Soil Health Rooted in Data

Cindy Zimmerman

The theme for the 2019 Soil Health Summit was “Rooted in Data, Growing Success” and gathering data about soil health practices has been the focus of the Soil Health Partnership (SHP) since the beginning.

SHP lead scientist Maria Bowman presented some of the latest data they have gathered. “A lot of our farmers are improving their soil organic matter and that’s a key soil health indicator,” said Bowman. “We’ve been finding that our farmers are increasing soil organic matter from about a third to a half percent during their first few years in the program.”

Even more importantly, early in-field research shows no statistically significant yield drag from using cover crops.

Listen to the interview and presentations below to get more details.
SHS19 Interview with Maria Bowman, Soil Health Partnership

Opening General Session – A New Year in Soil Health – Dr. Shefali Mehta, Dr. Maria Bowman
Opening General Session - 1

2019 Soil Health Summit Photo Album

Read more from the Summit on the Soil Health Summit blog.

AgWired Precision, Audio, Conservation, cover crops, Soil, Soil Health Partnership, Sustainability

FMC Launches Lucento™ Fungicide for 2019 Season

Cindy Zimmerman

FMC Corporation has officially launched Lucento™ fungicide for the 2019 growing season. The launch was announced after Environmental Protection Agency granted FMC registration for Lucento in corn, soybeans, peanuts, sugarbeets and wheat.

Lucento fungicide encompasses two separate modes of action (flutriafol, FRAC Group 3, and bixafen, FRAC Group 7) to deliver broad-spectrum disease efficacy, fungicide resistance management, plant mobility and long-lasting residual control. Lucento fungicide is the only proven tank-mix of SDHI bixafen and FMC-patented flutriafol active ingredients (AI), offering novel disease control not previously available to U.S. row crop growers.

“Lucento fungicide provides superior control especially under heavy disease pressure, which can be attributed to its good mobility in the plant. A highly systemic fungicide, it harnesses both acropetal and translaminar movement providing uniform leaf distribution and disease protection,” stated Nick Hustedde, technical sales representative for FMC. “Ultimately, this pairing of bixafen and flutriafol delivers excellent prevention in the newer plant growth where the disease could spread.”

Additionally, Lucento fungicide is very active on diseases that have developed resistance to strobilurins, like late leaf spot in peanuts and frogeye leaf spot in soybeans.

“With Lucento fungicide, growers are able to rely less on strobilurins and stem future resistance risk. We’re seeing dual mode of action fungicides consisting of a strobilurin and another AI failing to control disease because the only effective piece in the product is the non-strobilurin component,” said Brent Jacobson, product development manager, fungicides for FMC. “Strobilurin resistance is growing, both in relevance and geography, and growers need new tools to counter this challenge and protect yield potential during the critical grain and pod fill stages.”

Here are some interviews about Lucento for more information:

Leaf Spot is FMC Disease of the Year
Interview with Nick Hustedde, FMC

FMC Updates from 2018 Ag Media Summit
Interview with Brent Jacobson, FMC, on Lucento fungicide

FMC Georgia Field Day Spotlights Lucento for Peanuts
Interview with Bruce Stripling, FMC

Triazole Chemistry Sets Lucento Apart –
Interview with Matt Wiggins, FMC Technical Service Manager

AgWired Precision, Audio, Corn, FMC, Fungicide, Peanuts, Soybean, Wheat

President Recognizes Farm Workers in Border Plan

Cindy Zimmerman

President Donald Trump presented a detailed plan to the public on Saturday in an attempt to end the government shut down and strengthen border security.

“Both sides in Washington must simply come together, listen to each other, put down their armor, build trust, reach across the aisle, and find solutions,” the president said as he laid out a compromise incorporating many elements important to Democrats, such as DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS). He also noted that the measures he is proposing will still allow temporary farm workers into the country.

“Our farmers and vineyards won’t be affected because lawful and regulated entry into our country will be easy and consistent,” said Trump.

Audio – President Trump border security and farm workers

Audio, labor

New Cotton Varieties on the Horizon

Carrie Muehling

Cotton growers are looking forward to some new varieties coming in the near future, including the transition to a brand new chemistry not currently used in cotton.

