GROWMARK Talks Farm Bill Priorities

Carrie Muehling

The House version of the farm bill is expected to come to the floor this week, and GROWMARK is among those weighing in with policymakers about priorities for the legislation. The cooperative is particularly looking for support of the Conservation Title, among others.

“Important to conservation is to make sure that we have program funding to put conservation practices on the land. As an ag retailer, we’re very interested in working hand in glove with farmer as a partner in the watershed,” said Chuck Spencer, GROWMARK’s executive director for government relations, during an interview last week.

Spencer explained that GROWMARK would like to work in partnership with the USDA NRCS as a technical service provider to help farmers develop nutrient management plans, noting language for that already exists in the current House version. Spencer also named the Commodity Title as a priority, along with crop insurance and infrastructure policies.

In this interview, Spencer also discusses how sustainability in agriculture has become an important issue when talking with lawmakers on both the state and federal levels: Interview with Chuck Spencer, GROWMARK

AgWired Animal, AgWired Precision, Conservation, Farm Bill, GROWMARK, Sustainability

Funny Or Die Peel Back the Label Video

Cindy Zimmerman

Peel Back the Label has partnered with Emmy-winning video company Funny Or Die to produce a new video highlighting the absurdity of deceptive food labels with a tongue-in-cheek take on how far food companies are willing to go to confuse consumers into buying their products.

The video features two food executives – one from a milk company and the other from a marketing agency – scheming over how to separate their product from the rest of the pack, with consumers paying the price as they encounter increasingly ridiculous deceptive and misleading food labels with terms like “non-GMO” and “natural.”

“Anyone who has ever been to the grocery store knows the feeling of being manipulated when faced with dozens of labels all saying different things about the same types of products. With this video, we shine a spotlight – in a decidedly tongue-in-cheek way – on just how difficult some food companies are making grocery shopping, something which should be a simple and straightforward endeavor for consumers,” said Jim Mulhern, President of the National Milk Producers Federation.

Watch it and laugh – or cry because it’s so true!

AgWired Animal, Dairy, Food, GMO

Fordyce Named USDA FSA Administrator

Cindy Zimmerman

Richard Fordyce pictured at 2015 Develop with Deere conference in Kansas City

Former Missouri Department of Agriculture director Richard Fordyce has been selected to serve as Administrator of the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA). In his role, Fordyce will provide leadership for FSA and its mission to support agricultural production across America through a network of over 2,100 county and 50 state offices.

“As a fourth-generation farmer, Richard brings firsthand knowledge and experience to this role,” Secretary Sonny Perdue said. “I am confident that he will continue to help USDA become the most efficient, effective customer focused agency in the federal government as he leads this customer focused mission area.”

Richard Fordyce most recently served as State Executive Director for FSA in Missouri. Prior to his appointment by the Trump Administration, Fordyce served as the director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture from 2013 to 2017. In 2015, Fordyce was awarded the Missouri Farm Bureau Distinguished Service Award and the Agricultural Leaders of Tomorrow Alumnus of the Year. He and his wife, Renee, have two children and grow soybeans, corn and beef cattle on the family farm.

USDA

Animal Ag Bites 5/14

Carrie Muehling

  • Jared Brackett is the newly elected secretary/treasurer of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board. Jared lives and runs a cow-calf/stocker operation in southern Idaho. He is a fifth-generation rancher.
  • The three largest milk marketing cooperatives in California, California Dairies, Inc., Dairy Farmers of America and Land O’Lakes, Inc., on behalf of their respective members, have voted in support of the California Federal Milk Marketing Order as proposed by the United States Department of Agriculture.
  • For the second year in a row, Alltech is donating a KEENAN mixer wagon that will be auctioned off at the fifth annual South Dakota Prime Time Gala on June 23, 2018. Hosted by the South Dakota Cattlemen’s Foundation, the Prime Time Gala is an annual fundraiser that benefits Feeding South Dakota, an organization that provides emergency food assistance to thousands of people in any given week and hundreds of men, women and children every day across South Dakota.
  • Hubbard Feeds has committed $5,000 to help support the South Dakota Cattlemen’s Foundation raise awareness of the hunger problem that exists in South Dakota as well as the need to provide more donated products to food insecure individuals and families.
  • My Dairy Dashboard, a data-visualization tool for dairy producers, earned the Ag Data Transparent seal after completing a required certification process. A multi-organization and company project, Ag Data Transparent was created to provide transparency, simplicity and trust in data collected through ag precision technology.
  • Scientists at ONCE, in conjunction with two major US universities, have found that the addition of an Ultraviolet A (UV-A) spectrum into animal housing lighting reduces stress levels by a significant margin. This reduction of stress represents possibly the biggest breakthrough for poultry animal welfare in recent history.
  • Join a webinar in the Cattlemen’s Webinar Series to learn from fellow cattlemen about the recently released Sustainability Framework. Produced through a U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef working group process, the framework includes real world tools specific to farms, ranches and feedyards.
  • GEA’s recently published book, GEA Milking Intelligence, is an illustrated guide to optimal cow milking. From milk harvest history and milking equipment function to promoting good cow flow and milk quality, the book illustrates the fundamentals of how milk is made and collected, while highlighting some of today’s advanced automation technologies.
  • Registration is now open with early bird savings available for the inaugural Poultry Tech Summit, scheduled for November 5-7, 2018, at the Georgia Tech Hotel & Conference Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Poultry Tech Summit is a new one-of-a-kind conference showcasing innovative technologies that are ready for future application in poultry live production, processing and supply chain. The conference will connect entrepreneurs with technology experts and financiers looking for projects to fund.
AgWired Animal, Animal Bites

