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Talia Goes

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  • The Georgia Peanut Commission (GPC) board of directors has approved $357,570 in research project funding for the 2015-16 research budget year.
  • The patent pending innovation, BR-S Bucket Rake, developed by ANBO Manufacturing attaches quickly to most any standard bucket to create a tool for raking rocks and other debris using your existing bucket.
  • Massey Ferguson is launching a Special Edition of its best-selling MF 5600 Tractor Series based on the iconic MF 5610 Tractor which accomplished the record-breaking Antarctica2 mission to the South Pole in December 2014.
  • Monsanto Company has announced that six recipients will be awarded research grants as part of the Insect Management Knowledge Program.
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Hot Issues Tackled at Animal Ag Stakeholders Summit

Jamie Johansen

aaa-15-9-editedThe Animal Ag Alliance wrapped up the 2015 Stakeholders Summit yesterday in Kansas City, Mo and president of the organization, Kay Johnson Smith, said each year they strive to bring emerging issues to the forefront of discussion.

“We know that agriculture is always on a journey to improve, to excel and find ways to do better. But we aren’t sure the public knows that. The idea behind the Summit is to take a look at those hot button issues and share innovative ways people and organizations in this industry are addressing them.”

The event tackled issues like sustainability, feeding a growing population and marketing to millennials. Our speakers were CEO’s, producers, marketing professionals and bloggers. The diverse lineup gave unique perspectives, but transparency seemed to be a common trend. “We heard the term radical transparency, that idea is about making transparency a common theme within the ag community. We have a great story to tell and farmers want to tell that story.”

Kay said the Alliance motto of connect, engage and protect sums up the events efforts to advocate for the animal agriculture industry and is an easy take home message for all. Next year’s event will be back in our nation’s Capitol and Kay said they are already exploring themes surrounding a global agriculture.

Listen to my complete interview with Kay here: Interview with Kay Johnson Smith, Animal Ag Alliance

Find photos from the event here: 2015 Animal Ag Alliance Stakeholders Summit Photo Album

Coverage of the Animal Ag Alliance Stakeholders Summit is sponsored by
Coverage of the Animal Ag Alliance Stakeholders Summit is sponsored by Elanco Animal Health
Ag Groups, Agribusiness, Animal Agriculture, Audio

High School Students Win Environmental Video Contest

Jamie Johansen

world of 7 billionThe Population Connection has announced the winners from their “World of 7 Billion” video contest. The competition encouraged high school students around the world to create and enter videos on population growth relating to one of three topics: universal education; diminishing farmland; and the sixth mass extinction.

Over 1,600 high school students participated in the contest and submitted a total of 865 videos. Submissions were received from 39 U.S. states and 23 countries. The three first-place winners each received a $1,000 cash prize, while the three second-place winners each received a $500 cash prize and seven honorable mentions each received a $250 cash prize.

“The ‘World of 7 Billion’ student video contest proves just how powerful youth are to the discussion surrounding population growth,” said John Seager, president of Population Connection. “Each year we are blown away by the quality of videos and their incredible ability to relay a meaningful message in such a short amount of time.”

The contest was organized and promoted during the 2014-15 school year by Population Education, a program of Population Connection; submissions were due February 19, 2015. A panel of 28 judges—including college and high school educators, filmmakers, and professionals working on agriculture and sustainability—selected the finalists.

“This year’s videos seemed especially thoughtful given the complexity of topics. And it was exciting to see what solutions the students offered that would impact positive future change,” said Pam Wasserman, vice president for education at Population Connection.

