USFRA and ZimmComm Produce SMART Farmer Podcast

Jamie Johansen April 26, 2017

Consumers like technology. The smartphone, the smart home and the smart classroom all encompass innovation and technology that helps improve people’s lives. Similarly, with agriculture continually evolving resembling every other forward-thinking industry, today’s SMART Farm utilizes technology to be more sustainable and efficient.

To share personal stories about ways farmers and ranchers are using technology, U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) partnered with ZimmComm New Media to bridge the conversation between urban and rural Americans through the SMART Farmer Podcast. From crop and livestock to conventional and organic, spanning all sizes, this podcast features farmers, ranchers and industry leaders. The SMART Farmer Podcast explores what technologies enhance environmental sustainability, the misconceptions associated with GMOs, antibiotics, pesticides and animal welfare, and how agriculture strives to continually improve.

“USFRA research shows technology in agriculture is perceived positively by consumers and food influencers, with about half who associate it to increased yields and improved efficiency,” said Randy Krotz, USFRA Chief Executive Officer. “Our SMART Farm platform is an opportunity to capitalize on the positive support for technology on today’s farms and ranches showing how it benefits the consumer and our planet.”

The SMART Farmer Podcast with interviews including National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) Chairman and USFRA Vice Chairman Chip Bowling, American Sugarbeet Growers Association (ASGA) President and USFRA Board Member Galen Lee and USFRA Face of Farming & Ranching Lauren Schwab, among others, will be featured at booth 214-216 at the NAMA Agri-Marketing Conference Connection Point Trade Show on April 26-28 in Dallas, Texas. ZimmComm will be offering podcast informational sessions while USFRA will be providing demos of its new 360-degree pig videos, which utilize a virtual reality (VR)-style headset to give consumers a one-of-a kind experience inside a modern pig farm.

“Podcasting has been around for over a decade but it has really exploded in popularity recently, especially among millennials, as more people are creating their own personalized programming on their smart phones and tablets,” said ZimmComm President Chuck Zimmerman. “The SMART Farmer podcast has a broad potential audience reach.”

Subscribe to the SMART Farmer podcast or listen on iTunes. Media are welcome to use the podcast or portions of it in their programming.

Audio, Podcasts, USFRA, ZimmComm Announcement

General Mills Backing Soil Health Program

Chuck Zimmerman April 26, 2017

Several organizations have come together on a program to enhance farm sustainability through soil health. And they are very happy to announce additional backing from a major food manufacturer – General Mills. These organizations are working to advance soil health on America’s farms and ranches, paving the way for measurable economic and environmental gains for farmers, businesses and communities for generations to come.

To help ensure soil health, General Mills has made a three-year, $2 million commitment to The Nature Conservancy, Soil Health Institute and Soil Health Partnership to support the development of tools and resources for farmers, landowners, and supply chain leaders to achieve widespread adoption of soil health practices.

“Soil health is critical for everyone including farmers, farm communities, consumers, and companies,” said Jerry Lynch, Chief Sustainability Officer at General Mills. “We are grateful to partner with farmers in our supply chain in their ongoing work to build healthy soils, and welcome further collaboration with all interested parties in the value chain.”

Collaborating across business, science and policy sectors will help achieve meaningful soil health outcomes more quickly and at an unprecedented scale. Specifically, these organizations will partner to:

Improve soil health measurements and standards;

Increase support for soil health practice adoption by absentee landowners
Target, plan and expand the field network of on-farm demonstration sites
Coordinate soil health activities and communications for maximum impact
Mobilize and support diverse constituents in advancing public policy solutions

Jamie Johansen spoke with Wayne Honeycutt, President and CEO of the Soil Health Institute about this initiative.

“The needs for advancing soil health are far greater than any single organization can provide – public or private,” said Honeycutt. “Soil health management systems can build resilience to drought as well as provide protection from other extreme weather events, such as flooding. In fact, when we increase soil organic carbon by a single percent – just 1 percent – we increase soil water-holding capacity by approximately 2,500 to 12,000 gallons per acre in many agricultural soils. These same soil health practices that are good for farmers can also improve water quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and enhance pollinator and other wildlife habitat. Partnering is the way we can achieve national scale of such benefits.”

Listen to the ZimmCast with to learn more here: ZimmCast with Wayne Honeycutt, Soil Health Insitutue

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

The ZimmCast

sponsored by

Locally owned, globally strong.

