CIRB Honors Mary Kay Thatcher

Cindy Zimmerman

After over 30 years with American Farm Bureau Federation, the name Mary Kay Thatcher has become well known in the agriculture world. But as of January 31, Thatcher retired from AFBF and is now looking forward to her next challenge doing federal relations for Syngenta.

Mary Kay has been a regular speaker at the Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau (CIRB) annual meeting many years, but this was the first time she was technically unemployed when she presented her legislative outlook for the industry. Afterward, she was presented with a special award for her service by CIRB chair Ron Rutledge of Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance.

Listen to Mary Kay’s remarks below and my interview with her:

CIRB18 Mary Kay Thatcher

Interview with Mary Kay Thatcher

2018 CIRB Meeting photo album

AFBF, Audio, CIRB, Crop Insurance

USDA Deputy Censky Visits #CIRB2018

Cindy Zimmerman

U.S Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Steve Censky visited the 2018 Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau annual meeting this week in Scottsdale, Arizona.

“Our crop insurance program here in the United States is the envy of countries around the world,” said Censky. At the same time, he admitted that the 2018 farm bill will be facing budget challenges. “The dollars are going to be tight, Congress is not going to have more money to write the next farm bill.”

Censky also talked about the new Farmers.gov website introduced yesterday by USDA. The website will have multiple features added over the coming months to allow agricultural producers to make appointments with USDA offices, file forms, and apply for USDA programs.

In his remarks, Censky also talked about rural infrastructure, the need for Bill Northey to be confirmed, and trade issues. USDA Deputy Secretary Steve Censky
Censky also took questions from reporters including Sara Wyant and Jerry Hagstrom. Press Conference with Steve Censky
2018 CIRB Meeting photo album

Audio, CIRB, Crop Insurance, USDA

Zimfo Bytes 2/2

Carrie Muehling

  • The United States Department of Agriculture announced the selection of 30 university students who will attend USDA’s 2018 Agricultural Outlook Forum, as winners of the USDA Student Diversity Program. These undergraduate and graduate students will receive a weeklong trip to Washington, D.C., capped off by their attendance at the AOF, the USDA’s largest annual meeting, held Feb. 22-23 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel in Arlington, Va.
  • The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture has recognized 10 educators – teachers and classroom volunteers – for exceptional efforts to encourage agricultural literacy. Those recognized will each receive $1,500 scholarships to attend the National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference in Portland, Maine, June 26-29.
  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) reminds our nation’s farmers and ranchers that the deadline for the 2017 Census of Agriculture is one week away. Producers should respond online at www.agcounts.usda.gov or by mail by February 5. The online questionnaire offers new timesaving features.
  • This year’s Ag Day, organized by the Agriculture Council of America, is March 20, 2018. Visit https://www.agday.org/promote for resources and more information.
  • Curry Roberts has been elected chairman of the board of directors for Southern States Cooperative, one of the nation’s largest farmer-owned co-ops. Roberts was elected chairman last week at the board’s January meeting at its corporate headquarters in Richmond, Virginia.
Zimfo Bytes

Report Outlines Animal ID & Traceability Recommendations

Carrie Muehling

A key report regarding U.S. beef cattle identification and traceability systems was released this week and the Cattle Industry Convention and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Trade Show in Phoenix. Developed by World Perspectives, Inc., the report contains conclusions and recommendations based on surveys and interviews with industry stakeholders as well as other research.

“I think a few things emerged from this report,” said Dave Juday, Sr. Analyst with World Perspectives, Inc. “One of them is the changing perception among the industry players about animal ID and traceability. People are more open to it. The other is that it’s pretty clear that the industry is looking for some leadership on this topic.”

The report outlines seven principles for continuing the animal identification and traceability discussion. Read the entire report here.

Listen to Jamie’s interview with Dave Juday here: Dave Juday, World Perspectives, Inc.

Hear Dave’s remarks during the convention here: Dave Juday's Convention Remarks

2018 Cattle Industry Convention & Trade Show Photo Album

Ag Groups, AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Audio, Cattle Industry Conference, NCBA

Dealers Seek Solutions for Growers at Develop with Deere

Carrie Muehling

The 2018 Develop with Deere conference saw growth in the number of local equipment dealers attending, as they continue to seek solutions that will help their customers.

“They’re certainly looking to fill gaps in the Operations Center that are specific needs to their customers in their areas. That varies greatly,” said Brad Silva, Platform Marketing with John Deere. “It doesn’t matter what the solution is – a lot of interest across the board from the dealer group.”

Silva said 2018 John Deere combines and sprayers will now be equipped with the Generation 4 CommandCenter, which is already available on large tractors. The benefits include real time streaming into the Operations Center every 30 seconds. But the Generation 4 data format is not compatible with John Deere’s legacy system, APEX. Dealers are looking to help their customers get into that new Operations Center, possibly with the help of software tools represented at this year’s conference.

You can here Chuck’s interview with Brad here: Interview with Brad Silva, John Deere

You can find conference photos here: 2018 Develop with Deere Conference Photo Album

AgWired Precision, Audio, John Deere, Precision Agriculture

Builta Named GROWMARK Vice President, Energy and Logistics

Carrie Muehling

GROWMARK has named Mike Builta the new Vice President of Energy and Logistics. He will replace Kevin Carroll, who will retire on February 15 after 32 years of service.

