FMC Introduces Ethos 3D

Carrie Muehling

Participants at the 2018 National Association of Farm Broadcasting Trade Talk event learned more about Ethos® 3D insecticide/fungicide from FMC.

The product is formulated specifically for the 3RIVE 3D® in-furrow application system that converts traditional high-volume applications to low-volume applications through patented technologies. FMC’s Bob Hooten said farmers are beginning to view crop protection products as a program and not just an application, and that’s important. Fighting waterhemp is just one example.

“Waterhemp is an incredible plant in the fact that it has wiped out a lot of our chemistries and we just don’t have options anymore. So we ave to really make sure that we manage. And don’t slack up on the rates at planting time. If you do that, you’re going to develop resistance again, so keep your full rates out there,” said Hooten.

Hooten said Ethos 3D offers rootworm, wireworm and grub control, and includes a biological component that grows along the root system to protect against pythium, rhizoctonia, fusarium and phytopthora. He said the equipment is free right now when growers commit to buying FMC products over a one-year or three-year period.

Ethos 3D insecticide/fungicide and the 3RIVE 3D application system are part of FMC Freedom Pass, which includes application innovations, agronomic rewards, product financing and product assurances.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Bob here: NAFB18 Interview with Bob Hooten, FMC - Ethos® 3D


2018 National Association of Farm Broadcasting Convention Photo Album

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Corn Growers Partner With Environmental Defense Fund

Cindy Zimmerman

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) is joining forces with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) to address one of the most pressing challenges for farmers, rural communities and natural resources – how to improve environmental outcomes while optimizing productivity and profitability.

The partnership will work on gathering data for tracking of water quality, soil health and greenhouse gas emissions, and developing user-friendly technology solutions for data reporting and analysis. It will also include on-farm engagement to increase knowledge about innovative conservation tools and practices, policy advocacy to support voluntary conservation programs with measurable outcomes, and finding ways for farmers to benefit economically from conservation practices such as cover crops and conservation tillage.

The Soil Health Partnership, an NCGA initiative, has been working on making agriculture more productive and sustainable through improved soil health since it was started in 2015. Iowa farmer and NCGA First Vice President Kevin Ross was among the first to enroll in the program, which has been gathering data from more than 100 working farms enrolled in 12 states on progressive farm management practices such as cover crop usage to determine both economic and environmental sustainability.

In this interview from NAFB Trade Talk last week, Ross talks about the Soil Health Partnership 4th annual summit, January 15 – 16 in St. Louis, which is open to all growers and agronomists for the first time. He also talks about the new agreement between NCGA, United Soybean Board, and National Pork Board for sustainability research. NAFB18 Interview with Iowa farmer Kevin Ross, NCGA 1st VP

2018 NAFB Convention Photo Album

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Growth Energy Celebrates 10th Anniversary

Cindy Zimmerman

Growth Energy was first announced this month in 2008 so they are now officially 10 years old. At the NAFB Convention Trade Talk last week, Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor shared some of the many accomplishments the organization has made over the last decade, from promoting the performance value of ethanol through NASCAR, to growing international and domestic markets and advocating for sound biofuels policy.

We are creating a three-part Driving Ethanol podcast series on the 10th anniversary of Growth Energy, including some archived interviewed with the founders of the organization and early advocacy efforts, but want to share the entire interview with Emily from NAFB where she talks about the progress they have made in the past decade.

Listen here: NAFB18 Interview with Emily Skor, Growth Energy

2018 NAFB Convention Photo Album

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Introducing USFRA 2.0

Cindy Zimmerman

In Kansas City last week, the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) introduced its refined focus, the new Farmer Ambassador network, and 2019 projects that connect food and agriculture stakeholders to enable better decision making.

Speaking to affiliate members and media attending the NAFB Convention were USFRA chairman Brad Greenway of South Dakota, USFRA Chief Executive Officer Erin Fitzgerald, and USFRA Communications Committee Chair Mace Thornton, who is American Farm Bureau Federation’s Executive Director for Communications.

Listen here:
USFRA 2.0 press conference

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GROWMARK Simulator Aids Training

Carrie Muehling

Using a sprayer simulator for training is not new to members of GROWMARK and FS System companies, but a virtual reality (VR) component is a recent addition.

“It’s helped out our training quite a bit because you can move around and look up and down, but you can also lean forward and see your tires and everything, so the realistic feeling is definitely coming through with the new goggles that we have out,” said Eric Wilcox, equipment manager for crop protection.

Wilcox said there is a need to fill a gap between operators with 30 or more years of experience who are near retirement, and those coming in with little or no experience. It can be costly to find a machine and ground to use for training, and weather is also a factor. The simulator allows for continuous training as new regulations and new operators come in, no matter the season.

GROWMARK is working to obtain more simulators that will be shared across the area where its member companies are located that would be available to train employees or to rent to others needing access to this type of training. Wilcox was at the 2018 National Association of Farm Broadcasting Convention in Kansas City.

Learn more in this interview: Interview with Eric Wilcox, GROWMARK

2018 National Association of Farm Broadcasting Convention Photo Album

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ASTA Talks Seed and Trade at #NAFB18

Cindy Zimmerman

The American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) team attended the NAFB Trade Talk last week and discussed what their name is all about – seed and trade.

ASTA CEO Andy LaVigne says trade is critical for the seed industry and acceptance of new plant breeding methods is important on a global scale, so the recent signing of the International Statement on Agricultural Applications of Precision Biotechnology by the U.S. and 13 other countries is welcome news. “This is a strong showing of support by governments around the world in recognition of the necessity of continued evolution in plant breeding, and the critical role that it will play in ensuring a more sustainable and secure global food production system,” said LaVigne.