“It’s huge, because it brings forward a new tool for them to use in their program right now that they don’t currently have,” said Dr. Fred Moore, BASF Principal Trait Development Manager for Cotton.

Moore was speaking of the addition of the trait with HPPD tolerance. He said growers participating in the Agronomic Performance Trials (APT) program are important partners in terms of testing new varieties and understanding expectations at the farm level. He presented at the BASF APT Summit, held just prior to the 2019 Beltwide Cotton Conferences.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Dr. Fred Moore here: Interview with Dr. Fred Moore, BASF

Listen to Dr. Moore’s presentation here: Presentation by Dr. Fred Moore, BASF

2019 BASF APT Summit Photo Album

AgWired Precision, Audio, BASF, Cotton

ONE: Alltech Ideas Conference Announces Speakers

Cindy Zimmerman

ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE19) returns to Lexington, Kentucky May 19-21 this year with Bear Grylls and Chris Zook to anchor the event’s 35th annual exploration of transformative ideas.

Bear Grylls, one of the most recognized faces of survival and outdoor adventure, will take the ONE19 mainstage. Grylls starred in seven seasons of the Discovery Channel’s Emmy Award-nominated “Man vs. Wild” television series, which became one of the most watched shows on the planet. The BAFTA award-winning host trained in martial arts from a young age, and his survival skills were later perfected during his service in the 21 Special Air Service Regiment. When a free-fall parachuting accident left him with a broken back, Grylls’ grit and determination guided his long recovery. He went on to become one of the youngest people to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

Chris Zook is a best-selling author of books on leadership and business strategy and an advisory partner at the renowned consulting firm Bain & Company. Zook specializes in guiding companies to find new sources of profitable growth and renew themselves internally to become more adaptive and entrepreneurial. He was included by the Times of London in its biannual list of the “50 Most Influential Global Business Thinkers.” He was also named “one of the most interesting strategic thinkers working today” by “The Financial Times Guide to Strategy.”

Alltech’s flagship conference is attended annually by nearly 4,000 people from over 70 countries who gather to dream bigger and explore solutions to improve their businesses and the world around them. Additional ONE19 speakers and session topics will be announced shortly.

Learn more and register at one.alltech.com by Jan. 31 to save $300.

AgWired Animal, Alltech, Events

Zimfo Bytes 1/18

Carrie Muehling

  • Farm Foundation‘s Food and Agricultural Trade Resource Center has released four new papers focused on trade principles shaping international agreements, as well as an analysis of the importance of trade to the U.S. economy.
  • Rhea + Kaiser has added Debbie Cozzi to its Media team as a Media Buyer and promoted Sarah Sikorski to Digital Media Planner/Buyer.
  • Bunge Limited announced that Brian Zachman has been named President of Global Risk Management, effective January 14, 2019.
  • The Ag Media Summit Steering Committee (owners reps) is seeking additional proposals for management of AMS. For more information, click here.
  • While the government shutdown is preventing key USDA agricultural reports from being released, Barchart continues to provide price transparency to farmers and agribusinesses. Through the cmdtyIndexes product, Barchart is empowering American farmers and grain processing firms with the data they need to help make the most informed decisions possible during this time of limited government information.
  • Inari, a company that is revolutionizing plant breeding through tapping natural genetic diversity, announced that William W. Helman IV has been appointed to its board of directors. Helman is long associated with Silicon Valley venture capital firm Greylock Partners and a member of the Ford Motor Co. board of directors.
  • The Association of Equipment Manufacturers unveiled a new brand identity to reflect how its more than 1,000 members build momentum for the industry.
  • EFC Systems, Inc., a leading provider of solutions for Agricultural Retailers, is pleased to announce an expanded commitment to serving retailers with the addition of Joe Neumann as our Vice President of Sales and Marketing.
  • American Agri-Women presented Jenny Stelmach of Owensboro, KY the LEAVEN award at the recent American Agri-Women’s National Convention held in Springfield, Illinois. The award is the organization’s highest honor for its members.
  • The National Biodiesel Board announced it has hired David W. Cobb as Director of Federal Affairs.
Zimfo Bytes

On-Farm Data Key to Developing New Cotton Varieties

Carrie Muehling

BASF cotton breeders are excited about launching new product innovations that will continue to help growers.

