John Deere Announces Upgrades to Utility Tractors

Carrie Muehling

John Deere introduced Model Year 2019 updates to its 5R Series of utility tractors at the 2018 Farm Progress Show.

“We’re really excited about the additional options that we’re offering on our 5R series utility tractors. Some of them are a first for our utility tractors, especially when it comes to technology,” said John Doyle, product marketing manager.

In addition to new technology, new features also include improvements to steering and suspension. A reconfigurable joystick is another upgrade that will provide ease of use for operators. Doyle said published test results also show the 5R Series tractor to be the most fuel efficient utility tractor in its class.

The 2019 models will be available for order beginning November 1, 2018.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with John here: FPS18 Deere interview with John Doyle, 5R series utility tractors

Deere at FPS2018 Photo Album

2018 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

AgWired Precision, Audio, Farm Progress Show, John Deere, Tractor

Animal Ag Bites 9/10

Carrie Muehling

  • Six dairy companies were recently selected to participate in the 2018 Land O’Lakes, Inc. Dairy Accelerator – a program supporting the dairy industry by providing tailored coursework and mentorship to dairy entrepreneurs. To qualify for consideration, each company was required to utilize dairy as a primary ingredient in their products.
  • The International Production & Processing Expo is launching the seventh annual Young Leaders “30 under 30” program targeting young professionals who normally would not have the opportunity to attend IPPE. Interested applicants must apply to the program by Sept. 30 and meet select requirements, including being a member of at least one of the following IPPE organizations: the American Feed Industry Association, North American Meat Institute or U.S. Poultry & Egg Association. The application and details about the program can be found at www.ippexpo.org.
  • The U.S. pork industry is focusing on the importation of feed ingredients to keep the current outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) in China from being transmitted to this country. The National Pork Board is urging producers urged to ask questions of feed suppliers. Optimism remains high that a renewed and collaborative effort will help protect America’s pig farmers and the entire industry from the current threat posed by ASF and all foreign animal diseases.
AgWired Animal, Animal Bites, Dairy, Pork, Pork Checkoff, Poultry, Poultry Expo

NAMA Fall Meeting Awards

Chuck Zimmerman

My travel, registration and hotel arrangements are made. I hope to see you in Minneapolis soon. One of the highlights of the NAMA Fall Conference are the presentations of Professional Development Awards. NAMA recognizes industry leaders at the very top of their respective fields. These prestigious awards acknowledge excellence in the areas of marketing communications, public relations and sales.

The 2018 Marketing Communications award recipient is Jerry Gennaria, Chief Operating Officer/Senior Vice President at Brighton Agency. Jerry’s experience in a wide range of agricultural sectors along with his passion for teaching and mentoring make him a great asset to the Strategy & Engagement team at Brighton. As a member of the Gateway Chapter, Jerry played a leading role in guiding NAMA through the recent evolution of its brand. Jerry and his team guided the organization’s leadership as it identified brand beliefs and pillars, reviewed audience perceptions and desires and, ultimately, developed a mission, purpose and, brand story that better positions NAMA today and for the future.

John Robinson is awarded the Professional Development Award for Public Relations. As Executive Director, Organizational Communications at the Natl. Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), John has helped grow the organization’s digital presence by tripling the number of Facebook followers and continuing to increase NCBA’s Instagram and Snapchat audiences. Recently he co-led the NCBA rebranding team, focusing on creating a more consistent brand presence for the association. John is an active member of the Rocky Mountain NAMA Chapter. He regularly attends meetings, has served on the chapter’s planning committee, and encourages team members to get involved in the organization.

The award recipient for Sales is Sonia Tighe, Executive Director, Florida Specialty Crop Foundation at the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association. Sonia’s passion and determination have played an integral role in helping transform the “single crop” culture within the state of Florida. Her enthusiasm for the success of the local farm community is helping her evolve an entire farming culture. Sonia is a board member for the Florida NAMA Chapter and she regularly attends national meetings. She is also working closely with the Florida Student NAMA team to ensure they can participate at the annual competition.

The Professional Development Awards of Excellence will be presented at the 2018 NAMA Fall Conference in Minneapolis, MN. The honorees will receive their awards during a morning session on Wednesday, September 19 at the Loews Minneapolis Hotel.

NAMA

FPS18 Features Visual Demo of AMVAC SIMPAS

Cindy Zimmerman

AMVAC Chemical has been collaborating with the J. R. Simplot Company since last year to field test the proprietary Smart Integrated Multi-product Prescriptive Application System (SIMPAS).

At the Farm Progress Show last week, the AMVAC tent featured a visual demonstration of how the system is being designed to work, from Prescription to Application to Results, and Simplot Regional SmartFarm Manager Caleb Schultz walked us through it. The audio explains it pretty well without the visual – but watching the video is even better!

