Zimfo Bytes 11/1

Carrie Muehling

  • To increase diversity and reach a broader applicant pool that more accurately reflects rural America, National Corn Growers Association’s Engaging Members Committee created two new scholarship programs and increased the benefit of their long-standing William C. Berg Academic Excellence in Agriculture Scholarship Program. Applications must be submitted by Dec. 1, 2019.
  • Minnesota farmer and National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) Ethanol Action Team member Brian Thalmann called on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to follow the law and accurately account for expected refinery waivers in the 2020 RFS volume rule. Thalmann testified at an EPA hearing to review the agency’s supplemental proposal to the 2020 Renewable Volume Obligation (RVO) rulemaking.
  • The Agricultural Retailers Association welcomed Danielle Sikes to the organization in the role of Director of Public Policy.
  • Syngenta has been recognized as one of the world’s leading biotech employers – and the top agriculture employer – in the 2019 Science Careers Top Employers Survey.
  • Now through January 15, Syngenta invites eligible university students to apply to its annual Accelerating a Generation (AG) Syngenta Scholarship program. In a 2-5 minute video essay, entrants should share how their roots have influenced the way they view the future of the ag industry. Applications are due Jan. 7, 2020.
  • The International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) and Alltech have announced the call for nominations for the IFAJ-Alltech International Award for Leadership in Agricultural Journalism. The award will be presented during ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE), held May 17–19, 2020, in Lexington, Kentucky, USA. Journalists aged 40 years or younger by Dec. 31, 2019, can be nominated through their IFAJ guilds via the online application form.
  • As part of ongoing efforts to support 4-H youth nationwide, Tractor Supply Company customers and team members raised $967,681 for the National 4-H Council during this year’s Fall Paper Clover campaign.
  • HELM Agro US, Inc., a global manufacturer of high-quality crop protection and fertilizer products, announced the hiring of Aaron Locker as Vice President of Sales for the organization’s U.S. business.
  • U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) signed a lease for permanent office space at 805 Pennsylvania Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri to serve as the new home for USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) and National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).
Zimfo Bytes

Biofuels Groups Express Concerns at EPA Hearing

Cindy Zimmerman

Representatives from multiple ethanol and biodiesel stakeholder organizations and companies delivered basically the same message to the Environmental Protection Agency during a hearing Wednesday on the proposal to make up for volumes lost under the Renewable Fuel Standard due to small refinery waivers – nice try, but you still need to follow the law.

Here is what some had to say:

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig testified to the sense of betrayal experienced by the industry when the proposal was announced:
“On Oct. 4, we celebrated when the EPA announced that it would reallocate waived gallons based on a three-year rolling average of actual exemptions. This would ensure the future RFS levels would be met, and I was proud to support this deal,” said Naig. “A week later, we were astonished to learn that the EPA had rebuffed President Trump’s commitment to Iowa’s leaders and proposed a rule which offered no accountability or transparency, and fell short of the 15 billion gallon commitment. The proposed rule is eroding the public’s trust and creating even more uncertainty in the market.”

EPA Hearing Naig Testimony

Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper – “This proposal fails to reflect the letter and spirit of the president’s commitment to restore integrity to the RFS, fails to assure that the statutorily-required 15-billion-gallon level for conventional biofuels will be met, and fails to restore stability in the marketplace by definitively ending the practice of allowing small refinery exemptions from eroding RFS biofuel demand.”

EPA Hearing RFA Testimony

American Coalition for Ethanol CEO Brian Jennings – “While this proposal is not going to make renewable fuel producers whole for EPA’s prior abuse of SREs, we urge the Agency to take a small step in the right direction by issuing a final rule which reallocates the actual average volume waived from 2016 through 2018 and ensures at least 15 billion gallons for the 2020 compliance year.”

EPA Hearing ACE Testimony

National Biodiesel Board Director of Regulatory Affairs Kate Shenk – “EPA should change how it accounts for small refinery exemptions in the final rule in order to ensure that the renewable volume obligations are achieved. EPA could do so by taking further steps to limit the number of exemptions it grants in the future. Or, it could base its estimate for the number of small refinery exemptions in 2020 on the number of exemptions it has actually granted in recent years.”

