Alltech Accelerator 2 – Breedr

Carrie Muehling

A livestock company based in the United Kingdom will soon expand to include the American market, thanks in part to participation in the Pearse Lyons Accelerator, run by Alltech and Dogpatch Labs. Breedr Co-Founder Claire Lewis was at ONE19 – The Alltech Ideas Conference in Lexington, Kentucky.

“Breedr is a livestock trading platform, but it’s slightly different to lots of other livestock trading platforms in that we trade based on data,” said Lewis. “So we bring together data on farm to predict optimum sale dates, weights and peak profit so farmers have better understanding of when to sell, and then they can, on our platform, look into contracts with processors.”

Lewis said Breedr is a farmer-centric organization that keeps the farmer at the heart of everything they do. She said the company wants to be known for handling necessary data responsibly and maintaining farmer trust.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Claire here: Interview with Claire Lewis, Breedr

Alltech Ideas Conference – ONE19 Photo Album

AgWired Animal, Alltech, Animal Agriculture, Audio

Ag Aviation Industry Still Soaring

Cindy Zimmerman

The latest industry survey from the National Agricultural Aviation Association (NAAA) finds that aerial application is as important to modern agriculture as ever, and the industry’s footprint is expanding.

From 2012 when NAAA’s last industry survey was released to 2019, consider these growth factors:
• The number of agricultural aviation operations has grown 16% since 2012.
• Along with more operations, the number of hired pilots is up 42%.
• The average number of aircraft per operation is up nearly 10%.

Based on those increases NAAA estimates the agricultural aviation industry treats an estimated 127 million acres of cropland aerially annually. According to the 2017 USDA Census of Agriculture, there are 347 million acres of cropland used for crop production in the U.S. Considering some crops are treated more than once during a season, aerial application treats an estimated 28% of this cropland.

Read details of the 2019 Aerial Application Industry Survey from NAAA.

AgWired Precision, NAAA

Precision Ag Bytes 5/29

Carrie Muehling

  • The Soil Health Institute invites applications to give a poster presentation at its Fourth Annual Meeting “Soil Health: A Global Imperative” to be held July 16-18, 2019 in Sacramento, CA. Presenters should plan to be present from 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., July 16, to discuss their work with other attendees.
  • The 2019 InfoAg Program is once again filled with industry experts willing to share their experience. Three keynote presentations will get participants thinking about the future of the industry. Ranveer Chandra from Microsoft will launch the conference with discussion of their FarmBeats, TV White Space and other initiatives followed by the PrecisionAg Awards of Excellence. Futurist Thomas Frey will be the Wednesday keynote. And Ivan Dozier of NRCS will close the conference with a close look at precision ag initiatives for environmental stewardship. Register online here.
  • The 2019 4R Summit agenda is now available, including Dorothy Pelanda, the Ohio Director of the Department of Agriculture as keynote speaker. Click here to register.
  • The National Corn Growers Association reminds farmers to register early for NCGA’s National Corn Yield Contest and save big on entry fees. Until June 30, fees will be reduced to $75. Enter today online.
  • The Iowa AgriTech Accelerator announces it has selected five agtech startups for this year’s program. The Accelerator’s Class of 2019 includes: Otrafy (Vancouver, Canada); droneSAR (Des Moines, Iowa); Vitalgia (Heerlen, Netherlands); Raks Agricultural Technology (São Leopoldo, Brazil); and FarmatroniX (College Park, Maryland).
  • New farm trial results for Mycogen® brand Unified™ corn silage with SilaSoft™ technology show the advantages can extend beyond improved digestibility and include significant feed cost savings and profit potential. Producers interested in learning more about Unified™ corn silage with SilaSoft™ technology should talk with their local Mycogen Seeds dealer, sales representative or nutritionist, or visit Mycogen.com/Unified.
  • Gin Out™, a leading cotton plant growth regulator brand from Nufarm Americas, has been approved for use as a tank mix partner for Enlist™ One and Enlist™ Duo herbicides.
AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes

Bayer Youth Ag Summit Participants Chosen

Cindy Zimmerman

Bayer has selected the 100 participants from 45 countries for the fourth edition of the Youth Ag Summit in Brasilia, Brazil November 4-6, in partnership with Nuffield Brazil.

The Youth Ag Summit, part of the Bayer Agricultural Education Program, brings together young change-makers aged 18-25 to tackle the challenges of how to feed a growing population by 2050. For this year’s application process, each prospective participant pitched an idea to tackle food insecurity in the context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In total, Bayer received over 2,800 applications from more than 140 countries.

