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  • Martinez Creative Group has hired Megan Johnson of Sycamore, Ill., in the newly created position of digital strategist.
  • CAST Issue Paper 54 and its companion Ag quickCAST are available online at the CAST website along with many of CAST’s other scientific publications.
  • The Diesel Technology Forum (DTF) is pleased to announce that CNH Industrial, a global leader in the capital goods sector, has joined the Forum.
  • Mikaela Wieland of Princeville, Ill., has been named the Illinois state winner of the 2014 GROWMARK essay contest for FFA members.
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Vote for 2014 American’s Farmers Mom of the Year

Jamie Johansen

monsanto-americas-farm-mom-of-the-year-logoMonsanto and the American Agri-Women are pleased to announce the regional winners in the 2014 America’s Farmers Mom of the Year Contest. These amazing farm moms have significantly and positively impacted their communities. Now they need America’s support through online voting to determine who will be named “National Farm Mom of the Year.”

“There are so many tremendous stories of strength, perseverance, dedication and leadership that it makes it difficult to narrow it down to just a few winners,” says Jessica Simmons, Corporate Marketing for Monsanto. “Every farm mom deserves to be recognized for the work she does. But with the help of the American Agri-Women, we are proud to present this year’s five regional winners.”

The 2014 regional winners of the America’s Farmers Mom of the Year contest, include:

– Northwest Region: Jennifer Holle (Mandan, N.D.)
– Southwest Region: Heather Dineen (Waxahachie, Texas)
– Midwest Region: Stephanie Essick (Dickens, Iowa)
– Northeast Region: Kristen Nickerson (Worton, Md.)
– Southeast Region: Bethany Pugh (Engelhard, N.C.)

Each regional winner will receive a $5,000 award. Their biographical information and original nomination is currently posted online at AmericasFarmers.com, where visitors can click to vote for their favorite farm mom. The woman, who receives the most votes between April 25 and May 6, will be named the “National Farm Mom of the Year” — just in time for Mother’s Day. As a bonus, she will also receive an additional $5,000 prize.

“Although these women come from vastly different parts of the country and specialize in varied types of farming, it’s clear they have many more common interests that bind them together — their love of family, community and agriculture,” says Kris Zilliox, of American Agri-Women. “Each one of them represent today’s women in agriculture so well, we have no doubt that we’ll have a fantastic 2014 national farm mom, no matter who America chooses.”

For a list of winners, past or present winner profiles or official contest rules, visit AmericasFarmers.com. Interested parties may also send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to America’s Farmers Mom of the Year, Attn: Sue Dillon, 349 Marshall Ave., Ste. 200, St. Louis, MO 63119.

Agribusiness

Helping People Understand Nutritional Benefits of Meat

Chuck Zimmerman

AMI Nutrition BrochureBecause they just don’t know. That’s why the American Meat Institute has a dietician approved brochure available for free download.

Most consumers don’t fully recognize the unique nutrition benefits that meat and poultry offer, according to a recent survey conducted online by Harris Poll for the American Meat Institute.

Only 12 percent of consumers correctly identified animal products like meat and poultry as the only natural source of Vitamin B12, which keeps the nervous system healthy. Twenty percent said cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower were the natural source of B12 and 13 percent thought the correct answer was citrus fruit. Neither of these foods contain Vitamin B12.

The Harvard Health Blog reports that “Vitamin B12 deficiency is relatively common, especially among older people. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey estimated that 3.2% of adults over age 50 have a seriously low B12 level, and up to 20% may have a borderline deficiency.”

AMI’s survey also showed consumers don’t know that the body absorbs more iron from meat and poultry than from other foods. Meat and poultry contain “heme” iron, the most absorbable form, but 52 percent of consumers incorrectly thought the body absorbed the most iron from spinach, kale and other leafy greens, which are high in iron, but contain the less absorbable “non-heme” form. Only 17 percent correctly named meat, poultry and fish. Adequate iron intake is important because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identifies iron deficiency anemia as the most common nutritional deficiency in the United States.