In this interview, LaVigne also talked about the federal Food and Drug Administration’s new Action Plan on biotechnology innovation, the impact of recent mergers on the industry, and the ASTA CSS 2018 and Seed Expo, coming up December 3-6 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. NAFB18 Interview with Andy LaVigne, ASTA

2018 NAFB Convention Photo Album

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Precision Ag Bytes 11/14

Carrie Muehling

  • The Weed Science Society of America and its affiliated scientific societies have scheduled information-packed annual meetings over the coming months. Registration details for this year’s annual meeting of the Canadian Weed Science Society are available at www.weedscience.ca. Registration details for the annual meeting of the North Central Weed Science Society are available at http://ncwss.org.
  • The Association of Equipment Manufacturers’ October U.S. Ag Tractor and Combine Report shows overall sales remained positive year-to-date, although a few categories recorded October declines. Here is link to the full report online: https://www.aem.org/AEM/media/docs/Statistics/18-10-USAG.pdf.
  • The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture and Land O’Lakes SUSTAIN announced the forthcoming availability of Field to Market’s sustainability metrics within the new Truterra™ Insights Engine from Land O’Lakes SUSTAIN in mid-December. Land O’Lakes is the first partner that will integrate fully with the latest version of Field to Market’s Fieldprint Platform released this month.
  • Midwest farmers and row crop advisers can learn valuable take-home precision solutions to increase return on investment on every acre at the Farm Progress Tech Forum on Nov. 27-28 in Coralville, Iowa. Check out all the details and register to attend at FarmProgressTechForum.com.
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John Deere and Pheasants Forever Working Together

Carrie Muehling

A new partnership between John Deere and Pheasants Forever will promote conservation on the farm.

“John Deere and Pheasants Forever just announced a new joint effort that will improve wildlife habitat across the country and provide discounts on select models of new John Deere equipment to Pheasants Forever members,” said Lyle McMillan, tractor marketing manager for John Deere, during an interview at NAFB Trade Talk last week.

McMillan said John Deere will now become the “Official Habitat Tractor” for Pheasants Forever and the company also plans to sponsor a Conservation Farmer of the Year award to promote conservation practices. John Deere will also host workshops on how to maximize those returns on investment for every acre on the farm. McMillan was at the 2018 National Association of Farm Broadcasting Trade Talk event in Kansas City, where he also shared information about new features added to existing models this year including technology updates to 5R and 6R Series tractors.

Listen to Cindy’s interview with Lyle here: Interview with Lyle McMillan, John Deere

2018 National Association of Farm Broadcasting Convention Photo Album

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ZimmCast with NAFB Leadership

Chuck Zimmerman

This week’s ZimmCast is dedicated to discussions with the leadership of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting. NAFB just held its 75th annual convention in Kansas City. Cindy and I attended and obtained some great content which you’ll find in our virtual ag newsroom on AgNewsWire.com as well as story posts on AgWired. As you can see in the photo, Cloud, the ZimmComm World Headquarters puppy made it to the convention and worked out of our hotel room in the dog friendly Westin!

Featured in the program are immediate past-president of NAFB, Tom Cassidy, Ag Radio Network; Tom Brand, NAFB Executive Director; NAFB President-Elect is Rita Frazier, RFD Radio Network and new NAFB President, Lorrie Boyer, KSIR and Northeast Colorado Broadcasting.

The rest of the new NAFB board includes:

• Vice President: Gail Cunningham, WYXY FM Radio
• South Region VP: Dewayne Gandy, KRMO Radio
• West Region VP: Joe Gill, KASM Radio
• East Region VP: Eric Pfeiffer, Hoosier Ag Today
• Allied Industry Council: Chad Colby, Colby Ag Tech
• Allied Industry Council: Dr. Dwayne Cartmell, Oklahoma State University
• Management Sales Council: Courtney Kibblewhite, Northern Ag Network
• Management Sales Council: Lee Gill, WNAX Radio
• M&P Chair: Sabrina Hill, American Ag Network

Listen to the ZimmCast here: ZimmCast 603 - NAFB Leadership

Photos from the 2018 NAFB Convention

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AMVAC Collaborates with Iowa Soybean Association

Chuck Zimmerman

I would like to thank AMVAC for helping make it possible for ZimmComm to attend the NAFB Convention and provide a robust virtual ag newsroom on our AgNewsWire service.

During the annual Trade Talk session I got to sit down with Jim Lappin, Amvac Chemical Marketing Manager Corn & Soybeans. We talked about AMVAC’s collaboration with the Iowa Soybean Association to monitor root worm pressure annually in and around the state of Iowa. He describes the methods they use like setting traps. In the last several years he says they’ve been seeing an increase of adult populations and explains why and what it means. Listen in to hear how AMVAC offers solutions for higher root worm pressure.

Listen to my interview with Jim here: Interview with Jim Lappin, AMVAC

Prior to the NAFB convention AMVAC Chemical Corporation announced the launch of a new customer-facing website. The website design includes a robust search function for agricultural and environmental protection products, retailers and field representatives, as well as marketing and sales campaigns and product promotions.

“With more than 50 percent of traffic coming from mobile devices, we wanted a better user experience for our retailers, farmers and other professionals who rely on our products,” said Neil DeStefano, Director, Portfolio and Marketing/eCommunication Management at AMVAC. “The design ensures an equally user-friendly experience on laptops, tablets and mobile devices, while featuring our expanding portfolio of products, delivery systems and services.”

2018 NAFB Convention Photo Album

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