Oh, The Retirement Opportunities!

Melissa Sandfort

This week Aunt Jeanette writes:

teacherI wrote the following poem in honor of the retirement of a wonderful, patient, kind, creative teacher who taught next door to me for many years. Not only did we share our teaching ideas, classes, successes, and disappointments, we share a friendship that will endure through the years. When I was having a bad day, she was always there to lift me up and offer encouragement. It was one of those colleague friendships that you wish everyone could experience, but you just don’t find every day. So here’s to you, Susan. Enjoy!

As you retire from teaching, Susan, my friend,
May you know joy and happiness that will never end.
Please remember the many lives you have touched,
Each girl and each boy that has loved you so much.
All the friends, too, you’ve made on the way
To this much anticipated retirement day.
Throw that pesky alarm in the trash,
When Steve leaves to farm, back to bed you may dash!
Dreams of recess duty, conferences, papers to grade,
Standards, tests, charts can now slowly fade.
You’ll never again wonder if there’s enough snow
For school to be canceled, or if that north wind will blow.
For you see, our friend Dave N. said it the best,
“Every day is a snow day!” now that you’ve earned your rest.

This poem is for you, your new life to begin,
And don’t ever forget what a blessing you’ve been!
Enjoy every day, read books, and rest much,
From one of those friends whose life you have touched!

Until we walk again …

Uncategorized

Moderating a Millennials Discussion

Chuck Zimmerman

Andy VanceModerating the 2014 Animal Agriculture Alliance Stakeholders Summit is Andy Vance, Feedstuffs. Andy has a millennial ribbon on his name tag but I’m not sure he’s really a Gen Y-er. Why is this important? The theme of this year’s conference is “Cracking the Millennial Code.”

Our first panel discussion is a good example of why we have millennial ribbons. The panelists are millennial staffers on Capitol Hill. Each is a legislative assistant.

Andy was actually on a panel last year and from that experience he was asked to moderate the program here. We visited for a few minutes before the program started.

Interview with Andy Vance

Photos from the Summit can be found here: 2014 AAA Stakeholders Summit Photo Album

Coverage is sponsored by Sensible Table

Ag Groups, Animal Agriculture

iCropTrak Introduces 60 Second Soil Zoning

Cindy Zimmerman

icrop-ssurgoiCropTrak has released a new mobile farming app with the ability to create a new grower, a new farm, add CLU field boundaries, and soil zones in as little as 60 seconds on an iPad without the need of a desktop or cloud server.

According to Cogent 3D president Aaron Hutchinson, this new application means that for the first time, even small and medium sized farmers have access to simple technology to track their fields using zones.

Farmers can use iCropTrak Soil to determine a field’s most typical soil types for making better seed selection and application decisions. Visually see where the soil changes in your fields to make better soil sampling decisions. Know what was applied to every field and how your different soils produce. Even use it to evaluate new leases since you can quickly look at the soil productivity potential for the land against your other fields in seconds.

Subscriptions start at just $250 per year, including native mobile app, private cloud, report engine, support, and all upgrades for one price. To learn more about iCropTrak visit www.iCropTrak.com or schedule a live web demo at
Contact@Cogent3D.com.

CropTrak, Precision Agriculture, Soil, Technology

Zimfo Bytes

Talia Goes

Zimfo Bytes

Farm Bureau Provides Farm Bill Help

Cindy Zimmerman

If you have questions about how the new farm bill works, American Farm Bureau has answers.

afbf-resourcesThe American Farm Bureau Federation has produced a new series of videos and launched a website to help farmers, landowners and other stakeholders better understand the provisions of the 2014 farm bill.

“We have distilled down a massive and complex piece of legislation – the 2014 farm bill – into several ‘bite-size’ pieces, with the goal of helping farmers and managers understand how it will affect their farms,” said John Anderson, deputy chief economist with AFBF.

