“Farmer of the Year” Contest Announced

Kelly Marshall

Farmer of the YearFarmers’ Almanac and American Farm Bureau Federation are partnering together to recognize three farmers or ranchers as “Farmer’s Almanac Farmer of the Year.”

The 200th Collector’s Edition of 2017 highlights the hard work and dedication of farmers who bring food to our tables.  The edition contains their stories, along with the announcement of a contest designed to recognize some of these individuals.

“We’re looking for farmers and ranchers who have figured out how to keep their centuries-old, family run farms alive and thriving, as well as newcomers who may have just started out in farming or ranching,” said Farmers’ Almanac Managing Editor Sandi Duncan, Philom. “The people who work in agriculture are vital to our everyday life and we’d like to honor them in the pages of the Farmers’ Almanac.”

AFBF President Zippy Duvall added, “Farmers and ranchers have long used their ingenuity and tireless work ethic to preserve natural resources and build up local communities while producing food, fiber and fuel for consumers here at home and around the world. We’re pleased to join the Farmers’ Almanac in launching the Farmer of the Year program.”

Nominations must highlight, in 300 words or less, the following criteria:

· Supporting the Tradition: How long has the nominee been in their field? How did he or she get involved in agriculture and why?
· Innovation in Agriculture: How the nominee has embraced technology or new ways of farming and ranching;
· Community Involvement: How has the nominee engaged his/her community to support agriculture and/or teach us more about farming overall; and
· Inspiration: How the nominee is a true leader in agriculture and deserves to be recognized.

All nominations must be received by Jan. 31, 2017, and must be submitted online at FarmersAlmanac.com/FarmeroftheYear.

The three winners will have their own stories published in the 2018 Farmers’ Almanac.  The will also receive a one-year membership in the Farm Bureau county of their residence and a lifetime subscription to the Farmers’ Almanac.

AFBF, Ag Groups

#IFAJ2016 Bayer Tour – Part 7 – Application Tech – Nozzles

Chuck Zimmerman

Drop NozzlesIn this episode of my series on touring Bayer CropScience during the IFAJ Congress in Germany the focus will continue on application technology. This time specifically on spray nozzles.

Ralph-Burkhardt Toews, Bayer Application Technology Manager, gave a field demonstration using different types of nozzles. In the first part of the demonstration he shows the difference between standard spray nozzles vs drift reduction nozzles that are now widely used in the EU.

In the second part of the demonstration Toews shows a technology that has been developed to help reduce the exposure of pollinators to crop protection products. These is the dropleg spraying device. You can see these in the image included in this post.

Underleaf spraying is a much targeted application method. It improves both the coverage of the leaves and efficacy of application technology for disease and pest control. Many pests and diseases are located underneath of the leaves and droplet applications allow a real targeted application with much better efficacy results. Field trials with fungicides and insecticides carried out by Bayer CropScience have shown that using the dropleg technology results in a significant reduction of drift.

You can listen to the presentation here or watch below: Ralph-Burkhardt Toews Presentation


2016 IFAJ Congress Photo Album

Coverage of the IFAJ Congress is sponsored by Coverage of the IFAJ Congress is sponsored by Bayer
Agribusiness, Audio, Bayer, Bees, IFAJ, Precision Agriculture, Video

Food Dialogues Inspired @DairyStrong Alliance

Lizzy Schultz

The new Dairy Strong Sustainability Alliance (DSSA) launched this week was inspired by a sustainability themed installment of the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) Food Dialogues panel discussion held earlier this year as part of a Dairy Business Association (DBA) conference.

dssa-16-trotter“After the Food Dialogue on sustainability at the January Dairy Strong event, we sat down and said ‘Now what? As an industry and a dairy community, how do we advance sustainability across Wisconsin?,'” said DBA Executive Director Tim Trotter. “So the collaborators got together and decided to put together a sustainability alliance that brings tools to the farms and gives farmers tools to be more sustainable.”

Collaborators include DBA, Yahara Pride Farms, the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association, Dairy Management Inc. (DMI), and The Nature Conservancy.

“What we’re bringing is a toolbox to farmers, so these programs have already been developed. So whatever specific goals a farmer may have, we can give them whatever resources they need, and they have already been developed and are ready for use,” said Trotter. “We aren’t producing anything, we’re a group of collaborators that connect the dots between farmers ad the programs that are already available to them.”

Learn more in this interview with Tim:
Interview with Tim Trotter, Dairy Business Association

View and download photos from the event here:Dairy Strong Sustainability Alliance Photo Album

Dairy, Sustainability, USFRA

USDA Invests in New #Farmers

Cindy Zimmerman

USDADuring a visit to Iowa State University this week, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced some new initiatives to help new and beginning farmers.

