GROWMARK Supply Chain Focused on Efficiency
GROWMARK’s Rod Wells (far right) with several State Directors of Agriculture at the 2019 Farm Progress Show.
The weather challenges many farmers faced over the past year tested the supply chain for companies like GROWMARK, but the regional cooperative was well equipped to help their customers react to changing conditions like river shutdowns, the need for shorter season hybrids in some cases, and crop protection adjustments.
That’s a benefit of working across all of the company’s various divisions from energy to agronomy to grain with a continued focus on operational efficiency.
“Given the farm economy and what we’re faced with this year – farm incomes being down – everybody is open at this point, I think, to looking at a better way to do something, again, being responsive to that customer but also being as efficient as you can possibly be doing it because you just can’t afford to have the waste in the system anymore,” said Rod Wells, Executive Director, Enterprise Supply Chain, GROWMARK.
Wells said he is excited about implementing Lean Six Sigma principles within the cooperative over the coming year, looking at all processes and identifying and removing waste where possible, while still balancing that with responsiveness to the customer. Wells was at the 2019 Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Ill.
Listen to Chuck’s interview with Rod here: Interview with Rod Wells, GROWMARK
USDA Secretary Addresses Ag Issues at #FPS19
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue spent a full day at Farm Progress Show in just a few hours. After listening to farmers’ concerns during an Ag Policy Forum across the street, the secretary drove a tractor in the ride and drive, took a call from President Trump during a live show on stage with Max Armstrong, and then answered questions from a few dozen reporters gathered in the BASF Media Tent.
Listen to the press conference with USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue here: FPS19 USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue Press Conference
BASF Talks Future of Weed Control
BASF hosted a panel discussion on the future of weed control at the 2019 Farm Progress Show. Moderating the conversation was Scott Kay, BASF Vice President of Operations for North America.
Panelists included Rick Van Genderen, BASF Global Lead for Soybean & Corn Seed & Trait Strategy; Bryan Young, Weed Science Professor at Purdue University; and Brad Wade, Illinois Corn and Soybean Grower.
Listen to the full panel discussion here:
BASF Panel Discussion on Weed Control
Secretary Perdue at Illinois Ag Policy Forum
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue told those gathered at an ag policy forum during the 2019 Farm Progress Show that he expects President Trump to announce small refinery waiver mitigation efforts soon. Perdue declined to provide further details about the coming announcement.
Members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation including Rep. Rodney Davis, Rep. John Shimkus, Rep. Mike Bost and Rep. Darin LaHood hosted the forum, where they and Secretary Perdue answered questions from farmers and agribusiness leaders on trade and tariffs, biosecurity, renewable fuels and hemp production among other topics.
Listen to the entire Ag Policy Forum here: FPS19 Ag Policy Forum
Golden Harvest Connects with John Deere Operations
Golden Harvest announced a collaboration with John Deere on its E-Luminate digital platform at the 2019 Farm Progress Show.
“If I’m a grower and my data is already stored to the John Deere cloud, we have a way for that grower then to share information with us within E-Luminate, in order for us to work together to make better decisions for that grower,” said Justin Welch, Syngenta Digital Commercial Lead for U.S. Seed Business. “We believe by having that grower have his information available to more trusted advisors, they’re going to have a better opportunity to have a higher return on their investment.”
Welch said the E-Luminate service is already very customer focused, delivered through one of 1,200 Golden Harvest seed advisors who use an eight-step process to connect with growers throughout the year.
Listen to the interview here or watch it below: Interview with Justin Welch, Syngenta
#FPS19 Day Two Underway
Day two of the 2019 Farm Progress Show is underway with plenty of sunshine and a full line up of events, including a visit from Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue.
Show Manager Matt Jungmann said late planting for many farmers this year means they are not yet in the field and as a result the crowds are turning out for the event.
“It appears that the optimism of the American farmer means that we’re going to have a great year in 2020 and we’re going to make plans, so we’re going to go to the Farm Progress Show, start the planning process, take step one to put 2019 behind us, and go to work,” said Jungmann, who is National Events Director for Farm Progress.
Jungmann said visitors to the show are enjoying perfect weather after rains came through during set up for the event. New exhibits this year include an area focused on hemp production and the demonstration of a mock pipeline strike with a tiling machine.
