Industry Ag News 5/31

Carrie Muehling

  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is seeking information from the public on protocols that may be considered for inclusion in a new Greenhouse Gas Technical Assistance Provider and Third-Party Verifier Program, the main program of the Growing Climate Solutions Act. The input is being collected through a Request for Information and will be considered in the preparation of a proposed rule to establish the program.
  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of the Chief Economist announced the appointment of Kent Lanclos to USDA’s World Agricultural Outlook Board (WAOB), serving as Chair of the Interagency Commodity Estimates Committee (ICEC) for cotton, responsible for the cotton forecasts in the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report.
  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service is accepting applications from current and potential U.S. exporters for a trade mission to Vietnam, Sept. 9-13, 2024. Participants will attend events in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, and will also have the opportunity to engage with visiting buyers from Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia and Thailand.
  • Seven FFA student members have been named U.S. Presidential Scholars — one of the nation’s highest honors for high school students — for their accomplishments in academics, the arts, and career and technical education. Of the 3.7 million students expected to graduate from high school this year, more than 5,700 candidates qualified for the 2024 award and only 161 students received the honor. A complete list of 2024 U.S. Presidential Scholars is available at http://www.ed.gov/psp.
  • Cornell University student Jake Zajkowski has joined the Agri-Pulse team of journalists as an intern this summer in Washington. Zajkowski is writing and conducting research for the Agri-Pulse and Agri-Pulse West newsletters and also contributing to the Agri-Pulse DriveTime podcast and Newsmakers TV show at Agri-Pulse.com. An Ohio native, he is a junior agriculture science major at Cornell, with experience as a farm broadcaster for the Ohio Ag Net, a staffer in the Ohio Legislature, a strategic partners intern with the Ohio Farm Bureau and an international dialogues intern for the World Food Prize Foundation.
  • Machinery Pete, LLC, a leading online marketplace for used farm and construction equipment, announced its partnership with FBN Finance, a trusted provider of agricultural financing solutions including farm equipment loans. FBN Finance will be the premier finance partner for MachineryPete.com, offering farmers a direct link to FBN Finance’s secure and straightforward application process.
  • American Vanguard Corporation announced that, after 35 years in the agrochemical industry, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, Bob Trogele, will be retiring effective May 31, 2024. Mr. Trogele joined the company’s principal operating subsidiary, AMVAC, in January 2015 to focus on growing the business across multiple product lines and geographies, achieving greater profitability, and establishing a pipeline of future opportunities through innovation and strategic relationships.
  • Syngenta Crop Protection announced that Riley Titus has accepted the position of state affairs lead, effective May 20, 2024, reporting to David Flakne, head of U.S. State Affairs. In this role, Riley will oversee the management and implementation of legislative and regulatory priorities and stakeholder relations in key states within the western corn belt, mid-South and mid-Atlantic regions. He joins a team of four who advocate for and support the U.S. business.
  • Register now for the June Luncheon Meeting of the Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City: State Ag Issues featuring Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Mike Beam and Missouri Director of Agriculture Chris Chinn on Thursday, June 6, 2024 from 11:30 AM – 1:15 PM at the American Royal in Kansas City.
  • Cotton Australia has announced the finalists in the 2024 Australian Bayer Cotton Grower of the Year award and the AgriRisk High Achiever of the year award, with the results to be announced at the Cotton Conference on the Gold Coast in August.
  • On May 23, 2024, the National Association of Wheat Growers’ (NAWG) CEO Chandler Goule attended the White House State Dinner with President William Ruto and First Lady Rachel Ruto of the Republic of Kenya. Goule was chosen to participate in this event due to President William Ruto’s background in agriculture.
  • Purdue University researchers are developing biodegradable materials that retain water in a cleaner, more sustainable way and have much less environmental impact. Senay Simsek leads a team of researchers in Purdue’s College of Agriculture using cellulose extracted from hemp and refined through a sequence of treatments to create the patent-pending, superabsorbent materials. Simsek is a professor in and the head of the Department of Food Science, and holds the Dean’s Chair in Food Science.
    • Zimfo Bytes

