Animal Ag Bites 7/6

Jamie Johansen

ag_wired_animal-ag-bites

  • Alltech launches The Great Green Getaway. In partnership with KEENAN, maker of the “Green Machine” mixer wagon, the contest invites American dairy farmers to enter for the opportunity to win one of three travel-expense-paid trips for two to Ireland in March 2018, coinciding with St. Patrick’s Day.
  • The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy® has announced its 6th annual U.S. Dairy Sustainability Award winners. The program recognizes dairy farms, businesses, and partnerships whose practices improve the well-being of people, animals and the planet. From farm to table, transparency and ingenuity drive dairy forward, as demonstrated in the newly released 2016 Sustainability Report, which describes the Innovation Center’s strategic plan focused on social responsibility. Meet the 2017 winners here.
  • World Dairy Expo is now accepting entries for the 2017 Dairy Cattle Show, October 3-7, in Madison, Wis. Online and paper entry forms are due August 31 at 11:59 p.m. (CST). Late entries may be submitted online through September 10, and paper entries will be honored until the day of the show, both for an increased fee.
  • The Animal Ag Alliance’s College Aggies Online scholarship competition kicks off September 10 and is all about developing life-long advocates for agriculture. Last year, 344 participants and 35 clubs representing 36 different states generated more than 1,880 social media posts reaching 2.3 million people. They are also seeking sponsors for this year’s competition.
AgWired Animal, Animal Bites

Industry Reacts to Proposed Biofuels Levels

Cindy Zimmerman

The ethanol industry and corn farmers are pleased, but biodiesel producers and soybean growers are not so much with new proposed levels for biofuels under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) released by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The 2018 RFS level for conventional biofuels, including corn ethanol, was maintained at 15 billion gallons, the maximum under current law, which Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen says will benefit both producers and consumers. “By maintaining the 15 billion gallon level for corn ethanol, the rule will also help to drive more investment in infrastructure to accommodate higher ethanol blends,” said Dinneen.

He is concerned, however, with the reduction in the cellulosic biofuel requirement to 238 million gallons but he understands that EPA has to base the numbers on actual production. “Unfortunately, last year and the year before cellulose did not meet their required volumes,” said Dinneen.

In this interview, Dinneen also gives update on Brazil’s attempt to impose tariffs on U.S. ethanol: Interview with Bob Dinneen, RFA

On the biodiesel side, the EPA proposal would maintain the minimum required biomass-based diesel volumes at 2.1 billion gallons for 2019, far below the industry request of 2.75 billion gallons. The EPA also proposed to set the 2018 RFS for advanced biofuels based on a minimum applicable volume of 4.24 billion gallons, a decrease from 4.28 billion gallons for 2017.

“This proposal continues to underestimate the ability of the biomass-based diesel industry to meet the volumes of the RFS program,” said Anne Steckel, vice president of federal affairs at the National Biodiesel Board. “The EPA should be committed to diversifying the diesel fuel market and prioritizing advanced biofuels. Targets like this ignore reality and the law, inhibiting growth in the industry.”

Steckel says it is important that the administration keep the RFS separate from trade issues such as low cost imports of biodiesel from Argentina. “The way that can be handled is through our anti-dumping and countervailing duty cases that are pending,” she said.

Learn more in this interview: Interview with Anne Steckel, NBB

Audio, Biodiesel, Biofuels, Corn, Ethanol, RFA

Zimfo Bytes

Lizzy Schultz

Zimfo Bytes

  • The 2017 class of the NCGA DuPont New Leaders Program, now entering its fourth year of helping farming couples and individuals become better communicators, leaders and advocates for agriculture, held its first session last week in Johnston, Iowa.
  • U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) has joined Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) to introduce the bipartisan Agriculture Equipment and Machinery Depreciation Act to help farmers purchase new equipment and replace worn-out machinery by amending the U.S. tax code to permanently set a five-year depreciation schedule for certain agricultural equipment.
  • – CNH Industrial has announced the launch of a new online Newsroom for the North American region. The newsroom features a media portal for members of the press and news outlets to access the best and most up to date information about CNH Industrial and five of its brands, Case IH, CASE Construction Equipment, New Holland Agriculture, New Holland Construction, and FPT Industrial.
Zimfo Bytes

“Peanut Program Works” Website and Video Launched

Cindy Zimmerman

As preparations for the 2018 Farm Bill begin, the Southern Peanut Farmers Federation (SPFF) has launched a website and video to showcase the benefits of the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) program in the 2014 Farm Bill.

Through the website, SPFF aims to educate policymakers, farmers and the agriculture community about why the Peanut Program must be retained in the upcoming Farm Bill. The message challenges attempts by a new Florida peanut group not affiliated with SPFF to change the program, according to Don Koehler, executive director of the Georgia Peanut Commission.

“The fact is the Florida Peanut Federation would undermine the market-based Peanut Program that works for peanut farmers, our families and our communities by pushing to dramatically lower the reference price and championing a self-serving effort on behalf of a few farmers who want to arbitrarily declare peanut base – a move that would put farmers in our community out of business and wreak chaos in the marketplace,” Koehler said.

The SPFF consists of the main peanut grower organizations in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi – including the Florida Peanut Producers Association, but not the new organization.

