World Ag Expo Video Contest to Give $3,000 Grand Prize

John Davis October 27, 2014

A $3,000 grand prize is being offered in the World Ag Expo contest for the video that best answers the questions, “Where Would We Be Without Farmers?” The videos are due for submission by December 1, when they will be evaluated by a panel of judges and then posted on www.WorldAgExpo.org for the public to vote for their favorites.

“Farmers play an integral role in every part of our lives,” said Jerry Sinift, chief executive officer of the International Agri-Center. “We’re asking for talented individuals to portray the connection between farmers and the world they feed and clothe.”

The winner will be announced on January 30, 2015 and awarded the $3,000 cash prize. The top video will be posted on World Ag Expo’s website; will play during the show, February 10-12, 2015 in Tulare, California and the winner will be recognized at World Ag Expo.

To enter, upload your video to your own YouTube or Vimeo account and complete the online entry form on the World Ag Expo website. Videos must be at least 30 seconds long and may not exceed six minutes. Anyone of any age is eligible to enter.

Ag Groups, Video

FS Crop Advisers Help with Nutrient Management Plans

Cindy Zimmerman October 27, 2014

This is the final installment of a four part series on Nutrient Management sponsored by FS/GROWMARK

John Musser, a crop adviser with Stephenson Service Company, has been a crop consultant for over 30 years and a Certified Crop Adviser for the past two decades. He was the 2012 winner of the Illinois Certified Crop Adviser Award for helping his growers improve their total nitrogen management strategy.

“My first direction is to make sure that we build something that’s agronomically sound,” said Musser. “That usually starts out with soil testing information to ensure that we have adequate agronomic levels to grow a crop, whether it’s corn or soybeans.” Beyond that, recommendations follow a 3-4 year cycle.

Musser says he stresses to growers the importance of keeping what they put on. “If we lose our soils, we really lose our nutrients, and we lose our value and our ability to grow good corn crops,” he said. Bottom line is that over application means lost money.

One of the biggest changes for the benefit of nutrient management in the time that Musser has been in the crop consulting business has been the use of GPS since the mid-90s. “Understanding that we can really watch change and understand change, (we’ve seen) the numbers really do work,” he said.

Moving forward, Musser says better data management will help growers continue to improve nutrient management. “Right now they’re in a collection mode,” he said. “The challenge that they have right now is there’s no consistent data collection tool that everybody’s using to start to gather some consistency.”

Listen to my interview with John here and learn more about improving nutrient management plans: Interview with John Musser, Stephenson Service Company

In case you missed them, here are links to the other three parts of this series:
Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy
N-Watch Program Growing.
Be Part of Nutrient Management Solution

Nutrient Management Series

sponsored by

Audio, Conservation, Cooperatives, Farming, GROWMARK

Mega-Role of Micro-Influencers at AgCatalyst

Chuck Zimmerman October 24, 2014

As marketers we often want to have those big names behind our brand. But what about all the “little” voices out there that are talking about or even being brand advocates for you? Chris Baggott, Husk Farms, says you should not forget them. There are a lot of them.

Chris was one of the AgCatalyst presenters. He says that the idea of targeting the masses has worked well with his businesses with Facebook being a key tool in his strategy. I think you’ll enjoy his ideas.

You can listen to my interview with Chris here: Interview with Chris Baggott

2014 AgCatalyst Photo Album

Coverage of The 2014 AgCatalyst Conference is sponsored by

Agribusiness, Audio, Farming, Food

Zimfo Bytes

Talia Goes October 24, 2014

Valley University, the training organization of Valley® Irrigation, has received an esteemed Learning in Practice Award from Chief Learning Officer magazine.
The free smartphone (android, Iphones & Ipads) and tablet app from veteran farm broadcaster Max Armstrong has a newly added Question of the Week section, all new Tractor Trivia questions, Max’s Twitter feed on the app’s home page, and daily radio updates from Armstrong’s “Farm Progress America” and “Midwest Digest” radio programs.
Charlene Finck, Senior Vice President of Editorial and Content Development at Farm Journal Media, was recently named one of FOLIO magazine’s “2014 Top Women in Media.”
Kathy Krafka Harkema has been named Director of Communications and Public Relations at the Iowa Corn Growers Association (ICGA).

Zimfo Bytes

Vote for New USFRA Faces of Farming

Cindy Zimmerman October 24, 2014

The polls are now open to cast your vote for the next Faces of Farming & Ranching! And you don’t even have to leave home to do it.

Starting today through November 2, visit the Faces of Farming & Ranching Voting Facebook page to learn more about each of the finalists and the work they do, including short videos highlighting their farms/ranches. From there, vote for whom you believe best exemplifies agriculture. These votes will be factored into the final decision to determine the next Faces of Farming and Ranching.

