NCGA CEO to Retire

Cindy Zimmerman

classic14-rickAfter 14 years of leading the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), CEO Rick Tolman has decided it’s time to retire – so take a good look at this photo here because it was the last Commodity Classic for Rick as CEO.

The announcement was made today from NCGA that Rick told the NCGA Corn Board earlier this week that he would like to step down as chief executive officer at the end of September

“Rick has been a tireless advocate for corn farmers and our organization,” said NCGA president Martin Barbre in a statement. “However, Rick told us – as much as he loves representing our way of life – he is ready to enjoy more time with his wife, Linda, and their five children and eight grandchildren, and other pursuits. As he said it, we all put off things until ‘someday,’ and, for him, ‘someday’ has finally come, after 14 years of service to the organization and a 37-year career in agriculture.”

classic14-martinMartin added that they are sad to see Rick go but that he is “definitely riding into the sunset on a high note.”

“We all want to leave things better than we found them, and Rick can certainly be proud of his legacy at NCGA,” Martin said, adding that it will be a year of transition, not turmoil. Rick will remain as CEO until September 30 and the board will soon begin the somewhat reluctant process of searching for a replacement.

This post was supposed to be about some of the great news that both Rick and Martin had to share at the Commodity Classic, so that is still what it will be. I did interviews with both of them about some of NCGA’s recent success stories and new initiatives.

One brand new news item Rick announced at the NCGA banquet was that the Smithsonian Institution wants to put the Corn Farmers Coalition DC metro campaign ads in a new exhibition called “American Enterprise” scheduled to open next year in the Museum of American History. “It will last for 20 years and we anticipate about 90 million people seeing it,” Rick said.

In this interview on the final day of Classic, Rick also talks about the great corn grower response last year to commenting on the EPA proposal to gut the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and how NCGA plans to keep that momentum going. Interview with Rick Tolman, NCGA CEO

I talked with Martin specifically about a couple of recent NCGA initiatives – the Coalition for Safe Affordable Food, and the Soil Health Partnership. He also discussed two major policy issues facing NCGA this year – implementation of the farm bill and getting the water resources bill across the finish line. Interview with Martin Barbre, NCGA president
2014 Commodity Classic Photos

Ag Groups, Audio, Commodity Classic, Corn, NCGA

Opinion About Open Ag Data Alliance?

Jamie Johansen

New Holland ZimmPollOur latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “What’s your favorite fish?”

Looks like grilled is a favorite by a landslide. Personally, I agree. I didn’t learn to like fish until later in life and still don’t cook it often, but love when someone makes it for me. It is interesting to see all the fast-food chains adding a fish sandwich to their menu this time of year. Maybe we should have added fish sticks to the list.

Our poll results:

  • Pan Fried – 11%
  • Deep Fried – 19%
  • Poached – 3%
  • Baked – 9%
  • Grilled – 35%
  • Smoked – 9%
  • Soup – 0%
  • Don’t eat fish – 11%
  • Other – 3%

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “What do you think of the Open Ag Data Alliance?”

The Open Ag Data Alliance (OADA), an open standards software project to ensure farmers have full data access, security and privacy, has officially been launched with the goal of enabling farmers to have flexibility and control over data-driven decisions on their farm. What do you think about it? Do you think there is a need for this – or do you even understand it at all? Let us know!

ZimmPoll

Bayer’s Investment in Seeds Innovation

John Davis

bayer-aif14-kneenBayer CropScience is showing its dedication to innovation several ways, starting with moving the company’s global seeds headquarters to the Research Triangle Park (RTP) in North Carolina.

“This is something that reflects our presence in the market and desire to be close to the market,” explained Geoff Kneen, Bayer CropScience’s vice president, head of strategic initiatives and RTP operations, during an interview with Cindy at the Ag Issues Forum in San Antonio. “The Americas are really the biggest market for the genetically modified seeds that we produce.”

Globally, he said they have opened several breeding stations, and recently bought a soybean breeding station in Argentina. They’re also working on developing new varieties of wheat, a crop he admits has not gotten as much technology attention as its corn and soybean cousins.

In addition to these innovations in seed technology, Geoff said they are working on educating the public about the safety and benefits of the GMO seeds they produce.

“A lot of people don’t understand the technology, and if they don’t understand it, they naturally fear it as bad, and we have to put that right,” pointing out that GMOs help growers, as well as putting more and a higher quality level of food on tables. His company has also joined a coalition of ag interests and set up a website, GMOAnswers.com, to have an open dialogue on the hardest questions and provide the truth. “We encourage really difficult questions, and you can read all those answers. They’re there for peer review.”

