Zimfo Bytes

Talia Goes

Zimfo Bytes

  • The Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series is a way to recognize the student athletes who give their all on the field and in the classroom.
  • When the record-breaking Commodity Classic convention and trade show wraps up next March in New Orleans, it’s going out in style – with an Evening of Entertainment, sponsored by Monsanto, spotlighting the multiple-award-winning country band Sawyer Brown.
  • Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist Douglas L. Karlen has been named the agency’s Distinguished Senior Research Scientist of the Year for 2015 for his work in developing solutions to soil and crop management problems.
  • The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) invites you to attend a panel discussion cohosted by the Grocery Manufacturers Association on Oct. 5th.
Zimfo Bytes

Pig Performance in New Antibiotic World

Jamie Johansen

bivi-15-ileitis-stpaul14-editedBoehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. hosted media in St. Paul, MN this weekend to talk about how proven prevention drives the use of less antibiotics. Dr. Mike Eisenmenger, Swine Vet Center, spoke on how to drive pig performance in today’s world of antibiotic usage.

“Instead of just saying our overall goal is to use less antibiotics at all costs, we are looking at different prevention strategies, i.e. vaccinations, to take the place of antibiotics like we have used in the past. It is just the right thing to do. The animal is always going to be happier with a prevention, never getting sick in the first place.”

He said the ways to accomplish using less and still having an ‘easy’ pig to raise stems around the elimination of diseases when possible, strong biosecurity programs and the development of a robust vaccination program.

Dr. Eisenmenger talked about what a typical vaccination program looks like at each stage of the growing cycle. He used ileitis as an example since it’s a disease that hits late in a pigs life. “Even if we institute a treatment program at that point in time, we are forced to use a lot of antibiotics. We want to back clear up to the nursery stage and apply an oral vaccine that will eliminate the problem that we would normally see without vaccinating.”

There seems to be a clear advantage to using oral vaccines and Dr. Eisenmenger said it’s simply ease of administration. “It is very easy to vaccinate a large number of pigs in short order and it provides almost no stress at all to the pigs themselves.” He added that if we could figure out how to put every vaccine in oral, it would be done. But science isn’t quite there yet.

“I think we as veterinarians need to protect antibiotics so we can continue to use it as a valuable asset in the future. My responsibility is to teach people that have been use to using a lot antibiotics the appropriate use of antibiotics, when to use them when you need them and when not to use them when another method of control could be done.”

Dr. Eisenmenger said his idea of a complete evaluation of pig performance is centered around pigs that grow fast to maximize production, but without forgetting about the environment, our duty to be stewards of the land and of course human health. “Buried within that is the use of antibiotics in a manner that protects them for the future and we will still be able to get good productions if we look at animal health from a prevention strategy rather than a treatment and control strategy.”

Listen to my complete interview with Dr. Eisenmenger here: Interview with Dr. Mike Eisenmenger, Swine Vet Center

View photos from the event here: 2015 BIVI Leman Media Event

Agribusiness, Animal Health, Audio, Boehringer Ingelheim, Swine

CSX, Bayer Provide National FFA Awards

Kelly Marshall

ffa_logo80 FFA chapters nationwide have created a plan for their communities in case of natural or environmental disaster.  These emergency preparedness plans will now receive funding, up to $2,000, to make them a reality.

The funds were provided by the National FFA Organization’s Living to Serve: Environmental or Natural Disaster/Emergency Preparedness Grant Program.  These grants are made are provided by CSX and Bayer as a special project of the National FFA Foundation.

“The grant program is a natural fit for CSX”, said John Kitchens, Corporate Citizenship Director. “Not only are we able to support these conscientious FFA students, but many of the environmental and disaster/emergency preparedness projects they contribute to in their communities align well with company priorities.”

Each winning project includes plans to invest the time of FFA members, community members and local leaders in a service-learning project that tackles issues of environmental, natural disaster or emergency preparedness nature. One awarded chapter from the LTS: Environmental Grant, Pierz FFA in Minnesota, is partnering with their local sanitation and solid waste management companies to reduce their carbon footprint. Their main focus will be to find ways to reuse or repurpose black silo bags, water bottles and tires. Some ways they will do this include: collecting used silo bags and cutting them into tarps that will be available to the public to be used as weed barriers in gardens, building greenhouses using used plastic water bottles and repurposing old tires from area farmers to be used as planters that will also be donated.

