Growth Energy Supports Next Gen #Ag Teachers

Joanna Schroeder October 29, 2015

Growth Energy has made a commitment to support the next generation of agriculture teachers through $90,000 in scholarships over the next three years for students during their student teaching assignments. The funds were donated to the National Association of Agricultural Education who will give the “Upper Division” awards to students majoring in ag education.

“Student teaching can be a financial strain on agricultural education majors,” said Dr. Wm. Jay Jackman, NAAE executive director. “They spend every day teaching, so they are essentially working a full-time job with no pay. There is a national shortage of agriculture teachers, so anything we can do to help students finish their degree and get into the classroom is critical.”

Previously, NAAE’s Upper Division Scholarships were $750 each, and approximately 15 were given each year. Growth Energy’s gift means that the scholarship amounts will be doubled, and beginning in 2016, more of these larger scholarships will be awarded.

Tom Buis, co-chair of Growth Energy added, “There is nothing more important to the future of agriculture than those who wish to enter a career that will help further the innovation, promise and bounty of America’s farmers. American agriculture and those invested in it are the backbone of this nation and Growth Energy is thrilled to help support the future leaders of this industry. We are thrilled to help support those who will write the next great chapter of American excellence by providing food, feed and fuel to move our nation forward.”

Growth Energy’s gift is a special project of the National FFA Foundation and was announced during the first day of the National FFA Convention taking place in Louisville, Kentucky this week.

AgCareers, FFA

National FFA Officers #AmplifyFFA

Jamie Johansen October 28, 2015

The 88th National FFA Convention & Expo is in full swing and the streets of Louisville, KY are flooded with corduroy jackets. This week the lives of the National FFA Officers are crazy to say the least, but I had a chance to chat with two of them this morning before the organized chaos got too deep.

Nearly 365 days ago Andy Paul was selected to serve the National FFA Organization as their National FFA President. Today you can still see that excitement in his eyes. He has traveled to 29 different states, dozens of airports, given keynote addresses and put on many workshops. But Andy said his favorite part of the year has been the time when he simply got to hangout with the members.

“A third of my year has been with the members, a third of my year has been with the sponsors who really drive this organization and a third of my year has been in training and preparation for this convention and other programs.”

Andy wants all members to be comfortable with who you are and knowing what’s important to you. “Holding on to the things that make you you is really my take home message.”

Listen to my complete interview Andy here: Interview with National FFA President, Andy Paul

I also spoke with Central Region Vice President, Kristen Schmidt, who calls Colorado home. She said she looks back at her year serving FFA members from across the country and sees the personal growth in herself and can’t wait to put that into great use as she continues to pursue her passion for the agriculture community.

“Amplifying is all about taking something and making it louder, stronger or better. It is not just about cranking up the volume, it is also cranking up that intensity and taking those things that we already have and using them to serve a greater purpose.”

Listen to my complete interview with Kristen here: Interview with National FFA Central Region VP, Kristen Schmidt

Coverage of the National FFA Convention is sponsored by

Ag Groups, Audio, FFA

CEO Council on Sustainability and Innovation

Taylor Truckey October 28, 2015

Leading agribusiness CEOs, with the assistance of the Bipartisan Policy Center, have announced a new joint effort aimed to identify and promote innovative approaches to improving sustainability in agriculture and food production.

The CEO Council on Sustainability and Innovation will officially be launched tomorrow, October 29 by leaders of DuPont, Elanco, Kellogg Company, and Land O’ Lakes. Over the next several months, the council will research, collect and amplify innovative approaches within the agribusiness industry to combat and adapt to the realities of a changing climate and its impacts on food production.

As the event is open to the public, the details are below for the official launch.

WHO:
Jeff Simmons
President, Elanco
@JeffSimmons2050

John A. Bryant
Chairman and CEO, Kellogg Company
@KelloggCompany

Chris Policinski
President and CEO, Land O’ Lakes
@LandOLakesInc

Secretary Dan Glickman
Former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture
Senior Fellow, BPC
@DanRGlickman

WHEN: Thursday, October 29th 2015 02:00 p.m. to 03:00 p.m. ET
WHERE: Bipartisan Policy Center, 1225 Eye St. NW, Suite 1000, Was

Ag Groups, Agribusiness, Elanco, politics

Granular Enhances Farmland Analysis Tool

Kelly Marshall October 28, 2015

A leading farm management software company, Granular, has announced an update to their farmland analysis site, AcreValue. The new version includes significantly more area covered, which now expands from the original states of Iowa, Illinois and Indiana to 46 states. It also has new management and analytical features, including soil maps, production history and mobile optimization.

Farmers, landowners,bankers or other industry professionals may use the site for free to analyze the value or productivity of the land. A subscription based program gives the user an enhanced number of features.

“Among professional farmers who use Granular, the talk is all about how to expand by finding the right land at the right price,” said Tamar Tashjian, General Manager of AcreValue. “We will provide our farmers with the tools to see how adding land will affect the efficiency and profitability of their specific operation and therefore what they should pay to lease or purchase it. At the same time, we are providing the whole agriculture industry with a single convenient and free site to access all publicly available farmland data.”

