BASF Provides Zidua® PRO Details at #NAFB16

Cindy Zimmerman November 22, 2016

BASF just announced new Zidua® PRO pre-emergent herbicide for soybean farmers earlier this month so Technical Marketing Manager Daniel Waldstein was able to provide the latest details at the recent National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) annual Trade Talk.

“It’s got three unique chemistries combined together that gives us three different sites of action,” said Waldstein. “That gives us broad spectrum weed control for grasses and broadleaves and it also gives us built-in resistance management for growers.”

Waldstein says the pre-emergent residual component of Zidua PRO herbicide provides a good starting point for season-long control of weeds like Palmer amaranth, waterhemp and marestail. “At BASF we have the motto ‘start clean and stay clean’ and there’s really never a good time to have weeds in your soybean fields,” he said.

Zidua PRO herbicide pairs with post-emergent herbicides containing additional sites of action, including BASF’s soon-to-be-approved Engenia™ herbicide. Learn more in this interview: Interview with Daniel Waldstein, BASF

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Withdrawal from TPP Tops Trump List of First Actions

Cindy Zimmerman November 22, 2016

In a YouTube video message to the nation Monday, President-elect Donald Trump outlined a list of executive actions he intends to make “on day one” of his administration and number one on that list is to get out of the TPP.

“I am going to issue our notification of intend to withdraw from the Trans Pacific Partnership, a potential disaster for our country,” said Trump. “Instead, we will negotiate fair, bi-lateral trade deals that bring jobs and industry back on to American shores.”

The president-elect also pledged to “cancel job-killing restrictions on the production of American energy,” require that for every new regulation two old regulations must be eliminated, and have the labor department investigate “abuses of visa programs that undercut the American worker.”

Audio from Trump YouTube message: Message from President-Elect Trump

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GROWMARK’s Post-Election Policy Priorities

Lizzy Schultz November 21, 2016

Most of the discussion during the 2016 National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) Convention was focused on the outcome of the Presidential election and what it means for agriculture, highlighting this election’s importance to so many people in our nation. This election was also important for both agriculture industry groups and agribusinesses, and Chuck Spencer, Executive Director for Corporate and Government Relations at GROWMARK, sat down during NAFB Trade Talk to discuss GROWMARK’s reaction to the election and how the outcome is shaping the policy priorities for 2017.

“Rural and urban interests need to come together, that is what I believe is most important, the dialogue between our differences in opinion needs to increase,” he said. “We need to understand our consumer base for finished products and make sure we understand what our responsibilities are on both environmental stewardship platforms and consumer product platforms.”

Spencer explained that the outcome of this year’s Senate and House races did not yield any major changes to the Senate and House Agriculture Committees, but that the new administration will provide a distinct directional change from the standpoint of regulatory oversight. This change has the potential to significantly affect the next Farm Bill and many different areas of farming and production agriculture practices.

“There’s been discussion about whether or not the appointee for EPA administrator will have farm experience or a farming background, but I think what’s most important is that the individuals who take leadership roles in the development of the Farm Bill and the regulation of the administration have the ability to use science as the platform, that they engage all parties: agriculture, urban, and interest groups, and that we have outcomes that are able to be implemented at farm level,” said Spencer.

Spencer also discussed the major policy priorities for 2017, including the need for industry groups and businesses to remain engaged with the USDA in the upcoming implementation of the new GMO labeling law, as well as the need to continue advocating for trade and working with the administration to reach the objective of reducing tariffs and increasing export opportunities for U.S. agriculture.

Learn more in Cindy’s full interview with Chuck here:
Interview with Chuck Spencer, GROWMARK

View and download photos from the event here: 2016 NAFB Convention

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AEM Inducts Hall of Fame Members

Kelly Marshall November 21, 2016

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) is inducting two new member into their AEM Hall of Fame. These individuals are being honored for their contributions to the off-road industry, their legacy of innovation, service and leadership.

Ray Hagie is the founder of Hagie Manufacturing LLC. Although he never intended to bring the world’s first self-propelled sprayer to the market, his life pursuit of solving problems led to just that. In 1944 Ray opened Hagie’s Hybrid seed corn plant, then, during the labor shortages of WWII, he developed a self-propelled “personnel carrier”to detassel corn more efficiently. When Dow released 2,4-D Ray envisioned a device that would allow the product to be applied more easily. That lead to the self-propelled sprayer and Hagie Manufacturing in 1947.

Committed to the community, the environment and the industry, Ray served in numerous leadership roles throughout his career including as an Iowa state representative and senator, chairman of the Iowa Manufacturers Association and on the Iowa State University Board of Governors.

Robert “Bob” Vermeer is the chair emeritus of Vermeer Corporation. He played an integral role in bringing that company to where it is today. Under his leadership, sales grew nearly 13 times- thanks to his program to evaluate and coach dealers. His innovations also led to advancements in finance making equipment more readily available globally. He also began various community service programs, such as Vermeer Chaplain Program, the Vermeer Charitable Foundation Scholarship Program and the Vermeer Spirit of Caring Award.