USFRA Elects New Board Member and Unveils Research

Cindy Zimmerman

The U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance® (USFRA) Board of Directors gathered in St. Louis recently for its bi-annual board meeting.

At the meeting, the 2017 Consumer Perception research was presented and Cameron Gibson was elected as a board member to represent the United Soybean Board. The board also proposed the FY19 USFRA strategy to bring agriculture’s voice back into pop culture and entertainment.

Gibson is a Virginia crop farmer who looks forward to being part of USFRA to help “enlighten food influencers and end users about the value, sustainability, and usefulness not only of our U.S. soybean crop, but also for other farming and ranching practices.”

According to the USFRA’s 2017 Consumer Perception Research, 34 percent of Americans strongly trust farmers and ranchers, a significant increase from 24 percent in 2015. Additionally, nearly half of consumers say that U.S. farmers and ranchers are heading the right direction with how food is grown and raised.

USFRA also highlighted its new app, engAGe, which aims to activate farmer and rancher voices on digital and social media platforms. To continue to build consumer trust in American farmers and ranchers, it’s crucial that all agriculturalists practice transparency on their farms and ranches and share their story online. engAGe’s ability to provide resources and simplify social media, while scouting a field, walking the barn, or even sitting behind a desk, has resonated with the agriculture community, as the app has garnered nearly 500 users.

USB, USFRA

CUTC Extends Poster Submission Deadline

Chuck Zimmerman

The Corn Utilization & Technology Conference (CUTC) just announced that the deadline for posters to be submitted has been extended to Friday, May 18, 2018. There are a number of categories that you can submit a poster to including:

The professional category for both general and mycotoxin posters
General session student posters
Mycotoxin student posters

The Poster session is a great way to showcase your research to your peers and industry stakeholders.

For students who are interested, there is a contest with cash awards in both the general and mycotoxin poster sessions. Judging criteria and submission guidelines can be found here: http://www.corntechconf.org/guidelines.htmlJudging Criteria.

The CUTC runs June 4-6, 2018, at the Sheraton Westport Chalet Hotel, St. Louis, MO. Poster presenters must be registered as conference attendees.

I will be there once again and just in case you don’t know, the conference hashtag is #corntech18. You can register here.

AgWired Animal, AgWired Precision, Corn, CUTC, NCGA, Technology

Zimfo Bytes 5/11

Carrie Muehling

  • The American Farm Bureau Federation is accepting speaker proposals for the 2019 AFBF Annual Convention & IDEAg Trade Show in New Orleans, Louisiana this January, 11-16, 2019. Submit your proposal by Friday, May 18, 2018 for a chance to become part of one of the premier destinations for agriculture education, policy development, industry relationships and cutting-edge innovations.
  • The IFAJ2018 World Congress Dutch Roots organizers will offer a three day pre-tour to visit a dairy farmer, an arable crop farmer and a flower grower. The pre-tour will only be organized if there are enough participants – the minimum number is 20 persons. The deadline for participation in the pre-tour is set at May 23rd. Those interested in the pre-tour will know on June 1st at the latest if the pre-tour will or will not be organized as proposed. For detailed information, please send an email to sales@dutchroots.info.
  • Is this a trade war or just trade rhetoric? That question will be explored by the current and three former Chief Agriculture Negotiators at the Farm Foundation Forum on Tuesday, May 22. The Forum will be at the National Press Club, 529 14th Street NW, Washington, D.C. Register here. A free, live audiocast will be available for those unable to participate in the Forum in person. Register for the audiocast here.
  • Eleven U.S. cotton industry members have been chosen to participate in the National Cotton Council’s Emerging Leaders Program for 2018-19. Overall, the Emerging Leaders Program provides participants with a better understanding of how the NCC carries out its mission of ensuring the U.S. cotton industry’s seven segments can compete effectively and profitably in the raw cotton, oilseed and U.S.-manufactured product markets at home and abroad.
  • The Agricultural Retailers Association announced that Melisa Augusto has been hired as director of communications and marketing for the organization. She will officially join the staff on May 15.
Zimfo Bytes

