Industry Ag News 5/5/23
Farm Broadcaster Howard Hale Passes
Sad to hear of the passing of broadcasting legend Howard Hale, 87, a 38-year member of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting. This photo from our files is Howard at the 2017 NAFB Convention.
According to NAFB:
Farm broadcasting was a second career for Howard Hale, after spending his “first career” selling life insurance, raising livestock and horses, and working on the farm.
Hale became a broadcaster at the age of 50, starting at KOLT Radio in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, and continued his broadcast career with stops at KEYR Radio, KNEB Radio, KNFB Radio, and KSTB-TV. He was quoted several times to “not let anybody tell you you can’t start something at 50.” His membership in NAFB was longest at KSIR Radio in Fort Morgan, Colorado, which he called “home” since 1994.
His mark on broadcasting came through several syndicated programs — Harvest USA Report, Cattlemen’s Corner, and Horseman’s Corner. It is estimated he voiced and produced more than 35,000 programs throughout his career. Through these pieces, he connected with thousands of listeners and was recognized multiple times with awards for highlighting agriculture. In 2013, the U.S. Custom Harvesters inducted Hale into their Hall of Fame.
A Celebration of Life will be held at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, May 6, 2023, at 10:30 am at Harvest Valley Church in Scottsbluff, with Pastor Joel Hergert officiating. The family requests in lieu of flowers, memorial gifts be made to Harvest Valley Church or the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Online condolences may be made by viewing Howard’s memorial page at www.bridgmanfuneralhome.com. Bridgman Family Funeral Home & Cremation Service is entrusted with arrangements.
Hale is survived by his wife, Pat; children Becky Arndt (Chris Armacost) of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Brian (Andrea) Hale of Wichita Falls, Texas, and Shannon Marshall of Minatare; sister Marilee (Larry) Hubbard of Scottsbluff; grandchildren Katherine Arndt, Maggie Arndt, Jon Arndt, Bill (Ciara) Arndt, Antonia Hale, Brayden Hale, Arianna Hale, Alexandrea Bauer, Alleni McLaughlin, Samantha Marshall, Tricia Marshall, and Melanie Marshall. He was preceded in death by his parents and his infant brother, Lawrence.
Azotic Technologies Boosts Envita with U.S. Sales Team
Azotic™ Technologies, Ltd. is pleased to announce the addition of a new U.S. sales and service team to address demand for its flagship product Envita®.
Aaron Eddy, U.S. Sales Manager, assumed his role in leading the U.S. sales team in October 2022. Since accepting the role, Eddy has put his more than 15 years of sales and leadership experience to work for the U.S. Envita team to establish new distribution accounts that expand Envita’s market base. He currently manages a team of three U.S. sales representatives: Troy Dean, Scott Bishop and John Squire.
With more than 30 years of experience in the crop protection industry, Dean serves as a seasoned sales representative, managing relationships from Maine to Florida while working to grow additional partnership opportunities.
Bishop serves as Midwest sales representative providing support for corn, wheat, soybean, potato, sugar beet, carrot, onion and tomato growers and notes that Envita was the first biological product that was able to show him the proof of working inside the plant.
As the most senior member of the Envita sales team, Squire joined Azotic Technologies in the fall of 2020, bringing with him 30 years of agronomic experience to serve the western U.S. and Pacific Northwest
First introduced to the U.S. market in 2019, Envita is a naturally occurring, food-grade bacteria that provides a sustainable solution to meeting the nitrogen demands for a vast array of crops. The symbiotic relationship formed between Envita and its host forms nitrogen cells throughout the plant. The formation of these nitrogen cells, both above and below the soil’s surface, creates a systemic supply of nitrogen when and where a plant needs it throughout the growing season.
Precision Ag News 5/3/12
- The 2023 National Corn Yield Contest (NCYC) is open and entrants will contribute their expertise and innovation to create a pool of agronomic knowledge that has been almost six decades in the making. This year, the contest has added a Nitrogen Management class. This new pilot class is open to the first 100 entries from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio or Wisconsin. Get more information.
- Syngenta Crop Protection, a global leader in agricultural innovation, today announced its acquisition of Macspred Australia, a specialist in weed management for the forestry, roads, rail, utilities and infrastructure sectors. The acquisition marks Syngenta’s entry – through its Professional Solutions business – into the forestry products and vegetation markets. It also secures Syngenta’s ability to service both large-scale commercial plantation customers, as well as a growing farm forestry clientele focused on improving financial sustainability and environmental biodiversity on the farm.
- Growers are now spending an average of $500,000 a year on automation in response to the persistent ag labor shortage, according to the second Specialty Crop Automation Report commissioned by Western Growers. The report, which tracks and measures industry progress in harvest automation across the fresh produce industry, is part of WG’s Global Harvest Automation Initiative, which aims to accelerate ag automation by 50 percent in 10 years.
- John Deere has entered into an allied agreement with PCT Agcloud to enable grain and cotton farmers to take John Deere Operations Center™ data and seamlessly share it with PCT Agcloud. The allied agreement enables small grains, corn and soybean growers that use HarvestLab™ 3000 Grain Sensing to generate insights and action through Protein Pro powered by PCT Agcloud. Protein Pro delivers automated cleaning, editing, multiple machine corrections, intersecting zone creation, and nitrogen removal and product replacement data to Operations Center.
- Farmers across Illinois now have access to a new Crop Report tool developed by the Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) Agronomy team and the ILSoyAdvisor online platform. The resource enables growers to better manage their soybean, corn and wheat crops. From field conditions to crop progress, disease alerts, and pest sightings, the Online Crop Report provides farmers with facts and strategic analysis of relevant information that impacts their farms.
