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  • MGEX announced the results of its annual Board of Directors (Board) election, held October 2, 2014.
  • The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association kicked off the 2015 Fall Membership Drive.
  • Deere & Company announced changes to its senior leadership team that will take place after the retirement of James A. Israel, president of John Deere Financial – the company’s global financial services division headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa.
  • Hintzsche Fertilizer Inc., has reached an agreement to sell its agronomy business, including subsidiaries Burroughs Ag Services and Walter Seed and Fertilizer, to Helena Chemical Company, based in Collierville, Tennessee.
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Heading Home from Italy

Chuck Zimmerman

nh-turin-14-3It’s time for the AgriBlogger to head back to ZimmComm World Headquarters from Italy. I’ve had a fantastic few days with some fellow ag bloggers from Italy, England and Brazil and the New Holland team. We’ve talked Expo Milano 2015, visited CNH Industrial Village, a diesel engine plant and lots more. This is our team outside the CNH Industrial Village.

One very interesting stop was Università degli Studi di Scienze Gastronomiche in Pollenzo. This special school was founded by one of the primary founders of the Slow Food Movement. Yep, it was interesting to say the least!

During the coming days you’ll meet these folks and see some of the sights. I interviewed the bloggers and some of the New Holland leadership in Turin. I’ve also got lots more photos to upload when I get back to the states.

Agribusiness, New Holland

Verdesian Life Sciences Aquires QC Corporation

Joanna Schroeder

JJ Grow Verdesian CEO,jpgQC Corporation is the sixth company to be acquired by Verdesian Life Sciences – a company according to founder and CEO JJ Grow – that is focused on nitrogen and phosphorus, two extremely important inputs for farmers. The combined company will continue to be owned by and have the capital backing of Paine & Partners. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“We are excited to welcome QC and its micronutrient platform, including its unique Nutripaction compaction granulation technology, to Verdesian,” Grow told AgWired.com during the company’s Los Alamos Media Tour that took place on October 1, 2014. He said the company is as committed to research and development as Verdesian and QC Corporation’s product portfolio will be integrated into the company’s broad science-based ag product portfolio. As with other acquisitions by Verdesian, Jason Gordon, president of QC will continue to lead the day-to-day operations and manage QC customer relationships. Other employees will remain actively involved in the business.

QC Corporation logoJason Gordon, president of QC, said of the announcement, “QC’s leading micronutrient business and manufacturing capabilities are highly complementary to Verdesian’s plant health and nutrition offerings. This combination enables us to leverage Verdesian’s resources and growth platform to capitalize on new opportunities while continuing to provide QC’s customers with the innovation and service that has been the cornerstone of QC’s success over the last 40 years. JJ and the Verdesian team share our core values, namely the creation of best-in-class products and outstanding customer service.”

During the media tour, a dozen reporters, including myself, had the opportunity to learn about the pipeline of product solutions coming to market via all the companies under Verdesian’s umbrella. The company and its subsidiaries are all focused on next generation technologies for the specialty and agricultural markets worldwide.

Grow added, “QC is an established market leader in the fast-growing micronutrients category. We expect that the combination will bring QC’s expertise increasingly into Verdesian’s core agricultural markets, while QC’s lawn and garden, and turf and ornamental customers will see new applications for Verdesian’s proprietary products.”

View the 2014 Verdesian Los Alamos Media Tour photo album.

Agribusiness, Verdesian

Farmland Makes Its Streaming Debut on Hulu

Talia Goes

farmlandlogo4Academy Award®-winning filmmaker James Moll’s feature length documentary, Farmland, is now available to stream on the free, ad-supported Hulu and Hulu Plus subscription service. Beginning today, Farmland will be available exclusively on the platform for four weeks – providing viewers with the opportunity to stream Farmland from their connected TVs, Blu-ray players, gaming consoles, laptops, tablets and mobile devices.

During its theatrical debut this year, Farmland was shown in more than 170 theaters across the country including Regal Cinemas, Marcus Theatres, Carmike Cinemas, Landmark Theatres, and many key independent theaters. It will now be available digitally for the first time.

Many Americans have never stepped foot on a farm or ranch or even talked to the people who grow and raise the food we eat, yet are increasingly passionate about understanding where their food comes from. Farmland takes the viewer inside the world of farming for a first-hand glimpse into the lives of six young farmers and ranchers in their twenties. Through the personal stories of these farmers and ranchers, viewers learn about their high-risk/high-reward jobs and passion for a way of life that has been passed down from generation to generation, yet continues to evolve.

Check out the official trailer for the feature length documentary at farmlandfilm.com and be sure to watch Farmland in its entirety on Hulu: http://www.hulu.com/farmland.

Agribusiness, Farm Shows, Media

Riding Out The Storm

Melissa Sandfort

20140410_143356For anyone who has ever lived in the country, you know what an old storm cellar looks like and may have spent an hour or two huddled in one, waiting out a tornado. The house we lived in when I was born, and the house my brother lived in when he first got married, both had storm cellars. As kids, we’d grab a stick to clear away the cobwebs, find a flashlight and head on in to see what kind of rodents were hiding out in the cool, damp spaces.

For the life of me, I don’t understand why that was fun.

Now, we live up by the lake where a lot of folks have summer cabins. As I turn up the road headed toward the lodge on my (sometimes) daily jog, I go past this old counter-weight that is used to help open the cellar door.

