VISION 2024 Shaping the Future of Ag Tech

Cindy Zimmerman

The VISION Conference, now in its seventh year, is set to start the new year January 22-24 at the Renaissance Phoenix Glendale Hotel & Spa with a transformative event focused on building a sustainable value system in food, feed, fiber, and fuel.

The conference will address critical topics such as as data-driven decision-making, barriers to adoption, cross-industry insights, and more. Interactive groups will allow attendees to select from challenges including AI + Data Usage, Overcoming Infrastructure and Support Barriers, and Ag Tech Adoption.

Throughout the event, sessions will delve into the latest data management technologies and processes, proving ROI, and the power of interoperability in ag tech solutions. Leaders with a variety of backgrounds and experience will share their perspectives on the future of ag technology.

Co-locating with The VISION Conference and kicking off on January 21, the second in-person meeting for Women in Ag Tech will provide a vital platform for women in the industry to connect, engage, and build a community. The Global Ag Tech Initiative is committed to advancing and advocating the women in our industry.

The conference will conclude with a panel from the Global Ag Tech Initiative, presenting key insights and takeaways that will shape the industry in the years to come.

For more information and to register for VISION 2024, visit TheVISIONConference.com.

Agribusiness, AgWired Precision, AI, Technology

AgGateway Wraps Up Successful Annual Meeting

Cindy Zimmerman

AgGateway wrapped up another successful annual meeting last week in Nashville with strong attendance despite the conflict with Agritechnica this year.

“Our attendance numbers were up over last year, which were up over the year before,” said AgGateway President and CEO Brent Kemp at the end of the meeting. “We’re on a great trajectory, we’ve had great speakers, great engagement.”

Embracing a Data-Driven Future was the theme of the conference this year and Kemp says it’s more than just a tag line. “All of this conference we’ve talked about the ways data is going to change our lives more than it already has,” said Kemp.

Listen to Kemp’s opening remarks and closing interview:
2023 AgGateway CEO Brent Kemp opening remarks 25:07
2023 AgGateway wrap up with Brent Kemp 22:08

2023 AgGateway Annual Meeting Photo Album

AgGateway, Agribusiness, AgWired Precision, AI, Audio, data

Industry Ag News 11/17

Carrie Muehling

  • Gathering around the table for a Thanksgiving dinner won’t take as much of a toll on your pocketbook this year compared to 2022, but the meal still reflects historically high costs. The American Farm Bureau Federation’s 38th annual survey provides a snapshot of the average cost of this year’s classic holiday feast for 10, which is $61.17 or less than $6.20 per person.
  • National Farmers Union (NFU) released the updated Farmer’s Share of the food dollar for items typically served during the Thanksgiving holiday. These figures reflect how much family farmers earn compared to the amount consumers pay at the grocery store.
  • Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced next steps in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s efforts to bolster U.S. agricultural trade, including the department’s planned trade missions for 2024 and the opening of a public comment period for the new Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP). These efforts will help to support further growth in U.S. agricultural exports and introduce high-quality U.S. agricultural products to new markets.
  • Syngenta Group announced financial results for the first nine months and third quarter of 2023. Group sales for the first nine months of 2023 were $24.3 billion, down six percent year-on-year. Sales of Syngenta Crop Protection and ADAMA were lower compared to the exceptionally strong first three quarters of the prior year. The Seeds business grew three percent to $3.3 billion sales in the first nine of months of 2023.
  • Stuart Woolf, President and CEO of Woolf Farming & Processing, will serve as Chair of the Western Growers Board of Directors for a two-year term. Woolf was first elected to the Western Growers Board in 2015.
  • Syngenta announced Val Dolcini, U.S. Head of Sustainability and Government Affairs was unanimously elected to the American Farmland Trust Board of Directors by its members and will support their efforts to promote sound farming practices while protecting and keeping farmers on the land.
  • The Soy Scholarship is a $7,000, one-time award presented to a high school senior who plans to pursue agriculture as an area of study at any accredited college or university in the 2024-25 academic year. The scholarship is managed by American Soybean Association and made possible through a grant by BASF Corporation. High school seniors may apply online Oct. 31-Dec. 31, 2023. Click here to apply.
  • National Sorghum Producers (NSP) announced the hire of Greg Ruehle as its new Executive Director. Ruehle brings a wealth of experience in agriculture and association management to his new role, and his leadership comes at a pivotal time as NSP continues to grow and expand its impact on the sorghum industry.
  • Join the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association (MSGA) and the Minnesota Corn Growers Association (MCGA) for the 2024 MN Ag Expo Jan. 17-18 at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center in Mankato. Registration for the free conference is now open at mnagexpo.com/attendee-registration/.
  • The National Grange is celebrating a second straight year of fraternal membership gain. This is a feat that has not happened for nearly 70 years, and the National Grange is extremely proud of our local Granges and their membership gains. National Grange President Betsy E. Huber unveiled the National Grange theme for 2024 and 2025: “Grange: The Trusted Voice of Rural America” in her opening address of the 157th Annual Convention of the National Grange in Niagara Falls, New York.
  • Renewable chemicals and advanced biofuel producer, Gevo Inc, has joined the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association as a producer member.
  • America’s largest seafood trade association continues to grow. With 22 new members in just the last 12 months, National Fisheries Institute illustrates why it’s known as the leading voice of the seafood industry.
  • Potato retail sales remained strong for the quarter from July to September 2023, up 9.5 percent from the same period a year ago. All categories of potatoes saw increases in dollar sales.
  • Meyocks, a branding and marketing agency, announced that Kelly Ferguson, a member of the firm’s executive team, will acquire a majority interest in the company and become its president, effective January 1, 2024. With this transition, Rachel Allinson, also a member of the executive team, will acquire a minority interest in the agency. Meyocks’ current owner and president, Doug Jeske, is retaining a minority interest in the company.
    • Zimfo Bytes

