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

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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

Old MacDonald Had a Daughter

Cindy Zimmerman

Female farmers have a new anthem thanks to the efforts of Land O’Lakes, song writer Liz Rose, and songstress Maggie Rose who collaborated to re-imagine the children’s song “Old MacDonald Had a Farm,” introducing “She-I-O” for a new generation.

The song and video featuring women on the farm is the cornerstone of the new All Together Better initiative from the farmer-owned cooperative that’s owned and run by 1,791 farmers, many of whom are women.

Land O’Lakes has also partnered with Feeding America to raise awareness around the issue of food insecurity and will donate $1 to Feeding America for every share, tag or comment on any of the “She-I-O” music video content on Land O’Lakes social channels, as well as the “She-I-O” music track, up to $100,000. Use the hashtag #AllTogetherBetter when you share!


AgWired Animal, Cooperatives, Video

Study Reveals Growing Interest in Lamb

Cindy Zimmerman

A new survey from the American Lamb Board (ALB) reveals increasing consumer interest in lamb.

“This study revealed positive trends for lamb in the US,” said Jim Percival, ALB board chairman and sheep producer from Xenia, Ohio. “Among the General Population, 24% reported eating lamb in the last year, up from 20% in 2011 and 21% in 2006.”

The lamb usage and attitude study assessed consumers’ knowledge and preference levels of domestic and imported lamb and will assist industry stakeholders in making strong, strategic decisions about how to market U.S. lamb.

“The American Lamb Board has devoted more than a decade to building awareness and demand for Lamb,” said Megan Wortman, ALB executive director. “As we work through our 2018 strategic plan, advancing American Lamb’s value proposition is a core element. Understanding consumer attitudes and product usage patterns are also critical components.”

The online study was conducted during 2018 among 2,084 U.S. adults aged 18-74 years. The American Lamb Board has three target audiences including: Infrequent Lamb Users (those who eat lamb less than four times a year and/or only in restaurants), Thoughtful Eaters (those who are concerned about where their food comes from and how it’s grown) and Millennials (those who were born between 1980-2000 and who are also interested in food and where it comes from).

While consumer interest and enjoyment in lamb is growing, respondents said price and availability are the leading barriers to purchasing lamb in the meat case. The study also showed that learning more about preparing lamb, along with increased availability, could increase lamb usage.

“Half of General Population respondents indicated a willingness to learn how to cook lamb; this is even higher among the target groups as 79% of Infrequent Lamb Users, 59% of Thoughtful Eaters and 56% of Millennials showing an interest in learning about lamb cuts and cooking methods,” said Wortman.

In addition to preparation information, survey respondents desired to hear about locally raised, animal care, and assurances of antibiotic-free and no added hormones.

ALB conducted a webinar outlining the research results for agricultural media Tuesday. Listen to or download audio from the call here: American Lamb consumer study webinar

Links to more information:
2018 American Lamb Usage & Attitudes Consumer Market Research Report PowerPoint
Webinar outlining 2018 American Lamb Usage & Attitudes Consumer Market Research

AgWired Animal, American Lamb Board, Audio, Lamb, Meat

Precision Ag Bytes 8/22

Carrie Muehling

  • Syngenta announced the registration of Vibrance® Trio seed treatment by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The premix of three fungicide active ingredients – mefenoxam, fludioxonil and sedaxane – is recommended for soybean growers whose main early-season concerns are strong stands and disease protection. ​​​​​​
  • The American Farm Bureau Federation, in partnership with Farm Credit, has opened online applications for its 2019 Farm Bureau Ag Innovation Challenge. Entrepreneurs will compete for $145,000. The competition provides an opportunity for individuals to showcase ideas and business innovations in agriculture. Competitors are invited to submit for-profit business ideas related to food and agriculture online at http://fb.org/aginnovationchallenge by Sept. 24.
  • Cargill Animal Nutrition is celebrating the launch of a new line of advanced calf and heifer nutrition, HerdFirst™, with a new Facebook campaign to support The Great American Milk Drive. Cargill will donate three servings of milk — the recommended daily amount for Americans — for every person who shares how much they care for their dairy animals using the HerdFirst™ Facebook frame and hashtag #putyourherdfirst, from now until October 31.
  • Shefali Mehta is 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.
  • Smart Ag Inc., an Iowa-based technology company, will conduct in late August the first-ever Farm Progress Show field demonstration of a driverless tractor system. Throughout the three-days of Farm Progress, Smart Ag will introduce to farmers AutoCart®, a software platform and aftermarket kit that fully automates an existing grain cart tractor for use during harvest.
  • Michael Stebbins, Director of External Engagement for GMO Answers, joined Kaci Creel of Dairy MAX and Allison Garriga of US Farmers & Ranchers Alliance to discuss consumer attitudes and how to reach them at the annual Agriculture Media Summit in Phoenix, Arizona. In a session entitled, “Managing Information in the Consumer Digital Space” the three panelists shared their experiences, successes, and shortcomings when sharing stories and consumer messages digitally.
  • UrtheCast Corp. and Land O’Lakes, Inc. announced they have entered a binding term sheet for the purchase of Geosys Technology Holding LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Land O’Lakes, for a purchase price of US$20 million.
AFBF, AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes, Soil Health Partnership, Syngenta, USFRA

