Vroom Announces Retirement From CropLife America

Cindy Zimmerman

CropLife America will be in the market for a new president and CEO next year, as Jay Vroom has given notice that he will retire at the end of 2018, which will mark his 30th year at the helm of the organization.

Vroom announced his plans Monday during the general session at the 2017 CLA Annual Meeting in Dana Point, California. “When I stepped into this role in 1988, I don’t think I could have foreseen the challenges and triumphs the industry would encounter over the past three decades,” Vroom stated. “I’m proud to have represented the industry as we addressed important issues ranging from Farm Bills to the Food Quality Protection Act and ESA to PREA. No matter which of the six presidential administrations or sixteen congresses were in office, CLA only grew its reputation as a resource in the agriculture sector.”

Vroom plans to stay involved in agriculture after his retirement and spending more time on his family farms in Illinois.Read More

Ag Groups, Agribusiness

Conaway Comments on Cotton Damage in Texas

Cindy Zimmerman

Harvey damaged cotton in Texas (USDA photo)

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway (R-TX) toured south Texas last week with Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to see first hand some of the agricultural damage caused by Hurricane Harvey.

Conaway and Perdue viewed the area by helicopter and visited farms that were anticipating a record crop before the snow white fields of cotton were covered in flood waters from the storm. “When that water settled out, it basically coated all those plants, cotton bolls about to be harvested, with mud,” said Conaway, who adds that the smell from the rotting cotton is “pretty obnoxious.”

Check out the USDA photo album of the tour and listen to these comments from Conaway, provided by his office. Rep. Conaway comments on Harvey damage

AgWired Precision, Audio, Cotton

Crappie Masters National Champs Appreciate Ethanol

Carrie Muehling

The recent 2017 Crappie Masters National Championship, sponsored in part by the Renewable Fuels Association, American Ethanol, and Bass Pro Shops, saw Missouri fishermen Paul Alpers and Phillip Haynes finishing on top. The partners fought unseasonably hot weather and dropping river levels as they brought in a two-day total weight of 21.89 pounds. They use ethanol in their vehicles and in their boats, and shared an appreciation for the quality and the value of the fuel.

“Anything you can save, especially on the fuel, and I appreciate everything they’re doing to make it cheaper on the folks,” says Alpers.

This year’s champions shared their enthusiasm for the sport and their confidence in ethanol after winning the recent competition.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Paul Alpers and Phillip Haynes here: Paul Alpers & Phillip Haynes, 2017 Crappie Masters Tournament National Champions

Check out photos from the event here: Crappie Masters National Championship photo album

Audio, Ethanol, RFA

SMART Farmer Emily Buck

Cindy Zimmerman

Emily Buck farms with her husband and daughter near Columbus, Ohio where they raise soybeans, corn and wheat and also have a small sheep operation. Her main role on the farm, beyond helping with crops, is to manage the 40 ewes.

Off the farm, Emily is a university researcher and professor of agricultural communication at Ohio State University, which gives her the opportunity to also raise future agricultural advocates. In addition, she serves as one of the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance’s (USFRA) Faces of Farming & Ranching.

Learn more about Emily in this edition – SMART Farmer Podcast with Emily Buck, Ohio farmer

Subscribe to the SMART Farmer podcast

Learn more about USFRA and SMART Farm

AgWired Animal, AgWired Precision, Audio, USFRA

FS Simulator Ensures Professional Application

Jamie Johansen

When the idea of GROWMARK’s FS Simulator was brought to FS operations managers it was hit with many questions. However, with input, advice, and research the questionable idea turned into a valuable tool managers are eager to introduce to their teams. The FS Simulator is centered around a training module for FS System operators to allowing the practice, study, and enhancement of ability, knowledge, and safety skills.

Jason Harrison, Sunrise FS, said, “I think it is something that is new to the industry that will be used in the future. My job is to find qualified individuals to do the application job at our company. It’s tougher and tougher to get people and even harder to get them trained properly.”

Harrison said he is excited to get new operators behind the virtual wheel so he can take the time to highlight safety concerns, environmental issues and sharpen skills. “Clients pay for a professional job and we want to give them that.”

Interview with Jason Harrison, Sunrise FS

Bob Eichelberger, Evergreen FS, said, “We owe it to our customers, our farmer/owners to do a better job training. With this simulator, we can train an operator year round and they will walk away with a good idea as to what they will face going down the road and in the field.”

Eichelberger said many of his operators have been in the seat for a number of years and will still benefit from the training modules. Equipment is getting bigger and roads are getting busier. Operation managers understand that and believe all will benefit.

Interview with Bob Eichelberger, Evergreen FS

View and download photos from the event here: GROWMARK FS Simulator Media Event Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, Crop Protection, FS System, GROWMARK

USDA Trade Mission Heading to Brazil

Cindy Zimmerman

A USDA Foreign Agriculture Service trade mission to São Paulo and Recife, Brazil, is underway this week with leaders from 24 U.S. agribusinesses and trade organizations looking to expand their agricultural exports and further develop their business relationships in Brazil.

“Brazil holds significant untapped market potential for U.S. exporters,” said Mark Slupek, deputy administrator of the Office of Trade Programs for USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service. “The country’s growing population and rising per-capita income, coupled with the fact that Brazilian consumers have a high regard for U.S. products and brands, make this a market well worth exploring for American exporters.”