    Precision Ag News 5/31

    Carrie Muehling

  • Opportunities to advance sustainable cotton farming in the United States are growing thanks to a nationwide partnership led by the Soil Health Institute’s United States Regenerative Cotton Fund (USRCF). The fund’s holistic approach to advance economic insights, soil health measurement, and education has made significant progress in the U.S. Cotton Belt since its establishment, engaging more than 1,000 cotton farmers and their advisors. Its efforts support adoption of management systems to improve soil health, the foundation for regenerative agriculture.
  • U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that USDA is investing in domestic fertilizer projects to strengthen competition for U.S. farmers, ranchers and agricultural producers. This funding advances President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to grow the nation’s economy from the middle out and bottom up. It will create jobs and spur economic growth in rural communities by increasing competition in agricultural markets. Through these projects, President Biden is delivering on promises he made two years ago when he visited rural Illinois to announce the doubling of funding available through the Fertilizer Production and Expansion Program (FPEP).
  • As part of its strategic open innovation approach global life science company Bayer has advanced two initiatives with external partners to bring forward genome editing in vegetables. Bayer and South-Korean biotech company G+FLAS have entered into an agreement to collaborate on developing genome-edited tomato varieties that are nutritionally enhanced with vitamin D3. Vitamin D deficiency is a widespread issue globally, particularly in countries where winter sunlight is limited. It affects an estimated billion people worldwide and can lead to a range of health issues including rickets.
  • The Seed Association of the Americas (SAA), in collaboration with the Argentine Seed Association (ASA), invites you to attend the 9th Seed Congress of the Americas, which will be held from September 30 to October 2, 2024, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
  • In 2016, leaders from the Michigan Plant Coalition — Michigan’s assembly of plant agriculture organizations and commodity groups — came together to discuss a subject each industry could relate to in some way: climate resiliency. The Agricultural Climate Resiliency Program, which was announced in February this year, is a collaborative effort made up of the Plant Coalition, MSU and MDARD designed to achieve insight and solutions for some of the longer-term projects Upton described. A one-time $5 million allocation of funds put forward by MDARD will allow for four new, original 3-year projects addressing soil health, water and nutrient management, pest control and climate-smart agriculture techniques to operate through MSU AgBioResearch and MSU Extension.
  • Synsus Private Label Partners, LLC, based in Houston, TX, announced that it has acquired AmegA Sciences, LLC & React Industries, LLC of Lakeland, FL. AmegA Sciences and React Industries are private label manufacturers which serve the agricultural, horticultural, turf and ornamental industries as well as the wider plant health sectors, both domestically and internationally.
  • Farmers Edge, a pure-play digital ag company, and the National Sorghum Producers (NSP) are excited to announce a new strategic partnership aimed at enhancing sustainable farming practices for sorghum growers. This strategic partnership will support growers participating in NSP’s Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities (PCSC) grant program funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Together, Farmers Edge and NSP will help growers seamlessly integrate advanced technology solutions for capturing essential on-farm data, including Carbon Intensity (CI) scoring, thus contributing to broader environmental goals.
  • The program for the 33rd Milan No-Till Field Day has been announced, with topics such as pesticide restrictions, herbicide-resistant weeds and climate-smart agriculture headlining this year’s event. Hosted on Thursday, July 25, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the AgResearch and Education Center at Milan, attendees will be able to attend fifteen different tours discussing no-till farming. Each tour will be led by up to seven speakers from the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture and other organizations across the Mid-South.
    • AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes, Precision Agriculture

    Ethanol Report on Days of Summer

    Cindy Zimmerman

    When it’s summertime, the driving is easier with ethanol.

    As millions of Americans are looking ahead to summer vacations and family road trips, high fuel prices may be a concern, but ethanol is helping to keep prices lower than they might be otherwise, and the Renewable Fuels Association notes that higher ethanol blends like E15 and E85 offer even lower prices, and the chance for motorists to win $300 in fuel every week this summer.

    In this edition of the Ethanol Report, RFA chief economist Scott Richman, and Senior VP, Industry Relations & Market Development, Robert White talk about the benefits of ethanol blended fuel and RFA’s annual Ethanol Days of Summer Contest.

    Ethanol Report 5-23-24 15:38

    The Ethanol Report is a podcast about the latest news and information in the ethanol industry that has been sponsored by the Renewable Fuels Association since 2008.

