Alltech Honors Company Founder’s Legacy

Chuck Zimmerman

For the first time in the history of the Alltech annual conference, the company bestowed a double award recognizing Alltech’s founder, Dr. Pearse Lyons. The extraordinary entrepreneur recently passed away and the ONE 18, Alltech Ideas Conference has provided an opportunity to celebrate his life and achievements.

Dr. Mark Lyons, Alltech President and his mother Deirdre Lyons, accepted the awards.

“He was constantly encouraging us to be the best we could be for those around us so that they could flourish and become the best they could be,” said Mark, reflecting on Dr. Lyons’ goal that Alltech should be built on passion, excellence and fun. “He wanted them to live with those values he had, and that excellence, something that he and my mother shared — maybe she even more so.”

The Alltech Medal of Excellence, Alltech’s highest distinction, was awarded to Dr. Lyons for his work as a visionary scientist. As an entrepreneur and a tireless innovator, Dr. Lyons utilized his scientific expertise in yeast fermentation and his acute business sense to revolutionize the animal feed industry through the introduction of natural ingredients to animal feed. In the past 10 years alone, his scientific achievements have been listed in more than 300 patents.

Additionally, he was recognized with the Alltech Humanitarian Award for having a boundless philanthropic spirit. The award is bestowed annually to someone of strong character who uses their platform to positively influence and inspire those around them. For Dr. Lyons and Mrs. Deirdre Lyons, making a difference in the world by empowering others has been an everyday reality of their personal and professional lives.

“We cannot replace Dr. Pearse Lyons, nobody can,” said Mark. “But if we start to think like him, if we can get 10 people, 100 people, 1,000 people thinking like him, imagine what we can achieve together.”

It was a very emotional moment here at the conference and I don’t think there was a dry eye among the attendees.

Among the many toasts to the Alltech founder during the event this week was the singing of one of Pearse’s favorite Irish tunes. He was there in spirit singing along with everyone! – Molly Malone Sing-A-Long

ONE: Alltech Ideas Conference Photo Album

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GROWMARK Recruits and Retains Top Talent

Carrie Muehling

GROWMARK and FS member companies work hard to recruit and retain top talent, and there are a few reasons they’ve had success.

“The two things that we’ve done to really try to recruit top talent are to make sure that there is great, positive brand awareness around our employment brand, and the increased use of technology to make sure our message has gotten to the right people,” said Tom Swearingen, director of talent management.

Swearingen said the top resource within the GROWMARK system is people. He credits using more social media to recruit talent, as well as a strong internship program with approximately 50 interns available each year. Swearingen said typically 50 percent of students who complete an internship with the company will eventually be hired as a full-time employee somewhere within the GROWMARK or FS system.

Swearingen said retaining talent is just as important.

“We really work hard to preserve the integrity of our culture here,” he said, citing an open, active and fully funded benefits program as well as the family feel of the company as to reasons why people stay.

It’s not uncommon for GROWMARK employees to celebrate 25 years or more with the company upon retirement.

Listen to more with Tom Swearingen here:Interview with Tom Swearingen, GROWMARK

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USDA’s Northey Kicks Off Alltech ONE18

Cindy Zimmerman

After the opening entertainment, USDA Under Secretary Bill Northey was first to take the stage Monday morning at ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference 2018 in Lexington, Kentucky. He was just discussing the issue of agricultural trade with China when President Trump tweeted “China has agreed to buy massive amounts of ADDITIONAL Farm/Agricultural Products – would be one of the best things to happen to our farmers in many years!”

“The opportunities to be able to grow in that market are important,” said Northey in an interview after his address. “It was also important for us to challenge where they were not following through on some of the promises that they made and the rules that they had agreed to.”

After meetings between U.S. and Chinese officials last week, the White House released a statement saying that, “China will significantly increase purchases of United States goods and services….Both sides agreed on meaningful increases in United States agriculture and energy exports. The United States will send a team to China to work out the details.”

In addition to trade, Northey hit on a number of other topics during his address to the annual Alltech conference, including agricultural innovation, conservation, the farm bill, and renewable fuels.

Northey comments on all of that and more in this interview. Interview with USDA Under Secretary Bill Northey, ONE18 USDA Under Secretary Bill Northey, ONE18, Stage Remarks

ONE: Alltech Ideas Conference Photo Album

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Got Milk? Got Jobs.

Cindy Zimmerman

The U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC), the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) have announced a new “Got Jobs? Dairy Creates Jobs, Exports Create More” campaign to spotlight dairy’s contribution to the health of the U.S. economy.

