Join the Biodiesel & Bioheat Forum

Chuck Zimmerman

Biodiesel and Bioheat ForumNext week I’ll be attending the Biodiesel and Bioheat Forum, sponsored by the Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council. Want to join me? Get registered now.

Home heating oil and biodiesel leaders will discuss a biodiesel blend with significant environmental and economic benefits and the role Minnesota soybean farmers can play in meeting the demand of this market.

“The Midwest use of biodiesel is lower in the winter while the East Coast use of heating oil is much higher,” said Tom Slunecka, CEO of the Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council. “Minnesota has an opportunity to grow our supply and better serve both markets.”


Some of the panelists scheduled to appear include: Read More

Ag Groups, Biodiesel, Biofuels, Energy, Soybean

“Ahead of the Curve” Theme for @GROWMARK Annual

Cindy Zimmerman

As one of the nation’s largest, oldest, most profitable and most respected farmer cooperatives, GROWMARK has always been ahead of the curve, so it is an appropriate theme for this year’s annual meeting, coming up August 27-28 at the Hilton Chicago.

growmark-amy“We do think that GROWMARK and the FS System are ahead of the curve,” says GROWMARK Corporate Relations Manager Amy Bradford, who has been among those on the planning committee for the event this year. “Ahead of the curve really means that you’re leader of the pack and we believe that’s what we are.”

The annual meeting is attended by the shareholders of GROWMARK, which is made up of the FS System member companies who serve as delegates. At the meeting, they will listen to updates and results of the cooperative over the past year and elect directors for three year terms.

In addition, Bradford says this year they will have a keynote speaker – Kat Cole of Focus Brands, a company that includes such well-known names as Cinnabon, Carvel, Auntie Anne’s, and McAlister’s Deli. “She really has a great story to tell,” said Bradford. “She’s a very young leader in a business that can be pretty cut-throat.”

She may have a great story to tell, but so does GROWMARK, staying ahead of the curve every year to help their farmer members continue to grow and prosper.

Listen to my interview with Amy here: GROWMARK's Amy Bradford on upcoming annual meeting

Audio, Cooperatives, GROWMARK

Cheminova Products Add to FMC Portfolio

Cindy Zimmerman

ams15-fmc-wheelerFMC Corporation just completed its acquisition of Cheminova earlier this year and at the Ag Media Summit we talked with FMC business solutions manager David Wheeler about what new crop protection solutions that adds to the FMC portfolio for growers.

“The Cheminova acquisition has really rounded out our portfolio,” said Wheeler. “For instance, we were lacking in fungicides in our portfolio, and Cheminova was very strong with fungicides.” In addition, Cheminova provided addition modes of action for insecticide products. “From a product standpoint it’s been great for us and helps make us a more well-rounded company,” Wheeler added.

In this interview, Wheeler also talks about the benefits of fungicide use. Interview with David Wheeler, FMC

2015 Ag Media Summit Photo Album

Coverage of the Ag Media Summit is sponsored by
Coverage of the Ag Media Summit is sponsored by FMC   Coverage of the Ag Media Summit is sponsored by New Holland   Coverage of the Ag Media Summit is sponsored by the National Biodiesel Board
Ag Media Summit, Audio, Crop Protection, FMC

BrightFarms Builds Farm of the Future

Kelly Marshall

BrightFarmsBrightFarms has broken ground on a new Chicagoland Greenhouse in Rochelle, IL.  The start-up company is changing the face of local produce with the first ever nation brand.  Working together with Roundy’s Supermarkets, and the greenhouses will supply the grocery chain with produce, hopefully in 2016.

A model for the future of local, low-impact farming, the BrightFarms Chicagoland Greenhouse will be the most productive farm in the Chicagoland market, the most sustainable source of year-round baby greens and tomatoes in all of Illinois, and among the most productive salad greens farms, per square foot, in the world. It will create permanent green collar jobs, significantly reduce food miles, and improve the environmental impact of the food supply chain.

