Cytozyme Laboratories, Inc. has announced the recent opening of a Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprise office in Beijing, China, to improve its business processes and meet the growing demands of consumers throughout the region.- The LG Seeds brand announces the launch of a new Technical Team Agronomist role. This role will provide technical support services to LG Seeds’ sales team, customers, and dealers. These individuals will leverage the product knowledge that already exists among AgReliant Genetics’ six regional brand agronomy teams making up the new LG Seeds brand. The team will focus on supporting sales growth and strategic brand initiatives, including the company’s digital ag platform, Advantage Acre.
- Western Growers and Radicle Growth have partnered to create The Radicle Automation Challenge, a competition where AgTech automation entrepreneurs are eligible to compete for a minimum of $250,000 in investment capital and exclusive access to farm acreage to pilot their technologies. Four finalists will be chosen to showcase their technologies in front of a group of investors, corporate partners and agribusiness experts and the winner will be announced during the Western Growers Innovation Showcase Dinner at the Forbes AgTech Summit on June 26, 2018.
- Syngenta is offering members of the ag community a way to honor those individuals who have ignited their ag passion the most. The application period is now open for the annual #RootedinAg contest. In exchange for sharing their stories, participants will have a chance to be named one of five finalists, who will each receive mini touch-screen tablets and have their inspirational stories featured on the Syngenta Thrive website. From those finalists, one grand prizewinner will receive a $500 gift card and have their story published in Thrive magazine, plus Syngenta will make a $1,000 donation in the winner’s name to a local charity or civic organization.
- AgVend, the leader in agricultural eCommerce, announces the close of a $1.75m seed fundraising round led by Iowa native Drew Oetting at 8VC.
- Agrian Inc. continues to expand internationally, announcing that they will bring their comprehensive agriculture software platform to Brazilian agronomists, growers, retailers and food processors. To spearhead efforts in the new territory, Agrian has hired Ed Siatti as the senior sales director, Brazil.
Equipment Dealers Fighting Tax Policy Changes
The 2018 Oklahoma state legislature has seen several bills this session that seek to increase revenue by making tax policy changes that would impact the agriculture industry at an already difficult time, and the Western Equipment Dealers Association (WEDA) says they expect more such challenges in the future.
WEDA Vice President of Government Affairs Eric Wareham explains that the Oklahoma legislature faced a $400-600 million projected budget gap at the beginning of this year. “Once again legislators have taken to turning over every rock to raise revenue, and the teacher walkout has upped the ante on finding funding sources,” said Wareham.
In Oklahoma, there have been three major bills this legislative session that would impact both farmers and farm equipment dealers. Wareham says one bill would have sunset all tax credits and exemptions by 2021, including the farm equipment sales tax exemption. Another bill would have eliminated the ag sales tax exemption for purchases under $25,000, and the third would repeal the state capital gains exemption. The bills have all been either changed, killed or stalled, thanks to the efforts of WEDA and others.
Wareham says other states, such as Kansas and Oregon, have attempted to take similar actions as commodity prices have dropped in the past few years. “Over the past 4-5 years, net farm income has reduced by 50 percent and therefore (states) are not receiving the money from farmers because they’re just not making it.” But Wareham says trying to “tax your way out of a hole by increasing taxes on the hardest hit segment of the economy” to quote Winston Churchill “that’s like standing in a bucket and trying to pull yourself up by the handles.”
In this interview, Wareham provides an update on the Oklahoma legislation, and comments on the potential for more challenges in the future and how such actions would impact an already depressed farm economy. Interview with WEDA Vice President of Government Affairs Eric Wareham
Deere’s Lagemann New AEM Vice Chair
John D. Lagemann is the new Vice Chair of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), filling the unexpired officer term of recently retired Jim Walker of CNH Industrial. Lagemann is Deere & Co. Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing-Regions 3 & 4. Lagemann has served in AEM leadership roles since 2001.
AEM has also elected CNH Industrial’s Scott Harris to its Board of Directors, filling Walker’s unexpired 2018 Board term.
