Need to Increase Demand for #Corn

Cindy Zimmerman November 1, 2016

The new president of the National Corn Growers Association says growing demand continues to be a big priority for farmers.

“The crop is bigger than we’ve seen before, we just keep being able to produce these records,” said Wesley Spurlock, a corn farmer from Texas who just took over as NCGA president at the beginning of October. “Demand is what we’re working on. It’s demand, demand and more demand.”

And increasing demand for U.S. coarse grains and ethanol co-products is what the Renewable Fuels Association and U.S. Grains Council were doing with the Export Exchange 2016 in Detroit last week. “We really appreciate the work they do,” said Sprulock, noting that there were some 200 international buyers and end users from 35 countries at the event. “They’ve got small rooms set up so buyers and sellers can get together … for them to be able to communicate together is amazing.”

“We know we have the ability to produce these crops, so we have to be able to move them,” Spurlock said. “We need these exports healthy.”

Listen to my interview with Wesley here: Interview with Wesley Spurlock, NCGA president

2016 Export Exchange Photo Album

Coverage of Export Exchange 2016 made possible by

Ag Groups, Audio, Corn, Ethanol, Exports, International, NCGA, RFA

A Bad Boy ZimmCast

Chuck Zimmerman October 31, 2016

Bad Boy Off Road is part of Textron Specialized Vehicles, based in Augusta, GA. That’s where I met Ben White to pick up an Recoil iS Crew to test drive during this hunting season at the Crystal Pig Hunt Club. As you’ll hear in this week’s program in the background, it is a busy place.

My hunt club partner and brother, Paul Zimmerman, and I spent some days successfully hunting last week sharing time on my old model Bad Boy Buggy and the new machine. With the Recoil we immediately noticed how awesome the suspension is. Ruts in the road? Bumpy ground off road? The Bad Boy Recoil iS Crew don’t care!

I’m already looking forward to my next trip to the Pig for round two since I did not get my buck. I did get meat for the freezer with a couple does. Paul, however, got a nice 9 point buck and Clint Underwood who was hunting with us got his first deer ever.

I’m here to tell you that the battery operated Recoil iS Crew is silent and that means a lot when getting you your stand. I know we have a lot of hunters in the AgWired Community so you might want to look into Bad Boy Off Road. I’ll have a more complete review of the Recoil soon but at the first test period it is getting a thumbs up from me.

You can listen to the program here: ZimmCast with Ben White, Textron Specialized Vehicles

Subscribe to the ZimmCast podcast here.

The ZimmCast

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Audio, Hunting, ZimmCast

FMC Rhyme Addresses Disease Concerns

Joanna Schroeder October 31, 2016

Powdery mildew has been a stand-out problem in California according to Matt Rackerby, strategic business specialist for FMC. In fact, one grower told him that in 50 years of growing grapes, it’s the worst powdery mildew he’s ever seen. This season proved to be the perfect conditions for the disease to grow and people who didn’t address it early and often, struggled. So what is a good solution? I learned the answer from Rackerby during the 2016 CAPCA Conference & Agri-Expo that took place in Anaheim, California.

FMC’s Matt Rackerby discussing Rhyme and Fracture fungicides during the 2016 CAPCA Conference.

FMC has a new product to specifically address this disease, Rhyme fungicide, and Rackerby said under heavy pressure, things looked good for growers who used the product. Rhyme is a FRAC 3 fungicide. It’s not a new class, but rather a new chemistry. “So what makes it a standout product in that class is that translocates very, very well. So well in fact, we’re expecting a label soon that allows chemigation. If you put it through a drip system the plant will suck it up,” Rackerby explained.

There is also a special label in Texas where Rhyme is helping to control a root rot that they don’t have in California. It’s controlling the root rot and it’s being taken up by the vines providing powdery mildew control as well.

“If you haven’t used a FRAC 3 fungicide for awhile because you think you wore it out, it’s time to come back to it now, but come back to the best one on the market and Rhyme fungicide is a good performer, said Rackerby. He added that its performance makes it a great tool for use in resistance management strategies. Besides rotating and tank mixing, he said other options are to find totally new fungicide classes to integrate into their programs such as Fracture fungicide, a new mode of action fungicide that helps control mid-season disease issues such as powdery mildew and botrytis.

I asked him what are the challenges going into the 2017 crop. He said that the biggest challenge is water. The growers have been getting less and less water each year, said Rackerby so they are having to learn new ways to conserve resources, but more water allocation for the state’s ag industry is needed.

To learn more, listen to my interview with Matt Rackerby here: Interview with Matt Rackerby, FMC on Rhyme and Fracture

I couldn’t resist asking Rackerby about an oldie but goodie FMC product, Shark® EW, herbicide. Rackerby said that while most PCA’s and growers know about the product, FMC is continually add to the label by adding crops and making the label more useful. Speaking of new uses, Rackerby said growers can now use Shark EW on alfalfa when they burn down during the dormant period. They can either add it to other products or they can use it alone. In the summer a grower can use it in between cuttings.

