New Holland Smart Hay & Forage Tools

Chuck Zimmerman

New Holland Roll Belt 560Robert Hendrix is the rock star of New Holland hay and forage tools. I had fun letting him show off a couple of new products at the National Farm Machinery Show, the Discbine 313 mower-conditioner and Roll Belt 560 round baler. In the interview below he talks us through all the new features.

Discbine 313:

New Holland has taken the Discbine® mower-conditioner to a new level with two new center-pivot models. Combining both speed and performance, the new Discbine® 313 and Discbine® 316 feature increased durability, more efficient crop flow and smoother, more effective conditioning. The combination of larger cutting discs and a wider conditioning system leads to cleaner cutting, better crop flow and more consistent drying. Co-rotating disc modules have been removed on the Discbine 313 and reduced to one pair on the Discbine 316. This greatly reduces the crop convergence between the cutterbar and the conditioner.

Roll Belt 560:

The New Holland’s Roll-Belt™ 560 5’x 6′ round baler delivers two elements cattle producers ask for the most: higher baling capacity and better feeding ability in a wide range of crops and baling conditions. New Holland’s proven combination of rolls and belts gets hay rolling quickly for fast, reliable core starts and helps pack more hay into every bale for less outside storage losses.

You can listen to the interview with Robert here and learn more: Interview with Robert Hendrix

National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album


Coverage of the National Farm Machinery Show is sponsored by FMC and New Holland Agriculture
Agribusiness, Audio, Equipment, Forage, Hay, National Farm Machinery Show, New Holland, Video

Fein Awarded Marketing Award

Jamie Johansen

Scott FeinThe New Jersey Agricultural Society presented Scott Fein of C.H. Robinson the Phillip Alampi Industry Marketing Award at the New Jersey State Agricultural Convention in Atlantic City. He was selected to receive this award because of his support of Jersey Fresh.

Scott was tasked a few years ago with planning, developing and executing a “locally grown” program that would serve as a national model for the $8 billion, worldwide produce company. He convinced upper management to pilot the company’s locally grown initiative in New Jersey with the goal to copy the model in other states.

He partnered with the New Jersey Department of Agriculture’s marketing staff and identified New Jersey growers willing to expand their marketing sales to include C.H. Robinson as well as contract grow specific products requested by the company.

C.H. Robinson has been marketing Jersey Fresh to it’s clients ever since. One of those was B.J.’s Wholesale Club which incorporated the Jersey Fresh logo in their Farm to Club campaign.

Scott also assisted the club chain in creating an Outdoor Farmers Market promotion that emulated a tailgate market, selling all Jersey Fresh produce. He is now in charge of implementing the Jersey Fresh model into other states.

In the photo you see, left to right: Kristina Guttadora, Executive Director of the NJ Agricultural Society; NJ Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher; Scott Fein; Jerry Verrico, Vice President of the NJ Agricultural Society.

Ag Groups, Marketing

Going to Mid-South Farm & Gin Show

Chuck Zimmerman

Mid-South Farm & Gin ShowLet’s look ahead to next week. Of course the big show is Commodity Classic right? Yes, the ZimmComm Team will be there.

But there’s also the Mid-South Farm & Gin Show. I will also be there courtesy of our sponsor, FMC Agricultural Solutions. It will be my first time. Another new experience for the AgriBlogger and more of those are coming soon. More on them later.

Agribusiness, Cotton, Events, Farm Shows, FMC

See the New John Deere Planter at Classic

Cindy Zimmerman

nfms14-exactemergeThe new John Deere ExactEmerge Planter is likely to be the big attraction at the Commodity Classic trade show next week, just like it was at the National Farm Machinery Show.

At NFMS, I talked with John Deere Seeding Group product specialist Kelby Krueger who worked on the ExactEmerge project from start to finish. He says the new row units are a perfect fit for producers who want to plant more acres in less time due to narrow planting windows, or to increase the size of their operations without adding equipment. “It’s hard for planters to get wider, so we had to make it more productive,” Kelby said. “This planter here with 24 rows, at ten miles an hour, will be doing something close to 75-80 acres an hour.”

If you haven’t seen the unveiling of the new planter at NFMS, click here.