The videos include a farm bill overview describing the basic provisions of the commodity title, including a description of the decisions related to program participation that will need to be made by farmers and landowners. Four other videos go in-depth on the Price Loss Coverage and Supplemental Coverage Option, the Agricultural Risk Coverage Program, the Stacked Income Protection Program for Cotton and the Dairy Margin Protection Program.

Check it out here.

AFBF, Ag Groups, Farm Bill, Farming

Soy Checkoff Request for Referendum

Jamie Johansen

SoycheckoffThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will conduct a request for referendum on the Soybean Promotion and Research Program (soy checkoff) during a four-week period, from May 5 through May 30, 2014. This referendum is authorized under the Soybean Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act.

The request for referendum will determine whether U.S. soybean producers want a referendum on the Soybean Promotion and Research Program. The Soybean Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act requires that the secretary of agriculture provide soybean producers the opportunity to petition for a referendum every five years.

To be eligible to participate, producers must certify they or the entity they are authorized to represent paid an assessment at some time between Jan. 1, 2012, and Dec. 31, 2013. Documentation for that assessment, such as sales receipts showing that the checkoff was collected, will be required up front when submitting the request form.

The process requires eligible producers who want to indicate their support for a referendum to complete and sign form LS-51-1. Producers may obtain this form online, in person at their nearest Farm Service Agency (FSA) office, by mail or by facsimile from May 5 through May 30, 2014.

FSA is then responsible for determining a producer’s eligibility. If FSA cannot determine the producer’s eligibility or if the producer fails to submit documentation, then FSA will notify the ineligible person in writing. Producers who do not participate in FSA programs may obtain a Form LS-51-1 at the county FSA office where the producer owns or rents land.

FSA will have until June 11, 2014, to notify ineligible producers in writing. If FSA determines in writing that producer ineligibility is due to lack of documentation submitted (sales receipts or other relevant documents), the producer can appeal and provide the required documentation to FSA. The required documentation must be received by FSA by June 18, 2014, when FSA will make a final decision on eligibility.

If the USDA determines that at least 10 percent of the nation’s 569,998 soybean producers have requested a referendum, a referendum will then be held within one year from that determination. No more than one-fifth of the producers who support having a referendum can be from any one state.

Ag Groups, Soybean, USB, USDA

EPA Chief Discusses Climate Change Report

Cindy Zimmerman

epa-mccarthyThe administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency discussed the new White House climate change report out yesterday with members of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting meeting in Washington DC this week.

“It’s a really good document in terms of focusing on the United States,” she said. “In particular, it looks at the agriculture sector. It talks about the droughts and floods that we’re seeing that have created challenges for our farmers and ranchers and to take a look at some of the ways the president’s climate action plan can work collaboratively with agriculture to try and address those challenges more effectively.”

McCarthy says when she talks with farmers and ranchers about climate change, it’s not a debate. “We’re talking about what we can do together to recognize the challenges and to provide the farmers the adaptive management techniques that will allow them to be successful… and allow them to address these challenges,” she concludes.

McCarthy climate change report comments
Audio, Environment

AAEA Announces Award Winners

Jamie Johansen

Screen Shot 2014-05-06 at 3.55.30 PMThe American Agricultural Editors’ Association (AAEA) Legacy Committee has announced that three heroes of agriculture will be honored as the 2014 Distinguished Service and Lifetime Achievement Award recipients. The winners will be feted at an awards banquet during the Agricultural Media Summit, to be held July 29 at Indianapolis, Ind.

The AAEA Distinguished Service Award (DSA) recipient is Joe Martin, PhD, emeritus professor of agronomy at the Kansas State University Agricultural Research Center at Hays, Kan.

“Joe Martin is considered an unsung hero of the wheat industry,” said AAEA Legacy Committee Chair Larry Dreiling. “While he may not have developed the hard white winter wheat class, Joe’s research brought it forward to be accessible to farmers, who have made it a popular choice in their growing plans. In turn, this class of wheat has led the boom in desire by consumers for healthy whole grain products.”

