Zimfo Bytes

Talia Goes

Zimfo Bytes

  • The North American Equipment Dealers Assn. (NAEDA) has announced the recipients of its Dealer’s Choice Award and Gold Level service awards for 2015.
  • Twelve U.S. cotton industry members have been chosen to participate in the National Cotton Council’s (NCC) Emerging Leaders Program for 2015-16.
  • KatieAnn Sievert of Bonduel, Wisconsin, has been named the Wisconsin state winner of the 2015 GROWMARK essay contest for FFA members.
  • Syngenta published a broad range of data on the six ambitious commitments in The Good Growth Plan with the aim of unlocking environmental, social and economic value.
Zimfo Bytes

USDA Presents Climate Change Initiative

Cindy Zimmerman

usda-blocksIn a speech Thursday at Michigan State University, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack introduced “Building Blocks for Climate Smart Agriculture & Forestry”, an initiative that will utilize voluntary, incentive-based conservation, forestry, and energy programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase carbon sequestration and expand renewable energy production in the agricultural and forestry sectors.

“American farmers and ranchers are leaders when it comes to reducing carbon emissions and improving efficiency in their operations. That’s why U.S. agricultural emissions are lower than the global average,” said Vilsack. “We can build on this success in a way that combats climate change and strengthens the American agriculture economy. Through incentive-based initiatives, we can partner with producers to significantly reduce carbon emissions while improving yields, increasing farm operation’s energy efficiency, and helping farmers and ranchers earn revenue from clean energy production.”

Joining Vilsack at Michigan State was Brian Deese, Senior Advisor to the President, as well as agricultural producers and other private partners. The framework announced today consists of ten building blocks that span a range of technologies and practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase carbon storage and generate clean renewable energy.

Listen to or download announcement here: White House Climate Change initiative announcement

Audio, USDA

Farm Team Goes to Bat

Cindy Zimmerman

mfc-team-1The St. Louis Cardinals’ new roster this season includes some homegrown talent from the Show-Me State.

Missouri Farmers Care (MFC) and the St. Louis Cardinals are proud to bring to Busch Stadium the Farm Team, comprised of mascots Captain Cornelius, Simon the Soybean, and Sweet Bessie.

The Farm Team is part of the “Race to the Plate” educational campaign to increase awareness and understanding of today’s food production.

mfc-team2The mascots will be jockeying for bragging rights at each Friday night home game in Busch Stadium and racing to educate fans on Missouri agriculture. As the mascots vie for the win, in-stadium video boards will highlight facts about modern pork, dairy, soybean and corn production. Missouri’s farm families are also encouraging fans tuning into Cardinal Radio to learn more about today’s agriculture through radio spots highlighting farm facts and Friday night races. Print ads are also featured in the Cardinals Gameday Magazine and scorecard.

Missouri Farmers Care is a joint effort by Missouri’s agriculture community to stand together for the state’s top industry.

Corn, Livestock, Soybean

Granular Acquires AcreValue

John Davis

granularAgriculture software and analytics company Granular bought farmland real estate evaluation business AcreValue. This company news release says the deal enhances Granular’s service offerings to the farmland market and gives farmers and potential investors valuable information into land values across the country.

The free service allows buyers, sellers, agents and other interested parties to browse AcreValue estimates using a map-based interface. Users will also be able to download reports on each field that includes valuable data on soil type, topography, crop history, basis trends and other important features, as well as produce estimates of the value of individual fields. These estimates have proven accurate to the level where they provide useful guidance to farmland buyers and sellers.

“Acquiring or leasing more acres at the right price is a top priority for members of Granular’s professional farm network,” said Sid Gorham, Granular’s CEO. “We believe that AcreValue will make the farmland resale and rental markets more convenient, transparent and efficient. This is an exciting new service the market has been waiting for and we will continue to invest in its expansion so it can benefit Granular subscribers and the agriculture industry more broadly.”

