GROWMARK Moves Forward with AgValidity

Carrie Muehling

GROWMARK is helping member customers to wade through the new technology available in agriculture with its AgValidity platform.

“Ag Validity is really what we’re calling a platform to test and vet out a lot of this new technology,” said Chris Grogan, GROWMARK media relations manager. “So there are upstart companies, there are companies that have been around, and they are just bombarding the agricultural market with all of these new products, which is great. There’s a ton of new technology out there. What we saw as an opportunity was to use our member companies and all of the experience that we have across our large geographic footprint to really vet out some of these new products and new technology.”

Grogan shared the initiative with participants at the 2019 Ag Media Summit in Minneapolis, and said the company is currently working on more than 20 projects with various businesses around the world to find products and services that will save their members time and money.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Chris here: Interview with Chris Grogan, GROWMARK

2019 Ag Media Summit Photo Album

Ag Media Summit, Audio, GROWMARK, Technology

Zimfo Bytes 8/2

Carrie Muehling

  • Dorothy “Dot” Hubbard was honored posthumously at the 2019 USA Peanut Congress with the American Peanut Council‘s Lifetime Achievement Award.
  • IDEAg Minnesota Farmfest, slated for Aug. 6-8 at Gilfillan Estate in Redwood Falls, Minnesota, will feature a multitude of forums on key ag policy issues including trade, the farm economy and pandemic livestock diseases.
  • BRANDT welcomed Kelley Earnhardt Miller, one of the most prominent women in NASCAR and co-owner of JR Motorsports, and Chris Harbourt, Ph.D., assistant professor at the University of Illinois, to its board of directors.
  • CHS Inc. announced that Tim Skidmore, executive vice president and chief financial officer, is retiring effective December 31, 2019.
  • Invenergy recently announced a historic sponsorship of the National FFA Organization. Invenergy is the first sustainable energy company to establish a nationwide investment of this scale with the organization.
  • Six Mid-South and four Western cotton producers will see cotton and other agricultural operations in Virginia and North Carolina on August 11-15 as part of the National Cotton Council’s 2019 Producer Information Exchange.
  • The delegates of the U.S. Grains Council elected Darren Armstrong, a farmer from North Carolina representing the Corn Growers Association of North Carolina, as chairman of its Board of Directors at its 59th Annual Board of Delegates Meeting.
  • Kubota North America Corporation, the parent for Kubota Tractor Corporation, and Kubota Canada Ltd., previewed the all-new M8 Series. The M8 Series is Kubota’s breakthrough tractor line boasting over 200 horsepower.
  • Registration is now open for the 2019 NAFB Convention. Join more than 650 agricultural industry leaders November 13-15 in Kansas City for three days of learning, newsmaker sessions, networking, and more.
  • The World Food Prize Foundation announced that Dr. Elsa Murano, the Director of the Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture at Texas A&M University, has joined the Council of Advisors.
  • John Deere has added three products to its Frontier equipment lineup including a new rotary tiller portfolio, skid steer carrier adapter and overseeder.
  • Tonya Amen, PhD – Animal Breeding, has been named Executive Director of the non-profit National Center for Beef Excellence in Kansas City, Missouri.
Zimfo Bytes

FMC on Timely Topic of Managing Prevent Plant Acres

Chuck Zimmerman

Brandon Schrage, FMCPrevent plant acres may be record high this year and farmers are having to decide now how to manage that land.

FMC Agricultural Solutions Regional Technical Service Manager Brandon Schrage was at the 2019 Ag Media Summit Info Expo earlier this week talking about how the company is helping farmers managing prevent plant acres with weed control and soil protection. “Cover crops help in a big part but we also want to make sure we manage those cover crops effectively,” said Schrage. “We need to make sure we are controlling those weed species looking forward to the spring.”

Schrage provides more information in this interview which you can watch below or listen to here: IFAJ/AMS19 Interview with Brandon Schrage, FMC


2019 AMS/IFAJ Congress Photo Album

Ag Media Summit, AgWired Precision, Audio, cover crops, FMC, Video

NCBA Launches Cattlemen’s Call Podcast

Cindy Zimmerman

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association launched a new podcast this week during the 2019 Summer Business Meeting to focus on the stories and producers that make the beef industry great.