“We are very pleased to announce John’s expanded leadership of AEM and welcome Scott to its Board of Directors. Their knowledge and dedication exemplify the active company participation that underpins AEM’s success and growth for its members, the equipment industry and the overall agriculture and construction-related sectors,” said Dennis Slater, AEM president. “We also take this opportunity to publicly thank Jim Walker for his years of leadership as an AEM officer and Board member, and his support of the AEM staff.”
Listen to this interview with Lagemann at the 2017 Commodity Classic where he represented AEM as Agriculture Chair: Interview with John Lagemann, John Deere
ZimmCast on International Travel and #NAMA18
It’s Agri-Marketing Conference Week and the ZimmComm Team will be on location. This week’s episode features a preview from the Chair of this year’s conference, Jenna Oesch, Global Marketing Lead & Customer Experience Council Lead, Monsanto Company, Vegetable Seeds Division.
The program starts out with Jamie talking about her trip around the world. That would be to Ireland with Alltech and to Indonesia with the USSEC. She shares some of her interviews. It was a long trip and Jamie is still working on publishing content from it.
Getting back to the NAMA Conference for a moment, ZimmComm is exhibiting once again in the Connection Point. We’ll be in booth 302 and hope to see you there.
Listen to the ZimmCast here: ZimmCast 579 - Ireland, Indonesia & #NAMA18
Subscribe to the ZimmCast podcast here. Use this url in iTunes or your favorite news reader program/app.
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Corn and Ethanol Advocates Tweeting #RFSWorks
Today from 7-10 AM central time agriculture and ethanol advocates will be participating in a Twitter Townhall, prior to the scheduled meeting today at the White House regarding the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).
The effort grows out of news last week that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, already under fire for getting a sweet condo deal from the wife of an oil lobbyist, has been handing out dozens of small refiner hardship waivers to allow them out of their RFS obligations.
The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) is calling on members to take action. “While the White House weighs options, the EPA continues to undermine and mess with the RFS, granting questionable RFS waivers to refiners with no transparency and failing to provide regulatory parity for higher blends of ethanol. The EPA continues to check-off the items on Big-Oil’s wish list while gutting corn and ethanol demand and undermining the President’s commitment to the RFS in the process.”
Advocates will be using the hashtag #RFSWorks, tweeting to @realDonaldTrump and/or @POTUS, @EPAScottPruitt and members of Congress this morning. The president is expected to meet this morning with Pruitt and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to discuss the issue again. The industry is encouraging the administration to consider real solutions, including RVP parity that would allow year-round sales of ethanol blends greater than 10 percent.
NCGA notes that since discussions about appeasing oil interests by capping Renewable Identification Number (RIN) prices started in January, RIN prices have fallen 50 percent.
Animal Ag Bites 4/9
The National Pork Producers Council offers two tour packages prior to World Pork Expo. On June 4-5, a two-day Midwest tour travels across Iowa, Illinois and northern Indiana, providing perspectives on pork production, feed processing, agricultural shipping and more. On June 5, a one-day tour focuses on Central Iowa agri-businesses and pork production. Registration is available online.- Papillon Agricultural Company has hired Tricia Wolfswinkel, PhD, as Northwest Regional Sales Manager. Wolfswinkel will be responsible for educating dairy consultants and producers about the opportunities for increased feed efficiency with Papillon nutritional products.
- The Angus Journal® redesign has extended to a new format for the digital edition, and it’s now available to subscribers through their AAA Login. The new flipbook format will provide a better reading experience online for the new Angus Journal. A print subscription gives you complementary access to the digital edition, which is available before the magazine hits your mailbox and includes digital add-ons such as videos and extended photo galleries, or digital-only subscriptions also are available.
- Nick Gales has joined NutriQuest as Director of Finance. He will be responsible for providing leadership to the NutriQuest accounting & finance group.
