Trump Tops @AgriPulse Poll of Farmers

Cindy Zimmerman

agripulseAs Iowa voters gather to caucus today, a new Agri-Pulse poll shows most farmers support Donald Trump for president.

In the most extensive poll of how U.S. farmers and ranchers plan to vote for president, respondents overwhelmingly say they’ll support a Republican, and 40 percent of those are Trump supporters. That compares to 15 percent for Sen. Ted Cruz, 11 percent for Sen. Marco Rubio and 10 percent for Ben Carson. The rest of the candidates in the field polled in single digits.

“It’s clear that GOP-leaning voters are very dissatisfied with the direction of the country, the way President Obama is doing his job and the way that Congress is doing its job. And there was not much variance by age or farm size, although a higher percentage of younger voters expressed dissatisfaction with how Congress is functioning,” said Agri-Pulse Editor and founder Sara Wyant. “They want to elect someone who can make major changes.”

Among farm country Democrats, almost 49 percent of voters are giving Hillary Clinton an edge, compared to 41 percent for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, with 10 percent undecided. Democrats or those leaning Democrat made up 19 percent of the 750 farmers and ranchers surveyed. About 70 percent identified as Republican or leaning Republican, and 12 percent as independent.

When asked to identify the one most important issue facing this country heading into the 2016 presidential election, “national security/terrorism” was the top choice for both Republicans and Democrats in the poll, with 19 percent nationally, followed by “moral values” at 14 percent, “immigration/ag labor” at almost 14 percent and “deficit reduction” at 13.5 percent.

The survey was conducted by Aimpoint Research and is part of the Agri-Pulse “Rural Route to the White House” series designed to help educate farmers and ranchers about how presidential candidates view national issues which are important to their livelihoods. The series is sponsored by the American Farm Bureau Federation. The nationwide telephone survey was conducted from January 22-26, with 750 producers who own at least 200 acres of farmland. The average U.S. farm size is 434 acres, according to the most recent U.S. Census of Agriculture, conducted in 2012. There is a margin of error of 3.6 percent with 95 percent confidence.

Survey results are available here.

Agri-Pulse, politics

Key Issues Top Farm Bureau’s 2016 Strategic Plan

John Davis

farmbureauFarm Bureau’s strategic action plan for 2016 includes several key issues for agriculture, including the government’s Waters of the United States (WOTUS) action, protecting farmers’ rights to use biotechnology and trade issue. This news release from the group says the policy issues are a result of deliberations by delegates to the AFBF’s 97th Annual Convention in Orlando.

“We will continue to work hard to protect the business of American agriculture on all fronts. This plan is an important roadmap to key issue areas that AFBF and our grassroots members will address in 2016,” AFBF President Zippy Duvall said.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s new Waters of the U.S. rule remains among the most pressing issues in agriculture. Although presented as a water issue, the measure in fact would unlawfully regulate land in violation of the Clean Water Act itself. The rule takes over local and state authority while threatening private property rights and normal farming activity nationwide.

“EPA’s blatant overreach is nothing short of a federal land grab,” Duvall said. “The administration has refused to listen to business owners, local governments and lawmakers. The courts have ordered this rule temporarily stopped. The Government Accountability Office found EPA’s actions illegal, and Congress–which originally gave EPA its authority under the Clean Water Act–called for an end to this rule. We won’t give up until it’s gone and farmers are free to care for their own land.”

AFBF’s action plan also supports agricultural biotechnology that promises great benefits for agriculture, consumers and the environment.

“Farmers and ranchers need better tools to be more productive and efficient. We will continue to defend farmers’ and ranchers’ access to biotechnology and protect their right to use other promising new technologies, from data services to drones,” Duvall said.

The AFBF board reaffirmed its commitment to the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement.

“TPP promises to open up markets around the Pacific Rim. These are some of the fastest-growing markets in the world, and America’s farmers and ranchers are ready to expand business there,” Duvall said. “We’re ready to work with Congress to move this agreement forward for the overall good of U.S. agriculture.”

AFBF, Ag Groups, Trade, Water

Ag Tech Accelerator Program Chooses AgVoice

Kelly Marshall

AgVoice-Wave-tmAgVoice has been selected to participate in a nine-month program created by The Yield Lab, to support up and coming agriculture  technology companies.  AgVoice is a voice interaction service, created by TekWear LLC, which provides hands-free workflow management services which allows growers to capture insights when they’re on the go.

The platform gives ag professionals the ability to record and process raw data files about what is happening in the field that can be time stamped and location tracked.