    Farm Bill Extension and Funding Reaction

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Congress this week passed a continuing resolution that includes an extension of the 2018 Farm Bill until Sept. 30, 2024. Agriculture groups and companies at the NAFB Convention gave their reactions to the move and what it will mean for negotiations next year.

    The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) praised the government funding package that also extends the Livestock Mandatory Reporting program until January 19, 2024.

    NCBA Vice President of Government Affairs Ethan Lane says the continuing resolution splits funding packages into two different expiration dates next year, January 19 and February 2. “It give everybody in DC a little bit more of a spread out range of targets,” said Lane. “By and large really good news.”

    2023 NAFB Trade Talk - Ethan Lane, NCBA 3:24

    Mary Kay Thatcher, Syngenta Federal Government and Industry Relations, says Congress is just kicking the can down the road on everything. “On the farm bill, on approps, on not shutting the government down… it’s a real question on whether those things will get done in 2024,” she said.

    Thatcher, who has working on many farm bills over the years, says the farm bill extension through next September may make passage even tougher. “The Congressional Budget Office is going to tell us what kind of numbers do we have to work with in the funding of the farm bill… and there’s better than a 50 percent chance there’s less money then we have now.”

    2023 NAFB Trade Talk - Mary Kay Thatcher, Syngenta 4:14

    2023 NAFB Convention Trade Talk Photos

    Audio, Farm Bill, Farm Policy, NAFB, NCBA, Syngenta

    Thanksgiving Meal Costs Less Than Last Year

    Carrie Muehling

    The American Farm Bureau Federation’s (AFBF) 38th annual survey says the average cost of this year’s Thanksgiving feast is $61.17. That’s less than $6.20 per person, down 4.5 percent from last year’s record high prices.

    The survey accounts for the cost of a meal for 10 people including turkey, stuffing mix, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, peas, dinner rolls, sweet potatoes, a veggie tray, fresh cranberries, and other miscellaneous ingredients.

    The cost of the meal’s main course fell by more than five percent, thanks to supplies rebounding after last year’s challenges with avian influenza.

    “Traditionally, the turkey is the most expensive item on the Thanksgiving dinner table,” said AFBF Senior Economist Veronica Nigh. “Turkey prices have fallen thanks to a sharp reduction in cases of avian influenza, which have allowed production to increase in time for the holiday.”

    While consumers will welcome lower prices than they saw last year, inflation continues to be a factor as this year’s holiday meal still costs 25 percent more than it did in 2019.

    AFBF, Food, Holiday, Poultry

    Land O’Lakes CEO Beth Ford on First TIME100 Climate List

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Land O’Lakes, Inc. President and CEO Beth Ford was included on the inaugural TIME100 Climate list announced this week, recognizing the 100 most innovative leaders driving business climate action.

    The list was curated from nominations and recommendations made by industry leaders and partner organizations, assessing the candidates on a variety of factors, including recency of action, measurable results, and influence.

    “Thank you, TIME, for including Land O’Lakes on the list. It’s an important recognition that agriculture can be a powerful climate solution,” said Beth Ford, Land O’Lakes President and CEO. “Our Truterra team is doing incredible things alongside our farmer-owners.”