For the 100 chosen delegates, the Youth Ag Summit will function as an idea incubator: helping them turn their ideas into reality and equipping them with the skills needed to realize their projects. They will also hear from expert speakers and participate in field trips to learn more about the agricultural industry in Brazil.

The delegates hail from the following countries:
Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Kenya, Ethiopia, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Namibia, Nigeria, Ghana, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Canada, USA, Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Mexico, Egypt, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Malaysia, Nepal and Cambodia.

The Youth Ag Summit is held every two years in a different location. Check out photos and interviews from the 2017 summit in Belgium – Third Youth Ag Summit virtual newsroom.

AgWired Precision, Bayer, Food

Alltech Accelerator 1 – Biome Makers

Carrie Muehling

Biome Makers is one of eight startup companies participating in the Pearse Lyons Accelerator run by Alltech and Dogpatch Labs. The agri-tech accelerator aims to address a diverse set of challenges facing agriculture today. California-based Biome Makers is using DNA sequencing to profile the whole spectrum of microbes living in the soil, according to Adrian Ferraro, co-founder and CEO.

“The goal that we have is really help growers to choose the right products for their soil needs. The first thing we are doing is to unveil what the soil needs at different levels,” said Ferraro.

Ferraro said customers order a sample kit that directs them how to sample the soil for microbes, and then send that sample back to the lab. Results are available via an online tool including downloadable PDF files in less than three weeks time. He said discovering the microbial diversity of the soil is the first step. Analyzing available products comes next, and looking at nutritional pathways to connect soil needs with the right products is the final step. Ferraro said a new layer of qualitative data will help growers to optimize expenses by reducing inputs or spending smarter.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Adrian here: Interview with Adrian Ferraro, Biome Makers

Alltech Ideas Conference – ONE19 Photo Album

AgWired Precision, Alltech, Audio, Precision Agriculture, Soil

Animal Ag Bites 5/28

Carrie Muehling

  • USPOULTRY’s 2019 Hatchery-Breeder Clinic will offer a look at industry updates, best practices, biosecurity challenges and other topics related to chick quality. The annual Clinic, sponsored by USPOULTRY, will be held July 9 – 10, at the Sheraton Grand Nashville Downtown in Nashville, Tennessee.
  • The National Pork Producers Council is among agriculture groups applauding the Trump administration’s trade relief package in response to the U.S. trade dispute with China. USDA’s trade retaliation relief program includes direct payments to qualifying pork producers, pork surplus purchases for the benefit of low-income families and others in need, and additional funding to develop new export opportunities.
  • Testifying on behalf of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Kansas cattle producer Debbie Lyons-Blythe delivered a clear message at a U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on climate change. Lyons-Blythe, who helps run Blythe Family Farms in the Flint Hills of Kansas, also pushed back against claims that beef cattle production in the United States is responsible for a disproportionate or even significant percentage of greenhouse gas emissions.
  • In the first half of 2019, Alltech has welcomed several new senior leaders. The four executives come from varied backgrounds but have extensive experience working within the international agriculture industry. Brian McCawley is the senior vice president of sales at Alltech, with a focus on the company’s North America additive business. Mike Osborne, the founder and former president of Nutra Blend, has joined Alltech as key account advisor for North America. Christopher Speight is Alltech’s chief financial officer of the Americas. Jonathan Forrest Wilson is Alltech’s president of Greater China, a role most recently held by Dr. Mark Lyons, now president and CEO of Alltech.
AgWired Animal, Animal Bites

Trump Welcomes Farmers to White House

Cindy Zimmerman

President Donald Trump welcomed representatives from a number of agricultural organizations to the White House Thursday to talk about the $16 billion in trade assistance announced by the administration.

“I have directed Secretary Perdue to provide $16 billion in assistance to America’s farmers and ranchers. It all comes from China. We’ll be taking in, over a period of time, hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs and charges to China. And our farmers will be greatly helped. We want to get them back to the point where they would have had if they had a good year.”

Listen to President Trump’s remarks here:
President Trump announces trade aid for farmers

AgWired Animal, AgWired Precision, Audio, Trade

ZimmCast 616 – Voices from Alltech #ONE19

Chuck Zimmerman

I attended my first Alltech Ideas Conference back in 2007. Things have changed. In fact, Alltech embraces change and this year’s conference showcased that in a lot of ways.

