Farm Progress Show 2018 is Underway

Cindy Zimmerman

The 2018 Farm Progress Show is officially underway now with the opening press conference in the media tent.

Don Tourte, Farm Progress Sr. Vice President, Sales & Events Advertising, kicked off the show saying it may be the best show he has seen in his over 20 years with the event.

Once again, the media is being kept cool thanks to BASF, which sponsors the media tent that provides food and fun in air conditioned comfort.

Listen to welcoming remarks from Tourte and BASF – #FPS18 Opening Press Conference

Photo album is started and will be constantly updated:
2018 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

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
AgWired Precision, Audio, BASF, Farm Progress Show

Hello From Day 1 of #FPS18

Chuck Zimmerman

I like to start out with a “special” photo which is usually a sunset or sunrise. However, when Cindy and I were leaving the show site yesterday I saw this little area of clouds out over the highway exit to the show. It said to me that God is looking down on us and we should all take a deep breath and get to it, confident that everything will go well.

So, the ZimmComm Team – Cindy, Heather and myself – are ready for a very busy schedule as we cover what’s new in the world of agribusiness. We’re set up in the media tent and the Golden ZimmComm Microphone mixer station is ready for action.

We have started a photo album and will have individual ones for companies we’re working with on the creation, publication and distribution of content this week. Here’s our general photo album for your viewing/sharing pleasure. 2018 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

AgWired Precision, Farm Progress Show

Animal Ag Bites 8/27

Carrie Muehling

  • Allflex, part of the Antelliq Group, has announced that it has acquired Agrident, the German-based agricultural technology company specializing in RFID data capture systems used in process control and animal management systems worldwide.
  • The U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Poultry & Eggs and the International Poultry Welfare Alliance have selected Ryan Bennett to lead both organizations as their new executive director beginning Sept. 4.
  • TechAccel, a venture development company in the agriculture and animal health sector, is partnering with Reliance Animal Health Partners, an animal health technology consulting firm, to form a new animal health product development organization.
  • Kent Nutrition Group is offering a new line of products developed for sheep, goats, pigs and rabbits under the Home Fresh® product family name.
  • The North American Meat Institute has named Julie Anna Potts its next president and CEO effective September 24, 2018. Potts succeeds retiring President and CEO Barry Carpenter.
  • Zoetis has introduced Core EQ Innovator™, the first and only equine vaccine to contain all five core equine disease antigens – West Nile, Eastern and Western Equine encephalomyelitis, tetanus and rabies – in one vaccine.
  • Rebekka Paskewitz, a 20-year-old college student from Browerville, Minnesota, representing Todd County, was crowned the 65th Princess Kay of the Milky Way in an evening ceremony at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds Aug. 22.
AgWired Animal, Animal Bites, Dairy, Poultry

John Deere to Showcase New Equipment at #FPS18

Cindy Zimmerman

The John Deere exhibit at the 2018 Farm Progress Show next week in Iowa will include a wide variety of new equipment and technology solutions from the product experts. These products include new forage harvesters, additions to the tillage equipment and utility tractor line ups, and 8R Tractor enhancements, as well as new guidance, displays, software updates and other equipment, precision and data management solutions.

“Farm Progress is a big showing for John Deere,” said Cyndee Smiley, media relations manager, at the recent Ag Media Summit. “We want to ensure that whoever comes to visit the booth has a really great experience.”

Smiley explains more in this interview – Interview with Cyndee Smiley, John Deere

John Deere just announced the new DN495 G5 Dry Spinner Spreader for the F4365 High-Capacity Nutrient Applicator to allow large-scale grain producers and commercial ag service providers to more precisely apply dry fertilizer and other nutrients across a wide variety of crop and field applications.

The new DN495 G5 can be ordered starting in September with delivery expected in mid-2019.

2018 Ag Media Summit photo album

Content creation at Ag Media Summit is sponsored by
Coverage of the Ag Media Summit is sponsored by FMC
Ag Media Summit, Audio, Farm Progress Show, John Deere

3RIVE 3D Application Use Growing

Cindy Zimmerman

FMC has been working with the 3RIVE 3D application system since at least 2015 when it debuted at the National Farm Machinery Show and use of the at-plant crop protection delivery platform has just continued to grow with the development of Capture 3RIVE 3D.

At the recent Ag Media Summit, FMC product development manager Brent Jacobson said they will soon have another product to work with the application system, in addition to Capture® 3RIVE 3D® insecticide.

