AgCatalyst Award Winners

Cindy Zimmerman

While we were busy with koalas and kangaroos last week in Australia, the first AgCatalyst Awards were being handed out in Kansas City.

Al Johnson receives AgCatalyst award from AdFarm CEO Roger Reierson

Al Johnson receives AgCatalyst award from AdFarm CEO Roger Reierson

One of the inaugural honorees was our very dear friend Al Johnson, who started his career more than four decades ago with a traditional print magazine, Dakota Farmer, and continues to innovate and lead the ag media industry. He helped steer Farm Progress as the media company grew from seven to 39 publications and navigated the digital evolution. Today he has totally embraced digital media and helped create Agri-Pulse Communications, the leading source of ag policy news, with his wife, Sara.

Also recognized was Fresh Air Media, started by Ontario dairy and crop farmer Andrew Campbell. The former news writer continues to educate through social media, speaking engagements and in-depth training sessions on technology and agriculture. Fresh Air Media was responsible for establishing #farm365 this past year, offering Twitter followers a daily photo and behind-the-scenes look at farming life.

AgCatalyst is a marketing and communications conference, hosted by AdFarm which focuses on the agriculture and food industries.

Agencies, Agri-Pulse

Agri-Pulse Open Mic with Sen. Kent Conrad

John Davis

open-micAgri-Pulse Open Mic this week features Sen. Kent Conrad.

As a former Chair of the Senate Budget Committee the North Dakota Democrat is well versed on the country’s challenging fiscal policy. In this week’s interview Senator Conrad discusses the appropriations deadline, the debate over the debt ceiling, the advantages to a two-year budget and secure long term funding for the country’s transportation infrastructure. Conrad says the American people should ignore some voices in the Congress.

Click here to listen to Agri-Pulse Open Mic with Sen. Kent Conrad.

Agri-Pulse, Audio, politics

USDA Safety-Net Payments Going Out to Farmers

John Davis

USDAFarmers hit by market downturns will see relief in the form of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) payments. The agency announced about half of the 1.7 million farms that signed up for either the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs will receive safety-net payments for the 2014 crop year.

“Unlike the old direct payments program, which paid farmers in good years and bad, the 2014 Farm Bill authorized a new safety-net that protects producers only when market forces or adverse weather cause unexpected drops in crop prices or revenues,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “For example, the corn price for 2014 is 30 percent below the historical benchmark price used by the ARC-County program, and revenues of the farms participating in the ARC-County program are down by about $20 billion from the benchmark during the same period. The nearly $4 billion provided today by the ARC and PLC safety-net programs will give assistance to producers where revenues dropped below normal.”

The ARC/PLC programs primarily allow producers to continue to produce for the market by making payments on a percentage of historical base production, limiting the impact on production decisions.

Nationwide, 96 percent of soybean farms, 91 percent of corn farms, and 66 percent of wheat farms elected the ARC-County coverage option. Ninety-nine percent of long grain rice and peanut farms, and 94 percent of medium grain rice farms elected the PLC option. Overall, 76 percent of participating farm acres are protected by ARC-County, 23 percent by PLC, and 1 percent by ARC-Individual. For data about other crops, as well as state-by-state program election results, final PLC price and payment data, and other program information including frequently asked questions, visit www.fsa.usda.gov/arc-plc.

Crops receiving assistance include barley, corn, grain sorghum, lentils, oats, peanuts, dry peas, soybeans, and wheat. Rice, oilseeds and chickpeas could see payments in November.

ARC, USDA

Bipartisan Bill Helps Farmers & Machinery

Jamie Johansen

roberts2U.S. Senators Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) have introduced bipartisan legislation, supported by both the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Farmers Union, to help farmers purchase new equipment and replace worn-out machinery by amending the U.S. tax code to permanently set a five-year depreciation schedule for certain agricultural equipment.

The current tax code sets a seven-year depreciation cost recovery period for agricultural equipment. Changing the depreciation schedule for agricultural equipment to five years would make the tax code more consistent and support rural development by aligning the length of time that farmers can take a depreciation deduction with the average useful life of that property.

“This commonsense legislation will give farmers and ranchers the certainty they need to invest in new, more modern equipment so they can create more jobs and growth in our communities,” said Roberts, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee. “A five year depreciation schedule allows for predictability and fairness in our overly complex tax code, giving the agriculture community the ability to produce more efficiently and at a lower cost.”

