Keeping Up With Corn Research

Carrie Muehling

While the content shared during sessions at the 2018 Corn Utilization and Technology Conference was very technical, it was valuable to Mark Sponsler, Executive Director of the Colorado Corn Growers Association.

“Behind any market development effort, and at the root or the base of any new technology that represents market demand, there has to be a foundation of solid research,” Sponsler said.

Sponsler uses the opportunity to learn where the research is headed and what the future holds for corn and potential markets for corn. Whether it is the future of cellulosic ethanol or the development of corn-based products to replace those currently derived from petroleum, it’s information that Sponsler wants to know.

He said Colorado is like many other states that are looking to redefine the focus of research investments and sometimes choosing between funding production technology or product development. Often the budget of one state association is not big enough to do both. Sponsler said many times several states will work together on projects that expand markets for corn, using ethanol production and promotion as a prime example of that kind of effort.

Interview with Mark Sponsler, Colorado Corn Growers Association

2018 Corn Utilization & Technology Conference Photo Album

AgWired Precision, Audio, Corn, CUTC

National FFA and AgriNovus Indiana Announce Blue Room

Cindy Zimmerman

The National FFA Organization and AgriNovus Indiana have joined together to announce the “Blue Room” will debut at the 2018 National FFA Convention & Expo in Indianapolis Oct. 24-27.

The Blue Room is the kickoff to Blue 365, an initiative that will bring this same innovation into classrooms and impact more than 650,000 members nationwide. FFA student members are the future leaders of the food industry, which is relying on this generation to meet unparalleled challenges to feed a growing world population.

The 17,000-square-foot interactive Blue Room will center on the challenges facing our community—from respecting the planet to the urgent matter of feeding the world. This cutting-edge approach will focus on experiential learning and thought-provoking exposure to the convergence of agriculture, technology, human health, engineering, and more.

Corteva Agriscience, the agriculture division of DowDuPont, and Elanco are also proud participating sponsors of The Blue Room and supporting partners of AgriNovus Indiana.

Making the Blue Room announcement Monday in Indianapolis were National FFA CEO Mark Poeschl, AgriNovus Indiana president and CEO Beth Bechdol, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, and FFA alumnus Loren King. Listen to their remarks here: National FFA and AgriNovus Indiana Announce Blue Room

Agribusiness, AgWired Animal, AgWired Precision, Audio, Education, FFA

Alltech’s Total Replacement Technology Boosts Performance

Carrie Muehling

Research from Alltech shows that replacing inorganic trace minerals with the same minerals in an organic form can provide huge benefits for swine producers.

Alltech’s Total Replacement Technology (TRT) includes feeding plant-based trace minerals like the company’s Bioplex product, according to Russell Gilliam, U.S. Swine Business Manager.

“So that animal is able to absorb that mineral better, which leads to us not having to feed as much, which reduces mineral interactions in the digestive tract,” said Gilliam. “But most importantly, it increases performance in those sows and it allows us to lower our cost of producing a weaned pig.”

Gilliam added that producers using TRT on average see a one-fourth of a pound increase in birth weights, translating to a gain of one and a half pounds at weaning. He said removing the inorganic mineral portion of the diet actually yielded a better response from the Bioplex minerals included in the diet, which means increased performance over all. Alltech’s research includes studies over the entire life of sows looking at total lifetime performance.

Interview with Russell Gilliam, Alltech

2018 World Pork Expo Photo Album

AgWired Animal, Alltech, Animal Agriculture, Audio, Nutrition, Pork, Swine, World Pork Expo

Doggett Interim CEO for NCGA as Novak Joins CropLife America

Cindy Zimmerman

Jon Doggett has been named interim CEO for the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) starting August 1, taking over for Chris Novak, who becomes president and CEO of CropLife America (CLA) in August.

Novak will become just the fifth staff leader of CLA in its 85-year history on August 20. He replaces Jay Vroom, who has been CEO since 1989 and announced his plans to retire last year. Novak has served as NCGA CEO since October 2014, after six years as CEO of the National Pork Board.

