Zimfo Bytes

Talia Goes

Zimfo Bytes

  • 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.
Zimfo Bytes

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 …

Uncategorized

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

Happy Mothers Day to Farm Mom of Year

Cindy Zimmerman

mon-mom-2015This Mothers Day will be a special one for an Oregon farmer and mother of three daughters who has been selected as Monsanto’s 2015 Farmers Mom of the Year.

Shelly Boshart Davis, who lives in Albany, Ore. and grows grass seed, wheat, radishes, hazelnuts and bales grass straw, garnered the most online votes to capture the national title. She is the first Oregonian to become either a regional or national winner.

Davis was one of five women who were recognized at the end of April as a regional finalist in the program. All of them, including Megan Seibel (Roanoke, Va.), Shelley Heinrich (Lubbock, Texas), Amy Kelsay (Franklin, Ind.), Sara Ross (Minden, Iowa) and Davis, were selected by both the American Agri-Women and Monsanto for their dedication and commitment to their families, farms, communities and the agriculture industry.

Davis was chosen as the winner after an on-line voting period. All five women will receive $5,000, while Davis will receive an additional $5,000 for securing the most votes.

Agribusiness, Farming

NCGA Offers eLegacyConnect Member Benefit

Chuck Zimmerman

eLegacyConnectThe National Corn Growers Association is offering a significant discount on a great service for today’s farmers. As many of us become “wiser” we know we need to start thinking about things like succession planning and transition. The service is eLegacyConnect.

Succession planning is, or should be, a high priority for most American farmers. According to the USDA, 70 percent of farmland will change hands in the next 20 years. If a farm family has not adequately planned for succession, the farm is likely to go out of business, be absorbed by a large farming neighbor, or be converted to non-farm use. This crisis-in-the-making comes at a time when land prices are out-stripping some farmers’ ability to grow their operations and fewer members of the family are involved in day-to-day farming.

Because the National Corn Growers Association is dedicated to strengthening member farmers, maintaining a healthy organization and continuing prosperity for the industry, NCGA offers an exclusive discount when using eLegacyConnect, a dynamic online succession planning community.
The service provides educational resources, action plans, community forums and a number of meaningful experiences to help farm families achieve their succession planning dreams. It has a growing roster of qualified advisors to answer questions and interact with engaged family members in real-time. Additionally, it offers a slate of weekly webinars and regular podcasts to inform the community. eLegacyConnect’s FarmPartner resource is a first-of-its-kind matchmaker to help aspiring farmers connect with transitioning farmers for career opportunities, mentor/protégé relationships and ownership transitions.

Ag Groups, Corn, NCGA

Senate Ag Grain Standards Act Hearing

Cindy Zimmerman

The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry held a hearing Tuesday to review the U.S. Grain Standards Act, which has provisions that expire this year. The act authorizes USDA’s Federal Grain Inspection Service to establish marketing standards for a variety of grains and oilseeds and was last reauthorized in 2005.

roberts-hearing“Predictability and transparency are key to maintaining a global success story for farmers and ranchers in Kansas and across the country. Needless to say, the valuable role that our trading partners play in the agriculture economy cannot be overstated,” said Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS).

Testimony was presented at the hearing by American Soybean Association board member Bill Gordon of Minnesota, American Association of Grain Inspection and Weighing Agencies President David Ayers, National Grain and Feed Association representative Tim Paurus and North American Export Grain Association vice chairman Steve Campbell.

“Our industry and our foreign customers are highly dependent on having a reliable and transparent export inspection and marketing system,” said Gordon in his testimony. “It is critical that the requirement for mandatory official inspection of exported grains and oilseeds under the Grain Standards Act be maintained. In addition, there must be no question that, in the event of a disruption of services, FGIS will continue to be required to step in to ensure the reliability and reputation of the U.S. inspection and weighing system.”

Watch the hearing video here.

ASA, Grains, Soybean