When I asked my father-in-law about it, he said it used to be used primarily as a root cellar to store potatoes, vegetables and canned food, but also as a storm cellar. He laughed and said many campers have waited out storms in there!

I’m sure it’s not a pleasant place to be, but when faced with a potential tornado, a spider or snake doesn’t seem all that bad.

Until we walk again …

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2015 National Beef Ambassadors Selected

Talia Goes

Rachel Purdy (Wyoming), Will Pohlman (Arkansas), Alicia Smith (Texas), Kalyn McKibben (Oklahoma), Demi Snider (Ohio) were chosen as the 2015 National Beef Ambassador Team at the annual National Beef Ambassador competition, which is funded in part by the beef checkoff and managed by the American National CattleWomen, Inc, contractor to the beef checkoff.NBAP2014_new teamLowRes

Contestants from throughout the country vied for a spot on this elite team of agriculture advocates and for the $5,000 in cash prizes sponsored exclusively by Farm Credit. Additionally, five educational scholarships totaling $5,000 were awarded by the American National CattleWomen Foundation, Inc. and Monsanto.

This year’s contest also hosted a junior competition for youth beef-industry advocates, ages 12-16. Ten passionate contestants vied for cash prizes, competing in three judged categories: consumer promotion, media-interview technique and issues response. The first-place winner was Phillip Saunders (Virginia). The second place winner was Bret Lee (Louisiana), and the third place winner was Abbey Schiefelbein (Minnesota). They all took home checks from Farm Credit for their top scores.

Agribusiness, Beef Checkoff

Everglades Ag Conservation in Action Preview

Cindy Zimmerman

ctic-fl-tourIf you have ever wanted to see the Florida Everglades up close and personal – here is your chance.

The Conservation Technology and Information Center’s 2014 Conservation in Action Tour is exploring the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) October 14-15 to hear the tale of farmers working with the entire ecosystem in mind.

CTIC executive director Karen Scanlon says the tour will showcase innovative ideas and emerging technologies in conservation by farmers who grow very different crops than in the Midwest. “We’re going to be visiting vegetable farms and sugarcane, as well as rice growing regions,” said Scanlon. “It’s a very important region for agriculture and the conservation practices they’re working on.”

Scanlon says the region had a regulatory goal of reducing phosphorus by 25%. “And in the years farmers have been working on this best management practice program, they’ve achieved an average of 54% reduction, so they’re far surpassing the goal that was set for them,” she said.

Listen to more of what the tour has to offer in this interview: Interview with Karen Scanlon, CTIC

Farmers, agricultural retailers, members of agricultural and conservation organizations, government agency representatives, legislators, researchers, members of the media and anyone who wants to learn more about conservation in the Everglades is welcome to attend. Registration information is available here.

Audio, Conservation, CTIC, specialty crops

Cooperatives Set Another Record

Cindy Zimmerman

2014-coop-monthOctober is National Cooperative Month and once again the nation’s agricultural cooperatives set a new sales record for 2013.

According to USDA, total business volume in 2013 surpassed $246 billion, exceeding the 2012 record by $8 billion or four percent. This is the third consecutive year of record sales by ag cooperatives, reflecting increased sales in the overall farm economy in 2013. U.S. crop production and livestock sales both increased 6 percent in 2013, while production input (farm supply) sales increased 2 percent. Ag co-ops also enjoyed record net income (before taxes) of $6.2 billion, besting the previous high of $6.1 billion, set in 2012.

“These sales and net income records for ag cooperatives, combined with strong gains in employees for 2013, underscore the strength and productivity of the nation’s farmer- and rancher-owned cooperatives. These co-ops play a vital and growing role in the nation’s economy,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, making the announcement to mark the start of National Cooperative Month in October. He also signed a Cooperative Month proclamation that salutes the nation’s entire cooperative business sector, which includes about 30,000 co-ops. In addition to agriculture, the nation’s co-ops play a major role in electricity and telecommunications services, credit and financial services, housing and in many other sectors of the economy.

Cooperatives, USDA

Next USFRA Dialogues to Feature CAST Winner

Cindy Zimmerman

eenennaamThe Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) is presenting the Borlaug CAST Communication Award this year to Dr. Alison Van Eenennaam, an Animal Genomics and Biotechnology Cooperative Extension Specialist in the Department of Animal Science at the University of California-Davis.

The award recognizes individuals who are actively excelling in communication of agricultural science and technology. She will receive the award on the occasion of the 2014 Borlaug Dialogue hosted by the World Food Prize Foundation and will speak on “The Livestock Revolution” and then will participate in a Food Dialogues hosted by U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance. It will take place October 15 in Des Moines.

USFRAParticipating in the USFRA event with Van Eenennaam will be v-Fluence Interactive president Jay Byrne and farmer Julie Kenney with CommonGround Iowa.

Van Eenennaam recently completed a new scientific review on the performance and health of livestock and poultry consuming genetically engineered feed in the time since it was first introduced 18 years ago. The review examined nearly 30 years of livestock-feeding studies representing more than 100 billion animals. The results found conclusively that the health and productivity of food-producing animals consuming genetically engineered feed has been comparable to that of animals consuming non-GE feed.The review study also found that scientific studies have detected no differences in the nutritional makeup of the meat, milk or other food products derived from animals that ate genetically engineered feed.

Read more here.
Register to attend the CAST and USFRA event in Des Moines on October 15 here.

Animal Agriculture, Animal Health, USFRA, World Food Prize