Social Media in the War Room

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCast 429Social media part of a war room discussion? Yep. It was at the 2014 National Ethanol Conference. Participating in a panel titled, “Communications and Social Media War Room” was Christina Martin, Executive Vice President, Renewable Fuels Association. We chatted about her panel at the conclusion of the conference.

Christina MartinChristina says that the purpose of the session was “to capture the momentum that a lot of our companies built during the EPA comment period. They reached out as they never have before to their employees, to their investors and local communities and general supporters.” Many ventured into social media for the first time and she says they want to keep that momentum going regardless of where the EPA decision on the RFS ends up.

You can listen to this week’s program here. Social Media with Christina Martin

Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsor, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong, for their support.

Ag Groups, Audio, Ethanol, National Ethanol Conference, RFA, Social Media, Social Networking, ZimmCast

Two No-Till Products of the Year from BASF

Cindy Zimmerman

Headline AMPNo-till farmers gave top honors to BASF products Headline AMP® fungicide and Sharpen® herbicide at the recent 22nd Annual National No-Tillage Conference in Springfield, Illinois.

This is the eighth consecutive win for Headline AMP fungicide in the top fungicide product category. Headline AMP fungicide is labeled for corn application. On-farm field trials from 2013 show Headline AMP fungicide delivers 11.7 bu/A more than untreated corn.

basf-sharpenA new winner this year in the weed control product category, Sharpen herbicide, drives burndown of tough weeds three-to-five times faster than 2,4-D or glyphosate – an important feature for many no-till growers. Sharpen herbicide is powered by Kixor® herbicide technology, featuring a unique chemistry that provides foliar and soil activity on today’s toughest weeds.

Expect to hear more about these products when we attend the BASF media event this week prior to Commodity Classic in San Antonio!

Agribusiness, BASF, Crop Protection, weed management

Climate Corporation Offers Climate Information

Anna Leigh Peek

Have you ever wanted to be able to see what is happening every day weather-wise on each of your fields? The Climate Corporation was at the National Farm Machinery Show telling farmers about a free tool they have to offer that can do just that. You may recall that Monsanto acquired The Climate Corporation in October and NFMS is one of the first shows since that time where they have been out talking to farmers about their products.

Jeff HamlinThe Climate Corporation monitors 30 million fields in the US Corn Belt. According to Jeff Hamlin growers can sign up for free Climate Basic at www.Climate.com. With this account farmers can locate each of their fields and then will be able to see what growth stage the plants are at, how much rain the field has received, and soil moisture in each of the locations entered. The information can be seen from your computer, phone or tablet.

Farmers can also invest in Climate Pro which is a more advanced system which includes satellite imagery of your crops, nitrogen recommendations, and planting recommendations. These programs can be incorporated with precision planting software or just included in your Climate Basic account.

Listen to my interview with Jeff here: Interview with Jeff Hamlin, The Climate Corporation

National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album


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

 

Agribusiness, Audio, Farming, National Farm Machinery Show, NFMS, Technology, Weather

Locally Grown Harvest Restaurant

Chuck Zimmerman

Harvest LouisvilleThere’s a “locally grown” restaurant in Louisville, KY. It’s Harvest and it is good. During the National Farm Machinery Show the ZimmComm team ate supper there one night and met one of the owners. They source much of the food they serve from local farmers and you can read about them on the wall.

We are exceptionally proud of our reputation for being one of the most celebrated restaurants in Louisville Kentucky, situated in the vibrant Downtown NuLu arts district of East Market Street, just 5 minutes from downtown .

Our mission is to serve outstanding, regionally inspired, seasonal “farm-to-table” cuisine. 80% of our ingredients are sourced locally from within a 100-mile radius and many of our foods are baked, cured, smoked and preserved in-house.

Ivor Chodkowski and partners Jim McArthur, and brothers Peter and Patrick Kuhl gathered not just an extraordinarily talented team but also a group of passionate and community-minded investors to grown their downtown Louisville restaurant.

So, if you’re looking for something that’s locally grown and owned in Louisville, check this one out.

National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album


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

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

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  • 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.
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