Novozymes & Boehringer Ingelheim Collaborate in Probiotics

Jamie Johansen

Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health and Novozymes announced a strategic collaboration to develop and commercialize probiotics for global poultry production. The parties will focus on developing products for hatcheries. As part of the agreement, Boehringer Ingelheim will market and distribute Novozymes’ FloraMax® probiotic product for the U.S. poultry industry.

“Boehringer Ingelheim is continuously exploring new science, products and industry categories, to deliver a powerful range of innovative solutions with a focus on customer needs. Poultry producers are looking for improved ways to deliver on the growing global need for sustainable protein,” said George Heidgerken, Global Head of Livestock at Boehringer Ingelheim. “Collaborating with Novozymes enables Boehringer Ingelheim to enter an exciting new segment of products to provide alternatives in an environment that is increasingly challenged by antibiotic bans.”

“We are excited to collaborate with Boehringer Ingelheim to develop a range of probiotic solutions for poultry that will improve sustainability in the industry”, said Susanne Palsten Buchardt, Vice President, Animal Health & Nutrition at Novozymes. “The collaboration is an important step in solidifying Novozymes’ capabilities within probiotics and helping poultry producers deliver greater quantities of safe, affordable protein. Utilizing Boehringer Ingelheim’s close relationships with large-scale producers, Novozymes will gain valuable access to new distribution channels and customers, many of which are seeking sustainable alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters”.

Agribusiness, Animal Health, Boehringer Ingelheim, Poultry

Perdue Moves Toward Confirmation

Cindy Zimmerman

The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry today moved the Trump Administration one step closer to a full cabinet by voting to favorably report nominee Sonny Perdue to serve as the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, which means he will now be considered by the full Senate for confirmation.

Committee chairman Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) is pleased Perdue’s nomination is closer to the finish line. “Our farmers and ranchers have been waiting too long for this important position to be filled,” said Roberts. “We need to get Governor Perdue down to USDA to get to work.”

Governor Perdue has the bipartisan support of six past agriculture secretaries and more than 650 agriculture groups from across the nation.

There is no vote scheduled yet for the full senate. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) was the only member of the committee to vote against Perdue, due to her concerns about how he might unfavorably impact food assistance programs at USDA.

USDA

Crappie Fishing and Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

We went fishing for this edition of the ZimmCast and caught it on Grenada Lake, Mississippi at the Mississippi State Championship, one stop on the 2017 Crappie Masters All American Tournament Trail.

The Renewable Fuels Association is a title sponsor of the tournament, along with Bass Pro Shops, and it has the support of Missouri Corn Growers and American Ethanol as well.

Brian Sowers is a long-time friend from back in our days at Brownfield when he was with KMMO radio in Marshall, Missouri. Now he is co-host of Crappie Masters TV and very involved in the increasingly popular family sport of crappie or pan fishing. In this ZimmCast, he talks about how this journey has evolved and how the corn and ethanol industries came to be a part of it.

Listen to the ZimmCast with Brian here:ZimmCast with Brian Sowers, Crappie Masters

More interviews and photos from the Crappie Masters tournament

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

The ZimmCast

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The ZimmCast podcast is sponsored by GROWMARK
Locally owned, globally strong.
Audio, Corn, Ethanol, RFA, ZimmCast

Bridging the Farm/Food Policy Gap at #FarmBillSummit

Kelly Marshall

The “Bridging the Gap Between Farm and Food Policy” panel hosted by Agri-Pulse during their Farm Bill Summit was moderated by Agri-Pulse Senior Editor, Phillip Brasher. The panelists were all veterans of past farm bills and familiar with wrestling issues like SNAP.

“I think the alliance between farmers and people who work in the nutrition field or people who worry about hunger should be an evergreen- should last every year not just every fifth year or every fourth year when we deal with the farm bill,” explains Missouri Farm Bureau President, Blake Hurst. “We in agriculture spend a lot of time worrying about protecting the technologies that are so important to what I like to call ‘conventional farmers,’ and our natural allies in that fight, as well as in the farm bill fight, are people who care about the price of food.”

Other panelists included: Carrie Calvert, Vice President, Feeding America; Michel Nischan, CEO/Founder, Wholesome Wave; and Matt Perin, Head of Government Relations, The Kroger Co.

Listen to all their comments here: Bridging the Gap Between Farm and Food Policy Panel Discussion

Photos can be found on the Agri-Pulse website.
Agri-Pulse Farm Bill Summit photos

Ag Day, Agri-Pulse, Audio, Farm Bill, Food

What Works, What Doesn’t in Conservation

Kelly Marshall

As part of the Agri-Pulse Farm Bill Summit, Sara Wyant moderated the panel “Conservation- What Works, What Doesn’t.” Panel participants included: Tina May, Sr. Director of Sustainability, Land O’Lakes; Eric Lindstrom, National Manager of Agriculture Policy, Ducks Unlimited; Suzy Friedman, Sr. Director of Agriculture Sustainability, Environmental Defense Fund; Dave White, Co-Founder/Partner, 9-B Group; and Anne Simmons, Democratic Staff Director, House Agriculture Committee.

The group discussed the transition of conservation programs we found in the 80s to the evolution of the public and private conservation of today.

“I’ll tell you what’s working,” Dave White answered Wyant’s question. “It’s voluntary, inventive-based private land conservation. We’ve seen some phenomenal things.”

