More Smart Solutions from AMVAC

ASTA Spotlights Seed at NAFB

Cindy Zimmerman November 17, 2017

ASTA team at NAFB – Chair Tracy Tally, past chair Risa DeMasi, staff Bethany Shively and Andy LaVigne

The American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) is excited about the role of seed in soil conservation and new plant breeding technology that could revolutionize the industry. Those were two of the topics ASTA officers addressed at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) annual trade talk last week.

ASTA chair Tracy Tally with Justin Seed Company in Texas says they were pleased that USDA recently announced the withdrawal of a proposed rule to revise biotechnology regulations through public comment that would impact the new field of gene editing. “We really need to make sure for the future that our regulatory and policies are set up where this technology can grow,” said Tally. “It needs to be a science-based approach.”

ASTA supports key aspects of the proposed rule, especially the recognition that some applications of gene editing result in plant varieties that are essentially equivalent to varieties developed through more traditional breeding methods, and should be treated as such from a policy perspective. Interview with ASTA Chair Tracy Tally of Justin Seed

ASTA’s annual Farm and Lawn Seed Conference is held in conjunction with the Western Seed Association’s Annual Meeting in Kansas City every year just prior to the NAFB convention. Risa DeMasi of Grassland Oregon says cover crops continues to grow as a topic of interest as more farmers are starting to use them in soil conservation efforts. “We’re really excited about just being able to talk about the good things that we’re doing to help farmers do the good things that they’re doing on the farm,” said DeMasi.

The latest cover crops survey found that acreage planted in cover crops has nearly doubled over the past five years. Interview with past ASTA chair Risa DeMasi, Grassland Oregon

2017 NAFB Convention Photos

Coverage of the NAFB Convention is sponsored by

AgWired Precision, ASTA, Audio, cover crops, NAFB, Seed

Zimfo Bytes 11/17

Carrie Muehling November 17, 2017

Registration and housing for the 2018 Commodity Classic, February 27-March 1 in Anaheim, California, is now open. All registration and housing reservations should be made online at www.commodityclassic.com.
A nationwide economic impact study released Thursday found that more than one-fifth of the nation’s economy is linked, either directly or indirectly, to the food and agriculture sectors and that more than one-fourth of all American jobs are similarly connected. Twenty-two food and agriculture organizations commissioned the research, available at www.FeedingTheEconomy.com.
The Missouri Department of Transportation added a new product to their lineup for dealing with ice and snow on the roadways. It includes a corn-based compound, called IceBan M20 or IceBan 300. The natural liquid concentrate residue from the wet milling of corn and production of alcohol is designed to keep roads ice-free longer.
Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) has selected Swanson Russell as its agency of record. BQA is sponsored by the Beef Checkoff Program and administered by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA). The group aims to maximize consumer confidence in the acceptance of beef. BQA provides a training program that stresses best practices for cattle care and well-being. Swanson Russell will be providing full earned, owned, paid and shared services for BQA including creative, social media, media relations and digital strategy.
Aerial images of orchards can effectively tell farmers which almond trees aren’t getting enough water, according to the preliminary results of a five-year study by almond researchers at the University of California Cooperative Extension, with funding support from the USDA. Maintaining ideal irrigation levels is a challenge for farmers. Detecting deficient irrigation quickly is one way aerial images offer early warnings to growers.
Several members of the Brownfield Ag News team were honored during the 74th Annual National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) Convention. Anchor/Reporter Tom Steever received the coveted NAFB Farm Broadcaster of the Year Award. Steever also received first place in the NAFB program competition for newscast and feature. Also recognized with awards for newcast, feature and video production were Brownfield farm broadcasters Mark Dorenkamp, Julie Harker, Meghan Grebner and Shannon Yokely.

Zimfo Bytes

Thanksgiving Dinner Will Cost Less Than Last Year

Carrie Muehling November 17, 2017

This year’s Thanksgiving dinner should cost slightly less than last year, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation‘s 32nd annual price survey of items traditionally used in the Thanksgiving meal. The cost of the dinner is the lowest since 2013, according to Dr. John Newton, AFBF director of market intelligence. The price decrease is primarily driven by the lower cost of the turkey, which is priced at two cents less per pound than last year.

