Brownfield’s Steever Interviews President Obama

Cindy Zimmerman

tom-steeverBrownfield Ag News anchor and former NAFB president Tom Steever got a 20 minute interview with President Obama this week on the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal and what it means for agriculture.

“So this is really a big deal,” the President told Brownfield Ag News Tuesday, “and the key to getting it passed is just making sure that people are informed about how this creates a level playing field and making sure that members of Congress who represent rural and agricultural districts understand the benefits.”

The President says the TPP will be a boon to U.S. farmers over the next two decades. And even though China is not part of the agreement, President Obama says the deal may have a positive impact on the U.S. trading relationship with China.

“As we are able to sell more and more products in the countries that are part of TPP,” he said, “then you start establishing principles whereby China is adapting to our rules as opposed to us always adapting to theirs.”
Click here to read Tom’s story and listen to the interview.

Trade

Growers Adopting Enogen Corn for Ethanol

Joanna Schroeder

Growers are adopting Enogen corn for ethanol production and acres are expected to exceed 400,000 in 2016. Syngenta said there were 225,000 acres in production during the 2015 growing season and with the expected expansion and 16 ethanol plants utilizing the biotech corn designed specifically to enhance ethanol production, 1 billion gallons of ethanol per year will be produced.

Enogen logo“This breakthrough viscosity reduction can lead to unprecedented levels of solids loading, which directly contributes to increased throughput and yield, as well as critical cost savings from reduced natural gas, energy, water and chemical usage in ethanol plants,” said Jack Bernens, head of Enogen for Syngenta. “Growers who plant Enogen corn benefit as well – they earn an average premium of 40 cents per bushel.”

Syngenta says Enogen is growing in popularity because of the value it delivers and the opportunity it provides corn growers to be enzyme suppliers for their local ethanol plants. Assuming an average yield of 165 bushels an acre, Enogen corn is expected to generate approximately $26 million of additional revenue for local growers in 2016 through per-bushel premiums. Numerous trials have shown that Enogen hybrids perform equal to or better than other high-performing corn hybrids.

“The agreements we have in place with a steadily increasing number of plants will enable them to source alpha amylase directly from growers and keep enzyme dollars in those local communities,” added Bernens. “This is what truly sets Enogen corn apart from other technologies designed to enhance ethanol production. It adds significant incremental value at the local level for communities that rely on their ethanol plant’s success.”

Agribusiness, Corn, Ethanol

Natural Delights Hosts Blogger Summit

Kelly Marshall

Natural DelightsFourteen of the nation’s top food bloggers and registered dietitians were recently featured when Natural Delights hosted it’s second blogger summit last month.

Natural Delights produces the nation’s leading Medjool Date brand, a food that has become increasingly poplar in the health and fitness industry.  At the event Natural Delights featured growers who shared their stories with the bloggers in hopes of relate much needed information to the consumer.

“Our first blogger summit in 2013 taught us a lot about communicating with influencers, and how we can best tell our story in a way that is personal and resonates with each individual’s unique audience,” said David M. Anderson, Director of Marketing at Natural Delights. “We applied those learnings to this year’s Medjool Date Summit by creating truly unique experiences between our influencers and our growers, the Medjool date gardens, Datepac packing facility, and the beautiful Yuma-Bard Valleys.

During their 2-night stay, bloggers and registered dieticians toured Bard Valley, Calif. where Natural Delights Medjool dates are grown. Guests visited the “Big 6” original Medjool date palms that have stood since the 1940’s, and from which have spawned all 250,000 other trees in production. Attendees went up into Medjool date palms to harvest dates with the growers and had the opportunity to taste the fruit right off of the tree. The group then toured Datepac, one of the world’s most technologically advanced medjool date packing facilities, where they learned about the state-of-the-art equipment and their unsurpassed quality assurance standards.

As part of a more personalized approach to experiential marketing, Natural Delights dedicated a significant amount of time to bring growers, influencers and the marketing team together to discuss what is trending with influencers, their unique audience needs, and what opportunities may exist for brand growth within a new item development strategy.

