SMART Farmer Brad Greenway

Cindy Zimmerman

Brad Greenway of South Dakota was named 2016 Pig Farmer of the Year by the National Pork Board recognizing him as a pig farmer who excels at raising pigs using the industry’s We Care ethical principles that include not only raising pigs humanely and safely, but also promoting a safe workplace and contributing to the local community. Right after he received the title in October, Brad was elected as only the third chairman for the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance.

What Brad really likes to talk about is his farm with his wife Peggy in Mitchell, South Dakota where they have two wean-to-finish pig barns and also raise beef cattle and grow corn, soybeans, wheat and alfalfa.

Learn how passionate Brad is about SMART farming in this episode: SMART Farmer Podcast with Brad Greenway, South Dakota

Subscribe to the SMART Farmer podcast

Learn more about USFRA and SMART Farm

AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Audio, Pork, USFRA

Set a Gold Standard at ARC Annual Meeting

Chuck Zimmerman

The Golden ZimmComm Microphone can relate to setting a gold standard! How about you? Do you want to set a gold standard in agricultural public relations? You can work on it at this year’s annual meeting of the Agricultural Relations Council – Setting the Gold Standard in Ag PR.

The event will take place June 20-22 in Sacramento, CA at the Embassy Suites Sacramento Riverfront Promenade. Registration is open although the hotel discount rate date has passed. But don’t let that stop you.

ARC, Public Relations

Registration Open for NAMA Boot Camp & Fall Conference

Chuck Zimmerman

It’s that time. More NAMA registering to do. First up is the NAMA Boot Camp.

Join the National Agri-Marketing Association for the 14th annual NAMA Boot Camp, August 8-10 in Kansas City. Whether you’ve just entered the rough working world or one who’s been through the NAMA Boot Camp drill before, sign up for this program today to learn more about the agri-marketing industry.

You can find hotel information, the full schedule, Ag Tour details and much more on the Boot Camp Website.

Register Now.

And then there is the conference later this fall.

The 2017 NAMA Fall Conference will take place in Milwaukee, WI on September 19-21. Mark your calendars now so you don’t miss it!

Find out everything you need to know about Fall Conference on the website! Check back often for updates on speakers, the ag tour and much more!

Register today!

NAMA

Meet the Company Building Farms in Parking Structures

Lizzy Schultz

Stuart Oda previously worked as an investment banker before serving as a co-founder of Alesca Life, a Beijing-based agriculture technology company that builds weather-proof, cloud-connected farms in order to enable local food production by anyone, anywhere.

“We’ve developed technology for indoor farming, so it allows farmers to work in an environment that is far safer, cleaner, and closer to the consumers,” said Oda in an interview with Jamie Johansen during ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference, which he attended as part of the Pearse Lyons Accelerator Program, “We’ve built farms out of second-hand shipping containers, out of underground parking structures, and even restaurant corners.”

Urban farming is not a new concept, but Oda believes his company’s mission differentiates it from their competition: “We actually use the concept of a hub-and-spoke, almost a central kitchen concept, that uses the urban farm as both a nursery and a food production facility to deliver higher quality produce at more affordable prices directly at the point of consumption,” he said.

Oda became interested in agribusiness upon learning that the agricultural supply chain is worth over 20 trillion dollars end-to-end and after he began hearing more about the environmental and economic challenges facing the industry as it works to feed 9 billion people by 2050.

It’s very exciting to think about how the future of farming can impact the consumer, the industry, and the environment,” he said.

Listen to Jamie’s full interview with Stuart here:
Interview with Stuart Oda, Alesca Life

View and download photos from the event here:
ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference Photo Album

Ag Groups, Agribusiness, Alltech, Audio

AEM Encourages Safety 365

Cindy Zimmerman

In addition to being National Dairy Month, June is also National Safety Month, but the Association for Equipment Manufacturers is encouraging those who operate machinery to practice safety 365 days a year.

“The message of safety is one we should never get complacent about. We need to wake up every day, 365 days a year, with a commitment to being safety conscious,” said James Vos, AEM safety materials manager.

The Association outlines five basic tips to help workers focus on safety:

  • Take advantage of safety training that is available.
  • Be alert and know the work area and the equipment.
  • Follow the rules of safe equipment preparation and start-up, operation and maintenance.
  • Set an example: for your well-being and the protection of others, encourage fellow workers to act safely.
  • Put it in personal terms: think what is important to you that makes you want to stay safe.

AEM also offers safety products like manuals, videos, and posters. Find the complete line of AEM safety materials at safetymaterials.org.

AEM

Deere Intros More Efficient Headers

Cindy Zimmerman

Along with the new S700 Combines for 2018, John Deere is introducing the 700C/FC Series Corn Heads and 700D Drapers for more efficient grain harvesting.

The 700C/FC (folding corn head) Series Corn Heads with the RowMax™ row unit provides up to a 50 percent increase in the life of the row unit gathering chains and features solid-alloy bushings that reduce pin and bushing wear. “We’ve also increased the life of the stalk rolls by up to 25 percent by utilizing a harder material and adding a new wear coating on the front and trailing edges of the blades for increased performance,” says Brittney Guidarelli, product manager for front end equipment. “As a result, we’ve decreased the cost of operation by reducing how frequently wear parts need to be replaced. Producers will experience a savings of up to $20,000 over five years compared to previous models.”