“This holiday season we have plenty of turkeys available for the consumer,” said Newton. “USDA estimates turkey production is going to be up about one percent from where we saw it last year, and whether you’re consuming a fresh bird for Thanksgiving or a frozen bird, there should be plenty of supplies on hand.”

The shopping list for Farm Bureau’s informal survey includes turkey, bread stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, a veggie tray, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and coffee and milk, all in quantities sufficient to serve a family of 10 with plenty for leftovers.

Listen to more with Dr. John Newton here: Dr. John Newton, AFBF

AFBF, AgWired Animal, Audio, Food

FMC Freedom Pass for the VIP Farmer

Jamie Johansen November 16, 2017

The FMC-FLM+ team at NAFB trade talk

This year FMC Agricultural Solutions launched Freedom Pass to give growers exclusive agronomic and economic incentives allowing more freedom in the field. We learned more about Freedom Pass at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting Trade Talk last week from Senior Communications Manager at FMC Lisa Homer.

“It is the first time we have been involved in a grower program,” said Homer. “It is for VIP’s…Very Independent Purchasers. When we did interviews with retailers and asked what do you want in a grow brand they said simplicity and a story to tell. What’s the agronomic benefit?”

The program has four distinct pillars: Agronomic Rewards, Product Financing, Performance Assurances and Application Innovations. Lisa said this package gives a great story for retailers to share with their growers and since it is independent of any seed brand, it sets itself apart from other programs out there.

Lisa goes into more detail about the program in our complete interview. Listen or download it here: Interview with Lisa Homer, FMC

2017 NAFB Convention Photos

Coverage of the NAFB Convention is sponsored by

Agribusiness, AgWired Precision, Audio, FMC, NAFB

Grease is the Word for Biodiesel Documentary

Cindy Zimmerman November 16, 2017

Grease is the word of the day for the National Biodiesel Board, with tonight’s on-air debut of the new Discovery Impact documentary “HOT GREASE”.

NBB Director of Communications Jessica Robinson says HOT GREASE showcases what the biodiesel industry is about and the challenges it faces. “At the end of the film I felt like the audience was really rooting for biodiesel,” said Robinson, who was interviewed for the documentary and attended the premiere at the DOC NYC festival earlier this week. “The documentary crew did a great job of telling the story of an entrepreneur spirit and a blue collar workforce that joined forces to put this industry together.” Interview with Jessica Robinson, NBB

The Discovery Impact documentary HOT GREASE debuts tonight, November 16 at 9pm ET/PT on Discovery and will be available on Discovery Go and Discovery On Demand on tomorrow.

Audio, Biodiesel

Trade, Farm Bill & Taxes…Oh My!

Jamie Johansen November 16, 2017

Missouri Farm Bureau President Blake Hurst represented the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) at last week’s NAFB Trade Talk. As you can guess, trade, 2018 farm bill and tax reform were key issues we discussed.

When it comes to NAFTA renegotiations, Hurst said, “U.S. agriculture can see some benefits from this renegotiation. We can see changes to phytosanitary rules. We can see improvements in dairy trade with our Canadian neighbors. So, there is hope.”

Last week we had confirmation that we will not see a vote on the 2018 farm bill this year. No surprise there. State Farm Bureau’s are working on their own resolutions which will be presented at the AFBF Convention in January. Hurst said three key issues he believes will be priorities are county to county differences in ARC payments, dairy and cotton programs.

We wrapped up our chat talking taxes. Listen to my complete interview to hear that and more on infrastructure and the need for wide-spread rural broadband. Interview with Blake Hurst, Missouri Farm Bureau

2017 NAFB Convention Photos

Coverage of the NAFB Convention is sponsored by

AFBF, Ag Groups, AgWired Animal, AgWired Precision, Audio, Farm Bill, NAFB, Trade

USFRA Continues to Grow and EngAGe

Carrie Muehling November 16, 2017

Secretary Perdue visits with USFRA at #NAFB17

The U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) celebrated its seventh anniversary of helping provide a voice for agriculture on the national stage at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting convention in Kansas City last week.

