ARA Explores Lessons Learned From Dicamba

Cindy Zimmerman

Two respected weed scientists presented their views on the lessons learned from this year’s introduction of new dicamba formulations for control of resistant weeds at a pre-conference workshop for the Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) this week.

Dr. Ford Baldwin, Practical Weed Consultants, was extension weed scientist at the University of Arkansas for 28 years. Dr. Stanley Culpepper is a professor and Extension Agronomist in the Crop and Soil Science Department at the University of Georgia. Each had very different experiences with dicamba products in their states this year and shared their stories with ag retailers with the goal of applying the lessons learned to next year.

Arkansas led the nation in dicamba complaints in 2017 with over 1000, while Georgia had none. Listen to their presentations below.

Dicamba Lessons Learned, Ford Baldwin, Arkansas
Dicamba Lessons Learned, Stanley Culpepper, UGA
2017 ARA Conference and Expo Photo Album

AgWired Precision, ARA, Crop Protection, Herbicide, weed management

AdFarm Announces Changes

Cindy Zimmerman

AdFarm has made some organizational changes for the future, including the appointment of Ben Graham as president of the agency.

Graham moves into his new position after a 20-year tenure with AdFarm in various strategic roles. Hailing from a third generation Alberta farm family, Graham brings to his role more than 20 years of experience in leading strategic brand and communications efforts on behalf of leading companies in crop protection, equipment and technology, animal health and commodities.

Julia King has been named as Director of Client Services (U.S.) and Tracy Clark as Director of Client Services (Canada). King joins AdFarm with more than 15 years’ experience in account planning, research and strategic planning. Clark has been with the agency in Canada since 2014.

Agencies

Precision Ag Bytes 11/29

Carrie Muehling

  • Join seed industry leaders from across the world for the American Seed Trade Association’s (ASTA) 57th Vegetable & Flower Seed Conference, January 27 – 30 in San Diego. The annual Vegetable & Flower Seed Conference brings nearly 1,000 registrants from over 30 countries for education, policy discussions, and a Trading Room featuring the latest in seed-industry innovations. The conference will be held at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina.
  • Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group announces the launch of the United States business division. As China’s largest manufacturer of fertilizers made from seaweed, Seawin Biotech Group is the industry leader in China, with a 17-year history of providing high quality products. Producing nearly 100 seaweed-derived fertilizer and bio-stimulant products serving the plant nutrient needs of Chinese agriculture, the company has significant production resources; two seaweed harvesting and processing vessels with a total displacement of 10,000 tons, three world-class production platforms and a nationwide distribution network covering the entire Chinese domestic market.
  • Italpollina, a world leader in the production of organic fertilizers, biostimulants of natural origin
    and beneficial microbials, announces that they will build a U.S. science and technology park
    around the sustainability and innovation principles of agriculture. Located in Anderson, Indiana, the park will begin construction in early 2018 near the new Purdue Polytechnic Anderson facility, a direct extension of the Purdue Polytechnic Institute of Purdue University.

  • The Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska has released its 2017 Annual Report highlighting projects, initiatives, impacts and achievements to advance the institute’s mission to create a more water and food secure world.

AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes

Valagro Showcases Innovation at Biostimulants Congress

Cindy Zimmerman

One of the gold sponsors at the 3rd Biostimulants World Congress in Miami this week is industry pioneer Valagro.

“Valegro started in business in 1980…so for the past 30 and more years, we have been developing biostimulants,” said Mario Mastrangelo, Valagro USA country manager. The company is headquartered in Atessa, Italy with a product distribution network covering more than 80 countries. “Our main geography in the USA is California, Florida, and the Midwest.” Valagro is using virtual reality at the Congress to showcase the company’s strong commitment to research and development with a virtual tour through their facilities.

This is the first time the Congress has been hosted in the United States, which Mastrangelo says is significant because the use of biostimulants is growing significantly here. “We are seeing an increase in the adoption rate and U.S. farmers have started asking about biostimulants,” he added. “The North America market is projected to become the biggest market for biostimulants in the near future.”

Learn more about Valagro and the biostimulants congress in this interview. Interview with Mario Mastrangelo, Valgro USA

The 3rd Biostimulants World Congress is being held through November 30th, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Miami with more than 1,200 delegates from around the world expected to participate.

AgWired Precision, Audio, Biologicals, Events

StollerUSA Offering New Formulations

Carrie Muehling

New formulations from StollerUSA are helping growers to unleash the power of the plant with products like Fortified Stimulate Yield Enhancer Plus. The refresh of StollerUSA’s very successful Stimulate product offers an early start with a key growth hormone of the plant and an overall longer lasting effect through the growing season.

We provide and develop products that allow the plants to manage stress, also to improve efficiencies through the root uptake of nutrients,” said Larry Lintner, regional sales manager for the Central Plains region. “In doing that, we are allowing the plant to convert its power that it normally uses and energy that it uses to fight those issues, to actually turning that power into yield production. So we are allowing that plant to unleash its full power and its full genetic potential so that yields can be achieved.”

Lintner said plant health becomes even more important when margins are slim, but products like Fortified Stimulate Yield Enhancer Plus and BioForge Advance can increase yields by 8-12 bushels per acre when used correctly.

