How about a Happy Holidays from the National Agri-Marketing Association.
The NAMA staff wishes you a safe and happy holiday season! Thank you for being part of the NAMA community. In the coming year we will continue to connect you to the people, tools and programs you need to position yourself and your organization for success.
Happy Holidays from NAFB
We always like to spotlight some of the industry Christmas cards we get each year and NAFB has a good one!
Happy Deer Hunting
A couple of the members of the Crystal Pig Hunt Club are happy this season. My little tiny brother Paul harvested the nicest buck we’ve brought to camp last week. Of course there is a story to this because that’s just part of deer hunting.
In this case, Paul saw this 8 pt. buck from his stand about 200 yards or so across a creek and partially uphill in the middle of the nastiest mess of thorn vines and bushes you’ve ever seen. In fact, the whole hillside and a big part of our property is covered with this crap. Someday the pines will get big enough to shade them out. But from the time he went to find the deer with me in his stand guiding him by arm gestures to the time the deer was in the back of the Can-Am Defender we’re test driving it took almost 2 1/2 hours! I think I still have some splinters in my body. The last leg of the journey out of the thickets was over the creek and for that we used the Warn winch on the Can-Am. I don’t know if we would have been successful without it. And I would never get a utility vehicle without one for sure.
So, we got Paul’s buck back to camp and he had just started cleaning it when I walked back under our pole barn and saw another buck about 120 yards from camp! I had to run back to the Can-Am to get my rifle out of the case that’s mounted on the vehicle. Got back to the barn and he was still there. So, bam, I got a 5 pt. And let’s just say it was not hard getting him back to camp. LOL. All in all that’s what I call a happy deer hunt.
We’re going to be back at the Pig after Christmas when my nephews can be there and all of the CPHC team. We’ll continue putting this Can-Am Defender through its paces, especially since there has been so much rain and we’ve got some muddy places to drive through.
Zimfo Bytes 12/21
- The National Corn Growers Association Nominating Committee reminds interested members that it is now accepting applications for the 2020 Corn Board. Click here for the application.
- The American Soybean Association Board of Directors elected its governing committee this week during the annual winter board meeting in St. Louis, and new board members immediately began their terms. Davie Stephens of Clinton, Ky., will serve as 2019 ASA president.
- The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research announced nine early-career faculty members as recipients of the 2018 New Innovator in Food and Agriculture Research Award.
- The 35th class of American Soybean Association Corteva Agriscience™, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont Young Leaders recently began their leadership journey at the Corteva Agriscience Global Business Center in Johnston, Iowa.
- Farmers Business Network announced FBN Health, a multi-state healthcare network for farmers, their families and their farm employees, giving farmers access to more affordable healthcare options, designed just for them.
- FLM Harvest announces Marianne Smith Edge has joined its Board of Advisors.
- Charleston|Orwig announces the promotion of four team members in both creative and client services. Sarah Mielke is promoted to art director. Macyn Gillespie is promoted to copywriter. Kelly Vento is promoted to art director and will continue her work across several clients, including Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Soil Health Partnership and Vytelle. Cassie Yontz steps up to become an account supervisor, continuing her work with the Illinois Soybean Association and Dairyland Seed accounts while adding the University of Illinois Foundation activities to her responsibilities.
- The American Feed Industry Association’s President and CEO Joel G. Newman formally announced to members that he will be retiring from the association effective December 2019.
President Trump Signs Farm Bill
President Donald Trump gave Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue a happy birthday Thursday when he signed the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 with many members of the agricultural community in attendance.
“Mr. President, it is a great birthday present not only for me, but for all of agriculture, to give the producers, the ranchers, and farmers across America the peace of mind,” said Perdue. “Going forward, they can make their plans in 2019; make their lenders and bankers proud of what they can plan for.”
President Trump said, “With the passage of the Farm Bill, we are delivering to the farmers and ranchers, who are the heart and soul of America, all sorts of things that they never even thought possible. We are ensuring that American agriculture will always feed our families, nourish our communities, power our commerce, and inspire our nation.”
Listen to remarks at the signing here: Remarks by Pres. Trump and Secy Perdue at farm bill signing
Among those privileged to witness the farm bill signing was Mick Henderson, general manager of Commonwealth Agri-Energy in Kentucky and past chairman of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), who says the new farm bill gives his ethanol plant owners some certainty going forward.
“Our business is 100 percent farmer-owned,” said Henderson. “Just crop insurance is critical for a farmer trying to handle the risk and that means a lot to our farmer owners.”
Henderson talks about the importance of the farm bill and the year that corn farmers and ethanol producers have had in this interview.