Last year, Brazil purchased nearly $1.4 billion in agricultural and related products from the United States. Top U.S. exports to Brazil in 2016 included ethanol, wheat, prepared foods and dairy products.

The delegation traveling to Brazil represents a range of U.S. products, from prepared foods and specialty food ingredients to bulk commodities and ethanol. Companies and organizations represented on the trip include Alltech, United Dairymen, U.S. Rice Federation, U.S. Grains Council, and all three ethanol industry groups.

AgWired Animal, Alltech, Ethanol, Exports, Trade, USDA

Animal Ag Bites 9/25

Kelly Marshall

  • The 47th Annual American Gelbvieh Association National Convention will be held December 7-9, 2017, at the Hyatt Regency Wichita in Wichita, Kansas. Early registration ends October 31.
  • The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has released a safety communication concerning the use of Micotil 300 in cattle and sheep.
  • If you haven’t registered for the 2017 Angus Convention November 4-6 in Forth Worth, Texas, now is the time.  Registration is $125 through September 30.
  • The Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board has approved a plan to invest $38 million into programs that promote beef, research, consumer communication, industry information, foreign markets, and producer communication in 2018.
  • Mary Doerschuck of Okawville, Illinois has joined Brookside Agra as Product Restoration & Compliance Manager.
  • The Regional Marketing Ambassadors for the 2018 Cattle Industry Convention & NCBA Trade Show have been selected. They are: Heidi Crnkovic, Arizona; Callie Taylor, West Virginia; Markie Hageman, Alabama; Katie Zoromski, Wisconsin; Carrie Meeks, Indiana; Katie Schlock, Oregon; Blaire Strohn, California; and Jaclyn Wilson, Nebraska.
  • The U.S. Poultry & Egg Association (USPOULTRY) has created it’s sixth video highlighting environmental stewardship in the poultry and egg industry.  This newest edition features USPOULTRY’s Family Farm Environmental Excellence Award winners, Bullard Farms in Stedman, North Carolina.
  • Smithfield Foods, Inc. has joined the Global Harvest Initiative to help advance sustainable solutions to feed a growing world.
AgWired Animal, Animal Bites

Talking with Bayer Crop Science, Global Research Head

Chuck Zimmerman

Adrian Percy, Global Head of Research and Development, Crop Science, a division of Bayer, met with the U.S. press during this week’s Future of Farming Dialog in Germany. I asked him about the effect of Hurricane Irma on the citrus greening project that was recently announced since so much of the Florida crop was devastated this season. He says that it’s too early to tell what it means to research in the Florida citrus growing region but that this is a long term project and they can get started in their own research facilities in the mean time.

On the subject of the global environment for new product development Percy says that “We don’t have a harmonized regulatory system and we certainly don’t have a harmonized way of accepting technology into the different markets we work.” This means that new technologies are getting introduced at very different times in different countries and regions.

Listen to our interview with Percy here: Adrian Percy, Bayer

2017 Future of Farming Dialog Photo Album

Agribusiness, AgWired Precision, Audio, Bayer, Research

NAMA Honors Professional Development Award Winners

Cindy Zimmerman

Kelly Schwalbe, Jill DeLucero, and Linda Frerichs

At the NAMA Fall Conference this week, the National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) honored the winners of the 2017 Professional Development Awards, recognizing the best of the best in marketing communications, product/species management, public relations, and sales.

Linda Frerichs earned the 2017 Marketing Communications Award as Head of Global and North American Communications at Arysta LifeScience, the award for Product and Species Management was presented to Jill DeLucero, Senior Director, Association Marketing at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association; and Sage partner and public relations director Kelly Schwalbe received the Public Relations Award.

Don Tourte (left) and Amy Bradford present award to Dave Korbelik

The Sales award recipient is Dave Korbelik, Vice President of Go-to-Marketing Solutions at Beck Ag, who had to leave before we got the group photos at the end of the general session.

PDA award winners are nominated by their peers based on their outstanding work in the field.

Congratulations to all!

We do have all the photos uploaded now, both in our Flickr account and NAMA’s.

2017 NAMA Fall Conference photo album

NAMA

Corn Stover Could Generate Electricity

Cindy Zimmerman

Corn biomass residue. Photo Credit: Joanna Schroeder

Two new studies show that generating energy from corn stover biomass could create a new market for farmers and increase the value of ethanol by reducing its overall carbon footprint. The studies are based on the premise that the crop residue left behind in the fields after corn to be used for ethanol is harvested.

Iowa-based Regional Strategic, Ltd. examined the economic impact of collecting, processing, and delivering corn stover byproducts of ethanol – the stalks, leaves, and stems of corn plants – for use in generating electricity. The stover is compressed into biomass pellets that can be burned like coal in existing power plants, reducing CO2 emissions and increasing renewable energy supplies. This is similar to the use of wood pellets in European power plants.

The studies were commissioned by Larksen LLC, an affiliate of Trestle Energy, a California-based biofuel company specializing in low carbon production system. Larksen estimates that corn grown for ethanol in the six major ethanol-producing states “could yield roughly 44 million tons of harvestable corn stover per year. It is conceivable that this stover could replace around 37 million tons of coal used for electricity generation.”

However, the economic studies are based on harvesting all leftover crop residue from corn going to ethanol production and do not appear to take into consideration the conservation benefits of corn stover and crop residue, much of which is left in the fields for no-till or low-tillage farming operations.

Link to report summary.

Biofuels, Corn, Energy, Ethanol