- The National Corn Growers Association partnered with the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council to conduct a study on the benefits of poultry exports to corn. The study, conducted by World Perspectives, Inc., entitled “Corn and Poultry: A Great Partnership,” outlined the benefits realized by America’s corn farmers from exports of poultry and eggs.
- The National Milk Producers Federation expressed thanks to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue for his agency’s prompt implementation of changes in the dairy Margin Protection Program (MPP), and urged dairy producers to review the new coverage options available under the improved program, which will have a new enrollment window from April 9-June 1, 2018.
- The global regional finalists have been selected for the 2018 Alltech Young Scientist (AYS) program, the world’s largest agriscience competition for university students. Now in its 13th year, the program’s pool of nominees represents 83 universities from 28 countries. The regional finalists will attend AYS Discovery Week, held in conjunction with ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE18), May 20–22 in Lexington, Kentucky, to present their research to a panel of international judges. The prizes include a fully funded Ph.D. position for the global undergraduate winner as well as $5,000 USD, and a fully funded postdoctoral position and $10,000 USD for the global graduate winner.
- The National Corn Growers Association is stepping up to support the education of U.S. beef producers in states around the country. The assistance is being provided through a grant program offered to state affiliates of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association that conduct Cattlemen’s Education Series events. The Cattlemen’s Education Series is a collaborative effort to advance grassroots education on topics that improve cattle production efficiency, profitability and sustainability.
- Merck Animal Health is excited to increase availability of PORCILIS™ ILEITIS this month. PORCILIS ILEITIS is the first injectable vaccine that offers a 20-week duration of immunity (DOI) for control of ileitis caused by Lawsonia intracellularis.
- Ty Ragsdale of Franklin, Tenn., joined the Certified Hereford Beef team April 3 as a regional brand manager. Ragsdale will work with clients across the United States to expand the availability of CHB products and promote the CHB brand.
USFRA in USA Today
The U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance is showcased in a special edition of USA Today, their annual U.S. Department of Agriculture Special Edition. This one is titled, “Seeds of Change: Cultivating the Next Generation.” You’ll find USFRA on pg. 85. The full page showcases USFRA’s efforts to promote agriculture through Discovering Farmland, Straight Talk on Sustainability, Faces of Farming & Ranching and its digital and social media footprint.
This is a 100-page publication to commemorate agriculture’s myriad of achievements, as it remains a bright spot in the U.S. economy. The issue looks at how the USDA expands economic opportunity through innovation, promoting agricultural sustainability and conserving our nation’s natural resources.
You can contact USFRA about obtaining a copy of the edition or you can also click here to access to digital version.
Zimfo Bytes 4/6
A new children’s book called Look, See the Farm! seeks to not only promote curiosity in children about the natural world around them, but also to establish the universal quality of having a connection with nature. Look, See the Farm! is the heartwarming story of two sisters visiting their grandparents’ organic farm during each of the four seasons, discovering the many interesting creatures that make the farm their home. Young readers will gain a look at farm life and the animals living on the farm, as well as discovering the wild birds that thrive there.- Brownfield Ag News, the largest agricultural radio network in the country, is growing. Already this year, Brownfield has enjoyed a 5% increase in the number of affiliate radio stations in its 10-state footprint. The most notable growth is a nearly 12% increase in the number of affiliates in Nebraska and a 21% increase in Ohio.
- The Agricultural Relations Council (ARC) will present a webinar on Wednesday, April 18, 2018 from 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM (EDT) on the development Of The Levesol Promise Campaign. David Erickson, VP, Online Marketing, at Karwoski & Courage, shares how their Levesol Promise Campaign was developed and submitted for a Golden ARC award. Click here for more information.
- Several digital marketing professionals have joined Two Rivers Marketing. Jennifer Ruggle has been named managing director of digital services. Hanna Plants is a senior digital strategist and Stephanie Bidney joins the agency as a senior digital project manager. Erin Fry and Ashley Bash are social media specialists, and Justin Lobaito joins the team as a digital creative lead in a digital design and front-end development role.