“We’re honored to be selected by The Yield Lab to participate in the program as one of its portfolio companies, and we’re ready to take full advantage of the tremendous business development resources they offer,” says Bruce Rasa, CEO at TekWear LLC. “It was important for our team to find a partner with ag tech as their top priority, and we feel that we’ve found an excellent match to further enhance AgVoice, which is projected to launch later this year.”

The insights and data that AgVoice provides to producers helps them meet an increasing array of government reporting mandates and answers food retailer questions on food traceability, as well as consumer questions regarding where and how their food was safely grown. The service is perfect for agriculture professionals in a wide variety of roles, including agronomists, plant scientists, veterinarians and machinery repair specialists, among others.

“AgVoice is a service that we see contributing a great deal to the agriculture industry, making it a perfect fit as one of our seven portfolio selections in 2016,” says Matt Plummer, principal at The Yield Lab. “The hands-free, voice-interactive technology that the platform offers has the potential to fundamentally shift the way food and agriculture professionals capture usable insights and data.”

The program has just begun at the Helix Center in St. Louise.  Learn more at http://www.agvoiceglobal.com/.

Agribusiness, Precision Agriculture, Technology

AEM Joins Commodity Classic

Kelly Marshall

Commodity ClassicThe 2016 Commodity Classic in New Orleans, March 3-5, will be the biggest and best trade show ever.  The addition of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers as a presenting sponsor is no small part of that.  The 600,000 plus square foot trade show floor is the largest to date in the 20 year history of the trade show.  Several of the AEM members that have previously been part of the show are doubling or tripling their square footage for this year.

AEM Senior Vice President, Charlie O’Brien credits the reputation of Commodity Classic and the types of farmers who attend as the main reasons they chose to come on board this year.

“Our members were attracted by the quality of grower that attends Commodity Classic,” said O’Brien. “These are serious, large-scale, progressive farmers—the type of farmers with whom AEM members want to engage and converse. We have a great deal of respect for the grower population that’s at Commodity Classic.”

AEMAnd AEM expects to expand the number of sales representatives and customer service personnel in their exhibit booth this year.
“Many of our members will bring engineers and product managers—the type of experts who can speak in detail about the equipment and innovation,” O’Brien added. “When farmers come to the exhibit, they can ask deep questions of the people who are actually designing the equipment and get the answers they’re looking for right there and then.”

You can get more information about the Commodity Classic trade show at www.CommodityClassic.com.

AEM, Agribusiness, Commodity Classic

Ethanol, Farmers and Politics in Iowa

Cindy Zimmerman

debate-cruzWith the Iowa caucuses coming up on Monday, agriculture and renewable fuels finally got some attention in the Republican debate last night, as Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas was asked about his position on the Renewable Fuel Standard.

“We should be developing oil and gas and coal and nuclear and wind and solar and ethanol and biofuels but I don’t believe that Washington should be picking winners and losers,” said Cruz during the debate. “But I don’t believe Washington should be picking winners and losers and I think there should be no mandates and no subsidies whatsoever,” adding that his tax plan includes eliminating subsidies for oil and gas. He said it is “not true” that he opposes ethanol and noted Rep. Steve King (R-IA) “perhaps the fiercest defender of farmers” in Iowa supports him.

Listen to Cruz here: Sen. Cruz on RFS and ethanol

iowa-cornHowever, the senator’s words got him no love from Iowa Corn Growers president Bob Hemesath, a farmer from Decorah, who urges people in Iowa to “support a candidate who supports the RFS.”

“Ted Cruz claims that he supports ethanol, he does not support the RFS,” said Hemesath during a conference call this morning. “We can’t afford to let the ethanol industry to be taken away from us by a president who doesn’t support the Renewable Fuel Standard.”

Listen to Hemesath’s comments here: Iowa Corn Growers president Bob Hemesath

Audio, Corn, Ethanol, politics

Zimfo Bytes

Talia Goes

Zimfo Bytes

Zimfo Bytes

USDA Pledges $9M Towards Wetlands

Taylor Truckey

USDA_logo.svgAgriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced the establishment of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Wetland Mitigation Banking Program, made possible by the 2014 Farm Bill. The program will provide $9 million to help states, local governments or other qualified partners develop wetland mitigation banks that restore, create, or enhance wetland ecosystems, broadening the conservation options available to farmers and ranchers.

“This is an important opportunity for us to focus on critical efforts and conservation across the United States. Our producers, farmers and ranchers need tools to have the flexibility to do what is right for their operations, but at the same time to do what’s right for the environment,” Vilsack said.

Wetland mitigation banking is commonly used to compensate for wetland impacts from development, but can also be used to offset impacts from agriculture. Vilsack explained, “One such tool is a mitigation bank where producers can purchase credits generated from previously drained wetlands, which are restored and approved for wetland mitigation, to offset the loss and benefits where producers are installing new drainage in a wetland.”

