GROWMARK: Agriculture Background Not Required

Carrie Muehling

Although GROWMARK and its FS Member companies are clearly rooted in agriculture, a farming or agribusiness background is not required to thrive as an employee there.

GROWMARK’s Director of Talent Management Tom Swearingen is a prime example of that. Originally a commercial airline pilot, Swearingen left that industry after the events of 9/11/2001 changed it forever, and came back to his hometown to work as a corporate pilot for GROWMARK and Country Financial. He eventually became the chief pilot for those companies, and then grew into the position of Director of Corporate Services before taking on his current job. Along the way, Swearingen took advantage of tuition assistance and completed his MBA while working at GROWMARK. He said the training and development the company offers to all 6,000 system-wide employees is unparalleled.

“We genuinely believe that our employees are our greatest resource, so why would you not invest in your greatest resource to continually make them better, both personally and professionally?” asked Swearingen.

He said it’s important not to discount agriculture as a career path, even if you didn’t grow up with it. Companies like GROWMARK want specialists in a variety of areas to bring their skills and an open mind.

“Eventually, when someone comes to work here, we want them to get a better understanding of agriculture, but that’s not a prerequisite when they come in the door,” Swearingen said, noting there is another great reason to work in agriculture. “I think in today’s world, now more than ever, employees are looking for a cause or something larger than themselves to be a part of, and I know for me, I personally can’t think of a better thing to be part of than to help farmers feed the world.”

Hear more with Tom Swearingen here: Tom Swearingen, GROWMARK

AgWired Precision, Audio, GROWMARK

Animal Ag Bites 5/29

Carrie Muehling

  • U.S. Poultry & Egg Association (USPOULTRY) is releasing a video that demonstrates what poultry and egg farms can expect if their farms are inspected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). To ensure the information is accurate and beneficial, USPOULTRY collaborated with EPA personnel to develop and produce the video.
  • A new study funded by National Dairy Council (NDC) shows that healthy, pre-menopausal women who consumed low-fat yogurt before meals reduced their risk for inflammation following the meal. The research was conducted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
  • Dave Chamberlin recently joined Vita Plus as the swine technical sales manager for the eastern region swine team. Chamberlin will play a key role in developing the swine team in the eastern region by providing nutritional programming, product development, and brand awareness of Vita Plus products and services.
  • The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association applauded the introduction of the Transporting Livestock Across America Safely Act, saying it would reform federal Hours of Service rules in a way that ensures animal welfare, highway safety, and the well-being of livestock haulers.
  • U.S. Poultry & Egg Association (USPOULTRY) is now accepting nominations for the 2019 Family Farm Environmental Excellence Award. The award recognizes exemplary environmental stewardship by family farmers engaged in poultry and egg production. Those eligible for the award include any family-owned poultry grower or egg producer supplying product to a USPOULTRY member or an independent producer who is a USPOULTRY member. Nominations are due Oct. 1.
  • Ambassador Gregg Doud, chief agricultural negotiator for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and Greg Ibach, USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, will address investors of the National Pork Producers Council at World Pork Expo on June 6 and 7. Under Secretary Ibach speaks on June 6; Ambassador Doud speaks on June 7.
  • Brookside Agra has developed an effective, simple protocol for using Advanced Bio Pro Concentrate to compost animal carcasses. A video explaining the process can be viewed online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2_bysyZoXY.
AgWired Animal, Animal Bites

Crops & Chemicals USA 18 to Feature Regulatory Updates

Cindy Zimmerman

Federal regulators from EPA, FDA and USDA are among the presenters at this year’s Crops & Chemicals USA meeting, July 23-25, 2018 at the Raleigh Convention Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.

The agenda for this year’s meeting provides attendees with the critical science, technologies and contacts needed to accelerate the development and regulatory approval of biostimulant, biopesticide and agrochemical products.