Audio – Caleb Schultz, Simplot, explains AMVAC SIMPAS system


AMVAC at the 2018 Farm Progress Show

AMVAC, Audio, Farm Progress Show, Video

CropLife America’s Vroom is Friend of GROWMARK

Carrie Muehling

Jeff Bunting, GROWMARK (left) and Jay Vroom, CropLife America (right)

GROWMARK presented CropLife America CEO Jay Vroom with its Friend of GROWMARK Award during the group’s annual meeting in Chicago.

Vroom is retiring later this year after 30 years in that role. He plans to return to Illinois and help with the operation of the family farm. Vroom said he has seen many changes in agriculture during his tenure at CropLife America, and believes the organization will continue to be important.

“We’ve got a leading position in the ag community to bring a coordinated voice to government,” said Vroom. “Both our federal government and increasingly there is a lot of state policy influence that can either be good or bad for farming. So, managing that change and keeping an eye on that horizon. Where do we need to be tomorrow is very, very important and I think where the industry is at.”

Jeff Bunting is Crop Protection Division Manager at GROWMARK and he also serves on the CropLife America board of directors. Bunting said the relationship between the two is strong and echoed many priorities shared by Vroom.

“There are a lot of things coming at us with food security, tariff discussions, things about nature species. Dicamba is always a big topic for us,” said Bunting. “So all of these things that we take to D.C. – utilizing CropLife America and that voice is very important.”

Listen to Carrie’s interview with Jay and Jeff here: Interview with Jay Vroom, CropLife America and Jeff Bunting, GROWMARK

Audio, Cooperatives, GROWMARK

BASF Spotlights Poncho/VOTiVO 2.0 at #FPS18

Cindy Zimmerman

A semi truck wrapped with a Poncho/VOTiVO 2.0 message greeted visitors to the Farm Progress Show last week, letting them know that this revolutionary biological is now part of the BASF portfolio.

“Poncho/VOTiVO 2.0 enhances the microbial activity around the corn root and the result is greater nutrient availability and uptake by the growing plant,” said Kerry Grossweiler with BASF during an interview at FPS. The main addition to the insecticide/nematicide combination of Poncho/VOTiVO is soil health benefits.

The acquisition of Poncho/VOTiVO 2.0 by BASF from Bayer was only finalized a few weeks before Farm Progress, so representatives are working to assure growers that the product will still be available for the 2019 planting season as planned. “We want growers to go in and talk to their seed retailers and dealers and ask for more information about Poncho/VOTiVO 2.0,” Grossweiler said.

As the 2.0 implies, this product is an improvement over Poncho/VOTiVO, which is already used on over 40 million acres. “Poncho/VOTiVO 2.0 brings a new biologic, a new bacteria to the soil, and brings 2.8 bushels per acre greater than Poncho/VOTiVO,” James Rutledge, Product Development.

Learn more in these interviews with Kerry and James from FPS.

FPS18 Interview with Kerry Grossweiler about Poncho/VOTiVO 2.0

FPS18 BASF Interview with James Rutledge, Product Development, Poncho/VOTiVO 2.0

BASF at the 2018 Farm Progress Show

AgWired Precision, Audio, BASF, Corn, Crop Protection, Farm Progress Show, Soil

John Deere Adds to Precision Technology Suite

Carrie Muehling

John Deere rolled out the new 4240 Universal Display, AutoTrac™ Universal 300 guidance solution and updated 18-2 Gen 4 software during the 2018 Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa.

The guidance system offers ergonomic improvements for users and can fit into hundreds of different machines, according to John Mishler, tactical marketing manager. He said the display offers more choices for customers, and noted both units have weather resistant casings to protect from snow, rain and dust.

“I think really it’s all about being able to extend that Gen4 experience to more of a customer’s fleet,” said Mishler. “Some customers don’t have all John Deere equipment with integrated AutoTrac. So this gives them the opportunity to use John Deere AutoTrac along with a Gen4 auto display and really have that same user experience across their entire machine fleet.”

The new products are available for order from John Deere dealers now, with shipments scheduled for later this year.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with John here: FPS18 Interview with John Mishler, Deere tactical marketing manager

John Deere at 2018 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

2018 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

AgWired Precision, Audio, Farm Progress Show, John Deere, Precision Agriculture, Technology

Bayer Advocates Zero Tolerance Approach to Weeds

Cindy Zimmerman

When it comes to Palmer amaranth and waterhemp, Bayer experts say anything less than 100 percent control risks corn yields in the future because just one of either of those weeds can produce 500,000 to one million seeds for next season.