The finalists are:
Erin Brenneman, Iowa
Jay Hill, N.M.
Carrie Mess, Wis.
Thomas Titus, Ill.
Darrell Glaser, Texas
Brian Jones, Texas
Jessica Potter, Colo.
Carla Wardin, Mich.

A combination of public votes and USFRA judges’ scores will determine the winners, who will be announced on November 12, 2014, during a press conference at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting Convention (NAFB) in Kansas City.

You can vote early and vote often, but you have to be a member of Facebook to vote and only one vote per day per email address is allowed.

Here’s an example of one of the finalists videos you’ll see:

Agribusiness, Farming, USFRA

PERC Calculators Estimate Propane Cost Savings

Cindy Zimmerman October 24, 2014

The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) has just released a suite of cost calculator tools for customers in three of the industry’s fastest-growing markets: agriculture, commercial landscape, and on road fleets. The calculators are designed to estimate potential fuel savings and ROI with clean, American-made propane when compared with conventional fuels like gasoline and diesel.

“At PERC, we’ve have worked with a number of companies in the last few years to develop new propane engines for use in irrigation,” said PERC Director of Agriculture Business Development Cinch Munson. Using the new calculator on-line or on a smart phone, a producer can plug in some basic information – such as engine horsepower, propane and diesel engine and fuel costs – and it will determine the costs for over five years for comparison purposes. “So they can see what the return on investment would be by making the choice to go with propane,” Munson said.

The Propane Irrigation Engine Calculator can be operated with Internet access online at propanecostcalculator.com or downloaded as a desktop tool for users. Downloadable worksheets can also be printed and filled in by hand. Mobile applications are available for phones and tablets in app stores for Apple and Android devices and results from the applications can be easily shared by email.

Listen to my interview with Cinch here: Interview with Cinch Munson, Propane Education and Research Council

We’ll be learning more about propane irrigation engines, as well as incentive programs to use propane on the farm and new propane farm equipment at the World LP Gas Forum next week in Miami where Cinch and other representatives from PERC will be in attendance.

Audio, Energy, Irrigation, Propane

Calcium Products Opens World Headquarters in Iowa

Cindy Zimmerman October 23, 2014

Calcium Products recently celebrated the grand opening of its new headquarters located at the Iowa State University Research Park, including a new research and development laboratory and customer support center. Calcium Products produces of precision soil amendments that improve soil quality to maximize nutrient uptake and strengthen yields.

“Our new headquarters and R&D lab is located in the heart of the Midwest and right next door to Iowa State University, a worldwide leader in agriculture practices and soil sciences,” says company CEO Mike Hogan. “Managing soil quality is now a critical component of profitable farming as growers optimize their nutrients to maximize yields and return on their investment. Our new facilities will help us accelerate the development of more precision soil amendments that enable crops to absorb more nutrients and produce greater yields while protecting the environment at the same time.”

Hogan also announced the expansion of Calcium Product’s sales force to support increased demand for its products in the US and Canada.

Agribusiness, Precision Agriculture, Soil

Wrapping up the 2014 CTIC Tour

Cindy Zimmerman October 23, 2014

2014 CTIC Conservation in Action Tour Photo Album

The CTIC Conservation in Action tour of the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) was the most interesting of the tours I have attended so far. I grew up just east of the Everglades in Broward County and did agricultural reporting in Florida for ten years, but I never really had the chance to see and learn about farming in the Everglades.

One of the people who helped make the tour so great is Dennis Wedgworth, a farmer and fertilizer dealer in Glades County, who was a member of the planning committee. He’s pictured here on the right, next to Barb Miedema of the Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida. Presenting them with a token of appreciation for their help is CTIC executive director Karen Scanlon and board member Ben Pratt with Mosaic.

Wedgworth thinks the tour turned out better than he expected. “I think it’s a great benefit for growers all over the country to see other agriculture in other parts of the country and share ideas,” he said.

Wedgworth is a third generation farmer who produces sugarcane, rice and cattle in the EAA, and he says that while there is much more regulatory oversight for agriculture than in the past, farmers have stepped up to do what needs to be done for future generations. “We’ve got a regulatory BMP program that’s highly successful because of the cooperation between the ag community, the regulatory community and the research community,” he said, adding that they had implemented many of the BMPs before they had to “because it just makes sense.” Interview with Dennis Wedgworth, Florida Everglades grower

Conservation Technology and Information Center chairman Pauley Bradley is a John Deere nutrient application product manager and part-time farmer in Missouri. He was also very pleased with how the tour came together and amazed at the coordinated conservation efforts lowering phosphorus levels in the EAA.

“When you look at what they were required to do – a 25% reduction – and they’ve achieved over a 60% reduction since they implemented it in 1995,” Bradley said. “Agriculture is the first part of that, the storm water treatment areas is the second part, before it flows into the Everglades.”

Interview with CTIC chairman Pauley Bradley, John Deere

Audio, Conservation, CTIC, Farming, Fertilizer, John Deere

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