#ASTAannual Gets Social

Cindy Zimmerman

asta-16-socialAs the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) 133rd annual meeting kicked off in Portland, Oregon over the weekend, the Management Skills Committee focused on using social media to fight the spread of misinformation about agriculture and technology.

Jim Schweigert, president of Wisconsin-based Gro Alliance, started off the social media session by presenting a montage of tweets and Facebook posts deriding biotechnology and noting the reach that many detractors, such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Dr. Oz, have. “You can’t overstate it – the future of food is at stake,” said Schweigert. “If the voice of those who are against innovation and technology win the day, then the ability to develop better seed, better crops, and better food products is greatly diminished.” He says it is the responsibility of those in the seed industry to talk about why innovations and technology matter and how they improve food for the world.

As the nation’s largest independently owned contract seed corn production company, Gro Alliance produces GMO, non-GMO, and organic seed products, and Schweigert especially dislikes seeing segments of the industry work against each other, such as the negative messages propagated by the group Seed Matters. “You don’t have to disparage somebody else to promote your product,” he says. “It really becomes disingenuous.”

Schweigert encourages everyone in the seed and agriculture industries to become active on social media if they are not already, engage with people who have questions about technology, and be positive in the face of negativity.

Listen to my interview with Jim here: Interview with Jim Schweigert, Gro Alliance

2016 ASTA-OSA Annual Meeting photo album

ASTA, Audio, Seed, Social Media

It’s #Enogen4Energy at Iowa Speedway

Chuck Zimmerman

#Enogen4Energy Press ConferenceIowa Speedway was the place for corn growers this weekend as Enogen presented the American Ethanol E15 250 NASCAR XFINITY race. Kicking things off was a press conference with representatives from Syngenta, American Ethanol, Growth Energy and Quad County Corn Processors.

Syngenta and Growth Energy are working together for the fourth consecutive year with Iowa Speedway to demonstrate the value of E15 at the NASCAR XFINITY Series American Ethanol E15 250 presented by Enogen on June 19, 2016.

Representing a wide array of ethanol supporters, from farmers to bioengineering firms, American Ethanol was established by Growth Energy in partnership with the National Corn Growers Association to increase awareness about the value of American-made ethanol.
“Ethanol is helping America reduce its dependence on foreign oil, lowering prices at the pump, improving the environment with lower emissions, and growing the economy with jobs that can’t be outsourced,” said Jack Bernens, head of Enogen at Syngenta. “The American Ethanol E15 250 is an excellent opportunity to engage consumers and help increase awareness for the benefits of Earth-friendly American ethanol. Syngenta is pleased to once again be working with Iowa Speedway, Growth Energy and the FFA to support the ethanol industry through our sponsorship of this signature event to tell ethanol’s story.”

Enogen® corn enzyme technology is an exclusive in-seed innovation from Syngenta and features the first biotech corn output trait designed specifically to enhance ethanol production. Syngenta is currently contracting with 20 ethanol plants in eight states with a combined production capacity of more than 1.5 billion gallons.
Last year, Syngenta announced it would donate one dollar for every acre planted with Enogen corn to the Prime the Pump Fund during 2015-16. Prime the Pump is helping high-volume, progressive-minded and industry-leading fuel retailers, who will demonstrate the performance, cost savings and profit opportunity of marketing higher ethanol blends such as E15. During race weekend, local FFA members will be engaging racegoers to help tell ethanol’s story and raise funds for the Prime the Pump Fund, which will be matched by Syngenta.

Retail partnerships like Prime the Pump are more important than ever as a strategy for growing demand for American ethanol, said Kelly Manning, vice president of development for Growth Energy.
“American ethanol has become an important success story,” Manning said. “For our industry to enjoy sustainable success, however, there needs to be an increase in ethanol demand. Looking ahead, retail partnerships will be key to expanding the availability for higher ethanol blends.”

Listen to or download the audio of the press conference here: Enogen Press Conference


You can find lots of photos from Iowa Speedway race weekend here: Enogen Syngenta NASCAR Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, Biofuels, Corn, Ethanol, NASCAR, Syngenta, Video

Novus Unveils Project Horizon at #WPX16

Lizzy Schultz

wpx-16-106-edited As part of their ongoing commitment to bringing customers innovative solutions to the challenges facing the industry, Novus International used the 2016 World Pork Expo as an opportunity to debut Project Horizon, which aims to help producers navigate through the transition to antibiotic-free production.

“We’ve had in-house expertise in terms of gut health and nutrition throughout the 25 years that Novus has existed as a company, so we thought it was time to finally dedicate substantial resources and time to this project in order to help our customers in their transition to antibiotic free meat production,” said Jared Hux, senior manager, North America Marketing with Novus in an interview during the Expo.