Ag Groups, Education, Environment

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Talia Goes

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  • One of the season’s prime opportunities to cover the latest systems and issues in conservation agriculture is scheduled for August 12, 2015, in southeastern Minnesota—the annual Conservation in Action Tour presented by the Conservation Technology Information Center.
  • Venture capital firm Cultivation Capital, The St. Louis Arch Angels, and BioGenerator announce the funding of St. Louis ag-tech company, Arvegenix.
  • The National Federation of Independent Business is highlighting the success of Wisconsin Senior High School student Jacob Ehlert, winner of the Innovations in Agricultural Entrepreneurship award thanks to a generous contribution by Animart, LLC.
  • GetaMoveOn.fb.org is Farm Bureau’s just-launched advocacy website that gives farmers and ranchers a simple way to “Get a Move On” for GMOs.
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Soil Renaissance and Phytobiomes Initiative Collaborate

Chuck Zimmerman

Soil InitiativeToday the Soil Renaissance and Phytobiomes Initiative announced announced a collaboration aimed at understanding how soil health and the broader phytobiomes in which plants exist impact food production for a growing population.

In December 2013, The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation and Farm Foundation, NFP, launched the Soil Renaissance to bring attention to soil health’s critical role in feeding a global population that will increase from 7.5 billion people today to more than 9 billion by 2050. Likewise, the American Phytopathological Society (APS) recently initiated the Phytobiomes Initiative to understand the entire system of factors that affect crop plants, including living organisms (bacteria, fungi, viruses, insects, nematodes, etc.), soils and the environment.

“Soil and the plants that grow in it are the foundation of life. They work in unison to serve as the basis for all of life,” said Bill Buckner, president and CEO of the Noble Foundation. “It only makes sense then that the two major initiatives – one focused on soil, one focused on the entire biome (i.e., a geographical area) that impacts plants – should work together to solve the pressing problem of how to increase food production.”
“Just as the Soil Renaissance is bringing attention to the role of soil health in agricultural productivity, the Phytobiomes Initiative is focused on bringing attention, funding, and research coordination toward creating a whole system approach to improve quality and safety,” said Jan Leach, Ph.D., chair of the APS Public Policy Board and University Distinguished Professor at Colorado State University. “Our goal is to pull together diverse disciplines, societies, and policies to understand interactions among plants, animals, and the environment. The Phytobiomes Initiative promotes an examination of the entire system, not just the individual pieces.”

Ag Groups, Soil

Check Out the Online Biogas Calculator

Joanna Schroeder

Biogas CalculatorThere is a new online biogas calculator now available from PlanET Biogas Global. The tool enables farmers to check out the energy potential of their substrates. The biogas project calculator is free of charge and provides its users an early look regarding optimal substrate mixes for an efficient biogas production.

“During my daily consultant work I have realised that most farmers are interested in the energy potential of their available substrates, especially in the beginning of any planning,” reports Hanna Garbert, international sales consultant from PlanET Biogas Global. “Everyone, who considers developing a biogas project, is now able to quickly check out, if and in which size a biogas production is possible on his farm.”

Garbert hopes the biogas calculator becomes a helpful implementation tool for farmers.  She adds, “This biogas calculator is a rough guideline for our clients, certainly we carry out concrete feasibility calculations in a following step in which country-specific regulations such as feed in tariffs are being considered.

Agribusiness, Energy

Nat Geo Editor Talks #FutureofFood at Animal Ag Event

Jamie Johansen

aaa-15-22-edited“Journey to the Extraordinary” was the theme for the 2015 Animal Agriculture Alliance Stakeholders Summit, held in Kansas City instead of the usual Washington DC venue.

One of first speakers at the event was National Geographic’s Dennis Dimick who provided an in-depth look at how the magazine covers agricultural issues, particularly the 2014 “Future of Food” series. “We didn’t want to just do a series for people in agriculture,” Dimick said. “We’re trying to reach the public who are interested in food.”

Food, Dimick noted, is a crucial area of common ground that will help foster conversations about the future of agriculture. “Food is one of the key binding rituals of our civilization,” he said.

Dimick actually grew up on a farm in Oregon and once considered becoming a vocational agriculture teacher. “I was a sophomore in college and I bought a camera and was that time majoring in ag education,” he said. “The seduction of the camera set me on a different path and I started taking journalism classes.”

As an editor at National Geographic, Dimick has been focused on raising awareness of global sustainability issues and he brought up the idea to the magazine to do a series on feeding the growing population. “It ended up being eight stories in 2014 on a variety of subjects, including how are we going to feed nine billion,” he said. “We are actually continuing the project for at least a couple more years.”

