Ethanol Report From Farm Progress Show

Cindy Zimmerman

It was a beautiful week in Boone, Iowa for the Farm Progress Show, the nation’s largest outdoor ag show. It is a show that the Renewable Fuels Association always attends because it brings out farmers from all over the ethanol-producing part of the country to see what’s new in the industry.

RFA displayed its custom Flex Fuel Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle and an off-road flex-fuel Can Am and had staff on hand to talk about ethanol issues such as the road to E15, record exports, 45 tax credit progress, and more.

In this edition of the Ethanol Report, Chuck Zimmerman interviews RFA president and CEO Geoff Cooper and RFA Senior VP for Industry Relations & Market Development Robert White from the Farm Progress Show.

Ethanol Report 8-28-24 16:12

The Ethanol Report is a podcast about the latest news and information in the ethanol industry that has been sponsored by the Renewable Fuels Association since 2008.

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Audio, Ethanol, Farm Progress Show, RFA

Rivulis Opening New Micro Irrigation Manufacturing Facility

Cindy Zimmerman

Global irrigation leader Rivulis today announced the opening of the largest ever micro irrigation production facility in North America to increase production capacity to meet the expanding market while adhering to quality and sustainability measures across its supply chain.

The 160,000-square-foot site in Tijuana, Mexico, was designed with the future in mind to not only meet today’s customer needs, but with production and office space capacity to enable further growth. The facility will produce Rivulis’s leading T-Tape products, known for their high standard performance in water application, flow rate uniformity, clogging resistance and materials strength growers have relied on for nearly four decades.

The new production facility includes advanced film processing technology designed to improve product performance even further and incorporate more recycled content, with the aim to achieve a goal of at least 50 percent recycled material be used in the production of select T-Tapes. Materials used in this facility will eventually flow through a recycling center which will collect used drip tapes from farmers’ fields, with plans to recycle 100 percent of plastic scraps created in the production process.

climate, Equipment, Irrigation

Vermeer Expands with Bunning Manure Spreaders

Cindy Zimmerman

Vermeer has announced a partnership with G.T. Bunning & Sons Ltd, a UK-based leader in manure spreader manufacturing, to integrate Bunning spreaders into the Vermeer lineup serving North American hay, forage and livestock producers.

The current Vermeer agricultural equipment range includes self-propelled balers, round balers, mowers, tedders, rakes, bale wrappers, bale processors, vertical mixers and feed wagons. The addition of Bunning spreaders extends the Vermeer equipment lineup, providing more solutions for farm operations of all sizes.

Bunning, with a century-long history, brings valuable experience to the partnership. Both companies share a vision for meeting farmer and rancher needs through ongoing innovation and have parallel histories of quality, innovation and customer-focused solutions.

The initial product line will cater to operations of various sizes, featuring spreaders from 300 ft3 to 1,400 ft3 (8.5 m3 to 40 m3).

For more information about these products, please visit vermeer.com or get in touch with a local Vermeer dealer.