GROWMARK’s energy and logistics division includes lubricants, propane, diesel and gasoline products. It also encompasses the warehouses for storage and transportation of those products.

“It’s a huge portion of the business. We’re around two billion gallons worth of fuel, which includes the propane and diesel, gas and lubricants. It is a large footprint for GROWMARK. It’s definitely a large portion of their business,” said Builta.

Builta said this area has seen a great deal of growth and he will continue to look at growth opportunities. GROWMARK covers a large portion of the United States east of the Rocky Mountains, as well as Ontario, Canada.

Builta has managed GRAINCO FS in Ottawa, Ill., for the past six years. Prior to that, he worked at Christian County FS in Taylorville, Ill., for 15 years.

Listen to Cindy’s interview with Mike here: Mike Builta, GROWMARK

Audio, GROWMARK

NCBA President Reflects on 2017

Carrie Muehling

During his time as president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Craig Uden has had the opportunity to see a lot of cattle country and meet with many producers like himself. He believes the grassroots nature of the organization continues to be one of its most important attributes.

“These challenges that come from these states are the backbone of why we exist,” said Uden. “We bring those challenges, create opportunities and whatever we come up with, we move out as policy for NCBA and I think that’s been key.”

Uden said one goal he had coming into this time of service was to strengthen the partnership between the state organizations and the national leadership, and he feels a sense of accomplishment in that area. He also recognized relationships built with many leaders and policymakers in Washington, D.C. and some wins in the area of regulatory reform. Uden said challenges remain in the area of trade and also with the next Farm Bill discussion on the horizon.

Listen to Jamie’s interview with Craig Uden here: Craig Uden, 2017 NCBA President

Hear Craig’s remarks during the convention here: Craig Uden's Convention Remarks

2018 Cattle Industry Convention & Trade Show Photo Album

Ag Groups, AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Audio, Beef, Cattle Industry Conference, NCBA

#CattleCon18 Kicks Off in Phoenix

Jamie Johansen

The 2018 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show is underway and cattlemen and women are ready to Blaze a Trail in Phoenix, Arizona. We caught up with NCBA CEO Kendal Frazier to talk about the convention and what draws producers to the event year after year.

“We are going to have a big crowd here in Phoenix. We expect over 7,000 people this week. The reason we have the convention is to have meetings of our governance, our board of directors, our executive committees. They will develop and work on their plan for this fiscal year. But we have a lot of other things that go on during the convention,” Frazier said.

Those other things include the largest trade show in the events history, a rodeo, and cowboy comedy night to name a few. We are hosting and sourcing the Virtual Ag Newsroom for #CattleCon18, which will be updating constantly.

Listen to my chat with Kendal here: Interview with Kendal Frazier, NCBA CEO

2018 Cattle Industry Convention & Trade Show Photo Album

Ag Groups, AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Audio, Beef, Cattle Industry Conference, NCBA

TapLogic Provides ‘Ease and Control’ in Soil Sampling

Carrie Muehling

Cyrus Alexander and Jason Klotz, TapLogic

Growers who want to handle soil sampling on their own terms might appreciate the connection between John Deere and TapLogic, a longtime leader in “do it yourself” soil sampling.

“We really built everything with the grower in mind first,” said Cyrus Alexander with TapLogic. “It’s ease and control. Control is a big thing… control and choice. A grower gets to have his own account, his own farms and fields. He samples. He knows the quality of the samples, where he’s pulling them, what he’s testing for. And then from there, he gets to see his results and see what he needs to put down where. He’s telling himself now what fertilizer he needs to put and the prescriptions he needs to help. And we just help him along the way.”

Alexander said growers can use the company’s Soil Test Pro software to schedule sampling and gather that information through the John Deere Operations Center, giving them more control over the soil sampling process. Alexander was at the 2018 Develop with Deere conference.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Cyrus here: Interview with Cyrus Alexander, TapLogic

You can find conference photos here: 2018 Develop with Deere Conference Photo Album

AgWired Precision, Audio, John Deere, Precision Agriculture

Large and Small Companies Collaborate for Grower Success

Carrie Muehling

Liron Brish and Michael Hermon, Farm Dog

Building a relationship with an established company like John Deere can be a game changer for a start up company like Farm Dog.

“Getting that Deere brand next to our name is just huge on the credibility aspect,” said Liron Brish, co-founder and CEO of Farm Dog. “I’m no longer random Farm Dog company when I go speak with a grower, but rather, Farm Dog that works with Deere. So, from that aspect, it’s incredible for us.”

Farm Dog’s mission is to make scouting more effective and more efficient. The company has developed an app available for use on phones and tablets that will allow anyone scouting a field to more easily record and communicate observations collected. They can then use that information to formulate a prescription for spraying that field, for example. The app also will alert growers to disease and insect pressure that might be present in a particular geography.

You can listen to Chuck’s interview here: Interview with Liron Brish, Farm Dog

You can find conference photos here: 2018 Develop with Deere Conference Photo Album

AgWired Precision, Audio, John Deere, Precision Agriculture