New Joint Venture Capitalizes on Precision Platform

Kelly Marshall

Four leading agribusinesses, Wheat Growers, Landus Cooperative, Central Valley Ag and WinField United, are coming together in a joint venture called FieldReveal. Together they will provide ag retailers with a platform, allowing them to provide better service to growers and keep pace with new technologies. FieldReveal will offer ease in writing prescriptions for seed, fertility, and other inputs thanks to the geo-referenced, multi-layered sampling taken from grids, soil management zones, or both.

The FieldReveal precision platform helps agronomists work closely with growers to help optimize input costs and yields to deliver improved returns on each field. The genesis of the FieldReveal platform was the MZB precision farming system from Wheat Growers, which has proven its worth to growers since 1997.

“This tool was built by agronomists and is used by agronomists. That’s what makes it so relevant and effective,” says Brent Wiesenburger, executive advisor for FieldReveal and precision ag manager at Wheat Growers. “It was designed to enhance the partnership between ag retailers, agronomists and their customers.”

AgWired Precision, Cooperatives, Precision Agriculture

AgriBlogging From Farm Progress Show

Chuck Zimmerman

Welcome to Farm Progress Show week. The ZimmComm Team, Cindy, Jamie, Joanna and myself will be on location by late afternoon to set ourselves up for a busy week.

I want to thank our sponsors this year which include John Deere, Bayer CropScience and GROWMARK. We’ll be working with these companies and more to find out what’s new in the world of agribusiness so expect lots of photos, interviews and video as the opportunity present itself.

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
AgWired Precision, Farm Progress Show

NAMA Names Professional Development Award Winners

Kelly Marshall

The National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) has announced the winners of the 2017 Professional Development Awards, recognizing the top performers in marketing communication, product/species management, public relations, and sales.

Linda Frerichs earned the 2017 Marketing Communications Award. Frerichs serves as Head of Global and North American Communications at Arysta LifeScience, and says her farm roots and career path influence her daily as she plans strategies and tactics with the farmer’s perspective in mind.

The Professional Development Award for Product and Species Management goes to Jill DeLucero, Senior Director, Association Marketing at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. Jill manages one of the beef industry’s premiere projects, the Environmental Stewardship Award Program (ESAP).

Kelly Schwalbe takes home this year’s Professional Development Award for Public Relations. While he currently works as Partner and Public Relations Director for Sage, Kelly has 35+ years experience in corporate, freelance, and agency public relations and is a member and participates in many industry clubs and associations.

The Sales award recipient is Dave Korbelik, Vice President of Go-to-Marketing Solutions at Beck Ag. Dave has worked closely with Multimin USA to design and implement customized go-to-market solutions, creating a customized and measurable marketing strategy to build Multimin USA’s presence in the marketplace. He has been a strong supporter of NAMA as well.

Awards will be presented at the 2017 NAMA Fall Conference in Milwaukee.

NAMA

Animal Ag Bites 8/28

Kelly Marshall

  • The American Gelbvieh Association (AGA) is welcoming Taylor Evans of Denver, Colorado, to their staff as member and youth programs coordinator. Evans began his role on August 14, 2017, and will work directly from the AGA headquarters office in Broomfield, Colorado.
  • Jennifer Kopanke has been selected for the 2017 Sheep Heritage Foundation Scholarship of $3,000.  Kopanke is a veterinary student at Colorado State University and earned the honor for her research into bluetongue virus.
  • Agricultural wast company, Regenis, has installed the first phosphorous recovery system west of the Cascades at Edaleen Dairy.  The system can remove 80-90 percent of phosphorous and 30 percent of nitrogen in wastewater.
  • The Public Lands Council and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association feel the final report from the Department of the Interior regarding National Monuments contained good news.  It clearly states that Presidents have abused their authority under the Antiquities Act, locking up over 250 million acres of land and water.
  • Register now for a webinar by Alltech’s Dr. Rebecca Delles on meat science and quality.  The webinar takes place Friday, September 1, 2017 at 2:00 Eastern.
AgWired Animal, Animal Bites

SMART Farmer Anne Meis

Cindy Zimmerman

Anne Meis is a family farmer from Elgin, Nebraska who raises corn, soybeans, and beef with her husband Jim, and serves on the boards of the Nebraska Soybean Board and the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA). In this SMART farmer podcast episode, she talks about the importance of technology such as genetically modified crops for smart farmers.

She also talks about the upcoming “Food Dialogues: Pivoting the GMO Conversation” at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln on September 6, presented by USFRA and Nebraska Soybean Board and invites everyone to join live and in person or live and on Facebook for the event next week – details are here.

Listen to our SMART farmer conversation with Anne – SMART Farmer Podcast with Nebraska farmer Anne Meis

Subscribe to the SMART Farmer podcast

Learn more about USFRA and SMART Farm

AgWired Animal, AgWired Precision, Audio, Soybean, Sustainability, USFRA

Cellerate + Enogen Could Meet Cellulosic Ethanol Goal

Cindy Zimmerman

Delayne Johnson and Jeff Oestmann on panel at 2016 ACE conference

If every corn ethanol plant in the country were to convert to Cellerate bolt-on technology combined with Enogen® corn enzyme technology from Syngenta, the country could more than meet the goals for cellulosic biofuels under the Renewable Fuel Standard.

“There’s a one billion to two billion gallon opportunity in the United States without grinding anymore corn,” said Delayne Johnson, CEO of Quad County Corn Processors, which developed the Cellerate technology and has collaborated with Syngenta to license it to other plants.