One of AcreValue’s most important features is its Automated Valuation Model (AVM), the first AVM specifically built for the agriculture industry. AcreValue’s AVM analyzes terabytes of data about soil, climate, crop rotation, taxes, interest rates, comparable land sales and crop prices to automatically estimate the value of each piece of farmland. AVM is common in commercial and residential real estate markets (for example, used in the home value estimates from Zillow).

“Models can never fully predict what a given parcel of land will trade for because they can’t know supply and demand dynamics in advance,” said Chris Seifert, lead Data Scientist on AcreValue. “However, professionals in the market can use the estimates from our AVM as an unbiased starting point for their own analysis and negotiations, and to easily compare the characteristics of different parcels of land.”

“As professional farmland investors, we spend a lot of time collecting and analyzing data from all the publically available sources,” said Eric O’Brien, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Fall Line Capital. “Prior to AcreValue, we would spend countless hours aggregating data from various sources. Now, AcreValue automatically generates that information and brings that data together in one place. AcreValue’s Data Science team is changing the way we make decisions, and the analysis tools they are developing have the potential to help the whole market operate more efficiently.”

Agribusiness, data

Land O’Lakes Makes Investment in Africa

Kelly Marshall October 28, 2015

Land O’Lakes Inc. has created a partnership with a company from South Africa. Their new alliance with Villa Crop Protection creates a complimentary portfolio that will allow them to bring productivity-enhancing crop input products and services to their customers. Land O’Lakes has recently accelerated their growth in global markets and this is their first investment in Africa.

Land O’Lakes now has a 52.5 percent ownership in Villa Crop Protection, but the existing Villa Crop Protection management team will remain in place. Products and services will be provided to the company through Land O’Lakes input business, Winfield Solutions LLC.

“South Africa has a dynamic and growing agriculture industry, and we are proud to be entering this country with a local market leader in crop protection,” said Chris Policinski, president and CEO of Land O’Lakes, Inc. “We’ve been in countries across the world, including parts of Africa, for 35 years through our international development efforts. This is our first major international commercial investment in Africa. We look forward to bringing proven products from our WinField business to the South African market and investing in the research and development efforts that will provide new products to local growers that help produce more food, more sustainably.”

Villa’s crop protection solutions are supported with a wide range of training programs presented by the Villa Academy Training Institute. The institute equips agriculturalists, producers and sales people with the latest knowledge, scientific facts and experience in the field of crop protection to help optimize their crop production using fewer resources. Villa Crop Protection plans to expand the institute’s reach with assistance from Land O’Lakes and provide an even-wider range of training courses for the agricultural industry both locally and in the rest of Africa to build skills that help support the economic development of farmers and the agricultural industry as a whole.

In 2014, agriculture added 109.3 billion South African Rand ($8.7B USD) to the country’s GDP according to the World Bank. Nearly 80 percent of the land in South Africa was used for agricultural production, which amounts to more than 97.6 million hectares.

“The data is clear: Agriculture and production are critically important to South Africa,” said Andre Schreuder, managing director of Villa Crop Protection. “With Land O’Lakes’ investment in Villa Crop Protection and WinField’s capabilities, products and people, we are even more confident entering this exciting period in our business. We are positive that this deal will enhance our capabilities, build on distinctive and complementary product offerings and bring new technologies, international insights and Land O’Lakes’ years of value-added agricultural knowledge to help meet local growers’ needs today and into the future.”

Neither company expects negative impacts for their workforce.

Agribusiness, Crop Protection

Ag Lawmakers Oppose Crop Insurance Cuts

John Davis October 28, 2015

While many are praising a budget deal that averts a government shutdown and the prospect of one until after next year’s elections, the deal isn’t being welcomed by many agricultural state lawmakers. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS) announced he will vote against the budget deal negotiated behind closed doors because of its raid on crop insurance funding.

“I will vote against the budget deal because it will undermine the number one risk management tool for farmers in America – crop insurance.

“Agriculture producers are battling floods while others continue to face ongoing and severe drought. Crop insurance has kept them in business in a tough economy and eliminated the need for a costly emergency federal disaster package. These proposals to make further cuts to the crop insurance program were not included in the House- or Senate-passed budgets, in any appropriations bills, or in the president’s budget request. Once again, our leaders are attempting to govern by backroom deals where the devil is in the details.”

The Congressional Congressional Budget Office says the deal would cut crop insurance by more than $3 billion over 10 years. Roberts was joined in his opposition of the deal by House Agriculture Chairman Rep. Michael Conaway (R-TX) and by the ranking members of both agriculture committees, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN).

“Make no mistake, this is not about saving money. It is about eliminating Federal Crop Insurance,” said Chairman Conaway. “The House Agriculture Committee was not consulted regarding any changes to policies under the jurisdiction of our committee. This provision is opposed by an overwhelming majority or our committee members. It was debated and defeated during the 2014 farm bill process, and to move forward with it now breaks faith with the American producer. I am working alongside many of my colleagues to have the provision removed. If it is not removed, I will vote against this bill and work to defeat its passage. The American people deserve better than continued backroom deals struck in the middle of the night that entirely undercut the legislative process.”