    The news of the Land O’Lakes honor came as Josiah McClellan, Head of Carbon Assets for Land O’Lakes Truterra, was at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting meeting in Kansas City doing interviews about some of the work Truterra has been doing to help farmers transitioning to regenerative practices. “We’ve had $9 million that we’ve been able to deliver to farmers over the last two years for sequestering 462,000 tons of carbon and aligning that with corporate sustainability goals is something that was recognized by TIME,” said McClellan.

    Learn more in this interview.
    2023 NAFB Trade Talk - Josiah McClellan, Truterra 3:32

    AgWired Precision, Audio, carbon, NAFB, regenerative ag

    Gateway to Ag Careers Students Excel at Annual Meeting

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Eight outstanding college students were able to attend the AgGateway Annual Conference this week in Nashville through the Gateway to Ag Careers program, sponsored by the AgCIO Roundtable.

    The eight students represented a variety of different disciplines and academic institutions from across the country. In order of appearance in the photo, they are:
    • Clara Cobb, Mississippi State University
    • Jake Dempsey, Arizona State University
    • Kelsey Vourazeris, Arizona State University
    • Cole Byers, University of Georgia
    • Fei Xyza Asuncion, Kansas State University
    • Justin Allange, Purdue University
    • Ryanna Tiejie, The Ohio State University
    • Phillip Lanza, Cornell University

    The students made individual presentations during a special session during the conference to share their work, ambitions, and interests in the agriculture industry and all of them made a positive impression on the attendees with their active involvement and willingness to network and learn. Here is a brief interview with them as a group:

    2023 AgGateway interview with GTAC students 10:56

    2023 AgGateway Annual Meeting Photo Album

    AgGateway, AgWired Precision, Audio, Education, Precision Agriculture

    AgGateway Awards

    Cindy Zimmerman

    In addition to the President’s Award, there were several other very special awards presented at the AgGateway annual meeting this week in Nashville.

    Ann Vande Lune (2nd from left) with AgGateway CEO Brent Kemp, Ron Farrell’s daughter Kelly and wife Judi

    A brand new award this year is the Ron Farrell Attitude Award, honoring the late co-founder of AgGateway who passed away in 2020 and was known for sporting a gold lapel pin with the single word “Attitude.” This new award will now honor an organization volunteer who work personally to make a difference in the industry.

    Ann Vande Lune of Key Cooperative was honored to be the first recipient of the award, which included a replica of Ron’s Attitude pin presented to her by his wife Judi and daughter Kelly. “That is the one thing I remember about him was that pin and the attitude that he had towards the industry,” Ann said. “It was his desire and ability to talk to anybody about the industry and pushing it forward that inspires me to continue that work.”

    2023 AgGateway interview Ann Vande Lune, Key Cooperative 3:55

    Stuart Rhea, Syngenta, accepts Ron Storms award from AgGateway’s Jeremy Wilson

    Ron Storms, who passed away in 2002, was one of the early leaders and proponents of electronic connectivity in agriculture and the Ron Storms Leadership Award was created to honor long-term, sustained work on multiple organization initiatives. This year’s recipient is Stuart Rhea of Syngenta who has been especially over the years in AgGateway’s ADAPT open-source project. “ADAPT has been my pet project, my baby, over the years,” said Rhea. “It’s a key enabling technology that’s going to help us help the grower think of his data as a secondary crop.”

    2023 AgGateway interview Stuart Rhea, Syngenta Digital 6:48

    Dave Craft, SSI, accepts In Action award on behalf of the company

    The AgGateway in Action Awards recognize individuals and organizations from each region for outstanding contributions during the calendar year. For North America, Software Solutions Integrated (SSI) was honored for its support of the organization and the industry. Guilherme Panes of Jacto received the award for the Latin America Region, and Udo Kaempf with BASF was honored for the European Region.