Interview with Mick Henderson, Commonwealth Agri-Energy, on farm bill signing
Bayer Seed Treatments Fight Cotton Pests
Cotton growers continue to look to Bayer for its strong fungicide product line and industry leading seed treatments. While some crop protection products for cotton have failed due to resistance issues, Aeris continues to perform well with two modes of action to fight against insect damage.
“Anything you can do to get that crop off to a good start leads to a higher yield potential for cotton,” said Chip Graham, Bayer Seed Treatment Technician.
Graham said Velum Total is another product that is helping cotton growers, particularly in Texas and Georgia where nematode pressure is also high. Graham said these products proved benefit even under perfect weather conditions, but they really shine when adverse weather creates challenges for the crop. Graham was at the 2018 American Seed Trade Association CSS and Seed Expo in Chicago.
Listen to Chuck’s interview with Chip here: Interview with Chip Graham, Bayer Seed Treatment technician
Inari Introduces the World’s First Seed Foundry
Inari, a Flagship Pioneering company, recently announced the world’s first Seed Foundry as part of the company’s mission to reintroduce genetic diversity and challenge the seed industry with a shorter, lower-cost and more precise product development cycle
Inari aims to revolutionize plant breeding by merging the latest technologies with leading-edge data analysis tools to bring top-performing plants to market faster with the aim of cutting breeding time by two-thirds and cutting development costs by up to 90 percent. Inari also plans to combine biology, agronomy, data science and software engineering to make innovative breakthroughs by working with seed company partners.
Purdue Research Park business complex, in West Lafayette, Indiana, will be the location for the Cambridge-based Inari to fuel its product development with its proximity to the seed industry and the Purdue University College of Agriculture. Inari’s total 26,000 square feet at Purdue Research Park will include office space, lab and a 6,000-square-foot greenhouse complex. Growing the Inari team, currently at 65 people, the team based out of Research Park will add another 50 people by 2023 and consist primarily of scientists and product development teams.
We caught up with Inari VP of Digital and Strategy Matthew Perkins at the recent ASTA 2018 CSS and Seed Expo to learn more about this new development with the company. ASTACSS18 Interview with Matthew Perkins, Inari
Earlier this year, we interviewed Inari CEO Ponsi Trivisvavet and VP of Communications Julie Borlaug about the company’s goals to transform agriculture.
Ethanol Report for 2018
2018 has been a busy and interesting year for the ethanol industry and the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA).
In this edition of The Ethanol Report podcast, RFA president and CEO Geoff Cooper reviews the top stories of the year in ethanol, including the new leadership at RFA, President Trump’s interest in the industry and E15, small refinery waivers, record exports and more.
Listen here – Ethanol Report on 2018
Deere to Launch Startup Collaborator Program
Deere & Company has announced the launch of a new Startup Collaborator program in the Intelligent Solutions Group.
John Stone, senior vice president of Deere’s Intelligent Solutions Group, says the purpose of the program is to enhance interaction with startup companies whose technology could add value for John Deere customers. “Innovation has been at the heart of John Deere for more than 180 years,” Stone added. “The Startup Collaborator welcomes innovative companies into a program that could help us drive improved results for our customers.”
Three leading startups working to transform agriculture are already part of the program:
• Bear Flag Robotics – A California company developing autonomous technology for farm tractors and implements to reduce operational expense and increase worker safety.
• Hello Tractor – A Nigerian company with a strong understanding of agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa that has developed an application to manage tractor fleets for small holder farmers.
• Taranis – An Israeli company that developed an automated field scouting service based on sub-millimeter aerial imagery utilizing deep learning for problem detection and analysis in agriculture.
BASF Seed Solutions Focused on Seed Treatments
The recent ASTA 2018 CSS and Seed Expo was a great venue for BASF to showcase its Seed Solutions business, including the launch of Vault® IP Plus seed treatment and Obvius® Plus fungicide seed treatment.
“We decided we were going to create a whole new business unit in North America … a seed solutions business really focused on seed treatments,” said Martin Horrocks, Director of North America Seed Solutions, BASF.
Horrocks discusses the new BASF Seed Solutions business in this interview.
Interview with Martin Horrocks, BASF Seed Solutions
Kerry Grossweiler was named marketing lead for BASF U.S. Seed Solutions just before the ASTA event.
“BASF Seed Solutions offers a broad portfolio of seed treatment innovations that protect, unlock and enhance the full genetic potential of the seed,” says Grossweiler. “We offer fungicides, insecticides, nematicides, innoculants, colorants and functional coatings and we’re really excited that we’re going to launch five new products in the next two years.”
Grossweiler talks about some of BASF’s seed treatment products in this interview.
Interview with Kerry Grossweiler, BASF US Seed Solutions