QCCP is already producing most of the country’s cellulosic ethanol, which last year amounted to about 176 million gallons, lower than the 230 million gallon obligation for 2016 set by EPA under the Renewable Fuel Standard, leading the agency to lower the 2018 requirement to 238 million gallons from the 311 million set for this year. But with cellulosic production finally growing and a greater potential for more, QCCP and Syngenta are among the voices commenting to EPA that now is not the time to lower the standard.

Jeff Oestmann, head of accounts for Enogen at Syngenta, recently testified at the recent public hearing on the EPA’s latest proposed standards under the RFS. “I felt it was important to get in front of the EPA and tell our story on the cellulosic side and what we’ve been able to do with corn kernel fiber,” said Oestmann. “I had three minutes and I actually took six, so I think I got a lot across.”

Both Oestmann and Johnson are submitting comments to the EPA on the proposed rule before the deadline this week of August 31, and they encourage others to do so as well. Listen to interviews with both from the recent American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) annual conference.

Interview with Delayne Johnson, QCCP
Interview with Jeff Oestmann, Enogen Syngenta
2017 ACE Conference Photo Album

ACE, Audio, Corn, Ethanol, Syngenta

Missouri Rice Council Hosts Field Day

Jamie Johansen

The Missouri Rice Council hosted their annual Rice Field Day August 24, at the Rice Research Farm in Campbell, Missouri. Research personnel from Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) and the University of Missouri Fisher Delta Research Center were on hand to provide area farmers a chance to see and learn about recent developments in rice research and other agricultural related topics. Nearly 250 growers and rice industry leaders took part in the field day.

I caught up with Eric Hover, Missouri rice producer and chairman of the Missouri Rice Council, to learn more about how they serve producer-members and ways research dollars are spent. “There are 10 counties in the bootheel of Missouri that grow rice. We [Missouri Rice Council] administer the checkoff funds and TRQ funds that are made through the sale of rice. We conduct research and promotion of rice throughout the state and country. We take trade missions and develop new lines of rice with our breeder at SEMO that are best fit for our Northern growing area.”

Listen to my complete interview with Eric here: Interview with Eric Hover, Missouri Rice Council, Chairman

View and download photos from the event here: Missouri Rice Field Day Photo Album

Ag Groups, AgWired Precision, Audio, Markets, Research, Rice

Nebraska Corn & Soy Grows Future Leaders

Kelly Marshall

Lori Luebbe, Executive Director for the Nebraska Soybean Association, attended the 2017 U.S. Soy Global Trade Exchange with agriculture students participating in the Nebraska Corn & Soy Ambassador Program. The program is a co-sponsored partnership that reaches out to agriculture majors from the University of Nebraska to show them different aspects of the soy and corn checkoff organizations and teach them about career opportunities. It also strives to give students a bigger view of ag, Luebbe says- something more than what they get within a specific major.

Two of the members of this year’s ambassador program can vouch for the effectiveness of the program. “We’ve learned about the economic part of the ag world; today we’ll learn about the farming part of the ag world with Prairie Land Dairy. Here we’re learning about globally how important agriculture is around the world and how it’s a big impact on today’s economy,” says Kenzie, an Ag Education major. “The reason I did this is to grow my knowledge as an educator. I hope to teach kids what I’m learning here today.”

Emily, an Agriculture and Environmental Sciences Communication major, appreciates the relationships she’s building. “I applied personally because I knew this would be a great connection to meet people in the industry- which is great for my major- and just to find further connections in the ag industry. It’s a great learning opportunity. We’ve learned a lot about social media and how to advocate individually, which is awesome.”

Luebbe hopes this program is providing a wide variety of educational information, but she’s also focused on growing leaders. These students will be well-placed to serve as future board members she says.

Listen to Jamie’s full interview to hear more about the program: Interview with Lori Luebbe, Nebraska Corn & Soy Ambassador Program

You can find photos from the event here: U.S. Soy Global Trade Exchange Photo Album

AgWired Precision, Audio, Corn, Soybean

NFU Announces Biofuels Initiative

Cindy Zimmerman

National Farmers Union (NFU) has announced an initiative “to advance federal policies that support homegrown and home-produced renewable energy sources.”

“American family farmers and ranchers are facing a rapidly changing climate, a severely depressed farm economy, and deteriorating rural infrastructure and services,” said NFU President Roger Johnson during a press call to announce the effort. “Expansion of homegrown, renewable energy production provides solutions to each of these issues and significant benefits for American consumers and the environment.”

NFU hired energy policy specialist Anne Steckel, formally with the National Biodiesel Board, to lead the effort. “Federal-level policies like the Renewable Fuel Standard have reaped tremendous gains for the farming and rural communities that grow and produce renewable, bio-based fuels,” said Steckel. “NFU will continue its avid support of the RFS and pursue innovative policy solutions that expand renewable energy demand, development and infrastructure.”

The effort follows a special order of business that was passed by delegates to the NFU 115th Anniversary Convention in March supporting expanded markets for higher blends of ethanol, like E30, and advanced biofuels. NFU’s initiative is supported by all three major ethanol organizations.

NFU press conference
Audio, Biodiesel, Biofuels, Ethanol

Zimfo Bytes 8/25

Kelly Marshall

  • The Illinois Corn Marketing Board has selected officers for the coming term. Paul Jeschke from Mazon, Illinois was elected to serve as Chairman. Don Duvall will fill the position of Vice-Chairman, Roger Sy as Treasurer, and Dirk Rice will be Secretary.
  • American Soybean Association (ASA) President Ron Moore confirmed 19 growers from across the nation to lead the ASA’s World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (WISHH) Program Committee in 2017-18.  The committee will focus on  long-term market development and finding new markets for U.S. soy.
Zimfo Bytes