Deputy Secretary Harden to Leave USDA

Cindy Zimmerman

hardenUSDA Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden today announced plans to depart the agency at the end of next month.

“Today is bittersweet for me as I announce my decision to step down as Deputy Secretary at the end of February,” said Harden in a statement. “I am proud of what our Department has accomplished since 2009 to bring economic opportunity that will help rural America thrive for generations to come. And although I will not be part of the many great and transformational things USDA will accomplish over the next year, I am more committed than ever to USDA’s mission. We have worked hard over the past seven years to make USDA truly the People’s Department, as demonstrated by this Administration’s commitment to bring young people, women, veterans and equal access to the forefront of food and agriculture policy.”

Harden thanked President Obama and Secretary Vilsack “for the opportunity to be part of their team” but made no mention of what she intends to do when she leaves the post. Since 2009, Harden has held USDA leadership positions as Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations and Chief of Staff to the Secretary and was was sworn in as the Deputy Secretary on August 12, 2013. “My work at USDA on behalf of our farmers, ranchers, producers and rural communities has been the greatest honor of my professional life,” Harden concluded in her statement.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that Michael Scuse, the current Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services (FFAS), will serve as Acting Deputy Secretary of Agriculture upon Harden’s departure. ” I speak for thousands of colleagues across the USDA, the federal family, and our nation’s food and agriculture sector, when I say she will be missed. I appreciate her service and wish her well in her future endeavors,” said Vilsack.

USDA

#SHPSummit16 Focuses On Field Research

Taylor Truckey

shs16-toweryThe Soil Health Partnership knows that further research is needed to show farmers the benefits of soil health. Dan Towery, Field Manager with the Soil Health Partnership in Indiana, spoke with Chuck Zimmerman at the Soil Health Summit this week in Indianapolis about the purpose of the Summit as well as the field research trials they are currently conducting.

“We’re going to discuss with growers, university folks, and folks from the private sector, this whole idea of soil health,” said Towery. “We’re looking at the whole gamut; the agronomic, the economic, and the environmental pieces and how they all fit together. The whole idea is to give growers the assistance that they need to make some of these changes in their production.”

With commodity prices being low, growers are looking at how to best manage costs while keeping inputs low, and Towery acknowledged that there can be added expenses when focused on improving soil health, but there is also opportunity and money to be made.

The Soil Health Partnership has multiple demo farms where they have replicated strip plots in partnership with local growers. The growers decide what they want to compare. Typically, most are looking at a conventional tillage system compared to no-till with cover crops. Over a 5 year effort, SHP will track inputs and management decisions and by the end, SHP hopes to be able to show that farmers increased their profit margins and relate it back to what happened in the soil. An example of factors they will be monitoring are increasing the active organic matter portion and improving filtration.

Field-size strip plots and weather inconsistencies allow for error in a given year; devoting five years to the replicated research projects will allow for a better synopsis of the impact of soil health. The demo fields are from 20 to 80 acres in size with 8 strips total, 4 control and 4 adaptive management.

Learn more in this interview: Interview with Dan Towery, Soil Health Partnership

2016 Soil Health Summit Photo Album

Audio, Soil, Soil Health Partnership

The Nature Conservancy Supports Soil Health

Cindy Zimmerman

shs16-clemensThe Nature Conservancy (TNC) provides technical support for the Soil Health Partnership (SHP), and it’s something that fits in well with the organization’s mission “to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends.”

“The Nature Conservancy has been working in agriculture for several decades,” says Larry Clemens, TNC North American Agriculture Program Director. “We’ve been wanted to scale up our partnerships and our collaborations, so when the Soil Health Partnership was forming it was a great opportunity … to get good information and good science out to growers in the Midwest about soil health practices.”

Clemens adds that soil health is a global priority for TNC. “We really see in the future that soil health is going to be key to increasing our production and feeding the world,” he said during an interview at the second Soil Health Summit this week in Indianapolis.

