The Dairy Calf and Heifer Association (DCHA) announced effective May 1, 2018 the association’s management will transition to Gardner & Gardner Communications of New Prague, Minn. Founded in 1996, DCHA, formerly known as the Professional Dairy Heifer Growers Association, has partnered with Filament, in Madison, Wis., since 2013. Filament and Gardner & Gardner Communications will closely collaborate on the transition details following the annual conference April 10-12 in Milwaukee, Wis., with a unified goal of continuing DCHA’s industry momentum.- The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is reminding farmers and ranchers that the window is closing on the opportunity to participate in the 2017 Census of Agriculture. To date, NASS has received more than 1.5 million completed questionnaires. But the national return rate is currently lower than at this point in the 2012 Census. Producers can respond to the 2017 Census of Agriculture online at www.agcounts.usda.gov or by mail.
- The National Corn Growers Association invites photographers to help tell the story of farming field corn in America through the fourth annual Fields-of-Corn Photo Contest. Through this contest, NCGA captures high-resolution photos of corn growth from seed to harvest and the families that grow it. While the contest just opened last weekend, interested participants will be able to submit multiple entries until November 30, 2018. For more information, click here.
- The American Soybean Association (ASA) is now accepting applications for the Ag Voices of the Future program, sponsored by Valent USA. This program is for young people interested in improving their understanding of major policy issues that impact soybean farmers, the importance of advocacy, and careers that can impact agricultural policy. The Ag Voices of the Future class will be held in conjunction with the ASA Board Meeting and Soy Issues Briefing, July 9-12, 2018, in Washington, D.C.
A KEENAN InTouch Testimonial
Moloney Dairy in Borris, County Carlow, Ireland was one stop during the Alltech KEENAN Great Green Getaway. Mark Moloney, KEENAN Southeast Ireland InTouch Feeding Specialist, opened his family farm to our U.S. group to share how the recent adoption of the KEENAN InTouch system has yielded quick results. They not only opened their farmgate but their actually home. Gail-force winds and rain pounded County Carlow and in order to actually hear each other for an intervew, we gathered in the Moloney home for tea and a chat.
Mark has between 80-100 customers in his territory. His goal is to see four farmers every day. There he checks body condition on cows, formulates diets and helps increase overall production of the herd. One fairly new customer is his father, Michiel Moloney.
“November 2016 we bought a KEENAN with the InTouch controller. Since then, we have seen the cows come up 500 liters per cow, 4.2 in butterfat, 3.5 protein. We pretty much had the machine paid for in the first year,” Mark said.
We were in Ireland in mid-March. A time of which you would typically see all the cows back out on grass. But this winter was not typical. Heavy snows created added moisture and fields were just too wet. In fact, the day we flew home, Dublin was getting more snow. However, farmers like the Moloney’s who utilize the InTouch controller truly have more control over their inputs, maximizing their bottom line even during challenging times.
Listen to our complete conversation to learn more about their results with the KEENAN InTouch system and what sets U.S. dairies and Irish dairies apart here: Interview with Mark Moloney, KEENAN InTouch Feeding Specialist
Alltech KEENAN Great Green Getaway Photo Album
Deere Plans New Test Lab at Iowa State University
Deere & Company has announced plans for a new test lab at Iowa State University focused on agricultural spraying and applications technology.
“As a leader in precision agriculture, John Deere is focused on providing customers with innovative, high quality products and services,” said Aaron Wetzel, Deere’s vice president of the global crop care platform at John Deere. “Our customers will benefit from this investment as the spray lab is expected to enhance product design and improve our development cycle.”
The new test center will allow increased collaboration with ISU faculty and students. In 2017, Deere opened a strategic technology innovation center in the ISU Research Park and some employees from that center will be located in the new building when it is completed, which is expected to be summer 2019.
Deere has recently expanded its leadership in crop care technologies and acquired several companies that offer innovative spraying technologies for agriculture customers around the world.
2018 InfoAg Conference Program Announced
This show just keeps getting bigger and better. The 2018 InfoAg Conference has announced the preliminary schedule and early registration goes through July 1, 2018. This year the show dates are July 17-19 at Union Station in St. Louis, MO. Last year the conference had over 1,300 attendees.
Since 1995, the InfoAg Conference has been the premier event for discussion and advancement of precision agriculture. This event draws interest from domestic and international agriculture professionals and features a wide range of educational and networking opportunities for professionals interested in learning more about precision agriculture techniques.
You can register for the conference here.
If your company is participating in the conference and would like the Golden ZimmComm Microphone to be on-location in your booth please contact me asap and let’s chat about how we can enhance your investment in the show.
Farmer Share of Food Dollar Dropped Again in 2016
According to the USDA-ERS Food Dollar Series, “For every dollar spent in 2016 in the U.S. on domestically produced food (food dollar), U.S. farmers sold 14.8 cents of farm products to non-farm establishments (farm share), down from 15.5 cents in 2015. The farm share is at its lowest recorded level between the years 1993 and 2016.”
Some additional points of interest include:
Farm production costs per food dollar fell to 7.8 cents in 2016 and are at their lowest level since 2002.
Foodservice costs per food dollar rose in 2016 to 36.3 cents, increasing for the 8th consecutive year since 2008; foodservice costs were 29.0 cents in 2008.
U.S. worker salary and benefits increased from the previous year, accounting for 50.6 cents of each food dollar in 2016.
The farmer share of the food dollar measures proceeds of farm commodity sales tied to a food dollar expenditure and sold to non-farm establishments.
You can find a lot more information including an application here that allows you to search and download data.
Farm Broadcasters Question EPA Chief About RFS
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt faced a grilling from agricultural reporters Tuesday about the agency granting waivers exempting refineries from Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) obligations and why it is taking so long to decide on allowing year round use of 15% ethanol in all markets.
