Deere and Monsanto End Precision Planting Deal

Cindy Zimmerman

Under pressure from the Department of Justice, an agreement between Deere & Company and Monsanto to purchase Precision Planting LLC was terminated Monday.

The department filed suit on Aug. 31, 2016, to block the acquisition, alleging that the transaction was a merger-to-monopoly in high-speed precision planting systems, an innovative technology that enables farmers to accurately plant corn, soybeans and other row crops at up to twice the speed of a conventional planter. The case was scheduled for trial in U.S. District Court in Chicago on June 5, 2017.

The Precision Planting deal was announced in November 2015 but the closing has been delayed by Department of Justice concerns. “We are deeply disappointed in this outcome as we remain confident the acquisition would have benefited customers,” said Deere Agricultural Solutions President and Chief Information Officer John May.

Two agreements related to Deere’s purchase of Precision Planting will also be terminated, including the digital collaboration agreement between Deere and The Climate Corporation, a division of Monsanto. Also ending is an agreement that would have allowed Ag Leader to expand access to and distribution of certain Precision Planting products and technologies.

“As a world leader in precision agriculture, John Deere will continue developing technology-based products and services to help customers improve the productivity and profitability of their operations,” May said.

According to Monsanto, the Climate Corporation still intends to focus exclusively on its digital agriculture platform. “The company intends to sell the Precision Planting equipment business and has spoken with several third parties that have expressed interest in purchasing it.”

Agribusiness, John Deere, Precision Agriculture

#SecretarySonny Moves to Make School Meals Great Again

Cindy Zimmerman

Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue started out his second week on the job by going back to school and eating lunch.

Perdue visited Catoctin Elementary School in Leesburg, Virginia to announce that USDA will provide greater flexibility in nutrition requirements for school meal programs in order to make food choices both healthful and appealing to students, beginning the process of restoring local control of guidelines on whole grains, sodium, and milk.

“A perfect example is in the south, where the schools want to serve grits,” said Perdue. “But the whole grain variety has little black flakes in it, and the kids won’t eat it. The school is compliant with the whole grain requirements, but no one is eating the grits. That doesn’t make any sense.”

“I’ve got 14 grandchildren, and there is no way that I would propose something if I didn’t think it was good, healthful, and the right thing to do,” Perdue said. “And here’s the thing about local control: it means that this new flexibility will give schools and states the option of doing what we’re laying out here today. These are not mandates on schools.”

Today, Secretary Sonny will be meeting with members of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting in Washington this week for their annual Washington Watch.

Food, USDA

Passing of the NAMA Gavel

Cindy Zimmerman

ZimmCast 544Just back off the agriblogging highway from the 2017 AgriMarketing Conference in Dallas Texas where we talked a lot about podcasting and agriculture’s virtual newsroom AgNewsWire. We also did a lot of Facebook Live video from NAMA this year – the first time Best of NAMA and Student NAMA finals have ever been broadcast live.

The annual conference marks the changing of the guard for the National Agri-Marketing Association with a new president taking over leadership of the organization so we took a moment to check in with the incoming and the outgoing this year. First Chuck interviewed outgoing president Matt Coniglio of Penton Agriculture/Farm Progress, while I had the opportunity to interview the incoming NAMA president, Amy Bradford of GROWMARK.

Listen to the ZimmCast here: ZimmCast with Matt Coniglio and Amy Bradford, outgoing and incoming NAMA presidents

2017 Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

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

The ZimmCast

sponsored by
The ZimmCast podcast is sponsored by GROWMARK
Locally owned, globally strong.
Audio, NAMA, Podcasts, ZimmCast

First Next Gen NAMA Winners Honored

Cindy Zimmerman

The National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) honored the first winners of the Next Gen NAMA Award at the 2017 Agri-Marketing Conference in Dallas last week. This new award was developed to celebrate the next generation of agribusiness marketing industry leaders. Honorees were nominated by their company supervisor or through chapter or national leadership and must be NAMA members.

