Soybean Growers Lose $1.6 Billion Annually to SCN and SDS

Carrie Muehling

Diseases like Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) and Soybean Cyst Nematode (SCN) continue to plague soybean growers to the tune of $1.6 billion per year, based on USDA 2016–2017 marketing year projection for average soybean price of $9.10 per bushel. Those two diseases contribute to the largest number of bushels lost for soybean farmers, who sometimes don’t even realize disease is present.

“Much like Soybean Cyst Nematode, you might not see those visual symptoms of Sudden Death Syndrome, because SDS is a soil-borne pathogen, so we can have that root rot occur – the actual pathogen enters through the root system and can have root rot occur – and then toxins are produced by the fungus in the root system and that is what creates the foliar symptoms,” said Jeremiah Mullock, seed growth product development manager with Bayer. “The expression of those foliar symptoms and toxin production are based on the environment during the growing season.”

Mullock said that’s why seed treatments like Bayer’s ILeVO are becoming more important, especially at a time when resistant soybean varieties are not always getting the job done against SCN, in particular. He said ILeVO provides protection beginning at planting, creating a larger root mass and ultimately increasing yield.

Learn more in Cindy’s interview from the recent ASTA CSS 2017 and Seed Expo: Interview with Jeremiah Mullock, Bayer

AgWired Precision, ASTA, Audio, Bayer, Soybean

President Trump to Address Farm Bureau

Cindy Zimmerman

Next month, for the first time in 26 years, the President of the United States will address the membership of the largest general farm organization in the country.

Donald J. Trump, the 45th president of the United States, will address farm and ranch families from across the nation at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 99th Annual Convention, Jan. 5-10 in Nashville, Tenn. It was January 13, 1992 when the 41st president of the United States, George H.W. Bush, addressed the AFBF 73rd annual convention in Kansas City, Missouri.

That was just two weeks after Chuck and I had uprooted our Florida family and moved them to Missouri to work for the Brownfield Network. Lynn Ketelsen and I were chosen for some reason to anchor the live audio feed of President Bush’s speech, delivered via satellite to radio stations. That was where I first heard the pronunciation Missour-uh for the Show Me State and wondered if I had been pronouncing it wrong all my life. The scanned photo here is the best I could find in my archives – which is a box in the attic.

Searching on-line for photos from the event, I did find the video of the address on C-SPAN, and the text of the speech from the American Presidency Project. Two of President Bush’s main themes were international trade and tax reform, which are likely to dominate President Trump’s remarks as well. President Bush actually addressed the AFBF annual convention twice – the first time in 1990, which C-SPAN also has archived.

This is pretty fun to watch – and thanks to C-SPAN for keeping such an extensive archive and being a good use of our tax dollars!


AFBF, AgWired Animal, AgWired Precision, Video

Precision Ag Bytes 12/20

Carrie Muehling

  • BRANDT has announced that Randy Blackburn has joined the U.S. ag sales team as Territory Sales Manager for the Northeast region. Randy has over 25 years of ag sales experience in the northeastern U.S. Prior to BRANDT, Randy managed customer development for Meherrin Chemical and spent 15 years in customer development for WinField Solutions and 10 years in sales and retail management for CPS.
  • Several successful Midwest agricultural retailers are partnering in a new business. CommoditAg™ is an easy-to-use online ordering platform utilizing an extensive network of local warehouses offering high quality agriculture products at low prices direct to your farm. With easy pick-up and delivery services, customers no longer have to wait to get what they need before going to the field. CommoditAg.com is now live and accepting orders.
  • The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) today named five farmer and fertilizer retailers pairs who are implementing innovative and sustainable 4R fertilizer management practices on the farm to increase production and reduce their environmental impact. The 2018 Advocates include: Glenn Beck, Windermere, Fla./Rob Watson, Griffith Fertilizer Company, Frostproof, Fla.; Maria Cox, Whitehall, Ill./Kyle Lake, CHS Carrollton, Carrollton, Ill.; Chuck and Darin Dunlop, Parker, Kan./Jason Sutterby, AgChoice, Moran, Kan.; Jeff, CJ, and Greg Durand, St. Martinville, La./Earl Garber, Sanders/Pinnacle Agriculture, Crowley, La.; Doug Weathers, Salem, Ore./John Peters, Wilbur-Ellis, Woodburn, Ore.
  • ​USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service plans to invest $10 million in the Conservation Innovation Grants program, funding innovative conservation projects in three focus areas: grazing lands, organic systems and soil health. Grant proposals are due Feb. 26, 2018.
AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes

NCGA Announces 2017 Yield Contest Winners

Carrie Muehling

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) has named the 2017 winners in its popular National Corn Yield Contest (NCYC). Five national entries surpassed the 400-plus bushel mark in the contest again this year.

