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Talia Goes

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  • Tucker Carlson, Political News Commentator and Co-host of Fox and Friends Weekend, will present An Insider’s Look at Washington, Politics and Everything In Between on Wednesay, September 30 at the General Session Luncheon of the 2015 United Fresh Washington Conference.
  • Swanson Russell announces the addition of five employees to its Lincoln office: Claire Abelbeck, Brooke Behrendt, Paul Rankin, Neale Stadler and Peter Worth.
  • Subsequent to adoption of the new 2016-2020 Beef Industry Long Range Plan during the 2015 Cattle Industry Summer Conference in Denver last week, the national Beef Checkoff Program transitioned its committee structure to reflect the consumer demand drivers critical to the success of that long range plan.
  • Sixty-two student delegates arrived in Des Moines, Iowa, on July 19 for the inaugural Agriculture Future of America Crop Science Institute.
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Agri-Pulse Open Mic with Rep. Rob Bishop

John Davis

Agri-Pulse Open Mic this week features Rep. Rob Bishop.

open-micBishop chairs the House Committee on Natural Resources. Bishop is pleased with recent votes on forestry and water but admits a number of uphill battles remain for his committee and Congress. The Utah Republican minces no words in describing the Obama Administration as the “bully regulation machine” and in this interview discusses his concerns about federal regulations on private and public lands, water supply, and endangered species.

Click here to listen to Agri-Pulse Open Mic with Rep. Rob Bishop.

Agri-Pulse, Audio

NAMA Boot Camp Deadline to Register

Chuck Zimmerman

NAMA Boot CampJust two weeks. That’s all you’ve got left to register for the NAMA Boot Camp and hotel room. After that the price goes up.

The cutoff date for the Sheraton is August 3. Make sure you book your room by then in order to get the cheaper NAMA room rate. Click here to reserve your room today.

August 3 is also the early bird registration deadline! If you register for Boot Camp by then, you can save $50 on your registration. Follow this link to register now.

For more information about this year’s NAMA Boot Camp, visit the Boot Camp website.

NAMA

Mystik & Heil Harvesting to Dominate Extreme Jobs

Kelly Marshall

mystikMystik® Lubricants, specializing in performance lubricants for automotive, on-road fleets, off-road and agriculture, is teaming up with Mark Heil Harvesting, a custom harvester in Ulysses, Kansas to tackle the day-to-day challenges of a large scale harvesting operation.  The two companies will show life on the road for the harvesting team, showcasing tough terrain and weather as they move through Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado.

“Crisscrossing the Great Plains and battling everything Mother Nature throws at you makes teaming up with Mark Heil Harvesting the perfect fit for Mystik,” said Karl Schmidt, general manager of Mystik Lubricants. The team is well set to meet the challenge, with Heil Harvesting’s 40 years and thousands of acres’ worth of experience and Mystik Lubricant’s reputation of 60 years of testing prudcts in era-world conditions.

“When your office is the great outdoors, you have to be prepared for anything,” said Mark Heil, owner of Mark Heil Harvesting. “And that includes punishing weather like rain, hail and drought conditions. We’re excited to partner with Mystik to help us continue to push the extremes and are confident we can meet any challenge we face with Mystik protecting our equipment.”

Mystik fans are invited to stay tuned for exclusive insider views from the team, including harvesting in a variety of conditions, job recaps and maintenance updates. These informative webisodes are available on the Mystik Lubricants Facebook page, website and YouTube channel.

Agribusiness, Equipment, Harvest

Documenting New Holland’s Local History

Chuck Zimmerman

Don HorningDon Horning is a trustee of the New Holland Historical Society and although he’s retired from the auto industry he’s quite familiar with the impact that the New Holland Machine Company (as it was originally known) has had on the local community. He gave a presentation to agricultural media representatives attending last week’s New Holland Media Days.

Don says that the New Holland Machinery Company exhibit inside the New Holland Area Museum is permanent because, “This town would not be the same without New Holland Baler.” He says it’s such an important piece of their history that as long as the present trustees are in office this won’t change. On display is the history from the beginning when the company was a small tool shop doing foundry work to a much larger and prominent company. Once the New Holland baler was introduced it exploded from there.

The museum accepts contributions from people who may have some very historical items or equipment that would add to the exhibit.

You can listen to my interview with Don here: Don Horning, New Holland Historical Society

New Holland Media Days 2015 Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, New Holland

CTIC Cover Crop Survey Results

Chuck Zimmerman

CTIC SurveyCover crops are continuing to prove very beneficial to yields according to the results of a survey conducted by the Conservation Information Technology Center.

A survey of more than 1,200 farmers across the country revealed that cover crops boosted corn yields last year by a mean of 3.66 bushels per acre (2.1%) and increased soybeans by an average of 2.19 bushels per acre (4.2%)—the third year in a row a yield increase following cover crops was recorded by the Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC) Cover Crop Survey.

The survey, conducted by CTIC with funding from USDA’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) and the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA), also registered a fifth year of steady increase in the average number of acres planted to cover crops. Average acres of cover crops per farm reported in the surveys have more than doubled over the past five years.

