FMC Out in Front at #NAFB19

Chuck Zimmerman

The FMC and FLM/Harvest team was out in force at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) annual convention last week in Kansas City. FMC has been a long time sponsor of NAFB’s centerpiece event Trade Talk and always a great supporter of farm broadcasting.

At the FMC Trade Talk booth this year, Brandon Schrage and Matthew Wiggins were busy doing interviews about weed control, trending insects and diseases in 2019, and what’s new with FMC. You can find interviews with both of them on the AgNewsWire virtual newsroom from NAFB.

In this video from NAFB, Schrage discusses how growers can regain the upper hand on weeds in 2020; and what insect and diseases were trending in 2019, including tar spot and soybean gall midge.


Agribusiness, Audio, Crop Protection, FMC, NAFB, Video

Animal Ag Bites 11/18

Carrie Muehling

  • The first-ever Sioux Falls Dairy Crawl was held on October 28, 2019, at three downtown restaurants. Five dairy farm families, along with dietitians and other ag professionals served as hosts to approximately 40 consumers.
  • Cattle feeders will honor their own Feb. 4, 2020, during their 11th annual banquet, held for the second year in conjunction with the nation’s largest annual cattle industry gathering. The Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame banquet will precede the 2020 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show, to be held in San Antonio, Texas, Feb. 5-7.
  • United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue released a statement on China’s decision to lift its ban on poultry imports from the United States. China has banned all U.S. poultry since January 2015 due to an avian influenza outbreak in December 2014, even though the United States has been free of this disease since August 2017. The United States exported over $500 million worth of poultry products to China in 2013. The U.S. is the world’s second largest poultry exporter, with global exports of poultry meat and products of $4.3 billion last year.
  • Vets Plus, Inc. announces that the Wonewoc, WI facility of its subsidiary Merrick’s Animal Health, LLC has received a Certificate of Compliance from the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) under its Safe Feed/Safe Food Program.
  • A new white paper detailing the minimal environmental footprint of beef production in the U.S. was recently published by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, a contractor to the Beef Checkoff. The white paper, authored by Sara Place, PhD, senior director of sustainable beef production research at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, highlights why and how the U.S. is the leader in sustainable beef production.
  • America’s 60,000 pig farmers are dedicated to raising healthy animals to ensure a safe food supply. Today, that commitment means placing a high priority on using antibiotics responsibly for the health of people, pigs and the planet. As this year’s U.S. Antibiotic Awareness Week and World Antibiotic Awareness Week, Nov. 18-24, gets underway, America’s pig farmers want to highlight their ongoing efforts to achieve excellent antibiotic stewardship and their determination to always seek improvement.
AgWired Animal, Animal Bites

House Ag Committee on Feral Hogs & Swamp Rats

Chuck Zimmerman

At least one House committee dealt with a real issue for a change. This is from the @HouseAgDems Twitter feed and was emailed out by the House Ag Committee. Invasive species are a real problem which needs attention and solutions.

Yesterday, our Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture held a hearing on Safeguarding American Agriculture from Wild, Invasive, and Non-Native Species, and we covered a whole range of topics.

Just about every single member of the Subcommittee had a question about feral hogs, but it was Rep. Josh Harder from California that got everyone’s attention with his chart on Nutria – or Swamp Rats as he calls them.

We had witnesses from all over the country that deal with plant and animal health, and there was some serious discussion about the threats America faces when importing foreign ag products, and how we work near and around our northern and southern borders. You can watch the full hearing right here.


Video

Fireside Chat with Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue

Chuck Zimmerman

Fireside Chat with Secretary SonnyOur U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, visited farm broadcasters on Friday. It was a fireside chat visit with now past-president of NAFB, Lorrie Boyer, KSIR. Members could submit questions for Lorrie to ask during the session.

China was a major topic as USDA officially announced that the second tranche of 2019 Market Facilitation Program (MFP) payments aimed at assisting farmers suffering from damage due to unjustified trade retaliation by foreign nations will begin the week before Thanksgiving. Secretary Perdue also talked about the opening of the Chinese market to U.S. poultry.

Other topics addressed by the Secretary included USMCA, the state of the farm economy, the moving of some USDA offices to Kansas City, and ethanol. Listen here:
Interview with Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue

2019 NAFB Convention Photo Album

Content Creation from the NAFB Convention Thanks to
Coverage of the NAFB Convention is sponsored by FMC
Audio, Media, NAFB, USDA

Zimfo Bytes 11/15

Carrie Muehling

  • Premier Crop Systems announced that the Board of Directors has appointed Darren Fehr as President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors effective immediately. Fehr previously held the position of Director, Sales & Marketing with Premier Crop Systems and will succeed Dan Frieberg.
  • Minneapolis-based ag-tech company Calyxt joined Agtegra Cooperative to celebrate the revival of the St. Lawrence Grain Elevator and recognize Midwest farmers for doing their part to make the foods consumers love a healthier choice.
  • In a move designed to bring additional synergy to Bayer‘s agency relationships, Crop Science U.S. Marketing announced it has named three firms its Agencies of Record beginning in the 2021 crop year: BBDO, HLK, and OBP. BBDO Atlanta will support the Bayer Crop Protection portfolio, including herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides for row crops and horticulture, as well as the company’s new Bayer PLUS Rewards program. HLK, which is based in St. Louis, will support Channel brand seed, regional seed brands, Bayer’s trait portfolio, and integrated systems such as the Roundup Ready Xtend Crop System. St. Louis-based OBP will support DEKALB, Asgrow, Deltapine and WestBred seed brands.
  • The World Food Prize Foundation announced that Barbara Stinson has been named President of the organization, effective January 4, 2020.
  • Farmers looking to capitalize on sustainability for their cotton farms should make plans to attend the first ever Cotton U on Dec. 5 at the Amarillo Farm & Ranch Show in Amarillo, Texas, to learn about a new pilot program initiated by the National Cotton Council.
Zimfo Bytes