Raven and Farmers Edge Join Forces

Cindy Zimmerman

Raven Industries and Farmers Edge have joined forces in a marketing and collaboration agreement.

The two companies are working together to develop new precision agriculture technologies that will rapidly increase expansion of Farmers Edge digital agronomy and risk management solutions in key markets. The collaboration leverages the use of streaming data transfer between CanPlugs and Raven Slingshot® and field computers.

This collaboration aligns powerful analytics with unparalleled data sets that provide a single point for growers to visualize, analyze and make all farm management decisions. It incorporates Raven’s precision agriculture hardware, high-speed connectivity and variable rate technology with Farmers Edge complete and independent precision digital solutions powered by billions of on-farm data points. This translates to simplified agronomic and input management for growers.

Learn more here

AgWired Precision, Precision Agriculture

Turkish Guild Hosts IFAJ Middle East Forum For New Network

Chuck Zimmerman

The image shows participants in the IFAJ Middle East Forum, hosted by the Turkey Guild of Agricultural Journalists and the Food Safety Congress at the Grand Cevahir Hotel in Istanbul on May 2, 2018. This forum is a serious attempt to create a new agricultural journalists network in a region sorely in need of an entity that promotes independent agricultural communications that are not controlled by political interests. Here are some excerpts from the summary of the Forum on the IFAJ website.

Thirty representatives from Middle East countries joined IFAJ leaders earlier this month for at historic three-day meeting in bustling Istanbul, Turkey, to create an IFAJ Middle East agricultural journalists’ network.

The Turkish Guild of Agricultural Journalists and the 6th Food Safety Congress hosted representatives from Jordan, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Tunisia, Georgia, Ukraine and Turkey.

Ultimately, they agreed IFAJ should consider creating an online agricultural journalism certificate – as envisioned, containing equal parts of agriculture education and journalism training — that could be accessed by any IFAJ member, including those in the Middle East.

Over the coming weeks, watch for further news about the forum and statements from participants. The IFAJ Global Office will be following up to maintain communications with participants and support efforts to formalize the Middle East network.

IFAJ, International, Media

ZimmCast 583 – Ag Comm, RFS, Beef and Sheep

Chuck Zimmerman

In this week’s program Chuck is sharing some podcasts that you might find interesting.  Maybe even worth subscribing to?

I start off with The Ethanol Report, which has been sponsored by the Renewable Fuels Association since 2008. This week, Cindy talks with RFA CEO Bob Dinneen about the latest RFS news which has a big impact on rural America and agriculture in general.

Then Beltway Beef is showcased, the podcast of the National Cattlemens Beef Association.  This episode, hosted by Ed Frank, features NCBA’s Ashley McDonald talking about the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef’s release of its National Framework for Beef Sustainability.

Next up is Chase Adams, former farm broadcaster (you can tell from that voice!) hosting the ASI Sheepcast with Kay Johnson Smith, Executive Director of the Animal Agriculture Alliance. For over 30 years, the Alliance has been on the front lines of ensuring consumers and customers are correctly informed on how food and fiber is produced by America’s sheep and livestock producers.

Not exactly a podcast but produced regular nonetheless is Ed Czerwein’s Weekly Box Beef Report. The Choice cutout is following the normal grilling season rally helped by rib and loin primal products.

And finally you’ll hear a teaser for the new AAEA The Agricultural Communicators Network, Ag Comm Network Podcast.

Want me to feature your podcast? Please let me know. Want to start one but don’t know how then let me help you. Call or write anytime.

Listen to the ZimmCast here: ZimmCast 583 - RFS, Beef, Sheep and Ag Media

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.
Ethanol, Podcasts, ZimmNews