New NCBA Officer Team

Cindy Zimmerman

ncba-officersThe new president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) is Bob McCan of Texas, who succeeded Scott George as president during the board of directors meeting last week.

“It is a great honor to be elected to lead NCBA for the next year. A strong future lies ahead of us with endless opportunities for U.S. cattlemen and women,” said McCan. “There are many issues that need our attention, and my goal is to bring unity to our efforts to address them. In addition, I look forward to meeting cattlemen throughout the country to hear their concerns and work to make our industry as successful as it can be.”

The new NCBA President Elect is Philip Ellis of Wyoming. Tracy Brunner of Kansas is NCBA’s new vice president. Cevin Jones of Idaho was elected chairman of the NCBA Federation Division, and Jennifer Houston of Tennessee is the Federation Division’s vice chair. The new NCBA Policy Division chairman is Craig Uden of Nebraska and Kevin Kester of California is the new policy vice chairman.

Pictured here from left to right are Kester, Brunner, NCBA CEO Forrest Roberts, Uden, Houston, Treasurer Richard Gebhart, McCan, Jones, George, and Ellis.

Ag Groups, Beef, Cattle Industry Conference, NCBA

Glass Atlanta

Chuck Zimmerman

Glass StampGlass Atlanta. That’s where I was this weekend following the MapShots Customer Conference. This event was really for the public to get their first look at Glass, wear it and learn about it.

In the venue there were demo stations set up to cover different applications and uses for Glass. I brought ZimmGlass with me because I had questions.

Glass DemoThis is the first station where you get to try on Glass and learn about the basic functions and operations. We had two technicians there to work with us. This photo was taken with ZimmGlass.

From there we could demo a translation application which would be very helpful traveling abroad. Other stations set up included one for music using Google Play, one to get your photo taken wearing Glass and more.

I shot a video with ZimmGlass and wandered around the various stations so you can see what the event was like. These are great opportunities and I’m glad to see Google providing the opportunity. I’m more confident in using my Glass and will continue using it on the agriblogging highway.

Technology

Learning About MapShots Integration

Chuck Zimmerman

MapShots ConferenceI’ve been collecting a lot of interviews here in Atlanta at the MapShots Customer Conference. Most of them will be shared over on PrecisionPays.com. However, I thought you might enjoy this one with official AgNerd, Keith Baker.

Keith saw me wearing my ZimmGlass and that started an enjoyable conversation about the new technology I’ve been trying out as a member of the Google Explorers program. Keith operates a Dupont Pioneer seed agency, Baker Ag Services, in NW Indiana with his son. They try to stay no the cutting edge of new technology. He says he came to this conference to learn about the newest products like MapShots AgStudio. Like at a lot of conferences he’s enjoying the networking with fellow agnerds to share ideas and information.

You can listen to my interview with Keith here: Interview with Keith Baker

2014 MapShots Customer Conference Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, Pioneer, Precision Agriculture

President Signs Farm Bill in Michigan

Cindy Zimmerman

fb-sign-farmer-1A young Michigan cherry farmer had the honor of introducing the president of the United States prior to signing of the new farm bill at Michigan State University Friday.

“On behalf of farmers across Michigan, I want to say thank you Congress for passing a great farm bill,” said Ben LaCross, former American Farm Bureau Young Farmer and Rancher chairman. “Under the previous farm bill, my cherries were not eligible for crop insurance. This farm bill strengthens crop insurance and gives farmers like me the tools we need to survive a weather disaster.”

fb-signing“Despite its name, the farm bill is not just about helping farmers,” President Obama told the small crowd invited for the signing. “Secretary Vilsack calls it a jobs bill, an innovation bill, an infrastructure bill, a research bill, a conservation bill. It’s like a Swiss Army knife.”

Vilsack was among those who joined the president as he signed the bill, along with Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-OH) and others.

Listen to the president’s speech here: President Obama farm bill signing

What do you think of the new farm bill? Which part is most important to you? Tell us in this week’s ZimmPoll.

AFBF, Audio, Farm Bill, ZimmPoll

Popcorn Has Been Changed

Chuck Zimmerman

PopCornersIt looks like someone decided it was time to change the popcorn. That would be Popcorners. I just found them on the snack tray here at the MapShots Customer Conference.

Our Popcorners family proudly presents our wholesome, delicious new shape of popcorn to your family.

Here at Popcorners we have spent a great deal of time tasting, testing and perfecting what we genuinely believe will be a new generation of popcorn.

Now, take your time and enjoy all our classic and delicious flavors. We are going to be around to honorably carry on the traditional goodness of snacking on popcorn.

These are very good! I tried the caramel flavor and had to get a second package. There are lots of flavors and recipes. You can also purchase them online. These are also available at AMC Theaters as part of their smart snacks lineup. I will still eat “regular” plain old popcorn but will also look to enjoying these again.

