Farm Groups Defend Crop Insurance Budget

Cindy Zimmerman

Sixty organizations, including a majority of the nation’s farm groups, sent a letter this week to the House and Senate Budget Committees, as well as Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, urging them to protect crop insurance during the budget process in recognition of its central importance to farmers and the rural economy.

“Cuts to crop insurance during this difficult time for rural America should be avoided,” the letter reads. “Farmers and lawmakers agree that crop insurance is a linchpin of the farm safety net and is crucial to the economic and food security of rural America. The importance of crop insurance was just reaffirmed less than two months ago with the passage and signing of the 2018 Farm Bill, and we urge you to oppose cuts to crop insurance during this year’s budget process.”

At last week’s Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau (CIRB) annual meeting, Wells Fargo Chief Agricultural Economist Michael Swanson gave his current analysis of the farm economy and projections for the future.

Swanson discusses the impact of slowing growth in biofuels production on prices for corn and soybeans, how he expects to see more consolidation of farms in the near term, and global trends.

Listen to his analysis here:
CIRB2019 Michael Swanson, Wells Fargo

2019 Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Annual Meeting photo album

Ag Groups, Audio, CIRB, Crop Insurance

Zimfo Bytes 2/22

Carrie Muehling

  • Corteva Agriscience™, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont, announced that it has acquired the Clearfield® Canola Production System in Canada and the United States from BASF.
  • The 3rd annual Agri-Pulse Ag & Food Policy Summit will be March 18, 2019, at The National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The Summit will focus on “Shaping Farm and Food Policy Strategies for 2040.” You can register for the Ag & Food Policy Summit online here.
  • The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture has awarded more than $9,000 in mini-grants to communities across the nation through the White-Reinhardt Fund for Education program. Applications for a second round of mini-grants will be accepted in the spring with recipients announced in the fall. The application is available on agfoundation.org.
  • The American Farm Bureau Federation released its top public policy goals for the year. The AFBF board approved its 2019 Strategic Action Plan following delegate action during the organization’s 100th annual convention in New Orleans.
  • National Farmers Union hosted 71 students in Minneapolis, Minnesota, last weekend for its annual College Conference on Cooperatives. To learn more, visit www.nfu.org/education/ccoc/.
  • Rhea + Kaiser has earned recognition for client and agency work from the National Agri-Marketing Association. The agency recently received regional Best of NAMA awards in the areas of advertising, digital and public relations.
  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler signed a first-time Memorandum of Understanding with the National FFA Organization to advance educational outreach for EPA’s ongoing environmental and public health initiatives.
  • Colleen Callahan, Chicago Farmers’ member and past TCF president, was named director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources by Governor J.B. Pritzker. President of Chicago Farmers from 2008-2010, Callahan spent 32 years as a Peoria-area farm broadcaster and served as Illinois director of Rural Development during the Obama administration from 2009 to 2016.
  • BigIron Online Auctions announced that Jon Stopak, independent sales representative of Duncan, NE, was awarded the Justin Zak Award for Sales Achievement.
  • The findings of two new studies examining the potential economic impacts of trade policies on U.S. and Canadian agriculture will be released at the Farm Foundation Forum on Monday, March 4. For the free live audiocast, register here. Audiocasting is made possible by a grant from Farm Credit.
  • Marrone Bio Innovations Inc. announced that Zack Moye has joined as Southeastern U.S. Territory Sales Manager.
  • U.S. certified ginners, gin managers and superintendents are urged to register for one of the 2019 Ginner Schools. Online registration and course descriptions are at www.cotton.org/ncga/ginschool/index.cfm.
  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture is hosting a listening session for initial input on the 2018 Farm Bill. Deadline for registration to attend the event in person is February 22, 2019. Register at www.farmers.gov/farmbill. The event will be streamed live on www.farmers.gov/farmbill for those who are unable to attend in person. No registration is required to view the livestream.
  • Ron E. Scherer, 74, of Columbia, Illinois, passed away peacefully in his home on Sunday, February 10, 2019, in his home, surrounded by his wife (Sharon) and daughters. Ron spent nearly 40 years working in the marketing communications field, a career that included serving as Director of Corporate Communications for DEKALB Corporation and owning his own agency, Ron Scherer & Company. He served as president of the St. Louis AgriBusiness Club from 1997-98 and was named St. Louis AgriBusiness Leader of the Year in 2001.
Zimfo Bytes

FMC’s In-Furrow Solutions Boost Plant Performance

Carrie Muehling

FMC is helping growers to realize that in-furrow treatments can offer important benefits.

“We build zones of protection around those seeds and those seedlings, and we’re using a multitude of active ingredients,” said Rick Ekins, Application and Innovations Platform Lead with FMC. “We’re really trying to get that plant off to a robust start. That’s the best thing you can do for that seed.”

Ekins said it is important to put those nutrients where they can help that plant the most, increasing efficiency and productivity. He said the in-furrow solutions offered by FMC are particularly important in situations where growers are facing cold planting conditions or a history of disease or insect pressure.