The project’s objective is to create a comprehensive portfolio of resources and products for producers to manage herd health through nutrition, and also intends to help address any heightened health and performance concerns due to the reduction or complete removal of antibiotics.

“We know a lot about organic trace minerals, we know the difference between organic and inorganic trace minerals, and with that science-based knowledge we’re able to deliver a solution set that is very specific and offers a very unique return on investment compared to other products on the market that don’t have that level of expertise,” said Hux.

Listen to Jamie’s full interview with Jared here:
Interview with Jared Hux, Novus International

View and download photos from the event here:2016 World Pork Expo Photo Album

wpx-bivi-tag

Ag Groups, Animal Agriculture, Animal Health, Audio, Feed, Novus International, Nutrition, Veterinary, World Pork Expo

Global Business Climate Remains Slow for Ag Machinery

Lizzy Schultz

agrievolution-business-barometer-chart Results from the latest Agrievolution Business Barometer survey are showing that, while the global downturn in the agricultural machinery industry seems to have stabilized, global recovery is not in sight for the next six months, and the sector may stay at current low levels.

The survey found that the global business climate index is back to the low level of October 2014. While the current situation is evaluated to be significantly worse, future expectations have improved, but they are far more muted when compared with two surveys taken in 2015.

The biannual survey, produced by the Agrievolution Alliance, also found that East Asia leads the rankings for global industry expectations for single markets in the next six months, followed by Africa, while a majority of the survey participants expect turnover decreases in North and Latin American nations.

The survey found that the general mood of farmers is remaining negative, with low commodity prices and profitability serving as the major cause. Prices are not projected to change in the short-term.

Find the full report here.


AEM, Ag Groups, Agribusiness, Farm Machinery, International, Markets, Research, Video

Zimfo Bytes

Talia Goes

Zimfo Bytes

Zimfo Bytes

GROWMARK FS Members Meet With Paul Ryan

Lizzy Schultz

growmark-fs-paul-ryan Twenty five GROWMARK FS general managers, board presidents, young farmer customers, and board and staff members were able to meet with House Speaker Paul Ryan earlier this week at his office in the Capitol. Speaker Ryan outlined seven points of his agenda for next year, and attendees were able to discuss several issues important to the System, including GMO labeling.

“The meeting with Speaker Ryan was a great opportunity for our group to verify what I’ve known for a long time – that the Speaker is a friend to virtually all of our issues as an agricultural cooperative,” said GROWMARK and Conserv FS board member Kevin Malchine. “Every time I speak with him, I come away impressed.”

“It’s really valuable to meet someone like Speaker Ryan in person because you get to know them as an individual,” said Paul Munie, a farmer from Caseyville, Illinois and St. Clair Service Company customer. “I really appreciated the opportunity to discuss the issues that matter to me with the Speaker.”

The meeting occurred as the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives Washington Conference was held concurrently, and GROWMARK System members were able to conduct meetings with Speaker Ryan and more than 30 Representatives and Senators from Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania.

Ag Groups, Agribusiness, GMO, GROWMARK, politics

National FFA Foundation Creates Endowment Fund

Lizzy Schultz

ffa Dr. W. Dwight Armstrong will retire as chief executive officer of the National FFA Organization and Foundation later this month, but his legacy in agricultural education and FFA will live on in a newly created endowment called “The Dwight Armstrong Legacy Endowment.”

Armstrong’s seven-year tenure with the National FFA Organization has allowed him to oversee an era of dramatic growth and success, as the organization has achieved an all-time record high membership of 629,367. Armstrong has solidified close collaboration and complementary strategic direction for both the National FFA Organization and the National FFA Foundation.

“Dwight brought vision and leadership to our organization that has inspired our members, staff and volunteers across the country,” said Molly Ball, President of the National FFA Foundation. “This fund will honor his legacy at FFA and continue his vision of growing leaders, building communities and strengthening American agriculture.”

The Dwight Armstrong Legacy Endowment has two platforms: The CEO Innovation Endowment platform, which establishes a fund that provides future National FFA CEOs with a discretionary platform to pursue unique leadership development opportunities for staff and support starter funds to further the FFA mission, and the career success platform, which helps fund the vision of “My Journey,” a direct pipeline to jobs and talent across the country available to FFA members and partners.

“With his many years of being deeply involved in the agricultural industry, we hope his friends and associates will find this endowment to be a wonderful opportunity to honor Dwight and give back to an organization they care about,” Ball said.

