Whether you attended or not, you can revisit sessions from the 2017 National Conference on Cover Crops and Soil Health. All session recordings are now available on the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education website.- Nutrien Ltd.’s retail division – soon to be rebranded as Nutrien Ag Solutions – announced the launch of a new digital platform designed to augment its distribution network, agronomic advice and services. Nutrien Ag Solutions’ digital platform will initially be available across North America and will serve as an integrated hub for helping
customers more effectively manage their agronomic and business needs. Nutrien will officially roll out the platform beginning in July 2018 and continue in phases into mid-2019. - The U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released for public comment the draft human health and ecological risk assessments for glyphosate, one of the most widely used pesticides in the United States. EPA’s risk assessment concludes that gylphosate is NOT likely to be a carcinogenic to humans. The agency found no other meaningful risks to human health when the product is used according to the pesticide label. These scientific findings are consistent with conclusions of science reviews by a number of other countries as well as the 2017 National Institutes of Health Agricultural Health Survey. To submit comments, click here. The comment period closes April 30, 2018.
- The preliminary program for InfoAg 2018 is now posted. Online registration is now available for the conference, with an early bird discount available through July 1.
- Sakata Seed America recently announced the launch of its new, mobile-responsive website for the vegetable side of their business. The organizational structure of the new SakataVegetables.com closely mirrors that of the previous site, allowing users who have used the Sakata vegetables website previously to enjoy a seamless experience when transitioning to the new website.
The KEENAN, Farmer Relationship
Paul McVeigh, KEENAN feeding specialist who covers the Midlands and West Ireland, is in the relationship business. He travels his territory in Ireland getting to know the farmers which enables him to implement a plan of action for complete optimization of KEENAN In-Touch. I was able to learn more about KEENAN Systems on the farm during the Alltech KEENAN Great Green Getaway.
“My day-to-day is going out and setting up the In-Touch KEENAN system with the farmers. We set the goals they want to try and accomplish. I conduct an on-farm appraisal, look at every aspect of their nutrition and dietary needs, where they have come from, where they want to go and then we actually put a plan into place on how we want to get there,” McVeigh said.
He stressed that his job is not to sell products, but to deliver results on the farm. And that is the same for his colleagues around the world. When it comes to cow nutrition, it doesn’t matter what country you are in. A rumen is a rumen. “The slight difference in Ireland is the seasonality and our ability to grow grass. That is our competitive advantage. We can’t lose sight of that. Our goal is to get the cheapest, quality grass into the diet as possible,” McVeigh said.
Listen to my complete interview with Paul to hear him share examples of ways he has worked with farmers helping them improve their bottom line. Interview with Paul McVeigh, KEENAN Systems
Alltech KEENAN Great Green Getaway Photo Album
Bayer Launches ForwardFarm in Maryland
Bayer’s ForwardFarming program launched in North America last week at the farm of fourth-generation Maryland farmer Trey Hill.
Harborview Farms was chosen as the latest Bayer ForwardFarm, joining Bayer’s global network of 12 innovative, independent farms representative of their unique environments across Europe, Latin America and now, North America. “One of the primary goals of ForwardFarming is to foster dialogue and knowledge exchange on local farms around the world, which we achieve by welcoming people to the farms to learn about today’s agriculture and some of the remarkable men and women engaged in it,” said Jim Blome, President and CEO of Crop Science North America, a Division of Bayer.
Harborview Farms on the Chesapeake Bay is two hours from Washington, D.C., and includes innovative management practices, such as precision technology, cover cropping, solar energy, integrated peswt management, and wildlife habitats. Over time, Bayer will add more operations to the ForwardFarming program in additional regions across the United States and the world to expand the knowledge platform further.
Becky Langer is the project manager for the U.S. ForwardFarming program and we talked with her about why they chose Harborview and what they hope to accomplish with this initiative. Interview with Becky Langer, Bayer ForwardFarming
Flickr Now Owned by SmugMug
There is no question that this announcement immediately caught my attention and caused some concern. We’ve had a ZimmComm/AgWired Flickr Pro account for 13 years and I also have a personal one for non-work photos. Right now we have 176,648 photos uploaded to Flickr in event albums. Our all-time number of photo views is at 21,429,821.
