Farm Faster with 3RIVE 3D

Cindy Zimmerman

FMC’s Rick Ekins and Micro-Trak’s Heath McCormick

It was two years ago at National Farm Machinery Show that FMC Corporation introduced us to the revolutionary 3RIVE 3D application technology. Last year it won a FINovation award. This year, the product is now available through Micro-Trak Systems dealers in seven Midwest locations, according to company representative Heath McCormick.

“Those dealers are available to sell and install (3RIVE 3D) systems,” said McCormick during an interview at the NFMS last week. “Typical lead time this time of the year is under a week and our dealers would be happy to install it and get the grower up and going as soon as possible.”

The 3RIVE 3D platform integrates formulation technology, application technology and active ingredient to cover more ground in less time with fewer refills according to FMC Insecticide/Fungicide Portfolio Manager Rick Ekins who says their Capture® 3RIVE 3D™ insecticide is exclusively formulated for use with the 3RIVE 3D delivery system. “You take that proven technology, you put it in the 3RIVE 3D formulation, you marry that up with the system, and now we’re able to deliver a whole lot of acres with not a lot of product,” said Ekins.

Listen to both McCormick and Ekins talk about 3RIVE 3D in this interview: Interview with Rick Ekins, FMC and Heath McCormick, Micro-Trak

2017 National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album

Coverage of the National Farm Machinery Show is sponsored by
Coverage of the National Farm Machinery Show is sponsored by FMC
Audio, Equipment, FMC, Insecticides, NFMS

NFU Announces Speakers, Panelists for Convention

Kelly Marshall

The National Farmers Union will be celebrating 115 years at their annual convention in San Diego next month. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear from industry professionals, policy makers and reporters during the four-day event. The speaker schedule is as follows:

Conservation Panel (March 6, 2017)
~ Jason Weller, former chief, U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (panel moderator)
~ David Gagner, director of government relations and external affairs, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
~ Laura Lengnick, founder, Cultivating Resilience
~ Ron Nichols, soil health and communications coordinator, U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation ServiceRead More

Ag Groups, Events

State of the Ethanol Industry from #RFANEC

Chuck Zimmerman

Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) President and CEO Bob Dinneen gave his annual State of the Industry address at the National Ethanol Conference today, addressing more than 1,000 attendees in San Diego.

Last year was “a record year for production, a record year for net exports, a record year for domestic demand, and a record year for E15 sales and infrastructure build-out. It was, in short, a pretty darn good year,” said Dinneen. “Thus, I can once again say with great confidence and respect for what you have been able to accomplish that the state of the U.S. ethanol industry is strong, poised for continued growth, steeled for the challenges we know will persist, but resolute in our commitment to consumers seeking relief and choice at the pump, farmers in need of value-added markets for their commodities, and Americans all across the country concerned about the air we breathe and the national security threat posed by our stubborn dependence on imported energy.”

Read Dinneen’s remarks as prepared for delivery

Listen to the full state of the industry speech or watch the video below:
2017 State of the Ethanol Industry Address

National Ethanol Conference photo album


Audio, Ethanol, National Ethanol Conference, RFA, Video

Protecting Weed Technologies with FMC

Kelly Marshall

Technologies used to control weeds today took perhaps decades to come online, Nick Hustedde of FMC told Chuck Zimmerman at the National Farm Machinery Show. That’s why it’s so important to preserve what we have and make it last as long as we can; looking down the line the technologies available to us today will need to last for the next ten years.

We need multiple, effective modes of action to really preserve those technologies, Hustedde says.  Pre-Emergence is important not just for yield potential, but also to limit the number of weeds exposed to the post-emerge treatment.

“When we think about just a general principle in weed science, one in one billion of any given weeds can be resistant to any given herbicide. That’s just how they adapt in nature, so if we’ve got a solid pre-treatment out, we’re minimizing the number of individuals exposed, we’re really doing a better job of stewarding those post technologies.”

Growers need to think about weed management as a long term process, Hustedde emphasizes. Listen to Chuck’s full interview with him here to learn about FMC’s trials in evaluating weed resistance: Interview with Nick Hustedde, FMC

2017 National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album

Coverage of the National Farm Machinery Show is sponsored by
Coverage of the National Farm Machinery Show is sponsored by FMC
Audio, FMC, National Farm Machinery Show, weed management

#NFMS17 Sees Launch of Camso AG 2500 Series

Kelly Marshall

“There are a lot of reasons why you should be running a track system, but yield is what it all boils down to,” Eric Blondeau Executive Director of Tracks and Wheels at Camso told Chuck Zimmerman.

For growers already familiar with the track’s benefits of being able to work in the fields whenever they like without compromising the soil, Camso has a new product they’re debuting at the National Farm Machinery Show. The AG 2500 series was designed to match what a grower might be getting from his competitor, but with Camso’s quality and unique compounds that make it available at 15% less. “When it’s time to change, you’ll be very happy with our product,” Blondeau says, “and you’re pocket will be even happier.”

The AG 2500 series tracks are available for all friction-drive tractors, including the John Deere 8RT and 9RT tractors as well as the AGCO MT700 and MT800 platforms.