“This summit was such a great experience because it felt like there was a sense of family the entire time, between spending time with the growers, marketing team, and other influencers,” said Alexis Joseph, registered dietician and blogger at Hummusapien. “Being able to see the Natural Delights story from start to finish really helped me understand just how personal the process of harvesting Medjool dates is.”

You can follow Natural Delights Medjool Dates on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram.

Agribusiness, Events, Uncategorized

Push for TPP Approval is On

Cindy Zimmerman

tpp-congressPresident Obama met with agriculture and business leaders on Tuesday as the push to get Congress to approve the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) begins.

“History of free trade agreements with reference to agriculture will tell us that agriculture is a winner every time,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a press conference about the agreement. “TPP is going to be no exception to that history.”

Vilsack says it’s important for members of Congress to recognize the benefits to their own states of the agreement “and I think if they are concerned and interested in agriculture they will see this is a net benefit for agriculture.”

Concerns about currency manipulation have been voiced by many criticizing the agreement, including the National Farmers Union. “Currency manipulation has historically not been part of trade discussions and negotiations,” said Vilsack, who added that there are other ways to address currency manipulation. “The bottom line here is … we’re going to sell more American agricultural products across the board.”

Listen to Vilsack talk about the TPP here: Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack comments on TPP Agreement

Watch the White House YouTube video “The President’s Trade Deal, Explained by a Cherry” – no, I am not making that up.


Audio, Exports, International, USDA

Agri-Pulse Open Mic with Dr. Jayson Lusk, OSU

John Davis

open-micAgri-Pulse Open Mic this week features Dr. Jayson Lusk from Oklahoma State University.

Dr. Lusk … has conducted extensive research on consumer attitudes toward food safety and acceptance of new technologies. Proposed labeling legislation over foods that contain ingredients from GMO crops has proven to be a polar issue that may see attention in the US Senate. In this interview, Dr. Lusk discusses the consumer cost of mandatory food labels, the social and economic implications on agriculture research and technologies and the retailers reaction to consumer food buying trends.

Click here to listen to Agri-Pulse Open Mic with Dr. Jayson Lusk, Oklahoma State University.

Agri-Pulse, Audio, GMO

IFAJ in Good Hands

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCast 487Recently the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists retained the services of Qu’Anglo Communications & Consulting for global office management services. During the Canadian Farm Writers Federation Annual Meeting I spoke with Hugh Maynard, President, Qu’Anglo.

Hugh MaynardHugh talked about some of the activities of the IFAJ including the upcoming meeting in New Zealand where he says they will be amending their constitution to open membership up to developing countries. Cindy and I will be attending that meeting starting next week.

Learn more about how Hugh and his staff have taken over a very diverse international organization dealing with multiple languages and more.

Listen to this week’s program here: IFAJ in Good Hands

2015 CFWF Annual Conference Photo Album

Subscribe to the ZimmCast podcast here.

Coverage of the Canadian Farm Writers Federation 2015 Conference is sponsored by
Coverage of the Canadian Farm Writers Federation 2015 Conference is sponsored by Case IH
Audio, IFAJ, International, Media, ZimmCast

LPC Invites You to Vision Event

Kelly Marshall

LPC logoThe Livestock Publications Council invites you to save the date for their Vision event to be held November 10, 2015 in Kansas City.  The evening is designed to celebrate the livestock industry and honor the people who have impacted that industry for the better.

The event begins with an education seminar with panel discussion, followed by social hour and dinner to recognize the 2015 Hall of Honor award winners.  More information regarding the event will be available soon.

Ag Groups, Events, Livestock, LPC

Lots of Reaction to TPP

Cindy Zimmerman

tpp-logoSeems like everyone has something to say about the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement reached by negotiators meeting in Atlanta for more than five days, even though few details have been released.

U.S. Trade Ambassador Michael Froman does say that agriculture is a big winner under the agreement. “Tariffs will either be eliminated or greatly reduced or quotas will be significantly increased,” he said. The TPP parties have also “agreed to increased transparency and cooperation on certain activities related to agricultural biotechnology.”

Listen to Froman’s comments about agriculture in the TPP here:
USTR Michael Froman

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack notes that countries in the Trans-Pacific Partnership currently account for up to 42 percent of all U.S. agricultural exports, totaling $633 billion. “Thanks to this agreement and its removal of unfair trade barriers, American agricultural exports to the region will expand even further, particularly exports of meat, poultry, dairy, fruits, vegetables, grains, oilseeds, cotton and processed products,” said Vilsack.