    Choose an option to subscribe

    Audio, Ethanol, Podcasts, RFA

    Animal Ag News 5/28

    Carrie Muehling

  • Since the detection of H5N1 in dairy cattle in March, USDA has worked swiftly and diligently to assess the prevalence of the virus in U.S. dairy herds and to use the latest scientific data to learn about the virus and to quickly contain the disease event. As part of this multifaceted approach, on May 10, USDA announced several financial assistance options for producers with affected herds.
  • The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) is pleased to receive $800,000 in federal funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP). In October, the USDA initiated the $1.2 billion RAPP program aimed at developing new export markets for U.S. food and agricultural products, extending beyond the traditional partnerships with Canada, Mexico, the European Union and China.
  • The 70th annual Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course on Aug. 5-7 in Bryan-College Station is open for registration. The event is hosted by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Animal Science.
  • Learn from past Environmental Stewardship Award Program regional winners Nick Jorgenson, Jorgenson Land & Cattle (South Dakota); Keith Tuck, Tuck Farms (Virginia); and Emily Fulstone, Fulstone Ranches (Nevada) at the next National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Cattlemen’s Webinar Series. These guests will share practical steps to create a grazing management plan and how to overcome common hurdles.
  • The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) thanked the House Agriculture Committee for passing the next Farm Bill, known as the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024. This Farm Bill includes top priorities for cattle farmers and ranchers including cattle health, voluntary conservation, and food security provisions.
  • Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative is investing in the future of the next generation through its annual scholarship program. Five young adults will receive $2,000 scholarship awards to pursue higher education. Two scholarships will be awarded to students currently enrolled in college or university, and three scholarships will be awarded to graduating high school seniors. This year’s recipients include high school seniors Olivia Killian of Whitehall Memorial High School, Eli Staudinger of Valders High School and Joseph Peterson of Providence Academy, and current college students Katelyn Meinholz of the University of Wisconsin Platteville and Brady Gille of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.
  • The National Milk Producers Federation thanked members of the House Agriculture Committee for their work to advance a 2024 Farm Bill through Congress this year, with bipartisan approval for a plan introduced by Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson that includes numerous provisions important to dairy farmers and the cooperatives they own.
  • The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) joined forces with the American Farm Bureau Federation to garner support from 900+ agricultural stakeholders supporting the federal fix to California Prop. 12 to be included in the 2024 Farm Bill. Laying out robust arguments in a letter to U.S. House Agriculture Committee Chairman G.T. Thompson (R-PA) and Ranking Member David Scott (D-GA) on Prop. 12’s damaging implications, the coalition highlighted several points.
  • Legislative changes, export opportunities, taxes and technological advances all play a huge role in poultry and egg companies’ financial management. Combine these challenges with the daily activities involved in reporting and cybersecurity protections, and you get a very complex role for financial managers. USPOULTRY’s 2024 Financial Management Seminar, developed by poultry and egg industry financial professionals, will give you the necessary tools to help keep your company operating efficiently. This year’s seminar will be held June 26-28 at the JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort in Marco Island, Florida.
  • By 2035, Generation Z will be the primary purchasers of protein and will significantly impact how chicken is raised, processed and marketed. Industry experts scheduled to speak at Chicken Marketing Summit 2024 will preview the consumer of 2035 and the issues that will influence their protein choices. The annual executive conference is scheduled for July 29-31 at the Renaissance Birmingham Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa. Registration is open with early savings available until May 31.
    • AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Animal Bites

    Central Stockyards Prepares for Canadian Expansion

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Central Stockyards, LLC, a livestock marketing service that hosts the weekly Fed Cattle Exchange, has expanded its team and is preparing for the addition of Canadian feedyard and packer participation in its weekly sales.

    Brent Difley has been named Business Development Director for Canada. In this role, he will be responsible for working with Canadian feedyards and packers to market fed cattle on the Fed Cattle Exchange. Difley grew up on a ranch in Saskatchewan and has spent his career in the animal health industry, working across all Canadian provinces.

    Cassidee Rogers has joined Central Stockyards as Business Operations Coordinator, responsible for coordinating customer relations and daily Fed Cattle Exchange auctions. A cattle feeding industry veteran, Rogers brings a wealth of experience to the Central Stockyards team. Her knowledge and experience in the Northern Plains will help Central Stockyards expand into additional cattle feeding regions.

    According to Central Stockyards president and CEO Forrest Roberts the Fed Cattle Exchange had been approached many times by Canadian feedyards looking for a better way to enhance fed cattle price discovery. “We are responding to this interest by modifying the Fed Cattle Exchange platform and setting aside a portion of our weekly auctions for Canadian fed cattle listings.”

    The first Canadian cattle will be featured on the Fed Cattle Exchange on June 5, 2024. The Fed Cattle Exchange platform will reflect the terms used in Canadian fed cattle sales, including currency, weight, yield, and quality grade differences.

    AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Beef, Livestock, Marketing

    John Deere Equipment on Display at the National Mall

    Chuck Zimmerman

    John Deere Ag On The MallOnce again John Deere featured an exhibit at the Modern Ag on the Mall event with a variety of equipment and technology. They had experts on hand to talk to the public, agency officials and the media. I spoke with Aaron Wetzel, VP Precision Ag. Aaron says the diversity of people who come to their booth makes it very exciting to show and discuss agriculture in general as well as their equipment. He says they leave with a better understand of what agriculture is all about. Here are some of the items on display.

    8R Autonomous Tractor
    Farmers never have a shortage of work to do on any given day. Autonomy increases overall farm productivity, enabling more acres to be covered by extending the day or unlocking 24/7 operation without adding help.

    S7 900 Combine
    Launched in February at Commodity Classic, the new S7 combine helps farmers perform at the maximum to make the most of the season’s efforts.

    See & Spray™ Ultimate Sprayer
    See & Spray™ Ultimate enables targeted spraying of nonresidual herbicide on weeds among corn, soybean and cotton plants.

    GUSS Autonomous Sprayer and Smart Apply®
    GUSS autonomous sprayers combine autonomous technology and precision application to complete the orchard and vineyard spray job quickly and efficiently. Smart Apply® is a precision upgrade kit that elevates the performance of virtually any air-blast sprayer, new or used.

    Precision Agriculture Technology
    The John Deere Operations Center™ is an online farm management system that enables farmers to create optimized work plans, monitor job quality, and analyze and receive insights from data anytime and anywhere.

    Connectivity is crucial to a farm’s operation; however, most farms are in rural communities where connectivity challenges persist. The John Deere partnership with SpaceX will provide improved connectivity via satellites. Farmers will be able to work more efficiently and productively, reduce downtime, and coordinate among machines for more efficient use of resources.

    Listen in to my interview with Aaron to learn more: AEM Ag on the Mall - Aaron Wetzel, Deere 9:55

    2024 Celebration of Modern Agriculture on the Mall

    Agribusiness, Audio, Equipment, John Deere, Precision Agriculture, Tractor

    Gearing up for Tech Hub LIVE 2024

    Cindy Zimmerman

    The 2024 Tech Hub LIVE Conference and Expo, powered by CropLife Media Group®, will be taking place July 29-31, 2024, at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines.

    Tech Hub LIVE has become the leading event for advancing data-driven agriculture, attracting a diverse group of stakeholders, including ag retailers, distributors, consultants, manufacturers, and other key players in the ag supply chain. The event provides a platform for professionals to explore and leverage the latest technological innovations, ensuring practical business advantages on the farm.

    Key Features of Tech Hub LIVE 2024:

    • Women in Ag Tech @Tech Hub LIVE: A pre-conference opportunity to connect and engage with leading women in the ag tech industry
    • Welcome Party: Kick off the event with a Top Gun-themed networking event on the evening of July 29th. Enjoy food, drinks, music, and games while meeting up with your industry friends!
    • Keynote Address: Hear from Ted McKinney, Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA), who will share insights on the future of agriculture.
    • Roundtable Discussions: Join subject matter experts for facilitated discussions on various topics, including in-field ag tech tools, weed management technology, and AI-driven strategies for agri-food supply chain success.
    • Expo Hall: Explore the latest innovations and technologies from leading ag tech companies and organizations.

    Powered by CropLife Media Group®, the nation’s leading voice for the ag retail industry, in collaboration with the Global Ag Tech InitiativeSM and AgriBusiness Global brands, along with our partners Ever.Ag, Greater Des Moines Partnership, and Telus Agriculture, and supporting organizations Agricultural Retailers Association, AgGateway, FIRA 2024, and AgriBusiness Association of Iowa, Tech Hub LIVE is designed to foster collaboration and innovation, providing valuable insights and practical solutions to advance agribusiness.

