Alltech will offer a live webinar on Nov. 9 at 2 p.m. EST with Dr. Kayla Price, Poultry Technical Manager with Alltech Canada, discussing the essentials for a premium egg and the different factors affecting egg shell quality.- The Hereford Research Foundation sponsored $5,000 in cash awards for 29 young people participating in the inaugural National Junior Hereford Association Fed Steer Shootout. Molly Biggs of Dixon, Ill., was named the 2017 Fed Steer Shootout Junior of the Year.
- Lester Schafer of Buffalo Lake, Minn., and Byron Bayers of Twin Bridges, Mont., were inducted into the Hereford Hall of Fame Oct. 27 during the American Hereford Association Annual Meeting and Conference in Kansas City, Mo.
- The National Dairy Promotion and Research Board honored Jerry Messer of North Dakota with the 2017 Richard E. Lyng Award for contributions and service to dairy promotion.
- Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) has acquired Cumberland Dairy, a family-owned processor of ultra-pasteurized dairy products located in Bridgeton, N.J. The acquisition aligns with DFA’s strategy to expand the cooperative’s commercial investments and ownership into extended shelf life processing.
- The European Swine Nutrition Roundtable included 16 participants from across Europe who discussed the obstacles between today’s producer and the next level of performance and profitability. The Roundtable is a partnership between Novus International, Inc. and Newcastle University.
2017 Deer Hunt – Can-Am Defender – Episode 1
Here’s my next episode in a series coming to you from the Crystal Pig Hunt Club (CPHC) in Georgia. In this episode the focus is going to be on a Can-Am Defender XT which has been provided to us to use and evaluate how well it is suited to some serious deer hunting.
CPHC member, Paul Zimmerman, my brother, has been doing most of the driving in this vehicle, although I have done some also. In the video below we chat about our first impressions while riding out of camp for a load of firewood. You might see in the bed of the Defender a short swivel seat stand that we strapped into it, making the Defender a mobile deer stand!
Some first impressions on using the Can-Am include:
- It has lots of power but runs quiet
- The suspension is amazing
- The turning radius has made is easier to turn around on narrow trails than we expected
- Some accessories like winch and side/back panels around bed have come in very handy
So, that’s a start. Paul has harvested two deer so far, one of them being the 8pt buck you see in the photo. So, in the points race (we don’t really have one) he’s in the lead. We’re liking the Can-Am but will have more to come.
You can see photos of the Can-Am Defender in the wild here: 2017 Deer Hunt – Can-Am Defender Photo Album
Deere Celebrating 100 Years of Tractors in 2018
In March of 1918, John Deere entered the farm tractor business through the acquisition of the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company, and the rest is history a century later.
Deere kicked off series of events to celebrate the centennial by hosting a Gold Key Tour for the Wade Purvis family of Florida and delivery of their new 8245R John Deere tractor – the first 2018 tractor made in Waterloo, Iowa. The new tractor includes a commemorative badge that will be appear on several models of 2018 John Deere tractors including the 6 Series, 7 Series, 8 Series and 9 Series machines.
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History will mark 2018 as the year of the tractor, installing a 1918 green, yellow and red Waterloo Boy tractor will at the entrance of the business history exhibition in January. Within the exhibition, a new display on “Precision Farming” will examine a more contemporary story of disruptive technology in today’s agriculture industry with the use of technology including a GPS antenna donated by Deere.
John Deere will be placing iconic tractors on display at the John Deere Tractor & Engine Museum in Waterloo, Iowa, the John Deere Pavilion and John Deere World Headquarters in Moline, Ill., as well as at the John Deere Forum in Mannheim, Germany.
Zimfo Bytes 11/3
Kubota Tractor Corporation announced four new farmer veteran tractor recipients in its 2017 “Geared to Give” program in partnership with the Farmer Veteran Coalition. Four recipients, one from each of Kubota’s four operating divisions, were presented with keys to new Kubota L-Series compact tractors in recognition of their U.S. military service.- Syngenta is proud to name Tori Streitmatter of Sparland, Illinois, as the Thrive 2017 #RootedinAg Contest winner. Streitmatter received a $500 gift card from Syngenta, along with a $1,000 donation in her name to the Midland High FFA Alumni.