“Growers should take a holistic approach to managing Palmer amaranth and waterhemp,” said Frank Rittemann, selective corn herbicides product manager at Bayer. “This includes crop rotation, tillage and cover crops, as well as monitoring ditches and borders. Growers should use both pre- and post-emergent herbicides with multiple sites of action.”

Rittemann recommends using Corvus® pre-emergence herbicide and DiFlexx® DUO postemergence herbicide.

“Corvus followed by DiFlexx DUO provides a zero tolerance approach to weed management,” said Rittemann. “We recommend tank mixing Corvus with atrazine and DiFlexx DUO with glyphosate. Used together, this recommended zero-tolerance approach combines multiple effective sites of action and six distinct and powerful active ingredients for season-long control and proactive resistance management.”

Learn more in this interview from Farm Progress Show. FPS18 Interview with Frank Ritteman, Bayer

2018 Farm Progress Show

Content Creation at the Farm Progress Show brought to you by Farm Progress Show content creation courtesy of John DeereCoverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by GrowmarkCoverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Bayer CropScience
Audio, Bayer, Corn, Farm Progress Show, weed management

Zimfo Bytes 9/7

Carrie Muehling

  • AdFarm announced the launch of AgIntel. Notable leadership roles in AgIntel include Glenn Dawes, global director of insights; Matt Weeks, AdFarm strategic lead; and Shannon Warren, senior agronomist.
  • 4-H Canada announced the 2018 recipients of the John Deere Canada 4-H Scholarships. Fifteen 4-H members from across Canada were selected to receive $1,000 each towards their post-secondary education in the fall of 2018, thanks to the generous support of partner John Deere Canada.
  • Four leaders working in diverse areas of the nation’s food and agriculture sector have been elected to serve on the Farm Foundation Board of Directors. They are Dan Basse, CEO of AgResources Inc., Robert Jones, Chancellor of the University of Illinois, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, a six-time Olympic medalist, and Andy LaVigne, President of the American Seed Trade Association.
  • How colleges and universities are facing changes in the composition of funding, including reductions in public funding, and the opportunities they may create for new educational approaches, will be the focus of the Farm Foundation® Forum on Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018.
  • Agri-Pulse introduces a new afternoon podcast called Agri-Pulse DriveTime. Agri-Pulse DriveTime will be posted to the Agri-Pulse web site at 5:00 pm Eastern time from Monday through Friday. Veteran farm broadcaster Jeff Nalley, who produces the Agri-Pulse Open Mic interviews, will handle the reporting duties this week with support from the entire Agri-Pulse team of experienced journalists in Washington and across the country.
  • Save the date! Conference registration for American Seed Trade Association‘s 58th Vegetable & Flower Seed Conference opened September 4. Make plans to attend this global business networking event February 1-5, 2019 in Orlando, Florida. For more information, click here.
  • The National Corn Growers Association welcomes Peter Laudeman, who joins the organization as the legislative assistant for the Washington office.
  • A & L Canada Laboratories Inc. announces Nevin McDougall has joined the company as President and Chief Commercial Officer.
  • FAPRI-MU’s 2018 August Baseline Update for U.S. Agricultural Markets is now available online.
  • Enter Pioneer’s 2018 #YieldHero contest from September 2 through November 3, 2018 for the chance to win a Pioneer prize pack. One winner will be selected every Tuesday starting on September 11 and ending on November 6. Harvest photos featuring Pioneer brand products can be submitted to Twitter, Facebook, or email. See Official Rules at Pioneer.com/YieldHero.
Agri-Pulse, ASTA, Farm Foundation, NCGA, Pioneer, Zimfo Bytes

A ZimmCast on GROWMARK

Chuck Zimmerman

This week the ZimmCast, sponsored by GROWMARK, will feature interviews from the GROWMARK Annual Meeting. 

Carrie Muehling interviewed GROWMARK CEO Jim Spradlin about the company’s new strategy, based on the acronym ‘GROW’ which is not just focused on getting bigger. It’s focused on getting better.

She also interviewed Illinois farmer Rick Nelson who has served on the GROWMARK board for 28 years and is retiring from it.

Ann Kafer, vice president of human resources and strategy officer talked with Carrie about the GROW acronym which stands for Good Relationships, Resources of Unmatched Value, Optimized Supply Chain, and Winning Innovations.

Finally, you’ll hear from Chuck Spencer, GROWMARK director of corporate and government relations on watching farm policy and regulations.

All of the individual interviews are posted on the GROWMARK virtual newsroom if you would like to use them.

Listen to the ZimmCast here: ZimmCast 595 - GROWMARK Annual Meeting

Don’t forget that GROWMARK has its own podcast!

The ZimmCast

sponsored by
The ZimmCast podcast is sponsored by GROWMARK
Locally owned, globally strong.
Audio, Cooperatives, GROWMARK, ZimmCast