- Earl Sears, a former executive vice president of the National Cotton Council, passed away April 3.
- The Finding Farmland Calculator, developed by the National Young Farmers Coalition (NYFC) and Fathom Information Design, brings together innovative design and practical resources to help farmers overcome two top obstacles to starting a farm—access to land and capital.
- Iowa Farm Bureau Federation has announced that Joe Johnson has been named the new executive director and secretary-treasurer of the organization. Johnson assumes his new position on April 20, 2018. He succeeds Denny Presnall who will retire after 36 years with Farm Bureau.
- Passion for Progress is the theme for the 2018 Women’s Agricultural Leadership conference, which is celebrating its 20th year. This annual conference, coordinated by Minnesota District 11 Agri-Women, includes presentations on a wide variety of topics, including agriculture policy, advocacy, technology, professional development, and marketing.
- The National Cotton Council is concerned that China’s announcement of significantly higher proposed tariffs on U.S. raw cotton shipped to that country would significantly harm the economic health of the U.S. cotton industry. For the current 2017 crop year, China stands as the second largest export market with purchases of approximately 2.5 million bales of U.S. cotton.
- The Kentucky State Fair Board has named the Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation’s top executive as its new President and CEO. David S. Beck, 63, has served as CEO of Farm Bureau since 1995, and brings over 40 years of experience in agriculture and governmental affairs to Kentucky Venues. The State Fair Board is the governing body for Kentucky Venues, which manages the Kentucky Exposition Center and Kentucky International Convention Center, which hosts the annual National Farm Machinery Show
Outrage Grows Over EPA RFS Waivers
Farm and biofuels groups are saying “enough is enough” as outrage grows over the Environmental Protection Agency granting numerous small refinery hardship waivers, combined with the approval of the Philadelphia Energy Solutions bankruptcy agreement absolving the oil refiner of the majority of its Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) obligations.
The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) and state corn growers sent a letter to EPA this week demanding full transparency for small refiner exemption evaluations and an end to “backdoor reductions to the RFS.”
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) submitted Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests this week to both EPA and the Department of Energy to learn more about compliance exemptions granted to dozens of oil refineries. “We want to know how many (refineries) and how many gallons are impacted by these small refiner exemptions,” says RFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen. “And more importantly, what these companies had to demonstrate in order to claim a unique hardship under this program.”
Dinneen commented on that and other issues surrounding the waiver scandal in this edition of The Ethanol Report: Ethanol Report on EPA Small Refinery Waivers
Growth Energy sent a letter to EPA this week demanding a moratorium on waivers being issued. Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor says the increasing number of waivers corresponds to a decrease in demand for both ethanol and corn, and undermines the entire RFS. “You add on waiver after waiver, and the amount of applications being considered, you are looking at upwards of 1.5 billion gallons in cut ethanol demand, a reduction of 500 million bushels of corn demand,” said Skor.
In this interview, Skor also discusses the organization’s objections to the bankruptcy settlement with Philadelphia Energy Solutions. Interview with Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor
The White House is reportedly holding another meeting on the issue Monday.
Credenz Soybeans Building on Strong History
Bayer CropScience is seeing rapid growth in the use of its Credenz soybean varieties. In 2018, Credenz sales broke into the top ten out of more than 150 soybean brands available in the United States.
The strength of the Credenz soybean brand continues to be the fact that it is based on the LibertyLink system, which is outstanding for both weed control and elite genetics, according to Bayer agronomist Monty Malone.
“Going forward, Credenz will remain the same focus of being grower choice. Any trait platform that is in need that can serve as a tool to a grower, we will definitely try to provide that within the Credenz brand,” said Malone, who noted that over 90 percent of the Credenz portfolio is enabled by Liberty.
Malone was at the 2018 Commodity Classic in Anaheim.
Listen to Jamie’s interview with Monty here: Interview with Monty Malone, Bayer - Credenz History
Bayer at 2018 Commodity Classic Photo Album
Photos, video, and audio interviews from Bayer at Commodity Classic 