“It’s going to be called Ethos 3D, we anticipate registration by the end of the year,” said Jacobson. “It includes an insecticide and also a bio-fungicide.”

Jacobson says Ethos defends against corn rootworms, wireworms, grubs, seed corn maggots, cutworms and common stalk borers; as well as Fusarium, Pythium, Rhizoctonia and Phytophthor. “One of the neat things about the biofungicide is that it is a biological that actually grows with the root system of the plant.”

Learn more in this interview – Interview with Brent Jacobson, FMC, on 3RIVE 3D and Ethos 3D

2018 Ag Media Summit photo album

Content creation at Ag Media Summit is sponsored by
Coverage of the Ag Media Summit is sponsored by FMC
Ag Media Summit, AgWired Precision, Audio, Crop Protection, FMC

Zimfo Bytes 8/24

Carrie Muehling

  • Iowa Corn announced they will not renew their title sponsorship of the Verizon IndyCar Series Iowa Corn 300 race at Iowa Speedway beginning in 2019 to focus on new corn demand opportunities.
  • The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture has recognized the winning team in its summer Purple Plow Farm to Food Truck Challenge. Curry Express and teacher Priya Muthukumaravelu from Port Orange, Florida, were selected as the winner in this national competition.
  • The Center for Food Integrity welcomes a new slate of board members and officers. Doyle Karr, director of biotechnology public policy for Corteva Agriscience, was named president during the board’s July meeting in Kansas City, Kansas. Craig Wilson, vice president, general merchandising manager at Costco Wholesale, was elected vice president. Kirk Merritt, executive director of Ohio Soybean Council, is secretary/treasurer.
  • The American Farm Bureau Federation, in partnership with Farm Credit, today opened online applications for its 2019 Farm Bureau Ag Innovation Challenge. Entrepreneurs will compete for $145,000. This is the fifth year of the Challenge, which is the first national business competition focused exclusively on rural entrepreneurs launching food and agriculture businesses. Competitors are invited to submit for-profit business ideas related to food and agriculture online at http://fb.org/aginnovationchallenge by Sept. 24.
  • Shannon Higgins, events manager with the National Association of Farm Broadcasting, recently earned her Certified Meeting Professional designation.
  • Legend Seeds announces its transition from a family-owned independent regional seed leader, to an employee-owned independent regional seed leader through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan as of August 1, 2018.
  • Register now for the 2018 Borlaug Dialogue International Symposium, featuring a panel on Women Leading Agriculture. This year’s event takes place Oct. 17-19 in Des Moines, Ia.
  • The North American Meat Institute has named Julie Anna Potts its next president and CEO effective September 24, 2018. Potts succeeds retiring President and CEO Barry Carpenter.
Zimfo Bytes

ZimmCast 595 – Soil Health Partnership & Can-Am

Chuck Zimmerman

In this week’s program we’ll meet the new leader of the Soil Health Partnership. We’ll also find out what’s new with Can-Am when it comes to a hunter’s dream machine.

Don’t forget that you can subscribe to the ZimmCast in iTunes, Google Play and other podcast directories. Or you can just listen right here if you’d like. The ZimmCast is the longest running podcast featuring agriculture. We hope you enjoy it and thanks for subscribing and listening.

Now let’s get on with this week’s program. I’m sharing two interviews that I hope you will enjoy. And I’m always looking for new ideas so don’t hesitate to make suggestions.

Dr. Shefali Mehta has been tapped as the new executive director of the Soil Health Partnership, a long-term data project that measures and quantifies the impact of farm management practices known to promote healthy soils.

“Everything we have literally starts with the soil, which is intimately connected to our very survival and ability to take care of current and future generations,” Mehta said. Learn more about her and what is going on with the Soil Health Partnership in the program.

Andrew Howard, Can-Am, then talks with me about the Can-Am Defender Mossy Oak Hunting Edition HD10.

The top-of-the-line, purpose-built Can-Am Defender Mossy Oak Hunting Edition side-by-side vehicle includes factory-installed extras to appease the needs of modern hunters and outdoorsmen. Dressed in its exclusive water-dipped Mossy Oak Break-Up Country camo finish, the Mossy Oak Hunting Edition HD10 package is the direct result of joint effort from Can-Am and Mossy Oak Pro Staff. It starts with the regular Defender XT package items, yet receives its own unique functional, protective and rider-focused amenities to appeal to hunters. Essentials include gun boots, tool holders, Headache Rack with LinQ quick-attach system, half windshield, full hard roof, left-side mirror, heavy-duty front bumper, rock sliders and more.

