Which Candidate is Better for Agricultural Exports?

Jamie Johansen October 26, 2016

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “What is most important to food sustainability?”

Sustainability is no longer simply a word used in agricultural circles. Consumers are also weighing in and therefore food companies are recognizing the importance of sustainability in agriculture, but some aren’t understanding technology and food production work hand-in-hand. Yet, this poll stresses agriculture’s point. All factors need to come into play when we talk sustainability.

Here are the poll results:

Biotechnology – 14%
Precision technology – 0%
Nutrient management – 4%
Water management – 8%
Ag education – 13%
All of the above – 53%
Other – 8%

Our new ZimmPoll is live and asks the question, Which candidate is better for agricultural exports?

Both major party candidates have said they are opposed to the Trans Pacific Partnership which most studies show would help to open up markets and increase agricultural exports. The Obama administration has been strongly in favor of TPP and urging Congress to ratify the trade agreement as soon as possible, but that will not likely be before the end of the year, leaving it in the hands of the next president and a new Congress. So, which candidate would be better to help increase ag exports?

ZimmPoll

SHP Participates in Climate Research in Ag Event

Kelly Marshall October 26, 2016

Several key organizations have gathered in St. Louis, Missouri this week to delve into soil health as a key element in carbon sequestration efforts. “C-Quest: Charting a Course for Climate Research in Agriculture,” featured the Soil Health Partnership (SHP), a farmer-led initiative of the National Corn Growers Association. Together with Monsanto Company, Washington University in St. Louis, Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, Howard G. Buffet Foundation and the United States Department of Agriculture, The ILSI Research Foundation has been hosting this event to share solutions.

The conference focused on developing research targets for agricultural goals that:

Support achievement of USDA’s “building blocks” for climate-smart agriculture

Integrate existing U.S. Midwest field research networks (like SHP) for climate adaptation

Develop a research agenda to achieve a “carbon-neutral” agri-food system in the U.S. through a focus on soil carbon and soil health, including validation of soil carbon protocols.

“It’s exciting to see agricultural improvements that impact soil health recognized as an emerging opportunity to optimize productivity, sequester carbon and improve protection of our natural resources, like water,” said Soil Health Partnership Director, Nick Goeser. “We’re honored to participate in this discussion, and to see farmers recognized whole-heartedly as a part of the solution.”

The SHP is a leader in field-scale testing and measuring of more than 65 farm sites to lean what management practices improve soil health. Growers are learning more about practices like cover crops to prevent erosion and nutrient loss, conservation tillage like no-till or strip till, and using science-based nutrient management techniques to reduce nutrient loss.

NCGA, Soil Health Partnership

Celebrating 25 Years of Case IH Patriot Sprayers

Kelly Marshall October 26, 2016

October 21st marked the 25th year of producing Case IH Patriot sprayers at the Benson, Minnesota manufacturing faculty. Honored guests, executives and employees marked the day with a special ceremony.

“Twenty-five years ago, growers and professional applicators were introduced to Patriot sprayers and shown a better way to optimize their time and accuracy in any conditions,” said Jason Hausauer, Benson plant manager. “Today, we are proud to continue to build sprayers that offer some of the most advanced spray technology on the market.”

The “cab-forward, rear-engine” configuration gives Case IH Patriot sprayers a distinct look, as well as a performance edge. The design puts the static weight of the cab and engine over the front and rear axles. When the tank is full and the booms are extended, the design keeps the weight of the product tank in the center to allow more even weight distribution between the axles.

The occasion is marked with a limited edition 25th Anniversary Patriot 4440 and 3340 for 2017. The commemorative machines will feature eye-catching silver and red paint, anniversary decals, MICHELIN® tires, Raven Industries technology and Wilger COMBO-RATE® nozzle bodies, the new AIM Command FLEX™ advanced spray technology, and boom-size and precision-technology options to match customer needs.

Agribusiness, Case IH

How Will Election Impact Trade?

Cindy Zimmerman October 26, 2016

Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen had the challenge of talking about the U.S. presidential election to an international audience at Export Exchange 2016 this week in Detroit.

“I know half of you are sick to death of the election and just want it over, and half of you are watching in somewhat bemused amazement wondering what is going on with the world’s greatest democracy,” Dinneen said before delving into how the elections might impact global trade. “America remains deeply divided and our political system is as polarized as it has ever been.”

Dinneen gave a good overview of polling data, battleground states, Senate races and much more, with the caveat that anything can change in this unusual election year. When it comes to trade, Dinneen noted that anti-trade rhetoric has been high this year. “But at the end of the day, trade is just too important to the U.S. economy, particularly the farm economy, so I don’t see (the election) having much of an impact,” Dinneen said in an interview after his address. “Part of what I was trying to do with the international audience was to tell them not to get caught up in the rhetoric of an impassioned and frankly odd campaign.”