EPA Hearing NBB Testimony

Audio, Biodiesel, Biofuels, EPA, Ethanol

USDA Deputy Secretary on Trade Mission in West Africa

Cindy Zimmerman

U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Steve Censky is on a trade mission to West Africa this week to help United States exporters unlock new opportunities in a region where strong economic growth is driving demand for imported food and farm products. He is joined by representatives of more than 40 companies and organizations seeking to increase exports of U.S. agricultural commodities.

“At USDA we are working to sell the bounty of American agriculture. West Africa is a bright spot with a growing middle class that are hungry for our delicious and wholesome agriculture products,” said Deputy Secretary Censky. “Through this trade mission and other efforts, USDA is proud to support President Trump’s Prosper Africa initiative, which is seeking to boost two-way trade and investment between the United States and Africa. Prosper Africa brings together the full range of U.S. government resources to connect U.S. and African businesses with new buyers, suppliers, and investment opportunities – a win for the United States and for countries across the African continent.”

Deputy Censky held a telephone press briefing from Accra, Ghana on Wednesday to talk about the opportunities in West Africa for U.S. agricultural producers.

USDA Deputy Censky from West Africa (18:24)

Audio, Exports, Trade, USDA

ASTA Events App Now Live

Chuck Zimmerman

ASTA Events AppThe all-new, year-round mobile app for ASTA event information is now live and available.

Replacing our former app, this new mobile experience includes a new, often-requested feature: one-to-one messaging and appointment setting with other attendees!

To download the new app, search ASTA Events in your app store. Special thanks to our app sponsor, Corteva Agriscience! Like this sponsorship? Hurry to secure your company’s own promotion – ASTA sponsorship opportunities for the CSS & Seed Expo 2019 close November 15!

NOTE: The app requires registrant login to access certain areas, including attendee list areas. When logging in, use the login you created when registering for ASTA’s CSS & Seed Expo 2019. If necessary, a “forgot password” will offer login assistance for any conference registrant. You must be a conference registrant in order to access these special features.

Find it in iTunes
Find it in Google Play

Ag Groups, Apps, ASTA

New PED Talks Video Series Digs into Soil Health

Chuck Zimmerman

Soil is for Life PED TalksYou’ve heard of TED Talks. How about PED Talks? Here’s a new series of PED Talks on soil health.

Soil peds are aggregated particles of sand, silt, clay and organic matter. Like their namesake, PED Talks combine soil-related topics including explanations of soil health, how we can improve it, and the progress that’s being made to ensure we have the healthy soils necessary to feed, clothe and fuel the world in the future.

The PED Talks series was created by the Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC), Soil Health Institute (SHI), Soil Health Partnership (SHP), Soil Science Society of America (SSSA), Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS) and U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

The inaugural PED Talks include a video introduction from NRCS Chief Matt Lohr and the following presentations:

  • Shannon Cappellazzi of SHI on “Soil Health Diagnosed as You’ve Never Heard Before”
  • Alex Fiock of SHP on “Focusing on Soil Health from the Ground Up”
  • Barry Fisher of the NRCS Soil Health Division and Betsy Bower of Ceres Solutions Cooperative presenting “Partnering to Enhance Soil Health”
  • Jane Hardisty, former NRCS Indiana State Conservationist on “You Are Changing the World!”


Ag Groups, Soil, Soil Health Partnership, Video

Precision Ag Bytes 10/30

Carrie Muehling

  • Taranis announced its partnership with precision imaging company Stratus Imaging to bring specialized imagery services to farmers in Australia and strengthen its foothold in the region.
  • John Fisher has joined BioLiNE® Corporation as the company’s new Director of Product Innovation & Market Development.
  • NRCS is seeking public comments on 13 conservation practice standards. Per direction from the 2018 Farm Bill, NRCS will gather feedback on 94 practices over the coming months through posting on the Federal Register. Comments on these current 13 practice standards are due by Thursday, November 21.
  • Indigo Agriculture, a company dedicated to harnessing nature to help farmers sustainably feed the planet, announces the launch of Indigo Acres, a comprehensive new offer for U.S. growers transitioning to regenerative farming practices.
AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes

USDA Unveils Domestic Hemp Production Program

Cindy Zimmerman

On Tuesday, USDA officials announced the establishment of the U.S. Domestic Hemp Production Program to create a consistent regulatory framework around hemp production throughout the United States.

Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue made the announcement in a pre-recorded video. “At USDA, we are always excited when there are new economic opportunities for our farmers, and we hope the ability to grow hemp will pave the way for new products and markets,” said Secretary Perdue.

Following up with details on the program were Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Greg Ibach and Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation Bill Northey.

The rule includes provisions for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to approve hemp production plans developed by states and Indian tribes including: requirements for maintaining information on the land where hemp is produced; testing the levels of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol; disposing of plants not meeting necessary requirements; and licensing requirements. It also establishes a federal plan for hemp producers in states or territories of Indian tribes that do not have their own approved hemp production plan.

USDA announces Domestic Hemp Production Program
Audio, Cannabis, hemp, USDA

BASF and NRGene Collaborate for Accelerated Crop Breeding

Cindy Zimmerman

BASF and NRGene have announced a new collaboration that includes the adoption of NRGene’s cloud-based artificial intelligence (AI) GenoMAGIC™ technology into BASF soybean research projects to allow for more comprehensive evaluations to accelerate trait discovery and breeding across diverse crops.

“This collaboration will explore the power of digitalization to improve and accelerate agricultural research, and aligns with our soybean crop system strategy,” said Rick Turner, Senior Vice President Seeds & Traits in BASF’s Agricultural Solutions division. “BASF and NRGene are both focused on developing and delivering technologies to support farmers to grow better harvests, protect their crops and deliver more to society in the face of mounting environmental challenges.”

NRGene’s advanced multi-purpose breeding platform is a cloud-based solution for managing the full genomic diversity of species. It can analyze unlimited volumes of genomic data, enabling scientists and breeders to easily relate genomic sequences with beneficial traits, making genomic selection and trait mapping much more productive. Data use is accelerated, making breeding both faster and more cost effective.

NRGene CEO Dr. Gil Ronen adds, “Over the years, we have accumulated a vast amount of data as well as specific competences in soy, which will add value in the collaboration with BASF to make their breeding more productive and efficient.”

BASF

Precision Ag Reviews Launches Web Resource for Farmers

Cindy Zimmerman

Precision Ag Reviews has launched a new website as a resource for farmers on precision ag equipment.

The program was started by the Ohio Soybean Council and soybean checkoff in 2017 and is a public site that strives to create a “farmers helping farmers” community by collecting reviews for all brands and models of precision ag equipment so farmers can educate themselves without a bias of brand or product.

Farmers can complete and read reviews on PrecisionAgReviews.com. All reviews collected are placed online for farmers to access when researching precision ag products. Farmers can see the collective average review, in addition to all individual reviews, to aid in educated decisions on the best equipment for their operation. The website also includes an active blog, with content authored by farmers and independent precision ag experts.

“Our team has been traveling to farm shows across the U.S. asking farmers for their input on the precision equipment they are utilizing on their farms. We have a strong and diverse set of reviews and look forward to continuing to grow this resource,” said Stacie McCracken, project manager of Precision Ag Reviews. “The goal of this platform is to better the industry.”

Learn more at PrecisionAgReviews.com.

Precision Agriculture

ZimmCast 628 – Conversation with Demeter

Chuck Zimmerman

In this week’s program I have a conversation with Sharlet Teigen, CEO, Demeter Communications. Sharlet talks about the start of the company and the challenges she and the team had to overcome. For her it began with a major move from Chicago to rural Montana.

Cindy and I have known Sharlet for many years so we also do some reminiscing about how we did agricultural marketing and communications work “way back when.”

Sharlet asks me questions during the conversation, one of which includes the origin of the name Demeter. I won’t spoil it if you don’t know it but it’s toward the end of the program.

I hope you enjoy this episode of the ZimmCast and thank you for listening.

BTW. Feel free to contact me if you have ideas or suggestions for a future program. I’m always open to what would be of interest.

Listen to the ZimmCast here: ZimmCast 628 - Conversation with Demeter Communications
Subscribe to the ZimmCast by clicking here.

Agencies, Audio, ZimmCast