2023-24 National FFA Officers Team Elected

Cindy Zimmerman

L-R: Amara Jackson, Grant Norfleet, Carter Howell, Kanyon Huntington, Morgan Anderson, and Emily Gossett

The 2023-24 National FFA Officer team was elected during the final session of the 96th National FFA Convention & Expo in Indianapolis last week. National FFA Delegates chose students from Michigan, Missouri, Florida, Iowa, Ohio and New Mexico to lead the organization for the next year.

Amara Jackson of Michigan was elected national president.
Grant Norfleet of Missouri was elected national secretary.
Carter Howell of Florida was elected southern region vice president.
Kanyon Huntington of Iowa was elected central region vice president.
Morgan Anderson of Ohio was elected eastern region vice president.
Emily Gossett of New Mexico was elected western region vice president.

Education, FFA

2023 AgGateway Annual Conference Preview

Cindy Zimmerman

The 2023 AgGateway Annual Conference is coming up November 13-15 in Nashville, Tennessee.

AgGateway President and CEO Brent Kemp says the conference is a benchmarking event, where the industry gathers to understand the state of interconnectivity in agriculture, what the association and its membership has accomplished over the past year, and the core initiatives on deck for the year ahead. “AgGateway’s annual meeting is a combination celebration of the work that’s been done and volunteers who have done it, as well as an education and working session,” said Kemp. “We’ll have educational breakouts covering topics like artificial intelligence, biodiversity and preservation of nature and how that relates to agriculture, we’ll have some cyber security sessions…things a participant can take back to their organization and immediately add value,” said Kemp.

Along with learning and working sessions, the conference features multiple networking breaks and receptions, as well as a welcome luncheon for first-time attendees.

Annual Conference attendees include leading agribusiness managers, IT professionals, and other representatives from the entire crop production channel, including input and equipment manufacturing, software and data service providers, ag retailers and distributors, in addition to professionals in precision ag, academia, agricultural organizations, students, and ag media.

Learn more about AgGateway and the annual meeting in this interview with Kemp.
2023 AgGateway annual preview interview with CEO Brent Kemp 15:02

ag retailers, AgGateway, AgWired Precision, Audio, data, Precision Agriculture, Technology

Industry Ag News 11/3

Carrie Muehling

  • At its annual Laureate Award Ceremony, the World Food Prize Foundation surprised 2023 Laureate, Heidi Kühn, with the announcement of a doubling of prize amount to $500,000, up from $250,000 in previous years. The ceremony, held at the Iowa State Capitol building, is frequently referred to as “the Nobel Prize for Agriculture” and is held in parallel with the Norman E. Borlaug International Dialogue, which drew over 1,300 participants from more than 75 countries this year.
  • U.S. soybean meal exports set a record at an estimated 13.2 million tons in MY 2022/23 (Oct-Sep), valued at nearly $7 billion, driven by increased soybean crush to supply feedstock oil for growing U.S. biomass-based diesel production. The new record came from substantial expansion in shipments to the European Union and Vietnam as drought in Argentina, usually the world’s largest soybean meal exporter, severely reduced its exportable supplies.
  • Louis Dreyfus Company announced the construction of a soybean processing plant in Upper Sandusky (OH), US, with integrated crushing, vegetable oil refining and lecithin production and packaging capabilities.
  • Syngenta Group is honored to again be recognized as one of the globe’s top five leading employers in the 2023 Science Careers Top Employers Survey, reflecting its ongoing commitment to its employees, research and development, collaboration, and innovation leadership.
  • Fifteen farm and ranch women leaders graduated from the fall session of Women’s Communications Boot Camp hosted by the American Farm Bureau Federation. The agricultural leaders completed an intensive four-day course that featured hands-on sessions focused on public speaking, working with the media and messaging. Program graduates will use their training to strategically support Farm Bureau’s priority issues. This includes participating in local media opportunities, sharing information with elected officials and joining social media campaigns that spotlight modern agriculture.
  • Winners of the 2023 National FFA Agricultural Proficiency Awards are being named during the 96th National FFA Convention & Expo, which is being held in Indianapolis.
  • The Renewable Fuels Association welcomed its newest producer member, The Andersons Marathon Holdings LLC. The company, formed by The Andersons Inc. and Marathon Petroleum Corporation, owns four ethanol biorefineries in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Iowa, with a combined production capacity of approximately 475 million gallons of fuel annually. Joining the RFA board to represent the company is Dan Short, Fuels and Low Carbon Policy Manager for Marathon Petroleum.
  • Syngenta announced the names of eight students who each received a $1,000 scholarship award. The scholarship program is a partnership between Syngenta and CropLife America Foundation. The scholarship application is through National FFA Foundation. University students based in the United States and pursuing bachelor’s or associate degrees in crop-related agricultural disciplines are eligible to compete for the scholarships.
  • Yield10 Bioscience announced that it signed a LOI with BioMar Group, a prominent global aquafeed producer, to commercialize Camelina engineered to produce omega-3 oil for use as a high-quality supplement to the scarce supply of marine long-chain fatty acids used in aquafeed.
    • Zimfo Bytes

