Bayer Celebrates National Pollinator Week

Kelly Marshall

To celebrate National Pollinator Week, Bayer Bee Care has granted funding to 58 projects that will focus on forage planting. Projects in more than 30 states and Washington D.C. and will recieve between $1,000 and $5,000 in hopes of meeting Feed a Bee‘s latest initiative of forage planting in every state by the end of 2018.

“It’s thrilling to see so much interest around the country in such a short amount of time,” said Dr. Becky Langer, project manager, Bayer North American Bee Care Program. “We’re more than halfway to accomplishing our goal after the first round of proposals with more than a year and a half left in the initiative. It’s rewarding to see organizations across the country come together with one common goal: providing quality nutrients for pollinators. We look forward to seeing all the creative project ideas yet to come!”

Kickoff for the projects began Saturday, June 17 in Washington D.C. and the first Family Garden Day of 2017. Round one of grant recipients include:Read More

Agribusiness, AgWired Precision, Bayer, Bees, pollinators

2017 World Pork Expo: The Highlights

Lizzy Schultz

More than 20,000 pork producers and ag professionals from throughout the world attended the 29th World Pork Expo, June 7-9, in Des Moines. Presented by the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), the 2017 Expo hosted more than 1,000 international guests from nearly 40 countries. We spent the days mainly in the media room covering the latest from the pork community. Content has been accumulated in its own Virtual Ag Newsroom at AgNewswire sponsored by Aptimmune Biologics.

This virtual newsroom includes links to photos, audio, and video from the conference. All content posted here is available free of charge for digital or print publication or broadcast. Credit can be given to AgNewsWire.

Highlights Include:

“World Pork Expo gives producers the opportunity to see and touch the newest products and technologies for their pork businesses,” says Ken Maschhoff, NPPC president and Illinois pork producer. “It’s a place for producers to interact with each other and share ideas. It also gives employees at all levels a chance to learn, deepen their connection to pork production and have some fun.” Interview with Ken Maschhoff, NPPC president

The National Pork Board, with support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, announced a new program during this year’s expo. The Secure Pork Supply Plan is a voluntary program designed to support American farmers during a foreign animal disease outbreak. The plan is supported by health officials, not only because it will support them during an outbreak, but also because it can help with understanding where the disease is and isn’t. Interview with Patrick Webb, National Pork Board

On opening day of World Pork Expo, Aptimmune Biologics launched the world’s first commercially available mucosal PRRSV vaccine for swine. “Aptimmune has benefited from ground-breaking research conducted at the University of Illinois, The Ohio State University, and several private companies,” said Aptimmune CEO Aaron Gilbertie during a press conference. “We are proud the launch of BARRICADE® validates our collaborative innovation model. We are exceptionally pleased with early customer feedback. In the coming months, we expect to launch additional vaccines formulated with BARRICADE®, including influenza.” Interview with Aptimmune CEO Aaron Gilbertie

All photos from #WPX17 can be viewed and/or downloaded here: 2017 World Pork Expo photos

Coverage of the World Pork Expo is sponsored by
Coverage of the World Pork Expo is sponsored by Aptimmune
Ag Groups, AgWired Animal, Audio, NPPC, Pork, World Pork Expo

Mexico’s Adoption of E10 Applauded

Chuck Zimmerman

It looks like Mexico is jumping deeper into ethanol as a renewable fuel.

The Mexican Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) announced recently a change that will increase the maximum amount of ethanol that can be blended in Mexican gas supplies from 5.8 percent to 10 percent, except in the cities of Monterrey, Guadalajara and Mexico City.

The announcement modifies the Mexican Official Standard NOM 016-CRE-2016 regarding the quality specifications for fuels by increasing the maximum volume content of anhydrous ethanol as an oxygenate in regular and premium gasolines in Mexico.

“We are pleased to see this decision, which is the culmination of significant work by Mexican authorities and industry as they continue to diversify and improve their fuel supplies,” said Tom Sleight, U.S. Grains Council (USGC) President and CEO.

“By permitting the use of E10 in its fuel market, Mexico will have blend levels consistent with fuel sold and used throughout the United States and Canada. Not only will Mexico be able to achieve greater octane and oxygenate benefits from using E10, it will help to drive trade and investment in its ethanol fuel sector,” added Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Bob Dinneen.