“I oppose any efforts to cut or reopen Farm Bill programs. It is particularly disappointing to see cuts to crop insurance in the budget agreement,” said Ranking Member Stabenow. “These types of cuts only undermine the economic certainty that the Farm Bill provides. The Farm Bill made meaningful reforms to help reduce the deficit. Any attempts to reopen any part of the Farm Bill to more cuts would be a major set-back for rural America and our efforts to create jobs.”

“We made major cuts when we wrote the Farm Bill,” said Ranking Member Peterson. “It is not appropriate to cut agriculture again. The Farm Bill should not be raided. I oppose any cuts.”

Farm Bill, Insurance, politics

Zimfo Bytes

Talia Goes October 27, 2015

JCB is marked its 70th anniversary by the introduction of a JCB limited edition backhoe loader.
Spud Smart, Canada’s media outlet dedicated to delivering timely information to potato growers, processors, industry suppliers and policymakers from coast to coast, has rolled out an improved, mobile-responsive website.
NAMA’s “How Marketers Can Respond in a Down Ag Economy” webinar hosted by Greg Guse & Clara Jacob will be held on November 19th.
Farm Journal Media is pleased to announce starting today, Anna-Lisa Laca will report exclusively for the company’s Dairy Today and Top Producer brands as Online and Business Editor.

Zimfo Bytes

FFA Members to Amplify Louisville

Jamie Johansen October 27, 2015

This week, FFA members from across the country will arrive in Louisville, Ky., to celebrate the 88th National FFA Convention & Expo. And thanks to our sponsor, New Holland, I will be there to cover it all. As a former FFA member and ag teacher, this event is by far my favorite.

The convention and expo will kick off on Tuesday, Oct. 27 with the Welcome Lunch at 11:30 a.m. in the Kentucky Exposition Center, where present and former FFA members will share how FFA has impacted their lives.

On the afternoon of Wednesday Oct. 28, the first general session will feature a video tribute to the 85th anniversary of the FFA Creed. Special thanks to Jackson Tiffany, Jimmy Carter, the Georgia FFA Association and Branch Carter, Easton Corbin, Travis Bradshaw and the FFA members who helped make the tribute a reality.

The evening of Thursday, Oct. 29, USDA Deputy Secretary Krysta Hardin will give remarks during the third general session. The four American Star Awards will also be presented to FFA members who demonstrate outstanding agricultural skills and competencies through completion of a supervised agricultural experience program.

The convention and expo will conclude on Saturday, Oct. 31 with the conferring of the American FFA Degree in the morning and the election of the 2015-16 National FFA Officers in the afternoon.

The convention and expo will bring an estimated economic impact of $40 million, making it the largest convention for Louisville this year. Attendees will stay in 136 hotels within a 60-mile radius of Louisville. This will be the last year for the event to be in Louisville, as the convention and expo will be in Indianapolis from 2016-2024.

Coverage of the National FFA Convention is sponsored by

Ag Groups, Education, FFA, New Holland

Agricultural Champions of Change Honored

Cindy Zimmerman October 27, 2015

Twelve individuals from across the country involved in the agriculture industry were honored Monday in Washington DC as “White House Champions of Change for Sustainable and Climate-Smart Agriculture.” The diverse group of farmers, ranchers, researchers and educators were recognized for their exemplary leadership in supporting change in their communities through innovation in agricultural production and education.

The Champions were chosen from nominations made to the White House program which regularly recognizes different categories and industries of ordinary Americans doing extraordinary things in their communities.

The White House Champions are:

Anita Adalja – farm manager at Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food and Agriculture in Washington, D.C.
William “Buddy” Allen – Mississippi crop farmer
Keith Berns – farmer and cover crop seed producer from Nebraska;
Larry Cundall – Wyoming Vietnam War Veteran and fourth generation rancher
Herman “Trey” Hill – crop farmer from Rock Hall, Maryland
Loretta Jaus – Minnesota dairy producer
Martin Kleinschmit – organic farmer from Nebraska;
Jennifer “Jiff” Martin – Sustainable Food System Associate Educator, Connecticut
Jesus Sanchez – California specialty crop farmer
Erin Fitzgerald Sexson – Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy
Timothy Smith – 4th generation crop farmer from Iowa
Donald Tyler – soil management researcher, Tennessee

Tim Smith, who farms near Eagle Grove, Iowa, signed up for a federal program in 2011 that identified the watershed as a priority for reducing nitrate and phosphorous levels in the Gulf of Mexico. In 2014, he joined the newly formed Soil Health Partnership, which over a five-year period will identify, test and measure farm management practices that improve soil health and benefit farmers.

“American agriculture is more advanced and efficient than ever, but making deeper changes in the business of farming will enable us do even better for long-term sustainability,” Smith said. “Losing precious soil is not sustainable. Farmers are becoming more aware of this and the impact it has.”

The Soil Health Partnership and Iowa Soybean Association both nominated Smith for the award.

Farming, Sustainability

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