    Precision Ag News 11/2

    Carrie Muehling

  • Three major businesses and organizations have signed on as sponsor partners for a benchmarking study into the use of agricultural biologicals by farmers and growers. The study: “Biologicals: Specialty Crop Growers’ Perceptions, Values, and Potential,” is set to provide a robust depth of understanding around grower-centric sentiments about the use, benefits and future for biological inputs when applied to specialty crops such as fruits, vegetables, leafy greens, stone fruits and nuts. Cam Camfield, Founder and CEO of Stratovation Group, said the initial collaboration of sponsors includes Redox Bio-Nutrients, Certis Biologicals, and BPIA (the Biological Products Industry Alliance).
  • GROWERS, a leader in digital technology for agriculture, announces enhanced farmer and retailer features within two new mobile apps. The company’s flagship product, GROWERS, is a free app for farmers enabling them to work directly with their retailers to request farm input products digitally, streamlining and organizing the entire process. In addition, GROWERS Retail allows retail counterparts to respond to farmers’ requests creating new ways for retailers to drive customer loyalty and sales growth as more farmers embrace technology.
  • Helena Agri-Enterprises is expanding seed treatment opportunities for soybean growers in 2024 with the launch of Seed Shield Select and Enertia. A multi-fungicide and insecticide combination, Seed Shield Select provides protection from all major soybean seedling diseases and insects while optimizing root health and plant vigor. Enertia is an enzyme-based, biological soybean seed treatment designed to enhance soil health and improve nutrient availability as roots develop.
  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has announced an investment of nearly $22 million in agricultural economics research that includes agricultural markets, international trade, farm labor, consumer behavior and nutrition, food retail, agricultural production and processing and agricultural policy. Included in the investment is a grant of $649,716 to Auburn University researchers to conduct the first comprehensive study to empirically estimate equivalence scales that compare the economic wellbeing of U.S. households of different compositions over the past 50 years.
  • Yield10 Bioscience announced that it signed a LOI with BioMar Group, a prominent global aquafeed producer, to commercialize Camelina engineered to produce omega-3 oil for use as a high-quality supplement to the scarce supply of marine long-chain fatty acids used in aquafeed.
  • Groundwork BioAg announced the global launch of the Rootella Carbon program, based on mycorrhizal carbon – a frontier technology that leverages mycorrhizal fungi as a nature-based solution for carbon dioxide removal.
  • DPH Biologicals and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign announced a research collaboration validating the impact biologicals make to accelerate decomposition of crop residue, thereby unlocking the adoption of more sustainable and profitable farming practices for United States high-yield, broadacre growers.
  • The National Corn Growers Association calls corn growers nationwide to submit their harvest results for the 2023 National Corn Yield Contest. The deadline for harvest results is approaching quickly, so farmers are urged to submit their entries as soon as possible to ensure that all requirements have been met.
    • AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes, Precision Agriculture

    Biden Announces Rural Investments at Minnesota Farm

    Cindy Zimmerman

    President Joe Biden announced new rural investments during a visit to a farm in Minnesota Wednesday.

