Zimfo Bytes 8/3

Carrie Muehling

  • U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced USDA is inviting comments on the implementation of the e-Connectivity Pilot Program established in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 on March 23, 2018. Comments are due on or before 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Monday, Sept. 10, 2018 and can be submitted through the Federal eRulemaking Portal or by postal mail/commerical delivery.
  • The IDEAg Group LLC announces the new Farm Bureau Financial Services Rural Lifestyle Pavilion for Minnesota Farmfest 2018. The Farm Safety 4 Just Kids Booth inside the Farm Bureau Financial Services Rural Lifestyle Pavilion focuses on free safety games and demonstrations.
  • Bill Kuckuck announced plans to retire from his position as executive vice president and chief operating officer of CropLife America (CLA) on December 31, 2018. His announcement follows that of Jay Vroom, CLA’s president and CEO, who announced he would retire from his position, after nearly 30 years, at the end of 2018.
  • The National FFA Organization and Microsoft Corp. announce their collaboration to bring innovative technology, science, research and entrepreneurship to the classrooms of the more than 650,000 FFA student members nationwide through an initiative known as Blue 365. Blue 365 will serve as a catalyst for evolving sustainability, innovative efficiency and preparing the future leaders who will solve the world’s critical agricultural challenges.
  • Swanson Russell welcomes Bri Harding and Alex Jensen to its Omaha office and Michael Rudolf, Kiley Shuler and Katie Struckman to its Lincoln office.
  • The Minnesota AgriGrowth Council announced that Executive Director Perry Aasness is leaving the organization after five years to join Compeer Financial as their Vice President of Legislative Affairs.
  • Delegates of the U.S. Grains Council elected as chairman Jim Stitzlein, manager of market development for Consolidated Grain and Barge Co., at its 58th Annual Board of Delegates Meeting.
  • Purdue University hosts the National Conference for Food and Agribusiness November 6-7, 2018. Click here for more information on session descriptions, learning objectives, and speakers.
  • Deere & Company has signed a definitive agreement to acquire PLA, a privately-held manufacturer of sprayers, planters, and specialty products for agriculture. PLA is based in Argentina, with manufacturing facilities in Las Rosas, Argentina, and Canoas, Brazil.
FFA, John Deere, USGC, Zimfo Bytes

Resisting Bacterial Blight in Cotton

Carrie Muehling

Cotton growers fighting diseases like bacterial blight can improve their chances for success by choosing varieties that are resistant to the disease. Stoneville Representative Lucas Owen told growers attending the Milan No-Till Field Day about some of the best options Stoneville has to offer when it comes to fighting bacterial blight in ST 5517GLTP and ST 5471GLTP.

“Both of these varieties have not only good bacterial blight resistance, but they also have exceptional yield packages and fiber packages, as well,” said Owen, who noted there is not much more growers can do to fight bacterial blight outside of planting a resistant variety.

Stoneville also offers cotton varieties with resistance to Verticillium wilt, including ST 4949GLT, ST 4747GLB2, and ST 5115GLT, which provides resistance to both Verticillium wilt and bacterial blight.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Lucas Owen here: Interview with Lucas Owen, Stoneville

2018 Milan No-Till Field Day Photo Album

Audio, Cotton

Deere Adds to Frontier Equipment Lineup

Cindy Zimmerman

John Deere has added to its lineup of Frontier equipment for property owners and small-acreage producers.

The new implements include cultipackers, three-point shank rippers and overseeders, which are commonly used by large-property owners and producers who need smaller-sized equipment to work behind compact, and utility tractors and in small fields.

Where seed has been broadcast, Frontier Cultipackers break up clods and firm the soil around the seeds, Frontier 3-point Shank Rippers can fracture hardpan as deep as 18 inches (45.72 cm) to aid in root penetration and decrease water runoff, and Frontier Ground-Driven Overseeders can be equipped with three seed-box options fitted with fluted seed cups and an agitator for accurate, uniform delivery of turf grass seeds. Click here for details.

Deere has also added two loader attachments and two rear implements to its Frontier equipment lineup to meet the land maintenance needs of large property owners who use John Deere Compact Utility Tractors.

The lightweight Frontier AY11F 4-in-1 Bucket can be used as a grapple, scraper or dozer; the AV20F Root Grapple equipped with upper and lower grapple tines for debris cleanup, brush removal or moving large logs or rocks; and the Frontier LP1048L and LP1060L Land Planes are built to handle a wide range of property-maintenance duties around the farm or small acreage.

Click here for details from John Deere

AgWired Animal, AgWired Precision, Equipment, John Deere

Cattle Industry Summer Meeting Underway

Cindy Zimmerman

More than 600 cattle industry leaders are attending the Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting in Denver this week to help create direction for critical industry programs.

