Ag Secretary Kicks Off ASTA Annual Meeting

Cindy ZimmermanASTA, Audio, seed, USDA

asta-15-vilsackAgriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack stressed the importance of the seed industry to American agriculture and the nation as a whole during an address kicking off the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) annual meeting on Thursday in Washington DC.

“Clearly the seed industry has been responsible for an extraordinary increase in productivity in American agriculture,” said Vilsack. “But more than that, you are also critically important to the expansion of the local and regional food systems we are creating in this country.” In addition, Vilsack continued, the seed industry is vital to conservation and the increase in biobased products.

Vilsack made a request to ASTA members that they contact their members of Congress and tell them about the importance of funding for agricultural research. “The sad reality is that the current Congress is looking at a budget for USDA that’s $3.3 billion less than it was when I first became secretary,” said Vilsack. “And a good portion of that reduction has come from research.”

Listen to Vilsack’s speech here: [wpaudio url=”http://www.zimmcomm.biz/asta/asta-annual-15-vilsack.mp3″ text=”Secy Vilsack addresses 2015 ASTA Annual”]

2015 ASTA Annual Meeting photos

Hearing Shows Support for Labeling Bill

Cindy ZimmermanAudio, biotechnology, Government, Growmark

The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health held a hearing Thursday that demonstrated an urgent need to pass the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act this year to create a uniform national food labeling standard for products made with genetically modified organisms.

labeling-hearing-growmarkAmong those testifying at the hearing in support of the bill for agriculture was GROWMARK president and Illinois farmer John Reifsteck.

“I live in the farmhouse my grandfather built 101 years ago,” said Reifsteck. “Each generation of my family uses new technology to build on the successes of the past. GPS, automatic steering, and biotechnology are examples of new tools available today that future generations will use to build a better agriculture.” [wpaudio url=”http://www.zimmcomm.biz/growmark/hearing-growmark.mp3″ text=”GROWMARK president John Reifsteck testimony”]

Reifsteck testified on behalf of the Coalition for Safe Affordable Food which noted overwhelming, bipartisan support on the committee in favor of the labeling bill.

Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) spoke in favor of the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act and the need for a “clear, concise, consistent system.” Chairman Upton also praised the recently released draft amendment to the bill as a positive step forward and applauded the House Committee on Agriculture for its partnership on this issue. Also, Congressman Kurt Schrader (D-OR), a former organic farmer, stated that the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act provides truth and honesty in labeling and that a national standard is critically needed.

Take a Close Look at the New Holland T7

Chuck ZimmermanAgribusiness, New Holland, Tractor, Video

New Holland T7During the New Holland agricultural journalist trip I attended last week we were bussed out to La Bellotta Sustainable Farm to see tractors in action and have a chance to ride and drive them. In this photo Willie Vogt, Penton/Farm Progress, is taking his turn in a new T7 Series tractor.

At my first stop we watched Sigurn Ghyselen, New Holland, EMEA Business Marketing Manager T6 and T7, give us a presentation on the new T7 Series tractors which are Tier 4B compliant.

You can specify your New Holland T7 tractor to match your specific business needs. With rated engine power ranging from 140 to 240 horsepower, and PTO horsepower ranging from 110 to 210 PTO horsepower, the seven-model T7 Series line-up offers a choice of semi-powershift, full-powershift or continuously variable transmissions (CVT), with the T7.270 available only with the Auto Command™ CVT. You can add a New Holland loader to any T7 model, and also choose the optional fully integrated front three-point hitch and PTO.

Watch Sigurn give the full presentation in the video:


New Holland Expo Milano 2015 Photos

Innovative Name Change for BIO

Cindy ZimmermanBIO, biotechnology

bio-logoThe Biotechnology Industry Organization will soon become the Biotechnology Innovation Organization.

The new name, which will be officially launched next year, was announced this week by BIO’s new Board Chair, Ron Cohen, CEO of Acorda Therapeutics. “I’m pleased to announce that the BIO Board has approved a change to BIO’s name,” said Cohen during the 2015 BIO International Convention. “Still BIO, but now with a name that better expresses the essence of what our member companies represent.”

