World Bank Welcomes Water for Food Forum

Cindy Zimmerman

The Water for Food International Forum, produced by the Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska and The World Bank, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Agency for International Development, is being this week at The World Bank in Washington DC.

“Farmer-led irrigated agriculture – Seeds of Opportunity” is the theme for the forum and World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgieva welcomed attendees from around the world to the event. “We at the World Bank are convinced, from experience, that accelerating farmer-led small-scale irrigation is both possible and financially viable,” she said.

Listen to Georgieva’s remarks here: Kristalina Georgieva, CEO World Bank

2018 Water for Food Forum Photos

Audio, International, Irrigation, Water, Water for Food

The John Deere API Evangelist at #DevelopWithDeere

Chuck Zimmerman

Josh Carson is an API Evangelist for John Deere who was an integral part of Develop With Deere. There’s a title you don’t see everyday. I think it pretty much qualifies you as a top level AgNerd! I asked Josh what his job is all about and he said, “My whole job is to make APIs awesome.”

By making APIs awesome Josh is helping more and more companies create integrations with John Deere’s APIs. In case you don’t know what an API is here’s a short explanation. API stands for application program interface. So basically, it is a set of code to help build software applications since the API is what helps software components interact properly. In this case the APIs are helping third party developers create useful integrations with the John Deere Operations Center.

Josh works with two distinct groups. First are the internal software developers and data teams. Second are the external software companies where he helps them work with John Deere APIs. Why? Because as he says, “John Deere is not farming alone. Farmers don’t farm alone. No one solves farming alone.” Josh says John Deere offers a lot of help with developers and the conference provides face to face interaction and training.

You can listen to my interview with Josh here: Interview with Josh Carson, John Deere

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

AgWired Precision, Apps, Audio, John Deere, Technology

Animal Ag Bites 1/29

Carrie Muehling

  • The new line of Eggland’s Best Chicken Food and Chick Food features the same wholesome, all-vegetarian formula used by EB egg farmers. The formula consists of premium ingredients rich in 15 vitamins and minerals that helps hens be healthier and of course results in healthier eggs too. Multiple varieties will be available for both chickens and chicks, including a USDA certified organic option made with Non-GMO Project Verified ingredients.
  • Y-TEX Corporation has announced the launch of its new Y-Tags One-Piece Ear Tagging System for beef and dairy cattle. Featuring 100% PureLaser permanent imprinting and the unique Surgi-Tip self-piercing tip, Y-Tags represent a major advancement in one-piece ear tagging technology.
  • Five Novus poultry scientists will present their research January 29-30, 2018 at the International Poultry Scientific Forum in Atlanta, Georgia in advance of the annual International Production and Processing Expo. For presentation details and abstracts visit www.novusint.com/events/IPPE2018.
  • For the first time in more than 15 years, a horse has become a repeat racing world champion. That horse is Ted Abrams’ homebred Jessies First Down, who is honored as the 2017 World Champion Racing American Quarter Horse.
  • CattleFax has introduced its Cow-Calf Survey, sponsored by Ritchie Waterers. Information requested in the survey provides participants and the rest of the industry with valuable information regarding industry benchmarks and trends. By completing the survey and submitting a valid email address, participants will also be entered into a drawing to win a free CattleFax Membership. Access the survey here. The deadline is Feb. 23, 2018.
  • U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue will be a featured speaker at the 22nd World Meat Congress, taking place May 30-June 1, in Dallas, Texas. Perdue will address participants on Thursday morning, May 31, during the “Global Politics of Food” session.
  • The January Dairy Market Report shows that for all of 2017, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates an average U.S. all-milk price of $17.65/cw. In terms of the extremes of the past 10 years, this will be $4.85 higher than the average price in 2009 and $6.35 lower than during 2014. Find there entire report here.
AgWired Animal, Animal Bites

Turning Soil Health Into Profitability

Carrie Muehling

Farmers who enroll in the Soil Health Partnership gather lots of data regarding what is happening on their farms. To help them characterize what’s happening from a business performance outcome as they go through the program, there are specific data platforms and methods available.

“There are plenty of opportunities where we can focus in very specifically on the business outcome and understanding how that varies within our fields, and get to the kinds of soil health, conservation and sustainability outcomes that the supply chain is requiring of us right now,” said Dave Muth, vice president of agronomic planning and sustainability for EFC Systems. “And that ability to get that context behind the ‘make more money’ piece, or at least very tightly integrated with that profitability story is the critical piece that we try and work through.”

Muth led a breakout session at the 2018 Soil Health Summit and also participated in a general session during the conference. He said farmers need to understand where they have separate functioning businesses within their fields, they can calibrate their business plan better to deal with that.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Dave Muth here: Dave Muth, EFC Systems

2018 Soil Health Summit Day One Photo Album

2018 Soil Health Summit Day Two Photo Album

AgWired Precision, Audio, Soil, Soil Health Partnership

Zimfo Bytes 1/26

Carrie Muehling

  • Deadlines are approaching for IFAJ’s Star Prize contests and the Caterpillar Ag Tech Reporting Award. The contest juries will judge work published, broadcast or posted between January 1 and December 31, 2017. Entries are due by February 23, 2018. See the contest pages on the IFAJ website for more complete details, rules and entry forms.
Zimfo Bytes

2018 Alltech Global Feed Survey Results

Jamie Johansen

The 2018 Alltech Global Feed Survey estimates that international feed tonnage has exceeded 1 billion metric tons for the second consecutive year, with a total of 1.07 billion metric tons of feed produced in 2017. The growth seen in 2017 was strong at 2.57 percent over last year. The feed industry, valued at $430 billion, has seen 13 percent growth over the past five years, equating to an average of 2.49 percent per annum. This substantial growth is supported by the higher reported consumption of meat, milk and eggs.