Most agricultural organizations commenting on the agreement so far say they are pleased a deal has been reached and look forward to seeing the details. Beef, pork and dairy groups were among the first to comment, followed by other groups.

American Farm Bureau Federation: “Now it is up to us to figure out exactly what we have and how we should work with Congress to improve international market opportunities for U.S. farmers and ranchers through the Trans-Pacific Partnership.”

American Soybean Association: “We are optimistic that soybeans, soybean products, and the livestock products produced by our customers all will fare well in the TPP agreement when specific details are revealed.”

National Corn Growers Association: “We are hopeful that this agreement continues the tradition of past free trade agreements, which have had a positive impact for America’s farmers and ranchers.”

USA Rice: “Rice is nearly always a sensitive commodity in trade negotiations and the TPP was no exception. USA Rice will continue to remain in close contact with Congress as we assess the agreement.”

One organization in particular, however, remains vigorously opposed to TPP and that is the National Farmers Union. “Just as we feared, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is moving forward without any meaningful language addressing one of the chief tools used by our trade competitors to ensure the playing field is never fair: currency manipulation,” said NFU president Roger Johnson.

AFBF, ASA, Audio, Beef, Corn, NCGA, Rice, Trade

The Great American Wheat Harvest Wins Regional EMMY

Kelly Marshall

Great American Wheat HarvestThe 2014 documentary, Great American Wheat Harvest, has been awarded a Mid-America Regional EMMY Award!  The award was announced recently at the EMMY Gala in St. Louis, Missouri.  The film won Best Documentary- Cultural and features American harvesters traveling from Texas through the Western Plains to harvest wheat and other crops that feed the world.

The film aired on WQPT (Quad Cities PBS) this past February, and consequently qualified to be submitted for the EMMY® nomination. As one of nineteen regional chapters of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the Mid-America Chapter is the standard-bearer for excellence in the television broadcasting industry and the gatekeepers of the prestigious regional EMMY® Awards.

It is the first win for film maker Conrad Weaver of ConjoStudios, LLC.  “It’s an incredible honor to be recognized in this manner, it truly was unexpected!” says Weaver in his acceptance speech.  “First, I want to thank my family: my wife, Jodi, and children, Laken and Spencer who supported me throughout the four years of production that went into making this film. Without their support and love, I couldn’t have worked on a project like this! I also want to thank all of our sponsors who helped make this film possible, and for the staff at WQPT for airing the film on their Quad Cities PBS station. And last but certainly not least, I want to thank the harvesters who took a risk and allowed me to document their lives and work. I’m truly blessed to call them my friends!”

Weaver’s next project is a documentary entitled Thirsty Land, highlighting the drought in the American West.  This film is expected to be released late in 2016.

Harvest, Wheat

You Are What You Eat?

Kelly Marshall

CASTWe all know food labels contain important  information, but they can also be overwhelming and confusing.  The authors of the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) have provided some clarity regarding food labels.  Their recent paper examines how consumers react to labels, identifies the legal framework for labeling and provides policy recommendations based on the pros and cons of labels.

CAST is an international consortium of scientific and professional societies, companies, and nonprofit organizations charged with interpreting science-based information and communicating it to the public. Their paper states that labels allow consumers to feel connected and better able to make informed decisions.  The flip side is when consumers interpret those labels with opinions rather than credible science.  The cost is higher food prices and the stunting of technological advances in agriculture.  

The experts explain that labels are still a desirable addition to food products, but the industry and policy makers need to remember a few key points:

  • Governments should not impose bans on process labels.
  • Mandatory labeling should occur only when science-based facts prove that the product is harmful.
  • Voluntary process labels should be encouraged if they are true and scientifically verifiable.
  • Next-generation process labels should avoid the “all or nothing syndrome” while incorporating new technology and imaginative ways to clearly inform consumers.

It’s time to turn “you are what you think you eat” into “you are what you know you eat.”  Future labels should be clear, science based, and consumer friendly.

Ag Groups, Food, Public Relations