Listen to Kelby explain more about ExactEmerge and see it for yourself at Commodity Classic in San Antonio: Interview with Kelby Krueger, John Deere
John Deere Planter at NFMS photos

Agribusiness, Audio, Equipment, Farm Machinery, Farming, John Deere, National Farm Machinery Show

Water Management … An Ongoing Issue

Melissa Sandfort

Insights Weekly Today with input costs and costs of fertilizer and seed being as high as they are when you don’t get the crop planted and a good emerged crop with a good stand to it, you don’t get the max benefits out of the crop that you can. Too much water is a big proponent of this as well as not enough water and this is where water management comes in.

One of the solutions is adding tile to fields. Ag Leader has some precision ag technology, such as the Intellislope tile plow control system, that can raise the success rate of water management. Ag Leader also has software, such as the SMS Advanced Water Management module, that can help develop a tile plan and then analyze the data at any given moment or over time once the plan has been executed.

Every farm is different and tile systems can be put in during the fall or spring. Listen to ZimmComm’s full interview with Luke Bunkers about water management here.

Listen to Bunkers explain

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

Zimfo Bytes

Talia Goes

    Zimfo Bytes

  • For the second year, Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. is excited to partner with the checkoff-funded Beef Quality Assurance program and sponsor BQA certification for all producers who enroll from February 3 through April 15.
  • Georgia Peanut Commission Farm Bill Update Meeting and Webinar will be held on Monday, Feb. 24 at 10:30 a.m and will be broadcast live at the University of Georgia (UGA) Tifton Campus Conference Small Auditorium in Tifton, Ga. and five additional locations in Georgia.
  • DuPont announced that its Advisory Committee on Agricultural Innovation and Productivity for the 21st Century has added two new members, Jason Clay and Dr. Ruth K. Oniang’o.
  • The International Food and Agribusiness Management Association is soliciting nominations for the 2014 IFAMA Distinguished Service Award.
Zimfo Bytes

A Week of Awareness and Giving For FFA Members

Jamie Johansen

jacket_500x500Students from across the county are wrapping up another successful FFA Week full of sharing the importance of agriculture and their passion for the organization by hosting community wide events helping others.

Chapters planned activities to raise awareness about the role the National FFA Organization plays in the development of the agriculture industry’s future leaders and the importance of agricultural education.

The week-long tradition started in 1948. Each year, National FFA Week runs Saturday to Saturday, encompassing President George Washington’s Feb. 22 birthday in recognition of Washington’s legacy as an agriculturist and farmer.

This year’s National FFA Week is sponsored by Tractor Supply Co. Through Sunday, participating Tractor Supply Co. stores encourage customers to donate $1 at checkout to support FFA. Donations will fund $1,000 scholarships for FFA members while 10 percent will support state FFA association programs. Last year, Tractor Supply raised more than $362,000 in 45 states to provide 284 scholarships for FFA members to use for college.

Don and Mira Ball, who co-founded Lexington, KY. based custom home-building company Ball Homes more than 50 years ago, kicked off 2014 National FFA Week by inviting some National FFA and Kentucky FFA officers to their home to share details about an endowment they created to support the National FFA Organization’s Give the Gift of Blue campaign.

The campaign relies on financial contributions to the National FFA Foundation used to provide a new, official FFA corduroy jacket to members who can’t afford one. The Balls created a $500,000 endowment that will award up to 400 free FFA jackets each year to qualified members.

“If it wasn’t for FFA, I wouldn’t have made it out of my driveway,” Don said. “I’m proud that I have been able to give back to my community in ways I would have never imagined.”

Don Ball grew up in western Kentucky and was a local and regional FFA officer. The jacket he wore was handed down to him so backing the Give the Gift of Blue campaign is especially meaningful to him. He and his wife started Ball Homes, which has flourished and allowed the couple to give back to a host of community organizations and endeavors, including FFA.

He believes that the experiences and values instilled in him through his involvement in FFA played a big role in his career and philanthropic successes. His training in parliamentary procedure, he said, served him well in his three terms in the Kentucky state legislature.