Listen to Cindy’s interview with Geoff here: Interview with Geoff Kneen, Bayer CropScience

bayer-issues-button2014 Bayer CropScience Ag Issues Forum Photos

Agribusiness, Audio, Bayer, Seed

My Favorite Things

Melissa Sandfort

Today Aunt Jeanette writes:

Flowers on houseplants and robins in the yard,
Bald eagles flying overhead, the time change – so hard!
Days working outside, and loving the sun,
These signs of spring are the cause for some fun!

imageWhen the temperature reached 75 degrees a couple days ago, I had an urge to go outside and look for those first signs of new life under the mulch. I am glad the opportunity did not arise, because the next day the temperature dipped to 27 degrees and we had a mixture of snow and rain. I guess it’s best to leave that tender, beginning life protected a while longer. Ah, March in Nebraska!

I know spring can’t be too far away because this particular houseplant always blooms about the same time we set our clocks ahead an hour. It is my personal signal that warmer days will be coming soon.

The plant is one that I started from one grown by my paternal grandmother. I can still picture in my head exactly where it sat in Grandpa and Grandma’s house. I thought it was the most fascinating plant. However, I had never seen it bloom so I was very excited when I saw that first unusual flower (tiny and white on a long stem).

Both sets of my grandparents were avid gardeners and had green thumbs. My parents still enjoy their garden and share their abundance of produce with family and friends. Me – I am not such a great vegetable gardener, but my houseplants and outside flowers and plants are among my favorite things!

Until we walk again …

Uncategorized

What’s in the Bayer CropScience Trait Pipeline

John Davis

bayer-aif14-gentOur friends at Bayer are working hard to get the next generation of soybean traits in growers’ hands in the next couple of years. At the recent Ag Issues Forum, Chuck caught up with Allen Gent, who is Bayer CropScience’s U.S. soybean product manager for soybean seed and trade. He said they’re working on weed resistant traits, such as their LibertyLink seed that allows growers to spray Liberty herbicide in crop for non-selective postemergence control of the toughest weeds, and a couple of new traits in the form of what they’re calling Balance Bean and Balance GT soybeans. He says since these are GMO products, the approval process is quite long.

“The regulatory process has gotten a lot more lengthy for all companies involved,” which he admits is really a testament to how careful regulators and the industry are in putting out any new technology. He added that there has been a shift in the 10-12 year process that it takes from concept to product on the shelf, where most of that time used to be in the early development stages and is now taken up by the regulatory approval process at the end of development. Allen expects these latest traits to be approved and ready to use in the next couple of years.

Further down the road, he said they’ll be focusing on fighting more weed and disease resistance traits.

You can check out Chuck’s interview with Allen here: Interview with Allen Gent, Bayer CropScience

bayer-issues-button2014 Bayer CropScience Ag Issues Forum Photos

Agribusiness, Audio, Bayer, Soybean

Fresh Produce Sales Up in 2013

Jamie Johansen

unitedfresh-logoUnited Fresh Produce Association released the 2013 Year in Review edition of the FreshFacts® on Retail report, which examines overall retail trends in produce for the past year. The report shows that during 2013, the produce department averaged more than $47,000 per week per store, which was up 4.8 percent over the previous year.

The FreshFacts® on Retail report, produced in partnership with the Nielsen Perishables Group and sponsored by Del Monte Fresh Produce, measures retail price and sales trends for the top 10 fruit and vegetable commodities, as well as value-added, organic and other produce categories.

Highlights of this “Year in Review” report include:
– Over the past year, all of the top 10 fruits posted volume increases
– Fruits average weekly dollar sales increased 4.5 percent versus 2012
– All of the top 10 vegetables posted increases in weekly dollar sales
– Among value-added fruit categories, value-added fruit and fresh-cut fruit both posted increases in weekly dollar sales
– Snacking value-added vegetables posted an increase of 15 percent in weekly dollar sales
– Avocados posted the highest growth in the fruit category, with dollar sales increasing 11.7 percent and volume increasing10.3 percent
– Packaged salad and tomatoes, the two top-selling vegetable categories in 2013, increased dollar sales 6.7 percent and 3.4 percent

This quarters’ FreshFacts® report also features a spotlight on organic produce. Recent trends show that even with increases in retail prices, volume sales continue to grow in all organic fruit and vegetable categories. The growing demand for organic produce resulted in dollar and volume increase, roughly 20 percent for both organic fruits and vegetables overall.

Ag Groups, Food, Produce, Vegetables

Ag Leaders Set to Speak at Indoor Ag Conf.

Jamie Johansen

indoor-agThe second annual Indoor Agriculture Conference, May 14 – 15, 2014, not only highlights some of the industry’s top technological advances, it also offers attendees access to its top professionals. Speaking on subjects ranging from window farming to food security and lighting systems, the Indoor Agriculture Conference features two full days of education on controlled environment technologies, aero/hydro/aquaponic best practices and business models, automated nutrient systems, future trends, and financing options at the renowned Las Vegas Springs Preserve Desert Living Center.