AgWired Precision, Farm Bill, Peanuts

NCGA Dedicated to Driving Ethanol Demand

Cindy Zimmerman

State and National Corn Grower Association (NCGA) staff recently met to conduct an in-depth, state of the ethanol industry analysis in Bloomington, Illinois at the offices of Illinois Corn. The goal was to discuss and review the ethanol plan constructed by the group last November.

The corn team reviewed ethanol production, demand and volume obligation scenarios under the Renewable Fuels Standard and discussed demand strategy for the future such as growing ethanol consumption through higher ethanol blends, increasing exports, expanding relationships with automakers and assuring a united approach with consistent messaging from corn farmers and other ethanol supporters.

NCGA is also expanding its staff for ethanol creating the new position of manager of renewable fuels in the St. Louis office. Peter Magner brings a combination of experience in research, public policy and energy management to the job where he will provide key support to ethanol programs within the organization.

Magner most recently worked as a forest technician for the Duke University Forest. Previously, he also held other positions with the North Carolina League of Conservation Votes and the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. He earned a master’s degree in environmental management from Duke University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Wisconsin at River Falls.

Corn, Ethanol, NCGA

Zimfo Bites 7/3

Cindy Zimmerman

Zimfo Bytes

  • Five county Farm Bureaus were selected from a competitive pool of applicants to each receive a $500 grant from the American Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Program to help fund “Our Food Link” projects.
  • The new Potato Expo Innovation Hub is now open and accepting abstract submissions for the Potato Expo 2018, which takes place January 10-12, 2018 at the Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, Florida.
  • CNH Industrial has launched a new online newsroom for the North American region for members of the press and news outlets to access information about CNH Industrial and five of its brands, Case IH, CASE Construction Equipment, New Holland Agriculture, New Holland Construction, and FPT Industrial.
  • A new certification program funded by a USDA grant enables agricultural producers to let consumers know they are farming in ways that benefit bees. The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation partnered with Oregon Tilth to develop and launch the Bee Better Certified program.
  • A new collaborative effort between two of Indiana’s leading agricultural media organizations, Hoosier Ag Today and Farm World, is providing content now being delivered to thousands of Hoosier farmers daily with two e-newsletters.
  • The bipartisan Agriculture Equipment and Machinery Depreciation Act has been introduced in the Senate to help farmers purchase new equipment and replace worn-out machinery by amending the U.S. tax code to permanently set a five-year depreciation schedule for certain agricultural equipment
  • Wheat Growers cooperative has hired Todd Linbo as General Manager of the Wheat Growers Innovation Center. Linbo joins Wheat Growers from the John Deere Ag Division, Des Moines, Iowa, where he most recently was responsible for supply chain management and support of the John Deere application equipment product line.
Ag Groups, Agribusiness, Zimfo Bytes

SMART Farmer Jennifer Houston

Cindy Zimmerman

This edition of the SMART Farmer podcast features Tennessee native Jennifer Houston, a livestock market owner and beef cattle industry leader, who talks about how the business of producing and marketing beef cattle has become smarter in recent years.

Houston is currently Vice President of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and serves on the board of the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA). She is also the mother of Virginia Houston with the American Seed Trade Association, who was featured in an interview from the recent ASTA annual meeting.

SMART Farmer Podcast with Jennifer Houston, NCBA

Subscribe to the SMART Farmer podcast

Learn more about USFRA and SMART Farm

AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Audio, Beef, Livestock, NCBA, USFRA

Adapt-N® Integrates with John Deere API

Cindy Zimmerman

Agronomic Technology Corp announces the integration between Adapt-N® and the John Deere Operations Center, which will make it even easier for farmers and agronomists to get Adapt-N’s leading nitrogen diagnostics and recommendations, and then apply them in the field using John Deere equipment.

“This integration expands our growing presence in the Precision Agriculture space and, more importantly, makes it easier for farmers to see the impact of different tillage, planting, and nutrient management approaches in their soil and with their weather,” said Steven Sibulkin, CEO of Agronomic Technology Corp, which operates Adapt-N.

The integration allows Adapt-N users to utilize the Operations Center to make more informed decisions that can drive yield, reduce costs, and improve nitrogen use efficiency.

Agronomic Technology Corp also provides N-Insight®, the “instant nitrogen diagnostic tool,” and other leading agricultural solutions that incorporate soil, weather, crop and field management modeling. Adapt-N has been proven to increase farmer profitability by $30 per acre through yield increases and nitrogen use efficiency. Adapt-N also plugs into leading third-party platforms, including SST Software, EFC Systems, Agrian, and others.

Click to find out more from Adapt-N.

Agronomy, AgWired Precision, John Deere

ZimmCast with ASTA Communications

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCast 551A new week, a new ZimmCast episode, with Bethany Shively, Director of Communications, American Seed Trade Association (ASTA).

Cindy spoke with Bethany at the recent ASTA annual meeting. First up in the discussion is the Better Seed, Better Life program, an educational communications effort.

Another project they talk about is one involving the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival with an exhibit that focuses on the seed.

I hope you enjoy the program and thank you for listening!

Listen to the ZimmCast here: ZimmCast with Bethany Shively, ASTA

Subscribe to the ZimmCast podcast here. Use this url in iTunes or your favorite news reader program/app.

The ZimmCast

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Ag Groups, ASTA, Audio, Seed, ZimmCast