Precision Ag News 9/25

Carrie Muehling

  • CropLife America elected Darren Dillenbeck, president, FMC North America, as its new chair of the CLA Board of Directors. Mr. Dillenbeck will hold the position for two years and utilize his strong leadership skills to help guide the association. He succeeds Andy Lee, president and CEO of Valent USA, who chaired the Board from 2022 – 2024. Mr. Dillenbeck previously served on the association’s Executive Committee as a Vice Chair.
  • Terviva, Inc., an agricultural innovation company partnering with farmers to grow and harvest pongamia, announced the appointment of two senior members of its executive leadership team – Simmarpal Singh as Chief Operating Officer and Manju Kohli as Senior Vice President, People Operations. Singh and Kohli will provide critical support as Terviva continues scaling its global pongamia production and pongamia bean processing technology across three main agricultural applications: food, feed, and fuel.
  • The Mid America CropLife Association (MACA) has awarded Dr. Christy Sprague the prestigious 2024 Educator of the Year award. The honor was presented by MACA President Jaime Yanes during the association’s Annual Meeting in Bloomington, Minnesota on Tuesday, September 3.
  • The Mid America CropLife Association (MACA) presented its prestigious Industry Vision Award to Ben Kaehler, former Vice President of National Accounts at Corteva Agriscience.
  • The Pesticide Stewardship Alliance (TPSA) is pleased to introduce a new logo and a revamped website. With the 25th anniversary of TPSA on the horizon, the new logo reflects a dedicated mission to pesticide stewardship and a revamped website reflects an ongoing commitment to a user-friendly experience.
  • UAS Magazine announced the keynote speaker for the 2024 UAS Summit & Expo, scheduled for October 8-9 at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The UAS Summit & Expo is designed for companies and organizations advancing UAS commercialization and utilization. Palmer Luckey is best known for founding Oculus VR and designing the Oculus Rift, a virtual reality head-mounted display, when he was 20 years old. At age 22, he sold the company to Meta for $2 billion in cash and stock. His most recent defense start-up is now turning heads and impressing military leaders around the world. In 2017, he founded Anduril Industries, a defense technology company focused on autonomous drones and sensors for military applications.
  • FS crop specialists have been collecting corn yield estimates in Illinois and Iowa as part of the FS Crop Tour. As of September 20, the data estimated a yield of 220 bushels per acre for Iowa, with 120 data locations, and 222 bushels per acre for Illinois, with 204 data locations.
  • The Illinois Sustainable Ag Partnership (ISAP) has recently accepted four new member organizations into the Partnership. Illinois Farm Bureau, Illinois Nutrient Research & Education Council (NREC), Savanna Institute, and Saving Tomorrow’s Agriculture Resources (STAR) are the newest members to join ISAP, whose mission is to create a network to support a systems approach to improve soil health and reduce nutrient loss.
  • Leaders from agInnovation, the network of agricultural experiment stations at the nation’s land-grant universities, revealed a new 10-year Research Roadmap in Washington D.C. The plan was created by a working group consisting of state agricultural experiment station directors from each of agInnovation’s regions: North Central, Northeastern, Southern, Western and 1890 land-grant universities, as well as members of the Association of Public and Land-grant University’s (APLU) Boards on Agriculture Assembly and Natural Resources, 1994 land-grant institutions and others. The Roadmap will address some of the primary obstacles to a prosperous future, according to George Smith, Michigan State University AgBioResearch director and agInnovation chair.
  • Farmers in Wisconsin are using data to better understand on-farm sustainability and the environmental impact of farming practices. These efforts are part of multi-year sustainability projects led by Farmers for Sustainable Food. The organization supports nine farmer-led watershed conservation groups, two of which have participated in the projects, using sustainability metrics to inform their farm management decisions. The release of the Peninsula Pride Farms Sustainability Project year four results and the Lafayette Ag Stewardship Alliance Sustainability Project year five results demonstrate continuous improvement in sustainability and water quality across Wisconsin.
    • AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes, Precision Agriculture

    ZimmCast 735 – Preview of 2024 NAMA Fall Conference

    Chuck Zimmerman

    ZimmCastHello and welcome to the ZimmCast.

    It’s time for the 2024 NAMA Fall Conference which will be held in Minneapolis, MN, October 14-16. The theme is “Fall Back” and you’ll hear why in my interview with Laura Rustmann, Director of Marketing and Sales, J.L. Farmakis, Inc. and Chair of the committee that is organizing the conference. BTW. You can register here.

    Cindy and I have enjoyed a few weeks without travel since the Farm Progress Show but things will get started again the beginning of October. I will not be able to attend the NAMA Fall Conference this year due to a conflict but we’re going to get a preview from Laura.