Dr. Cory Mills works out of a state of the art facility in Lubbock, Texas, where his breeding group uses molecular tools to help select traits farmers need to grow better cotton crops. Mills, who was at the 2019 BASF APT Summit, spoke highly of the people he works with and the location where the trials happen, but he said the most important research happens on the farm.

“The growers are key to our success as a breeding group,” said Mills. “We actually go out on their farm and lease the ground to do all of the testing, all the screening. The farmers have all of the tools and the land, and we are able to go on and take basically their best land to screen for these traits. So, we appreciate their help. We wouldn’t be able to bring a product to the market without their help.”

Mills said the breeding group screen soil types in different areas to gain information about disease resistance as they select both native and genetically modified traits for development into new cotton varieties.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Dr. Cory Mills here: Interview with Dr. Cory Mills, BASF

2019 BASF APT Summit Photo Album

Audio, BASF, Cotton

New Platform for Food and Agriculture Innovation

Cindy Zimmerman

The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) and the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) have announced the launch of Innovature, a new platform for dialogue around innovation in food and agriculture, with an initial focus on gene editing.

ASTA CEO Andy LaVigne says they are aiming to engage key influencers in a dialogue around shared values. “Our goal is to cultivate broad-based partnerships in order to fully realize the potential of evolving innovation in plant and animal breeding for the benefit of our health, our planet, and our food,” said LaVigne.

“There is too much at stake as a society today not to have an open and transparent conversation about how gene editing in plants, animals and microbes can help address growing global challenges, such as climate change, sustainability and hunger,” said BIO CEO Jim Greenwood.

Currently, the platform is focused on gene editing, but plans are to incorporate additional innovations in food and agriculture as they develop.

AgWired Precision, ASTA, Biotech, Food, Technology

Soil Health Summit Awards Honor Best in Soil Health

Cindy Zimmerman

Five dedicated leaders in soil health received “Seeds of Change” awards at the 2019 Soil Health Partnership Summit this week in St. Louis. The awards highlight those participants in the program who have gone above and beyond to promote soil health throughout the year.

The five award recipients are (pictured left to right)
Exceptional Educators: John (and Joan) Maxwell, Donahue, Iowa
Ace Agronomist: Bryce Kujawa, Mount Vernon, Illinois
Champion Communicator: Deb Gangwish, Springview, Nebraska
Super Sprout: Brian Ryberg, Buffalo Lake, Minnesota
Data Dominator: Brian Martin, Centralia, Missouri (not pictured)

The Maxwells received the educators award because they take the initiative to tell the story of what’s happening on their farm to anyone and everyone, from local kindergarten students to visitors from Brazil. They love to share how a successful dairy and crop farm can sustainability feed the growing population while caring for the land. John is a strong advocate for the Soil Health Partnership and has been featured in print and television news.

In this interview, John talks about their passion for sustainability and soil health on the farm –
SHS19 Interview with award winner John Maxwell, Iowa

Day One Photo Album
Day Two Photo Album

AgWired Precision, Audio, Conservation, Soil, Soil Health Partnership

Farm Credit System Outlook on Agriculture Credit Conditions

Cindy Zimmerman

Three Farm Credit CEOs briefed the media Wednesday on credit conditions and the general agricultural economy.

Below are links to audio files of the remarks from each CEO representing different parts of the country. Click here for supporting materials.

Kathy Heustess, CEO, ArborOne Farm Credit – South Carolina/Southeast
Farm Credit Outlook, Kathy Heustess

Mark Jensen, CEO, Farm Credit Services of America/Frontier Farm Credit – NE/IA/SD/WY
Farm Credit Outlook, Mark Jensen

Marc Knisely, CEO, AgCountry Farm Credit Services – ND/MN/WI
Farm Credit Outlook, Marc Knisely

Audio, Crop Insurance, Farm Credit