Syngenta Announces Upcoming Seed Treatment Addition
At the Commodity Classic last week, Syngenta had a new seed treatment in development for soybeans and cotton to talk about called Victrato®.
Upon approval by the Environmental Protection Agency for registration, which is anticipated by the 2025 growing season, the new seed treatment will introduce targeted technology to stop nematodes, Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) and Cotton Root Rot (CRR) without harming beneficial organisms.
“Victrato will protect against adults, juveniles and eggs from multiple nematode species, including Soybean Cyst (SCN), root knot, reniform, lance and lesion,” said Katie Jaeger, Soybean Seedcare Product Lead. “It will also help defend against Fusarium virguliforme, and provide early-season suppression of foliar diseases, such as frogeye leaf spot, target spot and Septoria brown spot.”
Featuring a novel SDHI active ingredient, TYMIRIUM® technology, Victrato will deliver targeted protection in the root zone. Upon registration, Victrato will be the newest edition to the Syngenta Seedcare portfolio and will help growers protect their crops from some of the most damaging early-season yield threats, while also offering crop safety.
Jaeger explains more about Victrato in this interview.
Classic24 Katie Jaeger, Syngenta Seedcare 2:55
Administration Officials Address Commodity Classic
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and U.S. EPA Administrator Michael Regan both addressed a record crowd Friday at the Commodity Classic in Houston, Texas.
Secretary Vilsack disappointed many in the audience who expected an announcement on the revised GREET model necessary for agriculture to benefit from tax credits for Sustainable Aviation Fuel under the Inflation Reduction Act. “Obviously we’re not in a position today to announce the guidance that will be coming forth from the Treasury Department as it relates to the Sustainable Aviation fuel and the tax credits that will be available in 2023 and 2024 and the tax credits that will go in place in 2025 and beyond. Now, the reason we’re not is because we’re measuring twice and cutting once. We want to make sure that the latest and best information is utilized in the modeling that will inform the Treasury guidance.”
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack remarks
Classic24 Vilsack remarks 22:48
While EPA is also part of the Interagency Working Group tasked with revising the GREET model, Administrator Regan was at Classic to announce the first EPA Office of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. “I’m excited also that this office will be led by Rod Snyder, who has served in as my senior advisor for Agriculture since 2021. We have someone competent who’s been on the job coming into this job and he’s going to do an awesome job for not only EPA, but for all of you as well. With Rod’s leadership and with the establishment of this new office, we will ensure agriculture and rural stakeholders have a continual seat at the table at EPA for many years to come.”
Classic24 Regan remarks 8:43Secretary Vilsack and EPA Administrator chat with Chandler Goule
Classic24 Vilsack and Regan fireside chat 22:15
Sec. Vilsack and Admin. Regan press conference
Classic24 Vilsack-Regan presser 17:40
Industry Ag News 3/1
USDA and EPA Leaders Today at Classic
At the general session this morning in Houston, Commodity Classic attendees will hear from both USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and EPA Administrator Michael Regan in an unprecedented appearance that is expected to announce the updated GREET model that would allow corn-based ethanol to qualify as a feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) credits.
Mary Kay Thatcher, Federal Government and Industry Relations for Syngenta, says speculation is they will be bringing good news. “They both requested to be here so you have to believe that in an election year, you don’t bring bad news,” said Thatcher. “The speculation is that Administrator Regan will indeed announce something about the GREET model.”
However, Thatcher says it may take some time to figure out the details of the announcement. “I suspect it’s going to be so darn complex…it’s really going to take a few days to read the fine points.”
It is likely that Regan will also address the recent court decision vacating the registrations of Dicamba products and EPA’s subsequent order to allow existing stocks to be used by farmers. Thatcher says that is a major issue for growers right now. “It affects both our seed side and crop protection,” she said. “I’m told EPA says 90 percent of the Dicamba is out of the stocks of people like Syngenta, but I’ve got a lot of farmers telling me they have prepaid for their dicamba but are not getting it.”
Thatcher says EPA could make an announcement about whether they will allow the companies to release dicamba stocks in inventory or if they will appeal the decision.
Listen to this interview with Thatcher and stay tuned for the news from Classic today.