First, Vilsack announced a new investment of $17.8 million for 37 projects to help educate, mentor, and enhance the sustainability of the next generation of farmers through the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP). In addition, Vilsack said USDA will host a series of Fall Forums in the coming months to “highlight the progress made on the top issues facing the future of agriculture and set the stage for the next administration to continue to support a strong future for American agriculture.” The forums will be hosted in partnership with leading universities across the country and each will focus on an important issue facing farmers and ranchers, such as land tenure, export markets, local and regional food systems, and agricultural research.

More information on USDA’s assistance for beginning farmers and ranchers can be found at www.usda.gov/NewFarmers.

USDA

#IFAJ2016 Bayer Tour – Part 6 – Application Technology

Chuck Zimmerman

Dr. Reinhard FriesslebenYou don’t usually think of Bayer CropScience as an application equipment company but did you know that the company does a lot of work with machinery manufacturers, supporting them in ways like the development of environmentally friendly spray technology. The team for this is lead by Dr. Reinhard Friessleben, Head of Bayer’s Application Technology. He along with Armin Lind, Application Technology Manager, gave a demonstration with some products they are working on during the IFAJ Congress in Germany.

One of the products you’ll see demonstrated is the easyFlow closed transfer system developed by Bayer and agrotop, a German mid-sized company that specializes in professional agricultural spray technology. It is a manufacturer independent way to transfer products that can be adapted to most existing spray equipment.

This is part six of my series from the tours I did with Bayer during the annual event. Besides what you will see and hear from this presentation I have more to come on drift-reducing nozzles. That will be the next episode.

You can listen to the presentation here or watch below: Dr. Reinhard Friessleben & Armin Lind Presentation


2016 IFAJ Congress Photo Album

Coverage of the IFAJ Congress is sponsored by Coverage of the IFAJ Congress is sponsored by Bayer
Agribusiness, Audio, Bayer, IFAJ, Technology, Video

Zimfo Bytes

Lizzy Schultz

Zimfo Bytes

  • Woodruff Sweitzer (WS) has announced the hires of Ron Simmons and Mary Wheeler to the company’s traffic and content departments, as well as the promotions of Justina Frost, Vincent Townsend and Shelby Mertz to new positions in the account services department.
  • Issues Ink Media has named Aqueena Clennett as a new Account Manager and has named Janet Kanters as the managing editor for Spud Smart and the Alberta Seed Guide.
  • The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture has awarded a total of $10,000 in grants to 10 middle-school science classrooms nationwide, as well as 10 after-school programs serving middle school-age students. The recognized schools will each receive $500 to pilot a new Maker Kit challenge.
Zimfo Bytes

DBA Launches Dairy Strong Sustainability Alliance

Lizzy Schultz

DSC03578 A diverse group of partners came together this afternoon at Endres Berryridge Farm in Waunakee, Wisconsin for the official launch of the Dairy Strong Sustainability Alliance (DSSA), a collaborative sustainability campaign featuring representatives from every facet of the dairy community, including farmers, processors, retailers, government agencies, universities, and dairy and trade non-profits.

The alliance seeks to engage individuals from across the dairy industry together in a holistic, collaborative effort to position Wisconsin and the Midwest as a global leader in dairy sustainability and to improve the sustainability of the dairy supply chain.

DSSA will deploy through two teams: Milkshed and Farm Enterprise. The Milkshed team includes all members of the dairy supply chain within a watershed or specific area, including farms, service providers, processors, and transportation and logistics companies. The Farm Enterprise Team will consist of individual farming enterprises seeking to partner with DSSA in an effort to enhance their successes and improve their sustainability efforts.

The campaign kicked off today in conjunction with the Yahara Pride Field Day through a panel discussion of DSSA collaborators.

Speakers included:

Tim Trotter, Executive Director, Dairy Business Association
Steve Richter, Director of Conservation Programs, The Nature Conservancy Wisconsin Field Office
Jeff Endres, Chair, Yahara Pride Farms, Inc.
Karen Scanlon, Vice President, Sustainability, Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy
John Umhoefer, Executive Director, Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association
Steve Peterson, SLP, LLC, Formerly of General Mills

Listen to the full announcement here:
Dairy Strong Sustainability Alliance Presser

View and download photos from the event here: Dairy Strong Sustainability Alliance Photo Album

Ag Groups, Agribusiness, Audio, Dairy, Sustainability

First-Hand from Bayer Showcase Plot Tour

Kelly Marshall

bayer-showcase-illinois-103-edited Denis Kopp is a grower from central Illinois with a problem any other grower in the Midwest can relate to. His corn and soybean farm is fighting against weeds.