The SHP is a true partnership between environmental interests like TNC, farmers through the National Corn Growers Association, and industry with funding from Monsanto and The Walton Family Foundation, and Clemens says it has long term implications for the future. “As we think about feeding our world, soil is truly the foundation and when it’s not healthy, the rest of our ecosystem is likely not going to be healthy,” he said.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Larry here: Interview with Larry Clemens, The Nature Conservancy

2016 Soil Health Summit Photo Album

Audio, Corn, Environment, NCGA, Soil, Soil Health Partnership

Soil Health From the Ground Up #SHPsummit16

Cindy Zimmerman

The Soil Health Partnership (SHP) is not even two years old yet, but already the group has made some great strides in learning more about soil health to share with farmers.

shs16-kokHans Kok is a field manager for SHP in Indiana, where the second Soil Health Summit is being held this week. “We’re setting up a network of demonstration farms across the Midwest,” Kok says. “We are challenging farmers to change their soil management practices.”

Kok says the goal is to get soils back to where they should be to use less inputs and get higher yields. “We’re finding farmers who are farming in a fairly conventional way and we challenge them to take one field of 50 or 80 acres and put four replicated strips in there with a new practice,” he said. “For the next five or more years, we’ll keep track of what’s happening in those strips compared to what the farmer is doing currently.”

SHP is collecting both economic and field data, with extensive soil sampling and aerial photography. “We’re putting all this together for farmers as a management tool for the future,” Kok explained.

At the summit in Indianapolis, Kok says they are talking about some of the results they have collected so far, hearing from experts, providing soil demonstrations, and having small group discussions.

Learn more in this interview: Interview with Hans Kok, Soil Health Partnership

2016 Soil Health Summit Photo Album

Audio, Corn, Farming, NCGA, Soil, Soil Health Partnership

Planting Predictions for 2016?

Jamie Johansen

New Holland ZimmPollOur latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “What do you think of new dietary guidelines?”

Referring to the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans, many of those who took our recent poll feel nothing has really changed from past dietary guidelines and even more simply don’t care.

Here are the poll results:

  • Fair – 0%
  • Nothing new – 37%
  • Good news – 0%
  • Disappointed- 0%
  • Who cares? – 63%

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, What’s your planting intentions prediction for 2016?

Planting season is getting closer and with lower prices and farm income down, the question is what will be planted this year? We’ll just focus on corn and soybeans and ask, what do you think?

ZimmPoll

Soil Health Summit Starts Today

Chuck Zimmerman

Soil Health PartnershipMy current home is the Alexander in Indianapolis where the Soil Health Partnership is about to kick off the 2016 Soil Health Summit. Cindy attended the first one last year. It’s my turn this year.

I’ll be sharing interviews with staff, supporters and farmer who are participating in the organization’s work. Here’s what the SHP 5 year initiative says:

Over the next five years, we plan to identify, test and measure management practices that improve soil health and benefit farmers’ operations. Right now, many farmers across the country are implementing innovative management practices that result in economic and environmental benefits. We plan to build upon the work of these farmers to provide connections between on-farm practices and improving soil health.

We believe the results of this farmer-led project will provide a platform for sharing information from farmers to farmers, with the support and resources to benefit farmers’ bottom lines and agricultural sustainability. We want to help provide the spark for greater understanding and more broadly implementing agricultural practices that work best.

Photos from the event can be found here: 2016 Soil Health Summit Photo Album

The Soil Health Partnership is a National Corn Growers Association Initiative, with Initial Support From Monsanto and The Walton Family Foundation and With Technical Support From The Nature Conservancy

Ag Groups, Conservation, Environment, NCGA, Soil, Soil Health Partnership

New Sustainability Initiative by @GROWMARK

Cindy Zimmerman

growmark-worldOne of the definitions of sustainable is “able to endure or continue for a long time” and that is the main characteristic that GROWMARK has chosen to focus on with a new system sustainability initiative.

GROWMARK Executive Director of Agronomy Marketing Ron Milby says the initiative fits in with the cooperative’s overall goals. “Our mission statement is ‘To improve the long-term profitability of our member-owners’ and I think with sustainability we can actually get there,” said Milby. “That’s why we’ve created a program called ‘ENDURE’ – what are the enduring management practices that keep our farmers profitable long term.”

growmark-milbyOne aspect of the new initiative is ENDURE Advocates for GROWMARK FS crop specialists. “What we’re trying to do with this advocate program is recognize and award those crop specialists that are doing a good job promoting sustainable business practices,” Milby explained.

Promoting pollinator health is also part of the ENDURE initiative, which has already been very successful, and they are working on other ways the concept of enduring sustainability will be promoted within the GROWMARK FS system and beyond. Sustainability is even the theme for GROWMARK’s 2016 Essay Contest for high school FFA members in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin.