The 18 winners in six production categories had verified yields averaging more than 386 bushels per acre, compared to the projected national average of 175.4 bushels per acre in 2017. While there is no overall contest winner, yields from first, second and third place farmers overall production categories topped out at 542.2740.

That 542-plus bushels is another world record, set by the previous world record holder David Hula of Virginia. The new record yield was accomplished using Pioneer® P1197AM™ brand corn and breaks his 2015 record of 532 bushels per acre. Pioneer is proud to say that nine national and 191 state NCYC awards for 2017 are going to growers using Pioneer® brand products in their contest entry.

NCGA will honor this year’s winners during Commodity Classic 2018 in Anaheim, Calif. Find the complete list of state and national winners at www.ncga.com. The NCGA National Corn Yield Contest is in its 53rd year.

AgWired Precision, Corn, NCGA

Soil Health Partnership Grows Program

Cindy Zimmerman

The Soil Health Partnership (SHP) is expanding its program thanks to a large investment made by the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) and matched by other donors.

The FFAR, a nonprofit established in the 2014 Farm Bill, awarded a $9.4 million grant to SHP, the Soil Health Institute, and The Nature Conservancy. The grant is being matched by General Mills, Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Environmental Trust, Midwest Row Crop Collaborative, Monsanto, Nestlé Purina PetCare Company, The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Walmart Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation, and individual donors for a total investment of nearly $20 million.

National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) director of soil health and sustainability Nick Goeser says the grant represents one of the largest investments ever made in soil health. “It will allow us to expand our program to include more farmers who want to benefit from our body of work analyzing how practices like growing cover crops, reducing tillage and using advanced nutrient management can help family farms survive and thrive,” said Goeser, who also serves as director of SHP, which is an initiative of NCGA

The partnership, which is a farmer-led initiative that fosters transformation in agriculture through improved soil health, has already expanded to 111 farms in 12 states a year ahead of schedule and hired two new field managers. Abigail Peterson and Alex Fiock will help manage the growing number of farmers enrolled in the program in Illinois and Indiana.

In this interview, Goeser talks about the growth of SHP, as well as the upcoming 4th annual Soil Health Summit. Interview with Nick Goeser, Soil Health Partnership director

AgWired Precision, Audio, Conservation, Corn, NCGA, Soil, Soil Health Partnership

Iowa Corn Looks to Increase Corn Use in Plastics

Carrie Muehling

The Iowa Corn Promotion Board is one step closer to expanding the corn market after receiving a new patent application on a proprietary production method using corn in the industrial manufacturing of monoethylene glycol (MEG). Most MEG is produced from fossil fuels, with the exception of some bio-MEG made from sugarcane ethanol and sourced from Brazil. Consumers are driving a change towards a more environmentally friendly product, especially when it comes to bottled water and soft drinks, where MEG is widely used.

“There’s already about a four percent growth annually in that market,” said Pete Brecht, a farmer from Central City who chairs Iowa Corn’s Research and Development Committee. “If we could just capture that four percent increase in the market every year, we could be looking at grinding another 96 million bushels of corn annually, and that will help the farmer and reduce these stockpiles that we have.”

Iowa Corn uses checkoff dollars to fund this and other research to find new uses for corn and to expand current markets for the product.

Learn more in this phone interview with Pete Brecht and Dr. Alex Buck: Interview with Pete Brecht and Dr. Alex Buck, Iowa Corn

Audio, Corn

SMART Farmer Jerry Flint

Cindy Zimmerman

Jerry Flint may not technically be a farmer, but he did grow up on a farm in Ohio and his entire career has been focused on delivering new innovations to smart farmers.

In addition to being vice president of regulatory affairs for Dow DuPont Agriculture Division, Flint is also first vice chair for the American Seed Trade Association, and his company is an industry partner of the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance. DowDuPont is the official name of the company which now includes the very first commercial hybrid corn seed company – Pioneer Hi Bred, which was started in the mid-1920s.

Plant breeding has come a long way since the first hybrid was created, and in this edition of the SMART Farmer podcast, Jerry talks about the benefits of technological innovations in agriculture – SMART Farmer Podcast with Jerry Flint, Dow DuPont Agriculture Division

Subscribe to the SMART Farmer podcast

Learn more about USFRA and SMART Farm

AgWired Precision, ASTA, Audio, Pioneer, Plant Breeding, Seed, USFRA

What Secretary Sonny Needs From Santa

Cindy Zimmerman

It’s been a long and busy year for Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, but here at the end he is still short-staffed at USDA and could use some help from Santa to get the job done.