You can listen to the full panel discussion here: Conservation- What's Working, What Doesn't Panel

Photos can be found on the Agri-Pulse website.
Agri-Pulse Farm Bill Summit photos

Ag Day, Agri-Pulse, Agribusiness, Audio, Conservation

SMART Farmer Lauren Schwab

Cindy Zimmerman

This edition of the SMART Farmer podcast comes from National Ag Day in Washington D.C. last week where USFRA Faces of Farming and Ranching representative Lauren Schwab talked about SMART Farming.

Lauren, who is known as FarmGirlWCurls on Twitter and Facebook, loves sharing her love of piglets on social media and educating non-farmers about the business. She talks about how technology helps keep her piglets safe and warm, and how her cell phone is one of the most important tools on the farm.

Listen to the podcast here: SMART Farmer Podcast with Lauren Schwab

Subscribe to the SMART Farmer podcast

Audio, Pork, USFRA

Water for Food Welcomes Experts to Share Ideas

Cindy Zimmerman

A record 100 speakers and global experts will be gathering together next month to help find solutions to the world’s pressing water and food security needs at the 2017 Water for Food Global Conference April 10-12 at Nebraska Innovation Campus in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Researchers, practitioners, policymakers, farmers, faculty, students, thought leaders and industry experts will explore “Water for Food Security: From Local Lessons to Global Impacts,”a theme inspired by the notion that global breakthroughs come from local action. The flagship event of the Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska is held in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Drought Mitigation Center.

“We are energized to bring together such a dynamic and diverse group of speakers and experts to the University of Nebraska,” said Peter McCornick, executive director. “This year’s conference will push us further toward finding real-world solutions – locally and globally – to the complex challenge of ensuring water and food security.”

McCornick says he is especially excited about the topic of enhancing high productivity irrigated agriculture, highlighting challenges and opportunities from the Great Plains to sub-Saharan Africa. “We’re excited about the partners coming in to participate in this session,” he said. “We’re well poised this year to make a contribution in this space.”

The regular registration deadline for the conference is April 1 but McCornick says they are reaching their limit for registrations so he encourages anyone who is interested to register as soon as possible. More information, including the speaker list, agenda and registration details, are available on the conference website.

Listen to this interview with McCornick to learn more about the Water for Food Institute and Global Conference: Interview with Peter McCornick, Water For Food Institute

Audio, Water, Water for Food

Sugar Farmers Address #FarmBillSummit

Kelly Marshall

Galen Lee, President of the American Sugarbeet Growers Association, addressed the audience at Agri-Pulse’s Farm Bill Summit last week. The sugar industry is currently dealing with lower sugar prices than when Jimmy Carter was in office, so the importance of a strong safety net can’t be understated.

“While we are smaller than other crops we still support 142,000 jobs in 22 states,” Lee states. “And we still pump 20 billion dollars per year into rural economies. Remember most sugar companies in America are cooperatives, meaning they are owned and operated by farmers, so we have a lot on the line. If sugar is not profitable we loose more than our farms. We loose our businesses, our markets and our local economies.”

It’s already happening for the sugar industry, as evidenced by the Hawaiian sugar industry. Steps taken now to write the farm bill have real consequences for our families and communities, says Lee.

Listen to his complete remarks here: Remarks from Galen Lee, American Sugarbeet Growers Association

Photos can be found on the Agri-Pulse website. Agri-Pulse Farm Bill Summit photos

Ag Day, Agri-Pulse

ASA Supports National Biodiesel Board

Kelly Marshall

The American Soybean Association (ASA) supports the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) in the filing of an anti-dumping and countervailing duty petition. The petition alleges Argentine and Indonesian companies are selling dumped biodiesel and subsidized biodiesel in violation of U.S. trade laws. ASA President Ron Moore made this statement in support of the petition:

“Biodiesel imports from Argentina and Indonesia have flooded the U.S. market in recent years and these imports receive trade and market distorting subsidies in their home countries that provide an unfair advantage over U.S. biodiesel. Soybean farmers have a vested interest in the biodiesel industry, having made substantial investments over the past several decades to established and build a domestic biodiesel industry and market. We believe an investigation by the Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission will show that unfair subsidies provided by Argentina and Indonesia are resulting in imports being unlawfully dumped on the U.S. market. We look forward to the appropriate anti-dumping and countervailing duties being imposed to remedy these unfair and unlawful practices.”

ASA, Soybean, Trade

Zimfo Bytes

Lizzy Schultz

Zimfo Bytes

  • The American Farm Bureau Federation has expressed its appreciation to Monsanto Co. for its generous wildfire relief donation of $200,000 to be shared equally among Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas Farm Bureaus following devastating blazes that have caused more than $20 million in property damage and thousands of square miles of property loss in the four states. Kansas Farm Bureau will dedicate its $50,000 to the YF&R Wildfire Relief Fund for beginning and young farmers and ranchers in the four affected states.
  • The board of directors of the Global Farmer Network is growing with the addition of Roberto Peiretti, a fourth-generation farmer and trained agronomist from the Cordoba Province in central Argentina, Cherilyn Nagel, a farmer from Saskatchewan, V. Ravichandran, a third-generation farmer in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, and Craige Mackenzie, an innovative dairy and cropping farmer from Methven, New Zealand.
  • Potatoes USA Board Members were sworn in during its Annual Meeting held in Denver CO, March 13- 16. Of those sworn in, there were 20 new producers and two new importers as well as 16 producers and one importer who were sworn into their second three-year term.
  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is announcing the availability of more than $6 million in funding to implement practices that will help private farmers, ranchers and forest landowners affected by the wildfires blazing in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
Zimfo Bytes