As the largest youth organization in the United States, the National FFA Organization provides leadership, personal growth and career success training through agricultural education to 579,678 student members in grades seven through 12 who belong to one of 7,570 local FFA chapters throughout the U.S., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Ag Groups, FFA

Elanco: Enough is Enough in Food Security Debate

John Davis

wfp13-jeff1Farmers need to be able to access and use the latest food production technology to make sure a projected world population of 9 billion by the year 2050 has enough to eat. In a report titled “Enough: The fight for a food secure tomorrow,” from animal health company Elanco, company president Jeff Simmons points out that the biggest growth in population will happen in the next few years, so innovative solutions are needed now.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization reports we’ll need 60 percent more meat, milk and eggs to meet demand by 2050. But, we’re already overusing the Earth’s resources; it currently takes 1.5 years to regenerate 1 year of resource use, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

“We are currently on the fast track to a crisis and a global shortage of basic foods such as meat, milk and eggs. For example, today, we are meeting global milk demand primarily by adding cows. On this path, we will need 40 million more dairy cows in order to meet consumer demand for dairy products in 2050. This is simply not sustainable,” Simmons said.

“But alternatives exist. We have — either available right now or in the pipeline — the technology that would enable us to meet consumer demand in 2050. But we need to give farmers the ability to access and utilize this technology and ensure that proven innovation and farm practices which maintain health and productivity are available for use,” Simmons continued.

Simmons has many food security experts on his side, including organizations such as Heifer International. More about how you can get involved in the movement is available at www.SensibleTable.com.

Elanco, Food

FMC Watch & Win Winner

Chuck Zimmerman

FMC Contest WinnerFMC does more at the National Farm Machinery Show than talk products in their booth. They also get together for a little fun and fellowship with their customers at the end of each day. It was in their reception room that I met Dan Bender, Indiana family farmer. FMC made Dan a very happy man when he won their last Watch and Win contest!

You can listen to my interview with Dan here: Interview with Dan Bender

There is a new Watch and Win contest underway. All growers have to do is watch episodes of the The Minute, brought to you by FMC. Easy, eh? And there are lots of prizes.

National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album


Coverage of the National Farm Machinery Show is sponsored by FMC and New Holland Agriculture
Agribusiness, Audio, FMC, National Farm Machinery Show

Beck Named 2014 Agribusiness Leader of the Year

Jamie Johansen

image002The National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) has named Sonny Beck, president of Beck’s Hybrids, as the 2014 Agribusiness Leader of the Year. This is NAMA’s highest honor and will be presented at the opening general session of the 2014 Agri-Marketing Conference, April 10, 2014 in Jacksonville, FL. The award honors outstanding leaders in agribusiness, education, government service or other agribusiness related areas who exemplify excellence in agribusiness by their significant contributions to the industry.

Sonny Beck, president of Beck’s Hybrids, has led the company to unprecedented growth. As the largest family-owned seed company in the United States, Beck’s Hybrids is now the sixth largest seed company in the U.S. Under Sonny’s leadership, Beck’s Hybrids has experienced a 20 percent increase in sales each year for the last 20 years, doubling in size every four years.

As soon as Beck joined the family operation in 1964, after graduating from Purdue University, he never let grass grow under his feet. Always aiming at building closer, stronger relationships with customers, Beck immediately launched a couple of customer events that are now long-standing traditions. Today, Beck’s Hybrids hosts one of the largest field shows in the agriculture industry, Becknology Days™, a three-day event in late August that hosts more than 10,000 farmers from across the Midwest.

In the same year Beck joined the operation he started what is now called the Practical Farm Research (PFR)® program. Still today, the PFR program is unlike any other in the seed industry. Focused on farmer’s needs, hundreds of studies are completed at five Beck’s locations in an effort to look at how different management practices perform in different environments. The information is delivered to farmers across the Midwest in a 280-page summary book, website and field shows.

In July 2013, Indiana Governor, Mike Pence, appointed Beck as a trustee on the Purdue University Board of Trustees. In addition, Beck currently serves on the Indiana Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, is vice president of the Purdue Ag Alumni Seed Improvement Association and is a founding member of the Purdue FarmHouse Fraternity Foundation board.

Ag Groups, NAMA