A cutting-edge, scalable solution to Americans’ increasing demand for local and sustainable food, The BrightFarms Chicagoland greenhouse will be 160,000 square-feet and grow over 1,000,000 pounds of the freshest and most flavorful salad greens, herbs and tomatoes per year. The greenhouse will use 80 percent less water, 90 percent less land and 95 percent less shipping fuel than conventional produce companies and significantly less energy to grow its products than the items it replaces on supermarket shelves. All produce will be pesticide-free.

“Consumer demand for local is growing exponentially — and for good reason: long distance produce hurts the environment and compromises freshness, quality and taste,” said BrightFarms Chief BrightFarmer (CEO), Paul Lightfoot. “This greenhouse farm will allow Roundy’s to provide its customers with year-round produce that is not only garden-fresh, but that conserves land and water, eliminates agricultural runoff and reduces greenhouse gas emission.”

“We’re thrilled that our stores will be able to deliver consumers the freshest, most local greens, herbs and tomatoes possible,” said Bob Mariano, CEO and chairman of Roundy’s. “BrightFarms is a model for the future of food and we look forward to exemplifying, together with them, what that future should look like.”

Agribusiness, Energy, Produce

Farm Financial Standards Councils Elects Neiffer

Kelly Marshall

FFSCThe Farm Financial Standards Council has elected Paul Neiffer (center) serve as president for 2015-16.

Neiffer is a principal with ClifftonLarsonAllen, LLP, in Kennewick. Neiffer is flanked to his right by Stephen Severe, CFO of Padlock Ranch, Ranchester, WY, who will serve as the organization’s vice president. The secretary/treasurer of the Council is Janice P. Bitter, vice president of Farm Credit East, Homer, NY.

While meeting in Kennewick the Council approved the adoption of new versions of the Financial Guidelines for Agriculture and the Management Accounting Guidelines for Agriculture. Both documents have undergone revisions to style and format and the new versions will become available in January 2016.

The Financial Guidelines were originally introduce in 1993 help guide farm and ranch owners / managers and their accounting teams to develop standardized financial recordkeeping formats and programs.

More information on all activities of the Council are available at www.ffsc.org.

Ag Groups

Tiemann Elected Chairman of U.S. Grains Council

John Davis

tiemannA Nebraska corn farmer and state Corn Board member is the new chairman of the U.S. Grains Council (USGC). Alan Tiemann from Seward, Nebraska, was elected at the organization’s 55th annual board of delegates meeting in Montreal, Canada, after serving as USGC vice-chairman over the previous year.

“I have enjoyed addressing issues and helping open markets for the Grains Council over the past few years and look forward to continuing those efforts on behalf of our industry,” said Tiemann.

In his first speech to USGC delegates as chairman, Tiemann said, “Markets don’t just happen, we have to work to make them happen. The U.S. Grains Council has been successfully doing that for more than 55 years and has developed a level of excellence in its work that I want to focus on this year.”

“Although most corn grown in Nebraska is used right here in our state for livestock and ethanol, we still have a lot at stake when it comes to exports,” said Kelly Brunkhorst, executive director of the Nebraska Corn Board. “As the old saying goes, the last bushel of corn sets the price. The work that the USGC completes around the world is very valuable to Nebraska’s corn and ethanol producers.”

USGC strives to develop export markets around the world and has offices in more than 50 countries.

Ag Groups, Grains, USGC

Farm Foundation President to Retire

John Davis

conklin1The president of Farm Foundation is going to reture. Neil Conklin, who took office in 2008 and is the sixth person to lead Farm Foundation in its 82-year history, says he will retire effective December 2016.

“Neil has been key in fulfilling the Trustees’ goal to position the Foundation as the leader in helping public and private-sector leaders address the critical issues that are shaping the future today,” said Mark S. Scholl, Chairman of the Farm Foundation Board of Trustees. “He has staunchly protected the Foundation’s position of non-advocacy.