AgWired Animal, AgWired Precision, Forage, Livestock

Precision Ag News 9/4

Carrie Muehling

  • The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture Foundation has been awarded a $3 million cooperative agreement from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to implement the Pesticide Inspector Residential Training Program. This funding, effective Aug. 2, will significantly expand the nationwide educational training provided to pesticide inspectors and enforcement staff over the next five years.
  • Registration is now open for the 2025 Independent Professional Seed Association Annual Conference in Palm Springs, CA. This year, keynote speakers include Shawn Hackett, renowned Ag commodities expert; Chris Voss, former FBI hostage negotiator; and J.J. Cummings, celebrated for his transformative leadership in the U.S. Navy.
  • EarthOptics and Pattern Ag have merged, creating a category leader in soil digitization to power advanced crop management and climate sustainability. The newly combined soil intelligence company will operate under the name EarthOptics and be the authoritative source of soil insights and the leader in Predictive Agronomy.
  • Bushel, an independently-owned software technology company focused on developing digital tools for the agricultural supply chain, announced the addition of Tony Morosini to the Bushel leadership team to further expand adoption and accelerate innovation within digital payments in agriculture. Morosini joins Bushel as Chief Digital Payments Officer, bringing over 20 years of experience in the payments and fintech industry. Morosini will lead the growth and development of Bushel’s digital payment solutions, focusing on growing the adoption of digital payments on Bushel Wallet among agribusinesses and farmers.
  • Kirby Green of Daviess County, Kentucky, veteran agribusiness professional, has joined Mutiny Crop Performance as National Sales Manager. Green will immediately take responsibility for carrying out the Mutiny mission of providing quality products and prescriptive crop production solutions for farmers demanding change, as well as further build-out of Mutiny’s dealer network.
  • Ceres Imaging announced its rebranding to Ceres AI. This rebrand highlights the company’s foundation and leadership in computer vision and machine learning, which are crucial in enabling all participants in the agricultural industry – in particular large agribusinesses and financial services customers – to access quality data to make faster and more accurate data-driven decisions.
  • Syngenta Biologicals and Provivi announced a collaboration to develop and commercialize new pheromone-based biological solutions to effectively and more safely control detrimental pests in corn and rice in Asia – Yellow Stem Borer (YSB) in India and Indonesia and Fall Armyworm (FAW) in Thailand. The YSB Eco-Dispenser for India and Indonesia, and the FAW Eco-Granules for Thailand will be available to farmers starting in 2026.
  • Bayer’s national flagship brand DEKALB is proud to announce its new partnership as the Official Corn Seed of the Field of Dreams Movie Site. DEKALB DKC64-64RIB brand blend surrounds the filming site of the iconic 1989 Field of Dreams baseball movie while it continues to make dreams come true for countless baseball fans around the world. Rahe Farms of Dyersville has farmed the Field of Dreams Movie Site for more than two decades and takes great pride growing legendary corn seed at one of the most famous fields ever known.
  • Bayer announced that the company has selected Genvor Inc., a US-based crop protection business, as the recipient of its first Golden Ticket award. Genvor will receive year-long access to lab space and equipment at Bayer’s LifeHub California @AgStart, one of the premier U.S. AgriFoodTech innovation ecosystems. This will allow Genvor to connect with Bayer mentors and experts in Bayer’s global innovator network.
  • As harvest begins across the country, the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) reminds farmers about the importance of taking precautions to ensure treated seed does not enter the grain supply. Seed treatments provide farmers with an economical means of protecting seeds and seedlings against early-season insect pests and diseases—resulting in stronger and more uniform stands, healthier plants and higher crop yields. Farmers and applicators know the importance of proper management throughout the entire life cycle of the seed to minimize the risk of pesticide exposure to humans and the environment. This includes removing all treated seed left in containers and equipment used to handle harvested grain.
  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it would deregulate the HB4 drought-tolerant trait from Bioceres Crop Solutions. The National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) is thankful for the USDA’s decision to provide a robust, science-based process that affords a pathway for the cultivation of the HB4 trait in the United States, which has the potential to benefit both farmers and consumers. Access to drought-tolerant wheat like HB4 could help with global supply challenges and further enhance the sustainability of wheat by using less water and other inputs.
    • AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes, Precision Agriculture