Bob has served as Chair of both the Association of Equipment Manufacturers and the Iowa Business Council. In addition, Bob has been a member and officer for several boards, including Central College Board of Trustees, Dordt College Board, Calvin Theological Seminary Board of Trustees and the Pella Chamber of Commerce.

“AEM is proud and privileged to honor the pioneering individuals who have invented, managed, built and led the off-road equipment industry,” said AEM President Dennis Slater. “Their vision and dedication have contributed significantly to the growth and strength of our industry and economic progress and quality of life around the world; and their legacy serves as an inspiration for our leaders of tomorrow.”

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Alltech Helping to Future-Proof Food

Cindy Zimmerman November 21, 2016

A human nutritionist by trade, Nikki Putnam, is a registered dietitian nutritionist for Alltech. Her focus is to help bridge the gap between producers and consumers. We are seeing a ‘consumer-push’ for natural or traceable production and antibiotic-free functional foods. So, what does the future look like for food companies? Nikki shared some insight into what Alltech is doing to help future-proof food while attending the recent NAFB’s Trade Talk.

“What we are looking to do is help those farmers and ranchers stay relevant for the next 10, 20, 30, 40 years. By doing that, we are listening to the consumers, asking them what they want and then going back to the producers and providing them innovative solutions to then provide that to the consumer through their food products.”

Producers must still meet that bottom-line, understand the return on investment while still being innovative on farm. Nikki said one thing they have most recently seen success with is creation of functional foods. Listen to my complete interview to hear examples of programs they have created to not only bridge the gap, but also build consumer trust. Interview with Nikki Putnam, Alltech

From the beginning, Alltech’s approach to animal health has been to look for solutions that are natural and not to simply jump to antibiotics. The Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) has been a key talking point for the last year and Alltech’s Dr. Amanda Gehman shares more about a lifetime approach to antibiotic-free production.

“We are able to show a lifetime approach in multiple species in multiple ways without the need to depend on the use of antibiotics.”

Listen to my complete interview as Amanda takes us through their work in beef, poultry, dairy and how they are helping their producers adopt the new guidelines from VFD. Interview with Dr. Amanda Gehman, Alltech

View and download photos from the event here: NAFB Convention Photo Album

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Propane Performs on the Farm

Joanna Schroeder November 21, 2016

A lot of growers are making the switch to propane and saving money, according to Cinch Munson with the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) who attended the recent National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) Trade Talk. Munson said there is a lot happening in the world of propane and much of it is in the engine markets including irrigation. Speaking of farms, there have been good efficiency improvements across a lot of equipment including some new grain dryers.

Another topic that PERC was discussing with media was incentives available for farm equipment. “The Propane Council is offering incentives towards the purchase of qualifying equipment,” said Munch. “The program in 2017 is going to change a little bit…If you are interested in buying a generator for prime power or a new building heat system for a greenhouse or swine building or poultry building or buying a new propane irrigation engine, we’re encouraging people to use the incentive in 2016 while it’s there.”

Munson said in 2017 growers will need to work through their local dealer to get their incentives. Today the Propane Farm Incentive Program is an open enrollment program so Munson is encouraging people to go to propane.com to see what incentives are available and to learn more about the advantages of propane on the farm.

The farm incentive program has just celebrated its fifth anniversary and Munson said the program has helped the industry.

“The Propane Farm Incentive Program is ultimately a research program for the propane industry,” Munson explained. He said PERC works with equipment manufacturers to develop propane powered equipment. They then use the farm incentive program to see how the equipment is performing on the field. “Over five years we’ve seen that people are very happy about how propane equipment is operating today. Manufacturers are committed to making equipment that is efficient, clean and reliable and in the field performance is being proven that propane is all those things,” added Munson.

To learn more about propane on the farm and propane incentives, listen to Cindy’s interview with Cinch Munson here: Interview with Cinch Munson, PERC

View and download photos from the event here: NAFB Convention Photo Album

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I AM @USFRA New Board Member

Cindy Zimmerman November 18, 2016

As one of the new board members for the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA), Katie Brenny representing the Federation of State Beef Councils got the gold mic treatment at last week’s meeting in Kansas City.

Katie and her husband Ted live on a beef farm outside of Mazeppa, Minnesota where they raise Charolais and Angus cattle, and she says USFRA is helping beef producers like her reach consumers in more ways than ever before. “I truly think it’s what the research shows and how can we tweak things to just constantly improve,” she said.

Her favorite USFRA projects so far have been the FARMLAND movie and Faces of Farming and Ranching. “As a millennial, I think it’s awesome to see friends of mine become Faces or people I know in FARMLAND to become movie stars, to really promote agriculture,” said Brenny.

Over the past six years of USFRA’s existence the organization has grown to include 100 agricultural organizations and companies, both small and large, and Brenny hopes to see that growth continue. “If you’re selling tires or plastic to a food company, the opportunities for companies to be involved is endless,” she said. “What we’re doing is really sharing good information and research and creating brand strategies to continue these stories and have a face to face conversation.”