Screen Shot 2014-05-06 at 4.04.10 PMTwo outstanding AAEA past presidents and fellow graduates of Texas A&M University, Joe Dan Boyd, Winnsboro, Texas; and Del Deterling, Richardson, Texas, are this year’s AAEA Lifetime Achievement Award (LAA) recipients.

Both men were attendees at what became known as the “Flame Meeting” of 1984, which kindled AAEA’s modern mission to be an organization for the professional development of its members. As part of this small group, Boyd and Deterling helped to create the building blocks for the AAEA Professional Improvement Foundation that now funds a myriad of programs for the betterment of members.

Screen Shot 2014-05-06 at 4.02.01 PM

“Joe Dan is a legendary farm writer. At Farm Journal and its Cotton Today publication, he moved readers and stimulated industry colleagues. As one of the first recipients of AAEA’s Writer of Merit award, Joe Dan’s body of work still leads others to make their writing the best it can be,” Dreiling said. “As a past president, he remains a figure of encouragement and inspiration.

“Del is the winner of several awards for writing excellence, as well, including an AAEA Writer of the Year prize. Yet, he is often thought of for his work as a strong, trusted, editor at The Progressive Farmer. He is the embodiment of the word leader, not only in the industry, but in his community.”

ACN, Ag Groups

Let’s #FeedThe9 Enough

Chuck Zimmerman

Enough Sensible TableEveryone should have a Sensible Table. We should make sure we have the facts when it comes to food and food security. We’ve got a couple billion more mouths to feed in coming years. So have you joined the movement?

Congratulations and welcome to the ENOUGH movement! You’ve said “enough is enough.” Together, we can make a difference and solve the greatest issue of our time – securing the food we need to feed our world. We have the solutions. But we must act together. We must act now.

We have many materials you can utilize. Our toolkit will help you better understand the ENOUGH movement and provide various tools to communicate the ENOUGH message to others, including:

  • ENOUGH Report – Read why this effort is so important and understand our vision for a food secure world.
  • Declaration – Sign the declaration and display it to show your support of the movement.
  • Twibbon – Post the ENOUGH Twibbon to your Twitter or Facebook profile.
  • Social toolkit – Use the recommended social content on your Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn feeds to share the ENOUGH message.


I joined and think Enough is Enough. This is a project of Elanco, my sponsor for coverage of this week’s Animal Agriculture Alliance Stakeholders Summit where issues being discussed will directly relate to the Enough movement.

Agribusiness, Elanco, Food, International

Vilsack and Farm Workers Want Immigration Reform

Cindy Zimmerman

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack joined United Farm Workers president Arturo Rodriguez and Nisei Farmers League President Manuel Cunha on a conference call Monday to discuss the importance of commonsense immigration reform for California’s agriculture economy and rural communities.

ca-farmworkers“There’s no more important state to agriculture than the state of California,” said Vilsack. “It is a farm economy that is very much dependent upon farm workers.” He pointed out that there are over 81,000 farms in California that sell nearly $34 billion in agricultural products.

“Immigration reform is not only just good for the state of California and American agriculture, it’s the right thing to do for the country,” Vilsack added, urging the House of Representatives to take action. “The delay that’s taken place for now over a year since the Senate passed comprehensive immigration reform has created some uncertainty and instability in American agriculture.”

Rodriquez specifically called out Majority Whip Congressman Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). “If Congressman McCarthy does not want to vote for immigration, then he needs to let the rest of the members of the San Joaquin valley and the House of Representatives have a chance to vote on immigration legislation.”

Cunha highlighted the dangerous activities of farm worker trafficking cartels. “If the House members do not act within the next couple of months, that means they are going to allow the cartel to increase the trafficking going on by victimizing these people,” said Cunha.

Listen to or download conference call here: USDA and Farm Workers call for Immigration Reform

Audio, labor, USDA