Animal Bites 9/18

Jamie Johansen

  • Merck Animal Health and the American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) recently presented Dr. Dee Griffin with the Mentor of the Year Award as a result of his significant contributions to the bovine medicine industry and his commitment to mentoring the next generations of bovine veterinarians.
  • Vermeer introducing the world’s first self-propelled round baler. Unveiled at Husker Harvest Days, the prototype ZR5 self-propelled baler promises to make quick work of any field while offering unprecedented ride quality and maneuverability.
  • The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) released the second video in its media campaign to promote comprehensive tax reform. The video features Jay Wolf, a third-generation Nebraska rancher, who discusses the time, energy, and financial cost he’s forced to spend on estate planning due to the death tax.
  • Imagine using precision nutrition to meet the needs of individual animals. Imagine meeting the expectations of the new consumer, “the prosumer.” Imagine the farm of the future. How will technologies help to achieve greater transparency and safety? This is a new age in agriculture in which nutrigenomics and big data play an everyday role in revolutionizing the way food is produced. Join Alltech and moderator, Peabody Award-winning journalist Tom Martin, for a live webinar discussing the future of agriculture and technology with a panel of agribusiness experts on September 25th at 9:00am ET.
AgWired Animal, Animal Bites

Syngenta Seeds Increases Investment in NK Brand

Chuck Zimmerman

New members to the #GoldenMic Club include David Hollinrake, President of Syngenta Seeds and Quinn Showalter, Head, NK US Sales at Syngenta Seeds. I met with them during the Farm Progress Show to learn more about their announcement of increasing investment into the NK brand.

Growers who purchase corn and soybean seeds from retailers will have even more choice and greater value through the reinvigorated NK® seeds brand. Syngenta today announced a comprehensive long-term commitment to NK seeds that includes boosting research and development, expanding staff and enhancing retailer support.

As part of the investment, the number of U.S. plant breeders will increase by 50 percent while the number of product selection leads will increase by 38 percent. In addition, trialing will increase by 30 percent.

“More than ever, today’s growers are looking for increased options to maximize returns. We are committed to investing in our NK seeds brand to deliver unique choice and greater value through our retail partners,” said David Hollinrake, president of Syngenta Seeds. “We will rapidly bring to market new hybrids and varieties, offering greater value for growers to help them achieve that better ROI.”

You can listen to my interview with David here: Interview with David Hollinrake, Syngenta Seeds

You can listen to my interview with Quinn here: Interview with Quinn Showalter, NK Seeds

View all our photos from FPS here: 2017 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by John DeereCoverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by GrowmarkCoverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Bayer CropScience
Agribusiness, Audio, Farm Progress Show, Seed, Syngenta

Survey Says Cover Crops Boost Yield and Weed Control

Cindy Zimmerman

New nationwide survey results show cover crops acreage has nearly doubled over the past five years and farmers using cover crops are reporting increased yields and improvement in the control of herbicide-resistant weeds.

The survey of more than 2000 farmers across the country was conducted by the Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC) with help from Purdue University and funding support from USDA’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program and the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA). Additional support for the survey was provided by ASTA members Beck’s Hybrids, Grassland Oregon, Justin Seed Company, La Crosse Seed, Monsanto and Seedway.

This marks the fifth consecutive year in which the survey reported yield increases in corn and soybeans following cover crops. It is the first year the survey team was able to calculate the impact of cover crops on wheat yields.

SARE regional extension program director Rob Myers and CTIC executive director Chad Watts held a media conference call today to discuss the survey results but there was a lot of background noise. Here are a couple of sound bites:

Chad Watts give a general summary of the report: Chad Watts, CTIC
Rob Myers talks about most popular cover crops: Rob Myers, SARE

Click for full report.

ASTA, Audio, cover crops, CTIC, Farming

Ag Secretary Surveying Hurricane Damage

Cindy Zimmerman

Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue is in Florida today after surveying Hurricane Irma damage in his home state of Georgia last week.

In Georgia, Perdue toured pecan farms where thousands of trees were lost and will take years to replace, with estimates that 20-30% of this year’s crop was lost, and also visited with cotton farmers who may have lost up to half of this year’s crop.

In Florida, most of the damage is in citrus, and Lisa Lochridge with the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association (FFVA) says while trees are still standing, many are still standing in water. She also told Southeast AgNet that vegetable growers mostly dodged the bullet, but labor is a big concern right now.

Audio file: Comments from Lisa Lochridge, FFVA

Audio, Cotton, specialty crops, USDA

Iowa Makes $2.8B Grain Deal with Taiwan

Cindy Zimmerman

A trade team from Taiwan visited Iowa last week and signed letters of intent to purchase $2.8 billion worth of U.S. grains over the next two years. The deal includes corn, soybeans, wheat, and the ethanol co-product distillers dried grain with solubles (DDGS).

Iowa Corn Promotion Board (ICPB) Director Mark Heckman signed the letter of intent between ICPB and the Taiwan Feed Industry Association, outlining the intention by the Taiwanese to purchase 5.0 million metric tons (197 million bushels) of corn and 0.5 million metric tons of DDGS between 2018 and 2019, at an estimated value of $1.05 billion.