Doggett has been with NCGA since 2002 and has served as Executive Vice President since 2014. Prior to that, he served as Vice President, Public Policy, and continues to manage the organization’s 11-person Washington office and lead its public policy efforts.

Raised on his family’s Montana ranch, Doggett has substantial knowledge of production agriculture and more than 30 years of agricultural policy experience. Before joining NCGA, Doggett served 11 years at the American Farm Bureau Federation, where he was the Bureau’s lead lobbyist on a number of public policy issues, including ethanol, climate change, land use, conservation, and endangered species. Doggett also worked for the National Cattleman’s Beef Association/Public Lands Council and served as senior legislative assistant for former Montana Congressman Ron Marlenee.

An announcement regarding the formal search process for a permanent CEO will be made at a later date.

Ag Groups, AgWired Animal, AgWired Precision, Corn

Animal Ag Bites 6/25

Carrie Muehling

  • Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has announced the appointment of 10 members to fill vacancies on the National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Board. More information about the board is available on the National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Board page on the AMS website, including a link to the Board’s membership under the heading Organizational Structure.
  • The Institute for Feed Education and Research announced the addition of Robert Cooper as its executive director, effective June 18. IFEEDER, the American Feed Industry Association’s public charity, focuses on research and education to support the feed industry.
  • Louisiana State University received a $4,000 grant from the USPOULTRY Foundation. The grant was awarded to the university to aid in their efforts to recruit students interested in studying poultry science and was made possible in part from an endowing Foundation gift from Sanderson Farms. The grant money will be used to continue the Summer Poultry Institute held annually at the university. The three-day institute is open to high school students and teaches poultry anatomy, embryology, biology, nutrition, grading and processing.
  • The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture, a contractor to the Beef Checkoff, recently hosted three On the Farm professional development events for leaders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), as well as health education. Events were designed to introduce educators from primarily urban areas to the beef industry in Fort Worth, Texas; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Portland, Oregon.
AgWired Animal, Animal Bites

Technology Continues to Evolve for Corn Sweeteners

Carrie Muehling

Innovations in the corn sweetener industry were among those on display at the 2018 Corn Utilization and Technology Conference in St. Louis. Companies like Novasep were on hand to present the latest information and technology they have on processes like glucose/fructose separation.

“We have made and work on drastic changes and optimization of this technology which opens new areas of application for our customers,” said Damien Brichant, Americas General Manager, Industrial Biotech, Novasep.

Brichant said many other sugars and amino acids are now purified with this technology, which continues to evolve.

“This is clearly an industry which is shifting from only food applications to much more industrial applications with a lot of innovation into it, so that’s great news,” he said.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Damien here: Interview with Damien Brichant, Americas General Manager, Novasep

2018 Corn Utilization & Technology Conference Photo Album

Audio, Corn, CUTC

GROWMARK Promotes Sustainability with Endure Initiative

Carrie Muehling

GROWMARK‘s Endure 4R Advocate Awards program and Enduring Farms program are working together to recognize individuals for using best management practices and to tell that story to those outside of agriculture who want to know how farmers are practicing stewardship on their land.

GROWMARK Director of Agronomy Marketing and Agronomy Services Ryan White says they continue to grow the programs, and for good reason.

“In the end, what we want to do with this program is to always find ways to work with farmers to improve, to tell the great story that farmers are already doing,” said White. “There are so many farmers who already put good practices – outstanding practices – to work every day to manage crop nutrients and crop inputs. Lifting those folks up as the best examples of what’s happening out there, and telling their stories to those outside our industry is very important, but it’s also great within our industry because we have those people that are doing exemplary work that we can point to.”

GROWMARK just recognized five FS crop specialists with the Endure 4R Advocate Awards. Earlier this year the company awarded 26 farmers with the Enduring Farms recognition. White said these individuals truly are leaders in the industry who work every day to do the right thing for their clients and on their farms.