The American Meat Institute Foundation has released a dietitian-authored brochure “Meat: A Key Player on Your Wellness Team,” that details meat and poultry’s nutrition benefits and how it can be part of healthy, balanced diet. The brochure may be downloaded or requested by sending a 4 x6 self-addressed envelope with .69 cents postage to Nutrition Brochure/AMI, 1150 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 1200, Washington, DC, 20036.

Ag Groups, Food, Meat

Philippine Agricultural Journalists Elects New Leaders

Chuck Zimmerman

Philippine Agricultural JournalistsThanks to IFAJ for sharing the fact that the Philippine Agricultural Journalists, Inc. or PAJ recently elected a new set of officers. This followed its recent general assembly, held at the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) Auditorium, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines.

Elected president for the sixth time is Roman Floresca, business editor of The Philippine Star. Other elected officers include Noel Reyes of the Department of Agriculture (DA), vice president for internal affairs; Matilde Maunahan of the University of the Philippines Los Baños, vice president for external affairs; Ma. Ruby Lumongsod of QUEDANCOR, secretary; Charisma Love Gado of the Philippine Rice Research Institute, assistant secretary; Inez Magbual of Best Media Source Corporation, treasurer; Thelma Tolentino of the PCA, auditor; Ray Eñano of Manila Standard Today, press relations officer (PRO) for print media; and Rolando Gonzalo of UNTV and DWIZ, PRO for broadcast media.

Elected directors are Rex Navarro of CGIAR-CCAFS-SEA; Melba Wee, DA-Zamboanga; Corazon Abio, National Food Authority; Francisco de Guzman, Opinyon; Melody Aguiba, Manila Bulletin; Ma. Aileen Garcia, International Rice Research Institute; and Angelina Resurreccion, Business Mirror.

According to PAJ President Floresca, the new leadership will revive such projects as the PAJ Forum and the BINHI Awards for Agricultural Journalism.

International, Media

Utilizing UAV Imagery with SMS Advanced

Melissa Sandfort

Insights WeeklyThe production ag community has envisioned the many benefits of utilizing UAV technology since its inception. With many affordable solutions on the market today, ag professionals have begun offering services, and growers have realized the opportunity of using their own UAVs in their operations. While UAVs have become more affordable, often this technology has required the purchase of additional software programs to stitch, process and analyze captured imagery. While SMS doesn’t currently offer image stitching tools, the software is capable of processing and analyzing the raw NIR imagery.
NIR_Image-700x678

SMS Advanced features an NDVI Analysis tool that allows customers the ability to convert captured NIR imagery into manageable spatial layers. Images captured NDVI-700x695from UAVs, planes and satellites can be converted into mappable NDVI and Crop Vigor values by simply identifying the near-infrared and visible red bands. In addition, the Equation Analysis in SMS Advanced has the ability to reference individual color bands and insert those values into a user-defined formula for creating a custom map. These new maps can then be used for identifying problem areas, generating prescriptions, creating management zones and further data analysis. To learn more and download a free trial version of the SMS Advanced software, please visit agleader.com. (Photo at left is Processed Image using SMS NDVI Analysis.)

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

New Center Strengthens Bayer Bee Commitment

Cindy Zimmerman

bayer-ianBayer CropScience has a long history of commitment to pollinator health and honey bees in particular and the new North American Bee Care Center builds on that foundation.

“There’s been so much interest in pollinators over the last few years,” says Dr. Ian Kelley, Bayer Bee Health Issues Manager, who says they came up with the idea for the center after realizing how it could bring together stakeholders for education, research and outreach. “It started off quite modest and it’s kind of grown into something that we are really proud of.” Interview with Ian Kelley, Bayer CropScience

bayer-bee-schniedMark Schneid, who works on the turf and ornamental side of the Bayer business, says the center is the culmination of Bayer’s 25 years of bee health work with a desire to make a difference in the future, “so that we have sustainable agriculture, sustainable landscape, and sustainable and healthy pollinator partners.”