“I had no idea we would be delayed like this and it’s unfortunate,” said Sec. Perdue in a recent interview with Iowa Agribusiness Network‘s Ben Nuelle. “We have seven or eight different mission areas that need leadership, we’ve got less than half of those filled.”

One of the delays continues to be Bill Northey as USDA Under Secretary of Farm Production and Conservation, who was nominated over three months ago but put on hold by Sen. Ted Cruz over ethanol politics. “The senate has its rules where one member can hold a nominee in this way, it has nothing to do with Bill Northey’s qualifications,” said Perdue. “But there is a provision where the majority leader can bring his nomination to the floor…over the objection of Sen. Cruz.”

As Congress gets closer to passing a final tax reform bill this week, Secretary Perdue says it would make a “tremendous Christmas present for Americans,” especially farmers. “We revere farmers and all that they do, we have to remember they are businesses as well and they gotta make a profit to stay in business and the less they have to pay in any expense, including taxes, the better they can reinvest in their farming operation.”

Listen to Ben Nuelle’s interview with Sonny here. It was conducted earlier this month, but all of Perdue’s comments are still pertinent – Iowa Agribusiness Network interview with Sec. Perdue

Sec. Perdue made his first appearance at the National Press Club last week to talk about USDA’s mission, the 2018 farm bill, trade, and other topics. Listen to that here: Sec. Perdue at National Press Club

AgWired Animal, AgWired Precision, Audio, USDA

Animal Ag Bites 12/18

Carrie Muehling

  • Registration is now open for the Animal Agriculture Alliance’s 2018 Stakeholders Summit, themed Protect Your Roots. The event, now in its 17th year, will be held May 3-4 at the Renaissance Capital View Hotel in Arlington, Va. Discounted early registration fees and a special hotel rate are available through April 1 (pending availability).
  • For the first time in more than 20 years, the world’s premier gathering of red meat industry leaders is coming to the United States. Hosted by the International Meat Secretariat (IMS) and the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF), the 22nd World Meat Congress will be held in Dallas, Texas, May 30-June 1, 2018.
  • PMI Nutritional Additives announces the launch of Peloton yeast feed additive to help livestock producers maintain rumen health and digestive efficiency. Peloton yeast feed additive is a thermal stable blend of Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast and PMI’s Fulfill feed additive.
  • An upcoming free CattleFax webinar will address that question as well as provide an outlook for the cow-calf sector and entire beef industry for 2018. The CattleFax Trends+ Cow-Calf Webinar will be at 5:30 p.m. MT, Jan. 24, 2018. To participate in the webinar and access program details, register online at https://www.cattlefax.com/#!/about.

  • Members of the American Gelbvieh Association (AGA) elected five candidates to the board of directors at the annual membership meeting held December 9, 2017, during the 47th Annual American Gelbvieh Association National Convention in Wichita, Kansas. Newly elected board members are Dustin Aherin, Phillipsburg, Kansas; Jeff Loveless, Spanish Fork, Utah; Derek Martin, Bucklin, Kansas; and Dan McCarty, Rifle, Colorado. Re-elected to serve a second term was Lowell Rogers, Seminary, Mississippi. The AGA Board of Directors also elected individuals to serve in leadership positions on the executive committee for 2018. Scott Starr, Stapleton, Nebraska, was re-elected as AGA president.  Elected as vice president was John Carrel, Columbus, Montana. Klint Sickler, Gladstone, North Dakota, was elected as secretary and Walter Teeter, Mount Ulla, North Carolina, was re-elected as treasurer.
AgWired Animal, Animal Bites

Get the ZimmComm Golden Mic Audio Podcast

Chuck Zimmerman

If you want to get your fill of all the Golden ZimmComm Microphone has to offer then the pioneers of farm podcasting have you covered.

The ZimmComm Team conducts thousands of interviews during the year and records much more to offer via our AgNewsWire service and also in story posts on AgWired. To make it easier for agricultural communicators and other influencers to bring this resource right into their computer or favorite mobile device we have created a podcast for you. It is already available in iTunes and will be in Google Play and other podcast directories shortly.

So, if you missed an important press conference that we recorded, or if you know we interviewed someone important to you on a topic of interest then just subscribe and bring it to where you can listen when and where you want! Of course, that’s the beauty of podcasting. Always has been.

Podcasts, ZimmComm Announcement