    Animal Ag News 9/3

    Carrie Muehling

  • The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) released its annual, “Our Industry, Our Promise,” report, detailing the operational challenges facing U.S. feed and pet food manufacturers and actions the AFIA is taking to address them. The report provides an analysis of the animal food industry’s contribution to the U.S. and global economies and the forces creating an uncertain business climate. It also provides an inside look at efforts underway to usher the federal regulation of animal food into the 21st century and steps the industry is taking to better protect animal and human health while producing safer, more sustainable food.
  • National Institute of Animal Agriculture recently welcomed two new co-chairs to the Antibiotics Council: Dr. Heather Fowler from the National Pork Board and Dr. Alexandra Medley from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.
  • Ralco, a leading innovator in natural animal health, is proud to announce the launch of Rapid Strike, an advanced oral drench designed to maintain health during times of calf scours, a common and costly issue for beef and dairy producers.
  • Local meat processing facilities, particularly small businesses that work with a relatively low volume of processing, are vital contributors to the food supply chain in many communities across the country. One of the primary challenges they face is how to manage the wastewater produced from their operations. The issue has been brought to the national forefront in recent years, as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency examines the environmental effects of wastewater from the meat processing industry. In Michigan, these low-volume facilities often rely on decentralized wastewater treatment due to cost and lack of access to municipal centralized options. They frequently must obtain a groundwater discharge permit from a state or regulatory agency, such as the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE). Two projects to help small meat processors manage wastewater have been funded by the Michigan Alliance for Animal Agriculture.
  • Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative has added a new staff position to support its government affairs and permitting and regulatory departments with advocacy and outreach efforts. Erin Tomasik has joined the team as the Community Relations Manager. Among her responsibilities, she will engage, connect and collaborate with legislators and stakeholders on behalf of the association and its affiliates.
  • In April 2024, USDA-APHIS issued a final rule updating their existing 2013 regulations on animal disease traceability (ADT). The updated rule will take effect on November 5, 2024. This update now requires ear tags to be used as official animal identification for the interstate movement of covered classes of cattle to be both visually and electronically readable. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) will host a webinar entitled “Updated EID Tag Requirements for Disease Traceability” on Thursday, September 5, 2024 at 6:00PM CST. Register here.
  • The Joint Poultry Industry Safety & Health Council is currently accepting applications for the Frank Cruice Innovation in Safety & Health Award. The award is named in honor of Frank Cruice, formally of Perdue Farms, who was an active member of the Joint Poultry Safety & Health Council for more than 20 years. In addition, Cruice led the industry safety award committee and served as Council Chair from 2019 – 2021 before he retired. Award program rules, regulations and application forms are available by clicking here.
  • The International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) is accepting applications for the 13th annual IPPE Young Leaders Under 30 Award. This initiative, supported by the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA), the Meat Institute and U.S. Poultry & Egg Association (USPOULTRY), aims to recognize emerging leaders in the industry. The award offers recipients a chance to gain visibility at the world’s largest annual trade show focused on the production, packing and processing of meat, poultry and egg products, as well as animal feed and pet food.
    • AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Animal Bites

    ZimmCast 734 – Interviews from FPS

    Chuck Zimmerman

    ZimmCastI’ve lost count of how many Farm Progress Shows I have attended but it’s a lot. This year in Boone, IA we had great weather and that’s not always the case. But it was also an opportunity to see friends as well as clients. I was only on site for Tuesday and half of Wednesday but I recorded 26 interviews that you can find on AgNewsWire in our virtual newsroom for the event.

    So, speaking of clients and the fact that we’re always interested in what’s new in the world of agribusiness I’m going to share interviews with several companies. They include: Scott Nelson, Make Hay; Thad England, Groundwork BioAg; Craig Dick, Phospholutions; Scott Trbovich, Taranis and Steve Nicholson, Rabo AgriFinance. They’ll go in that order.

    We post the ZimmCast on AgWired as the official podcast. We also post stories using other interviews as we have time so keep your eye out for them too.

    Listen to the episode here:
    ZimmCast 734 - Interviews from FPS (35:13)

    That’s the ZimmCast for this week. I hope you enjoyed it and thank you for listening.