The event includes meetings of cattlemen and women representing the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, American National CattleWomen and National Cattlemen’s Foundation. Among the purposes of the yearly conference is to create a framework for checkoff and policy efforts on behalf of U.S. cattle producers for the upcoming fiscal year, which for NCBA and the Cattlemen’s Beef Board begins Oct. 1.

Marvin Kokes, NCBA Senior Vice President for Corporate Relations and Events, provides an overview of the meeting. Interview with Marvin Kokes, NCBA

You can find photos from the meeting right here: 2018 Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting Photo Album

AgWired Animal, Audio, Beef, NCBA

BASF Takes Over Bayer Assets

Cindy Zimmerman

Yesterday was a brand new day for BASF as the Chemical Company marked its entry into seeds, non-selective herbicides and nematicide seed treatments.

BASF closed on its acquisition of businesses and assets from Bayer, and has renamed the division from Crop Protection to Agricultural Solutions. “It strengthens our market position in agricultural solutions and creates new opportunities for growth,” said Saori Dubourg, member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE and responsible for the Agricultural Solutions segment.

In addition, the division has established a new global business unit for seeds and traits. Markus Heldt, President of BASF’s Agricultural Solutions division, says “After months of preparing the seamless transfer of businesses and smooth onboarding of employees, everybody is keen to finally get started – as a new team and with our expanded business and capabilities.”

The acquisitions include cotton, canola, soybean, and vegetable seed businesses, as well as Bayer’s Liberty herbicide business
and the complete digital farming platform xarvio; along with about 4,500 employees and the Bayer facility in Research Triangle Park, NC.

BASF’s North American crop division senior VP Paul Rea and vice president-U.S. Crop Scott Kay held a press conference Wednesday on the business development. Listen to their opening statements here:
BASF execs Paul Rea and Scott Kay discuss Bayer assets

AgWired Precision, Audio, BASF, Bayer, Crop Protection

Ethanol Promotion at #SturgisBuffaloChip

Chuck Zimmerman

The presence of ethanol and the Renewable Fuels Association will be bigger than ever this year during the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and especially at the Sturgis Buffalo Chip. I talked with RFA’s Robert White about this year’s event and what activities we’ll be taking part in. Yes, I’ll be there once again.

The Sturgis Buffalo Chip is where most of the educational activities will take place. Here’s how they describe their mission: The Buffalo Chip’s staff create the Best Party Anywhere, providing the world’s best entertainment in a safe campground environment of freedom that provides campers with access to recreation, motorcycle art, shopping, showers, food, beverage and some of this planet’s nicest people.

They do a great job of this. With up to 500,000 people expected to participate this year RFA is really getting a bang for their buck according to Robert. Listen in to my preview interview with Robert to learn more about what we’ll be doing including the annual Legends Ride, Free Fuel Happy Hours and more.

Listen to the interview with Robert here: Interview with Robert White, RFA

Audio, Biofuels, Ethanol, RFA

Stoneville Cotton Varieties Shine at Field Day

Carrie Muehling

Stoneville showcased a number of cotton varieties at the recent Sunbelt Ag Expo Field Day. Chuck spoke with Rachel Walters, Stoneville cotton marketing manager, about a few of the standouts.

ST 6182GLT showed strong performance in land-grant university on-farm trials in 2017. On dryland or under irrigation, ST 6182GLT delivers the opportunity for excellent yield and good fiber quality in varied soil types.

“This is our highest yielding variety that we had in Georgia trials last year, so a lot of excitement around the state of Georgia with this variety as we’ve started the season off. It’s looking really great,” said Walters. “This is an excellent performance variety across many situations.”

Interview with Rachel Walters, Stoneville 6182GLT

ST 5818GLT was specifically released due to its performance under dryland conditions in the Southeast. It is a new variety that is quick to produce a stand with its early-season emergence vigor, has a growth pattern that is easy to manage and produces a good size stalk for superior standability. With a strong fiber package, a smooth leaf and excellent yield potential, ST 5818GLT is a perfect fit for the SE production system.

“If you’re looking for excellent yield potential, exception yield quality, you’ll get that from this variety,” said Walters.

Interview with Rachel Walters, Stoneville 5818GLT

Walters said another new variety in 2018 is ST 5471GLTP, which offers resistance to bacterial blight and very good tolerance to Verticillium wilt ensures this smooth-leaf variety starts strong and stays strong all season. ST 5471GLTP consistently delivers on its excellent yield potential and fiber quality package, regardless of the environment.

Interview with Rachel Walters, Stoneville 5471GLTP

She said ST 5122GLT also delivers outstanding yield potential and fiber quality. This smooth leaf variety fits the early- to mid-maturity spot on the farm and offers very good tolerance to Verticilliumwilt.