“The idea for AcreValue came out of my own family’s discussions about valuing our farmland in Iowa,” said Christopher Seifert, AcreValue’s CEO. “Granular’s vision of adding technology innovation to the farmland and agricultural market makes it a perfect acquiring partner for AcreValue. I’m excited to build out the service as part of the Granular team and to work with its base of industry-leading farmers. We hope AcreValue helps the farmland market like Zillow has the residential real estate market.”

As part of the deal, Seifert joins Granular to head the agronomy data science team.

Agribusiness

Chicken Summit Tackles Industry Myths

Jamie Johansen

cms-15-136-editedThe 2015 Chicken Media Summit is a wrap, but the dialogue will continue. A panel titled “Chicken Myths & Facts” answered questions many not directly involved in the poultry community simple don’t understand. Panelist discussed hormones, antibiotics, chicken litter, environmental issues and other hot button issues on the minds of consumers.

Tom Super, VP of Communications for the National Chicken Council, served as the panels moderator and said, “We talked about opening up the dialogue. I would hope that the take home message is that the dialogue doesn’t stop today. We want to continue the conversation. We hope the folks in attendance will go and be active on social media and continue the dialogue.”

“We know more than ever the burden of proof for the care of the birds and the way we raise and process them falls squarely on us. Videos are great. Social media great. Press releases are great. But we really wanted to take it a step further and open the doors and show folks with their own eyes letting them see and smell the whole process from farm to fork.”

We all know that the term transparency is a buzz word throughout animal agriculture. Tom said for the poultry industry, transparency means physically opening the doors and starting a dialogue with no propaganda. “Telling them what it is we do, why we do it and then answering their questions.”

Listen to my complete interview with Tom here: Interview with Tom Super, National Chicken Council

Find photos from the event here: 2015 Chicken Media Summit Photo Album

Ag Groups, Animal Health, Audio, Chicken Media Summit, Poultry

Why FMC Joined Field to Market

Chuck Zimmerman

Aaron Locker - FMCDuring the Agri-Marketing Conference my Mini Golden ZimmComm Microphone for iPhone got a workout that included an interview with Aaron Locker, FMC Marketing Director. Aaron stopped by the ZimmComm Connection Point booth so I asked him to talk about the reasons FMC has joined Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture. This is a multi-stakeholder initiative working to define, measure and advance the sustainability of food, fiber and fuel production in the United States.

Since the organization includes a diverse membership of companies Aaron says it gives FMC a great chance to work directly with a company like Walmart to identify areas for improvement when it comes to the sustainability goal.

You can listen to my interview with Aaron here: Interview with Aaron Locker

2015 Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

Coverage of the 2015 Agri-Marketing Conference is sponsored by New Holland and Brownfield Ag News
Coverage of the 2015 Agri-Marketing Conference is sponsored by New Holland     Coverage of the 2015 Agri-Marketing Conference is sponsored by Brownfield Ag News for America
Agribusiness, Audio, FMC, NAMA, Sustainability

Global Soybean Stakeholders in China

Cindy Zimmerman

ISGA15Representatives from U.S. soybean organizations are in China this week joining their counterparts from several other countries to discuss the biotech-approval process there.

United Soybean Board (USB) chairman Bob Haselwood of Kansas, the American Soybean Association (ASA) president Wade Cowan of Texas, and the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) chair Laura Foell of Iowa teamed up with their fellow soybean farmers from Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Canada, representing the International Soy Growers Alliance (ISGA).

“We met with Chinese buyers, government officials and influencers to discuss the importance of timely, science-based approvals for biotech soybeans,” said Foell during a press call from China today, noting that they brought with them a white paper that shows the economic impact of slow approvals. “This data helps put a value on the problems caused by the biotech approval system (in China).”

Haselwood said some may question why they are partnering with other countries that compete with U.S. producers. “We do represent over 90 percent of the exportable soybeans and that is a force to be reckoned with,” he said.

