.

Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper says the rule fails to deliver on President Trump’s commitment to restore integrity to the RFS. “While the final rule is an improvement over the original proposal, it still does not guarantee that the law’s 15-billion-gallon conventional biofuel blending requirement will be fully enforced by EPA in 2020,” said Cooper.

According to the rule released today, EPA will project SRE volumes based on historical Department of Energy (DOE) recommendations, rather than the actual volume of SREs issued by EPA. Ironically, however, EPA has generally chosen to ignore DOE’s recommendations regarding SRE petitions in recent years. For the 2016-2018 compliance years, the volume of required renewable fuel blending waived by EPA was almost double the amount recommended by DOE.

“After doing the exact opposite in recent years, EPA is now suggesting it will follow DOE’s recommendations on 2020 SRE petitions,” Cooper said.

Listen to Cooper’s comments on the final rule:
RFA CEO Geoff Cooper reacts to EPA final rule (1:21)

American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) CEO Brian Jennings says disappointed is an understatement. “Over the course of the past few months, we’ve gone from promises of a ‘giant package’ to the reality of a lump of coal…We are forced yet again to continue defending the RFS and fighting EPA’s mismanagement of the program in the third branch of government, but this is another painful reminder our industry needs to go on offense with a new plan to increase demand on ethanol’s low carbon and high octane advantages.”

The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) expressed its disappointment with the final rule, which maintains the 2020 overall advanced volume and 2021 biomass-based diesel volume at the same levels as the current year, blocking growth for the biodiesel industry. “EPA’s final rule for the 2020 RFS volumes is simply out of step with Congressional intent and President Trump’s promises,” said Kurt Kovarik, NBB’s VP of Federal Affairs. “This week, Congress and the president are extending the biodiesel tax incentive through 2022 and sending an unmistakable signal that they support continued growth of biodiesel and renewable diesel. At the same time, EPA Administrator Wheeler is doing everything he can to block that growth.”

National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) President Kevin Ross said, “The Administration has chosen to move forward with a final rule that corn farmers believe falls short of adequately addressing the demand destruction caused by EPA’s abuse of RFS refinery waivers. While using the DOE recommendations to account for waivers is an improvement over the status quo, it is now on corn farmers to hold the Administration to their commitment of a minimum of 15 billion gallon volume, as the law requires. We will use future rulemakings and other opportunities to hold the EPA accountable.”

U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst of Iowa released statements critical of the EPA decision and expressing mistrust that the agency will do what it says it will. “We were guaranteed a deal in September, and we were assured of that same deal in October, yet EPA rolled out, and has now finalized, a different proposal. It’s no wonder trust has been lost,” said Sen. Ernst.

“The Administration has repeatedly directed the EPA and other agencies to support the ethanol industry and corn farmers, and the EPA has told those farmers to trust them. Instead we’re seeing a final rule out of EPA that doesn’t guarantee the 15 billion gallons the RFS mandates,” said House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN)

ACE, Audio, Biodiesel, Biofuels, Corn, EPA, Ethanol, NCGA

Register for the 2020 Agri-Marketing Conference

Chuck Zimmerman

2020 Agri-Marketing ConferenceIt’s time to get registered for the 2020 Agri-Marketing Conference which will be held in San Diego, April 15-17. The ZimmComm Team will be attending and can be found in the Connection Point once again.

With interactive breakout sessions and stellar opportunities to meet new people, the 2020 conference is the perfect place to find the resources you need.

• The conference features four keynote speakers:
Kelly McDonald: How Your Ag Business Can Market, Sell and Service Customers to Grow In New Ways
Charlie Plumb: The Power of Choice
Marty Neumeier: The Brand Flip: Position Your Company for the Meaning Economy
Frank Miles: Laugh at Fear

• The conference features breakout sessions. Topics include Media Training, California Ag Challenges, Client/Agency Collaboration and more!

• New this year! Pre-Conference programming targeted towards small marketing departments and dealers.

Check out the entire jam-packed conference lineup HERE.

Register for the 2020 Agri-Marketing Conference by December 31, 2019, and you’ll be entered to win a $250 Southwest Airlines gift card!

NAMA

A New Look at Corn and Soybean Production

Carrie Muehling

Mark Seem, AgReliant Genetics; Emerson Nafzinger, Univ. of Ill.; Gary Ury, BASF

Those attending the 2019 American Seed Trade Association CSS & Seed Expo had the opportunity to learn more about modern corn and soybean production from a couple of industry experts.

Retired University of Illinois Extension Agronomist Emerson Nafziger provided some insight on managing today’s more efficient corn hybrids.

“My basic thesis is that hybrids have gotten so much better that it changes what we need to do to optimize the management for them,” said Nafziger.

BASF‘s Greg Ury talked about the critical factors that influence soybean production to help put growers in a position to succeed.

“Planting dates, variety selections, soil fertility – we have to maximize all of those components,” said Ury.

The session was moderated by Mark Seem of AgReliant Genetics.

Listen to Emerson Nafziger’s presentation here: ASTACSS19 Emerson Nafziger - University of Illinois (31:12)

Listen to Greg Ury’s presentation here: ASTACSS19 Greg Ury, BASF (31:12)

2019 ASTA CSS & Seed Expo Photo Album

Agronomy, AgWired Precision, ASTA, Audio, BASF, Corn, Soybean

FMC Announces CEO Change in 2020

Cindy Zimmerman

The Board of Directors for FMC Corporation has elected Mark Douglas as president and chief executive officer of FMC, effective June 1, 2020, replacing Pierre Brondeau who will continue to serve as chairman and CEO through May 31, 2020, at which time he will become executive chairman and remain a member of the Board of Directors.

“Mark has been elected following the Board’s careful and thorough assessment of the experience, track record and leadership qualities needed to lead FMC,” said Brondeau. “He has been a trusted partner during a period of significant change. During the last decade, Mark has been engaged on every major decision and strategic action we pursued to transform FMC into a high growth agricultural sciences company. His more than 30 years of global business and operational experience in the chemical industry, including most of the last 10 years leading FMC’s agricultural business, makes him ideally suited as our next CEO,” Brondeau added.

Douglas is now FMC president and CEO-elect, and he will work with Brondeau and the Board during the next five months on an orderly transition.

Brondeau presented the keynote address at the recent 2019 Ag Retailers Association Annual Conference and Expo in New Orleans. Listen to an interview with him from there.
ARA19 Interview with FMC CEO Pierre Brondeau (3:34)

Agribusiness, AgWired Precision, ARA, Audio, FMC