    AgWired Precision, Precision Agriculture, Tech Hub LIVE, Technology

    Industry Ag News 5/24

    Carrie Muehling

  • The Farm Credit Administration earned a top 10 ranking in the 2023 Best Places to Work in the Federal Government survey. It placed fifth among 30 small federal agencies, which are defined as those having at least 100 but less than 1,000 employees.
  • Registration is open for Agricultural Media Summit, the largest gathering of ag communicators in the U.S. Join us in Kansas City from August 3-6 to build connections, sharpen your skills and advance your career.
  • The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture has been awarded $5 million through the United States Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service Regional Agricultural Promotion Program, as announced by USDA and USDA Foreign Agricultural Service Administrator Daniel Whitley during “A Taste of the States: Chicago” at the National Restaurant Association Show. The program aims to diversify market opportunities for U.S. food and agricultural products by expanding markets beyond the top regions U.S. food and agricultural products are currently exported to.
  • The 2024 Borlaug Dialogue convenes under the theme “Seeds of Opportunity: Bridging Generations and Cultivating Diplomacy,” echoing Dr. Norman Borlaug’s enduring vision of breaking barriers and transcending boundaries for global food security.
  • Patrick Gottsch, founder of Rural Media Group, Inc., parent company to RFD-TV, The Cowboy Channel, The Cowgirl Channel, and Rural Radio 147, passed away May 18, 2024 at the age of 70.
  • National FFA Organization, headquartered in Indianapolis, is proud to announce the incoming cohort of National Teacher Ambassadors for the 2024-2025 school year. There will be 64 National Teacher Ambassadors representing 31 different states, as well as Puerto Rico.
  • Addie Gauck of Greensburg, Indiana, is the recipient of the 2024-25 Soy Scholarship award, sponsored by the American Soybean Association and BASF.
  • The National Cotton Council announces its Emerging Leaders Program participants for 2024-2025.
  • Potatoes USA announces nominations are now open for new board members for the 2025 term. The board is seeking nominees to fill a total of 33 open seats. Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming, and a public member.
  • Syngenta Group, the leading global agriculture technology company, and The Nature Conservancy, a world-wide conservation organization with the mission to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends, renewed their successful collaboration that links conservation goals with economic potential and addresses societal issues like deforestation and land degradation. The two partners have been collaborating since 2009 and entered into a global collaboration in 2018.
    • Zimfo Bytes

    Lindsay Announces Enhancement to FieldNET Advisor

    Chuck Zimmerman

    LindsayOne of the exhibitors at the Modern Ag on the Mall in Washington, DC was Lindsay. I spoke with Gustavo Oberto, President, Global Irrigation. We started with why the company took part in this year’s event and what he hopes they accomplish. From there we focused on the new improvements in irrigation management so farmers can manage their water use. That is the recently announced FieldNET Advisor enhancement.

    “We build solutions by farmers, for farmers,” said Gustavo Oberto, president of irrigation for Lindsay. “That’s why it is so important to us that the team building our products and technologies has first-hand knowledge of how those solutions are working in the field.

    Here is a list:

    FieldNET Advisor Enhancements
    Growers around the world use FieldNET Advisor every day to monitor irrigation patterns and check soil moisture levels. The additional product benefits now available to growers are:

    1. Easy enrollment for the whole operation and customized recommendations to grower management preferences
    2. Satellite imagery estimates crop water usage providing up-to-date data that automatically tracks how conditions change through the growing season; wind, hail, disease, and other factors are all accounted for
    3. Manage the whole farm at a glance, including crop canopy development, crop water use, weather, and irrigation recommendations
    4. More easily review data and execute irrigation decisions on a mobile device
    5. Simplified, whole-farm pricing with only one subscription to manage
    6. Connect your on-farm Pessl weather station to FieldNET and incorporate local weather data into your irrigation recommendations

    You can listen to my interview with Gustavo Oberto here: AEM Ag on the Mall - Gustavo Oberto, Lindsay 5:59

    2024 Celebration of Modern Agriculture on the Mall

    Agribusiness, Audio, Equipment, Irrigation

    NAFB Names Gardner Hatch as Executive Director

    Cindy Zimmerman

    The new executive director of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) is a name well-known in the agricultural marketing world – Gardner Hatch.

    Hatch brings 30-plus years of experience in public relations, agriculture marketing, and strategic communications to the role, having worked with some of the ag industry’s leading companies. Most recently, he was strategic marketing lead at Woodruff, an integrated marketing company specializing in agriculture. He also has held public relations and management positions at other ag marketing firms, including Bader Rutter, G&S Business Communications, and Fleishman Hillard.

    Hatch holds a bachelor’s of journalism from the University of Missouri. Additionally, Hatch recently completed a two-year term as an Allied Industry Council representative on the NAFB board of directors.

    Hatch will officially start on June 4. He replaces Tom Brand, who resigned at the end of 2023 after serving in the role since 2011.

    Gardner was one of our Golden Mic award winners presented at the recent NAMA conference, which was pretty appropriate!

    NAFB, NAMA