    Subscribe to the ZimmCast in:

    Agribusiness, Audio, Farm Progress Show, ZimmCast

    Industry Ag News 9/3

    Carrie Muehling

  • Robert Bonnie, Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation at the USDA, will be a keynote speaker at the 2024 Ag Outlook Forum, September 16 in Kansas City. Secretary Bonnie will discuss the latest updates on climate-smart projects and the progress of voluntary, incentive-based conservation efforts across the United States. Click here for more information.
  • Attendees at the 2024 American Society of Agricultural Consultants (ASAC) Annual Conference November 3 – 5 will have the opportunity to participate in three tours in the greater Fort Myers, Florida area. ECHO Farms offers unique demonstrations, plants, and techniques being used to help farmers and urban gardeners in developing countries. Click here for more information and registration.
  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative are accepting applications for new members to serve on the agricultural trade advisory committees. Applications must be received by 5 p.m., EDT, on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. Any applications received after the deadline will be considered for future appointments, as appropriate. For complete application instructions and information about the committees, please visit: https://fas.usda.gov/topics/trade-advisory-committees.
  • At the annual Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that USDA is partnering with American business owners to expand innovative domestic fertilizer production, creating jobs in rural communities and strengthening local economies. The Department is awarding $35 million for seven projects in seven states through the Fertilizer Production Expansion Program (FPEP), which is funded by the Commodity Credit Corporation. This program provides grants to independent business owners to help them modernize equipment, adopt new technologies, build production plants and more. This funding advances President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to grow the nation’s economy from the middle out and bottom up.
  • Farm Journal announces the launch of its revamped website, FarmJournal.com, as a go-to resource for marketing and sales professionals charged with engaging the stakeholders who are producing and delivering food, fuel and fiber to the world. This new web resource is a cornerstone of Farm Journal’s “no one grows alone” philosophy to unite the ag community and advance the possibilities realized by working together.
  • House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member David Scott published an op-ed titled “As SNAP Turns 60, Congress Debates Its Future” in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  • Syngenta Group announced sales for the first half of 2024 were $14.5 billion, down $3.0 billion or 17 percent year-on-year, compared to a strong 2023. Syngenta Crop Protection sales declined in a market that remained challenging. The Seeds business delivered $2.4 billion sales in the first half of 2024, 4 percent lower year-on-year.
  • The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) is pleased to announce the awardees for the 2024 NCGA Scholarship Programs. Eleven outstanding students were selected by a committee of grower leaders to receive scholarships for this fall semester. NCGA is proud to continue supporting these vital programs in partnership with BASF Corporation.
  • Bob Petersen, a long-time figure in regional and national agricultural circles, has announced his plans to retire. He will be succeeded at the firm he founded in 2004, Petersen Consulting Services (PCS), by Erica Venancio as the firm’s senior executive. New to the firm is Zachary Helder, who recently completed his MPA at Princeton University and brings a decade of experience in agriculture, public policy, and organizational management.
  • Sollum Technologies contributed to a significant expansion of the Cannabis Research Coalition’s (CRC) research capabilities through a groundbreaking partnership. This collaboration marks a major milestone in the cannabis cultivation research sector, as CRC introduces Sollum’s dynamic lighting solution into its new facilities.
  • U.S. retail sales of potatoes increased by both volume and dollar sales in July 2023–June 2024. Volume sales increased by 1.3 percent, and dollar sales for the year increased by 4.6 percent to $18.3 billion.
  • According to a new research brief from CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange, global demand for U.S. soybeans has fallen sharply as international buyers remain discouraged by a strong dollar, slowing economic growth and uncertainty over the direction of U.S. trade policy in an election year. Export sales of new-crop soybeans are historically low as the U.S. enters the 2024/25 soybean marketing year on Sept. 1. However, several tailwinds could emerge to rejuvenate demand for U.S. soybeans in the marketing year ahead.
    • Zimfo Bytes

    Syngenta Offers Better Yield as the Better Deal

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Syngenta’s theme at the Farm Progress Show last week was Better Yield is the Better Deal, which technical development lead Dean Grossnickle explains is putting the right products on that acre to maximize yield, maximize performance and maximize that return on investment.

    “So it all starts with that weed control platform, putting down a product that is going to the control the weeds and preserve yield,” said Grossnickle.”The biggest thing is trying to maximize that ROI with a good solid agronomic program and get with your agronomist because there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for every grower. Each grower is unique. Each acre is unique. So find the the best program that works for that farmer that grower in that situation.”