Biofuels, Energy, Ethanol, International

SMART Farmer US Poultry

Cindy Zimmerman

In this edition of the SMART Farmer podcast we head south to learn a little bit about poultry production and how it has gotten smarter, more efficient and more sustainable over the years.

Monty Henderson started as a broiler service manager with Tyson Foods and later with Campbell Soup Company. He served as president of Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation and in 1994 joined George’s, Inc., as president and CEO where he retired in 2010. In addition to serving as a past chairman for U.S. Poultry and Egg Association, Henderson has served on the Board of Directors for the National Chicken Council and as a director of the American Egg Board, and now represents the poultry industry on the board of the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance.

Henderson shares how smart technology helps producers keep birds at their optimum comfort level and how breeding and genetics have helped the industry go from taking nine weeks to grow a chicken to 3.5 pounds to today taking only 35 days to reach the same weight: SMART Farmer Podcast with Monty Henderson, USPOULTRY

Subscribe to the SMART Farmer podcast

Learn more about USFRA and SMART Farm

AgWired Animal, Audio, Poultry, USFRA

NCGA Moves Forward with Farmer Success

Kelly Marshall

It should be noted that the efforts of growers to create healthier soils and cleaner water are having an impact, which is why the National Corn Growers Association is taking that momentum forward.

Last week the staff of the NCGA in Illinois, Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and Ohio met to learn more about the balance between water quality and ag nutrients.  “Finding the best path and striking the balance” was the theme for the event and covered topics like: assessing current water quality initiatives; costs and benefits of current practices; educating key thought leaders and the public; and farm bill proposals.

During the meeting, participants agreed upon the importance of: showcasing success stories of farmers pioneering new techniques; expanding and promoting outside cost sharing incentives; working with all available partners with common goals; and documenting the positive changes in detail for government regulatory bodies.

Ag Groups, AgWired Precision, NCGA, Soil, Water

NCGA Urging Innovators To Consider Corn

Lizzy Schultz

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) and innovation facilitator NineSigma recently announced the launch of The Consider Corn Challenge, a global competition to identify new and innovative uses for field corn as a renewable feedstock for making sustainable chemicals with significant market demand.

Corn production in the United States has increased from 105.5 million metric tons in 1970 to 345.5 million metric tons in 2015, and NCGA is inviting innovators around the world from industry, academia and other research institutions to consider new ways to utilize corn and maximize its contributions to the economy.

Up to six winning proposals will be selected and winners will each receive $25,000. Winners will be announced in February 2018. NCGA may also explore funding or other support of an entry for further development and/or commercialization, even if the entry is not a prize winner.

Lizzy Schultz sat down with Jim Bauman, Director of Market Development at NCGA, to talk about this exciting new opportunity for the corn industry.

“We’re always trying to go back and find new markets, new demand for our growers’ production and we believe that the bio-sustainable market really presents the best opportunities for growers as far as future growth,” said Bauman. “There’s a lot of excitement out there right now for this competition, it’s something we have never done before.”

NCGA has recently ramped up their focus on finding alternative uses for corn. The strategic plan of the organization is currently focused on finding three new uses for corn that will generate 25 million bushels of demand each by 2020.

Responses to the Consider Corn Challenge are due by September 28, 2017 at 5:00 PM US EDT. Solution providers can submit proposals through NineSigma’s Open Innovation community, available here. Click here for more information and updates on the challenge.

Listen to Lizzy’s full conversation with Jim here:
Interview with Jim Bauman, NCGA

Ag Groups, Audio, Corn, NCGA

Increased Access to Chinese Market for U.S. Dairy Exporters

Jamie Johansen

U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC), the National Milk Producers Federation(NMPF) and officials from the U.S. and China have reached an accord on dairy trade by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will increase access to China for more than 200 U.S. dairy exporters. The action creates new opportunities for dairy farmers and processors, and the milk, cheese, infant formula and ingredients they produce.

The MOU formally outlines a process in which third-party certification bodies, on FDA’s behalf, will audit U.S. dairy facilities to make sure they comply with Chinese food safety requirements. There was never a question of U.S. product safety. It was more a question of compliance with regulations between two countries with rigid regulatory systems.

“This deal marks a significant opportunity for the U.S. dairy industry,” said Tom Vilsack, president and CEO of USDEC. “China is already the world’s largest dairy importer, even though per capita consumption remains far below that of the United States, Europe and even its Asian neighbors like Japan and South Korea. The potential to increase exports there is tremendous.”

The Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People’s Republic of China (CNCA) and FDA needed to find a solution. Until that happened, no new U.S. dairy plants could be added to China’s list, effectively putting companies in a state of limbo, until this agreement.

The USDEC says U.S. companies can begin shipping once their plants have been officially listed as registered on the CNCA website.

Agribusiness, AgWired Animal, Dairy, Exports, Trade

Volvo Trucks Improve Sugar-Cane Harvest

Kelly Marshall

Volvo’s new self-steering truck is changing the Brazilian sugar-cane harvest with precision steering through the fields to avoid damage to young plants that will grow into next year’s crop. Currently, growers face a four percent loss each season as plants are run over by vehicles, meaning each of these trucks has the potential to save tens of thousands of U.S. dollars each year.

“With the help of Volvo Trucks’ solution we can increase productivity, not just for one single crop but for the entire lifecycle of the sugar-cane plant, which lasts five to six years,” explains Santa Terezinha’s Finance and Procurement Director, Paulo Meneguetti.

The automated truck eliminates the need for the driver to concentrate fully on following the harvester at exactly the right speed and directly in its tracks by using GPS receivers to follow a coordinate-based map through the field. Two gyroscopes keep the entire vehicle no more than 25 mm off course.

The project is being field tested this summer, with a commercially available solution to follow soon.

Agribusiness, AgWired Precision, Audio

Dairy & Poultry Groups Say Modernize NAFTA

Jamie Johansen

Leading animal agricultural groups representing the dairy and poultry sectors spoke out this week highlighting what a NAFTA modernization would mean for each of their prospective industries.

The U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) sent comments to the U.S. Trade Representative describing the existing North American dairy landscape as one in which U.S. dairy products flow relatively unhindered to Mexico but are curtailed by Canada’s increasing use of policy tools violating international trade obligations.

“NAFTA has accomplished a great deal over the past two-plus decades, but it has also been overtaken by new, unanticipated forms of trade and trade problems,” said Tom Vilsack, USDEC president and CEO. “We agree that NAFTA could use a facelift and our industry looks forward to working with the Trump Administration to explore ways to preserve and strengthen it.”

Last year, the U.S. dairy industry exported $1.2 billion worth of dairy products to Mexico, a dramatic increase from $124 million in 1995. Mexico is the largest U.S. dairy export market by far, roughly double the size of the industry’s second-largest market, Canada.

The National Chicken Council (NCC), USA Poultry & Egg Export Council (USAPEEC), and the National Turkey Federation (NTF) call Mexico their most important U.S. export market followed by Canada. They ask for:

First, Canada and the U.S. had reached preliminary agreement on increasing the quotas for U.S. chicken into Canada. This would represent modest improvements in trade liberalization, but would not represent threats to current domestic policies or create market disruptions. The U.S. industry also believes that there should be similar increases in the market access for U.S. turkey and turkey products.

Second, significant progress was made in the course of TPP negotiations to improve and update the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) rules applicable to free trade agreements. This important work should not be lost. The poultry industry joins its fellow agricultural industries in urging the U.S., Canada and Mexico to adopt these improved SPS provision as a replacement to the SPS chapter currently in the NAFTA text.

Ag Groups, AgWired Animal, Dairy, Exports, Poultry, Trade

Precision Ag Bytes 6/16

Kelly Marshall

  • Dow AgroSciences has announced that Enlist corn will be commercially available in the United States for the 2018 growing season now that China has officially approved the trait for import.
  • Tracy Linbo has taken the position of Senior Vice President of Agronomy for Wheat Growers.  She comes from 10 years at DuPont Pioneer where she most recently held the position of Director, Global Strategy Planning.
  • Syngenta is reminding growers that this year’s heavy spring rainfall throughout the South and Midwest created the perfect environment for diseases like frogeye leaf spot to thrive. Growers should take steps to take the necessary steps to protect yields.
  • The National Corn Growers Association offered a voice to farmers’ concerns about the proposed rule regarding genetically engineered organisms during the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service public comment meeting held at the University of California, Davis.  This was the second of three such sessions to gather comments.
  • USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service is featuring the story of seven rice farmers who sold the first carbon credits to Microsoft earlier this week.  The growers used a grant from NCRS’s Conservation Innovation Grants program.
AgWired Precision, Zimfo Bytes