    During the visit to Dutch Creek Farms in Northfield, President Biden announced over $5 billion in his Investing in America agenda, including the Inflation Reduction Act, to “advance rural prosperity, economic development, competition, and sustainability.”

    “My plan is about investing in rural America,” said Biden. “It’s about something else as well. It’s about restoring pride to rural communities that have been left behind for far too long.”

    Listen to Biden’s remarks here:
    Biden visits MN farm 22:29

    Audio, politics

    DPH Biologicals and UIUC Partner to Manage Crop Residue

    Cindy Zimmerman

    DPH Biologicals and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) are teaming up to validate the impact biologicals make to accelerate decomposition of crop residue, with the goal of unlocking the adoption of more sustainable and profitable farming practices.

    Starting in spring of 2023, the UIUC Crop Physiology Lab run by Fred Below, Ph.D. and Connor Sible, Ph.D., began researching the impact of microbial solutions in crop residue management including the use of TerraTrove® Residuce®, technology developed by DPH Bio. Residuce is a biodigester, a biological specifically formulated to accelerate the process of plant tissue degradation.

    “Supporting Dr. Below’s lab is an opportunity to ground-truth the benefits of biodigesters, understand how technologies like Residuce can enable more sustainable and profitable cropping practices and to develop best practice use recommendations supporting our retail and channel partners with high-value, science-verified cropping solutions,” said Alex Cochran, Ph.D., DPH Bio’s Chief Technology Officer.

    A cereal cover crop planted into corn residue for research into the benefits of biodigesters in crop residue management. Photo courtesy of UIUC Crop Physiology Lab.

    First-year results were unveiled this week by UIUC graduate student Darby Danzl at the 2023 ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting, held jointly by the American Society of Agronomy, the Crop Science Society of America and the Soil Science Society of America. Using Residuce on an unmanaged cereal rye cover crop partially eliminated the nearly nine-bushel yield penalty average experienced when a cover crop is planted between no-till corn and soybean rotations and the yield penalty was nearly fully eliminated when a fertilizer source was combined with Residuce.

    DPH Bio recently published “Rethinking Crop Residue Management with Biodigesters,” an analysis of research into crop residue management, includes work already completed by the UIUC crop physiology lab as well as DPH Bio’s field trial results. The UIUC-DPH partnership will expand upon the research and benefits of biodigesters presented in the white paper.

    Learn more in this interview:
    Audio interview with DPH Bio Chief Technology Officer Alex Cochran 29:30

    AgWired Precision, Audio, Biologicals, Nutrient Management, Precision Agriculture, Soil

    Biden Team Hitting the Rural Road

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Secretary Vilsack and President Biden at the White House, July 2023

    President Joe Biden and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack will visit a family farm in Minnesota today to highlight the administration’s investments in rural America and efforts to support local farmers and communities.

    Biden will travel to Northfield, Minnesota to visit Dutch Creek Farms to lead his Administration’s Investing in Rural America Event Series and highlight investments from the Biden Administration in Rural America. During the visit, President Biden will announce over $5 billion in new investments from his Investing in America agenda – including the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act – to advance rural prosperity, economic development, competition, and sustainability. President Biden will also discuss how Bidenomics and his Investing in America agenda are ensuring rural Americans do not have to leave their hometowns to find opportunity.

    Over the course of two weeks, President Biden, Cabinet members, and Senior Administration Officials are barnstorming across the country as part of the Investing in Rural America Event Series to highlight how the Biden-Harris Administration’s investments are bringing new revenue to farms, increased economic development in rural towns and communities, and more opportunity throughout the country.

    During a press call Tuesday to announce the president’s visit to Minnesota, Vilsack said the family farm President Biden is visiting today has used several climate-smart agriculture techniques to make their farm more sustainable, including growing crops that naturally sequester carbon and improve soil quality, farming in a way that limits soil disturbance, and creating riparian buffers to protect nearby waterways from pollutants.

    Also on the call with Vilsack were Mitch Landrieu, Senior Advisor to the President and White House Infrastructure Implementation Coordinator; Neera Tanden, Assistant to the President and Domestic Policy Advisor; and Stephen Benjamin, Senior Advisor to the President and Director of the Office of Public Engagement.