The five recipients for 2017 are Tyler Clarke, Advantage Agri-Marketing Services; Cliff Dolbeare, GROWMARK, Inc.; Beth Geary, Wheat Growers; Colin Pennington, Monsanto; and Jennifer Saylor, J.L. Farmakis, Inc.

I talked with Cliff Dolbeare, who is Digital Communication and PR Manager for GROWMARK, about being involved in NAMA and the digital world of agri-marketing. Dolbeare led a redesign of eResource, the GROWMARK system extranet site used to communicate system information with member companies throughout the country. He is active in NAMA local and national chapter events and also supports student chapters and their competitions. It’s a good bet he will be a leader in the industry since his mother, Roberta Simpson-Dolbeare, serves on the Illinois Soybean Board and the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) board.

Interview with Cliff Dolbeare, GROWMARK, Next Gen NAMA award
2017 Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

Coverage of the 2017 Agri-Marketing Conference is sponsored by
Coverage of the 2017 Agri-Marketing Conference is sponsored by New HollandCoverage of the 2017 Agri-Marketing Conference is sponsored by Brownfield Ag News for America
Audio, GROWMARK, NAMA

Agribusiness Leader and Marketer of Year Honored

Cindy Zimmerman

The recipients of NAMA’s Agribusiness Leader and Marketer of the Year are announced months in advance, but they receive those awards and the recognition that comes with them at the annual conference.

Mike Stern, CEO of Monsanto’s The Climate Corporation, received the 2017 Agribusiness Leader of the year award, which is NAMA’s highest honor, recognizes outstanding industry leadership.

Mike Stern exemplifies the spirit of the award through his understanding of the challenges farmers face and his passion for solving agriculture’s most pressing issue: the need to feed a growing population while minimizing the impact on the environment.

Listen to Mike’s comments here: Mike Stern, The Climate Corp, award remarks

Bader Rutter CEO Greg Nickerson was honored as the 2017 NAMA Marketer of the Year. This award is presented to an active member of the association to recognize outstanding accomplishments in the field of agri-marketing and is sponsored by Agri Marketing magazine.

Through his leadership, Greg Nickerson has helped Bader Rutter become the country’s largest agricultural marketing agency. Since 2009, when Nickerson was put in charge, the agency has nearly doubled in size.

Listen to Greg’s comments here: Greg Nickerson, Bader Rutter, award remarks

You can find all our photos here: 2017 Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

Coverage of the 2017 Agri-Marketing Conference is sponsored by
Coverage of the 2017 Agri-Marketing Conference is sponsored by New HollandCoverage of the 2017 Agri-Marketing Conference is sponsored by Brownfield Ag News for America
Agribusiness, Audio, NAMA

Herm Edwards Addresses #NAMA17

Cindy Zimmerman

On his way to Philadelphia yesterday to do commentary for NFL Draft Day, former NFL coach and ESPN analyst Herm Edwards visited the 2017 Agri-Marketing Conference to provide some game winning tips for life.

Edwards emphasized teamwork, integrity and effective communication and talked about his career as one of five head coaches in NFL history to take two different teams to the playoffs in their debut seasons. He also brought a little bit of Kansas City to the NAMA conference, which is normally held in that city, since he led the Kansas City Chiefs to a 9-7 record and tied for the most victories for a first-year coach with the franchise.

Chuck had a chance to interview him before his talk to NAMA: Interview with Herm Edwards, ESPN

You can find all our photos here: 2017 Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

Coverage of the 2017 Agri-Marketing Conference is sponsored by
Coverage of the 2017 Agri-Marketing Conference is sponsored by New HollandCoverage of the 2017 Agri-Marketing Conference is sponsored by Brownfield Ag News for America
Audio, NAMA

Secretary of Ag Answers Questions on NAFTA & More

Kelly Marshall

Yesterday newly confirmed Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue spent his third day on the job visiting the USDA office in Kansas City, Missouri. He also addressed members of the press, answering questions on topics from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to wildfires.