“There were six original organizations…we’re up to over 100 now,” said USFRA CEO Randy Krotz. USFRA elected four new board members at the meeting – James Adams representing the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, Steve Geick with John Deere, DuPont Pioneer’s Amanda Rinehart, and Blair Van Zetten from the American Egg Board – to join the 18-member Board of Directors.

During the board meeting, USFRA showcased its consumer-facing activities in 2017, including SMART Farm, where USFRA used 360-degree video technology to bring the farm to the consumer at events like the Consumer Electronics Show and the South Beach Wine and Food Festival. “USFRA goes to places that a pork, or cattle, or corn or soybean organization would maybe not go by themselves,” said USFRA chair Brad Greenway, a hog farmer from South Dakota.

Greenway says the SMART farm concept resonates with millennials and USFRA will be carrying it forward into 2018. Other programs and major initiatives for 2018 include the Food Evolution film promotion and enhanced distribution, as well as an exciting new app, engAGe, which aims to activate farmer and rancher voices on digital and social media platforms.

Learn more about USFRA programs in these interviews:
Interview with Randy Krotz, USFRA
Interview with Brad Greenway, USFRA

2017 NAFB Convention Photos

Coverage of the NAFB Convention is sponsored by

Audio, NAFB, USFRA

ZimmCast from the #NAFB17 – Part 2

Chuck Zimmerman November 15, 2017

Hello folks. The ZimmComm Team is in post-NAFB Convention recovery which includes editing and publishing interviews and other content we created in Kansas City last week. This week’s program includes feature interviews with our sponsors who help make everything happen.

In the program we’re featuring interviews with FMC’s Mike Krull about the FMC/Dupont integration, GROWMARK’s Tim Berkland about their Enduring Farms program and AMVAC’s Jim Lappin who talks about some new products on the market. You’ll also be able to hear an excerpt from our Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, who made his first visit to the meeting.

I don’t know how many interviews we actually did during the annual NAFB convention but we are collecting them all into a Virtual Ag Newsroom on you know where – AgNewsWire!

Listen to the ZimmCast here: ZimmCast 566 - Feature Interviews with FMC, GROWMARK and AMVAC

Coverage of the NAFB Convention is sponsored by

Subscribe to the ZimmCast podcast here. Use this url in iTunes or your favorite news reader program/app.

The ZimmCast

sponsored by

Locally owned, globally strong.

Audio, Bayer, FMC, GROWMARK, ZimmCast

Kicking Veal Misconceptions to the Curb

Jamie Johansen November 15, 2017

The 2017 National Association of Farm Broadcasting’s Trade Talk gives voice to agriculture. There we were able to speak with the American Veal Association (AVA) for the first time. Misconceptions flood this industry and I for one, learned many things while speaking with Dr. Marissa Hake, AVA veterinarian who covers herd health in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio.

“One of the biggest misconceptions the industry has been working on the last 10 years is how they are raised. Ten years ago they moved away from crates and into group housing. The veal you buy on the market now is housed in groups of two to 10. They can stand up, lay down, move around and interact naturally. American veal producers have invested in remodeling and new barns to better serve these calves,” Dr. Hake said.

Size is also a misconception. Calves are about five to six months old and weigh about 450 to 500 lbs. They are also never dehorned or castrated and Dr. Hake reminds us that it is illegal to use growth-promoting implants in veal calves.

Listen to my complete interview with Marissa to hear how they are communicating with the consumer and why you should choose veal for that nice meal out. Interview with Dr. Marissa Hake, American Veal Association

2017 NAFB Convention Photos

Coverage of the NAFB Convention is sponsored by

Ag Groups, AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Beef, Food, Meat, NAFB

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