Corn, Food

Pork Production Summit at IPPE

Cindy Zimmerman

ippe-14-novus-escobarThe VIV International Pork Production Summit was held as part of the International Production and Processing Expo (IPPE) last week in Atlanta and one of the presenters was Dr. Jeffrey Escobar of Novus International.

Dr. Escobar discussed in detail “Nutrient digestibility and gut health” as well as “Organic trace mineral bioavailability and functional effects in animals” – topics he addressed last summer at the World Pork Expo. He explained how applying nutrient digestibility concepts and the use of certain enzymes, such as Novus’ Cibenza DP100, can help hog producers reduce waste and lower feed costs. “So what Cibenza DP100 will do is help the enzymes already present in the pig and increase the digestibility of the proteins present in the feed with a net gain of more amino acids believed delivered to the animal,” he said.

Listen to a summary of Dr. Escobar’s points in this interview from World Pork: Interview with Novus' Dr. Jeffrey Escobar


International Production and Processing Expo Photos

Sponsored by Novus International Inc

Animal Health, Audio, IPPE, Novus International, Pork, Swine

President to Sign Farm Bill Today

Cindy Zimmerman

deb-stabenowPresident Obama will sign the Agricultural Act of 2014 today at Michigan State University, the alma mater of Senate Agriculture Committee chair Debbie Stabenow (D-MI).

“This is a very exciting day and I welcome that the president is committed to agriculture in America and rural America and the research that we certainly exemplify at Michigan State,” said Stabenow earlier this week.

She will obviously be there and a few Michigan farmers have reportedly been invited to attend the private event, but House lawmakers who helped finally get the delayed legislation to the president’s desk will be absent. According to Politico, both House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK) and Ranking Member Collin Peterson (D-MN) were invited but declined to attend.

The event is scheduled for around 2:00 pm Michigan time and is expected to be webcast live on local TV stations and the White House website.

Farm Bill

The Value of Data

Joanna Schroeder

Ag Leader Tyler AndersonWhy should we care about data I asked Tyler Anderson with Ag Leader during the 2014 Iowa Power Farming Show. Anderson said we should care about data. So I asked the next logical question, “How do we know if it worked?”.

“We can check to make sure the data worked by reading the information we’ve recorded out in the field in our SMS Advanced Software program,” explained Anderson. “By looking at the maps we can make sure we’re not having any mechanical problems we didn’t see out in the field, but we can also confirm we’re actually getting results from the practices we’re doing.”

This, said Anderson, is what Ag Leader calls “the value of data”. He explained that growers spend all this money on precision technologies and farm equipment but how do you know if it’s actually having an effect? Using Ag Leader’s SMS tools, a grower can start analyzing various elements of the data or even analyze data across the entire operations.

Anderson said the data is also valuable because not only can you look to see what happened during the current year, but also using it to plan for the future.

Learn more about the “value of data” in my interview with Tyler Anderson: The Value of Data

Click here to view the 2014 Iowa Power Farming Show photo album.

Ag Leader, Audio, Iowa Power Show, Precision Agriculture

Ag Leader’s Luke Bunkers on Water Management

Joanna Schroeder

Water management. An ongoing issue for growers across the country and around the world. To learn more about some of the big water management issues in agriculture, I turned to Luke Bunkers with Ag Leader who spent some time with me during the 2014 Iowa Power Farming Show.

Luke Bunkers Ag LeaderToday 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, explained Bunkers. He noted that 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, said Bunkers, is adding tile to fields. Ag Leader has some precision ag technology, such as the Intellislop 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 give moment or over time once the plan has been executed.

“The tile plan gives the grower an idea of what the whole system is going to look like including how many feet of tile, what the discharge of that system is going to be, how much water is that system going to be able to handle so Ag Leader encompasses all sides of water management with these two technologies,” explained Bunkers.

Bunkers stressed that every farm is different and tile systems can be put in during the fall or spring. He is going to be participating in some tile clinics during the next few weeks in North and South Dakota put on by Hefty Brothers.

Listen to my full interview with Luke Bunkers: Ag Leader's Luke Bunkers on Water Management

Click here to view the 2014 Iowa Power Farming Show photo album.

Ag Leader, Agribusiness, Audio, Iowa Power Show, Precision Agriculture

Entry-Level Display from Ag Leader

Melissa Sandfort

Insights Weekly ZimmComm’s Joanna Schroeder recently caught up with Ag Leader’s Josh Rasmusson about the Compass display, a simple and affordable precision farming display that offers guidance and virtual terminal capabilities.

Learn more about this new product offering which was just launched in November 2013 in Joanna’s full interview with Josh.

Listen to Rasmusson 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.

Click here to view the 2014 Iowa Power Farming Show photo album.

Sponsored by Ag Leader Technology

Ag Leader, Agribusiness