Listen to Secretary Vilsack’s announcement here: Secretary of Ag Vilsack

Read the full release here.

Environment, politics, Sustainability, USDA, Water

Improving Production with Farm Controllers

Lizzy Schultz

caroline-forest The 2016 International Production and Processing Expo (IPPE) is all about innovation, with several companies using the expo to showcase innovative new strategies to help improve production. Intelia has always been a standout when it comes to electronic innovations, and their latest products offer producers the potential to see exceptional improvements in both production and sustainability efforts.

The Canadian company, based in Montreal, has been designing comprehensive custom electronic products and services since 1999, and specializes in custom custom control and automation products. Intelia has developed controllers for everything from arcade games to elevators, but they have recently begun to shift their entire focus on agriculture.

“Across agriculture I’m seeing farmers increasingly want to have access to their production data, because that data is knowledge, and knowledge is how you can optimize your production, and become more efficient and cost-effective,” said Caroline Forest, Director of Sales & Marketing for Intelia, in an interview during the expo.

The company has designed the Excel Technologies brand product line for the horticultural and farming industries, with products developed especially for dairy, hog and poultry farms. The technology works to provide producers with environmental control systems that provide ideal growth conditions for production through monitoring of atmospheric conditions. The product is known for its user-friendly interfaces, and the technology is known for its incredible precision and reliability.

“Farmers are increasingly mobile, everybody’s got a smartphone, and the size of farms has increased a lot, especially in the US, so you’ve got one production manager that is supervising 50-100 barns, and he cannot physically visit all of them each day,” said Forest. “Through savvy applications and web-enabled controllers, he’s able to access the barns from his smartphone or desktop and respond to any kind of alarms or problems that the controller is reporting back to the producer.”

Listen to Chuck’s full interview with Caroline here:
Interview with Caroline Forest, Intelia

Photos from IPPE: 2016 IPPE Photo Album

Coverage of the International Production and Processing Expo is sponsored by
Coverage of the International Production and Processing Expo is sponsored by NOVUS
Ag Groups, Audio, Gadgets, IPPE, Technology

Monsanto Scientist Wins Biodiesel Impact Award

Joanna Schroeder

nbb-16-calabottaBeth Calabotta, former Monsanto Director for Bioenergy and currently serving on the National Biodiesel Foundation, was honored during the 2016 National Biodiesel Conference and Expo with the “Eye on Biodiesel” Impact award for her tireless dedication to the advancement of biodiesel.

Beth’s experience in the field of agricultural yield technology and the markets that drive demand for protein give her a rare and valuable knowledge base that she has put 100 percent into her work to advance biodiesel. She has contributed greatly to the sustainability efforts at NBB and projects to analyze the real world indirect effects of biodiesel production. Beth’s knowledge and leadership was instrumental in improving the science used to quantify biodiesel’s growth potential and greenhouse gas benefits. She has also worked aggressively to pursue funding from industry as well as broadening the feedstock organizations that contribute to and benefit from the technical and education programs funded by the National Biodiesel Foundation.

Listen to her remarks on winning the Impact Award here: Beth Calabotta, Biodiesel Impact Award winner

2016 National Biodiesel Conference Photo Album

Audio, Biodiesel, National Biodiesel Conference

Biodiesel Policy on Track Says NBB’s Steckel

Joanna Schroeder

nbb-16-steckelBiodiesel policy is laser-focused right now on two primary issues – the RFS and the tax incentive – two policies that drive growth in the industry.

During an address to the membership at the 2016 National Biodiesel Conference, NBB Vice President of Federal Affairs Anne Steckel said they should take credit in the success of getting higher volumes under the Renewable Fuel Standard. “The fact that biodiesel was able to achieve most of its policy goals while others did not…is something we should really be proud of,” said Steckel. “I am proud to say that a two billion gallon standard moving forward is a long way away from the original RFS that flat lined biodiesel at 1.28 billion gallons.”

Steckel noted that they will continue to work toward a producers tax credit. “We were successful in winning a two year extension (of the blenders tax credit) through the remainder of this year,” she said. “However Congress…stopped just short of converting the tax credit into a producers incentive.” She says the fight will continue.

Learn more here: Anne Steckel, NBB VP of Federal Affairs

I also interviewed Anne about the 2015 biodiesel numbers that came out earlier this week and how they show the need for a producers tax credit as more biodiesel is being imported into this country to take advantage of the blenders credit.

Listen to that interview here: Interview with Anne Steckel, NBB

2016 National Biodiesel Conference Photo Album

Audio, Biodiesel, Farm Policy, National Biodiesel Conference