Comparing the views of both presidential candidates on trade side-by-side, Dinneen said, “Donald Trump has never met a trade pact that he likes…his rhetoric and policy have all been anti-trade.” Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, “has had a history of being far more favorable to trade,” said Dinneen, but during the campaign has “also moved to be a bit more anti-trade.” He notes that Mrs. Clinton now says she opposes the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) even though she once called it the “Gold Standard.”

Dinneen believes trade is more dependent on people like those attending the Export Exchange, which is co-sponsored by RFA and the U.S. Grains Council every other year to bring together international buyers and domestic suppliers of corn, distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS), sorghum and barley.

Listen to Dinneen’s address here: RFA CEO Bob Dinneen at Export Exchange 2016

Listen to interview here: Interview with Bob Dinneen, Renewable Fuels Association

2016 Export Exchange Photo Album

Coverage of Export Exchange 2016 made possible by

Audio, Corn, Ethanol, Exports, Feed, politics, RFA

Tyson’s Donates 33,000 lbs. of Protein at #TransformFFA

Jamie Johansen October 25, 2016

During the 89th National FFA Convention, Tyson Foods donated a truck load of protein to Gleaners Food Bank as part of the National FFA Days of Service. The truck carried 1,546 cases of chicken totally over 33,000 pounds of protein and 100 FFA member volunteers took time to unload it all.

I stopped by the Tyson Foods booth during the FFA Expo to learn more about Tyson’s commitment to the FFA from Annetta Tiery, Corporate Social Responsibility Director, Tyson Foods, Inc. “At Tyson Foods, our corporate philanthropic focus is hunger relief. We donate a lot of protein throughout the year to various Feeding America food banks across the country. We are also longtime supporters of the FFA. For over 40 years we have been supporting this great organization.”

Annetta said that protein is very hard to come by at food banks and knows it will really make a difference for families in the Indianapolis area.

Tyson Foods’ #MyAgStory again made an appearance in their booth during the National FFA Convention Expo. “By using #MyAgStory we are asking FFA members to share what they do in agriculture. Whether that is working on the farm, going into ag communications or ag business everybody has a role to play.”

Listen to my complete interview with Annetta to learn more: Interview with Annetta Tiery, Tyson Foods

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, Audio, FFA, Food, Poultry

Meet the 2016-17 National FFA Officer Team

Jamie Johansen October 25, 2016

Students from Delaware, Florida, Minnesota, New York, South Carolina and Texas have been elected by delegates from throughout the United States to serve on the 2016-17 National FFA Officer team.

David Townsend, an agricultural and natural resources and plant science major at the University of Delaware, was elected president. This is the first time the state of Delaware has had a national FFA president. Victoria Harris, a biology major at the University of Florida, will serve as secretary.

DeShawn Blanding, a biological engineering (natural resources engineering) major at North Carolina A&T State University, was elected southern region vice president and Trey Elizondo, a science and agricultural communications major at Texas A&M, will serve as western region vice president.

Ashley Willits, an agricultural education major at Tarleton State University, was elected eastern region vice president and Valerie Earley, an agricultural communications major at the University of Minnesota, will serve as central region vice president.

Each year at the National FFA Convention & Expo, six students are elected by delegates to represent the organization as national officers. Delegates elect a president, secretary, and vice presidents representing the central, southern, eastern and western regions of the country.

National officers commit to a year of service to the National FFA Organization. Each officer travels more than 100,000 national and international miles to interact with business and industry leaders, thousands of FFA members and teachers, corporate sponsors, government and education officials, state FFA leaders, the general public, and more. The team will lead personal growth and leadership training conferences for FFA members throughout the country and help set policies that will guide the future of FFA and promote agricultural literacy.

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

Ag Groups, FFA

E4D Trip to China is a Success

Kelly Marshall October 25, 2016

Eleven journalists representing ten countries recently took part in an eight day trip to China. The group experienced Beijing, Changzhou and Shanghai, meeting farmers, cooperative members, and industry professionals from companies like their sponsor, AGCO and DeLaval.

Small, family-driven farms mean China’s agricutlure struggles behind most western countries. However, the country is taking great leaps in its use of technology, IT and management tools. In some ways the Chinese have surpassed North America and Europe, repots Liza Karlsson, and journalist who took part in the trip.

“Joining an E4D tour gives you a really unique opportunity to explore and learn about a nation, its people, food production and agricultural challenges and opportunities,” Karlsson writes. “At the same time you get to know agricultural journalists from other countries – this year Austria, Australia, USA, Canada, Belgium, Spain, Norway, Finland, UK and Sweden were represented. You get new knowledge, new friends and you get a lot of new stories to write when you get back home. In many ways, it is a life changing experience.”