Most information can be found here

Ag Groups, Education, FFA

Safe Food Coalition Urges Senate to Act

Cindy Zimmerman

cfsafThe Coalition for Safe Affordable Food (CFSAF) and leaders of America’s agricultural and food industries are sounding the alarm that Congress needs to act immediately to pass a bipartisan solution before Vermont’s mandatory on-package labeling law goes into effect July 1.

As of today, there are only seven days left on the legislative calendar before the state law is implemented with the potential for costly and lasting effects on the nation’s food supply chain. “After today Congress only has six working days to pass legislation to stop Vermont’s mandatory GMO labeling law,” said Chuck Conner, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives (NCFC) president and CEO, during a conference call today. “We’re not here to get between the negotiations…we’re here simply to urge these members to finish their work.”

Grocery Manufacturers Association president and CEO Pam Bailey adds that the Vermont labeling law will result in stigmatizing perfectly safe foods. “We believe these on-package labels don’t provide consumers with any useful information,” said Bailey. “They will be seen as a warning.” She says the industry advocates a SmartLabel™ Initiative that allows consumers to get all of the information they could possibly need about a product with just a smart phone.

Leslie Sarasin, Food Marketing Institute president and CEO, says a state patchwork of labeling laws will be confusing to consumers. “Vermont’s law and those expected to come from Maine, Massachusetts and other states in that region will quickly make New England’s labeling laws so fragmented that a simple granola bar would be required to be labeled five different ways,” she said.

“The lack of Senate action to find and pass compromise will have serious negative consequences for our nation’s farmers,” said American Soybean Association CEO Steve Censky. “Markets for the crops our farmers are growing today will be lost and the value of farmers’ crops will be diminished.”

Conner described the final negotiations in the Senate as being “within inches” of agreement and they are hoping action will be taken today.

Listen to comments from all the above representatives here: Press call with CFSAF

ASA, Audio, Biotech, Food, GMO, Soybean

Creating Solutions – R&D in the Field with #BIVIswine

Lizzy Schultz

bivi-16-ames-tour-27-editedResearch and development in animal health is all well and good, but a strong team of professional services veterinarians to help implement and communicate to the producers is needed to ensure lab creations are effective. While visiting Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc.’s (BIVI) new R&D facility in Ames, Iowa, I sat down with Dr. John Waddell, senior associate director, professional services veterinarian.

“Many think R&D starts in a laboratory, but it really starts in the field. It starts with practitioners and producers who have a problem with no solution. Sometimes the disease hasn’t had a true pathogen identified with it yet. When I am in the field, I look for those. If I run across odd ball diseases, I help facilitate getting those samples to R&D so they can start finding out what is going on behind the clinical sign we see on the farm that doesn’t make sense.”

If R&D finds a new agent we take a clean pig and attempt to recreate the clinical signs found in the field. If they are successful, they determine if it is worth creating a vaccine for the pathogen. Dr. Waddell said there are numerous steps in getting that vaccine through FDA testing and then to market.

A simple theme for the professional services vet team was ‘creating solutions.’ Dr. Waddell said it always goes back to that. “We help producers design clinical studies. Find out what their current status is and then what their constraints are. Not all can take advantage of all the tools that come down the pike. When we understand their goals, we can help them formulate a plan to manage that disease.” But they don’t stop there. The team also plays an active role in monitoring progress to see if treatment is working and the producer is achieving their goals. If they aren’t, Dr. Waddell said they cycle back to step one.

Listen to my complete interview with Dr. Waddell to learn more about how the field service vets use a team approach throughout the entire process with the producers: Interview with Dr. John Waddell, BIVI

View and download photos from the tour here: 2016 BIVI HMC Media Tour Photo Album.

wpx-bivi-tag

Ag Groups, Animal Health, Audio, Boehringer Ingelheim, Swine, World Pork Expo

FFA Hosts Washington Leadership Conference

Lizzy Schultz

ffa-leadership-dc More than 2,100 FFA members from throughout the country will head to Washington, D.C., this summer for the 2016 Washington Leadership Conference, an opportunity to analyze their personal skills and interests, develop leadership skills, and create a meaningful community service plan that will make a difference in their home communities.

The student leadership event has been hosted by the National FFA Organization since 1969, and is held annually in Washington, D.C. This year’s conference began June 7 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel.

Until the conference ends on July 30, members will spend a week under the guidance of professionals, counselors and FFA staff members. In workshops, seminars and small groups, students will work to identify and develop their personal strengths and goals, undergo comprehensive leadership training, and will analyze the needs of their communities back home while developing a wide-ranging and high-impact community-service initiative.

In recent years, students have promoted agricultural literacy, brought awareness to abuse, collected and distributed shoes to individuals in Haiti, and created an awareness plan on hunger, among others.

Ag Groups, Education, Events, FFA