“Cattlemen’s Call,” hosted by Montana rancher and farm broadcaster Lane Nordlund, will provide an inside look at the issues cattle producers are facing while sharing the stories of their lives and businesses. The first episode focuses on young producers entering into the family farm or ranch and the challenges that come with it.

“Cattlemen and women of all generations have stories to tell and advice to share. The podcast is capturing the conversations that happen each day down at the local café, the stockyards or at the kitchen table,” said Nordlund. “By sharing real, authentic stories of our peers in the cattle business, listeners will no doubt relate to what’s discussed. We can all learn from the guests on the show, share a laugh with them and know that we are all facing challenges in the countryside. There are many stories out there and we can’t wait to share them with you.”

For more information, to listen and subscribe to the podcast, go to NCBA.org/CattlemensCall.aspx.

AgWired Animal, Beef, NCBA, Podcasts

IFAJ in the USA

Cindy Zimmerman

IFAJ officers Lena Johansson, Adrian Bell, Owen Roberts, and Steve Werblow

Some members of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) are continuing their U.S. journey today with tours in California, South Dakota and Minnesota, but most are on their way back to their home countries after the 2019 IFAJ Congress officially concluded Tuesday evening. The international gathering was held in conjunction with the annual Ag Media Summit this year in Minneapolis/Bloomington, MN.

IFAJ started off a week ago with the Young Leaders and Master Class Boot Camp, sponsored by Alltech and Corteva, before welcoming delegates from around the world and getting down to business.

IFAJ president Owen Roberts with the University of Guelph provided his report on the state of the organization and how it has grown. “We’ve gone from 33 member guilds in 2015, changed the constitution, and now we have 50,” said Roberts.

Listen to Owen’s remarks here: 2019 IFAJ President's Report, Owen Roberts

2019 AMS/IFAJ Congress Photo Album

Ag Media Summit, Alltech, Audio, IFAJ

InfoAg Featured Exhibitor – Iteris ClearAg

Cindy Zimmerman

As a global leader in applied informatics for transportation and agriculture, Iteris ClearAg is in the “e-intelligence business,” according to Joel Lipsitch, vice president of sales for the company’s Agriculture and Weather Analytics.

“That means we bring data and analytics of weather and soil to help our customers understand how to manage those variables and optimize their business around those variables,” says Lipsitch. “By managing the environment better and understanding it better we can help with product development, product positioning, risk management, logistics…key parts of their businesses.”

As a B2B company, Iteris ClearAg works with some of the biggest names in agribusiness, including BASF, Syngenta, and Bayer who use their solutions to make farmlands more sustainable, healthy and productive.

Learn more in this interview from last week’s InfoAg Conference. 2019 InfoAg Conference - Interview with Joel Lipsitch, Iteris/ClearAg

2019 InfoAg Conference Photo Album

AgWired Precision, Audio, Info Ag, Precision Agriculture

Coalition Goes to Court Over Biofuel Waivers

Cindy Zimmerman

A coalition of seven agricultural and biofuels organizations is seeking court action to force the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to account for lost biofuel volumes resulting from small refinery exemptions granted by the agency.

The coalition consisting of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE), Growth Energy (Growth), National Biodiesel Board (NBB), National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), and National Farmers Union (NFU) had petitioned EPA for redress on this issue in June 2018 but has received no response from the agency. In the petition filed this week, they are asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to lift a stay it placed on the joint 2018 petition asking the court to protect the renewable fuels industry from undue harm caused by EPA.

The coalition had asked for the stay to give EPA time to review its request to reconsider its current regulations. EPA’s response never arrived, but EPA’s statements and actions over the past 13 months indicate that EPA has effectively denied the request. Not content to wait further, the coalition asked the court to step in and restart proceedings.

“Thirteen months have passed since the filing of the petition, without even a proposed substantive response from EPA,” the motion states. “Meanwhile, the Agency has shown through various actions that it is not genuinely considering the Coalition’s administrative petition and has in effect denied it.”

