2018 IFAJ/Alltech Young Leaders Announced

Cindy Zimmerman

The International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) has announced the recipients of the 2018 IFAJ/Alltech Young Leaders in Agricultural Journalism Award.

This year’s program, sponsored by Alltech, honors 10 young agricultural journalists and communicators who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in reporting as well as excellent potential as leaders of the industry in the years to come. The honorees were chosen by an international jury among applicants from many of IFAJ’s 43 member countries.

Congratulations to these new young leaders:

Hannes Baumgartner, Der Landwirt, Austria
Marike Brits, Plaas Media, South Africa
Lydia Burton, Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Dagmar Deutsch, Agrarheute, Germany
Joseph Gakpo, Multimedia Group, Ltd., Ghana
Katie Knapp, The Ag Photographer, USA
Oonagh O’Mahony, IFP Media, Republic of Ireland
Ashley Robinson, Commodity News Service Canada
Tuulikki Viilo, Maaseudun Tulevaisuus, Finland
Rasmus Bue Willesen, Landbrugsmedierne, Denmark

The 10 honorees will attend the 2018 IFAJ Congress in Wageningen, The Netherlands, in July. The Young Leaders will also participate in a Boot Camp in the days prior to Congress, which includes professional development and networking workshops and farm visits in the Wageningen area.

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Alltech, IFAJ, International

WEDA Acquires Friend Management Systems™

Cindy Zimmerman

Western Equipment Dealers Association (WEDA) announced today that it is acquiring Friend Management Systems™ (FMS), pairing two leading providers of management consulting and professional development services for equipment dealers.

Friend Management is a Canadian-based management consulting firm providing leadership development and peer-to-peer learning to agricultural, consumer, and golf equipment dealerships in Canada, United States and Australia. The company is also John Deere’s recommended provider of Leadership Dealer Performance Groups and provides aftermarket and golf distributor specific leadership groups.

After 30 years of providing management and financial advice and peer group facilitation to John Deere dealer groups, Doug Friend decided it was the right time to look at succession. “I am pleased to join with WEDA,” said Friend. “Our consolidated energies will make us well-positioned to offer deeper client consultative analysis, broader scope of products and enhanced geographical footprint, to the already large ($6 Billion annual sales) data base.”

Dealer Institute, one of WEDA’s largest divisions, provides consulting, education and training to dealers so the addition of FMS will expand the suite of services to their members.

“We’re delighted with the opportunities presented by fusing our collective consultative approaches with Friend Management’s technology and support,” said WEDA CEO John Schmeiser. “This joining of talent not only brings leading-edge expertise to our association but will further expand on our ability to offer specialized experience and insight that dealers rely on for strategizing and growing their business.”

Schmeiser adds that Boyd Hofmann, former partner in a large multi-store John Deere dealership, will also join WEDA and Dealer Institute and will focus on the facilitation of the current Large Ag and Large Turf Dealer Performance Groups as part of this transition.

In this interview, Schmeiser explains how this move enhances the offerings of WEDA Business Management Services to benefit the equipment dealer industry. Interview with WEDA CEO John Schmeiser

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For more information about Friend Management Systems™, visit the website DealerInstitute.org.

Agribusiness, AgWired Precision, Audio, Equipment, John Deere

2018 Agri-Marketing Conference Underway

Chuck Zimmerman

The Golden Mic invites you to stop by the ZimmComm booth at the Agri-Marketing Conference Connection Point (#302). Are you a member of the club? It’s pretty easy to join and Jamie, Joanna and I will help you out. Stop by and see many of the people who are already members.

It’s not just about taking your picture with the Golden Mic. It’s also about being interviewed by the Golden Mic. That’s what we’re going to be doing. Do you have a story to tell? About you, your company, your products and services? Stop by and tell it and we’ll share it.

An added feature of our booth again this year is the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance. Joining us is James Massie, Marketing Manager. James will be demonstrating USFRA’s new engAGe App and signing you up. I’m signed up and I think you should too.

Meanwhile, we’re also taking photos this year. I will be taking them at this evening’s Best of NAMA Awards which takes place just prior to the opening of the Connection Point. We’ve already been collecting some photos for your viewing and sharing pleasure. You know where to find them and what to do with them, right?

2018 National Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

For a preview of this year’s conference, I spoke with Conference Chair Jenna Oesch, Monsanto. That interview is part of this week’s ZimmCast podcast but you can listen to Jenna’s segment below.

Preview interview with Jenna Oesch, Monsanto, Conference Chair
Uncategorized

Growing Asian Market Benefits U.S. Soy

Carrie Muehling

The U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) hosted its 13th SE Asia Soy Food Symposium and Ag Supply Chain Asia 2018 events in Surabaya, Indonesia, bringing together all stakeholders in the soy food industry in that region. Among those participating were exporters of United States soy products like Bob Sinner, President of SB&B Foods, Inc. in North Dakota. Sinner has been in the export business since 1988.

“As business has expanded internationally, we look at this region as a pretty key area for growth. The economies of Indonesia and Vietnam, particularly, are some of the highest GDPs in all of Asia,” said Sinner, who is the fourth generation to work in the family business.

The event brought together over 100 soy food companies to talk about opportunities, challenges, and new things that are going on in the industry.

“All of the markets bring benefits back to the North Dakota soybean producers as higher premiums for identity preserved soybeans,” said Sinner. “These farmers are making a commitment to produce and provide a quality soybean that is used directly into the soy food industries. This is a real opportunity for North Dakota producers, as well as other growers in different regions.”

Sinner said soy has gotten the attention of the world as the health benefits of soy continue to impress everyone in the industry. The Southeast Asian region specifically represents growth in the soy industry that stands to greatly benefit U.S. suppliers and producers.

Listen to Jamie’s interviews with exporters of U.S. soy:
Interview with Bob Sinner, SB&B Foods, Inc.

Interview with Dan Pengra, CHS, Inc.

Interview with Craig Pietig, Ag Processing Inc.

Interview with Brian Arnold, The DeLong Company, Inc.

USSEC SE Asia Buyers Conferences Photo Album

Audio, Soybean, USSEC

Precision Ag Bytes 4/11

Carrie Muehling

  • 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.
AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes

Equipment Dealers Fighting Tax Policy Changes

Cindy Zimmerman

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

AgWired Precision, Audio, Equipment

Deere’s Lagemann New AEM Vice Chair

Carrie Muehling

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

AEM, AgWired Precision, Audio, John Deere

ZimmCast on International Travel and #NAMA18

Chuck Zimmerman

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.

The ZimmCast

sponsored by
The ZimmCast podcast is sponsored by GROWMARK
Locally owned, globally strong.
Alltech, Audio, International, USSEC, ZimmCast

Corn and Ethanol Advocates Tweeting #RFSWorks

Cindy Zimmerman

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.

Biodiesel, Biofuels, Corn, Ethanol, NCGA

Animal Ag Bites 4/9

Carrie Muehling

  • 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.
AgWired Animal, Animal Bites