Purdue President Proud to be Pro-GMO

Cindy Zimmerman

asta14-danielsFormer Indiana governor and current president of Purdue University Mitch Daniels had some strong words for opponents of biotechnology when he addressed the American Seed Trade Association annual meeting in Indianapolis recently.

“It’s bogus for people to try and alarm consumers about fictional difficulties with biotechnology,” said Daniels in an interview with Brownfield Ag News following his address. “The fight against biotechnology is anti-poor. We have arguments for labeling products. Well I have one for GMOs. Being anti-GMO should be labeled as heartless, cruel, and frankly immoral.”

Daniels hopes that those who are opposed to the use of biotechnology will eventually change their minds. “I hope they will rethink their opposition and support thoughtful, careful use of these technologies,” he says. “It is our only hope in feeding a world of 9 billion people.”

Listen to Meghan Grebner’s interview with Daniels here: Interview with Purdue President Mitch Daniels

ASTA Annual Meeting Photo Album

ASTA, Audio, Biotech, Seed

GROWMARK Report Studies Stocks-to-Use

Cindy Zimmerman

growmarklogoA new report from GROWMARK Research challenges the commonly accepted notion that ending stocks are a primary determinant of agricultural commodity prices.

In the report, GROWMARK economic and market research manager Kel Kelly shows that stocks are inversely correlated with prices, but that the correlation occurs within a limited price range, meaning that stocks do not dictate the extent of the price moves. “Stocks do not influence overall price levels,” says Kelly, adding that the correlation is often reversed – changes in prices cause changes in stocks.

growmark-kelThe report titled “Stocks and the Stocks-to-Use Ratio: Are they meaningful for price determination?” indicates that fear of running out of stocks is likely based more on perceptions than on reality, as there is not much evidence that the marketplace takes strong action to compensate for missing supply in years of low production.

Listen to Kelly explain his findings in this interview: Interview with Kel Kelly, GROWMARK

Audio, Grains, GROWMARK, Markets

Got Camel Milk?

Chuck Zimmerman

Desert FarmsMake every day a hump day with camel milk from Desert Farms. I requested a sample and tried it this morning on my cereal. I won’t deny being a little skeptical and cautious. However, this milk tastes great! Very smooth, rich and creamy. Kind of what I miss with all this watered down milk we have now. Desert Farms milk comes from small farms here in the U.S. with 6 or less camels on them.

Camel Milk MustacheMention the words “camel milk” to most American consumers and the look you’ll get will likely fall somewhere between incredulity, bemusement and outright dismissiveness. It’s a look entrepreneur Walid Abdul-Wahab has seen a thousand times. But it’s the look of surprise, joy and satisfaction he invariably sees from these very same skeptics after a single glass of camel milk that has changed his life and may very well soon change the lives of milk lovers and health-conscious consumers in the United States forever.

Introducing Desert Farms Camel Milk, America’s first retail camel milk brand and perhaps the most unusual and long overdue addition to the fast-growing trend toward Middle Eastern cuisine in this country.

Available in select Lassen’s Market and by the end of June in 40 Whole Food Markets in Northern California, as well as direct via the company’s www.desertfarms.com website, Desert Farms camel milk is 100% wholesome, raw and natural; packed with special proteins, calcium and a full 70% of our suggested daily value of Vitamin B1; a good source of potassium and phosphorus; and only 110 calories per serving.

Perhaps best of all, Desert Farms camel milk (which is also free of GMOs, additives, preservatives and hormones) is truly delicious – smooth, refreshing, sweet and far more natural than the overly-processed milk we’ve settled for all our lives.

Containing only milk from U.S.-based camels and bottled entirely in America, Desert Farms Camel Milk is available in several distinct varieties: Raw Camel Milk; Raw Camel Milk (Frozen); Raw Camel Milk Kefir; Pasteurized Camel Milk; Raw Camel Milk Colostrum (1st); and Raw Camel Milk Colostrum (Regular).

Dairy, Farming

USDA’s Big Biobased Picture

Cindy Zimmerman

usb-bio-usdaThe U.S. Department of Agriculture takes a wide angle view of the biobased product picture which encompasses several different segments within the agency.

At the USB Biobased Stakeholders Dialogue last week in Washington D.C. we heard from a number of USDA officials about what they are doing to expand biobased opportunities. One panel featured Rural Business Cooperative Service administrator Lilian Salerno, Dr. Daniel Cassidy with the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), and Special Assistant to the Secretary Tara Rice.