Most of the organizations in the coalition were represented at a public hearing Wednesday in Ypsilanti, Michigan on the proposed rule to set 2020 renewable volume obligations (RVOs) and the 2021 RVO for biomass-based diesel under the Renewable Fuel Standard. Much of the comments from both sides of the issues centered on whether or not EPA should account for renewable fuel volumes waived under small refinery exemptions.

Among those who testified was Renewable Fuels Association chief economist Scott Richman, American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) Communications Director Katie Fletcher, and National Biodiesel Board Chairman Kent Engelbrecht, Vice President of Federal Affairs Kurt Kovarik, and Chief Operating Officer Doug Whitehead.

RFA chief economist Scott Richman hearing testimony

ACE Communications Director Katie Fletcher hearing testimony

National Biodiesel Board hearing testimony

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

Companies Partner to Expand Corn Hybrid Choices

Cindy Zimmerman

Benson Hill Biosystems has entered into a partnership with Brownseed Genetics, a Wisconsin-based seed breeder of new corn hybrids that are higher in both oil content and essential amino acids.

The new Brownseed hybrids, developed through conventional breeding methods, yield about 9 percent corn oil – nearly triple the normal production – and are rich in the amino acids lysine and methionine, offering added value for growers, livestock, and ethanol and biodiesel producers.

“Brownseed’s focus on varieties with both quality and productivity benefits can generate greater profitability for growers, livestock producers, and the ethanol industry,” said Matt Crisp, CEO and co-founder of Benson Hill. “Together, through this partnership, we will broaden the Brownseed portfolio so these hybrids can be grown across the Corn Belt.”

“For a small, family-owned company like ours to have access to the powerful technologies that Benson Hill offers would have been unthinkable only a few years ago,” said Charles Brown, CEO, Brownseed Genetics. “These advanced capabilities in predictive breeding and gene editing would have been available only to very large players in the seed industry, I’m pleased that Benson Hill is working with partners like us, across the food chain, regardless of size.”

Benson Hill’s CropOS™ enables researchers to predict, select and secure desirable traits quickly to bring crop and ingredient improvements to market faster.

AgWired Animal, AgWired Precision, Biodiesel, Biofuels, Corn, Ethanol, Feed, Seed

Precision Ag Bytes 7/31

Carrie Muehling

  • There is still time to enter the 55th installment of the National Corn Yield Contest but entries must be in by Wednesday, July 31, 2019. You can find both entry forms and harvest rules on the Corn Yield Contest website.
  • Case IH is introducing the new Flex Hoe™ 900 air drill, which is agronomically designed to help producers efficiently seed small grains, no matter the ground conditions.
  • Daniel Royer has joined the AgTech Insight consulting team.
  • UAV-IQ announced that it is offering aerial biocontrol, a new integrated pest management (IPM) service that uses drones to release beneficial biological control agents bred by Koppert Biological Systems.
  • Seven innovative startups have been selected to participate in the AgLaunch Bootcamp hosted this week in partnership with Arkansas State University, and Arkansas Department of Agriculture at the Delta Center for Economic Development at Arkansas State University campus in Jonesboro.
  • Syngenta announced it has received import approval for the Agrisure Duracade® trait (event 5307) from the European Commission.
  • ADAMA US announced a new service offering for its customers. ADAMA Eagle Eye™ powered by Agremo offers an advanced analysis of aerial data and imagery that helps growers protect yields more efficiently through user-friendly maps, statistics and other practical tools.
AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes

InfoAg Featured Exhibitor – Farm Market iD

Cindy Zimmerman

In agriculture, like any business, the most up-to-date information provides the best competitive edge.

That’s why Farm Market iD is applying their decades of data science to provide current in-season crop data, as well as reliable predictions for next year. “Basically what we are doing is using in-season, weekly imagery, and classifying what we see in the ground as the crop emerges,” said company CEO Steve Rao during an interview at the InfoAg Conference last week in St. Louis.

Rao says that information is especially important this year with all the prevented plant acres. Clients can use this data in strategy, marketing and sales to make high-level strategic decisions, as well as on-the-ground tactical decisions.

Learn more in this interview:

Farm Market iD CEO Steve Rao, In-season Crop Analytics

2019 InfoAg Conference Photo Album

AgWired Precision, Audio, data, Info Ag, Precision Agriculture