Smart Ag in the 21st Century

Cindy Zimmerman

usda-outlook“Smart Agriculture in the 21st Century” is the theme for the 2015 Agricultural Outlook Forum to be held from Feb. 19-20, 2015, at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel, Arlington, Va.

USDA has announced that the forum’s plenary speakers and sessions will take a global, modern look at different aspects of today’s agriculture industry. Among the highlights, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and European Commissioner of Agriculture & Rural Development Phil Hogan will engage in a roundtable discussion on agriculture; Dr. Richard N. Haass, President of the Council on Foreign Relations, will address “Food, Foreign Policy and International Order; and USDA’s Chief Economist Joseph Glauber will deliver the 2015 Agricultural & Foreign Trade Outlooks.

The plenary panel focuses on “A Discussion on Innovation, Biotechnology, and Big Data” with wide latitude for panelists to talk about the intersection of these issues. Moderated by Secretary Tom Vilsack, the panel includes: Cory J. Reed, Senior Vice President, Intelligent Solutions Group, John Deere and Company; Dr. Robert T. Fraley, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Monsanto; Mary Kay Thatcher, Senior Director, Congressional Relations, American Farm Bureau Federation; and Dr. Robert Sutor, Vice President, Mobile, Solutions, and Mathematical Sciences, IBM Corporation.

Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden will welcome the plenary audience and also moderate an afternoon session titled “Tomorrow’s Opportunities,” focused on the potential of agriculture as a career, and the importance of new and beginning farmers and ranchers.

The Forum’s dinner speaker will be Ambassador Darci Vetter, Chief Agricultural Negotiator, Office of the United States Trade Representative.

Registration for the event is $400 until January 21, and $450 after that date. Plenary speeches will be webcast the evening of February 19, and breakout session speeches and presentations will be posted online at the end of the day on February 20.

Biotech, USDA

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Talia Goes

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  • Select Sires Inc. is pleased to announce the hiring of Jennie Johnson as graphic designer and administrative coordinator for the beef sire department.
  • The National Corn Growers Association welcomes Brooke Appleton as director of public policy and political strategy.
  • Kubota Tractor Corporation announced that it will open a 450,000 square foot, state-of-the-art Parts Distribution Center in Edgerton, Kansas.
  • The annual DTN/The Progressive Farmer Ag Summit, which is being held at the Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park Hotel, Dec. 8-10, 2014, brings groups together for knowledge sharing and sessions that provide forward-thinking crop and livestock producers with strategies for success in the coming year.
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Yamaha’s Commitment to Agriculture

Jamie Johansen

yamahaYamaha’s ATV/SxS marketing manager, Steve Nessl, stood in front of their brand new 2015 Viking VI while chatting with Chuck during the recent Trade Talk at the 2014 National Association of Farm Broadcasting’s annual meeting.

“It is the industry’s first true six passenger utility vehicle out there. Each person in the cabin has their own designated space. It’s not only a durable, reliable workhorse in the field, but also a comfortable and capable one for everyone who gets in it.”

Steve said Yamaha is a huge supporter of agriculture as a whole, but one specific long-lasting partnership has been with the FFA and Ag Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT). They are really interested in developing youth programs for the next generation of farmers and industry professionals.

Yamaha sponsored a scholarship program with ACT many years ago. Steve said the idea behind that was to seed the safety messaging with the appropriate young people who will be continuing to talk about agriculture now and in the future.

Beyond the agriculture market, Chuck talked with Steve about marketing to the the outdoorsmen. This is also something near and dear to Chuck’s heart. Steve said their products are one in the same and fit the needs of both industries.

Listen Chuck’s complete interview with Steve: Interview with Steve Nessl, Yamaha


2014 NAFB Convention Photos

Agribusiness, Audio, NAFB

AgNerd Monday – BudStraps

Chuck Zimmerman

BudStrapsI brought BudStraps to your attention recently and have now had a chance to try ’em out. When I’m traveling or working out I use Bose QC 20i headphones. BTW, I love them. But getting on/off planes, trying to talk with someone at the counter or just wanting to give my ears a rest I need to take them out. I know there are ideas like sticking the ends into your shirt or whatever but there’s a much better alternative.

BudStraps! These clip onto your ear bud cords and wrap around your neck. Think straps for your sunglasses. Same concept and quite brilliant.

BudStrapsBudStraps allow you to simply clip your earbuds around your neck for a run, ride, walk or simply to sit there, playing your Xbox (us too:). They wash quickly under warm water, prevent cord tangles, and help protect you from losing your cords in situations that might be dangerous like driving a car or riding a bike.

So, no more dangerous dangles or irritating tangles. They’re comfortable and you really don’t even know you’ve got them on after a while. They’re easy to remove when you want to put your buds back in a case, although they fit right into mine.

In case you need to see how to put them on BudStraps made a video for you.

Thanks to BudStraps I have an extra pair to give away. If you leave a comment here or reply to me on Twitter or Facebook by Friday Noon central this week I’ll pick a name at random to send you your very own BudStraps!

Gadgets

GROWMARK Preparing for Next Season

Cindy Zimmerman

nafb14-growmarkA farmer’s work is never done so now that the harvest is complete, it’s time to prepare for next season.

“We’re getting done getting the ammonia on because of the cold weather,” said GROWMARK Regional Agronomy Business Director Nate Pierce during an interview at the NAFB convention last month. “We need to start making our plans and working with the growers to figure out how we’re going to get it done this spring.”

Pierce says GROWMARK is a strong advocate with growers for nitrogen management as a system. “That is multiple applications of nitrogen and utilizing a 4 Rs approach,” he said. “That doesn’t mean putting on more nitrogen, it’s just doing it in split applications with different products in a tank.”