    That’s the ZimmCast for now. Please let me know if you have ideas for a future podcast. Just email me at chuck@zimmcomm.biz.

    Listen to the episode here:
    ZimmCast 735 - Preview of the 2024 NAMA Fall Conference (13:23)

    I hope you enjoyed it and thank you for listening.

    Subscribe to the ZimmCast in:

    Agencies, Agribusiness, Audio, Media, NAMA, ZimmCast

    Trump Puts John Deere on Notice

    Cindy Zimmerman

    During a roundtable discussion on agriculture in Pennsylvania Monday, former President Donald Trump called out John Deere for moving its manufacturing to Mexico.

    “I’m just notifying John Deere right now, if you do that we’re putting a 200% tariff on everything you want to sell into the United States,” said Trump, pointing out the Deere tractors in the backdrop and saying he loves the company. “John Deere’s a great name, I buy a lot of John Deere products as a private person.”

    Deere announced plans in June to acquire land in Mexico to build a new facility and shift some production from Dubuque, Iowa to Mexico. Trump warned what will happen if that if that is successful. “If they build in Mexico, they start closing plants. In this case, it was in Iowa…The problem is that’s just the beginning. Then all of a sudden you’ll hear in a year from now, they’re gonna do another one, another one. All of a sudden, they’re not gonna be in the country anymore. They’re gonna have to pay a very big price to be able to sell that product into the United States.”

    Listen to some of Trump’s remarks here:
    Trump talks to farmers in PA 12:52

    Audio, John Deere, politics, Tractor, Trade

    Animal Ag News 9/23

    Carrie Muehling

  • Kansas State University is joining a new pilot program from Farm Journal Foundation to support veterinary students in their career development and address the national shortage of rural, food-systems veterinarians. The university is one of nine schools participating in the Veterinary Workforce Solutions Program, which seeks to address structural challenges facing the food animal veterinary industry. The program, backed by support from the Zoetis Foundation, supports veterinary students across a number of areas, including tackling student debt and financial planning, developing business management skills, and learning how to engage with rural communities.
  • Zoetis ended the second quarter of 2024 with a $250,000 contribution to Folds of Honor. This brings the total contribution from Zoetis to $1.55 million over its three years of support to the organization. Proceeds from the sales of select Zoetis products continue to raise funds for Folds of Honor scholarships. Folds of Honor provides academic scholarships to the spouses and children of men and women who have fallen or been disabled while serving in the U.S. armed forces or as first responders.
  • The Public Lands Council (PLC) closed out their 56th Annual Meeting by announcing Colorado rancher Tim Canterbury as the new PLC President. Tim owns and operates his family ranch in Howard, Colorado, where his family has been ranching since 1879. He has previously served as a member of the PLC Board of Directors, President of Colorado Cattlemen’s Association (CCA), and chair of the Colorado Public Lands Council.
  • At the Public Lands Council (PLC) Annual Meeting this week, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced winners of the 2024 Rangeland Stewardship and Rangeland Innovation awards to recognize exemplary management and outstanding accomplishments in restoring and maintaining the health of public rangelands.
  • The National Pork Industry Foundation (NPIF), a nonprofit dedicated to advancing research and education within the pork industry, is now accepting applications for the Neil Dierks Scholarship. This scholarship honors Neil Dierks, the National Pork Producers Council‘s (NPPC) former longtime CEO, and his remarkable contributions to the industry. The $5,000 scholarship is awarded annually to a graduate student enrolled in a land-grant university pursuing a field of study that directly supports the pork industry.
  • Known as the “Father of the Brand Specifications,” Dr. Bobby VanStavern was committed to improving beef quality. His legacy lives on in the Dr. Bobby VanStavern Award for Beef Quality Research. Established by Certified Angus Beef (CAB), the award was created to recognize outstanding student research dedicated to advancing beef quality. The 2024 recipient is William Boyd for his research titled, “Instrumental Assessment of Marbling and Objective Color Post-Ribbing.”
  • The American Lamb Board (ALB) is looking for 150 sheep producers to participate in its Climate Smart Sheep program. Producers enrolled in the program will be paid up to $7,000 to develop and implement Climate Smart Sheep management practices and measure and report emissions and life cycle analysis.
  • National Milk Producers Federation and U.S. Dairy Export Ccouncil expressed their strong disappointment with a preliminary ruling by Colombia’s government that unfairly targets U.S. dairy exporters by advancing baseless claims that U.S. milk powder was unduly subsidized.
  • The dairy checkoff has awarded 12 academic scholarships to students enrolled in programs that emphasize dairy and who have shown potential to become future dairy leaders. The National Dairy Promotion and Research Board (NDB), through Dairy Management Inc., which manages the national dairy checkoff, annually awards $2,500 scholarships to 11 students. In addition, the NDB awards a $3,500 James H. Loper Jr. Memorial Scholarship to one outstanding scholarship recipient.
  • USPOULTRY and the USPOULTRY Foundation are accepting research preproposals from colleges, universities and research facilities through Nov. 1, on further understanding highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Since the HPAI outbreak began in early February 2022, thousands of cases have been reported in both commercial poultry and backyard flocks, leading to the loss of millions of birds. The H5N1 strain has affected domestic and backyard flocks across 48 states, impacting farmers and communities nationwide. Additionally, the virus has been transmitted to commercial dairy cattle, and several human infections have been reported.
  • “The Integrated Value of the U.S. Genetic Evaluation System” is the focus when dairy genetic enthusiasts gather on October 2, 2024, for the 10th Industry Meeting of the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB). This annual meeting will be in Madison, Wis., on Wednesday morning during World Dairy Expo in The Tanbark. All dairy producers, industry professionals and genetic enthusiasts are invited to participate. View the agenda and register online for the in-person or livestream option.
    • AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Animal Bites

