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

Zimfo Bytes

Talia Goes

Zimfo Bytes

  • DuPont announced it has agreed to acquire Taxon Biosciences, Inc., a leading microbiome discovery company.
  • The American Soybean Association welcomes the renewed focus from the Senate Agriculture Committee on expanding agricultural trade to Cuba as part of a hearing held on Capitol Hill.
  • USPOULTRY is hosting a free webinar to members addressing “ON-Farm Waterfowl Mitigation Practices” on Wednesday, May 13, from 1 – 2:15 p.m. EDT.
  • AgriCharts announces the release of a new online platform, named the AgriCharts Grain Offer System, which modernizes the buying and selling of physical grain between grain elevators and farmers.
Zimfo Bytes

Happy #EarthDay

Cindy Zimmerman

Seeing lots of Earth Day messages on social media today reminding the other 98% of the population that farmers and ranchers do Earth Day every day. Here’s one from the GROWMARK FS system.

fs-earthday

We are celebrating Earth Day today by going to the beach – it’s a gorgeous day here!

GROWMARK

FMC Acquires Cheminova

John Davis

fmc-logoFMC Corporation has completed its acquisition of Cheminova A/S, a multinational crop protection company based in Denmark and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Auriga Industries A/S.

“Cheminova gives us direct market access to key countries in Europe and enhances our customer reach in India, Australia and throughout Latin America, bringing greater balance to our agricultural business,” said Pierre Brondeau, FMC president, CEO and chairman. “Its technology will enable us to expand FMC’s position in existing crops; accelerate access to additional crops, such as cereals; and strengthen our offerings to customers, especially in sugarcane, soybeans and cotton.”

FMC has been realigning its business portfolio in recent years to expand its position in the crop protection market. With the acquisition of Cheminova, and the divestiture of the Alkali Chemicals business completed on April 1, 2015, FMC Agricultural Solutions is expected to represent approximately three quarters of the company’s total revenue, up from less than 40 percent as recently as 2009.

Agribusiness, Crop Science, FMC

Bayer Helps Growers CARE for Crops and Bees

John Davis

bayer-200Bayer CropScience is continuing a program that helps growers and beekeepers collaborate to help feed a growing planet. With more than $15 billion dollars worth of crops in the U.S. pollinated by bees each year, the CARE program, now in its third year, reflects Bayer’s ongoing commitment to product stewardship, protecting natural resources, enhancing agricultural sustainability and promoting partnerships between growers and beekeepers, which are all needed to feed a projected 9 billion people by 2050.

The CARE Program encourages growers to:
• Communicate planting activities to neighboring beekeepers when practical and be aware of beehives adjacent to the planting area;
• Be Aware of wind speed and direction during planting, particularly in areas with flowering crops;
• Reduce risk to pollinators by using Fluency Agent, a new planter seed lubricant for corn and soybeans; and
• Ensure seed is planted correctly. To help protect the environment, clean planters and seed boxes in a way to minimize dust release and ensure treated seed is planted at the proper depth.

“Growers are among the greatest stewards of our environment and Bayer CropScience supports them as they take CARE to produce the food, fuel and fiber needed for our growing world population,” said Kevin Adam, SeedGrowth strategic business lead at Bayer CropScience. “It’s our mission to help our fields and communities thrive in order to meet this challenge, and bees play a vital role in helping farmers establish a healthy harvest in a sustainable manner.”

In addition to focusing on key steps to take while planting treated seeds to sustain the environment and maximize the health of crops, CARE also champions the important relationship between growers and local beekeepers, encouraging both to maintain open channels of communication to continue to protect both crops and pollinators.

Agribusiness, Bayer, Bees, pollinators

High Path Avian Flu Topic at Chicken Summit

Cindy Zimmerman

cms-15-28-editedThe 2015 Chicken Media Summit is being held this week in Maryland, organized by the National Chicken Council and U.S. Poultry & Egg Association. Among those in attendance is our own Jamie Johansen, along with bloggers, journalists, dietitians and leaders in the poultry industry from all over the country.

Yesterday the event featured tours of a hatchery, broiler barn and a processing plant and today panelists discussed myths and facts concerning the chicken industry and current events.

With the latest discovery of highly pathogenic H5N2 avian influenza (HPAI) at a commercial laying facility in Iowa with 5.3 million hens, Dr. John Glisson with the US Poultry and Egg association was asked about the impact that might have on the industry. “It’s too early to know what’s going to happen,” he said. “Those birds will have to be destroyed and that’s a significant number of birds and a significant number of eggs that will not be available.”

Listen to or download Jamie’s interview with Dr. Glisson here: Interview with Dr. John Glisson, US Poultry and Egg Association

2015 Chicken Media Summit Photo Album

Audio, Chicken Media Summit, Poultry

GROWMARK Highlights Intern Program at NAMA

Cindy Zimmerman

nama15-growmarkGROWMARK has one of the oldest and most successful internship programs in the agriculture business so they were a popular stop for student NAMA attendees during the Connection Point trade show at the Agri-Marketing Conference last week in Kansas City.

“We’re going on our 56th year with the internship program,” said GROWMARK University Relations Manager Allison Stephey. “We have a variety of internships ranging from agronomy to the business aspect, to energy, logistics, grain, and seed marketing.”

GROWMARK gets 55-60 interns each year and Allison says about half of them are offered jobs with the cooperative. “We like to see the students continue on in the system,” she said, noting that they saw both past and future interns stop by the booth at NAMA last week.

Most GROWMARK interns come from their core territories of Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin, but in recent years they have been getting more interest from other areas as they have been working with AgCareers.com. “We have a partnership with AgCareers and participate in their internship survey to make sure our program has what it takes to be successful,” said Allison.

Find out more about the GROWMARK internship program in this interview. Interview with Allison Stephey, GROWMARK

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
AgCareers, Audio, GROWMARK, NAMA