The embattled administrator, who faces Congressional hearings this week where he will likely be questioned on ethics issues, started off his conversation with members of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting by touting his agency’s accomplishments on behalf of farmers, including rescinding the Waters of the United States rule, and keeping the RFS on track by maintaining the statutory obligation of 15 billion gallons for ethanol.
Pruitt opening comments on RFS
The questioning that followed, however, focused solely on the RFS. Regarding small refinery exemptions being granted that have been eroding the 15 billion gallon requirement, Pruitt responded that granting the exemptions is “not subjective in nature, it’s objective….We are constrained, we have a statutory criteria to make those decision.”
Pruitt comments on small refiner exemptions
Pruitt says the agency has “been actively reviewing the ability to grant an RVP waiver” to allow sales of E15 during the summer months, but was questioned about why it is taking so long. “This is not a matter of being dilatory, it’s a matter of being smart and thoughtful…what you don’t want is to make a decision and then have an avalanche of litigation,” said Pruitt, insisting that he has been pushing for months to get the waiver and he is optimistic about it.
Pruitt comments on RVP waiver consideration
Perdue Celebrates Anniversary With Senate Ag Committee
Tuesday was the first anniversary for Sonny Perdue as Secretary of Agriculture and he spent it briefing the Senate Agriculture Committee on The State of Rural America.
“It’s a fascinating job,” said Perdue. “Even more broad and vast and deep and wide and impactful than I could have ever imagined.”
Most of the questioning for the secretary revolved around trade issues and the farm economy. Addressing Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, Perdue said, “Mr. Chairman you are fond of saying we’re in a rough patch, and I certainly agree with that, but I fear that it’s moved to the whole farm, not just one patch.”
Listen to opening comments and questioning by Sen. Roberts and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI).
Opening of Senate Ag hearing on State of Rural AmericaPrecision Ag Bytes 4/25
Whether you attended or not, you can revisit sessions from the 2017 National Conference on Cover Crops and Soil Health. All session recordings are now available on the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education website.- Nutrien Ltd.’s retail division – soon to be rebranded as Nutrien Ag Solutions – announced the launch of a new digital platform designed to augment its distribution network, agronomic advice and services. Nutrien Ag Solutions’ digital platform will initially be available across North America and will serve as an integrated hub for helping
customers more effectively manage their agronomic and business needs. Nutrien will officially roll out the platform beginning in July 2018 and continue in phases into mid-2019. - The U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released for public comment the draft human health and ecological risk assessments for glyphosate, one of the most widely used pesticides in the United States. EPA’s risk assessment concludes that gylphosate is NOT likely to be a carcinogenic to humans. The agency found no other meaningful risks to human health when the product is used according to the pesticide label. These scientific findings are consistent with conclusions of science reviews by a number of other countries as well as the 2017 National Institutes of Health Agricultural Health Survey. To submit comments, click here. The comment period closes April 30, 2018.
- The preliminary program for InfoAg 2018 is now posted. Online registration is now available for the conference, with an early bird discount available through July 1.
- Sakata Seed America recently announced the launch of its new, mobile-responsive website for the vegetable side of their business. The organizational structure of the new SakataVegetables.com closely mirrors that of the previous site, allowing users who have used the Sakata vegetables website previously to enjoy a seamless experience when transitioning to the new website.
The KEENAN, Farmer Relationship
Paul McVeigh, KEENAN feeding specialist who covers the Midlands and West Ireland, is in the relationship business. He travels his territory in Ireland getting to know the farmers which enables him to implement a plan of action for complete optimization of KEENAN In-Touch. I was able to learn more about KEENAN Systems on the farm during the Alltech KEENAN Great Green Getaway.
“My day-to-day is going out and setting up the In-Touch KEENAN system with the farmers. We set the goals they want to try and accomplish. I conduct an on-farm appraisal, look at every aspect of their nutrition and dietary needs, where they have come from, where they want to go and then we actually put a plan into place on how we want to get there,” McVeigh said.
He stressed that his job is not to sell products, but to deliver results on the farm. And that is the same for his colleagues around the world. When it comes to cow nutrition, it doesn’t matter what country you are in. A rumen is a rumen. “The slight difference in Ireland is the seasonality and our ability to grow grass. That is our competitive advantage. We can’t lose sight of that. Our goal is to get the cheapest, quality grass into the diet as possible,” McVeigh said.
Listen to my complete interview with Paul to hear him share examples of ways he has worked with farmers helping them improve their bottom line. Interview with Paul McVeigh, KEENAN Systems
Alltech KEENAN Great Green Getaway Photo Album
Bayer Launches ForwardFarm in Maryland
Bayer’s ForwardFarming program launched in North America last week at the farm of fourth-generation Maryland farmer Trey Hill.
Harborview Farms was chosen as the latest Bayer ForwardFarm, joining Bayer’s global network of 12 innovative, independent farms representative of their unique environments across Europe, Latin America and now, North America. “One of the primary goals of ForwardFarming is to foster dialogue and knowledge exchange on local farms around the world, which we achieve by welcoming people to the farms to learn about today’s agriculture and some of the remarkable men and women engaged in it,” said Jim Blome, President and CEO of Crop Science North America, a Division of Bayer.
Harborview Farms on the Chesapeake Bay is two hours from Washington, D.C., and includes innovative management practices, such as precision technology, cover cropping, solar energy, integrated peswt management, and wildlife habitats. Over time, Bayer will add more operations to the ForwardFarming program in additional regions across the United States and the world to expand the knowledge platform further.
Becky Langer is the project manager for the U.S. ForwardFarming program and we talked with her about why they chose Harborview and what they hope to accomplish with this initiative. Interview with Becky Langer, Bayer ForwardFarming