A recipient of the Natural Disaster and Emergency Preparedness Grant program is Greensburg FFA in Indiana. The chapter will be implementing a three pronged program titled, “Out of Harm’s Way.” It will focus on these areas: school building emergency preparedness, farm emergency plans and a safety program series. The safety program will be a series of short courses that will partner emergency response personnel with trained FFA members and interested students as presenters. Topics will include Water safety, ATV safety, Fire Safety, Firearm Safety, Severe Weather/Tornado Safety and Railway Safety. Each safety program will be targeted toward the specific demographic age group most prone to the accident type. 

Uniting FFA members with their communities illustrates the final line of the FFA motto, “Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve.”  These projects provide a meaningful way to connect real-life with the leadership and educational skills learned in school.

Bayer, Environment, FFA

Online Radio Station Available from Farm Journal

Kelly Marshall

MyFarmRadio.comYou can now listen around the clock to the news, talk, and country music of Farm Journal Media’s new online radio station.  “The Farm” station is available via a mobile radio app created just for farmers.

“We’re in a world of niche and branded channels, so we asked ourselves why not give farmers a station built just for them?” said Mark DePrez, Vice President and General Manager for Farm Journal Radio. “Industry research shows nearly 90% of farmer and rancher listening is on country music or talk radio stations. We know producers love both, but these formats are rarely combined. So we designed this new hyper-targeted station.”

Music was carefully selected to reflect the demographic.  Expect country classics from Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings and Alan Jackson, blended with hits of today from Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan and Kenny Chesney.  Expect hourly news updates, as well as weather and commodity market reports throughout the day.  “AgriTalk” and “Market Rally” will air twice a day.

In addition to “The Farm,” the My Farm Radio app includes the full portfolio of programming from Farm Journal Broadcast, including “AgriTalk,” “Market Rally” and “American Countryside,” plus audio simulcasts of “AgDay,” “U.S. Farm Report” and “Machinery Pete TV.” Nearly a dozen independent programmers such as “Top Third Ag Marketing” and “AgriPulse” also make their reports available on custom channels. My Farm Radio has already been downloaded on iOS and Android by more than 9,000 users.

John Willyard is the official voice of “The Farm.” Willyard is heard on more than 80 dominant country radio stations nationally and is instantly recognized as the voice of the Country Music Awards.

“By working with several incredibly talented consultants and artists, we’ve designed a channel that will fully engage the mobile farm listener. Music, news, talk, markets and weather—all from the nation’s leading commentators and artists,” DePrez added.

Apps, Markets, Podcasts

New Holland Hero from UK

Cindy Zimmerman

cnh-expo-davidRepresenting the United Kingdom in the New Holland “Seeds of Life Series” Heroes at Expo Milano is David Moore who grows 2,400 hectares (5,930 acres) of potatoes, lettuce, spinach, wheat, peas, barley, oats and herbs in southeast England.

Moore says he has no idea why he was chosen by New Holland but he has greatly enjoyed the experience of interacting with farmers from other countries. “We’re all in different sectors, different markets, but there’s one common theme,” he said. “Unless you’re in that top ten percent of performance, whether you’re growing canola or beef cattle, it’s difficult to make a sustainable margin.”

“We’ve got to find a way forward that allows us to be our best,” Moore continued. “The world that we are operating in, there’s a lot of factors that we can’t control.”

Listen to Chuck’s interview with David here: New Holland Hero David Moore from England

2015 New Holland Heroes & Bloggers Days

Audio, Farming, International, New Holland

Agri-Pulse Open Mic with Dan Knutson, Land O’ Lakes

John Davis

open-micAgri-Pulse Open Mic this week features Dan Knutson, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Land O’ Lakes.

An upcoming merger of two major agriculture businesses will not only boost competitiveness for some of the country’s independent retailers but also join resources to bring new technologies in crop protection, nutrient management, and sustainable agriculture for farmers. In this week’s Open Mic Dan Knutson, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Land O’ Lakes explains how the two-step merger of United Suppliers with Land O’ Lakes’ Winfield business is a “merger of equals” combining the technology and resources of both companies to grow farm productivity despite lower returns and a maze of regulatory hurdles, like WOTUS.

Click here to listen to Agri-Pulse Open Mic with Dan Knutson, Land O’ Lakes.

Agri-Pulse, Audio

USDA Looks to Expand Export Opportunities in Africa

John Davis

USDAThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is looking to expand this country’s agriculture export opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa. This agency news release says a trade mission will go to Accra, Ghana, Nov. 17-20.

“Two years ago, I led a mission to southern Africa to launch USDA’s Sub-Saharan Africa Trade Initiative, which aims to expand U.S. agricultural and commercial ties in the region,” [Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Krysta] Harden said. “I am excited to return to Africa with a new group of U.S. agricultural leaders to further explore market opportunities, especially for small, minority and women-owned businesses.”