Listen to Chuck’s interview with Matt here: Interview with Matt Jungmann, Farm Progress
Precision Ag Bytes 8/28
- Ag Leader announces GPS 7500 receivers will now support TerraStar-X, providing centimeter-level accuracy to customers across the Midwestern United States, with additional coverage areas coming soon. TerraStar-X delivers RTK From the Sky™ performance, and convergence in under one minute with two centimeter accuracy.
- The annual SoyStats report has long been the definitive guide to soybeans by the numbers. But now, those seekers of soy knowledge can find these figures not only in the yearly hard copy booklet and online at soystats.com and the ASA website soygrowers.com, but also in a handy new app, sponsored by the Illinois Soybean Association.
- New to the John Deere round baler lineup for 2020 are the C451R and C461R Combination Round Balers designed to help producers more efficiently cut, bale and wrap all types of forage for higher quality feed.
- Farm Foundation will bring together a panel of experts Sept. 24, 2019, in Washington, DC, to examine the potential value and benefits of an ecosystem marketplace.
- To help ag service providers and large-acre producers apply high-volume liquid fertilizers, crop protection products and other solutions more quickly and accurately to a wide variety of fields, John Deere introduces the LS475 Liquid System option for its F4365 High-Capacity Nutrient Applicator.
- Topcon Agriculture announces availability of its new cloud-based farm management platform integrating state-of-the-art connectivity, cloud services and data analytics. Topcon Agriculture Platform (TAP) subscriptions and cloud connectivity devices — Cloudlynk — will be available worldwide September 2019 and are designed to suit virtually any agricultural machine, implement, or technology.
Bayer Commits Funding to 4-H and FFA
At the 2019 Farm Progress Show, Bayer announced a $6 million gift over the next five years to support 4-H and FFA youth programs.
“It’s no secret that U.S. agriculture is facing a lot of challenges right now, but there is no better time to invest in the future than now,” said Lisa Safarian, Head of Crop Science, North America. “A landscape of completely new opportunities are developing right now in agriculture, and its youth is going to guide this landscape. Tomorrow’s farmers and leaders are going to be instrumental in advancements in digital technologies and data science that will unlock greater value and enable farmers to continue their efforts to sustainably produce food to feed the world.”
Safarian said these groups cultivate the desire and knowledge to advance agriculture through hands-on activities that strengthen STEM skills, engage with communities and develop strong leadership skills.
“Having this kind of a long-term partnership really does give us the chance at 4-H to plan, and to look ahead as we invest in the future of the agriculture and science workforce of our country to help build our economy,” said Jennifer Sirangelo, President and CEO of the National 4-H Council. “We know that our youth are going to play a critical role in the future of agriculture innovation, and 4-H is uniquely prepared to respond to these needs, not only because of our roots in agriculture, but because of our reach and the diversity of the young people we serve today.”
Echoing the thanks to Bayer for this investment in young people was Mark Poeschl, CEO of the National FFA Organization.
“We recognize that in order for us to grow the 8,600 FFA chapters around the country, we have to continue to invest in teachers – both recruitment of teachers as well as retention of those teachers that are already in the classroom. These funds help us do that,” said Poeschl. “We also believe we have to be the voice of agriculture. We have to teach our young people how to be advocates for agriculture. So advocacy and ag literacy – a second pillar of FFA’s strategic plan – will also be a critical part of the investment that we continue to make in our members around the country.”
Listen to the entire news conference here: Bayer Commits to 4-H and FFA News Conference
NCGA Tackles Waivers, Trade
While celebrating announcements about E-15, National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) 1st Vice President Kevin Ross had the opportunity to share a pointed message with President Trump last spring regarding small refinery exemptions. But recent news out of Washington, D.C. about Renewable Fuels Standard waivers has Ross declaring there is still work to do.
“There’s time for them to do things and get them fixed, but there’s not a lot of time,” said Ross, who farms in southeastern Iowa. “We’ve got a lot of plants that have shuttered. We’ve got a lot of plants that are closing down at a time when we’re coming into harvest and guys need places to go with their products.”
Ross said the administration needs to understand how important the ethanol market is and how hurtful these exemptions are to the renewable fuels industry as a whole, noting that some plants have been operating on a negative margin for nearly a year.
He also acknowledged the difficult trade situation farmers face right now. While encouraged by recent announcements involving Japan, Ross said the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) needs to come before Congress. He also applauded the administration for taking on intellectual property issues within China, but said that country’s retaliation hurts farmers and hurts agriculture.
Listen to Cindy’s interview with Kevin here: Interview with Kevin Ross, NCGA