U.S. regulatory updates for the industry will be provided by:

Robert Merker, PhD. Supervisory Consumer Safety Officer, US FDA
Neil Hoffman, PhD, Chief Scientific Advisor, Biotechnology Regulatory Services, USDA
Robert McNally, Director, Biopesticides and Pollution Prevention, US EPA

Industry insight will also be provided by many other speakers representing companies such as DowDupont and Verdesian, as well as university experts.

More information and registration details for Crops & Chemicals USA is available online. Save an extra 10% when you register here using the VIP code AGNEWSWIRE (new registrations only).

Agribusiness, AgWired Precision, Biologicals, Biotech, Events

ZimmCast 585 – ONE 18, Alltech Ideas Conference

Chuck Zimmerman

In this week’s program I’m sharing several interviews from the ONE 18, Alltech Ideas Conference.

First up is Aidan Connolly, Alltech VP, who talks about technology and what he hopes to convey to attendees this year.

Next up is USDA Under Secretary Bill Northey. Bill talks Farm Bill, RFS and his department, Farm and Foreign Agriculture Service.

Finally, you will hear from @TheFarmBabe, Michelle Miller, who talks about how she became interested in agvocating and is now considered a top social media influencer for agriculture.

There is a lot more you can listen to from ONE 18 by visiting our virtual ag newsroom on AgNewsWire.com.

Listen to the ZimmCast here: ZimmCast 585 - ONE 18, Alltech Ideas Conference

I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

Subscribe to the ZimmCast podcast here. Use this url in iTunes or your favorite news reader program/app.

The ZimmCast

sponsored by
The ZimmCast podcast is sponsored by GROWMARK
Locally owned, globally strong.
AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Audio, ZimmCast

Four Alltech Global Accelerator Internal Startups

Carrie Muehling

Eight Pearse Lyons Accelerator startup companies were introduced at the recent ONE Ideas Conference, including four that are internal to Alltech.

Rebecca Noble works in Alltech’s business development for crop science division. She describes Adentro as a crop protection brand of the future, using new science and new research. The name of the company translates to “inside” or “within.” Noble and her colleagues are looking inside the plant to make it a better version of itself, using technology that naturally activates bio-immunity in a plant by switching on its defense genes. It’s a different approach than the conventional external plant protection.

Rebecca Noble, Adentro - an Alltech company

Alltech’s North American Brand Manager Brian Lawless is working on a startup called PenPoint, which is tackling Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD). Lawless said BRD represents over 70 percent of animal deaths in feed yards. The company has developed a wearable activity tracker for cows to monitor eating and drinking habits as well as other movement. Lawless said providing producers with more information about the health of their animals helps them make better decisions about animal nutrition.

Brian Lawless, PenPoint - an Alltech company

Focusing on human nutrition, Alltech’s truly brand is taking the guesswork out of supplements. Alltech Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist Nikki Putnam works on the truly brand, which provides online consultation to help consumers identify dietary and supplement needs. The folks at truly then personalize packs of supplements and provide those to the consumer through a monthly subscription service.

Nikki Putnam, truly - an Alltech company

Canada-based Smart Dairy is helping dairy farmers to improve efficiencies on the farm. Alltech’s Stuart McGregor explained the program’s goal is a 20 percent improvement in efficiency based on looking at factors like farm management, labor, herd health, and nutrition management. The program is designed to deploy Alltech’s nutrition and ag-tech breakthroughs to farms via nutritionists.

Stuart McGregor, Smart Dairy - an Alltech company

A clear route to market remains a challenge within the industry, and the Alltech program provides startups with accelerated access to the global market, with a comprehensive package of support to help them navigate the challenge of scaling their operations to service large corporate customers. The program is run in conjunction with Dogpatch Labs, a leading startup organization based in Dublin, Ireland, and culminated at ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference, where the startups pitched to leading agribusiness leaders, high-profile investors and the press.

