This Dairy Focuses on Genomics

Chuck Zimmerman October 1, 2015

When you think of a dairy farm you think milk. Or, as in the case of Rocky Mountain Holsteins, you think genomics.

Rod Churchill is the manager for the business, pictured with his wife during a Canadian Farm Writers Federation tour stop near Calgary, Alberta. Ron describes the business as an “elite breeding genetics farm.” They raise very expensive breeding stock near some of the most expensive homes in the country. They have success using social media, like their Facebook page, to market their embryos and semen.

Ron says that he’d like to attend World Dairy Expo this year but with the strength of the dollar it is just too expensive to bring a group and show cattle.

You can listen to Ron’s presentation here or watch it below: Ron Churchill, Rocky Mountain Holsteins

2015 CFWF Annual Conference Photo Album

Coverage of the Canadian Farm Writers Federation 2015 Conference is sponsored by

Audio, Dairy, Video

#WomenInAg Infographic

Kelly Marshall October 1, 2015

Women are increasingly making their mark on agriculture, preparing for a better future and educating the next generation of women for the challenges of the future. To celebrate these contributions the USDA has crated an infographic to showcase the impact women are having state-by-state. The graphics are available to share on social media to help tell the story of women in ag.

Over the past few months, we’ve also been featuring the powerful stories of women in agriculture on the USDA blog. By following the #womeninag tag on the USDA blog, you can read first-person accounts from women like Carissa Koopmann Rivers, a fifth generation cow/calf rancher from Sunol, California, Casey Cox, the Executive Director of the Flint River Soil and Water Conservation District, and Dr. Jewel Hairston, the Dean of the College of Agriculture at Virginia State University.

In addition to the infographics there will also be advice and stories from the women in ag. Check the USDA blog to see these stories and join the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #WomenInAg.

USDA

Panel Selected to Choose 100 Fresh Perspectives

Kelly Marshall October 1, 2015

21 individuals have been selected to serve on a panel for the Farm Credit 100 Fresh Perspectives. This nationwide search is to honor 100 leaders who are impacting rural communities and agriculture. The initiative is part of the centennial celebration of Farm Credit.

The selection panel includes experts on rural matters with diverse perspectives and skill sets, including some from Farm Credit and others from across agricultural and rural industries. Panelists will evaluate the nominations and help select the top 100 honorees. Of the 100 to be announced on National Ag Week in March 2016, ten distinguished visionaries will also receive $10,000 to further their contributions to thriving rural communities and agriculture. The top-10 honorees will also be recognized at a special event in Washington, D.C., in 2016.

“Each of our panelists will greatly enhance our nomination review process by contributing their extensive and diverse experience on matters affecting rural communities and agriculture,” said Leigh Picchetti, senior vice president, National Communications for the Farm Credit Council. “On behalf of Farm Credit, we are grateful these panelists are dedicating time to contribute their expertise to identifying the 100 visionaries.”

To nominate a leader or learn more about the Farm Credit 100 Fresh Perspectives program visit www.farmcredit100.com. Nominations will be accepted until December 18, 2015.

Agribusiness, Farm Credit

Bales of Fun

Melissa Sandfort October 1, 2015

What’s not to love about living on the farm? Wide open spaces, beautiful sunsets, the lake nearby, wheat field lining the driveway, and kids climbing on hay bales? The list goes on…

For a while, I’d lost my “holiday spirit”. Yes, I decorated for Christmas and set out a few pumpkins at Halloween, but I lost the love for the smells, the music and the lights. Then a little 10-year-old came into my life and reminded me of what it’s like to have the spirit, imagination and creativity of a child.

I even decorate for Valentine’s Day, which is my least favorite holiday of all!

Last year, we took one round bale to the end of the driveway and spray painted it as a jack-o-lantern. We had to out-do ourselves this year by stacking two and painting a minion. “Stuart” comes complete with a ratchet strap to hold his tire eye in place! Up closer to the house is my old wooden gate ($2 junk sale purchase!) adorned with dry corn stalks, pumpkins, red metal chair and scarecrow, and an old ash bucket with mums in it.

Now, I need to finish two more minion costumes and we will be ready for Halloween.