Katie replaces Dawn Caldwell on the newly appointed USFRA board. Get to know Katie better in this interview: Interview with Katie Brenny, USFRA board member

USFRA 2016 Fall Board Meeting photos

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Reaction to Election and Policy Priorities for NCGA

Lizzy Schultz November 18, 2016

NCGA president Wesley Spurlock and CEO Chris Novak at NAFB Trade Talk

Much of the conversation during NAFB’s Trade Talk last week surrounded the industry’s response to the election of Donald Trump, and the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) President Wesley Spurlock was on hand to discuss what this new administration will mean for NCGA and how the organization intends to move forward into the future.

“It is great to have the election behind us, and we really are watching and putting our names out, and working with them in order to get ag knowledge into the different areas of administration,” Spurlock said in an interview with Cindy. “They’ve got a tremendous amount of people to appoint, and the more ag knowledge that we have in there, the better we’ll be as we move forward into the future.”

Spurlock discussed how he believes the Trump Administration will impact several of the major issues that have been priorities of NCGA for the past several years, including the strong Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) opposition that was made clear during President-Elect Trump’s campaign.

“I think as we looked at the way he talked about TPP and what was said, he believed it needed to be re-negotiated,” said Spurlock. “When the Trump Administration sits down and reads the entire TPP agreement, they will see that a lot of their concerns have already been addressed, and we’re hoping that they will put their support behind it as they understand it better.”

Hear more about Spurlock’s thoughts on what a Trump Administration will mean for agriculture in his interview with Cindy here Interview with Wesley Spurlock, NCGA President

NCGA CEO Chris Novak is also optimistic about the future, believing that the new administration offers some major opportunities for American farmers.

“Our farmers have struggled over the past four years with regulatory challenges from the EPA on our ability to utilize atrazine and roundup on the farm, and we’ve been challenged by EPA with respect to renewable fuels use,” he said in an interview with Chuck. “We know from this election season that reforming regulation means giving us access to the tools that allow us to continue to innovate, and that we need to bring science into policy. These are all themes we’ve heard from President-elect Trump, so there is an opportunity for farmers in this next administration.”

Catch his entire conversation with Chuck to learn more about what Novak believes this election also means for trade and the renewable fuels industry:
Interview with Chris Novak, NCGA

View and download photos from the event here: 2016 NAFB Convention

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BASF Engenia Close to Approval

Cindy Zimmerman November 18, 2016

Reporters at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting last week were eager to find out more from BASF about when Engenia™ herbicide will be registered for use.

“We’re expecting registration of Engenia herbicide within weeks and growers will have it in time for the 2017 growing season,” said BASF Technical Marketing Manager Chad Asmus.

Engenia™ herbicide is a technologically advanced dicamba formulation that provides an additional site of action for control of broadleaf weeds in dicamba-tolerant crops, including soybeans and cotton. “As a new and effective site of action for dicamba-tolerant crops, Engenia herbicide will control over 200 of the most difficult broadleaf weeds, including glyphosate-resistant species, giving growers back the weed control that they need,” said Asmus.

In this interview, Asmus also talks about what BASF has been doing over the past two years to prepare for registration of Engenia by educating growers on proper application stewardship. Interview with Chad Asmus, BASF

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ASTA Talks Future of Seed at #NAFB16

Kelly Marshall November 18, 2016

ASTA 1st Vice Chair Tracy Tally and CEO Andy LaVigne

The American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) CEO and First Vice Chair traveled to Kansas City, Missouri last week to take part in the National Association of Farm Broadcasting‘s Trade Talk event. Cindy Zimmerman spoke with them about the direction of the organization and the direction of the industry, especially in light of the recent Trump win. A new administration is sure to mean a new direction, says Andy Lavigne, ASTA CEO.

“I think as you look at agriculture over all you’re going to see something of a reset with direction for the political appointees in the new administration. Whenever you have eight years of one administration you sort of get a direction with them and I think what people will start to do is fall back to science based policy, a direction that is based on the great work we have in our industry with respect to science- so how to continue that process? And from the seed industry, that’s all we’re asking for policy. Base it on science, base it on the information we know today,” Lavigne told Cindy.

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack was open to science-based decision, but Lavigne believes there is possibility for the next Secretary to move further in that direction. We’ll have plenty of chances to see; next year will bring the enforcement of the new labeling law, new policies will be put into place regarding breeding techniques, and decisions regarding the EPA will be coming down.

Listen to the full interview with Lavigne here:
Interview with Andy Lavigne, ASTA

First Vice Chair, Tracy Tally is concerned with what the future will bring for plant breeding techniques. It wasn’t that long ago that plant breeding was based on humans who went out to the field and selected plants based on what they could see and understand.

“Now we are having to start to define how much non-human input is allowed to help us select plants, and select for quality, quality of harvest, consistent harvest, weather affects, yields, to perhaps things we as humans can’t measure,” Tally explained. “And we have technology that’s coming on now to help us do that and to help us do it in a very timely fashion.”

Consumer understanding of plant breeding techniques is sure to shape the future of the industry, both abroad and at home. Hear more in the full interview here:
Interview with Tracy Tally, ASTA

View and download photos from the event here: NAFB Convention Photo Album

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