Pierce also talks about some of the factors involved in decision making farmers the coming year in this interview: Interview with Nate Pierce, GROWMARK


2014 NAFB Convention Photos

Coverage of NAFB Convention is sponsored by
Coverage of NAFB Convention is sponsored by BASF
Audio, Farming, Fertilizer, GROWMARK, NAFB

2015 Designated as International Year of Soils

John Davis

soil-renaissanceThe United Nations has designated 2015 as the International Year of Soils (IYS) to increase awareness and understanding of the importance of healthy soil for food security and essential ecosystem functions. Soil Renaissance, a group led by our friends at Farm Foundation, is celebrating IYS and its first year in existence as a movement to make soil health the cornerstone of land use management decisions, as well as bring attention to the critical role of healthy soils in vibrant natural resource systems.

In its first year, farmers, ranchers, educators, researchers, suppliers, NGOs, foundations and government agencies have joined the Soil Renaissance with their expertise and support. “Collaboration has been the linchpin to our success so far,” said Farm Foundation President Neil Conklin. “The multitude of challenges in understanding healthy soils requires many hands at work. No single person or organization can fully address the diverse and complex issues of soil health across the nation and the world.”

The Soil Renaissance has begun implementing a Strategic Plan that focuses on four foundational issues key to all aspects of soil health work: a standard for measuring soil health; economic tools to assess the value of soil health; identifying research needs; and education and outreach. Teams of experts from across the United States have formed working groups around these four areas, and are working to accomplish important goals.

“Soil health is a key factor in any agricultural production system, whether conventional or organic. Yet soil is too often ignored or overshadowed by other factors,” said Noble Foundation President Bill Buckner. “It is critical that we listen to the producers who are earlier adopters of soil health initiatives, and work closely with researchers, policymakers and industry experts to ensure our soils are protected and sustained for future generations.”

Soil Renaissance is partnering with the Soil Science Society of America to bring attention to the importance of soil and soil health.

Ag Groups, Farm Foundation, Soil

Learfield Adds Minnesota and Michigan

Chuck Zimmerman

Brownfield Ag NewsLearfield Communications and Brownfield Ag News just keep growing. Now a couple of M states, Minnesota and Michigan!

Learfield Communications Inc and Saga Communications announced today that the two companies have reached an agreement under which Learfield has acquired the Minnesota and Michigan News and Ag Radio Networks from Saga. The agreement becomes effective immediately and terms of the transaction are confidential.

Learfield, which was founded in 1972, began as a regional news and farm radio network. This acquisition brings to seven the number of state radio news networks operated by Learfield and adds significant coverage to Brownfield Ag News, America’s leading farm radio network. In total, 382 radio stations are now served by Learfield’s agriculture programing and 431 radio stations by Learfield news services.
“We are very pleased to now have these important news and agriculture information services as members of our stable of radio networks,” said Greg Brown, President and CEO of Learfield. “Saga is one of the country’s most admired and successful radio companies and we appreciate the opportunity to add these quality services to our family of networks.”

Media

CAT on the Move at ARA

Chuck Zimmerman

CAT at ARAA first time sponsor and exhibitor at this week’s Agricultural Retailers Association convention in New Orleans was Caterpillar (CAT).

Dustin Johansen with CAT says they are working to make their products more well known in the agricultural market. “We’ve always have our construction products sold in agriculture, but as the agriculture industry continues to expand, we want to really put more effort and focus on getting our products into the marketplace,” he said, adding that they just launched the new Cat® 903C compact wheel loader. “We’re pretty excited about that product for the smaller fertilizer houses.”

Johansen says they are getting more involved in trade shows like ARA and Farm Progress, as well as continuing their already strong relationships in the livestock industry. “We’ll be participating again in the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association convention. We’ve been a strong supporter of them for about seven years now,” he said. “With our wheel loader line, our skid steer loader line, those products are very well suited for the cow-calf operator and also the feedlot operator.”

Listen to my interview with Dustin here: Interview with Dustin Johansen

2014 ARA Convention & Expo Photo Album

ARA, Cattle Industry Conference, Equipment, Fertilizer, Livestock

ResponsibleAg Getting Kicked Off

Chuck Zimmerman

Billy PirkleResponsibleAg Inc. is a non-profit organization founded this year to promote the public welfare by assisting agribusinesses as they seek to comply with federal environmental, health, safety and security rules regarding the safe handling and storage of fertilizer products.

Billy Pirkle of Crop Production Services was chosen as the first chair of the organization and he says one of their main goals is to create a stewardship program that offers credentialing of facilities. “The tool is actually a web portal that allows any participant to register into the program and we’re going to do outreach so that all ag inventory points are aware of the process,” he said in an interview at this week’s Agricultural Retailers Association Convention in New Orleans.

Pirkle says once a participant registers, an auditor will perform an assessment of their facility and once that is complete and any needed changes made, the facility will be certified.

Find out more at ResponsibleAg.org and in this interview: Interview with Billy Pirkle, ResponsibleAg chair

2014 ARA Convention & Expo Photo Album

Agribusiness, ARA, Audio, Crop Protection, Fertilizer, Safety

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Talia Goes

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  • The 26th MOSES Organic Farming Conference happens Feb. 26-28, 2015 at the La Crosse Center in La Crosse, Wis.
  • Sumitomo Chemical Company, Ltd. and DuPont Crop Protection announced that Sumitomo Chemical has acquired the DuPont™ Asana® Insecticide business in the United States.
  • Brookside Agra, a leading producer of all-natural agricultural and environmental products, has partnered with soil and plant nutrition experts/consultants Ben Elliott and Andy Rynski of Cardinal Agriculture Services, Freeburg, IL.
  • Swanson Russell announces four promotions and three new hires on the public relations teams of its Lincoln and Omaha offices.
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