“There are diseases that are taken up by the plant almost immediately after seeding but you don’t see symptoms until way later in the season. But once the plant has already got them, there is nothing you can do about that. An in-furrow product that protects against that particular disease – when that seedling pops through the ground – that protection is already there,” said Ekins, who noted the cost of crop protection is relatively small compared to a grower’s investment in land, seed and nutrition.

Ekins was at the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Kentucky.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Rick here: Interview with Rick Ekins, FMC


2019 National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album

Audio, FMC, National Farm Machinery Show, Video

Crop Insurance Industry Stable in 2019

Cindy Zimmerman

The latest crop insurance industry outlook shows a stable picture right now, according to a presentation at last week’s Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau (CIRB) annual meeting in San Diego.

“The crop insurance industry should be feeling pretty good about its current state, and stability is how we’d describe it,” said Steve Webersen, Head of Insurance Research at Conning, Inc. “The industry has strung together several years of good, solid profitability, the premium base appears quite stable and you’ve got operating efficiency that seems to be running quite high. Finally you’ve got very strong support from your reinsurers and from the new farm bill.”

Listen to Webersen’s comments on the state of the industry here:

CIRB2019 Steve Webersen, Conning Inc.

2019 Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Annual Meeting photo album

Audio, CIRB, Crop Insurance

New Ag International Brings High Tech Week to Dublin

Cindy Zimmerman

New Ag International is bringing a week of high-tech agriculture to Dublin next month, March 25-29th . Covering the latest developments in plant nutrition, smart fertilizer, biostimulants and digital agriculture, this series of events offers a unique opportunity for attendees.

The week will bring together three conferences and two exhibitions under one roof at the Citywest Hotel, the largest hotel in Ireland. The week begins with the InfoAg International Conference and Exhibition running alongside the IFA/New Ag International Conference on Slow- and Controlled-Release and Stabilized Fertilizers, which currently runs every three years. These three-day events run March 25-27.

Following many years of success in the USA, the organizer of InfoAg is partnering with New Ag International and coming to Europe to create the premier event for the discussion and advancement of precision and digital agriculture. Subjects to be covered include looking at in-field monitoring with imagery and sensors, seamless connectivity with IoT, data analytics and prediction modelling, variable rate technology and prescription platforms.

The week will finish with the 17th edition of the New Ag International Conference and Exhibition, March 27-29 where more than 500 delegates are expected. The conference program will cover the latest trends and products in plant nutrition, soil and crop health. Combined with the exhibition, the event brings together decision makers from the specialty fertilizer, biostimulant, fertigation and precision ag industries.

New Ag International looks forward to welcoming attendees to Dublin in what promises to be a truly stimulating week on high-tech agriculture. More information about all of these conferences can be found on the New Ag International website.

AgWired Precision, Biologicals, Fertilizer, New Ag International

FMC Looks Toward 2019 Season with Lucento

Carrie Muehling

Those attending the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville learned more about FMC‘s Lucento fungicide from Technical Support Representative Nick Hustedde. The product received federal registration in December 2018 and is labeled for corn, soybeans, wheat, sugar beets and peanuts. Hustedde said Lucento is consistent across disease cycles and also helps to practice resistance management.

“One thing we have to think about is that where we had pressure this past season, that inoculant is going to be around for probably two years, so certainly as we’re making our disease plans, we’ve got to factor that into this scenario,” said Hustedde.

Hustedde said Lucento has shown great success in the fight against grey leaf spot and tar spot in corn, as well as frog eye leaf spot in soybeans.

“This year in a lot of areas we did have a delayed harvest,” said Hustedde. “When you have those mature plants that are standing and you get continual fall moisture, it opens the door to a lot of fungal pathogens, as well as kind of continues the cycle for maybe frog eye leaf spot.”

He said the product offers great residual benefits and is also mobile within the plant.


Listen to Chuck’s interview with Nick Hustedde here: Interview with Nick Hustedde, FMC

2019 National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album

Audio, FMC, Fungicide, National Farm Machinery Show, Video

Precision Ag Bytes 2/20

Carrie Muehling

  • InfoAg 2019 will be July 23-25 at Union Station in St. Louis. Register now through July 8 to receive an Early Bird discount.
  • In December 2018, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) finalized the standards for mandatory “GMO” labeling by releasing the “National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard” (NBFDS). The NBFDS establishes the rules of the road for disclosing which foods in the U.S. have been or may have been bioengineered and is enforced by the Agricultural Marketing Service, a sub-agency of the USDA. GMO Answers has created a resource that explains the new guidelines, and what consumers need to know.
  • The Soil Health Partnership announced it is accepting proposals for partnerships and collaboration for 2019. Applicants are required to complete the Request for Partnership form on the SHP website. The deadline for submissions is Friday, March 15, 2019.
  • Tractor Supply Company stores across the country are collecting donations to support grants for FFA chapters in their community. Coinciding with National FFA Week (February 17-24), Tractor Supply customers can donate $1 or more at checkout from February 13–24 while shopping in-store or online at www.tractorsupply.com. Donations will fund the national Grants for Growing program, supporting hundreds of unique and sustainable agricultural projects nationwide.
  • Future Food-Tech will host the AgFunder Innovation Awards 2019, celebrating the innovators and entrepreneurs driving the agri-food industry forward.
  • McFarlane introduced a new model to their line-up of Incite® Universal Tillage® Tools at the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, KY. The IC-5151 offers a working width of 51’3” along with all the features of the existing Incite® models.
  • Inari, a company that is revolutionizing plant breeding by tapping natural genetic diversity, announced it has secured exclusive patent licenses for epigenetics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The agreement, through UCLA’s Technology Development Group, gives Inari access to tools that will positively influence crop performance without altering a plant’s genetic code.
  • Three of the world’s preeminent regenerative agriculture pioneers have formed Understanding Ag, LLC, a new business partnership that replaces Soil Health Consultants, LLC, in providing regenerative agriculture consultation services to a wide range of farmers, ranchers, businesses and conservation organizations across the globe.
  • Marrone Bio Innovations Inc., a leading developer of biological crop protection and plant health solutions, has received a notice of allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for claims covering MBI-110 bacterium as antifungal and growth promotion composition.
  • Camso unveiled its proven performance CTS High Speed conversion track system, newly available for Case IH combines for North America during this year’s National Farm Machinery Show, in Louisville, Kentucky.
AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes

CIRB Emerging Leaders Program is Growing

Cindy Zimmerman

The Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau (CIRB) Emerging Leaders Program just keeps growing.

The 2018-19 CIRB ELP class includes:

Back row –
RJ Brinkmeyer – Farmers Mutual Hail
Ryan Kramer- Farmers Mutual Hail
Bret Keeler- ARMtech Insurance Services
John Haldy – Guy Carpenter
Kevin Boeckenstedt – Crop Risk Services

Front row –
Bryce Benson – American Farm Bureau Insurance Service
Tracy Klever- Farmers Mutual Hail
Amy Zeik- RCIS
Chelsea Abrahamson – Farm Bureau Financial Services
Cole Patrick- COUNTRY Financial

This is only the fourth ELP class for CIRB and the program is already paying dividends to the organization and the industry, as well as the more than 30 participants. Previous ELP participants have become active recruiters for the program which is designed to help professionals in the crop insurance industry increase their knowledge and hands-on experience with key issues.

I had a chance to interview four of this year’s class to talk about their experience with the program so far.

CIRB2019 Interview with Cole Patrick, COUNTRY Financial

CIRB2019 Interview with Ryan Kramer, Farmers Mutual Hail

CIRB2019 Interview with Amy Zeik, Rural Community Insurance Services

CIRB2019 Interview with Bryce Benson, American Farm Bureau Insurance Services

2019 Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Annual Meeting photo album

Audio, CIRB, Crop Insurance

Passing of FMC’s Mike Harper

Chuck Zimmerman

We were shocked and saddened to hear of the passing this week of Mike Harper, who worked for FMC Agricultural Solutions for 39 years – starting as a Chemical Sales Rep, working up to Industry Relations Manager in 2017.

I interviewed Mike several times over the years, most recently at last year’s Commodity Classic. He was always very passionate about his work and exuded an intense focus and energy whenever I saw him. Here’s that interview from last year. I think you’ll hear that focus and energy in his voice.

From the 2018 Commodity Classic: Interview with Mike Harper, FMC

“Mike will be remembered for his contributions to FMC and to the industry, but more than that, he’ll be remembered for his individual contributions to the people he worked with. Mike was always the first to lend a helping hand or to volunteer for any project. He was a friend and a mentor to all, whether they were a long-tenured FMC employee or an intern starting their first day,” said Amy O’Shea, VP and NA business director. “He had this dry wit and sense of humor that could make you laugh, but also make you stop and think. There will never be anyone like him.”

I will be one of those who will miss him at Classic next week and will be sending prayers out to his family and co-workers. There is more information about Mike and services in this online story.

AgWired Precision, Audio, FMC

DEUTZ-FAHR Introduces New 6 Series Tractors at #NFMS19

Chuck Zimmerman

During the 2019 National Farm Machinery Show, PFG America, exclusive distributor of DEUTZ-FAHR tractors in the USA market, unveiled the new small frame 6 Series tractors boasting FARMotion diesel engines. Laura Handke spoke with Taylor Grout, Sales and Marketing Director for DEUTZ-FAHR USA and Aiden Zimmerman (pictured), Zimmerman’s Equipment.

Since 2016, DEUTZ-FAHR has offered the 6 Series Agrotron models that features a large chassis and power ratings up to 225 HP. This new, smaller chassis offering fits nicely between the larger 6 Series Agrotron models and the smaller 5 Series and 5G Series models to offer a full line-up of agricultural tractors from 65 HP up to 336 HP. Two models of the new 6 Series will be available in the USA market –6130 and 6140 –boasting 126 and 136 engine horsepower respectively. Multiple variants include a choice of power shift or TTV (CVT) transmission, selection of cabin and control layout, and the availability of a front end loader by Quicke (Alo) to fit the working profiles of customers and farmers across the USA.

Listen to Laura’s interview with Taylor and Aiden here: Interview with Taylor Grout & Aiden Zimmerman

2019 National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album

AgWired Precision, Audio, Equipment, National Farm Machinery Show, Tractor