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.
Thanksgiving Dinner Will Cost Less Than Last Year
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
FMC Freedom Pass for the VIP Farmer
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
Coverage of the NAFB Convention is sponsored by
Grease is the Word for Biodiesel Documentary
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.
Trade, Farm Bill & Taxes…Oh My!
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
Coverage of the NAFB Convention is sponsored by
USFRA Continues to Grow and EngAGe
Secretary Perdue visits with USFRA at #NAFB17
“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
Coverage of the NAFB Convention is sponsored by
ZimmCast from the #NAFB17 – Part 2
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
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Kicking Veal Misconceptions to the Curb
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
Coverage of the NAFB Convention is sponsored by
Celebrating a Century of John Deere Tractors
John Deere is celebrating 100 years of building tractors in 2018. The company has already recognized that milestone with a commemorative badge that goes to every buyer of a 2018 model year tractor. Tiffany Turner, product marketing manager for large series tractors, said social media campaigns will be a big part of marking this milestone.
“We all know that there is a story behind every tractor, right? I started to drive on the 4020. I could tell you a lot of stories and I know my dad could, too. So, one of the things is, we want to get some of those stories,” said Turner.
John Deere purchased the Waterloo Gasoline Company on March 14, 1918. The company plans a ribbon cutting at its Tractor and Engine Museum in Waterloo on March 14, 2018, as well as a Father’s Day Weekend celebration also in Waterloo to honor the century mark.
Learn more in this interview from NAFB Trade Talk: Interview with Tiffany Turner, John Deere
Coverage of the NAFB Convention is sponsored by
Precision Ag Bytes 11/15
AgGateway teams working on standards for grain tracking ran a successful field trial last month on a corn farm in Olney, Ill., a major step forward in enabling the efficient tracking of harvested grain from harvester to grain cart, grain cart to truck, truck to elevator, and elevator to processor. Details of the proof-of-concept were unveiled at last week’s AgGateway Annual Conference in San Diego.- There’s still time to register for the world’s largest event on agricultural biostimulants, November 27-30 at the Hyatt Regency, Miami, Florida. The 3rd Biostimulants World Congress is an international scientific and technical congress to review the latest knowledge on these products, which are increasingly used in crop production around the world.
- Topcon Agriculture allows control of multiple products with variable rate along with section control across multiple booms with the addition of its ISOBUS universal terminal to the Opus A6 and A8 consoles. ISOBUS adds another dimension to the existing hardware and software development platform, with multiple programming options.
- Topcon Agriculture also adds cellular and WiFi capability to its X-Family consoles with Cloudlynk-10, which is designed to allow producers to access TAP, XTEND and remote support from the console. The data sharing application allows seamless transfer of as-applied data from the X-Family console into TAP with the touch of a button.
- Topcon Agriculture also introduces an IoT Farm Management Information System (FMIS) application for data analytics and visualization, designed to leverage existing Topcon hardware to help make farm data analytics easier to use. The cloud-based platform offers a centralized hub for both machine and agronomic data to enable data sharing.