Salerno discussed how her department offers grants and loan guarantees to help fund companies with new product ideas. “We’re devoted to the agricultural sector and to those rural communities that offer so much,” she said. “This mission area is devoted to making sure there’s capitol out there for those businesses trying to create jobs and create value.” The farm bill provided funds for the Value Added Producer Grants, as well as small loan and grant programs. Interview with Lilian Salerno, USDA Rural Business Cooperative Service

Tara Rice talked about the brand new Made in Rural America initiative. “Which is a White House Rural Council partnership of folks across the federal government working together to support rural businesses that have potential to engage in international exports,” said Rice, who adds that there’s big opportunities for value added businesses in the export market. Interview with Tara Rice, Special Assistant to Secretary Vilsack


2014 USB Soy Biobased Dialogue Photo Album

Audio, Biodiesel, Soybean, USB, USDA

Tomato Growers get Expert Help from Doctor App

Jamie Johansen

tomatodoc-coverHome gardeners needing some quick, expert advice about their tomato plants will find it right in their pockets with Purdue Extension’s Tomato Doctor mobile app.

The app will help gardeners diagnose problems and offer solutions to get their plants back to a healthy condition, said Janna Beckerman, a Purdue Extension plant disease specialist and content specialist for the app.

“Even people who don’t consider themselves gardeners grow tomatoes,” Beckerman noted. “And every year, all of us tomato growers confront different problems. This app is designed to help home tomato growers identify problems and find a useful solution so they can thoroughly enjoy more tomatoes.”

The Tomato Doctor covers more than 80 common – and not so common – insect, disease and environmental problems that occur throughout the United States and around the world. It includes nearly 500 high-quality images to help users identify problems involving their plants.

Correctly identifying problems will help gardeners avoid using pesticides on their plants unnecessarily, Beckerman said.

“Not every problem needs a pesticide to manage it,” she said. “But when they are needed, we always start with the least toxic approach, and we try to recommend common varieties that are more resistant to certain problems. Sometimes, switching varieties is all that is needed. But for some people, they have to grow Brandywine or Speckled Roman, which may require a bit more protection. We included some common beneficial insects so growers don’t mistake a helpful insect for a harmful one,” she said.

Find the app on iTunes and Google Play.

Ag Groups, Apps, Vegetables

AgriLife Extension’s Recipes, Videos & Cooking Schools

Jamie Johansen

TAMAgEXT8The idea of a family sitting down together for a meal may seem passé in today’s fast-paced, drive-through society, but a statewide initiative by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service is helping families eat healthier — and together –at mealtime.

“The percentage of the food budget spent on away-from-home food has increased steadily since the 1970s and so has the number of calories,” said Dr. Susan Ballabina, AgriLife Extension associate director for program development, College Station. “There are so many families where both parents work and the kids are on their computers or watching TV and don’t want to stop what they’re doing to have family mealtime.”

“The Dinner Tonight! program was developed by AgriLife Extension agents statewide with the knowledge and expertise to provide resources and recipes to help encourage at-home family mealtime,” Ballabina said. “It provides quick, nutritious, cost-effective recipes to consumers through weekly video cooking webcasts and other web-based methods, including blogs and Facebook, and through healthy cooking schools.”

ChefsDallas-DTProgramEvery Monday, a new video demonstration is released by a member of the agency’s statewide Dinner Tonight! team, she said. There are now more than 250 free video webcasts of easy-to-prepare, nutritious recipes available under the Dinner Tonight! tab. The videos have been televised in Dallas and Austin media markets.

“We ask program participants to fill out a survey so we can see if we are meeting our goals, and a large majority of respondents have stated they intend to incorporate new, healthy foods in their diet, as well as eat more fruits and vegetables and plan healthy meals in advance,” she said. “And all participants who responded said what they learned would benefit their families.”

The initiative added healthy cooking schools to its programming in 2012, Ballabina said. Last year, 25 Healthy Cooking Schools were conducted throughout the state, reaching over 1,960 people, and many more have already been conducted this year.

She said Dinner Tonight! will continue to evolve and expand through the development of more community partnerships, broadening Dinner Tonight! programs, including offering more healthy cooking schools, and additional educational outreach.

Ag Groups, Food

USFRA Communications Committee Work

Chuck Zimmerman

Food DialoguesThe live streamed Food Dialogues events get all the publicity when they take place with high profile moderators and panelists. However, there’s a lot of work going on “behind the scenes.” In Chicago recently that work included a regular meeting of the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance Communications Committee. I visited with two members of the committee.

First up is Chris Galen, Senior Vice President, Communications, National Milk Producers Federation. Chris also serves on the board for USFRA. With a Food Dialogues topic of Integrity in Food Marketing I first asked him what that means to him. He says, “I think most people would agree that integrity is about honesty.” But he goes on to ask if that involves the whole truth, nothing but the truth or can it contain partial shades of truth. An example that was raised during the Food Dialogues was “gluten free orange juice.” When that is used on the label it is true but it implies that orange juice that is not labelled gluten free has gluten in it which would not be true.

When it comes to the work of the USFRA Communications Committee Chris says there are several key items on their agenda. One is to continue to work on the FARMLAND movie project. Making it available to view digitally through services like iTunes, Netflix and Hulu was on the table for discussion.