ONE 18: The Alltech Ideas Conference Photo Album

AgWired Animal, Alltech, Animal Agriculture, Apps, Audio, Crop Science, Dairy, Livestock, Technology

Four Alltech Global Accelerator External Startups

Carrie Muehling

In its second year of existence, The Pearse Lyons Accelerator is adding eight new agriculture startups, featured at this year’s ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference. Four internal and four external companies make up this year’s participants.

Israel-based eggXYt provides technology that allows hatcheries and chicken breeders to detect the gender of chicken embryos. The goal is to stop the unnecessary killing of male chicks not needed by the poultry industry each year. Co-Founder and CEO Yehuda Elram said the technology has both ethical and economic implications.

Interview with Yehuda Elram, eggXYt

Another external company in this year’s accelerator is Vence, based in the United States. The virtual fencing idea enables management and monitoring of livestock via smartphones. CEO Frank Wooten said virtual fencing can be an answer when traditional fences present a challenge.

Interview with Frank Wooten, Vence

SmartBow CEO and Founder Wolfgang Auer said his Austria-based company saves livestock farmers money by helping with early detection of sickness in animals, thanks to the SMART eartag sensor. The sensor can detect early signs of sickness based on changes in behavior, appetite, social interactions. This happens up to five days before the animal shows clinical signs of being sick.

Interview with Wolfgang Auer, SmartBow

The final external company is farming three million insects in the heart of London, United Kingdom. Entocycle Chief Commercial Officer James Millar described the first environmentally controlled, fully automated system to produce industrial levels of Black Soldier Fly protein. These flies don’t have a mouth, which means they are non-disease and non-pests. Millar said the life cycle from baby larvae to adult larvae is just six days. The long term goal is to use the protein for human consumption in staple foods like pasta and bread. But in the short term, the company is looking to provide protein to livestock like poultry and cattle.

Interview with James Millar, Entocycle

The Pearse Lyons Accelerator is a unique late-stage, agri-tech accelerator run by Alltech and Dogpatch Labs that aims to address a diverse set of challenges facing agriculture today. Backed by the late Irish entrepreneur Dr. Pearse Lyons, last year’s startups collectively added $50 million in new qualified sales leads across 28 international markets by the end of the accelerator.

ONE 18: The Alltech Ideas Conference Photo Album

AgWired Animal, Alltech, Animal Agriculture, Apps, Audio, Livestock, Technology

Zimfo Bytes 5/25

Carrie Muehling

  • The National FFA Organization and National FFA Foundation have awarded more than $2.5 million in scholarships to 1,842 recipients, thanks to the generosity of 114 sponsors.
  • FMC Corporation announced several changes to its executive leadership, effective June 1, 2018. Mark Douglas, president of FMC Agricultural Solutions, has been appointed president and chief operating officer. He will lead FMC’s operational, commercial and technology organizations. Kathy Shelton, global director of Research and Development, has been appointed FMC vice president and chief technology officer. Diane Allemang, global director of Global Portfolio Strategy and Management, has been appointed FMC vice president and chief marketing officer. Susanne Lingard, global director of Regulatory Affairs, has been appointed FMC vice president, Regulatory Affairs.
  • The Cotton LEADS program announced its newest member Wrangler® and applauded the brand’s commitment to promoting soil health practices as a foundation for improving sustainability in the industry. The global denim manufacturer joins more than 540 program partners supporting continual improvement by cotton growers in the United States and Australia.
  • The 2018 American Marketing Association’s NOVA Awards on May 10 honored Lessing-Flynn among peers with awards in the eight categories for five different clients.
  • Six individuals were recognized as 2018 Outstanding Agricultural Mentors at the Women’s Agricultural Leadership Conference held recently in Chaska, MN. The Outstanding Agricultural Mentor Award Recipients for 2018 are: Jan Albrecht, retired dairy farmer; Joel Larsen, Program Specialist for Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources at the Minnesota Department of Education; Sue McCrum, former President of American Agri-Women and Maine potato farmer; Karin Schaefer, Executive Director for the Minnesota Beef Council; Rel Seykora, longtime Minnesota 4-H Volunteer; and Emily Wilmes, Extension Educator with University of Minnesota Extension.
  • Eight FFA members were recently named U.S. Presidential Scholars for their accomplishments in academics, the arts, and career and technical education. The FFA members named as scholars are: Michael Z. Chen of Newark, Del., member of Newark High School FFA Chapter; Connor K. Erbsen of Lanark, Ill., member of Eastland FFA Chapter; Lane Hilgenhold of Tell City, Ind., member of Perry Central FFA Chapter; Caleb L. Lines of Nashua, Iowa, member of the Nashua-Plainfield FFA Chapter; Caitlin Henne of Eaton Rapids, Mich., member of the Springport FFA Chapter; Tyler Noyes of Toston, Mont., member of the Broadway FFA Chapter; Brianna D. Maddock of Davenport, N.D., member of the Kindred FFA Chapter; Bridger J. Gordon of Whitewood, S.D., member of the Sturgis FFA Chapter.
Zimfo Bytes