In addition to their agricultural stops, the journalists also explored the Great Wall of China and the Forbidden City.

Journalism

CNH Industrial Named World Leader on Climate Change

Jamie Johansen October 25, 2016

The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) has named CNH Industrial to its Climate A List. The CDP is the only global disclosure system for companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts, also providing investors and organizations with access to environmental information.

Thousands of companies submit annual climate disclosures to CDP for independent assessment against its scoring methodology. CNH Industrial is among the top 9%, out of over 2,100 corporations participating in CDP’s climate change program, to be awarded a position on the A List. This is in recognition of its actions to optimize energy consumption, reduce CO2 emissions and mitigate the business risks of climate change in the 2015 reporting year.

As part of its strategy to combat climate change, CNH Industrial conducted 201 projects throughout the course of 2015 to improve its global energy performance. These led to a number of positive results including 48% of the total energy consumption at manufacturing facilities from renewable sources and a reduction of more than 81,000 tons of CO2 emissions (-4% per hour of production in comparison to 2014).

In addition to being recognized as the Industry Leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices World and Europe, CNH Industrial is also admitted to other important sustainable indices including: MSCI Global ESG Indexes, MSCI Global SRI Indexes, FTSE4Good, ECPI Global Developed ESG Best in Class Equity, FTSE ECPI Italia SRI Benchmark and FTSE ECPI Italia SRI Leaders, Euronext Vigeo Europe 120, Euronext Vigeo Eurozone 120, STOXX ESG Leaders Indices, STOXX Sustainability Indices.

Agribusiness, Case IH, Equipment, New Holland

Event Seeks to Boost Exports

Cindy Zimmerman October 25, 2016

Hundreds of buyers and sellers of U.S. coarse grains and ethanol co-products have arrived in Detroit for Export Exchange 2016 and even though they are from more than 30 countries they are busy making connections and building relationships.

The event, which has been held every two years since 2010, is co-sponsored by the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) and the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), and this year it is more important than ever for domestic suppliers of corn, distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS), sorghum and barley.

“Obviously with four successive years of record harvests, I hear every day we’ve got to find markets for these grains,” said USGC president and CEO Tom Sleight. “It’s very important this year to really focus on short term market development, we’ve got to get some movement into the grain market. Exports in general are doing well and we hope this will give a little bit of a boost.”

Sleight says he is excited about the agenda for the Export Exchange, but what it’s really all about is the networking opportunities where relationships are built and sales are made.

Learn more in this interview and watch for our event coverage this week: Interview with Tom Sleight, U.S. Grains Council

2016 Export Exchange Photo Album

Coverage of Export Exchange 2016 made possible by

Audio, Corn, Ethanol, Events, Exports, Grains, RFA, USGC

Agricultural Biz Committed to FFA & Careers in Ag

Jamie Johansen October 24, 2016

Winners of the 2016 National Agricultural Proficiency Awards were announced during the sixth general session at the 89th National FFA Convention & Expo. These awards honor FFA members who, through their Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) programs, have developed specialized skills that they can apply toward their future careers. Our two coverage sponsors also sponsored proficiency award categories to further their commitment to youth in agriculture.

New Holland Agriculture sponsored the Dairy Production — Entrepreneurship proficiency and it was awarded to Sabrina L. Portner from the Sleepy Eye FFA Chapter in Minnesota.

Sabrina raises and breeds her own dairy cattle. Receiving her first calf when she was 7, she currently owns a herd of 27 registered Brown Swiss cattle. She has used pedometers to increase heat observations and has conducted a milk quality research project with her herd that has allowed her to discover which mastitis organisms are affecting her cows. Portner is supported by her parents, Mary and Tom, and her FFA advisor, Mary Hoffman.

Listen to my interview with Sabrina as she shares more: Interview with Sabrina Portner, Dairy Production — Ent

FMC Corporation, Agricultural Solutions sponsored the Agriscience Research — Plant Systems proficiency and it was awarded to Mariah Joy Cox from the Zane Trace FFA Chapter in Chillicothe, Ohio.

Mariah has participated in science fairs since the fourth grade and found that she enjoyed the scientific research process and sharing her results with the judges. Her SAE research has focused on three projects, all related to plant science. She first identified properties of potato starch and their applications to plant-based packaging. Secondly, she compared two varieties of raspberries in terms of phenolics and anthocyanins. And finally, she worked in a lab in Hyberabad, India, testing plots of vegetable soybeans. Cox is supported by her parents, Rachel and Paul, and her FFA advisors, Jennifer Johnston and Aaron Miller.

Listen to my interview with Mariah as she shares more: Interview with Mariah Cox, Agriscience Research — Plant Systems

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

Ag Groups, Audio

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