“It’s great to see the immediate benefits of yield increases from cover crops, and very exciting to see that the use of cover crops continues to expand,” says Chad Watts, CTIC program director. “What’s particularly interesting is that while seeing an immediate benefit like a yield bump from cover crops is great, the large majority of farmers who plant cover crops told us they actually rate improvements in soil health, increases in soil organic matter, reduced soil erosion and improved weed control far higher than yield increases when they list the benefits they enjoy from the practice. That shows a strong appreciation for the wide range of long-term benefits cover crops deliver.”

You can find a report on the survey here (pdf). Keep the upcoming CTIC Conservation in Action Tour in mind. Would be good to fit into your schedule.

Ag Groups, Conservation, CTIC

Brownfield Welcomes Back Anita!

Cindy Zimmerman

Anita-pictureAfter a brief stint with a global sustainable food group, Anita Vanderwert is back where she belongs – at Brownfield Ag News.

Most of us in the agri-marketing world have known Anita for the many years she did sales for Brownfield and parent company Learfield. Now her job is Business Development Director where she will work closely with the network’s national sales team to find solutions for Brownfield’s advertising partners.

“We are extremely excited about Anita’s return to the Brownfield family,” said John Baker, Senior Vice President of Learfield News & Ag. “Anita will work with our team to explore new product and service offerings that compliment and support the expansive Brownfield Radio product.”

Vanderwert brings over 25 years of ag marketing and sales experience, having previously worked with Learfield, Osborn & Barr, Rhea & Kaiser, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the American-International Charolais Association. Most recently, Vanderwert was Head of Sales for the Americas for Benchmark Holdings.

Welcome home, Anita!

Agribusiness, Media

Update on Engenia by @BASFAgProducts

Cindy Zimmerman

basf-IL-chadWe’ve been hearing about the development of Engenia™ herbicide for dicamba-tolerant crops from BASF Crop Protection for over three years now and the wait for it to come to market may soon be over.

“Our anticipation is that registration will come in the fourth quarter of this year,” said Dr. Chad Brommer, BASF Technical Market Manager for Engenia, during a recent field day at the company’s Midwest Research Farm in Illinois. “We’re not on our time table but on the federal registration time table.” Engenia is a technologically advanced dicamba formulation that provides an additional site of action for control of broadleaf weeds in dicamba-tolerant crops, including soybeans and cotton.

basf-IL-sprayerWhile they are awaiting approval, BASF has been busy educating growers about the herbicide and how it can fit into an effective weed control plan, as well as proper application methods.

“That means wherever you need to spray your product, whether it be Engenia or any other crop protection chemical, that it goes where it needs to go and no where else,” said Brommer. That involves using the correct nozzle, correct boom height, and taking into account weather, wind conditions and buffer zones. The nozzle that will be on the label for use with Engenia is the Turbo TeeJet Induction (TTI).

Listen to my interview with Chad here and watch some of his presentation on video below, including a spraying demonstration – with water, of course – that shows how the TTI nozzle works. Interview with Chad Brommer, BASF


BASF Midwest Research Farm photo album

Audio, BASF, Crop Protection, Herbicide, Video

New Holland History on Display

Chuck Zimmerman

New Holland HistoryDuring New Holland Media Days this week we visited the New Holland Historical Society Museum. The museum features a permanent exhibit of historical items of the New Holland company. It includes photos of Abe Zimmerman, founder of the company, various items like this battery box for a New Holland Hit or Miss Engine. There is a collection of all the newsletters published by the company and much more. Here’s what it says on the Society website about New Holland

New Holland’s agricultural heritage also is responsible for making the town’s name known around the world for its farm equipment. Abe Zimmerman, a 26-year-old village tradesman in 1895, opened a machine repair shop. Zimmerman’s New Holland Machine Shop introduced a portable feed mill in 1899 and went on to produce other farm equipment innovations aimed at reducing a farmer’s labor. Throughout the 20th century, New Holland Machine Shop was purchased by several companies such as Sperry-Rand and Ford.

Welcoming us to the exhibit was Bret Lieberman and Mark Hooper, New Holland, and one of the volunteer members of the Historical Society to talk about the exhibit and how it has come together. Here’s a short video clip from our visit you might enjoy.


You can find lots of photos from the event here: New Holland Media Days 2015 Photo Album

Agribusiness, New Holland, Video

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Talia Goes

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  • Forrest Lucas, founder and owner of Lucas Oil Products, Inc., MAVTV, Lucas Cattle Company, and the naming rights to the Indianapolis Colts’ Stadium, “Lucas Oil Stadium”, has teamed with Ali Afshar, the record-setting professional racecar driver, turned actor, turned movie producer, to launch ESX Entertainment.
  • NovaSource announces the addition of Tim Kuechmann as Account Manager for the Pacific Northwest and Newton Roda, Ph.D., as Director of International Business, Southern Cone, South America.
  • Pinnacle Agriculture Holdings, LLC has successfully acquired California-based NH3 Service Company.
  • Iowa’s oldest agency continues its rapid growth with the addition of Marc Patterson to the Lessing-Flynn family.
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