The campaign will share stories featuring hardworking dairy farmers, innovative dairy company employees, resourceful retailers and many others throughout the food supply chain at GotDairyJobs.org. The site will offer monthly features, videos and plenty of hard facts that demonstrate dairy’s continued impact on jobs, tax revenue and communities around the country. Using #GotDairyJobs, the dairy industry will amplify the campaign and create the dairy jobs conversation on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

The groups held a virtual news conference to announce the campaign with IDFA president and CEO Michael Dykes, D.V.M.; USDEC president and CEO Tom Vilsack; and NMPF president and CEO Jim Mulhern. Got Dairy Jobs campaign announcement

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Alltech ONE 18 – the Disruption Continues

Cindy Zimmerman

ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference 2018 kicked off Sunday night with the traditional international dinner, but the real work starts this morning and Alltech Vice President Aidan Connolly says they will be focusing on ideas that are disrupting the industry.

“Some things you might not think about so much include 3-D printing, we are starting to see that more and more for machinery parts,” said Connolly. “We’ve been talking a lot about what could be possible with respect to virtual reality, to engage consumers.”

The conference will also feature five of the Pearse Lyons Accelerator program participants who will showcase some of their ideas that could transform agriculture.

Learn more in this pre-event interview with Aidan. Interview Alltech vice president Aidan Connolly on ONE18

Chuck and Jamie are on-scene at the conference and will be providing updates on @AgWired Twitter, taking lots of photos and sending back lots of interviews. One of the first this morning will be USDA Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Bill Northey. Stay tuned for more!

ONE: Alltech Ideas Conference Photo Album

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Animal Ag Bites 5/21

Carrie Muehling

  • U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced the appointment of 5 new members and 12 returning members to the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection.
  • Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa joined a bipartisan group of senators, led by Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, to urge U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to ensure Mexico honors its existing trade commitments and rejects the EU’s unfair trade proposal that will harm American cheese exporters, processors and dairy farmers.
  • Vermeer has created the next step in their processor evolution with the new BPX9010 bale processor. This all-around bale processor is designed for a variety of applications including distributing a consistent, uniform windrow in the pasture or bunk line and spreading bedding with consistency at ranges up to 50 ft.
  • The American Dairy Association of the Midwest, Illinois Chapter and their constituency of 600 Illinois dairy farm families announced a partnership with the UpField Group to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy, specifically, solar energy usage on dairy farms.
  • The U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, the Nation’s leading multi-stakeholder beef sustainability group, announced a new Board of Directors and Executive Officer group during the recent Fourth Annual General Assembly Meeting in Oklahoma City.
  • The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, established under the leadership of dairy farmers, announced its seventh annual U.S. Dairy Sustainability Award winners during a May 16 ceremony at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Ill., outside of Chicago. The program recognizes dairy farms, businesses and partnerships whose practices improve the well-being of people, animals and the planet.
  • The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has agreed with a request from the National Pork Producers Council to review Thailand’s eligibility for the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program because of that country’s failure to provide access to its market for U.S. products, including pork.
  • The 2018 USPOULTRY Human Resources Seminar addressed a variety of topics that are impacting human resources professionals in today’s environment. In addition to regulatory updates, recruitment and retention were also discussed at great length.
  • Brookside Agra will feature its swine-specific products at World Pork Expo Booth #V808, June 6-8 in Des Moines, IA. For over 30 years, Brookside Agra has been a trusted source for safe, effective, all-natural feed additives and environmental, agricultural and animal health products.
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Augusto Joins Ag Retailers Association

Cindy Zimmerman

Melisa Augusto has joined the staff of the Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) as director of communications and marketing.

In this capacity, Augusto will be responsible for ARA’s publications, media relations, website, marketing materials and associated issues. She will also support the communications aspects of ARA’s advocacy efforts on behalf of agricultural retailers.

“We’re excited to welcome Melisa to the ARA staff team,” said ARA President and CEO Daren Coppock. “She brings a combination of experience and energy that will be invaluable to our team and the members we serve.”

Augusto has more than twelve years of experience in agricultural communications, marketing and public relations. She joins ARA from National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD), where she served as director of development. She has also held positions at National Farmers Union, U.S. Grains Council and World Wide Sires, Ltd., in related fields.

She grew up on her family’s dairy farm in California’s Central Valley and holds a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Business from California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo.

ARA

Farm Bill Defeated in the House

Cindy Zimmerman

House Agriculture Committee Chair Rep. Mike Conaway (R-TX) delivered on his promise to get a farm bill written in a timely manner, but his colleagues in the House voted 198-213 Friday to reject his effort.