SmugMug was built as an online community for photographers to share their story-telling in pictures. Flickr was created to make photos available to the people subscribers wanted to and to allow for a new and better way to organize photos and video. Flickr made the most sense to me way back when and I have never regretted it.
According to the Flickr Blog:
As we have announced in this blog post, Flickr has agreed to be acquired by SmugMug. We are very excited by the news and look forward to detailing more specifics as we have them.
After nearly 14 years at Yahoo and Oath, we’re moving to a smaller, more photography-focused family, which we think will be great for Flickr and for you. SmugMug is dedicated to photography and to photographers, and has been since 2002.
This part of their FAQ is what was most important to me:
You’ll still be able to access your photos as you do currently and they’ll retain the same flickr.com URL as always.
Whew! Alrighty then. Lots more photos for your viewing/sharing pleasure to come.
Hoosier Ag Today and Farm World Acquire Indiana Farm Show
Hoosier Ag Today and Farm World have jointly purchased the Indiana-Illinois Farm and Outdoor Power Equipment Show from Richard Sherman, who has operated the show the past 39 years. The show will be held December 11 – 13, 2018 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.
Sherman announced in March that he no longer intended to operate the show. “The show is a tradition that thousands of Indiana farmers and businesses count on, and we felt it was important to see that tradition continue,” said Gary Truitt, President of Hoosier Ag Today. “There is a lot of uncertainty right now about the farm economy, so we felt it was important to make a bold statement about the future of Indiana agriculture and the future of Indiana farm families. We believe the future of agriculture is strong and sustainable and that this show will help growers and their suppliers to be productive and profitable in that future.”
A special show website that will keep farmers and exhibitors updated on the latest developments surrounding the show will be launched soon.
Animal Ag Bites 4/23
- The Dairy Calf and Heifer Association (DCHA) is excited to announce, effective May 1, 2018 the association’s management will transition to Gardner & Gardner Communications of New Prague, Minn.
The American Angus Association announces the hiring of New Jersey native Christopher Engel as the director of Angus Link, the new Association feeder cattle program, which is set to be unveiled this summer. - The American Hereford Association welcomes summer interns Anna Grace Parnell and Brooke Roberts. Brooke will be working with Hereford Publications Inc. and Anna Grace will be spending her time with junior activities. Read more about them here.
- The 2018 Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) Research Symposium and Convention is set for June 20-23, 2018, in Loveland, Colo. In its 50th year, the convention serves to facilitate discussion and to provide education on current issues facing the beef industry. For the latest information about the 2018 BIF Symposium and Convention, go to the BIF website, BeefImprovement.org
- The Iowa Beef Industry Council welcomes Rusty Gibbs, Monroe, Iowa, as Director of Industry Relations. Gibbs will be working closely with beef farmers in and around Iowa as well as key industry leaders to share the value of the beef checkoff investment.
- The National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management Program is partnering with the Beef Quality Assurance program to collect nominations for the first-ever joint FARM/BQA Dairy Award for 2019. The deadline to apply is June 1, 2018. The awards honor outstanding beef and dairy producers and marketers that demonstrate the best animal care and handling principles as part of their day-to-day operations. Find more information here.
Earn Your Spurs at the 2018 CCA Institute
Its time to register for the 2018 Cooperative Communicators Institute in Fort Worth, Texas. The conference is coming up June 2-5, with presentations on photography, infographics, computer security and more.
The “Earn Your Spurs” conference will also recognize the 2018 Graznak and Klinefelter award honorees at the annual awards luncheon. Other available activities include a night out at Billy Bob’s Texas, the world’s largest honky tonk.
The early bird registration deadline is May 9. Rooms are available at the historic Hilton Forth Worth for a group rate. For more information or to register, visit https://www.communicators.coop/2018Institute/.
Zimfo Bytes 4/20
Victory Enterprises (VE) has announced the creation of an Agriculture Advocacy division designed to help agriculture clients navigate the public policy arena. The division will be led by Matt Alsager, a fixture of agriculture advocacy in Missouri and, Whitney Woolf, a seasoned political pro from Oklahoma.- Syngenta has announced the acquisition of Abbott & Cobb, a U.S.-owned independent breeder, producer, and marketer of vegetable seeds.
