Ethanol Report on RFA Educational Efforts

Cindy Zimmerman

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) is targeting boaters and future drivers in educational efforts for 2018 with the renewal of its co-title sponsorship of the Crappie Masters Tournament Trail, and the launch of an on-line Ethanol in the Classroom program.

In this edition of The Ethanol Report podcast, RFA Vice President of Industry Relations Robert White talks about the importance of these target audiences for the ethanol industry.

Listen to it here: Ethanol Report on RFA Educational Efforts

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Audio, Education, Ethanol, Podcasts, RFA

Former Sen. Johanns at #Water4Food

Cindy Zimmerman

After 30 years of public service as a governor, ag secretary and senator, Mike Johanns is now enjoying the private life while still advocating for agriculture. One of his passions is serving on the board of the Water for Food Daugherty Global Institute at the University of Nebraska and he helped to open the forum in Washington D.C. this week focused on farmer-led irrigated agriculture.

“Small holder farmers are critical and absolutely essential to feeding the world,” said Johanns. “The efficient use of resources, including irrigation, is absolutely necessary to increase our productivity. If we build on these two themes I believe we have a good chance of feeding the world in the future.”

Mike Johanns, former Senator and WFF board member

I had the opportunity to ask Sen. Johanns a few questions, including what he thinks about the new administration and his thoughts on a 2018 farm bill. Interview with Mike Johanns

2018 Water for Food Forum Photos

Audio, International, Irrigation, Water, Water for Food

John Deere Dealers See Value for Customers

Carrie Muehling

John Deere dealers like Tom Rosztoczy with Stotz Equipment came to the 2018 Develop with Deere conference to learn about the newest technology in the industry, identify additional vendors to bring to customers, and network with other dealers.

“We think the combination of John Deere’s operation center and other software platforms is going to enable us to actually take precision agriculture and turn it into actual value for farmers,” said Rosztoczy, who serves the Mountain West area with 25 stores in eight states. “It takes us from data to knowledge and action.”

Rosztoczy said it is difficult for farmers to keep up with the quickly evolving technology. He believes it is his job stay in touch with the technology and help bring solutions to farmer customers.

You can listen to Chuck’s interview with Tom here: Interview with Tom Rosztoczy, Stotz Equipment

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

AgWired Precision, Audio, John Deere, Precision Agriculture

U.S. Poultry & Egg Elects New Leadership

Jamie Johansen

Tom Hensley, president, Fieldale Farms, Baldwin, Ga., was elected chairman of the board of directors of U.S. Poultry & Egg Association (USPOULTRY) during the International Poultry Expo, part of the 2018 International Production & Processing Expo.

A native of West Virginia, Hensley graduated with a degree in business from Marshall University. Before joining Fieldale Farms, Hensley was a tax manager at Price Waterhouse & Co. He is currently president of Fieldale Farms where he has worked for 40 years, as well as a member of Fieldale Farms Corporation board of directors. In addition, he is past chairman of the National Chicken Council and a life member of the Georgia Poultry Federation. He actively serves on various charitable organization boards, where he has been both active and recognized for his service.

John Prestage, Prestage Farms, Clinton, N.C., was named vice chairman. Greg Hinton, Rose Acre Farms, Seymour, Ind., was named treasurer. Mike Levengood, Perdue Foods, Salisbury, Md., was named secretary. Jerry Moye, Hendrix Genetics, Ontario, Canada, is immediate past chairman.

AgWired Animal, IPPE, Poultry

New Boundary Technologies Offers Integrated Application

Carrie Muehling

Imagine an app that allows a farmer to check multiple areas of an operation by logging into just one place – even if that farm includes both crops and livestock. That’s the idea with new integration from New Boundary Technologies, introduced at the 2018 Develop with Deere Conference.

“Farmers don’t want to have to log into 10 different applications to see everything,” said Kim Pearson with New Boundary Technologies, based in Minneapolis. “Just like on the consumer side, that’s a pain for us. So we are one of the early supporters of John Deere’s new APIs to be able to take information that we get from sensors for things on the farm like tanks and implements that are attached to the tractors, barn environmentals, and be able to give the farmer a view in the John Deere operations center so that they don’t have to log into a lot of different systems to see everything on their farm.”

Pearson said the technology has been available for quite some time, but the price point for both the hardware and the communication software has dropped by about 60 percent over the past year. That’s been key to bringing the product to market.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Kim here: Interview with Kim Pearson, New Boundary Technologies

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

AgWired Precision, Apps, Audio, John Deere, Precision Agriculture

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.
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