Prior to the vote, Rep. Conaway expressed his frustration as a last minute amendment was introduced to recommit the bill with instructions to the Committee on Agriculture. “You can love the farm bill or you can hate the farm bill but it delivers the most effective, affordable and safest food and fiber supply of any developed nation in the world,” said Conaway.

Democrats voted against the bill mainly for changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) aimed at getting able-bodied adults under 60 without dependents or disabilities back to work, but it was 30 conservative Republicans wanting a vote on immigration that killed the bill.

Listen to Rep. Conaway’s remarks here: House Ag Chair Rep. Conaway

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Zimfo Bytes 5/18

Carrie Muehling

  • Bayer is looking for qualified writers capable of accurate production of very complex, often science-specific, facts in simple and understandable language for various target groups/communication activities in the German and English languages. Bayer is also looking for a cluster of excellent speechwriters to support Executive Communications for both internal and external audiences. Interested parties should fill out this form by May 18, 2018.
  • Booking space on the trade show floor at Commodity Classic will open to new exhibitors on Tuesday, May 15, 2018. The 2019 Commodity Classic will be held Thursday, February 28 through Saturday, March 2 in Orlando, Fla. Exhibit space is already limited. For exhibitor information, visit CommodityClassic.com, call 636.745.3008 or email: tradeshow@CommodityClassic.com.
  • Seven students from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln are starting summer internship programs supported by the Nebraska Corn Board and Nebraska Corn Growers Association. Five of the seven summer interns will be based outside of the state and will work for major cooperators of Nebraska Corn. The remaining interns will work in Lincoln in the offices of the Nebraska Corn Board and Nebraska Corn Growers Association. They will also share their talents with the National Corn Growers Association.
  • FMC announces that veteran Agricultural Solutions business and strategic accounts lead Bob West will head the company’s new Customer Engagement Center (CEC). The Center has been established to develop, foster and support customer interactions and growth of the FMC agricultural business.
  • National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson wrote to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, urging the Secretary to proactively address the farmer suicide crisis. Farmers and ranchers commit suicide at a rate five times that of the general population. Farmers and ranchers who are coping with elevated levels of stress are encouraged to visit FarmCrisis.NFU.org to find resources that can help during tough times.
  • The International Federation of Agricultural Journalists has named 10 outstanding agricultural journalists to participate in the 2018 IFAJ/Corteva AgriscienceTM Master Class. The 9th annual Master Class will be held in conjunction with IFAJ’s World Congress in Wageningen, The Netherlands, in early July.
  • Lessing-Flynn and Vermeer Corporation were recently awarded a 2018 Bronze Anvil Award of Commendation by the Public Relations Society of America (PSRA) for their combined efforts in creating the Vermeer ZR5 self-propelled baler concept video.
  • Georgia Governor Nathan Deal joined leaders from both Kubota Manufacturing of America and Kubota Industrial Equipment as they jointly announced a $1 million donation to the Lanier Technical College Foundation in support of its Technology and Industry Building on its new campus set to open in January 2019.
  • The Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City honored two of the region’s leading agricultural figures on May 15. Lowell Mohler and Dr. Ken Odde both received the Council’s highest award, the Jay B. Dillingham Award for Agricultural Leadership and Excellence.
  • Farmers Business Network has added industry veteran David Delaney to the company’s Board of Directors. Delaney most recently served as the EVP and Chief Operating Officer at PotashCorp (now Nutrien Ltd.), where he was responsible for operations across all of PotashCorp’’s business segments, including potash, nitrogen and phosphate.
Zimfo Bytes

ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference 2018

Cindy Zimmerman

The transformative power of ideas is the focus of ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference 2018, May 20–22, in Lexington, Kentucky

An idea, even in its root meaning, is “to see.” Da Vinci, Einstein, Edison, the Wright brothers, Tesla, Bell, Borlaug and Fleming — they had the ability to see what others could not. Because they opened their eyes to possibilities and thrived in pursuit of them, we have light. We have abundant food. We can even fly. Ideas change everything.

The annual Alltech symposium, which draws thousands of international visitors to Lexington each May, is the brain child of Irish entrepreneur and scientist Dr. Pearse Lyons, founder of Alltech, who passed away earlier this year. “This meeting is synonymous with Pearse Lyons,” says his son Dr. Mark Lyons, who is now president and chairman of Alltech. “All the way through, this program will be remembering him.”

The program includes former vice chair of General Electric Beth Comstock, USDA Under Secretary Bill Northey and groundbreaking neurologist Dr. Majid Fotuhi. Four thousand attendees from more than 70 countries are expected to attend this year’s 34th annual conference.

Learn more about ONE and this year’s program in this preview interview: Dr. Mark Lyons previews Alltech ONE 18

ONE: Alltech Ideas Conference Photo Album

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