- Kelly Products, a holding corporation comprised of 12 agribusiness-focused companies located throughout Georgia, recently celebrated its 25th anniversary.
- Every scoop counts at Culver’s on Scoops of Thanks Day happening Thursday, May 3. Guests can get $1 single scoops of Fresh Frozen Custard, and all proceeds will go to FFA and other local agricultural organizations that strengthen American agriculture and the industry’s future leaders. Scoops of Thanks Day is part of Culver’s Thank You Farmers® Project.
- U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., have announced the Committee will hold a hearing titled, “The State of Rural America.” United States Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue will participate in the hearing, scheduled for Tuesday, April 24.
- The National Corn Growers Association welcomes Liz Friedlander to the organization’s Washington, D.C. office as Director of Policy Communications. Friedlander will develop and implement communications plans and tactics related to NCGA’s work on behalf of farmers in Washington.
- The presidents of the nation’s two largest general farm organizations visited the “Prescribed to Death” opioid memorial in Washington, D.C., in a show of unity to address the national opioid epidemic that is disproportionately affecting farming communities. American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall and National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson joined Anne Hazlett, Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The three toured the exhibit, which memorializes the 22,000 people who died from a prescription opioid overdose in 2015.
- Tractor Supply Company and the National FFA Organization are supporting the next generation of agricultural leaders through the third annual Grants for Growing program. This year, Tractor Supply stores nationwide raised a record $830,000 through customer donations to fund sustainable, youth-driven agriculture projects made possible by the initiative.
- The Fertilizer Institute and the Agricultural Retailers Association support ResponsibleAg as a means of demonstrating the fertilizer industry’s commitment to the safe storage, handling, and transportation of plant nutrients. To date, 2,343 agribusiness retailers have enrolled in ResponsibleAg; 1,030 of those facilities have achieved certification.
- Rhea + Kaiser has announced the promotion of Erin Skly to Group Account Director, Account Management + Planning. Skly will lead the agency’s Bayer account with primary responsibilities for client relations, strategy and integrated planning, while taking a bigger role in agency management.
ZimmCast With New #GoldenMic Club Members
During the Agri-Marketing Conference the ZimmComm Team welcomed new people to the #GoldenMic Club. In our Connection Point booth we were set up to record interviews with attendees and I’m featuring a few of them in this week’s program and in weeks to come.
This week you’ll hear Jamie Johansen interview:
- Stephanie Stalans, Helena Agri-Enterprises
- University of Wisconsin, Madison NAMA Chapter – Student Marketing Competition winner
- Andy Atzenweiler, Missouri Beef Cattleman
- Jeffrey Gocel, A+E Networks
I highly encourage other companies to consider a booth in the Connection Point next year. I think we’ve been participating for at least 14 years now and the investment has always paid dividends for ZimmComm New Media. I also want to encourage you to support the NAMA Foundation, formerly known as the Agri-Business Educational Foundation>
Listen to the ZimmCast here: ZimmCast 580 - New #GoldenMic Club Members
I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.
Subscribe to the ZimmCast podcast here. Use this url in iTunes or your favorite news reader program/app.
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House Ag Committee Advances Agriculture and Nutrition Act
The House Agriculture Committee voted along party lines Wednesday to pass the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018 (H.R.2) out of committee, a new farm bill designed by Republicans to “address the economic challenges facing the nation’s farmers and ranchers, while making historic investments in opportunities for SNAP recipients.” All 20 Democrats on the historically-bipartisan committee voted against the legislation over their objection to requiring work-capable adults to either find employment or receive free training for 20 hours per week.
“I’m disappointed that my Democrat colleagues have turned their backs on America’s heartland – that they’ve chosen partisan politics over the three years of bipartisan work in this committee,” said Chairman Mike Conaway. “I am hopeful Democrats will not hold the nation’s farmers and ranchers hostage in this process over the SNAP work and training requirements, which will provide SNAP beneficiaries not just a benefit, but a better future that only a job can provide.”
Conaway held a press call this morning to discuss the legislation with Committee Vice Chair Glenn Thompson (R-PA).
Listen to this morning’s conference call here: House Ag Committee Farm Bill Conference Call