Ag’s Most Energetic Event Returns to Calgary

Cindy Zimmerman

The FARM FORUM EVENT, hosted by AGRI-TREND®, returns to the Calgary TELUS Convention Centre December 5-7, 2017 with the theme LEARN & GROW.

The FARM FORUM EVENT brings over 1,000 attendees together to see the latest innovations, learn from top experts from the world’s leading agricultural companies, and share information among the largest growers from Canada and the United States.

Attendees of the FARM FORUM EVENT manage more than 6 million acres each year. In interviews, sponsors cite the high quality of the attendees and the unique format of the FARM FORUM EVENT as primary reasons why they choose to participate in the show. You can view portions of the interviews on the AGRI-TREND channel here.

Click here to learn more about the FARM FORUM.

AgWired Precision, Events

Precision Ag Bytes 11/8

Carrie Muehling

  • Ag Leader will release firmware in February 2018 offering access to in-cab, internet-based functionality through a single data connection source. InCommand displays will be able to connect to NTRIP networks for RTK corrections and Ag Leader’s cloud-based data management platform, AgFiniti, through the same connection source using one cellular data plan.
  • AgLaunch365 has accepted three new ag tech startups into Phase I of its farm-centric innovation platform. This 6-week program will be delivered through remote programming and in-person sessions held in Memphis, culminating at the Farm Journal AgTech Expo in Indianapolis December 11-13, 2017. Phase I teams include:  Minnesota-based DryMAX, Illinois-based EarthSense, and Indiana-based Rabbit Tractors. The deadline to apply for Phase II is November 15, 2017.
AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes

“Feed Your Adventurous Side” with American Lamb

Cindy Zimmerman

The American Lamb Board (ALB) announces the launch of “Feed Your Adventurous Side,” a consumer campaign representing the spirit of today’s lamb industry.

Research conducted for the American Lamb Board shows an opportunity to position lamb as offering unique and adventurous flavor to capture consumers’ attention. The campaign reaches out to people most likely to desire new food favorites with lamb through social media, websites and other online destinations, supported by retail, foodservice and influencer programs. By capitalizing on how the target audience connects with information today through digital means, American Lamb will be in front of adventurous consumers.

“This new positioning for American Lamb as the adventurous, versatile protein option talks directly to people we call “Flavor Seekers” who are bored with ordinary food options. Millennials are an important part of our audience,” says Jim Percival, Xenia, Ohio, ALB chairman. “The digital nature of ‘Feed Your Adventurous Side’ allows focused promotions within the campaign at key times and locations.”

The consumer hub is AmericanLamb.com plus social media channels including Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram.

AmericanLamb.com plus social media channels including Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram.” Click to read more.

AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Livestock, Meat, Sheep

ImpactZ™ Herbicide from AMVAC® Approved for Corn

Cindy Zimmerman

AMVAC Chemical Corporation has received federal registration from EPA for a new broad spectrum, low use rate corn herbicide – ImpactZ.

ImpactZ provides corn growers with a new solution for control of tough broadleaf and grass weeds, including glyphosate resistant species.

“Impact herbicide has long provided value to corn growers as an excellent tool for weed resistance management,” said Jim Lappin, AMVAC crop marketing manager, corn and soybeans. “ImpactZ herbicide provides safe, effective broad spectrum control in corn.”
ImpactZ herbicide provides excellent control of tough grass weeds, including barnyardgrass, crabgrass and foxtails. It also controls a broad spectrum of broadleaf weeds, including waterhemp, palmer amaranth, lambsquarters and velvetleaf.

ImpactZ herbicide is registered for use in field corn, seed corn, popcorn and sweetcorn, with no restrictions on soil type, tank mix partners or insecticides. ImpactZ herbicide contains both Impact® and Atrazine for highly effective control of grass and broadleaf weeds in corn.

Individual state registrations for ImpactZ herbicide are pending.

Click here to learn more.