Interview with Chris Galen

Next up I spoke with Season Solorio, Senior Director, Issues Management, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. She says that besides the FARMLAND movie project the committee is also working on the next phase of the Faces of Farming and Ranching.

Interview with Season Solario

USFRA Food Dialogues Chicago Photo Album

Ag Groups, Audio, Food, USFRA

Zimfo Bytes

Talia Goes

Zimfo Bytes

  • Through the National Agriscience Teacher Ambassador Academy, DuPont has invited 49 of the nation’s finest agricultural science teachers to the company’s Chesapeake Farms in Chestertown, Md., to enhance their teaching techniques in order to heighten their students’ agriscience educational experience in classrooms across the country.
  • The U.S. Grains Council is pleased to announce the hire of Melissa George Kessler as the USGC director of communications at the Washington, D.C., headquarters.
  • Syngenta has unveiled plans for the introduction of a new active ingredient, SDHI fungicide, known by the general name Solatenol™ fungicide – which will be available under four products for use on wheat, corn, cucurbit and fruiting vegetables, grapes, peanuts, pome fruit, potatoes and soybeans.
  • Three distinguished global warming skeptics – Patrick Moore, Alan Carlin, and Willie Soon – will receive special recognition at the 9th International Conference on Climate Change July 7–9 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas (ICCC9).
Zimfo Bytes

Students Honored for Research at ASTA

Jamie Johansen

asta-14-287-editedCollege students from across the country had the opportunity to enter American Seed Trade Research Foundation’s Operation Student Exchange. The winning student was announced during a Future Seed Executives 10th Anniversary Reception at ASTA’s recent annual meeting.

Leah Ruff’s poster presentation and research was selected this year’s winner and she received the Roger Kruegar Scholarship. The scholarship honors the late Dr. Roger Kruegar from Monsanto Company. His professional career was devoted to seeds, and he passionately advocated the role of science in feeding the world.

Leah is a graduate student at the University of Nebraska where she is studying drought tolerance in soybeans. Listen to her unique approach in my interview with her. Interview with Leah Ruff, Roger Kruegar Scholarship Winner

Jim Tobin, Past Chairman of ASTA and Monsanto’s Channel Engagement Lead, and Glenn Austin, Monsanto’s Sustainability Operation Lead and works with ASTA’s Operation Student Connection, awarded Leah with this honor. They also sat down with me to further explain the importance of engaging young professionals with the industry and guiding them in their research.

Listen to my complete interview with Jim and Glenn here: Interview with Jim Tobin & Glenn Austin

Jim Tobin also received the Lifetime Honorary Member Award during the 131st Annual Convention. Jim’s 29-year career with Monsanto has given him the opportunity to serve in numerous agricultural marketing and commercial development positions. He is currently a trustee of the FarmHouse Foundation and Forest Park Forever. He is also a member of the Farm Foundation Roundtable and serves on the board of the U.S. Grains Council and the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance.

ASTA Annual Meeting Photo Album

Ag Groups, ASTA, Audio, Education, Seed

Educator Training Adds New Resources for Teachers

Melissa Sandfort

Insights WeeklySummer is here and that means the 2014 Educators Training Event is right around the corner. August 5-7 Ag Leader will be holding the 5th annual training event tailored towards educators at the high school, community college and university level. This year we have some exciting news to share regarding the Educational Solutions Package. We are placing the final touches on the Online Educational Curriculum that was briefly introduced at last year’s training event. This online platform provides resources, materials, a discussion board, along with other various items that will make teaching precision ag and SMS software topics much easier.

edu1_1-700x553We have grouped the various lessons into chapters; these chapters are organized by topic within the SMS Advanced software. For example, importing data, printing maps, analyzing data, and exporting are topics discussed in detail that contain real world examples. These chapters then contain the specific lessons associated with the chapter and the corresponding video tutorial making it more efficient to access specific precision ag topics. In addition to the lessons, the online platform has a discussion board feature. This will allow communication between educators, directly within the portal, and provide a place to share ideas and stay current with fellow peers.

In addition to the new online portal, the training event will cover new features and products, a discussion panel with representatives from the precision ag industry as well as hardware and software training workshops. Educators wanting to register or learn more about this year’s event please contact our Educational Solutions Team at education@agleader.com or call 515-232-5363 ext 4428. Educators currently enrolled in our Educational Lab Program are eligible for one free seat. Additional seats or educators not enrolled can also reserve a seat by contacting our Educational Solutions Team. We look forward to seeing all of our educators!

Become a fan of Ag Leader on Facebook today, and get the latest precision ag videos on the YouTube channel. For more information about Ag Leader products and services, or to visit the blog site, go to www.agleader.com.

Ag Leader, Agribusiness