“But as Neil so often says, non-advocacy does not mean no action,” Scholl continued. “Under Neil’s leadership, the Foundation’s work has addressed such varied topics as food prices, global trade, conservation, renewable energy, agricultural productivity, and now, the Soil Renaissance. Neil has kept the focus on the Foundation’s unique ability to help stakeholders better understand the complexity of and options to address the multitude of issues shaping the future.”

“With the challenges in agriculture and the food system today, it is both an honor and a great responsibility to lead Farm Foundation. The Foundation is a unique resource to this nation’s agriculture, food and rural sectors,” Conklin said. “I still have much I want to accomplish at the Foundation, but I felt it important to give the Trustees adequate time to find the right person to be the Foundation’s seventh President.”

A search committee is beginning the process of finding a successor.

Ag Groups, Farm Foundation

Prez Candidate Rand Paul: Stop EPA Farmland Grab

Joanna Schroeder

Republican Presidential Candidate and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul is kicking off his first Iowa radio campaign ad “decrying the Obama Administration’s land grab of Iowa farmland”. The radio ad will be heard on farm radio stations. The ad is focused on the Waters of the US legislation and highlights the devastating consequences of the new regulation.

Rand_Paul_Avatar_debate4“In Washington, DC, President Obama and the EPA are trying to quietly being the greatest government land grab in Iowa history, said Paul. “Obama’s looming ‘Waters of the US’ regulation will place 97 percent of Iowa land adn evry farm under greater government control by federal government.”

The American Farm Bureau (AFBF) has detailed the potential effects the rule could have on Iowa, along with all states and has a “Ditch the Rule” campaign underway. AFBF writes that, “Farmers’ and ranchers’ ability to remain in production often depends on being able to use the types of farm practices that would be prohibited if EPA denies a permit for them. For example, building a fence across a ditch, applying fertilizer or pesticides, or pulling weeds could require a federal permit. The proposed rule, in effect, would give EPA veto authority over a farmer’s or rancher’s ability to operate.”

Paul has pledged to reverse this legislation on his first day in the White House should he be elected.

Listen to the radio ad here.

Agribusiness, Environment, EPA, Precision Agriculture, Water

Zimfo Bytes

Talia Goes

Zimfo Bytes

  • The 2015 South Dakota Beef Ambassador Contest was held on July 24 in Huron, S.D. in conjunction with the South Dakota Summer Spotlight.
  • The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) announced the winners of its agricultural engineering student awards during special ceremonies at the annual international meeting of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) in New Orleans, Louisiana.
  • DuPont officially opened its Integrated Seed Science Center in Johnston, Iowa on August 5, 2015.
  • Opportunities for professional development is one major reason people join AAEA, according to 69 percent of respondents in a recent member survey.
Zimfo Bytes

It’s Fair Season – What Gets You to the Fair?

Jamie Johansen

New Holland ZimmPollOur latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “How are you connecting your precision equipment and data?”

It looks like many of our readers haven’t quite adopted the wireless capabilities when it come to connecting precision equipment. It looks like the majority of you are utilizing memory cards and USB sticks. However, after attending the 2015 InfoAg Conference the Cloud is here and it looks like it is the key to efficiency.

Here are the poll results:

  • Memory cards – 33%
  • USB sticks – 33%
  • Cloud (wifi)- 1%
  • Cellular network – 17%
  • Other – 16%

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, What brings you to the county, regional or state fair?

We are in the heat of fair season. Whether its a county, regional or state fair it is easy to find one to attend. I have exhibited livestock at fairs my entire life and I hope to instill my love for the fair life into my daughter very soon. Some people go for the food, the great concerts, to exhibit their livestock or to simply take in all the sights. Tell us why you love the fair. Is it for the overall experience or is it the craving of a footlong corn dog?

ZimmPoll