CARBO Ceramics Signs Agreement With INNOVAR AG

Cindy Zimmerman

CARBO Ceramics and INNOVAR AG, LLC have just signed an agreement that combines CARBO’s manufacturing and material science expertise with INNOVAR’s new Encapsulated Infused Fertilizer (“EIF”) technology, and extensive experience with Enhanced Efficiency Fertilizers (“EEF”), with benefits for both the agricultural and turf markets.

The companies have worked together on a new product that reduces nitrogen loss, increases microbial populations, and enables phosphorus, potash, sulphur and micro nutrients to be released from the soil profile and become better utilized by plants.

CARBO CEO Gary Kolstad says the partnership is another step in their strategy to utilize the company’s core strengths in the fast-growing agriculture technology space. “INNOVAR AG is a leader in developing EEF technology, which ultimately helps to make crops more productive to better serve the increasing global demand for food products, but also reduces the environmental impacts associated with the inefficient fertilizers used today,” Kolstad said. “We will continue to look for more client opportunities to grow our presence in EEF technologies and agriculture.”

“Combining our knowledge and experience in EEF technologies with CARBO’s extensive material science and precision manufacturing capabilities was critical in allowing us to develop InnoSolve 45NTM,” said INNOVAR AG CEO Andrew Semple. “We expect strong adoption of this product based on positive research studies that support its efficacy. As an example, one research study performed on corn crops with InnoSolve 45N components showed an approximate 24% increase in yield, with an approximate 5-to-1 return on investment.”

Learn more at www.carboceramics.com and www.innovarag.com.

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Facebook Live from #NAFB19

Cindy Zimmerman

The National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) Trade Talk is an event like no other. The centerpiece event of the NAFB National Convention, Trade Talk features over 100 companies and organizations being interviewed by farm broadcasters in attendance.

Based on previous years, NAFB estimates that an average of 2,542 interviews are conducted by about 124 participating broadcasters. It’s six and a half hours of non-stop talking! Chuck did a walk through of the event today – for those who have never seen it and for those (like me) who are not there this year.


NAFB, Video

NAFB Scholarship Winners Honored

Cindy Zimmerman

The NAFB Foundation presented $20,000 in college scholarships to four outstanding students during the opening luncheon of the 76th annual NAFB Convention Wednesday.

This year’s winners are (pictured left to right)
Jillian Parrent
Iowa State University
George Logan Scholarship

Kolt Buchenroth
Ohio State University
BASF Grow Smart™ Scholarship

Darby O’Connor
Texas Tech University
Orion Samuelson Scholarship, sponsored by CME Group

Macey Hurst
Missouri State University
Glenn Kummerow Memorial Scholarship,

Chuck talked with Kolt and his scholarship sponsor representative Casey Allen of BASF: Interview with scholarship winner Kolt Buchenroth & Casey Allen, BASF

2019 NAFB Convention Photo Album

Content Creation from the NAFB Convention Thanks to
Coverage of the NAFB Convention is sponsored by FMC
Audio, BASF, NAFB

Prospects for a Prosperous Dairy Economy

Cindy Zimmerman

Former U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who is now president and CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC), is hopeful about the future for the nation’s dairy industry despite current struggles.

“Domestic consumption of dairy products has, for the first time in a long while, equaled the production of dairy,” said Vilsack during a Newsmaker Session at the NAFB Convention in Kansas City Wednesday. “94 percent of American households have fluid milk in their refrigerator which suggests a continuation of a healthy 100 billion dollar industry.”

Dean Foods, the nation’s oldest and largest milk producer, filed for bankruptcy this week citing “challenging operating environment marked by continuing declines in consumer milk consumption.”

Listen to Vilsack’s remarks followed by questions from farm broadcasters:
NAFB19 Newsmaker Session with Tom Vilsack (58:00)

2019 NAFB Convention Photo Album

Content Creation from the NAFB Convention Thanks to
Coverage of the NAFB Convention is sponsored by FMC
Audio, Dairy, NAFB

#NAFB19 is 76th Annual Meeting of Farm Broadcasters

Cindy Zimmerman

“The Engine That Drives Agriculture” is the theme for the 76th annual convention of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) being held this week in Kansas City.

The 2019 Convention got underway Wednesday with three newsmaker sessions, various NAFB committee meetings, and the NAFB Scholarship Awards Luncheon.

Still lots more in store for the rest of this week, with Trade Talk, elections, awards and an appearance by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Friday afternoon, and topping off with the President’s Banquet on Friday night.

The job of convention planner each year goes to the president-elect of NAFB, who this year is Rita Frazer of RFD Radio Network in Illinois. Chuck sat down with Rita to talk about this year’s convention and what her goals are in the coming year as president of NAFB.

Interview with Rita Frazer, RFD Radio

2019 NAFB Convention Photo Album

Content Creation from the NAFB Convention Thanks to
Coverage of the NAFB Convention is sponsored by FMC
Audio, NAFB