- The Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) announced its newly elected leaders for the next office term, beginning January 2024. President-Elect Samira Daroub, director for the Everglades Research and Education Center (EREC) and department distance education coordinator for the Soil, Water, and Ecosystem Sciences (SWES) department at the University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
- The Crop Science Society of America (CSSA) announced its newly elected leaders for the next office term, beginning January 2024. President-Elect is Mark E. Sorrells, who earned his Ph.D. in Plant Breeding and Plant Genetics at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, and is a professor in the Department of Plant Breeding & Genetics at Cornell University.
2023 Water for Food Conference Preview
For the first time since 2019, global water management and food security experts will gather in person May 8-10 in Lincoln, Nebraska for the 2023 Water for Food Global Conference.
The Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute will host this 10th conference with the theme “Cultivating Innovation: Solutions for a Changing World,” according to executive director Peter McCornick, who says events over the past four years have highlighted the importance of their mission. “The interest in water and food security is much higher than I have seen in a long time,” said McCornick.
The conference, which will feature a virtual component along with the live event, will focus on innovative ways to improve water and food security by increasing farmers’ resiliency to a changing landscape. The challenges of climate change, soil degradation, water access and management, economic disparity and conflict bring about extreme competition for urban and rural water.
Learn more in this interview with McCornick.
Water for Food Conference interview - Peter McCornick, DWFI Executive Director (8:51)
DPH Bio Introduces RegenAphex Technology Platform
DPH Biologicals™ announced today RegenAphex™, a new technology platform based on the regenerative power of a proprietary plant-based humus extract produced at the company’s Princeton, Illinois site, the largest plant-based composting facility in the United States.
RegenAphex provides growers with a regeneratively-produced biological solution, delivering readily available carbon and a consortium of microorganisms known to improve soil health, increase crop nutrient uptake and support plant health. The company’s flagship biofertilizer, TerraTrove™ SP-1 Classic™, was built on RegenAphex technology and is now being offered as a foliar application, a powerful and proven testament to the success of the formulation.
Driven by consumer demands, changing climates and dwindling natural resources, regenerative agriculture, a method of farming that focuses on regenerating soil and ecosystem health for better outcomes, is growing rapidly. The regenerative agriculture marketplace is projected to reach $24 billion in global revenue for 2030, growing at 14.4% CAGR, according to a recent market report.
Mick Messman President & CEO for DPH Bio says he is most excited about this technology because it seamlessly fits into modern production practices, balancing performance, sustainability and scalability. “We take a lot of pride in the fact that it is a renewable resource produced right here in the heartland, which allows us to mitigate the uncertainty and complexity of today’s global supply chain,” said Messman.
In this interview, Messman explains the advantages of this dynamic new technology for growers.
Interview with DPH Bio President and CEO Mick Messman (7:37)
California Dairies and DSM Venturing Invest in Athian
Athian has completed its seed funding round with investments from two strategic partners: DSM Venturing, the corporate venture arm of Royal DSM, and California Dairies, Inc. (CDI), the largest dairy farmer-owned cooperative in California and second largest in the United States.
Athian is the world’s first carbon marketplace for the livestock sector and this investment advances global acceptance of its novel transactional carbon credit inset program, along with previous investors, Elanco Animal Health, Tyson Ventures and Newtrient LLC.
“We are excited by CDI and DSM Venturing’s enthusiasm for our innovative carbon marketplace platform. The groundswell of support has been tremendous” said Paul Myer, CEO of Athian. “This announcement not only expedites our reach into international markets but also accelerates practical environmental solutions that give farmers new revenue streams and helps companies deliver on their sustainability commitments throughout the value chain.”
Athian’s carbon credit insetting platform will enable livestock farmers who implement sustainable practices the ability to earn revenue to fund those initiatives. Athian’s key mission is to help the beef and dairy value chains capture and claim carbon credits earned through sustainability efforts. Athian aggregates, validates, and certifies, greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions, and monetizes those reductions through the sale of carbon credits which offer value to the supply chain as important carbon assets related to Scope 3 emissions.
In addition, Athian announces Scott Horner, Regional Managing Director North America at DSM Venturing, and Darrin Montiero, Vice President of Sustainability at CDI, join the Athian Board of Directors in an observer capacity.
Animal Ag News 5/1/23
#NAMA23 Wrap Up
John Rozum (left) accepts the gavel from Deron Johnson as new NAMA president
More than 50 Best of NAMA awards were presented this year, including:
Best of Show awards
Advertising: John Deere / In-House
Public Relations: AGCO / Colle McVoy
Digital: Cobalt Cattle Co. / Bader Rutter
Specialty: Purina Animal Nutrition / Filament
GRAND CHAMPION: Idaho Potato Commission / EvansHardy + Young
Congratulations to the new President of NAMA President, John Rozum, Senior Director, Ag & Utility Exhibitions & Events Director with the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), succeeding Deron Johnson of Curious Plot. Listen to an interview with Rozum below.
Interview with John Rozum, AEM (10:59)
Congrats also to all of the many organization award winners like Agribusiness Leader of the Year Eric Boeck, Regional Director North America Syngenta Seeds, NAMA Marketer of the Year Award Beth Burgy, President and Chief Operating Officer of broadhead, and Ag Association Leader of the Year Tim Price, Executive Vice President, Southern Cotton Ginners Association (SCGA). Listen to their remarks:
Remarks from Eric Boeck, Syngenta (2:51) Remarks from Beth Burgy, Broadhead (4.24) Remarks from Tim Price, SCGA (11:31)The NAMA Fall Conference will take place early October in St. Louis and the 2024 Agri-Marketing Conference will be back in Kansas City, MO.