    Grossnickle says even if it costs more, growers may want to consider using multiple complementary products, like a corn herbicide and a corn fungicide, for maximum yield protection.

    FPS24 - Interview with Dean Grossnickle, Syngenta 3:37

    2024 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

    Agribusiness, AgWired Precision, Audio, Crop Protection, Farm Progress Show, Fungicide, Herbicide, Syngenta

    GHX 2.0 with Cropwise AI Offers Answers

    Cindy Zimmerman

    At Farm Progress Show last week, Golden Harvest/GHX celebrated the launch of the GHX™ 2.0 app with new Cropwise™ AI, which gives users the ability to ask and get answers to the toughest product and agronomic questions while simplifying the way they manage data, according to Justin Welch, Syngenta Seeds, Head of Decision Ag.

    “Two years ago we were here in Boone, Iowa and we launched GHX 1.0 and we’re back here now launching GHX 2.O,” said Welch. “The feedback we got over the last two years was would you tell us more about your products inside of the application. And so now we have a GPT address line where someone can ask anything about our products and it will tell you all about Golden Harvest directly inside the app.”

    Learn more in this interview.
    FPS24 - Interview with Justin Welch, Syngenta Seeds 2:58

    2024 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

    AgWired Precision, AI, Audio, Golden Harvest, Seed, Syngenta

    Alliance Seeks to Control Weeds, Not Farming

    Cindy Zimmerman

    L-R: Martha Smith, Bayer; farmer Dave Struthers; Ben Gleason, Iowa Agribusiness; and farmer Kevin Ross

    The Modern Ag Alliance, led by Bayer, was launched earlier this year to advocate for farmers’ access to safe and effective pesticides. The coalition of over 85 agricultural groups supports science-based regulation and labeling of crop protection tools that are essential for food production and sustainability and their rallying cry is “Control Weeds Not Farming.”

    Bayer sponsored a panel at Farm Progress Show to highlight the alliance and its purpose. Martha Smith, Bayer VP of Stakeholder Relations, says the alliance includes many state ag groups working on specific legislation in their areas. “There’s been legislation that has been filed in a few states, including here in Iowa and down South in Missouri and out West in Idaho. And the alliance has been supporting the efforts of those legislators to again protect farmers access to crop protection tools,” said Smith.

    Iowa farmer Kevin Ross, former president of the National Corn Growers Association, says if farmers lose an important crop protection tool like glyphosate, the impact goes beyond the farm. “There are certainly other chemistries out there right now that people use to control weeds, but if you start taking away one, especially one that’s proven safe and one that again has been around 50 years, if we started reducing the amount of tools that a farmer needs, I think we have major problems ahead from a production standpoint,” said Ross. “That trickles down to industries and costs other consumers down into other economies as well.”

    Others on the panel included Iowa farmer Dave Struthers, and Ben Gleason, executive director of the Iowa Agribusiness Association, one of the Alliance members. Listen to their discussion and interviews with Smith, Ross, and Gleason below.

    Panel discussion – Martha Smith, Bayer; Kevin Ross, Iowa farmer; Ben Gleason, Iowa Agribusiness Assoc., Dave Struthers, Iowa farmer
    FPS24 - Modern Ag Alliance panel 16:35
    Interview with Martha Smith, Bayer
    FPS24 - Modern Ag Alliance Martha Smith, Bayer 5:14
    Interview with Ben Gleason, Iowa Agribusiness Assoc.
    FPS24 - Modern Ag Alliance Ben Gleason, Iowa Agribusiness 6:19
    Interview with Kevin Ross, Iowa farmers
    FPS24 - Modern Ag Alliance Kevin Ross, farmer 5:44

    2024 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

    Agribusiness, AgWired Precision, Audio, Bayer, Corn, Crop Protection, Farm Progress Show