“Agriculture is cyclical in nature with producers making large investments in their crops, livestock, buildings, and equipment,” Klobuchar said. “We need to ensure our tax code is fair for farmers so that they can purchase the modern equipment that will allow them to produce more while spending less. This commonsense legislation will put money back in the pockets of our farmers and ranchers and enable them to grow our agricultural economy and strengthen our rural communities.”

Under the tax code, taxpayers are allowed a depreciation deduction to allow them to recover the costs of investing in certain property, like farm machinery and farm-use motor vehicles. The recovery period for the deduction should match the useful life and financing of that property. According to surveys from the USDA’s Farm Service Agency, on average farmers and ranchers finance farm equipment and machinery for five years.

Ag Groups, Equipment, Farm Policy

Fall Deer Season

Chuck Zimmerman

CloudsThe fall deer season is well underway in places like Georgia. So you know where the AgriBlogger is spending some precious time. Nothing like a few days with your buddies with lots of quiet contemplation time sitting and waiting for the big buck. This sky photo was from Saturday afternoon. What a beautiful day.

This week our Jamie Johansen will be covering the National FFA Convention courtesy of New Holland. Cindy is holding down the fort at ZimmComm World Headquarters until I get back. I’ll be back in full action later this week.

And in case you’re wondering I have a buck and a doe in the cooler so some fine cooking and dining will be coming up soon.

Hunting

Soybean Board Appoints 17 Farmer-Leaders

Kelly Marshall

Soycheckoff_4CTom Vilsack has appointed 17 farmers from across the country to serve as directors on the United Soybean Board (USB).  The appointees will be sworn in at the upcoming annual meeting in St. Louis.

Five of the directors are newly added, 12 are returning members.  The USDA has also announced that the USB will be increasing their farmer-leaders from 70 to 73 as soybean production in the US increases.  The three new members will be appointed from Missouri, New Jersey, and Wisconsin.

This year’s new volunteer farmer-leaders invest soy checkoff funds on behalf of all U.S. soybean farmers in projects to improve farmer profit potential. With unpredictable prices, growing production worldwide and more competition, U.S. soybean farmers will need more innovation, such as improved seed varieties and technology, new ways of generating demand and new methods for increasing the value they receive from soybean meal and oil.

“We are thrilled to have these farmer-leaders be part of a new chapter with the United Soybean Board,” says Bob Haselwood, USB chairman and soybean farmer from Berryton, Kansas. “The checkoff is dedicated to using advancements in technology to help U.S. soy remain a top choice for our customers, and these farmer-leaders will be instrumental in helping us accomplish that.”

Ag Groups, Soybean, USB

Cotton Industry Wants No More Trade Constraints

John Davis

NCCThe National Cotton Council is calling for an end to constraints on U.S. cotton policy in the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) December Ministerial in Nairobi, Kenya. The group’s president and CEO Gary Adams testified before the House Agriculture Committee that U.S. trade negotiators need to maintain a firm commitment not to accept any further concessions to U.S. cotton policy.

He stated that there have been repeated comments from numerous countries for there to be “something more” done on cotton policy at this upcoming Ministerial but “we believe that the actions already taken by the United States with respect to cotton policy should be more than sufficient to allow U.S. negotiators to resist any further calls for concessions on cotton.”

Adams told the Committee that U.S. cotton farmers are indeed competing with international farmers who are benefitting from higher support levels. He cited a recent International Cotton Advisory Committee report that estimated average direct assistance to cotton production across all countries at $0.26 per pound — but only $0.07 per pound average support for U.S. cotton production.

Adams also reiterated U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman’s comments before the Senate Finance Committee earlier this year that a defensive posture regarding U.S. cotton support is outdated and justifies a shift in focus to other countries’ status regarding their WTO obligations.

NCC also wants U.S. negotiators to push other countries to be as current and as transparent as the United States is with their domestic support notifications.