The delegation will meet with potential customers from more than a dozen countries across sub-Saharan Africa, forging relationships and learning about the market conditions and business environment in the region. This first-hand intelligence will help them develop strategies to start or expand sales to these key markets.

Participants will include representatives from companies representing a wide array of U.S. food and agricultural products, as well as leaders from state departments of agriculture and U.S. agricultural organizations.

USDA says its strong economic outlook, a growing middle class, and surging demand for consumer-oriented foods makes sub-Saharan Africa one of the fastest-growing regions for U.S. agricultural exports.

Trade, USDA

Learn About #LibertyLink and Play #RealYield Game

Cindy Zimmerman

bayer-libertyNo matter what kind of year it is, real yield makes all the difference and that is what real farmers who use the LibertyLink system are saying they are getting.

We interviewed 200 soybean farmers from North Dakota to Mississippi this summer to find out how their experience with LibertyLink has been – whether they’ve used it since it was first released or just tried it out this year. The results were overwhelming in terms of both better control of resistant weeds and as good or better yields compared to other weed control systems. The interviews have been made into radio commercials that are now airing across the country, and they are also posted on YouTube for your listening pleasure.

Bayer CropScience wants more real farmers to know the LibertyLink difference, so they have developed the #RealYield game which provides a chance for them to instantly win a John Deere combine, a year’s supply of LibertyLink soybeans and Liberty herbicide, or a chance on a one-year John Deere tractor lease. Plus, every time you play Bayer will contribute to your local FFA. There is a limit of three game plays per person – one game play for complete registration, one game play for completion of LibertyLink® Ratings/Reviews/Attributes, and one game play for social sharing through the promotion website.

Ready? Go get some #RealYield and spread the word to your friends!

Bayer, Herbicide, Soybean

AGree Report Looks at Local Foods

Kelly Marshall

AGree1The demand for local foods continues.  In an attempt to support the farmers, ranchers, retailers, hospitals and schools who are working to meet those demands, AGree has examined local food systems and released six recommendations.

The Local Food: Revitalizing Community-based Food Systems report shares the views of stakeholders, provides information about common myths and gives an overall viewpoint of nationwide projects currently in place.

“The discussion is no longer about whether local food is here to stay, but rather about its rapid expansion and important role in the livelihoods of young farmers, community economic development, and healthy eating,” said Kathleen Merrigan, AGree Co-Chair and former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture. “This AGree report is a consensus document endorsed by diverse stakeholders across the country – a clear sign that we have come to the end of the era of political battle over the value and meaning of local food. Now, the challenge is how to best maximize the benefits of local food for farmers and communities.”

Dan Glickman, AGree Co-Chair and former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, said, “Many people think only of small farms selling produce at farmer’s markets when they hear the term local food. In reality, less than one-third of farms selling local foods are growing fruits, vegetables or nuts and most suppliers are midsized and large farms. This report provides new perspective by taking a 360 degree look at the growth, challenges and opportunities associated with local food systems.”

The report’s six key recommendations call on stakeholders to embrace diverse agricultural systems to achieve sustainability, productivity, and profitability goals; urge flexibility in the federal definition of local food systems to allow continued innovation at the local and state levels; encourage the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the philanthropic sector to further develop and refine tools and information resources that empower local connectivity, coordination, and investment; suggest USDA and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) adapt programs and regulations to serve local food systems; advocate for more research to understand demand for local food and to inform investment by quantifying the economic, environmental, and social benefits; and call for greater engagement of experts in economic development, transportation, health care and other fields at both the local and federal levels to develop local food systems.

The report is a reflection of a diverse group of stakeholders from coast to coast.  They represent experts across the industry, from food and nutrition to public health and rural development.

Agribusiness, Research, USDA

New Holland Hero from Brazil

Cindy Zimmerman

cnh-expo-victorRepresenting South America in the New Holland “Seeds of Life Series” Heroes at Expo Milano is Victor Campanelli who runs a 14,973 hectare (37,000 acres) corn, sugarcane and cattle operation in Southern Brazil.

The Campanelli family farm started in 1982 with production of coffee, moving into citrus, and finally in the present form since 2002. “We build a model with great synergy between these three crops (corn, cane and cattle) and we are looking forward to building a power plant for energy using the cane straw,” Victor said.

He was surprised to be chosen as one of the New Holland heroes. “My first question I asked them was ‘why me?,'” said Victor. But he believes it is a very important project since Brazil is like many other countries where farmers are unappreciated. “It will help people know how difficult and how great it is to be a farmer.”

Listen to my interview with Victor here: New Holland Hero Victor Campanelli from Brazil

2015 New Holland Heroes & Bloggers Days

Audio, Farming, International, New Holland