Audio, Farming, Food, Soil, Sustainability, ZimmCast

Welcome @SecretarySonny

Jamie Johansen April 25, 2017

Sonny Perdue was sworn in as the 31st U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tuesday and officially introduced his new Twitter handle – @SecretarySonny. Welcome to Twitter Secretary Perdue.

After he took the oath of office, Perdue’s first order of business was to address employees at the USDA. “The only legacy that I seek is the only one that any grandparent or parent seeks – to be good stewards, and to hand off our nation, our home, our fields, our forests, and our farms to the next generation in better shape than we found it,” Perdue said. “Making sure that Americans who make their livelihoods in the agriculture industry have the ability to thrive will be one of my top priorities. I am committed to serving the customers of USDA, and I will be an unapologetic advocate for American agriculture.”

As agriculture secretary, Perdue says his decisions will be guided by four main principles:
1. Maximize the ability of America’s agriculture and agribusiness sector to create jobs, to produce and sell the foods and fiber that feed and clothe the world, and to reap the earned reward of their labor. All while removing obstacles giving farmers, ranchers, and producers every opportunity to prosper.
2. Prioritize customer service every day for American taxpayers and consumers.
3. Ensure a safe and secure food supply. Food security is a key component of national security, because hunger and peace do not long coexist.
4. Remember that America’s agricultural bounty comes directly from the land. Perdue’s father’s words still ring true: We’re all stewards of the land, owned or rented, and our responsibility is to leave it better than we found it.

Listen here or watch the USDA video below: Secretary Sonny Perdue addresses USDA

Ag Groups, Audio, USDA, Video

Trump Puts Agriculture in the Spotlight

Cindy Zimmerman April 25, 2017

President Trump holds farmers roundtable with Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue (USDA photo)

President Trump welcomed new Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue on his first day in office for a White House “Farmers Roundtable” and the signing of an Executive Order establishing an Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity.

During the signing, President Trump commented on the current trade dispute with Canada over dairy product pricing. “(w)here the dairy farmers up in Wisconsin, Upstate New York, different places — a lot of border states in particular — are not able to sell their dairy products into Canada. And this has been going on for a while, and we’re not going to put up with it,” said Trump. “And we’re going to take care of our dairy farmers in Wisconsin, and Upstate New York, and lots of other places.”

The president also reiterated his commitment to building a wall. “We’re already preparing. We’re doing plans. We’re doing specifications. We’re doing a lot of work on the wall, and the wall gets built. The wall is very, very important.”

Listen to Trump’s comments here: President Trump at White House farmers roundtable

Among the 14 farmers and ranchers invited to the White House session was American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall. “Not only was President Trump receptive to our concerns, but he pledged action,” Duvall said. “He even looked toward Secretary Perdue and said, ‘Let’s get these problems fixed.’”

Others at the roundtable included Iowa Secretary of Agriculture and farmer Bill Northey, NC Commissioner of Agriculture and farmer Steve Troxler and former California Secretary of Agriculture and farmer A.G. Kawamura.

AFBF, Audio, USDA

Ag Unites – Now Time for Business

Jamie Johansen April 25, 2017

As Monday came to a close, news in ag circles was still streaming in. We now have a leader at the USDA and agricultural organizations have welcomed the news of the confirmation of George Ervin “Sonny” Perdue III as the next Secretary of Agriculture. But this appointment comes with a long list of to-dos.

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said, “Farm Bureau heartily congratulates Secretary Sonny Perdue on his new role leading our nation’s Agriculture Department. We are eager for agriculture to finally have a seat in the president’s cabinet, and we know Secretary Perdue is just as eager to get to work for farmers, consumers and rural America.”

“He understands the impact farm labor shortages, trade agreements and regulations have on a farmer’s bottom line and ability to stay in business from one season to the next. There’s important work ahead for the secretary, and he’ll need to address these challenges against the backdrop of the biggest drop in farm prices and income we’ve seen in decades.”

National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson had similar things to say. “Having endured months of the current farm crisis and drastic policy changes in Washington without a Secretary of Agriculture, family farmers and ranchers are relieved that Sonny Perdue has finally been confirmed to lead the USDA. NFU stands ready to assist the new Secretary as he navigates the myriad issues facing family agriculture and rural communities.”