- Ken Magnum will be the new National Sales Manager for BRANDT’s turf business, which includes the BRANDT®, GRIGG™ and BRANDT® iHammer product lines.
- The American Farm Bureau Federation recently graduated 15 farm and ranch women from the organization’s eleventh annual Women’s Communications Boot Camp– an intensive three-day course featuring sessions on working with the media, public speaking, testifying and messaging.
- House Agriculture Committee Chairman Michael Conaway (R-TX) announced that RFD-TV has been added to the House of Representatives Digital Channel Lineup on channel 122.
- Signups for the annual FiberMax® Maximizer Club are now open. To qualify for the FiberMax Maximizer Club, cotton growers must produce an average of 1,000 lb/A on 20 or more dryland acres planted to FiberMax varieties and plant 100 percent FiberMax cotton seed on qualifying acres from January 1–December 31, 2017.
- The National Corn Growers Association and BASF Corporation are accepting applications for five $1,000 scholarships to be awarded to undergraduate and graduate students pursuing a degree in an agriculture-related field during the 2018-19 school year. Scholarships are open to any NCGA members and their children or legal guardians; submissions must be postmarked on or before December 1, 2017.
Clovis Declines USDA Post as Northey Nomination Still Stuck
Controversial USDA nominee Sam Clovis of Iowa has withdrawn his name for consideration as Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics.
Clovis has been controversial from the start, since the position is also called chief scientist, and the talk show host/economics professor has no scientific background. But grand jury testimony on Russian campaign involvement put Clovis in the spotlight last week and made it likely that topic would be addressed in any confirmation hearing.
In a letter to President Trump dated November 1, Clovis said, “The political climate inside Washington has made it impossible for me to receive balanced and fair consideration for this position. The relentless assaults on you and your team seem to be a blood sport that only increases in intensity each day. As I am focused on your success and the success of this administration, I do not want to be a distraction or negative influence, particularly with so much important work left to do for the American people.”
Clovis will “continue to serve at the pleasure of you and the secretary of agriculture” within the USDA as senior White House adviser.
Meanwhile, Bill Northey is back on the job as Iowa Secretary of Agriculture as his nomination remains in limbo. He is hoping to complete his goal of visiting all 99 counties in the state, covering about ten more this week. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is continuing to hold up Northey’s nomination until President Trump agrees to a meeting with refinery state senators about the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).
2017 Deer Hunt – John Deere Gator – Episode 1
Hello and welcome to episode one of a series of videos and posts I’ll be doing, along with other members of our Crystal Pig Hunt Club (CPHC), throughout the Georgia deer hunting season. Georgia has a rather long season for firearms which started October 21 and runs through January 14. Some of our group made it out for opening weekend and we’ve had some great early season success.
In this post I’m going to start letting you know how we are using a John Deere Gator XUV825i to test drive and evaluate its value to some serious deer hunting. The CPHC has been together for over 25 years and until this year has been comprised of my brother Paul, Gary Cooper and myself. We’ve hunted with 4-wheelers, trucks and more recently utility vehicles. John Deere has provided us with the use of this vehicle for most of the season and I have now had the opportunity to get some hours in and out of the woods and on the trails.
As you can see in the photo I have already harvested some deer and brought them out of the woods and back to our camp. My harvest so far consists of a 6pt buck, 2 does and a wild hog. They have all been bagged right near our trails fortunately for me. Speaking of trails, most of ours are freshly plowed by the U.S. Forest Service. They do a great job btw. But we’ve got some serious and deep sugar sand to run through and there are rough spots. You’ll be able to see that in the video below.