AgWired Precision, Corn, Crop Protection, Herbicide

New TV Ad Recognizes President’s Support for Rural Communities

Chuck Zimmerman

President Trump’s support for biofuels is getting some recognition.

The nation’s top renewable fuel advocates have launched a new television ad recognizing President Trump’s steadfast support for rural communities, farmers, and workers in the biofuel sector. The ad responds directly to oil industry attacks on the president for his long-standing commitment to growth under the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

“Refining executives seem to think that attacking the president will undermine his support for rural jobs and homegrown fuels, but he’s consistently sided with voters across the heartland,” said Emily Skor, CEO of Growth Energy, a member of the Fuels America coalition. “There are over 200 biorefineries across the nation, each serving as a key manufacturing hub, supporting jobs and creating vital markets for countless farmers. This industry is creating low-cost energy right here in America, and those communities deeply appreciate the president’s commitment to U.S. leadership on biofuels.”

The new ad, which begins airing November 6th on Fox News, features footage of President Trump’s advocacy for homegrown fuels, noting that he “kept his promise, protecting farm and manufacturing jobs.” The ad urges viewers to thank the president for standing up to refiners who have attacked the White House for its support of clean, affordable fuel options for American drivers.


Biofuels, Energy, Ethanol, Video

SMART Farmer Jeremy Brown

Cindy Zimmerman

In this edition, we hear from a Texas farmer who grows both organic and traditional cotton and peanuts, as well as other crops.

Jeremy Brown is one of the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) faces of farming, which has given him the opportunity to engage with the non-farm public on the highly emotional topic of biotechnology and GMO crops from the perspective of someone who grows both.

Learn more about Jeremy in this podcast – SMART Farmer Podcast with Jeremy Brown, Texas farmer

USFRA is also supporting a new film that takes on the biotechnology debate. Food Evolution, which is now streaming on Hulu, was commissioned by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), and directed by Academy Award®-nominated director Scott Hamilton Kennedy.

Subscribe to the SMART Farmer podcast

Learn more about USFRA and SMART Farm

AgWired Precision, Biotech, Cotton, GMO, Podcasts, USFRA

Animal Ag Bites 11/6

Carrie Muehling

  • Alltech will offer a live webinar on Nov. 9 at 2 p.m. EST with Dr. Kayla Price, Poultry Technical Manager with Alltech Canada, discussing the essentials for a premium egg and the different factors affecting egg shell quality.
  • The Hereford Research Foundation sponsored $5,000 in cash awards for 29 young people participating in the inaugural National Junior Hereford Association Fed Steer Shootout. Molly Biggs of Dixon, Ill., was named the 2017 Fed Steer Shootout Junior of the Year.
  • Lester Schafer of Buffalo Lake, Minn., and Byron Bayers of Twin Bridges, Mont., were inducted into the Hereford Hall of Fame Oct. 27 during the American Hereford Association Annual Meeting and Conference in Kansas City, Mo.
  • The National Dairy Promotion and Research Board honored Jerry Messer of North Dakota with the 2017 Richard E. Lyng Award for contributions and service to dairy promotion.
  • Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) has acquired Cumberland Dairy, a family-owned processor of ultra-pasteurized dairy products located in Bridgeton, N.J. The acquisition aligns with DFA’s strategy to expand the cooperative’s commercial investments and ownership into extended shelf life processing.
  • The European Swine Nutrition Roundtable included 16 participants from across Europe who discussed the obstacles between today’s producer and the next level of performance and profitability. The Roundtable is a partnership between Novus International, Inc. and Newcastle University.
AgWired Animal, Animal Bites

2017 Deer Hunt – Can-Am Defender – Episode 1

Chuck Zimmerman

Here’s my next episode in a series coming to you from the Crystal Pig Hunt Club (CPHC) in Georgia. In this episode the focus is going to be on a Can-Am Defender XT which has been provided to us to use and evaluate how well it is suited to some serious deer hunting.