Learn more about Shark here: FMC's Matt Rackerby on Shark EW

Be sure to check out even more action by viewing the 42nd Annual CAPCA Photo Album.

Legal: Always read and follow label directions. Shark EW herbicide is only registered for use in California. FMC Fracture, Koverall, Rhyme, Shark and Sovran are trademarks and Investing in farming’s future is a service mark of FMC Corporation or an affiliate. ©2016 FMC Corporation. All rights reserved. 16-FMC-0857, 10/16

Agribusiness, Audio, FMC, Fungicide, Herbicide

New Holland Acquires Kongskilde Agriculture

Jamie Johansen October 31, 2016

New Holland Agriculture will expand its wide offering with new implement product lines as a result of CNH Industrial’s agreement to acquire the agricultural Grass and Soil business of Kongskilde Industries, part of the Danish Group Dansk Landbrugs Grovvareselskab.

This business develops, manufactures and sells solutions for agricultural applications in the Tillage and Hay & Forage segments under various brands, including Kongskilde, Överum and JF. Kongskilde will continue to operate through its current sales organization and its dealer network ensuring continuity in its customers’ support.

This acquisition will create a major extension and enhancement of New Holland’s offering with the addition of a key product portfolio. New Holland has a long history of leadership in the hay tools which dates back to 1940, when it made a major breakthrough in hay harvesting with the introduction of the first self-tying automatic pick-up baler to the American farmers. Throughout the years it has been motivated by its forward-thinking commitment to respond to its customers’ requirements and has developed a complete product offering of hay equipment for cutting, tedding, raking, baling and stacking. Today New Holland is a Global leading brand and an industry-leader in North America in the haytools and agricultural equipment markets.

“The acquisition of the tillage and hay and forage activities of Kongskilde adds a key product range that will further broaden New Holland Agriculture’s product offering within the agricultural machinery sector. In the meantime the Kongskilde dealer and importer network will remain the reference point for their customers. This agreement will provide growth opportunities and create a strong platform to develop the Kongskilde business and its brands and we will also gradually integrate their products in the New Holland portfolio”, said Carlo Lambro, Brand President of New Holland Agriculture.

“We are proud to welcome the well-established products and brands of Kongskilde, Överum and JF into the CNH Industrial Group. It is our intention to build upon these proud heritages and significantly increase their market access as part of our worldwide distribution network,” commented Richard Tobin, CEO of CNH Industrial.

Agribusiness, Equipment, Forage, Hay, New Holland

Swanson Russell Promotes Wostrel to VP

Cindy Zimmerman October 31, 2016

Congratulations to Kellie Wostrel, who has just been promoted to to vice president/public relations manager for the Swanson Russell Omaha office.

Wostrel began her career at Swanson Russell as public relations counsel in 2008 and has since worked with many account teams, including FMC Agricultural Solutions, Land O’Lakes Purina Feed, Merck Animal Health, Precision Laboratories and Urban Libraries Council, among others.

“Kellie is an outstanding public relations leader,” said Jeff Patterson, senior vice president/director of public relations. “Her campaign development expertise and passion for public relations adds great value for our clients as well as our public relations team.”

Wostrel has an Accreditation in Public Relations (APR), is a past president of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Nebraska Chapter and immediate past chair of PRSA’s Midwest District. The Medina, Ohio, native holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

Kellie is also a great joy to work with and we wish her all the best and continued success!

Agencies

Addressing Sustainability with International Buyers

Kelly Marshall October 31, 2016

Addressing the issue of sustainability with international buyers of U.S. grains at the Export Exchange 2016 was Field to Market data and technology director Paul Hishmeh. Field to Market focuses on quantifiable sustainability in agriculture and Hishmeh brought an overview of what that looks like to the conference, which is co-sponsored by the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) and the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) every other year to bring together international buyers and domestic suppliers of corn, ethanol co-products, sorghum and barley.

Sustainability is being touted in many areas and various ways, but consumers are the real drivers behind behind the movement, Hishmeh asserts. Eighty percent of consumers expect more sustainability from companies, 70 percent want to know more about how their food is cared for before it arrives at the super market, and 60 percent of millennials are willing to pay more for sustainable products; a fact that can be seen in the growth of organic food and fair trade products.

Companies are looking for ways to accomplish what consumers are expecting. Some Field to Market members are taking great strides, like Coca-Cola working to reduce greenhouse gases across the supply chain by 25 percent, or Wal-Mart looking to assure fertilizer optimization on 14 million acres.

“There is a strong commitment in the United States for sure, and abroad, to look at sustainability in a very meaningful way,” Hishmeh says.