Learn more about GROWMARK’s sustainability initiative in this interview: Interview with Ron Milby, GROWMARK Agronomy

Agronomy, Audio, GROWMARK, Sustainability

#SpudNation Food Truck Chefs

Chuck Zimmerman

spud-nation-chefsBettie the Spud Nation Food Truck was unveiled in dramatic fashion last week at the 2016 Potato Expo, but while Bettie is pretty and shiny, what makes her really special is the unique potato recipes that she will be offering for spud lovers. That’s where United States Potato Board (USPB) Executive Chef Travis Howard and Chef Derek Johnson come in.

“Spud Nation is the first vehicle of its kind,” said Howard. “We’re owned by 2500 farming families, bringing you a field-to-fork potato adventure!”

Spud Nation food trucks are part of the new marketing and education programs launched by the USPB to carry the potato message to the expanding food truck market, estimated to be a be a $2.7 billion industry by 2017. The first adventure for Bettie and her chefs will be in the Denver market.

Learn more about Bettie in this video tour with Travis:


Potato Expo 2016 Photo Album

Coverage of the Potato Expo is sponsored by Coverage of Potato Expo is sponsored by Nufarm
Food, Potato, Video

Bipartisan Child Nutrition Reauthorization Passes Senate

John Davis

uscapitolThere’s not a lot that Republicans and Democrats can agree upon, especially in this election year, but a bipartisan bill that reauthorizes vital child nutrition programs brought them together. Senate Agriculture Committee officials say the “Improving Child Nutrition Integrity and Access Act of 2016,” reforms and reauthorizes child nutrition programs under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 and brought praise from Farm Bureau.

“Folks said we couldn’t come to an agreement on child nutrition reauthorization – let alone a bipartisan agreement – but we did. This bipartisan legislation is a true compromise. Not everyone got everything they wanted, but a lot of folks have a lot to be happy about,” said Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS). “This legislation ensures programs use taxpayer dollars more efficiently, gives local schools more flexibility in meeting standards, and focuses on fraud and error prevention.”

“This bipartisan bill puts the health of America’s children first,” added Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow (D-MI). “We are making sure our children get nutritious meals based on smart, science-based policies to give every child a fair shot at success. The investments made in this bill will give important new resources to fight hunger, from WIC to the summer meals program.”

The American Farm Bureau Federation sent a letter to the committee leadership supporting the measure and recognizing that it “improves flexibility for school lunch programs and reinforces dietary guidelines which include dairy, meat, fruits and vegetables, and grains.”

The letter stated that Farm Bureau is pleased that the proposed legislation includes provisions to boost milk and dairy product consumption through the National School Lunch Program.

“The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends three dairy servings per day and offering milk with each school meal helps to meet that goal,” Farm Bureau said. “School meal offerings should include milk or dairy products for the essential nutrients they provide to growing children, such as protein, potassium, vitamin D and calcium.”

AFBF, Ag Groups, Food, politics

What Now for WOTUS?

Cindy Zimmerman

vetoAs expected, President Obama yesterday vetoed a disapproval resolution passed by Congress that would have nullified the controversial clean water rule by EPA, better known as Waters of the U.S. or WOTUS.

“Because this resolution seeks to block the progress represented by this rule and deny businesses and communities the regulatory certainty and clarity needed to invest in projects that rely on clean water, I cannot support it,” the president said in his veto message.

The resolution was introduced by Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA), who criticized Obama’s action in a statement.

“(T)he President chose to side with an unchecked federal agency and empower un-elected Washington bureaucrats to expand their authority to control what’s done on private land,” she said. “It is clear President Obama did not take into account the comments, perspectives and legitimate concerns raised by those whom this expanded WOTUS rule directly impacts.” Ernst added that she remains “committed to identifying new ways to push back against this complex, burdensome and overreaching rule.”

National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) president Chip Bowling says the veto harms farmers. “We are disappointed in the President’s veto, especially in light of the recent GAO report that stated EPA engaged in ‘covert propaganda’ in an effort to sell the American public on this rule,” said Bowling. “This administration continues to ignore the will of Congress and the significant impact this will have on our country’s farmers at a time when they cannot afford more regulatory confusion and red tape.”

Several lawsuits over the rule are pending and a temporary nationwide stay on implementation of the WOTUS rule remains in effect.

Environment, EPA, NCGA, Water