Interview with Ryan White, GROWMARK

Congratulations to the 2018 Endure 4R Advocate award winners:

• Tim Berkland – GROWMARK – Iowa

• Gary Brandt – Gateway FS – Illinois

• Courtney Mahr – West Central FS – Illinois

• Sal Pustizze – GROWMARK FS – New Jersey

• Todd Wibben – Evergreen FS – Illinois

Agronomy, AgWired Precision, Audio, GROWMARK, Sustainability

2018 Golden ARC Winners Announced

Chuck Zimmerman

Find out who won 2018 Golden ARC Awards at the annual meeting this week.

Winners of the Agricultural Relations Council (ARC) 2018 Golden ARC Awards Contest were announced June 21 at the organization’s annual professional development meeting in Louisville, Kentucky. Recipients of this year’s Golden ARC Awards join an elite group of highly-respected leaders in agricultural public relations in the elite awards program.

For the seventh straight year the Golden ARC de Excellence Award was awarded. The 2018 winner was National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) for the campaign titled “‘Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner.’ Rebranding campaign.” This year’s selected entry was from the Campaigns Division, Organization or Corporate Reputation category. NCBA credits Meghan Pusey, Martin Roth, Season Solorio, Alisa Harrison for their work on the campaign.

This year’s competition was judged by members of the Maine Public Relations Association.

Originated in 1990, the Golden ARC Awards Contest recognizes the best and brightest in agricultural public relations, and is open to both ARC and non-ARC members. The categories reflect the broad scope of contemporary public relations activities.

A complete winners’ listing of the 2018 Golden ARC Awards Contest is here.

ARC, Public Relations

Erin Fitzgerald is New USFRA CEO

Cindy Zimmerman

The U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) has ended a five- month search for a new chief executive officer with the selection Erin Fitzgerald to lead the organization. Fitzgerald previously served as Senior Vice President, Global Sustainability for the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy®, a part of Dairy Management Inc. (DMI).

“The USFRA Board of Directors is pleased to hire Erin Fitzgerald as our new CEO,” said Chip Bowling, USFRA Vice Chair and Chair of the CEO Search Committee. “With an outstanding number of qualified candidates for the CEO position, Erin was the obvious choice to lead our organization through the next chapter of its history, and it was a unanimous decision by the board.”

Fitzgerald will lead USFRA as it approaches its eighth year as an organization with 100 affiliates and industry partners. “American farmers and ranchers have an incredible legacy and will define the sustainable food systems of the future – I am grateful for the privilege to continue to work for the farmers across the United States who are committed to stewardship and inspire a sustainable future,” said Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald will start with USFRA on July 16.

Learn more about Erin in this interview: Interview with Erin Fitzgerald, USFRA CEO

Ag Groups, AgWired Animal, AgWired Precision, Audio, USFRA

Who Should Attend NAMA Boot Camp

Chuck Zimmerman

Here is who should attend.

The National Agri-Marketing Association’s Boot Camp event is the perfect opportunity for individuals new to the industry to learn more about marketing and agriculture basics. The 2018 Boot Camp will take place in Kansas City, MO, August 15-17.

This event has educational sessions on what influences producers, crisis management, and dealing with negative messages. Plus, there are two panel presentations that will share valuable insights from local producers and provide practical advice from several experienced and successful agribusiness professionals.

In addition, Boot Camp provides countless opportunities to network with agri-marketing professionals from across the country. Each attendee will also receive a notebook packed with agricultural terminology, facts, case studies and speaker presentations.

To kick off the NAMA Boot Camp, you can attend the MoKan NAMA Ag Tour. The Ag Tour is a one-day, on-farm experience where attendees will tour and learn about different nuances of agricultural operations in the surrounding area. This tour takes place on August 15.

Find the full schedule of events on the website. Register now for this incredible opportunity to advance your career in agri-marketing. Rates go up on July 24 so reserve your spot today.

NAMA