Read the stories at NatGeoFood.com and listen to Jamie’s interview with Dimick here: Interview with Dennis Dimick, National Geographic

Coverage of the Animal Ag Alliance Stakeholders Summit is sponsored by
Coverage of the Animal Ag Alliance Stakeholders Summit is sponsored by Elanco Animal Health
Ag Groups, Animal Agriculture, Food

Farm Bureau Survey Outlines Women Leadership Skills

John Davis

afbf-logoA new survey from Farm Bureau outlines the leadership skills for women in agriculture to master. This news release from the group says the Women in Ag Survey found communicating effectively, establishing and achieving goals, and strategic planning as the highest on a list of important leadership skills for women.

“The survey results point to a need for a deeper dive into what leadership traits women in agriculture are interested in learning about in order to achieve their goals,” said Sherry Saylor, an Arizona row crop farmer and chair of the AFB Women’s Leadership Committee.

Another topline finding of the survey is that most of the women surveyed are comfortable advocating about agriculture, and most believe they have the necessary skills and knowledge to be successful. Social media is the preferred avenue of advocating about agriculture among the women surveyed.

“Farm and ranch women continue to be seen as credible sources of information on the production of food, fiber and renewable fuels,” Saylor said. “Working to develop connections with consumers and being transparent when responding to questions about how food is produced benefits all of us in agriculture,” she said.

Nearly three-quarters of those surveyed own or share ownership of a farm or ranch. One-third of women surveyed have not yet started a business but indicated they would like to do so in the future. Respondents cited obtaining financial support, business plan development, and prioritizing/finding time to accomplish tasks as their most common business challenges.

Nearly 2,000 women completed the informal online survey, which was conducted to determine the goals, aspirations, achievements and needs of women in American agriculture today.

Ag Groups, Agribusiness

Women in Ag

Melissa Sandfort

20150507_114945As Mother’s Day approaches, I wanted to give a “shout out” to all the women in ag who have touched my life over the years, who continue to influence my life and the lives of my children, and the women who share their ag stories daily with friends, neighbors and strangers – all in an effort to provide a future for their families.

I’ve worked in the ag industry since 2001 and as my kids would say, “Mom, you’re old.” That may be the truth, but I tell them, “I may have to color my hair, but I’ve spent 14 years working for the greatest people on Earth.” And I’m proud of that.

Farm moms take care of the house, the children, their marriages, the animals and the land. Even if they work away from the farm, they help with bookwork, shuffle vehicles to and from the field, serve and eat the same food their family produces, and support their family’s decision to stay in ag.

I made mention that this Mother’s Day, all I wanted was something from the kids. These beautifully hand-decorated flower pots from the children (with artful pictures of tractors, combines and flowers nonetheless!), go to show that there’s no better place to raise a family than on the farm. So thank you to the moms (and dads) out there who continue to make my work and my passion possible. Happy Mother’s Day!

Until we walk again …

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AAEA Announces 2015 Legacy Awards

Chuck Zimmerman

AAEADuring the Agricultural Media Summit this July the American Agricultural Editors Association will present legacy awards to two outstanding individuals.

The AAEA Legacy Committee has selected Rolland “Pig” Paul as its 2015 Distinguished Service Award recipient and Len Richardson, 1983-84 AAEA president, its Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.

“These two gentlemen reflect the best of American agriculture,” committee chairman Larry Dreiling said. “We’re proud to present these awards to them.”
Paul is the retired executive secretary of the National Pork Producers Council. Paul led the group toward formation of the National Pork Checkoff, which in turn led to the campaign to make pork “the other white meat.”

Richardson is famous for organizing the Flame Conference during his presidency. The conference brought older members together with “young blood” members to help move AAEA toward increase professional development.

The Distinguished Service Award is presented through a grant to the AAEA Professional Improvement Foundation by the Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM). Funding for the AAEA Lifetime Achievement Award is provided through a grant by CHS, Inc.

ACN, Media