Some first impressions on using the Gator include:
- All the power I need to climb steep hills on deep sand and with a load in the bed
- Very simple controls and layout. Easy to switch between 2-wheel and 4-wheel
- Suspension makes the bumps and pot holes almost painless compared to past vehicles I’ve driven
- Plenty of light from headlights for night time on the trail
- John Deere has some accessories I already know I’d like to add!
So, I’ll have more to say in upcoming episodes. I’m very satisfied with this unit and am not coming up with anything to complain about.
You can see photos of the Gator in the wild here: 2017 Deer Hunt – John Deere Gator Photo Album
Bayer and 4H Launch Why Science Matters Contest
Science Matters to Bayer and the National 4-H Council and they are encouraging young people to consider how science impacts their everyday lives through a “Why Science Matters to Me” photo contest.
The winners of the contest will receive a trip for three to the National Youth Summit on Agri-Science, January 12-15, 2018. Held annually in Washington, D.C., the summit provides high school students from around the country with hands-on educational experiences that help them develop the skills and knowledge needed for the challenges facing agriculture, food security and sustainability.
Students may enter the contest through the 4-H website or Instagram by submitting a photo showing how science impacts their food, health, animals and everyday life. Each submission should also include the hashtag “#ScienceMattersContest” and a 300-word maximum caption telling why science matters to them. Entries must be submitted by November 26, 2017 and a panel of judges will review all entries and select 10 finalists. The public will then have an opportunity to help choose the winners by voting on the 4-H website for their favorite photo from November 9 – December 6, 2017.
FMC Transactions Complete DowDuPont™ Commitment
The DowDuPont™ merger should be finalized now with the DuPont divestment this week of a portion of its Crop Protection business to FMC Corporation.
DuPont completed the divestiture of its Cereal Broadleaf Herbicides and Chewing Insecticides portfolio to FMC. In addition, DuPont divested its Crop Protection R&D pipeline and organization, excluding seed treatment, nematicides and late-stage R&D programs, which it will continue to develop and bring to market, and excluding personnel needed to support marketed products and R&D programs that are now part of the DowDuPont Agriculture Division.
DuPont also acquired FMC Corporation’s Health & Nutrition business, except for the Omega-3 business, in the transactions, which satisfies DuPont’s regulatory commitments in connection the merger with Dow, which was completed on August 31, 2017.
New and Expanded ZimmCast
After 12 years, the ZimmCast is getting a bit of a makeover.
The new and expanded ZimmCast is here. After informally polling our audience and looking at new podcast research, we clearly heard that you want more. So the length of the ZimmCast will increase with more interviews and audio from the travels of the ZimmComm Golden Mic. The mission of the podcast will continue to be what’s new in the world of agribusiness with a focus on agricultural marketing.
This week Cindy and I talk about what we do at ZimmComm, with some recent interviews, podcasts and AgNewsWire content.
Listen to the ZimmCast here: ZimmCast New and Expanded
Subscribe to the ZimmCast podcast here. Use this url in iTunes or your favorite news reader program/app.
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NAWG President Resigns
The National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) this week announced the resignation of Kansas farmer David Schemm as president of the organization to “pursue other professional opportunities in his home state of Kansas.”
“During his time as President of NAWG, David helped move the wheat industry forward, grew its presence on Capitol Hill, and improved its relationship with the media and other farm organizations,” said NAWG CEO Chandler Goule. “Schemm constantly worked to get NAWG’s priorities and messaging out by participating in weekly interviews, testifying on behalf of the organization to Congress, and took every opportunity to talk to Members and Agency officials on the importance of reauthorizing the Farm Bill.” Goule says NAWG past president Gordon Stoner of Montana will assume duties and role of president until the next officer election at the 2018 Commodity Classic.
Schemm was elected at this year’s Classic and was at the Farm Progress Show doing interviews and talking about wheat industry priorities for the 2018 farm bill. Chuck interviewed him there and he became a member of the Golden Mic club. Interview with David Schemm, NAWG at 2017 FPS