So, I’m going to share a few interviews from the conference that I hope you’ll enjoy. First up will be Amanda Radke, BEEF daily blogger, BEEF Magazine. Amanda was an early intern for us who wrote for AgWired when she was in her final year at South Dakota State University. I’m proud of the career she is having and to have been a part of it in our little way.

Next up you’ll hear Dr. Frank Mitloehner, Professor and Air Quality Extension Specialist, Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis. He spoke about “Beef’s Carbon Footprint: Setting the Record Straight.” And he certainly does that. I hope you’ll follow him on Twitter. We need more like him.

Then you can hear my Farm Babe 2.0 interview. I spoke with Michelle Miller last year at the conference and we did it again this year at the end of the conference. If you’re not following The Farm Babe then get started.

I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

Listen to the ZimmCast here: ZimmCast - Voices from Alltech #ONE19

Alltech, Animal Agriculture, Audio, ZimmCast

Zimfo Bytes 5/24

Carrie Muehling

  • The Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City honored two of the region’s leading agricultural figures on May 16 at a luncheon in the Chamber Board Room in Kansas City’s historic Union Station. The honorees – Lee Borck, chairman of Innovative Livestock Services and Beef Marketing Group Cooperative and farm broadcasting legend Gene Millard of Millard Family Farms – received the Jay B. Dillingham Award for Agricultural Leadership and Excellence, the Council’s highest recognition. Both men have each left their marks on the ag industry over careers extending nearly 50 years.
  • The Biotechnology Innovation Organization announced that former U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary and former two-term Governor of Iowa Tom Vilsack will receive the 12th annual George Washington Carver Award for Innovation in Industrial Biotechnology.
  • IDEAg Group LLC announces its second annual National Anthem Contest for this year’s Minnesota Farmfest. Farmfest will take place Aug. 6-8 in Redwood County, Minnesota; the deadline to apply for the contest is July 5. Interested singers can visit the Farmfest website to apply.
  • IDEAg Group LLC announces that the Dakotafest farm show will return to Mitchell, South Dakota, Aug. 20-22. The event will feature approximately 500 companies showcasing the latest innovations available to farmers in the Midwest.
  • The Association of Equipment Manufacturers has elected Brett Davis, Brand Leader, New Holland North America of CNH Industrial LLC, to the AEM Ag Sector Board.
  • Farm Credit has partnered with AgriSafe Network to support its Total Farmer Health campaign. The program will educate rural health professionals on the mental health risks faced by farmers and ranchers and trains them to integrate basic mental health screenings into their primary care practices.
  • Members of American Agri-Women from across the nation will gather in Washington, D.C., June 9-12 for the organization’s annual Fly-In. Members will present white papers on land use & policy — a special theme for this year — as well as legislative positions statements to elected officials and policymakers.
  • The National Cotton Council has scheduled tour dates and locations for the 2019 Producer Information Exchange (P.I.E.) Program. This season, two of the three P.I.E. tours will occur simultaneously. During the week of July 28-August 2, producers from the Southeast will see Mid-South farming operations in the Missouri Bootheel, West Tennessee and northeast Arkansas while Southwest producers will tour California’s San Joaquin Valley. The third tour, set for August 11-16, will enable Mid-South and Far West producers to travel to the Southeast and observe farming operations in North Carolina and Virginia.
  • Members of the California Women for Agriculture walked the halls of California’s state capitol earlier this month to discuss current agriculture policies with legislative representatives. As part of the organization’s annual statewide meeting in Sacramento, the CWA also honored Assembly Member Susan Talamantes Eggman with its Cornucopia Award, celebrating her commitment to support California agriculture.
  • S&W Seed Company and Corteva Agriscience™, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont, announced they have entered into a new mutually beneficial alfalfa agreement that terminates and replaces the December 2014 agreements between S&W and Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. As part of the new agreement, S&W will receive $45 million in cash at closing plus $25 million in payments over regularly scheduled dates concluding in February 2021.
  • The International Agri-Center® and World Ag Expo® and the Central Valley Toyota Dealers presented a check in the amount of $87,000 to Valley Children’s Healthcare during the All Guild Picnic on the hospital grounds on May 22, in Madera, California.
  • Out of more than 50,000 total entries submitted in the 40th edition of The Telly Awards, with many coming from the world’s biggest and best-known brands, nine resulted in wins for Lessing-Flynn and six of its client-partners, including four silver awards and five bronze awards for marketing and branding videos produced in 2018.
Zimfo Bytes