Interview with Rachel Walters, Stoneville 5122GLT

Walters also highlighted ST 4848GLT, which comes out of the ground strong, whether planted to dryland fields or under irrigation. This variety follows through on that seedling vigor with exceptional yield potential, high gin turnout and very good fiber quality. With moderately aggressive growth habits, ST 4848GLT is easy to manage.

2018 Sunbelt Ag Expo Field Day Photo Album

AgWired Precision, Cotton

Precision Ag Bytes 8/1

Carrie Muehling

  • BRANDT’s proprietary foliar nutrients have helped another grower win a soybean yield challenge. Brazilian grower, Estanislau Bassan, has won Brazil’s National Soybean Productivity Challenge in the non-irrigated category using BRANDT foliar products.
  • Actagro LLC and Anagra, a Mitsui majority owned company, have signed a Distribution and Development Agreement to promote and expand Actagro’s product portfolio in Chile and Peru. The partnership strengthens Actagro’s growing footprint, bringing the company’s innovative plant and soil health solutions to a region heavily focused on high-production agriculture.
  • Aeris, a technology leader in the Internet of Things (IoT), is collaborating with Ranch Systems of Novato, CA to help farmers and businesses improve their sustainable water management, food production and environmental monitoring.
  • A unique high-performance herbicide with three modes of action that provides all-in-one weed control is now available to wheat growers. Arysta LifeScience announces the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has granted registration for BATALIUM™ Herbicide for use in spring, durum and winter wheat.
  • The Coalition for Responsible Gene Editing in Agriculture has established a multi-stakeholder Steering Committee to develop a framework for the responsible use of gene editing in agriculture. The steering committee, representing diverse stakeholder interests, met July 26 in Washington, D.C. to begin the development process.
  • A statewide effort to identify and map six types of conservation practices (terraces, ponds, grassed waterways, water and sediment control basins, contour strip cropping and contour buffer strips/prairie strips) has been completed in Iowa and provides the most comprehensive inventory of conservation practices in the nation. Maps and additional information about the project can be found at https://www.gis.iastate.edu/gisf/projects/conservation-practices.
  • If you have a farmer friend, neighbor or family member who epitomizes the title “Good Steward” then please take a minute to consider nominating them for the National Corn Growers Association’s Good Steward Recognition Program before the 5 p.m. CDT, Aug. 6, 2018 deadline.
AgWired Precision, NCGA, Precision Agriculture

Fighting Worms in Cotton

Carrie Muehling

Cotton growers attending the Sunbelt Ag Expo Field Day learned about a number of choices when it comes to worm control.

Growers looking for two- or three-gene traits with high efficacy coupled with proven performance have a wide choice in the Stoneville lineup. TwinLink® is a two-gene Bt trait and TwinLink Plus is a three-gene Bt trait. Both show positive results in third-party trials across the Cotton Belt. TwinLink Plus offers three Bt proteins (Cry1Ab, Cry2Ae and Vip3Aa19) for greater technology durability and improved insect resistance management. It provides improved control over cotton bollworm and armyworms, including fall armyworm, compared to two-gene Bt technologies. Additional proteins in the traits increase the level of control and extend the durability of the trait by improving resistance management. Trials show improved control over cotton bollworm and armyworms, including fall armyworm, compared to two-gene Bt technologies.

“When we brought in TwinLink Plus, that was to really give the grower another alternative to worm control,” said Rachel Walters, Stoneville cotton marketing manager.

TwinLink Plus and TwinLink are packaged with GlyTol® and LibertyLink® traits, in the GLTP and GLT trait packages. Walters encouraged growers using these varieties to continue scouting fields to ensure worm populations are staying below the economic threshold.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Rachel here: Interview with Rachel Walters, Stoneville

2018 Sunbelt Ag Expo Field Day Photo Album

AgWired Precision, Audio, Bayer, Cotton

GROWMARK Changes Support Supply Chain Operations

Carrie Muehling

GROWMARK has appointed Rod Wells to the new position of Executive Director, Enterprise Supply Chain Optimization effective August 1. In this role, Wells will lead the overall GROWMARK supply chain organization from the various wholesale divisions through corporately-owned retail divisions and FS member cooperatives to the farm gate. Wells has 31 years of experience with GROWMARK. He most recently served as Crop Nutrients Division Manager. He will continue to report to GROWMARK Vice President of Agronomy Mark Orr. A search for Wells’ replacement is underway.

Joe Tearney has been promoted to Manager, Barge and Rail Logistics, reporting to the Crop Nutrients Division Manager, also effective August 1. Tearney will be responsible for all aspects of barge and rail transportation within the Crop Nutrients Division at GROWMARK. This includes rate negotiations, equipment leases, and barge and rail freight contracting. Tearney has 27 years of experience with GROWMARK and previously served as Traffic Manager in the Energy and Logistics Division.

Cooperatives, GROWMARK