Weather Variability Affecting Silage Crop

Carrie Muehling

Dairy producers at the 2017 World Dairy Expo had two primary questions for Alltech Farm Specialist Pat Crowley regarding silage. Those questions centered around variability of the crop this year because of unique weather patterns in the Midwest, and what to expect from the silage because of those factors.

Crowley says farmers are typically producing silage each fall they will use for the next 12 to 18 months. Analysis of fresh samples straight out of the field can help them to know what to expect from each year’s crop. But Crowley says producing good silage begins with planting.

“If you want quality in the end, we’ve got to start with quality in the beginning. We’ve got to look at correct seed selection, correct tillage practices, what type of fertilizers,” said Crowley.

Other factors later in the season like chopping height can also be a factor. Crowley likes to sit down with both producers and custom harvesters to ensure everyone is on the same page before heading into a new season.

Listen to Jamie’s interview with Pat Crowley here: Interview with Pat Crowley, Alltech

2017 World Dairy Expo Photo Album

Coverage of World Dairy Expo is sponsored by Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Alltech  Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Hubbard Feeds
AgWired Animal, Alltech, Animal Agriculture, Audio, World Dairy Expo

Hubbard Fitting Well Into Alltech Family

Carrie Muehling

Hubbard Feeds is a heritage brand with a strong history. Today Hubbard is a part of the Alltech family, and that transition has gone very well, says Ken Petersen, general manager for the central part of the United States covering an area from Minnesota to Missouri.

“Our focus in the past has always been on animals that produce meat, milk and eggs. I think that will continue to be our main focus,” said Petersen. “But I think what will set us apart from others in the industry is the technologies that Alltech has and they’ve always been a leader in that area, and I think that’s been one of the things that has made them so strong.”

Petersen says new technologies will continue to lead Hubbard into the future, especially with a transition away from antibiotics in the animal feed industry.

Listen to Jamie’s interview with Ken Petersen here: Interview with Ken Petersen, Hubbard

2017 World Dairy Expo Photo Album

Coverage of World Dairy Expo is sponsored by Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Alltech  Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Hubbard Feeds
AgWired Animal, Alltech, Animal Agriculture, Audio, World Dairy Expo

Florida Citrus Production Takes Hit From Irma

Cindy Zimmerman

Aerial view of flooded citrus groves after Hurricane Irma from Sen. Rubio tour

Just when the Florida citrus industry was hoping to rebound somewhat from the devastation caused by citrus greening in recent years, Irma came along and blew away a good part of this year’s production.

The first citrus forecast for the season from USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service is calling for the all orange forecast for the 2017-2018 season to 4.34 million tons, down 16 percent from the 2016-2017 final utilization.

The Florida all orange forecast, at 54.0 million boxes (2.43 million tons), is down 21 percent from last season’s final utilization. Early, midseason, and Navel varieties in Florida are forecast at 23.0 million boxes (1.04 million tons), down 30 percent from last season’s final utilization. The Florida Valencia orange forecast, at 31.0 million boxes (1.40 million tons), is down 13 percent from last season’s final utilization.

The California forecast is also lower than last year at 35.0 million boxes (1.40 million tons), down 11 percent from last season’s final utilization, while the Texas all orange forecast, at 1.65 million boxes (70,000 tons), is up 20 percent from last year.

AgNet Media has carried the citrus forecast live from USDA for many years. Listen to Gary Cooper with Candi Erick, agricultural statistics administrator with the Florida Agricultural Statistics Service, who gives the numbers: AgNet Media Oct 2017 Citrus Crop Forecast

Audio, Citrus, USDA

ZimmCast with Simon Pampena

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCast 560This week’s Youth Ag Summit in Brussels, Belgium featured moderator Simon Pampena, Australian Numeracy Ambassador and contributor to Science Channel’s Outrageous Acts of Science. Jamie Johansen is on location there and talked with Simon about what he does which includes being a professional nerd and math comedian.

Simon also moderated the Summit in Australia two years ago. He says science, like agriculture, needs to become better at telling stories. He loves engaging with young people, motivating them and seeing them make connections and become agvocates. You can learn more in this week’s program.

Listen to the ZimmCast here: ZimmCast with Simon Pampena

You can find more of Jamie’s coverage of the Youth Ag Summit on AgNewsWire.

2017 Youth Ag Summit Photo Album

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

The ZimmCast

sponsored by
The ZimmCast podcast is sponsored by GROWMARK
Locally owned, globally strong.
Bayer, ZimmCast

AFBF Endorses Farmers for Free Trade

Cindy Zimmerman

American Farm Bureau Federation Zippy Duvall took part in a press conference this week to support Farmers for Free Trade, a bipartisan campaign to rebuild support for trade at the grassroots level.

Farmers for Free Trade, led by former Senators Max Baucus and Richard Lugar, is a bipartisan, non-profit organization that informs, mobilizes and amplifies the voice of U.S. farmers and ranchers who depend on worldwide markets. This critical grassroots push comes at a time when trade is under fire, despite the fact that U.S. farmers export half of all major commodities, contributing to a $20 billion agricultural trade surplus this year and supporting millions of rural jobs.

The press conference call also included remarks from Farmers for Free Trade Co-Chairs Baucus and Lugar, Sara Lilygren, President of the Farmers for Free Trade Board; and Kansas Farm Bureau President Rich Felts.

