The Georgia Peanut Commission seeks eligible peanut producers who are interested in serving on the National Peanut Board. GPC will hold a nominations election to select two nominees each for member and alternate to the National Peanut Board during a meeting on Thursday, March 1, 2018 at 1:30 p.m. at the commission headquarters in Tifton, Georgia.- The Economics of the Next Farm Bill is the topic to be explored at the Farm Foundation Forum on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2018. A free live audiocast will be available. Register HERE if you plan to attend the Forum in person at the National Press Club. Register HERE to participate in the live audiocast. Audiocasting is made possible by a grant from Farm Credit.
- MGEX announces that effective with the February 2018 index roll period, MGEX’s flagship Hard Red Spring Wheat futures contract will be included in the Rogers International Commodity Index.
- Harvest Returns, an online platform for agriculture investing, has announced the formation of its Business Advisory Board and the appointment of Deb Dunie, Mike Gumina, Adam Hartung, Stephen Joyce, and David Stanton. The Advisory Board’s role will be to provide ongoing counsel and strategic guidance as the company scales its equity crowd-funding platform.
- Family farmers and ranchers traveling to Kansas City for the National Farmers Union (NFU) 116th Anniversary Convention will have the opportunity to hear from top speakers in American and international agriculture during the four-day conference. The most up-to-date convention information, including a tentative agenda and hotel information, can be found on the NFU website at www.nfu.org/convention.
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service has announced the launch of a new electronic data platform to deliver market price information to the commodities industry. The new web-based platform, Market Analysis and Reporting Services (MARS), uses state-of-the-art technology to present detailed data sets in a more customer-focused way to better support competitive markets for producers and help stabilize food prices for American families.
- The National Farmers Union and Farmers Union state divisions have developed a digital campaign, complete with a new website, a Farm Bill video, animated short videos, weekly promotions and a petition to raise awareness and generate support for a Farm Bill to be passed this year.
- Lessing-Flynn has launched a new program called The Good & The Ad Initiative, which aims to provide $25,000 in pro-bono marketing services to one lucky, local non-profit organization. Interested parties are encouraged to visit LessingFlynn.com/Good for additional information and to submit the application, which highlights the vying organization’s background, mission and proposed use of the $25,000 in pro-bono support. Applications will be accepted until March 9, 2018.
- AgCareers.com will host a workshop on Internship Programs for Success in St. Louis on March 27-28, 2018. For more information or to register, click here.
John Deere Dealers Develop Applications to Help Growers
Some of the John Deere dealers who attended this year’s Develop with Deere conference are also developers. Ryan Hutchison with South Country Equipment in Regina, Saskatchewan, has been working on the John Deere Field Connect application. The app takes data, applies agronomic knowledge from the grower and the agronomist, and incorporates weather information to develop what he calls “crop intelligence.”
“With our agronomy team and feedback from our growers, we needed to develop a very quick way for growers to get insights that are actionable from Field Connect data that they can make decisions with in season, immediately,” said Hutchison.
South Country Equipment Agronomist Kendall Gee said one example would be calculating water driven yield potential and showing customers where they stand throughout the season so they can make data driven decisions, understanding what is going on below the ground in their fields.
“They’re excited to have an edge over their neighbors, to have some more data to support their decisions,” said Gee. “Many of our customers are very analytical driven. If they have better information to make better decisions, they’re happier campers.”
Gee said even though farmers can’t control the amount of moisture they have in a dryland farming situation, there are many other factors they can control to best manage the crop in any given year.
You can hear Chuck’s interview with Ryan here: Interview with Ryan Hutchison, South Country Equipment
You can hear Chuck’s interview with Kendall here: Interview with Kendall Gee, South Country Equipment
You can find conference photos here: 2018 Develop with Deere Conference Photo Album
The Future of Energy
Onalytica, who specialises in providing Influencer Relationship Management software and supporting professional services to help brands, has identified the Top 100 Influencers, Brands & Publications in Energy.
Our team was excited to see Energy.AgWired.com made the list of influencing publications. Formally, Domestic Fuel, Energy.AgWired has been bringing you the news in renewable fuels since September 2005. We have just wrapped up coverage of the 2018 National Biodiesel Conference and will be heading to the 2018 National Ethanol Conference next week. The Ethanol Report and Driving Ethanol podcasts are other great ways to stay-up-to-date on the industry.
Thanks for the recognition Onalytica!
Study Shows U.S. Lags Behind in Developing Ag Exports
The latest analysis of foreign export promotion program investment shows that several competing countries and the European Union outspent the United States in publicly-funded agricultural export promotion by a margin of four to one in 2016, according to a release from the Coalition to Promote U.S. Agricultural Exports and the Agribusiness Coalition for Foreign Market Development.
The other countries spent close to $1 billion, an increase of 70 percent in real competitive public spending since 2011, while U.S. public funding for the two largest agricultural export promotion programs is about $235 million per year and its real value has declined by 12 percent since 20111.
“An Analysis of EU and Other Selected Foreign Export Promotion Programs,” was commissioned by Wine Institute and other agricultural associations and conducted by Informa Economics, IEG, with Market Access Program funding. With a focus on EU export development investment, Informa Economics also reviewed agricultural export promotion investment by major competitors from Australia, Chile, China, New Zealand and others.