Cousin Elected to Heifer International Board of Directors

Cindy Zimmerman

Ertharin Cousin, former Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme, has been elected to the Heifer International Board of Directors, joining other members with diverse backgrounds in the business, agriculture, academic, faith-based and private sectors. Cousin will serve on the board as an at-large delegate for a three-year term.

With more than 30 years of national and international nonprofit, government and corporate leadership experience, Cousin is globally renowned for her humanitarian work. From 2009 to 2017, Cousin served as executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme. As the leader of the world’s largest humanitarian organization, she guided 14,000 employees serving 80 million beneficiaries in 75 countries meeting urgent food needs and increased funding for the Programme by more than $2 billion in her passionate pursuit for a Zero Hunger World. Additionally, in 2009, Cousin was nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate as the U.S. Ambassador to the UN Agencies for Food and Agriculture in Rome.

Cousin spoke at the Water for Food International Forum earlier this year in Washington D.C. and talked about her passion to end hunger and make agriculture productive across the global community.

WFF18 Ertharin Cousin, Ambassador World Food Programme

Interview with Ertharin Cousin, Ambassador World Food Programme

AgWired Animal, Audio, Food, International

AEM Launches ‘I Make America’ Town Hall Tour

Carrie Muehling

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) is working to further engage voters about issues important to the growth and success of the manufacturing industry.

“From much-needed investment in infrastructure and continued regulatory reform to the future of free trade agreements and the long-term prosperity of agricultural communities, there are certainly enough issues at play to make the midterm elections critical to the future of manufacturing in this country,” said AEM President Dennis Slater.

The “I Make America Town Hall Tour” kicked off on Thursday, May 17 at AGCO Corporation’s manufacturing center in Jackson, MN with a discussion about the symbiotic relationship between the agriculture economy and the equipment manufacturing industry. About 160 AGCO employees attended the event. The next stops include Doosan-Bobcat’s production facility in Bismarck, ND, on Aug. 16 and and Terex Corporation’s Genie manufacturing facility in Redmond, WA, on Sept. 20.

AEM, AgWired Precision, Farm Bill

Farm Foundation Forum Features Ag Trade Perspectives

Cindy Zimmerman

A timely Farm Foundation Forum this week featured the current Chief Agriculture Negotiator of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and three of his predecessors going back to 2001 commenting on the current trade environment for agriculture.

A Conversation with the Ambassadors: Trade War or Rhetoric? was moderated by Farm Foundation Vice President of Policy and Programs Megan Provost and included:

Ambassador Gregg Doud, current Chief Agriculture Negotiator
Ambassador Darci Vetter, former Chief Agriculture Negotiator (2014-2016)
Ambassador Richard Crowder, former Chief Agriculture Negotiator (2006-2008)
Ambassador Al Johnson, former Chief Agriculture Negotiator (2001-2005)

Listen to their comments here: Farm Foundation Forum on Ag Trade

Audio, Trade