The seventh edition of the annual survey is the most comprehensive ever, now covering 144 countries and more than 30,000 feed mills. The results show that China and the U.S. remain the top two countries, producing one-third of all animal feed, and that predominant growth came from the pig, broiler and dairy feed sectors as well as the European and Asia-Pacific regions.

“Now in its seventh year of analysis, the Alltech Global Feed Survey continues to serve as a valuable report on the state of the global feed industry,” said Aidan Connolly, chief innovation officer and vice president of corporate accounts at Alltech. “In addition to its insights into the feed industry, it serves as a barometer for agriculture as a whole and oftentimes demonstrates the economic strength of the countries included in the survey.”

The Alltech Global Feed Survey assesses compound feed production and prices through information collected by Alltech’s global sales team and in partnership with local feed associations in the last quarter of 2017. It is intended to serve as an information resource for policymakers, decision-makers and industry stakeholders.

“The Alltech Global Feed Survey provides valuable data and insights on the health of the feed industry and agriculture as a whole,” said Connolly. “As such, we will continue to offer the findings of the feed survey freely in an effort to demonstrate the significance of the animal feed industry in feeding a growing global population, sustainably and affordably.”

We spoke with Aidan to learn more: Interview with Aidan Connolly, Alltech

Agribusiness, AgWired Animal, Alltech, Audio, Feed, International, Livestock

Deere Gen 4 Displays Compatible With Ag Leader SMS™

Cindy Zimmerman

John Deere Generation 4 CommandCenter™ Displays and Ag Leader Technology SMS™ software are now compatible thanks to John Deere’s Ag Data Application Programming Toolkit (ADAPT) plug-in.

As a result, producers and their trusted advisors can now easily transfer data from John Deere Generation 4 CommandCenter™ Displays into Ag Leader SMS™ software for spraying and other field applications.

Deanna Kovar, Director of Production & Precision Ag Marketing for Deere, was at the Deere Developers conference this week in Kansas City and she explains more about the announcement here:
Interview with Deanna Kovar, John Deere

2018 Develop with Deere Conference Photo Album

AgWired Precision, Audio, John Deere, Precision Agriculture, Technology

ZimmCast 572 – Biodiesel and More

Cindy Zimmerman

This week has been about all things biodiesel in Ft. Worth at the National Biodiesel Conference. It marks the 13th year we have produced the biodiesel conference blog and the 25th anniversary of the National Biodiesel Board, so our ZimmCast this week celebrates all things biodiesel. We start with an interview on biodiesel with Willie Nelson in 2006, and also includes interviews from this week with USDA Deputy Secretary Steve Censky, National Biodiesel Board CEO Donnell Rehagen, and former NBB CEO Kenlon Johannes.

We also hear from Chuck at the John Deere Developers conference this week and the Soil Health Summit last week.

Listen to the ZimmCast here: ZimmCast 572 on Biodiesel and More

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.
Biodiesel, John Deere, Soil Health Partnership, ZimmCast

Ethanol Powers Crappie Masters Tourney Again

Cindy Zimmerman

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is back on as a co-title sponsor of the Crappie Masters Tournament for the second consecutive year. The first of 18 tournaments for the 2018 trail begins Friday, Jan. 26 in Deland, Fla., between Daytona and Orlando, at St. Johns River.

“We look forward to the continued education of the tournament Anglers, along with the general public, with an aggressive approach utilizing national television, social media, print, and grassroots face-to-face conversations,” said Crappie Masters President Mike Vallentine. “E10 is safe to use in outboards, as highlighted that in the past three years, every Crappie Masters tournament winning team has safely used E10 fuel with no reported engine issues.”

Listen to an interview with Mike from one of last year’s tournaments to learn more about his support of ethanol and farmers. Interview with Mike Vallentine, Crappie Masters

RFA Vice President of Industry Relations Robert White says last year’s sponsorship really helped boost public awareness of ethanol use in marine engines. “For nearly 30 years, 10 percent ethanol has been used in all types of marine engines and the fuel blend is approved for use by all major marine engine manufacturers, helping to clean the air and water,” he said. Additional funding for the sponsorship came from the National Corn Growers Association.

Crappie Masters Television will also highlight each tournament on a weekly show that can be viewed on the Pursuit Channel, which is on DIRECTV 604, Dish Network 393, Verizon, CenturyLink and Roku. The next Crappie Masters Tournament Trail event is Feb. 2-3 at Lake Talquin in Gadsden County, Fla.

The 2018 Crappie Masters Tournament Trail season runs through Oct. 20.

Audio, Ethanol, RFA

Missouri Farmer Conserving for the Next Generation

Carrie Muehling

Giving the next generation a chance is part of the reason Missouri farmer Tim Gottman enrolled in the Soil Health Partnership. He urges other farmers to join him in thinking about the future.

“If you’re a little unsure, just think about the future generations that are going to be coming into agriculture, and what’s the soil going to be like for them?” asked Gottman, who farms in northeastern Missouri. “If we keep having the erosion that we have, you’re diminishing their chances at being able to succeed in agriculture. So, if for no other reason, for that reason.”

Gottman and his brother farm in an area with clay pan soil, which is prone to drought and erosion. They are in the first year of a five-year program where they plan to gather data on soil health, nutrient health and yield to learn more about how to conserve the soil while still increasing yields.

Hear more with Tim Gottman in Chuck’s interview: Tim Gottman, Missouri farmer

2018 Soil Health Summit Day One Photo Album

2018 Soil Health Summit Day Two Photo Album

Audio, Soil, Soil Health Partnership