“The total public investment alone from just the EU and four European countries are expected to exceed $550 million in 2019, which is more than twice what the U.S. government authorizes for agricultural export development under the farm bill,” said Mark Powers, president of the Northwest Horticultural Council and chairman of the Coalition to Promote U.S. Agricultural Exports.
The study showed the EU is investing about $300 million per year on wine export promotion alone. Canada and Italy doubled their total annual spending, and Brazil and China tripled their total annual export promotion budgets according to the study.
“Other governments are investing more in global food and agricultural markets while inflation, sequestration and administrative costs are chipping away at U.S. funding,” said Tom Sleight, CEO of U.S. Grains Council, which is a member of the Agribusiness Coalition for Foreign Market Development. “That also cuts into the ability of American family farmers, livestock and dairy producers, fishermen and small agri-food businesses to compete in growing export markets.”
The executive summary of the Informa Economics competitive study, and more in-depth information about MAP and FMD programs and their outcomes, are posted online at www.AgExportsCount.org.
Newest John Deere Gator Model on Display at #CattleCon18
During the 2018 Cattle Industry Convention & NCBA Trade Show John Deere showed off its latest top of the line Gator, the XUV835R model. It was the subject of my first video using my new DJI Osmo. Like my ZimmDrone, it takes a little bit of practice to get the fine touch with the controls. But I think this came out okay. Thank you to Eric Hodson for the photo.
On the floor to walk me through the features of this Gator was Tracy Geltz. This 2018 model features extra wide seating, allowing for three people to fit. Controls have been moved from the floor to the dash providing much more leg/foot room. It has heat/air and just a whole lot more to offer. Watch Tracy go over the key new features that make this a serious tool for the ranch or farm.
Senators Speak Out to Approve Northey Nomination
After nearly four months of having the nomination of Iowa’s Bill Northey to the U.S. Department of Agriculture held up by Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) brought it up on the floor Wednesday and called on other colleagues to back him up.
Northey was nominated to be USDA Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation in September and quickly confirmed by the Agriculture Committee, but Sen. Cruz put a hold on the nomination in October over the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and has refused to budge unless all stakeholders can meet together to agree on a “win-win” situation for both refiners and ethanol producers that would lower prices for Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs).
Listen to good friends Sens. Grassley and Cruz disagree with one another on this issue.
Sens. Cruz and Grassley comments
Listen to Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) support Bill Northey.
Sens. Stabenow, Ernst and Klobuchar comments
ZimmCast 573 – Cattle Convention and Classic
While at the Cattle Industry Convention last week in Phoenix, Jamie decided to hijack the ZimmCast and chat with her sister and business partner Joanna Wilkinson, who is also the creative director for ZimmComm. Jamie introduces us to Joanna and talks about the convention and the customized virtual newsroom that we built for that event.
I proceeded to hijack the podcast right back again to preview the upcoming Commodity Classic from the perspective of the oldest and the newest organization partners of the big show, National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) and the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM). We hear from AEM senior vice president of Ag services Curt Blades, NCGA CEO Chris Novak, and one of the co-chairs for this year’s event, Paul Taylor of Illinois.
Listen to the ZimmCast here: ZimmCast 573 - Cattle and Classic
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Third Class of CIRB Emerging Leaders
CIRB ELP class: Chad Groen, Farmers Mutual Hail; Heather Horne, RCIS; Dan Potts, Crop Risk Services; Joshua Bright, ARMtech; Justin Newman, ADM; Shelia Backer, Farmers Mutual Hail; and Brad Clow, Country Financial
The program is designed for professionals in the crop insurance industry that seek to increase their knowledge and hands-on experience with key issues with the goal of building the next generation of crop insurance leaders.
I got to interview six of the seven in this year’s ELP class, only Justin Newman with ADM Crop Risk Services managed to escape the Golden ZimmComm Microphone. Listen to the others and get to know some of the emerging leaders in the crop insurance industry.
NCBA Recognizes Arizona Ranch for Environmental Stewardship
A third generation Arizona rancher is working hard to leave his ranch land better than he found it for the next generation. The Jim O’Haco Cattle Company is this year’s winner of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association National Environmental Stewardship Award, presented during this year’s Cattle Industry Convention in Phoenix. O’Haco owns two ranches totaling nearly 90,000 acres.
“We have improved profitability, our bottom line, our calves are heavier, and we also have helped the environment and natural resources. We have increased wildlife on our ranch, as far as elk, antelope and other species. So it’s worked for both, for the range, the land and my business,” said O’Haco.
O’Haco said getting water to the cattle and wildlife on the ranch has been a top priority. In addition to running pipeline throughout the land, smaller changes have helped to maintain and increase wildlife populations on the ranch.
Listen to Chuck’s interview with Jim O’Haco here: Jim O'Haco, NCBA National Environmental Stewardship Award Winner
Perdue Discusses State of Rural Economy
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue briefed members of the House Agriculture Committee Tuesday on the current state of the rural economy and USDA’s farm bill priorities.
“We’re in a very different situation than when you last contemplated a farm bill,” said Perdue in his opening remarks. “The state of the rural economy is fragile.”
Secretary Perdue was asked about a number of issues impacting different areas of the nation, including sorghum, nutrition programs, dairy, specialty crops, trade, FMD vaccine, getting undersecretaries approved by Congress, labor and immigration, broadband access, precision ag, citrus greening, renewable fuels, cotton, and lots more.
Listen to part of the hearing here: Sec. Perdue State of Rural Economy