    Ethanol Report on Election Issues

    Cindy Zimmerman

    No matter what happens in November, there will be a new president in January and a new administration that could be radically different than the current one, and that could mean a big difference in the outcome of policy issues for the ethanol industry.

    In this edition of the Ethanol Report, Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper discusses with reporters some of the key issues that could carry over into a new administration, including 45Z and other tax credit programs under the Inflation Reduction Act, EPA’s tailpipe standards, year-round E15, the Renewable Fuel Standard, and trade.

    Ethanol Report 9-18-24 21:36

    The Ethanol Report is a podcast about the latest news and information in the ethanol industry that has been sponsored by the Renewable Fuels Association since 2008.

    Choose an option to subscribe

    Audio, Ethanol, Podcasts, RFA

    Industry Ag News 9/20

    Carrie Muehling

  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), launched a collection of interactive maps to allow data users to access key Census of Agriculture information. The newly redesigned Ag Census Web Maps application offers the public access to maps and accompanying data to help visualize, download and analyze Census of Agriculture data down to the county level. The application assembles maps and statistics from the 2022 Census of Agriculture in five broad categories – crops and plants, economics, farms, livestock and animals, and producers – as well as associated subcategories.
  • Join us for the NAAA Ag Aviation Expo in Fort Worth, Nov. 18-21. Attendee registration is open here and booth sales are open here. This is the premiere global trade show for agricultural aviation. It includes an exposition covering the A-Z’s of everything ag aviation related.
  • The Best of NAMA awards program honors the best work in agricultural communications. Actually, the best of the best, since companies and agencies must first qualify through regional competition to advance to the national level. The national awards ceremony will take place ​April 9, 2025, at the Sheraton Crown Center in Kansas City. The Call for Entries is live on the web. NAMA members can enter their best work by October 18, 2024.
  • Four National FFA corporate partners will be honored with the Distinguished Service Citation during the National FFA Convention & Expo in Indianapolis, Oct. 23-26. Ball Horticultural Company, Blue Diamond, Domino’s and Wrangler will be celebrated during an onstage ceremony on Friday, Oct. 25, this year during the event.
  • The Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved final guidance regarding the listing for trading of voluntary carbon credit derivative contracts. The guidance applies to designated contract markets (DCMs), which are CFTC-regulated derivatives exchanges, and outlines factors for DCMs to consider when addressing certain Core Principle requirements in the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations that are relevant to the listing for trading of voluntary carbon credit derivative contracts. The guidance also outlines factors for consideration when addressing certain requirements under the CFTC’s Part 40 Regulations that relate to the submission of new derivative contracts, and contract amendments to the CFTC.
  • Join the Nebraska Water Center in Lincoln October 9 and 10, 2024, for the annual Nebraska Water Conference. The 2024 conference theme is “Collaboration and Innovation in Nebraska Water.” Held at the Nebraska Innovation Campus conference center, this two-day event will feature discussions on emerging contaminants, drought preparedness, nutrient management, climate smart practices, urban water resilience, and modeling. Experts from the state and region will share their work and lead discussions on future opportunities for innovative partnerships.
  • The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), joined by 25 other agriculture groups, sent a letter this week to the chairmen and ranking members of the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways & Means Committee encouraging them to reauthorize a lapsed trade program, called the Generalized System of Preference.
  • Torrey Advisory Group (TAG), a boutique lobbying firm specializing in food, agriculture, and forestry issues, welcomes Grace Walker as its new Member and Events Manager. Walker will focus on providing support for meeting and event planning, along with handling the firm’s association management arm.
  • U.S. potato export value grew 4.0 percent to a record $2.3 billion in the 12-month period from July 2023–June 2024. Export volume decreased slightly (-1.6 percent) to 3.3 million metric tons (fresh weight equivalent) during that time.
  • SCS Global Services is happy to announce the arrival of the world’s first Sustainably Grown® certified mandarins to the United States market this summer. Jac Vandenberg, known for its commitment to bringing premium and responsibly sourced produce to the market, has partnered with Agricola Pampa Baja, located in Peru, and Forbel SA, based in Uruguay, to make this significant milestone possible.
  • FAPRI-MU’s 2024 Baseline Update for U.S. Agricultural Markets is now available on the FAPRI-MU website. This report provides an update of the 2024 FAPRI-MU long-term baseline to reflect information available in mid-August 2024. Increased supplies, a strong dollar and several other factors have caused prices for many agricultural commodities to fall sharply from their 2022 peak levels. In the absence of new shocks to the weather, the macroeconomy or policy, projected prices generally remain near current levels over the next five years. This report, based on information available in mid-August 2024, updates the 2024 FAPRI baseline outlook released earlier this year. Crop production in 2024 is assumed to equal the values reported by USDA in its August Crop Production report and macroeconomic assumptions are based on July 2024 forecasts by S&P Global. Current government policies are assumed to continue.
    • Zimfo Bytes