“Well, this time of year I think everyone in the Midwest would agree, at least in central Illinois, the biggest problem is water hemp. In August you start to see the weeds popping up, so we’re looking for a better program to help control this particular problem,” Kopp told AgWired’s Jamie Johansen.

That’s why Kopp traveled to Bayer‘s Showcase Plot tour, to get a better idea of the program offered there. He also wanted to take a close-up look a few other new products, like a pre-emerge for weed control. The Showcase offered a great opportunity to see it first hand.

Listen to Jamie’s full interview here: Interview with Denis Kopp, grower

Bayer Showcase Days Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, Bayer

AgExplorer.com Helps Students Find Careers

Kelly Marshall

AgExplorer.comThe National FFA Organization, Discovery Education and AgCareers.com are working together to prepare the next generation for careers in agriculture.  Collectively they have created a website, AgExplorer.com, that offers comprehensive career resources that allow students to explore a wide range of job choices.

“We’re excited to introduce this transformational resource that will allow students to explore the 235 unique careers in agriculture,” said Joshua Bledsoe, chief operating officer of the National FFA Organization. “FFA is uniquely positioned to provide the foundation of the talent pipeline for the agricultural industry. In addition to engaging our students and supporting our teachers, AgExplorer.com will help us tell our story and the story of agriculture to the world. Together, we can all strengthen the future of agriculture.”

In the next five years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that the industry of agriculture will have more than 60,000 job openings annually, and an estimated 22,500 of those openings will not have highly skilled graduates to fill them. In 2015, AgCareers.com hosted nearly 78,000 job postings in the U.S. alone. AgExplorer is the tool students can use to explore this industry and see what career is the best fit for them.

FFA and AgCareers.com began by working with industry leaders to identify 235 unduplicated careers within the field and then developed a profile for each one.  The careers are linked to two- and four-year colleges and universities that offer some type of agriculture degree.  Additionally AgCareers.com validates a salary using their Compensation Benchmark Review tool; a service that will be continue to be monitored as part of the project.

“I am constantly searching for ways to better engage my students and expose them to diverse career pathways. AgExplorer gives me the tools to connect my students to real opportunities in the agricultural industry,” said Patti Grammens, a teacher at Lakeside Middle School in Georgia’s Forsyth County Schools. “AgExplorer will give all teachers, even those without agricultural experience, the resources to get students excited about careers they may have otherwise not considered. I am looking forward to using this program in my classroom this year.”

The site also offers nine videos, each featuring an agricultural pathway and explain how these careers are part of feeding the world.  The Career Finder is a tool that allows students to take an interactive assessment to match their interest with a possible career.

“Discovery Education is proud to partner with the National FFA Organization to offer classrooms nationwide an array of dynamic, digital resources that help connect real-world STEM applications to a variety of potential agricultural career paths,” said Lori McFarling, senior vice president of Discovery Education. “We are dedicated to preparing students to be college and career ready, and AgExplorer will help achieve this mission by connecting students’ interests and academic strengths to a broad array of promising careers in today’s rapidly growing agriculture industry.”

Ag Groups, AgCareers, Agribusiness, FFA

Trump Names Ag Advisory Committee

Cindy Zimmerman

trumppence16Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has announced an impressive list of more than 65 agricultural supporters to make up his new Agricultural Advisory Committee. The list includes Congressional agriculture committee leadership, state agriculture secretaries, governors and former governors of key agriculture states, and industry leaders of all stripes.

According to the Trump campaign, “the committee will provide pioneering new ideas to strengthen our nation’s agricultural industry as well as provide support to our rural communities. Mr. Trump understands the critical role our nation’s agricultural community plays in feeding not only our country, but the world, and how important these Americans are to powering our nation’s economy.”

Quoting the candidate, “The members of my agricultural advisory committee represent the best that America can offer to help serve agricultural communities,” said Trump. “Many of these officials have been elected by their communities to solve the issues that impact our rural areas every day. I’m very proud to stand with these men and women, and look forward to serving those who serve all Americans from the White House.”

Among the well-known names on the lengthy list: Former Agriculture Secretary John Block, Senate Ag Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS), House Ag Chairman Mike Conaway (R-TX), current governors Terry Branstad of Iowa Pete Ricketts of Nebraska and Sam Brownback of Kansas, Former National Cattlemen’s Beef Association president Steve Foglesong and Steve Wellman, former president of the American Soybean Association.

politics