Classic24 Mary Kay Thatcher, Syngenta 5:29
DPH Bio Offers BioAgonomics™ to Redefine On-Farm Value
Mick Messman, DPH Biologicals, at 2024 Commodity Classic
“DPH Bio has been committed to science that yields results from day one. Based on multi-year field research and through collaborations with our partners, we aim to provide customers a deeper understanding of the distinct value potential unlocked by biologicals,” said Mick Messman, President and CEO of DPH Bio, speaking at the annual event for corn, soybean, wheat and sorghum producers. “Historically, return-on-investment has been measured by the cost to increase yield. However, our customers see the long-term value that biologicals deliver, such as improved soil health, water use efficiency, disease control, and plantability.”
A review of 107 corn trials conducted over three years using TerraTrove SP-1 Classic revealed increased fertilizer efficiency in addition to average yield increase of 2.5 bu/A.
“Although yield is an important metric, we believe it’s critical for growers to be able to measure the holistic value of biologicals in the field and across their entire business,” said Messman. “As we expand our portfolio and industry partnerships, we are pioneering the concept of ‘BioAgonomics’ to capture and maximize the full value proposition of biological solutions. As we further analyze the data, we are seeing some interesting trends based on management practices and soil conditions.”
For example, in a multi-year study, SP-1 averaged 6.5 more bushels per acre in high-yield, 220-bushel per acre corn in the Midwest.
Learn more in this interview with Mick Messman:
Interview with Mick Messman from Commodity Classic 5:46
Growers at Commodity Classic are invited to visit DPH Bio at Booth 6945 on the third floor of the George Brown Convention Center. In addition, the company plans a series of workshops, including a CropLife webinar on March 5th.
Precision Ag News 2/28
ZimmCast 726 – Clean and Renewable Fuels
The push for everything to be more carbon neutral and sustainable has never been stronger, and that continues to increase the demand for clean and renewable fuels.
Clean Fuels Alliance America and the Renewable Fuels Association have both held their annual conferences this year to focus on the challenges and opportunities for the U.S. biofuels industry. The Clean Fuels Conference was held in Fort Worth and the National Ethanol Conference took place in San Diego.
This episode of the ZimmCast includes comments from leaders of both organizations, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, and representatives from the two major players in the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) industry – Gevo and LanzaJet.
Listen to the episode here:ZimmCast 726 - Clean and Renewable Fuels (22:25)
That’s the ZimmCast for this week. I hope you enjoyed it and thank you for listening.
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Agri-Pulse Celebrates 20 Years
It was great to catch up with good friends Sara Wyant and Al Johnson of Agri-Pulse while at the National Ethanol Conference last week in San Diego.
We have known Sara and Al for a very long time and are sharing the significant milestone of 20 years for both of our companies this year. In this interview, Sara and I chat about 20 years of Agri-Pulse and the upcoming Agri-Pulse Ag & Food Policy Summit: Reviving Rural Revenues on March 18 at the National Press Club.
During the 2024 Ag & Food Policy Summit, we’ll explore a wide variety of options, from local food systems to biomanufacturing, environmental markets and the potential to increase overseas demand. We’ll wrap up with a panel of policy analysts who’ll explore some of the outside influences that are impacting the future of food and agriculture’s ability to stay economically sustainable.
Interview with Sara Wyant, Agri-PulseNational Ethanol Conference Wrap Up
The 29th National Ethanol Conference held in San Diego California last week may go down as one of the best and most timely industry meetings ever, setting the stage for major decisions that hang in the balance this year, including year-round availability of E15 and a revised GREET model that will determine ethanol’s role in sustainable aviation fuel.
The Renewable Fuels Association was pleased to welcome USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack to the NEC this year, as well as Doug McKalip, Chief Agricultural Negotiator in the Office of the United States Trade Representative. This edition of the Ethanol Report includes comments from both of them, as well as RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper, RFA Chairman Erik Huschitt of Badger State Ethanol, Dr. Michael Wang with Argonne National Laboratory, and RFA Senior VP, Industry Relations & Market Development Robert White.
Ethanol Report 2-26-24 19:102024 National Ethanol Conference Virtual Newsroom
The Ethanol Report is a podcast about the latest news and information in the ethanol industry that has been sponsored by the Renewable Fuels Association since 2008.
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