For small grains, the 700D Rigid Draper provides a 20 percent increase in capacity in tough harvesting conditions over the previous model. The 700D features a top crop auger that’s 50 percent larger in diameter (now 18 inches) with heavy-duty drives, high-performance gauge wheels, and a new center section seal kit that reduces center section grain losses by up to 45 percent in canola

Learn more here and in this interview from the John Deere Reveal in Moline, Illinois. Interview with Brittney Guidarelli, John Deere

2017 John Deere Reveal Photo Album

AgWired Precision, Audio, Farm Machinery, Harvest, John Deere

John Deere Rolls Out Smarter S700 Combines

Cindy Zimmerman

John Deere is hosting agricultural media today at their harvester headquarters in Moline, Illinois – an appropriate place to unveil a smarter line of grain harvesting technology in the combines and headers John Deere is introducing for model year 2018 production.

This includes four new S700 Combine models (S760, S770, S780 and S790) that offer producers significant improvements in “smart” technology, improved operator comfort and better data, along with the 700C/FC Series Corn Heads and 700D Drapers for more efficient grain harvesting. Building on the proven field performance of the S600 Combines introduced in 2012, the new S700 Combines incorporate the latest in automated harvesting technology. Many of these changes make it easier on the operator by allowing the combine to make needed adjustments automatically, on the go.

“We are focused on, especially with the combine, on how do you harvest smarter,” says Beverly Flores, Media Relations Manager for Deere. “The new combine has a lot of innovation, a lot of true tech, that’s really bringing that together.”

This is the first media event in this role for Flores, who took over for Barry Nelson when he retired last year. In this interview with Jamie, she talks about the excitement about what’s new from Deere. Interview with Bev Flores, John Deere

2017 John Deere Reveal Photo Album

AgWired Precision, Audio, Farm Machinery, John Deere

It’s Undeniably Dairy Month

Cindy Zimmerman

There are months and days to celebrate just about everything these days, but few have been celebrated for 80 years like dairy in June.

National Dairy Month officially kicks off today, which is World Milk Day, and to celebrate 80 years dairy farmers are “opening their barn doors” and inviting people to their local farms to visit.

To spotlight the role dairy plays in peoples’ everyday lives and to bring consumers closer to where dairy comes from, the farmer-founded Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, in partnership with nearly 42,000 family farms, processors and dairy brands, is kicking off a month-long celebration of National Dairy Month. The events are part of the dairy community’s unprecedented campaign, “Undeniably Dairy” – a multiyear effort to showcase all that is good about dairy, from the farm to the foods we love.

Despite dairy farms being in all 50 states and most people living within 100 miles of one, a recent survey found that only one in 10 consumers has ever visited a dairy farm, making these events a great opportunity to experience life on the farm while learning more about where their food comes from.

AgWired Animal, Dairy

E15 Goes on Summer Break

Cindy Zimmerman

It’s June 1st, which means the kids are out of school, the pools are open, and E15 pumps in two-thirds of the nation are shutting down.

Today marks the official beginning of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) “summer ozone control season,” and according to the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), is the result of “an arbitrary, decades-old EPA regulation that protects the status quo and denies consumers year-round access to a fuel that is cheaper, cleaner, and offers higher octane than today’s gasoline.”

Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) introduced legislation earlier this year to extend the RVP waiver to E15 and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is expected to hold a hearing this month on the legislation.

“We applaud the Senate co-sponsors of this legislation for getting this bill on the agenda this summer, and we ask Senators to back this common-sense solution,” said National Corn Growers Association Ethanol Action Team Chair Paul Jeschke of Illinois. “The RVP issue is a significant hurdle to expanding consumer access to higher ethanol blends. Congress should step up and remove this barrier so consumers can have more choice, and more savings, at the pump all year long.”

The Senate bill is co-sponsored by Joe Donnelly (D-IN) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), while Reps. Adrian Smith (R-NE) and David Loebsack (D-IA) have introduced the House bill.

Corn, Ethanol, NCGA, RFA

Iowa Gov and Ag Groups to Make China Trip

Cindy Zimmerman

Iowa’s new governor and the state’s agricultural organizations miss Terry Branstad so much that they are already planning a trip to see him in China.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds will lead an all-Iowa agriculture trade mission to China July 19-28 with representatives from the state’s corn, pork, soy, beef, egg, poultry, dairy and turkey industries. The trip marks the first time all of Iowa’s farm groups have come together for a trade mission which will be jointly funded by the participating organizations.

“There is no better time than now to market and pitch our products in China,” said Reynolds. “Our relationship with the country is strong, and their growing middle class means increasing purchasing power and Iowa stands to gain significantly as a result.”

The goal of the mission is to build relationships, understanding and trust with the hope of opening new possibilities for Iowa’s agricultural products. The groups will be meeting with government officials and industry partners. Reynolds says they will be visiting Ambassador Terry Branstad in Beijing, whose insight will be important as the groups navigate solutions to some of the current issues.

China currently accounts for 60 percent of global soybean imports – and growing. “It’s a vital market and an historic trip,” said Iowa Soybean Association CEO Kirk Leeds. “Relationships matter for the Chinese. Rarely do they do business with people they don’t know.”

China was the second-largest purchaser of U.S. ethanol last marketing year and a major buyer of U.S. distiller’s dried grains (DDGS), but because of Chinese antidumping and countervailing duties investigations, U.S. DDGS entering China now face duties of over 90 percent, and China has not approved any corn products derived from biotechnology since December 2014. “This has created market access challenges for corn exporters and restricted farmers’ access to new technologies,” said Iowa Corn CEO Craig Floss.

China is the second largest export market for U.S. pork producers but imports of U.S. beef have been banned for 13 years, so cattle producers are optimistic about the opportunities with the recent announcement to lift the ban.

Reynolds made the announcement Tuesday during her first weekly press conference as governor, joined by Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg, Iowa Corn CEO Craig Floss, ISA CEO Kirk Leeds, and Iowa Cattlemen’s CEO Matt Deppe. Listen to the announcement here: IA Gov China Trip Press Conference

Ag Groups, AgWired Animal, AgWired Precision, Audio, Beef, Corn, Ethanol, Pork, Soybean