“Following his confirmation, Perdue will need to work immediately to address the depressed farm economy, offering assistance to struggling farmers across the country. We particularly look forward to working towards finding solutions for dairy producers, as discussed during the confirmation process. Additionally, NFU urges Perdue to quickly review and approve the long-overdue Farmer Fair Practices Rules, which will provide farmers and ranchers with basic protections against anti-competitive practices.”

Ag Groups, USDA

#Plant17 Makes Progress

Cindy Zimmerman April 25, 2017

(Apr 19) #TodayAtTomFarms Our #DB90 is on the move planting #corn this morning.

Some dry days last week helped farmers make up for slow progress the week before as corn planting gained 11 points to almost be at the average for this time of year at 17 percent, according to the latest crop progress report out Monday.

Illinois and Missouri jumped ahead last week in corn planting progress, planting over one quarter of their crops in the week ending April 23, while North Carolina planted over 30 percent. Four percent of the crop nationwide has emerged, the same as last year and the five year average.

While the planting in Illinois was gaining momentum last week, I talked Tim Laatsch of the Agronomy Division at GROWMARK about how the warmer, drier winter combined with wet conditions this spring is causing winter annuals to thrive in some areas, providing a good habitat for cutworms. Laatsch says significant numbers of cutworms have been reported in the past three weeks so he suggests that growers be aggressively scouting early corn right now.

In this interview, Laatsch also talks about some of the other weed and disease pressures he’s seeing in the area: Interview with Tim Laatsch, GROWMARK

Audio, Corn, GROWMARK

It’s a Sonny Day for America

Cindy Zimmerman April 24, 2017

The U.S. Senate has formally confirmed the nomination of George Ervin “Sonny” Perdue III to serve as the 31st Secretary of Agriculture. The final vote was 87 to 11.

Agribusinessman, veterinarian, state legislator, and governor of Georgia, Perdue worked on the family farm in central Georgia andn will be only the fourth agriculture secretary who can claim to have been a farmer. According to his bio from USDA, it was the family farm which shaped Sonny Perdue. “He has lived and breathed the exhilaration of a great crop and the despair and devastation of a drought. He learned by experience what his father told him as a child, “If you take care of the land, the land will take care of you.””

Perdue recognizes that agriculture is an issue and industry which cuts across political party boundaries. He recognizes that the size, scope, and diversity of America’s agricultural sector requires reaching across the aisle so that partisanship doesn’t get in the way of good solutions for American farmers, ranchers, and consumers.

Perdue was the last cabinet member to be nominated before President Trump took office in January but there is still one more to be confirmed and that is Alex Acosta, who was second choice for labor secretary after Trump’s first choice withdrew. Perdue is scheduled to make his first remarks to USDA staff members at 9:00 am Eastern time Tuesday morning.

Listen to the comments of senators supporting Perdue’s confirmation on the floor Monday.
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) – McConnell/Perdue
Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) – Roberts/Perdue
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) – Stabenow/Perdue
Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) – Tester/Perdue
Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) – Isakson/Perdue

Audio, USDA

SMART Farmer Nancy Kavazanjian

Cindy Zimmerman April 24, 2017

This is episode number six of the USFRA SMART Farmer podcast and this one is with Nancy Kavazanjian, who served as the second chairperson of the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance.

Nancy farms with her husband Charlie Hammer in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin on land that has been in his family for 150 years. She grew up on Long Island, made a career as an agricultural journalist, has served as chairperson of the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance and currently serves on the board representing the United Soybean Board.

In this podcast, Nancy talks about the smart technology of GPS and GMOs on the farm: SMART Farmer Podcast with Nancy Kavazanjian

Subscribe to the SMART Farmer podcast
Learn more about USFRA and SMART Farm

Audio, Corn, Podcasts, Soybean, USFRA

Ethanol and Earth Day

Cindy Zimmerman April 21, 2017

Ethanol has a seat on the ground at one of the largest Earth Day events in the country this weekend – Earth Day Texas, which last year hosted over 130,000 attendees, over 700 exhibitors and more than 250 speakers.

Even bigger and better this year, the event includes the National Alternative Fuel Vehicle (AFV) Day Odyssey where Renewable Fuels Association Vice President of Industry Relations Robert White spoke yesterday.

In this edition of The Ethanol Report, White talks about how ethanol has helped to clean up vehicle emissions and come a long way since the first Earth Day in 1970. Ethanol Report on Earth Day 2017

Click here to subscribe to the Ethanol Report podcast feed and never miss an episode!

Audio, Environment, Ethanol, Podcasts, RFA

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