Until we walk again …

Uncategorized

Foundation Helps @GROWMARK to Give Back

Cindy Zimmerman October 1, 2015

Investing in the future of agriculture and feeding the hungry are the main goals of the GROWMARK Foundation, which supports a variety of causes and organizations dedicated to those aims.

Foundation manager Amy Bradford says they focus on five key areas. “Agriculture in general, education, leader development, supporting other cooperatives, and priority community needs,” said Bradford, who adds that the foundation in its present form has been in existence for about a decade, although the company has had a philanthropic focus for at least twice that long. “It’s evolved over the last 25 years or more.”

One of the biggest focuses of the foundation, which is funded through the sale of marketable securities, is on scholarships, which Bradford says is being further expanded. “We allocate about $120,000 to scholarships at universities throughout our geography,” she said. “This year we created a scholarship fund for community colleges (because) we’re increasingly drawing from technical and operational programs.” This year the allocation for that level of scholarships was $20,000 and Bradford says it was so popular they expect to increase that.

The GROWMARK Foundation also helps to fund community feeding programs and education about agriculture for school children, two programs that were in focus at the recent Farm Progress Show.

Learn more about the foundation in this interview: Interview with GROWMARK's Amy Bradford

Audio, GROWMARK

Zimfo Bytes

Talia Goes September 30, 2015

CRV announced that Suzanne Carlson has joined the US-based product and sales team as Marketing Communications Manager.
CropLife America (CLA) announces the launch of a refreshed and redesigned website that in part initiates new content and go-to resources about the crop protection industry.
The Georgia Peanut Commission and the Georgia Bankers Association join forces Oct. 12-16, 2015, in an effort to promote Georgia’s peanut industry during the 39th annual Georgia Peanut Bank Week.
The updated website to submit your online Best of NAMA entries is now available.

Zimfo Bytes

Yara Prize Winners Honored for Impact in Africa

Kelly Marshall September 30, 2015

Two African laureates have been honored for their work in agricultural development, food security and green revolution by the Yara Prize Committee. Both Dr. Ousmane Badiane, Director for Africa, IFPRI, and Mr. Eric Kaduru, Founder and CEO of KadAfrica, have taken ideas for development and translated them into impactful results in their respective areas.

“Africa needs to do more to foster entrepreneurial agriculture and the interests of women and youth in agriculture. More smallholder-oriented policy changes are needed to meet growth and poverty alleviation targets in rural areas. In 2015, the Yara Prize honors two leading African change agents with transformational power. I wish to extend my personal congratulations to both laureates,” Svein Tore Holsether, President and CEO of Yara, said.

Mr. Kaduru is awarded the prize for changing the lives of young out of school girls in Uganda. Through his comprehensive approach to passion fruit farming, he has managed to strengthen these girls’ belief in themselves as entrepreneurs. He has equipped them with the financial, technical, and entrepreneurial skills that allowed them to develop into commercial farmers. Mr. Kaduru’s passion for engaging African youth in agriculture as a positive and sustainable livelihood is exemplified through the fact that in less than two short years he has partnered with more than 1,500 out of school girls (aged 14-20) to begin their own passion fruit farms. Mr. Kaduru and his organisation, KadAfrica, is rapidly building communities of resilient young women actively engaged in Uganda’s agriculture sector and are economic drivers of their communities.

Dr. Ousmane Badiane is awarded the prize for his important leadership role and influence on strategic debate and collaboration in Africa on agriculture and food security. Dr. Badiane is a first-class scholar and leading authority on African development with 30 years of professional experience in economic and agricultural development. As a persevering strong African voice he has already had profound impact on African governments across the continent. Dr Badiane has been instrumental and played a pivotal role in the shaping of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) agenda from concept development to implementation.

The Yara Prize for an African Green Revolution strives to transform African agriculture and food security to reduce hunger and poverty.

Uncategorized

New Holland Increases Support for WDE

Lizzy Schultz September 30, 2015

The New Holland team is making a huge presence at this year’s World Dairy Expo, which is being held for the second year in the state of the art New Holland Pavillon at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, WI.

The new facilities make it much easier for exhibitors to house the 2100 cows that attend the show by consolidating the dated, previously existing barns, and allowing exhibitors to stay under one roof.

Mike Cornman, Segment Marketing Manager for New Holland, sat down with AgWired to discuss the Pavilion and New Holland’s presence at the Expo.