BASF Living Acres Program Increases Monarch Habitat

Carrie Muehling

BASF is helping to increase the monarch population with its Living Acres program.

“Living Acres is our biodiversity program that focuses in on monarch habitat,” explained Chip Shilling, sustainability strategy manager. “For that you need milkweed, so we’re really encouraging farmers and farm families to think about places that are outside of their field boundaries where they can plant milkweed or protect milkweed that they may already have.”

Shilling said two years ago, 500 farmers signed up for the program. Last year, they signed up more than 1,000 additional farms. To date, BASF has shipped out more than 50,000 milkweed plants to golf courses and farms. Those interested in participating in the BASF Living Acres program can sign up at monarchchallenge.com or look for the Living Acres display at a variety of farm shows around the country. Shilling was at the Ag Media Summit in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Listen to Cindy’s interview with Chip Shilling here: Interview with Chip Shilling, BASF

2018 Ag Media Summit Photo Album

Ag Media Summit, AgWired Precision, Audio, BASF, pollinators

NFU and Urban Air Initiative Join to Expand Biofuels Use

Cindy Zimmerman

National Farmers Union, Farmers Union Enterprises and the Urban Air Initiative have announced the formation of a new alliance to expand the use of American-grown biofuels.

The three groups intend to pursue a broad spectrum of advocacy and advertising activities in furtherance of social, regulatory and legislative solutions to current barriers that limit the amount of biofuels used in the nation’s transportation sector.

“Protecting the public health and welfare—and at the same time improving the rural economy and benefiting family farmers, is a win-win for America,” said NFU president Roger Johnson.

Urban Air Initiative Director Trevor Hinz noted that the vast body of best available science proves renewable ethanol’s superior octane properties substantially reduce the most harmful mobile source air toxics (MSATs), the predominant source of which are benzene-based aromatics that refiners synthesize from crude oil. Hinz cited the mandatory provision in the Clean Air Act that requires EPA/OTAQ to reduce MSATs to the “greatest extent achievable…as technologies present themselves.”

Farmers Union Enterprises President Doug Sombke adds that the recent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Transportation (DOT/NHTSA) proposed rule requesting input on whether and how U.S. regulatory policy should require higher quality, cleaner burning fuels such as E30 provides a great opportunity to expand the use of cleaner, higher octane fuels.

Environment, EPA, Ethanol

GROWMARK Collaborates with NRCS on Sustainability

Carrie Muehling

A Memorandum of Understanding between GROWMARK and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is yet another way the agricultural cooperative is showing a commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainability.

“Our goal, or our vision, is to help to enhance the relationship and the knowledge of NRCS and our local FS team members at the local level,” said Liz Hobart, GROWMARK government relations manager.

GROWMARK will continue to provide strong agronomic advice to growers at the farm gate, while collaborating with NRCS experts to ensure the best conservation practices are followed in order to protect natural resources on the farm. The national memorandum was signed in January 2018, followed by another memorandum in the state of Iowa, where the partnership is beginning.

Hobart said the two groups are working closely together on things like training and communication, streamlining those processes wherever possible. They plan to expand and replicate the program in other states once it is well established in Iowa.

“I think as you look at some of the issues that are facing our farmers today, I think it’s very important collaboration,” said Hobart. “Partnerships, consistent messaging, science-based messaging are very important to our growers. So I think we are seeing that success, raising that awareness with our growers and helping them to be more profitable and recognizing that things are changing.”

She said GROWMARK is committed to stewardship and sustainability, helping farmers to protect assets and resources they have and helping them to achieve that sustainably.

Listen to Carrie’s interview with Liz Hobart here: Interview with Liz Hobart, GROWMARK

AgWired Precision, Audio, GROWMARK, Sustainability