    2023 AgGateway Annual Meeting Photo Album

    AgGateway, Agribusiness, AgWired Precision, Audio

    Precision Ag News 11/15

    Carrie Muehling

  • Syngenta Group announced that Mary-Dell Chilton, Ph.D., has been awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation by President Biden. Dr. Chilton led the team of Syngenta researchers that produced the first transgenic plant and pioneered plant biotechnology, discovering novel methods to improve plants’ ability to control pests and withstand extreme conditions.
  • BASF is introducing xarvio SeedSelect, a novel seed variety placement technology based on an algorithm derived from plot trial field research, local topographic and soil attributes, and variety-specific yield building characteristics. Using advanced data and analysis methods, xarvio SeedSelect evaluates soybean varieties based on how they build yield, which provides a foundational understanding of what field characteristics will best support growth and matches them to growers’ fields based on those characteristics.
  • Bayer announced at Agritechnica, the world’s leading trade fair for agricultural machinery, an update on the strategic collaboration with Microsoft: New data connectors allow secure, compliant exchange of farm data between Bayer’s flagship digital farming product Climate FieldView and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) through the industry platform Microsoft Azure Data Manager for Agriculture. Following the preview launch of Bayer AgPowered Services on the platform earlier this year, Leaf Agriculture is now bringing a solution to further enhance accessibility of farm machinery data, and OneSoil is delivering new solutions for in-season crop identification.
  • Gowan USA is pleased to announce that CLIFFHANGER SC Herbicide is now registered and available for the 2024 season in California. This new product expands our rice portfolio, offering an alternative to our well-established BUTTE Herbicide.</li.
  • The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) announced that eight Research Ambassadors have been selected for the 2023-2024 academic year.
  • Unit sales of 4WD ag tractors continued growing in both the U.S. and Canada in October, making a strong opening of the final quarter of 2023, according to the latest data from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM). In the U.S., 4WD tractors grew year-over-year 12.6 percent, the only segment to see growth for the month. Year-to-date, 4WD tractor sales are up 36.2 percent, leading all segments in unit sales growth. In Canada, 4WD unit sales were up 141 percent for the month, and 38.3 percent year-to-date.
  • Trace Genomics, an industry-leading provider of science-validated soil biology insights, announced a collaboration with EarthOptics, the pioneering next-generation soil mapping company, are collaborating to introduce a new level of accuracy in carbon measurement, to introduce a new level of accuracy in carbon measurement, with fast-track turnaround of results to customers. The multi-year agreement combines the power of soil carbon insights from both companies to offer farmers and ranchers research grade C-Mapper, a new hyper-accurate product from EarthOptics that combines Trace Genomics’ unmatched TraceCARBON data with GroundOwl Sensor data to power a new carbon measurement and mapping in its SoilMapper platform.
  • The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) released the 2022 Impact Report, Leveraging Bold Science: FFAR 2022 Impact Report. This report highlights FFAR’s impact on food and agriculture research. In 2022, FFAR continued to outperform, raising over $82 million in matching funds and bringing FFAR’s total awards to $605 million. A comprehensive list of all FFAR grant awards can be found on the FFAR website.
  • To help growers and retailers prepare for the 2024 growing season, Corteva Agriscience is offering several webinars focused on best practices for using the Enlist weed control system — including a new series focused on Enlist corn. Register here.
  • Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Solutions (WMFTS) highlights a wide range of pumps ideal for seed treatment applications. For low-pressure feed pump applications, Watson-Marlow offers Qdos chemical metering pumps, as well as its cased peristaltic pumps. Visit WMFTS in booth 702 at Seed Expo 2023 in Orlando, Florida December 5-8 to learn more about these solutions for seed treatment.
    • AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes, Precision Agriculture

    MyLand Welcomes Bill Mennell as Principal of Strategy and Analysis

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Soil health company MyLand has announced the addition of Bill Mennell to the company’s leadership team as Principal, Strategy and Analysis, to identify and pursue new business opportunities for MyLand’s unique Soil as a Service (SaaS) solution. Mennell began his role in May 2023.

    Mennell focuses on partnership expansion, natural asset strategies, and identifying the agriculture sectors where the MyLand System® can have the greatest impact for growers and oversees the Algae, Ag Science, and Data teams, where he aims to advance MyLand’s technical expertise. He reports to Dane Hague, MyLand CEO and Co-founder,

    “Bill is uniquely qualified to take MyLand forward in our growth and sustainability efforts, and his expertise will help us better serve our customers and stakeholders,” says Hague. “With his background and understanding of soil, water, climate, and agriculture’s influence on each, Bill will play a crucial role in our company’s future.”

    Mennell’s contributions will further the company’s efforts to increase grower ROI from MyLand’s proprietary Soil as a Service® solution. Water savings, nutrient reduction, improved nutrient cycling, carbon storage, and credit application all drive economic returns to the farmer beyond yield improvement. His role will directly impact MyLand’s efforts to increase growers’ productivity, economic security, and profitability.

    AgWired Precision, people, Precision Agriculture, Soil