“I was a grain trader, and President Trump is a trader,” Perdue said when asked about the recent news that NAFTA is being rethought.   “When you said ‘he was going to do that,’ he uses statements many times from a  negotiating perspective, so saying something was contemplated is not the same thing as saying something was done, or going to be done.  I think the ultimate outcome is really what we’re interested in, and I think what you read in the news today regarding Mexico and Canada’s agreement to come to the table quickly, to renegotiate this years old trade affair will be helpful to producers of all kind in America, both in the agriculture sector and the manufacturing sector.”

“This president likes to do the deal,” Perdue added. “I’m persuaded he has the leadership and tenacity to make a good deal for Americans.”

Overall NAFTA has been good for farmers, Perdue said, but there are areas that need to be reevaluated.  The agreement has been a net benefit overall.  Certainly it’s been good for grains, but it’s been a negative balance for crops like fruits and vegetables, and that’s something Trump and Perdue want to see changed.

“We grow stuff very, very well.  My job as USDA Secretary of Agriculture is to go around the world and make sure we’re able to market and sell the products we grow very well,” Perdue explains.

Perdue also answered questions about the farm bill and SNAP program, staffing possibilities, the recent wildfires, and his priority for the USDA.  Listen here or watch the video to hear the complete press conference: Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue

Watch the video:


Audio, USDA, Video

U.S. Secretary of Ag Traveling to Kansas City

Kelly Marshall

Newly confirmed U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue is making his first official trip already. The secretary is heading to Kansas City today to first visit the USDA Beacon Facility and hold a press conference to discuss his vision for USDA and the first 100 days of the Trump Administration. Tomorrow, Perdue will address an audience of Midwest farmer leaders at the American Royal.

AgWired will be in Kansas City today to bring you coverage of Perdue’s first trip, so stay tuned.

USDA

2017 Best of NAMA Live

Chuck Zimmerman

Last night the ZimmComm Team, worked with the National Agri-Marketing Association to Facebook live stream the Best of NAMA Awards ceremony. You can watch it below.

Prior to the awards program we decided to do a little red carpet Facebook live at the Best of NAMA reception sponsored by Penton Ag. You can also watch our Facebook live red carpet video below. Our first star to be interviewed was Don Tourte, Penton Ag, followed by our incoming president Amy Bradford and then a host of others. Cindy and Jamie took turns doing interview during the stream. Hope you enjoy these!



You can find all our photos here: 2017 Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

Coverage of the 2017 Agri-Marketing Conference is sponsored by
Coverage of the 2017 Agri-Marketing Conference is sponsored by New HollandCoverage of the 2017 Agri-Marketing Conference is sponsored by Brownfield Ag News for America
NAMA, Video

Ag Groups Showcase Sustainability, Technology

Kelly Marshall

The American Seed Trade Association (ASTA), the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), and the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) hosted a field day for officials at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Pesticide Programs. Participants got to observe seed treatments, planting practices, equipment innovations and product demonstrations– all using the most cutting-edge technology available. The demonstrations took place on NCGA Chairman Chip Bowling’s farm in Newburg, Maryland.

“This event should serve as a model for how industry groups can work with environmental stakeholders and federal agencies to build understanding and cooperation on issues that affect agricultural stakeholders,” said AEM Senior Director Nick Tindall.

“As an industry, we are committed to the goal of developing better seed to produce better crops for a better quality of life,” said ASTA President & CEO Andrew W. LaVigne. “Today’s event was a tremendous opportunity to showcase the critical role of innovation and stewardship in every step of bringing quality, safe, and nutritious products to market.”

“We are excited for the opportunity to engage with regulators and to showcase advancements in farming practices that have improved the environmental profile of farming while increasing yields,” said NCGA Chairman Chip Bowling.  “Technology is key to improving the sustainability of farming. It is important that those who regulate this technology understand how these tools are used by farmers on the ground.”

This year’s demo day came about as a result of a spray drift technology demonstration for the EPA in 2016. The organizing groups will release a video with the day’s highlights soon.

AEM, Ag Groups, ASTA, EPA, NCGA, USDA