“Taiwan is an important buyer of U.S. corn and co-products,” said Heckman. “Trade matters to our economy and to U.S. farmers who need access to global markets to maintain and expand exports of corn in all forms.”

Congressman Steve King (R-IA) was among those who joined Heckman at the signing in Des Moines. Last month, King met with top Taiwanese officials to discuss agreements to purchase more agricultural goods from Iowa and the rest of the country. “Taiwan’s decision to purchase approximately $2.8 billion of U.S. grains is good news, particularly for Iowa’s corn and soybean producers,” said King.

Corn, Ethanol, Feed, Trade, Wheat

Corvus: Understanding Reactivation

Carrie Muehling

The success of Bayer’s Corvus herbicide goes beyond residual activity. What sets it apart from others in the same class is reactivation, which allows weed control in the absence of moisture, says Mark Waddington, product development manager for selective corn herbicides.

“All herbicides take water or moisture or rainfall to control weeds. That’s how you get your residual control. The herbicide prevents the weed from emerging, prevents it from germinating,” says Waddington.” What makes Corvus different is as those dry periods happen, the weed will emerge, you get another activating rainfall and the herbicide in Corvus will be taken back into the plant and take down what has emerged.”

Waddington says Corvus is taken in through the roots and the shoots of the plants, while others are taken in just through the roots. The reactivation component allows for better overall weed control, which adds to the farmer’s bottom line.

Listen to Jamie’s interview with Josh VanDeWalle and Mark Waddington at the 2017 Farm Progress Show: Interview with Josh VanDeWalle and Mark Waddington, Bayer

View all photos from FPS here: 2017 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by John DeereCoverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by GrowmarkCoverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Bayer CropScience
Agribusiness, AgWired Precision, Audio, Bayer, Crop Protection, Farm Progress Show, Herbicide

Florida & Georgia Cattle Country Hit by Irma

Jamie Johansen

Hurricane Irma traveled straight through Florida and Georgia cattle country. An assessment of damaged areas is still being tallied. Florida dairies are running on generators, still struggling to keep cows milked and forced to dump tons of milk for various reasons.

Less impacted appears to be the beef cattle industry, as most fences remained intact and kept cattle from getting out into roads. Southeast AgNet spoke with Jim Handley, Florida Cattlemen’s Association, who said, “Everybody is tough, resilient and just waiting for water to recede. Ag people are pretty darn tough and are dealing with it. However, we do need some dry weather.” He said he knows family farms are suffering, but has heard of no widespread loss of cattle.

Listen to sound bites provided by our friends at Southeast AgNet:
Jim Handley, Florida Cattlemen's Association Will Bentley, GA Cattlemen's Association

Butler Oaks Farm located in Lorida, Florida shot this great drone video of damage on their farm. We continue to send our thoughts and prayers to those impacted by hurricanes, flood waters, and fire.


Ag Groups, AgWired Animal, Audio, Beef, Dairy, Weather

Zimfo Bytes 9/15

Kelly Marshall

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Zimfo Bytes

Ethanol Report on E15 Hurricane Help

Cindy Zimmerman

Fuel disruptions due to Hurricane Harvey were mitigated somewhat, thanks to an early end to the summer restriction on sales of E15 (15% ethanol fuel) that helped offset gasoline supply shortfalls and limit fuel price spikes.

In this edition of the Ethanol Report podcast, Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen talks about how this should make the EPA rethink the outdated summer volatility regulation that shuts down E15 pumps across the country in the summer months. He also discusses his recent testimony to the EPA that high-octane ethanol blends in optimized engines can help the country meet 2022-2025 fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions standards, as well as comments on the latest proposed volume obligations under the RFS, and the hypocrisy of Brazil’s tariff on ethanol imports.

Listen to the podcast here: Ethanol Report on E15 Hurricane Help

Subscribe to the podcast via RSS
Subscribe via iTunes

Audio, Ethanol, Podcasts, RFA

Deere Gives 3E Tractors a Facelift

Jamie Johansen

The John Deere 3E series tractors have received a makeover from head to toe or should we say tire. It’s one of the most popular tractors that comes off the line in Augusta, GA. The redesign was on display for attendees at the recent Farm Progress Show and there we spoke with Product Marketing Manager, Michelle Bentley to give us the details.

“It’s a really simple, easy to use machine a lot of folks really appreciate. What we are introducing is a new styling update with a few comfort and convenience features,” Bentley said.

Beyond the cosmetic facelift, Bentley said the 3E tractors are now equipped with new attachability features such as telescoping draft links at the rear and an updated loader. The fuel tank was also relocated keeping convenience in mind.

“The ideal customer for the 3E series is the large property owner who uses the tractor to maintain acres and move materials around. The most popular attachment is the rotary cutter and the loader basically comes standard for customers. Another segment this tractor reaches is our equine customers due to its tight turning radius,” Bentley said.

Listen to our complete chat with Michelle here: Interview with Michelle Bentley, John Deere

View John Deere photos here: John Deere at #FPS17 Photo Album

View all our photos from FPS here: 2017 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by John DeereCoverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by GrowmarkCoverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Bayer CropScience
Agribusiness, AgWired Animal, Audio, Equipment, Farm Progress Show, John Deere, Livestock