Listen to the ZimmCast here: ZimmCast 595 - New Executive Director for Soil Health Partnership & Can-Am

We’ll see both Shefali and Andrew at next week’s Farm Progress Show. The ZimmComm Team will be on the scene.

The ZimmCast

sponsored by
The ZimmCast podcast is sponsored by GROWMARK
Locally owned, globally strong.
Audio, Can-Am, Crop Science, Farm Progress Show, NCGA, Soil, Soil Health Partnership, ZimmCast

Growers Look to Sorghum as Alternative Forage Crop

Carrie Muehling

More farmers are looking to sorghum as a solution for their forage crop needs because of volatile weather patterns and heat and moisture stress that has become more prevalent.

New varieties provide many agronomic and nutritional benefits, according to Rusty Bevell, central sales manager for Alta Seeds.

“It will actually grow at a lot higher heat, and we’ve got a variety of forages,” said Bevell. “Depending on what you’re doing, your management practices, whether you’re wanting to graze, cut it for silage, or bale it up.”

Nutritionally, studies have shown equal milk production per pounds of milk, as well as slightly higher components with sorghum, said Leo Brown, business development manager for forages. Brown said sorghum has also been known to outperform corn silage in a year where farmers face less than desirable growing conditions.

“We’re doing extensive collaborative studies with universities across the country to look at best management practices – I call it best management practices revisited – with respect to populations and how to further process the crop,” said Brown.

Brown said many growers are looking for alternatives to the traditional alfalfa and corn silage sources for forage crops. While sorghum has typically been grown in southern regions of the United States, farmers are growing sorghum all over the country from California to Texas to Wisconsin.

Listen to Cindy’s interview from Ag Media Summit here: Interview with Leo Brown and Rusty Bevel, Alta Seeds

2018 Ag Media Summit Photo Album

Ag Media Summit, Audio, Forage

Export Panel at #ACEconf18 Explores Tariff Wars

Cindy Zimmerman

National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) interim CEO Jon Doggett and CHS Director of Global Trading Max Thomasson explored the impact of current trade negotiations and tariff wars on the global market for corn and ethanol during a panel at last week’s American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) conference in Minneapolis.

Doggett drove home the point that if it was President Clinton in the White House rather than Donald Trump, people might be viewing the trade decisions made over the past 18 months differently. “We can’t let people have a bye just because they have an R after their name,” said Doggett. “If Hillary Clinton had done all that, we’d be talking that I word right now.”

Thomasson talked about how global demand for U.S. ethanol continues to grow, driven by mandates, and will continue to grow. “Consumption for the first time in a while is outpacing production, which is a good thing,” said Thomasson.

Listen to comments from both here:
ACE18 Exports panel

In this interview, Doggett talks about the trade situation, as well as his thoughts on Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler and what it will take to please oil refiners so E15 can be approved year round.
Interview with Jon Doggett, NCGA

2018 ACE Conference Photo Album

ACE, Audio, Corn, Ethanol, Exports, NCGA, Trade

AMVAC Gearing Up for Farm Progress Show

Cindy Zimmerman

Like pretty much everyone in the corn and soybean belt, AMVAC Chemical is gearing up for Farm Progress Show next week in Boone, Iowa.

Neil DeStefano, AMVAC director of portfolio management and marketing communications, is really excited about this year’s show and what they will have on display for farmers. “We’re really going to have two booths in one – our traditional product portfolio and then our SIMPAS exhibit,” said DeStefano during an interview at Ag Media Summit. “SIMPAS stands for Smart Integrated Multi-Product Prescriptive Application System…so we’re going to have a really cool interactive exhibit at Farm Progress.” Watch a video about SIMPAS here.

Learn more from Neil in this interview. Interview with Neil DeStefano, AMVAC, about SIMPAS and Farm Progress preview

On the product side, ImpactZ™ Herbicide for control of glyphosate-tolerant weeds and grasses in corn will be in the spotlight. Jim Lappin, AMVAC Chemical marketing manager for corn and soybean portfolio, says ImpactZ™ has had a very successful first year on the market. “One of the segments that has been growing very quickly is adding more residual herbicides in an early post-emergence application,” said Lappin, who explains that the combination of Impact and atrazine provides two modes of action and can be tank mixed with other residual herbicides.

Listen to Lappin explain the benefits of ImpactZ.
Interview with Jim Lappin, AMVAC, about Impact Z

2018 Ag Media Summit photo album

Ag Media Summit, AgWired Precision, AMVAC, Audio, Crop Protection