Key to the success of Field to Market is a nonprofit with a small staff, but it is member companies that make things happen within the organization. Members include grower organizations and companies across the food supply chain. Their overall goal, he says, is simple but important. Field to Market is “meeting the needs of today while improving the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

Learn more about Field to Market’s four pillars, the Field Print Calculator, agronomic tools and other sustainability efforts in the U.S. in Paul Hishmeh’s speech here: Presentation by Paul Hishmeh, Field to Market

2016 Export Exchange Photo Album

Coverage of Export Exchange 2016 made possible by

Audio, Ethanol, Exports, Feed, Grains, RFA, USGC

FMC’s Expanding Portfolio Offers New Fungicides

Joanna Schroeder October 28, 2016

“This is one of the most exciting times to be at FMC,” Kaustubh Borah, segment manager for specialty crops, told AgWired during the 42nd annual CAPCA Conference & Agri-Expo. With the acquisition of Cheminova, FMC’s fungicide portfolio has expanded. For instance, in the TF&V segment FMC now has some new fungicides along with some insecticides and herbicides to complement the entire portfolio.

FMC’s Kaustubh Borah speaks with AgWired’s Joanna Schroeder about their new fungicides Rhyme and Fracture during the 2016 CAPCA Conference.

FMC used CAPCA as the platform to launch two new fungicides. The first is Rhyme™ fungicide, which Borah says it is one of the most highly systemic triazoles in the marketplace. “What this basically means is that it translocates within the plant very quickly and helps to control some very difficult to control diseases such as powdery mildew, brown rot blossom blight and leaf rust.” Borah said they are also going to be getting a chemigation label to help their farmer customers use it through the drip. Borah also pointed out iprodione, Sovran® fungicide and mancozeb (Koverall® fungicide) as some other fungicide offerings complementing the portfolio.

FMC also has a new biological called Fracture® fungicide. I asked Borah how the fungicide works and how it differs from others on the market. He explained that the polypeptide is extracted from sweet lupine plants and it binds itself to the cell walls of the fungi and fractures it, hence the name Fracture. It then coats the fungal cell membrane covering it completely and then prevents the cell from absorbing nutrients thus suffocating it. Within four hours the cell cannot reproduce and within eight hours the cell is dead. “Fracture controls powdery mildew and botrytis. It has a 24 hour PHI and a four-hour REI,” said Borah.

In terms of how it stands out, Borah explained Fracture fungicide has multiple modes of action and it is so unique that Borah said a new FRAC Group, M12, had to be created for its active ingredient, BLAD. “So growers who want to practice good resistance management should use Fracture fungicide in their program.” He recommends rotating different classes of fungicides for resistance management and using Fracture fungicide in the rotation program to break the ‘cycle’.

Borah noted that if a grower keeps using the same mode of action, resistance is likely to develop. Fracture fungicide is a preventative material with some curative activity. He added that they expect the OMRI label in the first quarter of 2017, enabling organic growers the ability to use Fracture fungicide. He seemed excited that the organic growers would soon be able to use this effective fungicide in their program. The product is available in all TF&V markets across the country and is currently labeled on strawberries, grapes, tomatoes and almonds. It controls powdery mildew, botrytis and brown rot blossom blight. FMC is looking to add new crops and testing for control of additional diseases with Fracture fungicide. He reiterated FMC’s commitment to work with customers in understanding gaps and bring truly new innovative solutions to the market place.

To learn more about FMC’s expanding portfolio, listen to my interview with Kaustubh Borah here: Interview with Kaustubh Borah, FMC

Be sure to check out even more action by viewing the 42nd Annual CAPCA Photo Album.

Agribusiness, Audio, FMC, Fungicide

How Agriculture Can Help Improve Aid and Nutrition

Joanna Schroeder October 28, 2016

Written for AgWired by Carol Trehearn.

Fresh Food On Market: © .shock | Dreamstime

Earlier this month thousands upon thousands of people from around the world met in Des Moines, Iowa for the World Food Prize to continue discussions about one of the biggest challenges in our future: food. On a global level, there has always been major concerns over world hunger and how to provide aid and nutrition to third world, developing countries. Not only do these nations have problems growing enough crops to feed their own people but they also don’t have the money to buy agricultural products from countries that have an excess and they certainly don’t have the technology to improve the ways in which crops are grown with increased yields. For those nations that have adequate space for agricultural pursuits, higher education in agriculture and healthcare along with money to aid those nations, it is up to them to help provide solutions to at least keep them fed with adequate nutrients so that they can perhaps learn to feed themselves.

Technology for Disseminating Information
One of the major problems in the past has been the ability to disseminate information on healthcare concerns because there was no way to get current information out. With the advent of the Internet and advanced health informatics, workers can go out in the field to assess current conditions, pass that information along to organizations such as WHO, the World Health Organization, and hope that there are funds and food available to feed undernourished children who sometimes don’t eat for days on end. Technology is making it easier to quickly get aid where it belongs but that is only a beginning.