“It’s been a great opportunity for New Holland to partner with Dane County and the Alliant Energy Center to build the new Pavilions, and to be able to help the show grow as it expands in exhibits,” he said, “Our support will continue to grow with the expo.”

New Holland also has sponsored the New Holland Trade Center, a tent that offers additional space for the 800 commercial exhibitors that attend the nation’s largest dairy trade show.

Within the trade center, attendees will find a full Line of New Holland equipment on display, including the new T6 series, several different round balers, and the FR Forage Cruiser line of harvesters.

“We recognize that this is an important event, and many dairy producers come here from around the world to see the new technology that is related to the dairy industry,” says Cornman, “We want to show dairy producers that from making their hay to feeding that hay, we’ve got a full line of equipment at New Holland to support them.”

Listen to my interview with Mike here: Interview with Michael Cornman, Case New Holland

View and download photos from the event here: 2015 World Dairy Expo Photo Album

Coverage of World Dairy Expo is sponsored by

Ag Groups, Agribusiness, Audio, Dairy, Equipment, World Dairy Expo

Global Crop Insurers Meet in KC

Cindy Zimmerman September 30, 2015

Agricultural leaders from more than 30 nations have been meeting in Kansas City this week to discuss the challenge of feeding a growing world population and how crop insurance can help farmers accomplish this goal.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack welcomed the International Association of Agricultural Production Insurers (AIAG) and provided his perspective on the importance of crop insurance for both farmers and the non-farm population they feed. “In the wake of a devastating disaster, crop insurance offers a lifeline,” he said. “It is one of the most important, reliable, and cost-effective parts of the safety net here in the United States.”

The secretary talked about recent policy changes that have been made to the U.S. crop insurance system in recent years to improve its availability and affordability. “Crop insurance has expanded because it works for farmers and it works for our taxpayers,” said Vilsack.

The success of the U.S. system is one reason AIAG chose to meet in the United States this year, the first time in 33 years that the group has met outside of Europe. “We are here because the U.S. crop and revenue insurance program is the most developed and the most efficient system for farmers in the world,” AIAG President Kurt Weinberger said during his opening remarks.

Weinberger also noted that participants in this week’s summit are discussing how farmers can use new technologies, new insurance products, new government policies, and new farming practices to deal with climate change and market volatility.

Also at the event, the National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS) released an updated version of “Crop Insurance: Just the Facts” which uses government data, academic research, and information from other trusted sources to answer common questions about the U.S. crop insurance system.

NCIS President Tom Zacharias said the web-based tool should be valuable to his international colleagues and explained that it was important to ensure the site contained the most up-to-date information in time for the conference. “Regardless of your level of knowledge of crop insurance, ‘Just the Facts’ will help you better understand the inner workings of the primary risk management tool for America’s farmers and ranchers,” he said.

The updates not only drill down on the new 2014 Farm Bill, but also cover other issues, including the economics of the crop insurance industry, how crop insurance benefits consumers and producers alike, and rebuttals to farm policy critics.

Insurance, International

Poll Shows Support for Change to Endangered Species Act

John Davis September 30, 2015

A new poll shows that Americans are in favor of some updates to the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Farm Bureau cites a Morning Consult poll that shows most people in the U.S. believe the law is outdated and needs to be revised.

The survey shows:

· 63 percent of Americans support modernizing the ESA;

· 62 of Americans believe the act should help with species recovery, as opposed to merely cataloguing changes in their populations;

· 69 percent of Americans want the federal government to offer resources to third parties to help species recovery; and

· 49 percent of Americans believe that state or local authorities, rather than the federal government, lead in recovery of endangered and threatened species. Only 31 percent of Americans favor the federal government taking the lead.

“The intent of the Endangered Species Act is inspiring, but results have been less so,” American Farm Bureau President Bob Stallman said. “Farmers, ranchers and environmentalists agree that we must save wildlife facing preventable extinction, but the current recovery rate of less than 2 percent shows the law is a failure.

“Today, many landowners hesitate to establish habitat that would help endangered species. That’s so because the law itself makes it impractical for them to use their land once they have made the effort to help in the first place. The ESA can and must be modernized to protect endangered species and respect private property rights. Neither agriculture nor the endangered species have time to wait.”

AFBF, Environment, EPA

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