    USDA Awards More Processing Plant Grants

    Cindy Zimmerman

    USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Thursday more than $35 million in grants to 15 independent meat processors in 12 states to increase processing capacity, the final installment in the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP) launched in 2022. Over $325 million total investment in 74 independent meat and poultry processing projects have been awarded.

    Joining Sec. Vilsack in making the announcement were Carl Cushing, Vermont Livestock Slaughter & Processing; Zach Fine, Holly Poultry; and Walter Schweitzer, Montana Premium Processing Cooperative and President of Montana Farmers Union.

    USDA announcement 9-19-24 13:03

    Reporters’ questions to Secretary Vilsack included asking for his thoughts on getting a farm bill done yet this year as farmers are struggling with lower income. “What producers want and need, I think is certainty and what they need and want is for the House and the Senate to conclude the work on getting a farm bill done.. I think it is obviously a positive sign that folks are talking about getting a farm bill done before the end of the year,” said Vilsack.

    USDA press call questions 9-19-24 18:31

    AgWired Animal, Audio, Beef, Farm Bill, Meat, Poultry, USDA

    Precision Ag News 9/19

    Carrie Muehling

  • The next webinar in the CropLife Industry Innovation Series will define what biostimulants are and how they work. Attendees can also expect to learn more about the different kinds of beneficial biology and the biochemical mechanisms that enable soil microbes to benefit crops. Register here.
  • EOS Data Analytics, a global provider of AI-powered satellite imagery analytics, has enhanced EOSDA Crop Monitoring, an online satellite-based precision agriculture platform for field monitoring, by introducing the VRA Map Builder feature. This update allows farmers and agronomists who use smart machinery to create detailed Variable Rate Application (VRA) maps by integrating data from various sources, including satellite imagery and machinery files. The feature is now available to users using EOSDA Crop Monitoring on a Professional plan.
  • Biotalys, an Agricultural Technology company developing protein-based biocontrols for sustainable crop protection, announced that it obtained patents for its first biofungicide, EVOCA, from both the European Patent Office (EPO) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
  • LandScan, the global leader in digital twins in agricultural technology and precision farming solutions, is proud to announce the grant of its latest patent, (US 12,092,625), titled “Precision Site Characterization Using Digital Twin”. This groundbreaking patent marks the first of its kind in the agriculture sector, involving the use of digital twin technology to revolutionize site characterization and precision farming practices.
  • Renovo Seed will offer eight elite alfalfa varieties and three of their famous AlfaGrass mixes in their 2025 product lineup. The products, which are tested in multi-year, multi-harvest plots prior to release, are poised to fit the specific forage needs of farmers and ranchers.
  • The joint membership of the North American Equipment Dealers Association (NAEDA) and the Northeast Equipment Dealers Association (NEDA) have voted overwhelmingly in favor of moving forward with a merger of these two associations. It is anticipated that the merger will be consummated in October 2024. The vote by the members of each organization was overwhelmingly in favor of this merger.
  • Nufarm Americas Inc. announced that Jeff Wagner has been appointed VP Sales – US Crop Protection who will assume the role as Ken Barham becomes Regional General Manager on October 1.
  • Radicle Growth is announced the four finalists selected for the highly anticipated Radicle Corn Value Chain Challenge Sponsored by US Corn Farmers, set to take place on October 22, 2024, in San Francisco. After an intensive review process, these standout finalists have emerged from a competitive pool of applicants, each showcasing innovative ideas and exceptional entrepreneurial spirit.
  • The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) and the American Soybean Association (ASA) expressed frustration with a recently released recommendation by the U.S. Department of Commerce to impose preliminary countervailing duty rates on imports of the herbicide 2,4-D.
  • ASTA’s Forage, Turf, and Conservation Seed Conference returns to Kansas City Oct. 27-31 for another year of programming in partnership with the Western Seed Association Annual Meeting. This year’s program features experts in conservation policy, agency professionals from both USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service and National Resources Conservation Service, and a panel discussion surrounding future trends in the seed industry.
  • Shell Rotella is pleased to announce the fourth annual SuperTractors competition, coinciding with National Farmer’s Day. Launched in 2021, this virtual event encourages farmers to showcase their impressive tractors, drawing inspiration from Shell Rotella SuperRigs, which recently celebrated 42 years of recognizing the best-looking working trucks in North America. From September 16-26, farmers across North America can enter their unique farm equipment in the SuperTractors competition for a chance to win $250, 10,000 MyMilesMatter points, and a custom Shell Rotella-branded Carhartt jacket. To participate, farmers can submit a photo along with a brief explanation of why their tractor deserves to win at super-tractors.mymilesmatter.com/peopleschoice.
    • AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes, Precision Agriculture