For more information about the AG 2500 series listen to Chuck’s full interview with Blondeau here: Interview with Eric Blondeau, Camso

2017 National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album

Coverage of the National Farm Machinery Show is sponsored by
Coverage of the National Farm Machinery Show is sponsored by FMC
Audio, National Farm Machinery Show

AEM Hosts Infrastructure Panel at #NFMS17

Cindy Zimmerman

L-R: AFBF president Zippy Duvall, Vermeer CEO Jason Andringa, CLAAS Global Sales Americas President Leif Magnusson, Indiana University Senior Policy Analyst Jamie Palmer, and moderator Max Armstrong

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) hosted a rural infrastructure panel at the National Farm Machinery Show last week as part of its Infrastructure Vision 2050 initiative to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing U.S. infrastructure and its potential impact on the agriculture economy.

The event was a follow-up to AEM’s Rural Infrastructure Summit held at Iowa State University last August. The Infrastructure Vision 2050 initiative will continue to focus on the link between the agriculture economy and the future of U.S. infrastructure next month with AEM’s participation in the Agri-Pulse Farm Bill Summit in Washington, D.C. on March 20.

The panel included American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall, Vermeer Corporation President and CEO Jason Andringa, CLAAS Global Sales Americas President Leif Magnusson, and Indiana University Senior Policy Analyst Jamie Palmer. Duvall talked about the importance of the three Rs – roads, rivers, and railways – to the movement of agricultural commodities and gave his thoughts on the nominee for agriculture secretary Sonny Perdue. “Governor Purdue is a really good friend of mine,” said Duvall. “He cares about people and he really understands agriculture.”

In discussing the need for strong Congressional leadership on infrastructure investment, Leif Magnusson stressed that “the United States needs to maintain its infrastructure advantage in order to stay competitive in the global economy.” The panelists agreed that a solutions-oriented approach is the next step forward in adapting U.S. infrastructure to the needs of the evolving agriculture economy.

Listen to the panelists opening comments here: AEM Infrastructure Panel at NFMS17

2017 National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album

Coverage of the National Farm Machinery Show is sponsored by
Coverage of the National Farm Machinery Show is sponsored by FMC
AEM, Audio, Equipment, National Farm Machinery Show, NFMS

NCFC Honors GROWMARK Chairman

Cindy Zimmerman

The National Council of Farmer Cooperatives (NCFC) has presented it prestigious Director of the Year Award to GROWMARK Chairman of the Board and President John Reifsteck.

“John’s dedication and service to the GROWMARK Board over the past 24 years has been paramount to the success of our cooperative system,” said GROWMARK CEO Jim Spradlin. “He is an outstanding leader who continues to bring great knowledge and insight to member and farmer needs.”

Reifsteck has served on the GROWMARK Board since 1993 and has been Board Chairman and President since 2013. He operates a grain farm in Champaign County, Illinois, with his wife Nancy. As Director of the Year, the NCFC Foundation provides a $5,000 donation to the scholarship fund of a land grant university chosen by the winner. Reifsteck’s donation will be made to the University of Illinois.

Cooperatives, GROWMARK

Industry Mourns Loss of Respected Ag Journalist

Cindy Zimmerman

DTN/The Progressive Farmer was saddened to report that Executive Editor Marcia Zarley Taylor passed away Feb. 19 after a brief illness.

Most of us in the business have known and worked with Marcia over the years. She was a former president of the American Agricultural Editors’ Association and would have become North American Agricultural Journalists Association’s new president this spring. She spent ten years at DTN/The Progressive Farmer and prior to that was chief editor of Top Producer Magazine.

DTN Editor-in-chief Greg Horstmeier writes about his friend and colleague:

Taylor’s importance to the DTN/PF team, and to agriculture, is best summed in the title of her online blog, “Minding Ag’s Business.” That is what she did throughout a four-decade career: Taylor tended to, wrote about, worried about, and led others’ thinking about, the business of agriculture.

Requiescat in pace, Marcia.

ACN, Journalism

Introducing the SMART Farmer Podcast

Cindy Zimmerman

We are pleased to introduce the very first SMART Farmer podcast which features interviews with the people who use data and technology to be more sustainable and to help build a smarter version of the American farm and ranch.

In this first episode, U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance CEO Randy Krotz talks about how people can relate to the SMART Farm concept – just like a smart phone or a smart home. Then we visit with Katie Brenny from the recent Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show to find out how she and her husband use the latest technology to produce beef more sustainably on their operation in Minnesota.

Listen to the first podcast:
SMART Farmer Podcast with Katie Brenny

Subscribe to the SMART Farmer podcast

Audio, Podcasts, Technology, USFRA

AgCompass Helps Make Tax Time Easier

Cindy Zimmerman

If you are ready to make tax time easier, a virtual desktop and your accounting software hosted by AgCompass may be just what you need for secure sharing.

“Security and data independence are important concerns for farmers,” says Nick Chambers, Business Manager for AgCompass. “With a virtual desktop, while your data is technically in the cloud, unlike web-based applications, your personal data is securely stored in your own licensed software – like how it is stored on a personal computer.”

The advantage of hosting your software with AgCompass is that they provide all the software updates, conduct daily backups, and your data is stored in a world-class data center making it less vulnerable to hardware failure. AgCompass can host any windows-based software including QuickBooks, FBS, RedWing, Microsoft products, and many more.

“We work with a variety of software companies and work with farmers and CPAs who use their products,” said Chambers. “It has never been easier to collaborate with others through the software you already use.”

To learn more about AgCompass and to download “3 Farm Business Management Tips for Tax Time,” go to agcompass.com/taxtime.

Learn more about AgCompass in this previously published interview: Interview with Nick Chambers, AgCompass

Audio, Technology