Listen to Chuck’s interview from NAFB Trade Talk: Interview with Larry Lintner, StollerUSA

2017 NAFB Convention Photos

Coverage of the NAFB Convention is sponsored by
Coverage of the NAFB Convention is sponsored by FMC
AgWired Precision, Audio, NAFB

Ag Retailers Celebrating Silver Anniversary

Cindy Zimmerman

The Agricultural Retailers Association is celebrating 25 years of service to support sellers of seeds, nutrients, crop protection products, farm equipment, precision technology and agronomic services.

The organization is holding its annual conference and expo this week in Phoenix to look back on the accomplishments of the past 25 years and ahead to the future of the industry. Tim McArdle of Brandt Consolidated has served as chairman of ARA for the past year and he says it has been a very good year.

“Obviously, this has been the year of Trump, and we’ve seen some deregulation,” said McArdle. He said one of the biggest victories for the organization was retaining the process safety management (PSM) retail exemption for agricultural retailers. “We recouped a little bit of money that we spent on that and that really makes a big difference.”

McArdle says that ARA helps retailers be better suppliers for their farmer customers, and he encourages any retailers who are not members to consider it.

Interview with outgoing ARA chair Tim McArdle
2017 ARA Conference and Expo Photo Album

Agribusiness, AgWired Precision, ARA, Audio

Foodies Discovering Sorghum

Carrie Muehling

The consumer food market is the next big push for the sorghum industry. While uses for sorghum in the livestock feed and biofuels sectors will continue to be very important, sorghum growers believe grocery stores and restaurants are the next frontier for their product, according to Doug Bice, market development director with the National Sorghum Checkoff.

“Whether we’re doing a big expo or going in front of groups like Wal-Mart, we’re showing the diverse ways sorghum can be utilized. Whether it’s a snack, whether it’s a salad garnishment, whether it’s a soup, whether it’s popped sorghum as a snack,” said Bice. “It’s even more than just a gluten issue. It’s just bringing a healthy profile to your diet on a daily basis and figuring out how to do that. It’s so easy with sorghum.”

Bice said there are now more than 1,000 food product lines that contain sorghum, and restaurant menu selections including the grain have increased eight-fold. Consumers can find over 300 recipes at www.simplysorghum.com.

Listen to Chuck’s interview from NAFB Trade Talk: Interview with Doug Bice, National Sorghum Checkoff

2017 NAFB Convention Photos

Coverage of the NAFB Convention is sponsored by
Coverage of the NAFB Convention is sponsored by FMC
Audio, NAFB, sorghum

Trade Tops Priority List for Beef Sector

Jamie Johansen

A fourth-generation rancher on the central coast of California, Kevin Kester is president-elect for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA). I was able to catch up with him during the National Association of Farm Broadcasting’s annual event to learn about NCBA’s top priorities going into 2018.

As you can guess trade will top their list. Kester is on Secretary of Agriculture’s and Trade Ambassador’s advisory policy committee for trade. Kester said, “The message agriculture and specifically the beef sector is giving is ‘don’t do us any harm.’ For beef, Canada and Mexico are our biggest trading partners. Right now in NAFTA, U.S. cattlemen don’t have any tariffs or quota limitations. It’s hard to improve on no trade barriers.”

When it comes to TPP, Kester believes bilateral trade agreements are needed starting with Japan. “Overall trade is growing across the globe. Keeping demand up. Prices back home on the farm or ranch are staying pretty darn good,” Kester said.

Public land issues also keep NCBA busy. As a western landowner, they also sit close to home for Kester. Common sense reform in the Endangered Species Act and better communication with the Bureau of Land Management and U.S Forest Service sit center-stage.

Listen to my complete conversation with Kevin to learn more: Interview with Kevin Kester, NCBA

2017 NAFB Convention Photos

Coverage of the NAFB Convention is sponsored by
Coverage of the NAFB Convention is sponsored by FMC
Ag Groups, AgWired Animal, Audio, Beef, NAFB, NCBA, Trade

Delaro from Bayer Coming Soon

Cindy Zimmerman

Bayer will soon be launching a new fungicide called Delaro for U.S. growers that has a dual mode-of-action and broader spectrum of disease control.

“Delaro is going to be our new foliar fungicide mostly for corn and soybeans,” said Thorsten Schwindt, Bayer Senior Product Manager, during an interview at the NAFB convention earlier this month. “We really designed it for growers who really try to achieve their personal best every season.”

Schwindt says Delaro has unmatched disease control, particularly with strobiluran-resistant diseases. “We feel that Delaro is a product designed for the future,” he added.

Watch for this product to be released in the very near future for the 2018 growing season.

Learn more about Delaro in this interview: Interview with Thorsten Schwindt, Bayer

2017 NAFB Convention Photos

AgWired Precision, Audio, Bayer, Fungicide, NAFB

Animal Ag Bites 11/27

Carrie Muehling

  • Attendees of the Alltech Wisconsin Dairy School on Nov. 30 in Green Bay will have the opportunity to learn how to successfully integrate past traditions and today’s technology to prepare for the future of their farm. Guests will also hear from Green Bay Packers Hall of Famer and host of “Packers Live,” Larry McCarren.
  • The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association will host an “End of Year Policy Issues Update” as part of the group’s Cattlemen’s Webinar Series. NCBA’s Washington, D.C. staff will recap 2017 issues from trade to taxes to Federal lands. Click here to register for the December 18 webinar.
  • Cooperatives Working Together has accepted 17 requests for export assistance from members Dairy Farmers of America, Northwest Dairy Association (Darigold) and Tillamook County Creamery Association that have contracts to sell 3.479 million pounds of Cheddar cheese to customers in the Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.
AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Animal Bites