    Trump Pledges to Help Farmers in Michigan

    Cindy Zimmerman

    During a campaign rally town hall in Flint, Michigan on Tuesday, former President Donald Trump was cheered when he talked about helping American farmers after being asked about high grocery prices.

    “We gotta work with our farmers. Our farmers are being decimated right now,” said Trump. “One of the reasons is we allow a lot of farm product into our country. We’re gonna have to be a little bit like other countries. We’re not gonna allow so much come. We’re gonna let our farmers go to work … I love the farmers.”

    Farm income is estimated to be nearly $40 billion lower this year compared to 2023, down more than 25% due to lower prices paid to farmers for crops and livestock, and increased costs for supplies.

    Trump, who had frequent meetings with farmers while president, talked about one farmer who told him they didn’t want any subsidies from the government. “It was amazing, he said, almost tears in his eyes. We don’t want a subsidy. We just want a fair level playing field….All he wanted was to be able to compete fairly.”

    The former president recently participated in a written questionnaire from American Farm Bureau that covered topics such as crop insurance, taxes, labor, regulatory reform, international trade, sustainability, energy, and biotechnology.

    Trump in Michigan 1:27

    Audio, Farming, Food, politics

    USDA Working on Tracking Carbon Intensity

    Cindy Zimmerman

    USDA Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation Robert Bonnie is confident that sustainable aviation fuels hold great promise for American agriculture if we can get the rules right.

    “This is a real opportunity for American agriculture to create a marketplace that will reward them from the for the stewardship they have been doing and the stewardship they are and will be doing,” said Bonnie on Monday at the 10th annual Ag Outlook Forum in Kansas City.

    Bonnie says traceability of commodities through the supply chain is important in establishing carbon intensity scores. “In June, you saw a request for information around biofuels from USDA that sought to get responses from the public about creating a system to actually track carbon intensity completely through the supply chain. We think that could be really important for sustainable aviation fuels and biofuels more broadly,” Bonnie said. “We’re convinced that if we get good rules in the US and then if those rules are are similar across the globe, that US agriculture is going to be really, really good at producing sustainable aviation fuels through through low carbon commodities.”

    Farmers and ethanol producers are anxiously awaiting guidance for the 45Z clean fuel production tax credit authorized in the Inflation Reduction Act. “As we look to 45 Z, we’ve got to apply provide more flexibility, more crops and more ability to essentially use a menu approach to choosing which climate,” Bonnie said.

    USDA is working to implement the Growing Climate Solutions Act which authorizes the establishment of a voluntary Greenhouse Gas Technical Assistance Provider and Third-Party Verifier Certification Program to help reduce entry barriers into voluntary environmental credit markets for farmers, ranchers, and private forest landowners.

    Listen to Bonnie’s remarks here:
    Ag Outlook Forum - USDA Under Secretary Robert Bonnie 25:28

    Agri-Pulse, AgWired Precision, Audio, Biofuels, carbon, climate, USDA