Bees are not only a vital part of feeding the world, they also help make it more beautiful by pollinating the flowers and trees in our own backyards. Interview with Mark Schneid, Bayer CropScience


Bayer CropScience Bee Care Center Grand Opening Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, Bayer, pollinators

New Ethanol Jobs Report

Cindy Zimmerman

A new industry report shows how the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is creating jobs and significant economic impact.

fuels-americaThe Fuels America coalition has released an economic impact study by John Dunham & Associates showing that the industry supports more than 850,000 American jobs and drives $184.5 billion of economic output.

Renewable fuels now represent nearly 10% of America’s fuel supply and have helped reduce U.S. reliance on foreign oil to the lowest level in years. The analysis takes into account the entire supply chain for renewable fuels and quantifies the impact to the U.S. economy, including:

• Driving $184.5 billion of economic output
• Supporting 852,056 jobs and $46.2 billion in wages
• Generating $14.5 billion in tax revenue each year

The full analysis is publicly available on the Fuels America website, including localized reports for every state and every congressional district in the country.

Fuels America held a telephone press conference Tuesday introducing the report results featuring comments from Jon Doggett, National Corn Growers Association public policy; Adam Monroe, Novozymes; Larry Ward, POET; and John Dunham, report author.

Listen to or download here: Fuels America new economic report

Audio, Corn, Ethanol

QiPack Powers Your Gadget

Chuck Zimmerman

QiPackI’m all about having extra mobile battery power. I also want it to be as small and portable as possible. That’s why my kit contains a couple mobile chargers, including the Golden ZimmComm mobile charger! Here’s a new one I just learned about. I made a Kickstarter contribution to help them get started.

Today, entrepreneurs Michael Goyack and Lance Wu have launched QiPack, a mobile inductive charger that eliminates the need for charging cables and wires, on Kickstarter. Early adopters now have the opportunity to pre-order QiPack and help Goyack and Wu bring the product to market, starting at $45.

Qi, pronounced “chee,” is the Wireless Power Consortium’s (WPC) standard for wireless, or inductive, charging which allows mobile users to power up a variety of mobile electronics by simply placing a device on top of a wireless charging plate, no cords necessary. Inductive charging is nothing new, but what QiPack has to offer will certainly change charging on the go forever.

Qi enabled devices, like Google’s Nexus, don’t require anything more than the QiPack and the mobile device to charge the device’s battery. Non-Qi enabled devices, like Apple’s iPhone or Samsung’s Galaxy, fall into one of two categories; those that need a coil receiver—placed behind the phone’s back cover, over the battery—and those that need a case that has a receiver built in.
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Gadgets

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  • GROWMARK is pleased to announce the spring 2014 Exploring Agriculture intern class.
  • DuPont Pioneer and the United Sorghum Checkoff Program announced a collaboration to advance genetic tools and opportunities for grain sorghum, which was planted on just over 8 million acres in the United States in 2013.
  • Zinpro Corporation, the leader in trace mineral nutrition, recently realigned its U.S. sales team to form a single sales region.
  • Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced a new report on scientific breakthroughs discovered by USDA researchers that led to new patents and inventions with the potential for commercial application and potential economic growth.
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Have You Started Planting Yet?

Jamie Johansen

New Holland ZimmPollOur latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “What’s your favorite use for Easter eggs?”

Deviled eggs is a clear winner in last week’s ZimmPoll. Personally, it is my favorite way to eat boiled eggs too. This Easter I was reminded of my husband’s family tradition of egg tapping. Each person takes a dyed boiled egg and taps the pointed end of their egg with that of another person. The last person left with an egg that is still in tact is the winner. When there is a couple dozen kids running around, this keeps them occupied for awhile. The catch is if you want to play you had better like hard boiled eggs, because when you loose you must eat it.

Our poll results:

  • egg salad – 16%
  • deviled eggs – 37%
  • unpeeled & plain -21%
  • special recipes – 5%
  • not a boiled egg fan – 8%
  • only use plastic – 5%
  • for hunts – 8%

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “Is corn planting underway in your area?”

Farmers across the country are busy in the fields. For some, planting is well underway. For others Mother Nature hasn’t quite cooperated. Let us know where you are in your corn planting.

ZimmPoll