Michael DiGiglio, president & CEO of Village Farms, takes the stage as part of a Farming Panel on May 14 at 8:45 a.m. Village Farms is a leading vegetable greenhouse producer and supplier in North America, boasting $130 million in annual revenues. Their produce is sold throughout the United States, Canada and select areas in Mexico. The 26-year-old company currently operates more than 262 acres and markets an additional 120 acres of greenhouse.

The first keynote speaker is Paul Lightfoot, whose company Bright Farms was recently named among “The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies” by Fast Company. Bright Farms works with large grocers to hydroponically grow lettuce, tomatoes and herbs on-site or nearby, cutting transportation costs, increasing produce shelf life, and reducing waste. They recently raised more than $4 million from venture capitalists to expand their greenhouse operations into new cities.

Other featured speakers include Britta Riley, founder of WindowFarms, venture capitalist Joe Hudson of One Earth Capital and Paul Grey of Illumitex.

Co-hosted by Newbean Capital and the Black Emerald Group, and sponsored by Hort Americas, Illumitex and Johnny Seeds, the Indoor Agriculture Conference highlights the accelerating greenhouse, container and vertical farming trend that is sweeping urban centers and inclement environments around the world.

Conference registration is now open. In addition, limited vendor space and several sponsorship opportunities are still available at Indoor.ag.

Ag Groups, Events

Escape Cold – Attend NAMA Conf. in Florida

Chuck Zimmerman

2014 Agri-Marketing ConferenceTired of winter? Tired of snow? How about a Fresh Perspective in the Florida Sunshine? That’s what you’ll get if you come on down to my home state in April.

The 2014 Agri-Marketing Conference is shaping up to be huge! In fact, our hotel room block is FULL. The NAMA staff is negotiating for some overflow already and we’re hoping that some more rooms will become open for the block.

You might want to plan your visit to come early. There is a farm tour put together by the Florida Chapter that’s filling up fast on Tuesday as well as the annual NAMA golf tournament. The hotel is only about a 15 minute drive from the beach too! If you can’t make it we hope someone from your company will be able to.

The program will offer you a lot for your investment and I think we have a larger number of exhibitors in the Connection Point trade show.

ZimmComm will be celebrating 10 Golden Years at the conference. Please plan to visit us in the Connection Point. More on that later.

Ag Groups, NAMA

Charles Eastin Award to be Presented at Ag Day

Chuck Zimmerman

National Ag DayNational Ag Day activities keep growing. This year the Agriculture Council of America is presenting the Charles Eastin Award to Lindsay McQueen, Union/Jackson County, IL Farm Bureaus. This award used to be presented by the National Farm City Council. ACA took over the assets and most of the programs of NFCC last year.

The Eastin Award honors an individual who stands out as an advocate for accurate communications between rural and urban audiences. The award will be presented in Washington, DC on National Ag Day, March 25, 2014.

McQueen has been promoting agriculture and actively involved with agriculture industry her entire life. She has worked for the Farm Bureau for seven years and has been the Union and Jackson County, IL Farm Bureau Manager for four years. She was actively involved in 4-H and FFA all throughout her childhood and high school career and still volunteers with both groups.

I hope to meet her in Washington, DC.!

Ag Day, Ag Groups

Launch of Open Ag Data Alliance

Cindy Zimmerman

The Climate Corporation and several agricultural stakeholders have officially launched the Open Ag Data Alliance (OADA), an open standards software project to ensure farmers have full data access, security and privacy.

oada“OADA will work to ensure farmers can move their data seamlessly and securely between their equipment, software and services by speeding the development of technical standards for data formatting and interoperability that will be openly developed, and shared,” said David Friedberg, CEO of The Climate Corporation, who announced the company’s intent to support the formation of the OADA earlier this year.

Aaron Ault, a senior research engineer for the Open Ag Technology Group at Purdue and a farmer himself, will serve as project lead for OADA. “As a farmer, I need the freedom to select the right hardware, software and services for my operation,” said Ault. “The open standards of OADA will give farmers the flexibility and control they need to choose data science products and services that will work on their farms to help manage their data and make more data-driven decisions, enabling the next wave of agricultural production.”

Companies joining with The Climate Corporation in making the announcement included: CNH Industrial – Case IH/New Holland; GROWMARK cooperative; Valley Irrigation; Wilbur-Ellis Company; and WinField.

Listen to the conference call announcement here: Open Ag Data Alliance announcement

Agribusiness, Audio, GROWMARK, Precision Agriculture