Adams Joins American Ag Network

Cindy Zimmerman

Our favorite Mike will soon be back behind the mic.

The American Ag Network is excited to announce Mike Adams is joining the network team with a new hour-long weekday show, Adams on Agriculture. This national agricultural talk radio show will feature a mix of commentary on agricultural issues and interviews with decision makers such as members of Congress, USDA personnel and leaders of agricultural organizations. In-depth topics of discussion include Farm Bill, trade and new technology as well as important issues facing rural America such as infrastructure, immigration and health care.

Adams has been in the business for 44 years, with the past 16 of those spent as host for the nationally-syndicated Agri-Talk radio show. Farm Journal chose to replace him with Chip Flory as host of the program starting this year, but their loss is definitely American Ag Network’s gain and we are looking forward to hearing Mike back on the air next month.

Mike joins the American Ag Network team led by Farm News Director Rusty Halvorson, and Digital Director/Farm Broadcaster Sabrina Hill who was brought on board earlier this year, as well as network general manager Lance Knudson.

Media

Sustainability a Focus for Beef Supply Chain

Carrie Muehling

Many of those gathered at this year’s Cattle Industry Convention and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Trade Show in Phoenix are working toward sustainability within the beef industry at all levels of the supply chain.

“Sustainability, as defined by NCBA, is about producing safe and nutritious beef with economic viability, environmental stewardship and social responsibility,” said Dr. Sara Place, Sr. Director, Sustainable Beef Production Research at NCBA. Place said consumers often have misconceptions about things like greenhouse gas emissions when it comes to beef production.

One way the industry is working toward better educating and communicating with all members of the beef supply chain, as well as consumers, is through the formation of the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef. NCBA Sr. Director of Sustainability Ashley McDonald said the Roundtable is clarifying things across the industry when it comes to sustainability.

“Everybody has made a commitment that they understand that they have an impact and that we have challenges and every sector is responsible for addressing concerns in their sector,” said McDonald.

Chairman of the Roundtable Rickette Collins agrees. She is Sr. Director for Beef/Pork/Fish in the Global Supply Chain and Sustainability with McDonald’s Corporation.

“Being able to see the programs and the practices and the policies that are already in place and implemented… while I think we all knew they were there, getting to that level of detail and granularity and really seeing it firsthand has been a really big help and I think has helped shape actually the way that the Roundtable has developed,” said Collins.

The Roundtable plans to release Sustainability Assessment Guides for all sectors of the beef industry in May of 2018.

Listen to Jamie’s interview with Dr. Sara Place here: Dr. Sara Place, NCBA

Listen to Jamie’s interview with Rickette Collins here: Rickette Collins, McDonald's

Listen to Jamie’s interview with Ashley McDonald here: Ashley McDonald, NCBA

2018 Cattle Industry Convention & Trade Show Photo Album

Ag Groups, AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Audio, Beef, NCBA, Sustainability

Animal Ag Bites 2/5

Carrie Muehling

  • Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has announced the appointment of five members to serve on the American Lamb Board. A list of board members is available on the AMS American Lamb Board webpage.
  • Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has also announced the appointment of three members to serve on the National Sheep Industry Improvement Center Board of Directors. Additional information can be found on the National Sheep Industry Improvement Center Website at www.nsiic.org.
  • Elanco Animal Health, a division of Eli Lilly and Company announced the launch of its U.S. Salmonella 360 platform at the 2018 International Production & Processing Expo. Salmonella 360 is an innovative, holistic approach to Salmonella control which utilizes food safety resources and experience from across the poultry industry.
  • As interest in phytogenics, commonly defined as plant-based feed additives, has grown in the United States, Delacon recognizes a need for education around the role of phytogenics in nutrition. In late 2017, Delacon launched the “Guts to Grow” marketing platform, urging livestock and poultry producers to consider phytogenics in their approach in a post-AGP, and increasingly antibiotic-free, era. For more information, visit www.gutstogrow.com.
  • Angus Genetics, Inc. has announced the release of two new foot score research EPDs, the first of its kind in the U.S. for beef cattle. For more information about foot score guidelines, click here. You also can find the How to Foot Score video here.
  • The National Pork Board will host its annual Pork Management Conference, April 17-20, in Hilton Head, South Carolina. The registration fee is $425 per person through March 23 and increases to $475 beginning March 24. No refunds after March 30. A registration form and a detailed list of events are available at pork.org/pmc.
AgWired Animal, Animal Bites

Cattlemen Release 2018 Policy Priorities

Carrie Muehling

A number of topics are priorities for cattle producers in the coming year, beginning with the passage of a new Farm Bill.

“Everybody is trying to push completion of the Farm Bill before the current one expires, and we are no different,” said Colin Woodall, senior vice president of government affairs with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. “We want to make sure we get it done. We don’t like the uncertainty of extensions. We want to make sure that we know what the programs are going to look like.”

NCBA Policy Chair Joe Guild shared the group’s highest concern within the Farm Bill discussion.

“Our highest priority is creation of a Foot and Mouth Disease vaccine bank,” said Guild. “We are asking for $140 million a year to fund that bank and to make sure that it’s viable and continues. It’s a defensive tool. We don’t want Foot and Mouth Disease to come back to this country. Right now the vaccine bank is inadequate for the potential defenses that we’d need to implement. So that’s the highest priority in the Farm Bill.”

Other significant items NCBA will be addressing in 2018 include immigration law, transportation concerns over electronic logging devices, the Endangered Species Act, and Fake Meat – protecting terms like “beef” with the introduction of more and more plant-based protein products onto the market. Trade remains a focus for the group, as well.

Listen to Jamie’s interview with Colin Woodall here: Colin Woodall, NCBA

Listen to Jamie’s interview with Joe Guild and Jerry Bohn here: Joe Guild and Jerry Bohn, NCBA

2018 Cattle Industry Convention & Trade Show Photo Album

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

CattleFax Predicts Large Supply and Strong Demand in 2018

Carrie Muehling

It appears strong demand will continue to support the cattle industry in the coming year, even though the supply continues to grow.

“The cattle cycle is pretty well on track,” said Randy Blach, CEO of CattleFax. “We saw the USDA numbers released yesterday that indicated the herd expanded again in 2017. We expected that would be the case. But it is slowing down. The herd expansion is slowing down and it looks like we’ll be at our peak cattle inventory numbers in 2019 or 2020.”

CattleFax Senior Market Analyst Kevin Good said the past four years have been quite good for cattle producers, and while he predicts prices will soften in 2018, he believes the industry will continue to be profitable. Good said the second and third quarters of 2018 could be a bit challenging as there are currently more cattle on feed than we saw at this time last year, and yet there has been no expansion in packing capacity.

“We got along extremely well in 2017. Everybody made some money,” said Good. “Prices averaged a tick higher than ’16 despite bigger supplies. Demand drove a lot of that. We also did not have any outside surprises that were negative. We actually had a couple of positive surprises. Positive economy, positive trade. As we go forward over the next couple of years, we have to be prepared that at some point we’re going to have a negative in the market.”

Blach and Good were at the Cattle Industry Convention in Phoenix.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Randy Blach here: Randy Blach, CattleFax

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Kevin Good here: Kevin Good, CattleFax

2018 Cattle Industry Convention & Trade Show Photo Album

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

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