“It’s very important that we come together with our partners in South America and develop a working relationship and that we come with a united message,” added Cowan.

Listen to the press conference here: Soybean stakeholder press conference from China

ASA, Audio, Soybean, Trade

Senate Committee Passes TPA Bill

Cindy Zimmerman

trade-wordsThe Senate Finance Committee yesterday passed Trade Promotion Authority legislation by a vote of 20-6. Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) said the action “marks a pivotal moment for international trade policy and reflects years of true bipartisan work.”

“We thank Chairman Hatch and Ranking Member Wyden for their leadership in introducing this important piece of legislation to extend trade promotion authority and working for the strong vote of approval by the committee,” said American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman said. “This legislation is critical to making progress on pending negotiations and promises to expand opportunities for increased U.S. agricultural exports.”

Most other agricultural organizations echoed Stallman’s comments, with the notable exception of the National Farmers Union. “(TPA) fails to address our nation’s massive and growing trade deficit or currency manipulation in member countries of TPP negotiations,” said NFU president Roger Johnson. “Congress should maintain its constitutional authority to address these concerns by rejecting TPA legislation that removes it.”

The bill still needs to pass through the Ways and Means Committee on the House side.

AFBF, Trade

Home Is Where The…Nest Is?

Melissa Sandfort

20150419_180000Today Aunt Jeanette writes:

I am a naturally optimistic person and it doesn’t take much to ‘make my day’. As we were leaving for church Sunday, I hurriedly glanced out at the shop and saw what I thought were cornhusks that had blown on top of this antique wheel. I remember thinking, “Well, the wind will blow them right back off.” Later that afternoon I was walking out to the shop to pick up some papers and saw a robin fly down from the wheel and start scolding me. I took a closer look and saw this nest she had spent all day building.

Almost two years ago I wrote a story about a robin’s nest that was built on one of our pivot stops. It fascinated me that the nest survived windstorms and pivot “showers”. It was also near a road and I thought maybe some passerby might see it and destroy it. Dan had the pleasure of witnessing the life cycle of a family of robins as he irrigated that summer. He said it made irrigating tolerable.

These two antique wagon wheels propped against the side of our shop building usually have Black-eyed Susan vines twining on them during the summer months. It is too early for plants, but it is time for robins to build their nests. I hope the nest survives (I have already warned everyone to keep their hands off!) so I have the opportunity to watch a family of robins grow.

When I get up in the mornings, the very first thing I do is check outside and see if the nest is still there. It makes me smile to see that little miracle every day!

Until we walk again …

Uncategorized

Vilsack Flips Switch on New Solar Farm

Cindy Zimmerman

vilsack-switchOn Earth Day, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack flipped the switch to symbolically activate USDA’s first solar array project in the National Capital Region.

The 1.6 Megawatt (MW) solar farm, located at the George Washington Carver Center (Carver Center) in Beltsville, Maryland, is the largest solar array on federal property in this region. This project, which is part of a larger commitment to transform the facility into a model for sustainability, will help meet the President’s Capital Solar Challenge. The new solar farm is expected to provide about 2,000 megawatt hours (MWh), or 20% of the Carver Center facility annual electrical power requirements, and handle most of GWCC’s electrical needs during the day.

usda-solar“Today, USDA is another step closer to achieving its goal of energy independence. With this system, USDA is saving taxpayers over $300,000 annually in avoided energy costs,” said Vilsack. “As a Federal agency, USDA is leading the way in renewable energy in the National Capital Region. And we are proud to say that this 6.2 acre solar farm is the largest solar array on Federal property in this area.”

There are over 5,000 state-of-the-art, industry-leading American made panels in this farm and it was built on what used to be Agriculture Research Service farmland, land that is now farming energy. The Carver Center consists of four interconnected buildings and grounds, which occupy about 45 acres of Federal land. The farm helps position USDA to meet President Obama’s new Executive Order goal to increase the share of electricity the Federal Government consumes from renewable sources to 30 percent.

USDA