A Focus on Recruitment of Healthcare Humanitarian Aid
In the United States, there are a number of healthcare programs in colleges and universities that can raise up a workforce qualified to go out and assess health problems around the world. Those who pursue a masters in healthcare informatics would design platforms to keep current needs in the Cloud so they could be viewed, assessed and responded to by humanitarian agencies around the world. A graduate degree in health care informatics is essential in designing platforms for gathering data that will communicate current needs and levels of need. Some countries have reached crisis levels of hunger and those are the metrics which need to be assessed and dealt with. It is only in knowing that a problem can be addressed and technology is key to disseminating that information.

Technology for Higher Yields with Higher Nutritional Values
In recent years, technology has found ways to increase the yield, specifically in grains and also technology has provided ways in which to increase the nutritional value in foods that are grown in the earth. Vitamin A is a major vitamin that can see increases due to technology and it is the hope that if insufficient amounts of food can be produced, at least the nutritive value can be improved.

When looking at the big picture, there are a great number of countries that have been hit hard by famine and disease. Affluent countries such as the United States, the UK and Germany can, and do, offer ongoing humanitarian aid but is it enough? At this time it is not but with the sharing of new advances in agricultural technology, there is hope for the future.

Education, Food, Nutrition

Merck Animal Health Helps to #SpeakAg at #TransformFFA

Jamie Johansen October 28, 2016

Merck Animal Health is a devout supporter of the National FFA Organization, which was evident throughout the 89th National FFA Convention with their sponsorship of the opening session, lanyards and presence in the expo.

I caught up with Cameron Aguiar, national accounts manager, Merck, who said, “FFA is the future of America. We find value in educating kids on the new technologies in animal health and this is a perfect venue to do it.” They also helped promote the National FFA campaign #SpeakAg, helping to provide a voice for FFA members at home, in their chapters, throughout their college years and into a career in agriculture.

Merck Animal Health is focused on technology and innovation. They also recognize the need to educate people of it’s benefits. Cameron said that one way to do so is through FFA members. He said many conversations took place in their booth where they were able to share opportunities for internships, questions students might have on future careers in animal health and what steps they can take to help share the role innovation and technology play in our daily lives.

Listen to my complete interview with Cameron here: Interview with Cameron Aguiar, Merck Animal Health

Be sure to check out even more action by viewing the 89th National FFA Convention & Expo Photo Album.

Coverage of the National FFA Convention is sponsored by

Agribusiness, Animal Health, Audio, FFA, Livestock

Farmers Favor Trump in Agri-Pulse Poll

Joanna Schroeder October 28, 2016

A new nationwide poll commissioned by Agri-Pulse reveals that a majority of farmers and ranchers favor Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race. Fifty-five percent of those surveyed said they support Republican Trump while 18 percent indicated they support Democrat Clinton. Only 2 percent plan to vote for Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and just 1 percent for the Green Party’s Jill Stein. With only two weeks until the election, 15 percent of those surveyed said they were undecided and 8 percent did not answer the question.

When the results are broken down between male and female respondents, 59 percent men and 37 percent women indicated they would vote for Trump while 15 percent males and 33 percent females responded with support for Clinton. Eighteen percent women indicated they were undecided. The GOP nominee scored particularly well in two battleground states, with support from 68 percent of the farmers and ranchers in Ohio and 58 percent in Florida.

Compared to a similar Agri-Pulse poll conducted in late January, respondents indicated an even greater dissatisfaction with the direction of the country, the farm economy and the regulatory environment.

When asked if they were satisfied or dissatisfied with the way things are going in America, 86 percent said they were “somewhat” or “very dissatisfied.” That indicates an uptick from another Agri-Pulse poll conducted in late January of this year. At that time, slightly over three-quarters of the voters surveyed were dissatisfied with the direction of the country. Those levels of dissatisfaction were at 90 percent or higher in Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

“Economic growth” rose to the top when respondents were asked to identify the one most important issue facing this country heading into the 2016 presidential election, with about 19 percent nationally selecting this option, up from 9 percent in January. That was the choice of about 19 percent of the Republicans, 16 percent of the Democrats and 18 percent of the Independents.

That represents a substantial shift from the January poll, when 19 percent of Republicans and Democrats listed “national security/terrorism” as their top choice, followed by “moral values” at 14 percent, “immigration/ag labor” at almost 14 percent and “deficit reduction” at 13.5 percent. In the October poll, the second most important issue selected was “deficit reduction,” favored by about 16 percent, followed by “moral values” at 12 percent nationally. National security and terrorism dropped down to 7 percent. Read More

Agri-Pulse, politics

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