CPHC member, Paul Zimmerman, my brother, has been doing most of the driving in this vehicle, although I have done some also. In the video below we chat about our first impressions while riding out of camp for a load of firewood. You might see in the bed of the Defender a short swivel seat stand that we strapped into it, making the Defender a mobile deer stand!

Some first impressions on using the Can-Am include:

  • It has lots of power but runs quiet
  • The suspension is amazing
  • The turning radius has made is easier to turn around on narrow trails than we expected
  • Some accessories like winch and side/back panels around bed have come in very handy

So, that’s a start. Paul has harvested two deer so far, one of them being the 8pt buck you see in the photo. So, in the points race (we don’t really have one) he’s in the lead. We’re liking the Can-Am but will have more to come.

You can see photos of the Can-Am Defender in the wild here: 2017 Deer Hunt – Can-Am Defender Photo Album


Can-Am, Hunting

Deere Celebrating 100 Years of Tractors in 2018

Cindy Zimmerman

In March of 1918, John Deere entered the farm tractor business through the acquisition of the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company, and the rest is history a century later.

Deere kicked off series of events to celebrate the centennial by hosting a Gold Key Tour for the Wade Purvis family of Florida and delivery of their new 8245R John Deere tractor – the first 2018 tractor made in Waterloo, Iowa. The new tractor includes a commemorative badge that will be appear on several models of 2018 John Deere tractors including the 6 Series, 7 Series, 8 Series and 9 Series machines.

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History will mark 2018 as the year of the tractor, installing a 1918 green, yellow and red Waterloo Boy tractor will at the entrance of the business history exhibition in January. Within the exhibition, a new display on “Precision Farming” will examine a more contemporary story of disruptive technology in today’s agriculture industry with the use of technology including a GPS antenna donated by Deere.

John Deere will be placing iconic tractors on display at the John Deere Tractor & Engine Museum in Waterloo, Iowa, the John Deere Pavilion and John Deere World Headquarters in Moline, Ill., as well as at the John Deere Forum in Mannheim, Germany.

John Deere, Tractor

Zimfo Bytes 11/3

Kelly Marshall

  • Kubota Tractor Corporation announced four new farmer veteran tractor recipients in its 2017 “Geared to Give” program in partnership with the Farmer Veteran Coalition. Four recipients, one from each of Kubota’s four operating divisions, were presented with keys to new Kubota L-Series compact tractors in recognition of their U.S. military service.
  • Syngenta is proud to name Tori Streitmatter of Sparland, Illinois, as the Thrive 2017 #RootedinAg Contest winner. Streitmatter received a $500 gift card from Syngenta, along with a $1,000 donation in her name to the Midland High FFA Alumni.
  • Ken Magnum will be the new National Sales Manager for BRANDT’s turf business, which includes the BRANDT®, GRIGG™ and BRANDT® iHammer product lines.
  • The American Farm Bureau Federation recently graduated 15 farm and ranch women from the organization’s eleventh annual Women’s Communications Boot Camp– an intensive three-day course featuring sessions on working with the media, public speaking, testifying and messaging.
  • House Agriculture Committee Chairman Michael Conaway (R-TX) announced that RFD-TV has been added to the House of Representatives Digital Channel Lineup on channel 122.
  • Signups for the annual FiberMax® Maximizer Club are now open. To qualify for the FiberMax Maximizer Club, cotton growers must produce an average of 1,000 lb/A on 20 or more dryland acres planted to FiberMax varieties and plant 100 percent FiberMax cotton seed on qualifying acres from January 1–December 31, 2017.
  • The National Corn Growers Association and BASF Corporation are accepting applications for five $1,000 scholarships to be awarded to undergraduate and graduate students pursuing a degree in an agriculture-related field during the 2018-19 school year. Scholarships are open to any NCGA members and their children or legal guardians; submissions must be postmarked on or before December 1, 2017.
Zimfo Bytes