Thanks to Julie Harker with Brownfield Ag News for sharing the audio – but there is a lot of background and extraneous noise, likely caused by the number of participants on open lines.
FFT presser opening comments
FFT presser questions

AFBF, Ag Groups, Audio, Trade

FS FAST STOP Retailers Registered as TOP TIER™ Diesel Fuel Sites

Cindy Zimmerman

FS FAST STOP locations are among the first to become registered TOP TIER™ Diesel Fuel sites under a program developed by leading diesel equipment manufacturers who recognized the benefits of additized diesel fuel in their engines.

The TOP TIER program, originally launched in 2004, focused on gasoline standards before introducing a diesel fuel standard this September. FAST STOP locations featuring Dieselex® Gold are among the first retailers to earn the new certification.

“We strive to provide the best fuel standard in the industry by not only meeting, but exceeding, the new TOP TIER Diesel Fuel standards,” said Curt Dunafin, GROWMARK energy services manager. “Additional performance benefits of Dieslex Gold include: cleaning up dirty engines, controlling moisture, faster starts, lower emissions, and extending storage stability.”

In this interview, Dunafin talks about why quality diesel fuel is important, especially with new engine efficiencies.

Interview with Curt Dunafin, GROWMARK Energy
Audio, Energy, FS System, GROWMARK

Improving Crops Through Biological Products

Carrie Muehling

Alltech Crop Science is bringing biological and natural products into crops to make them better. Technical Advisor Brian Springer says the company has a broad portfolio that really sets it apart from similar companies that only offer one or two products.

When working with dairy customers like those at the 2017 World Dairy Expo, Springer often answers questions about how to help improve silage.

“And it’s not only about tonnage. A lot of times it’s about quality. If you can get more milk per ton of the same silage, that’s important. So we really do focus on that,” Springer said. “We have a lot of research done in Wisconsin specifically on those topics. We look at plant health. We look at the nutrition going into the plant and the nutrition coming back out.”

Springer says Alltech has people collaborating from both the animal side and the plant health side to help identify problems and find solutions on the farm.

Listen to Jamie’s interview with Brian Springer here: Interview with Brian Springer, Alltech Crop Science

2017 World Dairy Expo Photo Album

Coverage of World Dairy Expo is sponsored by Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Alltech  Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Hubbard Feeds
AgWired Animal, Alltech, Audio, Crop Science, World Dairy Expo

National Hay Association: Forages Important to Dairy Industry

Carrie Muehling

National Hay Association President Amy Freeburg has been a commercial hay grower supplying the dairy industry for 45 years. Alfalfa hay is a key feed used in the dairy industry, but Freeburg says wheat straw is also used in dairy rations because it floats in the rumen of the cow. Members of the association also grow grasses for dairy goats, horses and to sell to zoos.

Freeburg says technology has become prevalent in the forage industry just as it has in other parts of agriculture. Her booth at the 2017 World Dairy Expo included a brand new probe to take temperature and moisture readings of individual hay bales.

“The end user on the other end can see how hot the hay got, or how much moisture was in it before it started to cool back down. It’s quite a new technology. The back side of it is, though, that your hay barns have to have wifi because these little probes all have to have some kind of an internet connection,” she said.

Freeburg said the forage market has also become a global market, with China, Japan and India representing important export opportunities.

Listen to more of Jamie’s interview with Amy Freeburg here: Interview with Amy Freeburg, National Hay Association

2017 World Dairy Expo Photo Album

Coverage of World Dairy Expo is sponsored by Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Alltech  Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Hubbard Feeds
AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Audio, Forage, World Dairy Expo

#YouthAgSummit Explores Innovation in an Age of Acceleration

Carrie Muehling

Innovation can mean different things, but Bayer Crop Science Head of Research and Development Adrian Percy describes it this way.

“For me, it’s bringing value to growers,” Percy said. “It’s bringing something new that they need, that will actually help in their operations, perhaps make them more efficient, help them perhaps access different markets, but it’s also about bringing something that’s acceptable to consumers and that’s a lot of what we talked about today.”

Percy addressed youth delegates at the 2017 Youth Ag Summit, sharing his excitement about advancements in areas like precision agriculture and plant breeding. He was inspired by working with the youth delegates in attendance.

“What inspires me is the energy, the hope, the passion for what they’re doing. They’re discovering things about themselves and what they want to do in life. They’re seeing agriculture as a tremendous place to be,” he said.

Listen to Jamie’s interview with Adrian Percy here: Interview with Adrian Percy, Head R&D Bayer Crop Science

View and download photos from the event here: 2017 Youth Ag Summit Photo Album

AgWired Precision, Audio, Bayer

The Future of Eating Digitally

Carrie Muehling

Caleb Harper describes himself as an anti-disciplinary person who did not succeed in the traditional school setting. But his ideas and his curious mind eventually landed him at MIT, where he now is Principal Investigator and Director of the Open Agriculture (Open Ag) Initiative at the MIT Media Lab.

Harper addressed 100 youth in attendance at the 2017 Youth Ag Summit with a message about the fourth ag revolution and eating digitally. He talked about climate democracy, sharing that today’s world contains the access to data and computing power that could allow the creation of climates for agriculture in places where those don’t already exist. Harper says the face of the next generation farmer is also important.

“People totally undervalue and just don’t understand how incredibly complex the world of agriculture is. So, incentivizing that young person to even think there is the potential for a career out there is part of what I love doing,” Harper said.

Harper encouraged young people to stop talking and start creating.

Hear more of Jamie’s interview with Caleb Harper here: Interview with Caleb Harper, MIT Media Lab

View and download photos from the event here: 2017 Youth Ag Summit Photo Album

AgWired Animal, Audio, Bayer