Ag Groups, Cotton, International

New Holland Tractor Could Change Face of Farming

Jamie Johansen

CNH Industrial - Behind the Wheel - The New Holland Agriculture Methane Power Tractor at Expo 2015 copyA new video produced by CNH Industrial, parent of global agricultural machinery brand New Holland Agriculture, looks at its prototype Methane Power tractor, and what it is capable of achieving during the the Sustainable Farm Pavilion at the 2015 Expo in Milan, Italy.

The alternative fuel technology powering that tractor is a promising cue towards the future of agricultural mechanization, one where farms will be energy independent as well as being able to fundamentally reduce their environmental footprint.


The T6 Methane Power tractor is a second generation prototype based on a standard New Holland T6 tractor. What makes it different from present day machines used for farming is that it is powered by a natural gas engine manufactured by FPT Industrial, also part of CNH Industrial’s brand portfolio. It is a demonstration of the type of innovation and technology that CNH Industrial and its brands are pioneering to increase agricultural productivity and make sustainable farming easier to help feed the world.

In the video, CNH Industrial speaks to representatives from New Holland about the Methane Power tractor’s presence at Expo 2015 as well as its real world testing at the ‘La Bellotta’ farm in Venaria, Italy, where it is undergoing field trials. La Bellotta is the farm where New Holland Agriculture is deploying its “Energy Independent Farm” concept. The objective is to generate the energy it needs from the crops it already grows, alongside recycled waste byproducts, to run its operations and farming equipment. “With biogas innovation, we’ve been able to restart investment and re-employ people. This is the result of a virtuous process,” says Luca Remmert, Owner of La Bellotta Farm in the video.

New Holland, Sustainability, Tractor, Video

Vilsack Announces Sorghum Checkoff Board Members

Kelly Marshall

sorghum-checkoffFour new members have been appointed by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to serve on the United Sorghum Checkoff Program board of directors. Boyd Funk, from Garden City, Kansas; Craig Poore, of Alton, Kansas; David Fremark, from St. Lawrence, South Dakota; and Jim Massey IV from Robstown, Texas will all serve three year terms.

“We are looking forward to the diverse perspectives of oncoming leadership,” said Florentino Lopez, Sorghum Checkoff executive director. “Our priority is to achieve our main objective, producer profitability, and these new farmer leaders will be an asset to the board and to the industry.”

The board is structured so that the state with the largest production is allocated five positions. The state with the second largest production is allocated three positions. The state with the third largest production is allocated one position. There are four at-large national positions for which at least two representatives must be appointed from states other than the top three sorghum producing states. The maximum number of producers from one state is limited to six.

The 13-member board is authorized by the Commodity Promotion, Research, and Information Act of 1996. The Secretary selected the appointees from sorghum producers nominated by certified sorghum producer organizations.

New member will be sworn in at the next board meeting and outgoing members will retire at that time.  Those members are:
Bill Greving, Prairie View, Kansas; Bill Kubecka, Palacios, Texas; and Greg Shelor, Minneola, Kansas.

“These outgoing board members are the last of the initial Sorghum Checkoff board directors that helped set the stage for the development of the checkoff and the founding strategy,” said Tim Lust, Sorghum Checkoff CEO. “Their dedication and hard work through the years have resulted in much success. We are greatly appreciative of them and their efforts that have helped push the industry forward.”

Ag Groups, sorghum, USDA

Clif Bar & NYFC Address Shortage of New Farmers

Jamie Johansen

Screen Shot 2015-10-22 at 8.38.38 PMThe American farmer is near 60 and new young farmers are in critical short supply, Clif Bar & Company and the National Young Farmers Coalition (NYFC) announced a joint effort to support pending federal legislation that would remove one of the key obstacles preventing young farmers from starting to farm — student loan debt.

“We are a generation of farmers committed to growing quality food and stewarding our land and resources. This work must be celebrated and supported as a vital service to our nation.”

Clif Bar and NYFC are partnering to urge congressional approval of The Young Farmer Success Act of 2015, which would forgive the balance of student loans for farmers who make 10 years of income-driven student loan payments.

Clif Bar and NYFC will grow awareness of the U.S. farmer shortage and highlight the importance young farmers play in driving innovation in organic farming. The video encourages people nationwide to write members of Congress requesting their support of The Young Farmer Success Act. Clif Bar also is donating $35,000 to NYFC, which represents the average student loan debt reported by young farmers in a recent NYFC survey.


Ag Groups, Farming, Organic, Video