    Vilsack Rural America Investment event 29:30

    Audio, USDA

    GROWERS Debuts Apps for Farmers and Retailers

    Cindy Zimmerman

    GROWERS, a leader in digital technology for agriculture, announces enhanced farmer and retailer features within two new mobile apps, GROWERS and GROWERS Retail, available now for iOS on the App Store, with the Android version scheduled to be released in two weeks.

    The company’s flagship product, GROWERS, is a FREE app for farmers enabling them to work directly with their retailers to request farm input products digitally, streamlining and organizing the entire process. In addition, GROWERS Retail allows retail counterparts to respond to farmers’ requests creating new ways for retailers to drive customer loyalty and sales growth as more farmers embrace technology.

    Joe Procopio, Chief Product Officer at GROWERS, says the new GROWERS and GROWERS Retail apps are the results of feedback received over the past year from farmer, retailer, and manufacturer customers. “We created a single location where farmers can learn about new agriculture products, browse across multiple brands and manufacturers, and make the purchase either in-person with their retailer or within the app. This transition aligns perfectly with our goal to provide a simple, easy-to-use, technology solution that makes it easier for farmers and retailers to do business.”

    GROWERS Retail equips retailers with a comprehensive toolkit to foster strong relationships with farmers and build customer loyalty through meeting farmers’ ever-growing adoption of technology. This innovative app streamlines communication and collaboration between farmers and retailers, promoting informed decision-making and a deeper level of trust.

    ag retailers, AgWired Precision, Apps, Precision Agriculture

    Groundwork BioAg Launches Rootella Carbon™ Program

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Groundwork BioAg® has just announced the global launch of the Rootella Carbon™ program, based on mycorrhizal carbon which leverages mycorrhizal fungi for carbon dioxide removal.

    Rootella Carbon harnesses the power of Rootella® – highly effective mycorrhizal inoculants that are proven to sequester significant amounts of carbon in cropland (1-4 tCO2eq/acre annually). This innovative, Verra-certified program represents a transformative approach to carbon sequestration for conventional and regenerative farmers alike.

    “Since our inception, we have known that mycorrhiza – the Queen of Biologicals™ – offers a compelling agricultural solution to mitigate climate change,” said Dr. Yossi Koffman, co-founder and CEO of Groundwork BioAg. “Rootella Carbon delivers on that vision by paving the way to a gigaton of CO2 sequestration in the next decade.”

    Rootella has been applied on over 4.5 million acres in 17 countries.

    Andrew Duff, Groundwork BioAg North America General manager, explains more about the Rootella Carbon™ program in this interview.
    Groundwork BioAg North America General manager Andrew Duff 11:35

    AgWired Precision, Audio, carbon, Precision Agriculture, Soil

    Animal Ag News 10/30

    Carrie Muehling

  • The Meat Institute announced Dr. KatieRose McCullough was appointed to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) bringing her scientific expertise and industry knowledge to federal food safety agencies.
  • FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative General Manager Jeff Lyon provided written testimony to the Wisconsin Senate Committee on Transportation and Local Government in support of Senate Bill 431, a bill that would grant the state Department of Transportation the authority to issue annual or consecutive month permits, allowing the transport of fluid milk and other milk byproducts in vehicle combinations exceeding highway weight limits, up to a maximum of 98,000 pounds.
  • The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) praised the announcement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that it plans to devote $2.3 billion from the Commodity Credit Corporation to promoting better market opportunities for U.S. agricultural producers and expanding food aid to support communities in need around the world.
  • Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative announced that Emma Jorgensen has joined the organization as an assistant project manager to support farmers in the implementation of climate-smart production practices.
  • USPOULTRY’s 2023 Environmental Management Seminar focused on regulatory updates and highlighted new innovations in sustainability. Ranging from biological treatment applications, water reuse, emissions, rendering and more, the seminar provided areas of emphasis environmental managers need to have top of mind while managing their environmental programs.
    • AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Animal Bites