“This is a great move that will help clarify for policymakers and the public the heart of our industry – scientific innovation that will help to heal, feed and fuel the world,” added BIO’s President and CEO, Jim Greenwood.

BIO is the world’s largest trade association representing biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations.

Help Research Out – Take Precision Farming Survey

Chuck ZimmermanEducation

I have been asked to help out Phil Bolton who is working on his Ag Econ Masters thesis. It involves a survey on the adoption of precision farming. Can you help out too? Take the survey or share it with someone who can. I know he’d really appreciate it.

Take survey here: Precision Farming Survey

Here’s some information from Phil on his project:

I have been working on my Master (Ag Econ) thesis which is “The Adoption of Precision Farming”. I have deliberately designed it to be short so we have a high completion rate. Primarily I am focused on the NAFTA region.

What I plan to learn from the survey is farmer attitudes to PF technologies (specific to Variable Rate Application or VRA). This will help to understand a couple of things (just a sample of ideas):

1. To understand the main barriers to the technology.
2. To understand the current adoption rate.
3. To find the importance of information sources.

ASTA Annual Meeting in DC

Cindy ZimmermanASTA, Audio, seed

asta-dc-15The 132nd annual meeting of the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) is being held this week in Washington DC where members of the industry will be talking with lawmakers about issues important to them.

ASTA president and CEO Andy LaVigne says it is a chance for them to raise awareness about the seed industry with elected officials. “We will be talking about the pollinator issues, which are obviously very hot right now,” said LaVigne. Trade and GMO labeling are also hot issues and will be a big focus for ASTA this week. “The trade issues are always very important to us, we need to be able to move seed globally. And we continue to work with a very large coalition of agriculture and food industry representatives on GMO labeling so that we have a consistent policy across the country driven from Washington DC instead of a patchwork across the country in individual states.” [wpaudio url=”http://www.zimmcomm.biz/asta/asta-annual-preview.mp3″ text=”ASTA CEO Andy LaVigne previews annual meeting”]

While ASTA is visiting DC this week, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health will be holding a hearing on “A National Framework for the Review and Labeling of Biotechnology in Food” focused on legislation proposed by Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) and Rep. G. K. Butterfield (D-NC).

ASTA members will be visiting with their representatives in both the House and Senate this week and will also hear from Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack on Thursday. We are heading that way tomorrow and will bring you all the sights and sounds from the meeting.

Georgia Beekeeper Honored with Bayer Bee Care Award

Kelly MarshallAgribusiness, Award, Bayer CropScience, Bees

paul-yonk-prGeorgia beekeeper Paul Vonk has won the third annual Bayer CropScience Bee Care Community Leadership Award. Paul has worked to improve pollinator health by educating the beekeeping community using HiveTool™.  His open source software provides a noninvasive way to analyze colony health.  The system motors bees and allows keepers to manage hives with real time feedback on conditions.  The data is also tramsitted to NASA to study how bees are impacted by land use and climate change.

The $5,000 grant is sponsored by the Bayer CropSience’s Bee Care Program.  The annual even recognizes an idividual who uses their commitment to honeybees to benefit the community.

Paul Vonk has made HiveTool the centerpiece of his work with a local school as well as regional beekeepers, sharing his passion and enthusiasm for beekeeping with students who previously had never worked with pollinators. The HiveTool system has attracted students to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields by allowing the students to work with bees and learn more about bee health and beekeeping.

“Paul’s efforts to improve his community by educating beekeepers and students through HiveTool are remarkable,” said Dr. Becky Langer, director of the North American Bayer Bee Care Program. “We are thrilled to present the award to a beekeeper who has taken such an innovative and creative approach to beekeeping and improving bee health. His efforts to provide beekeepers and students the tools they need to improve their craft and learn more about beekeeping reflects the commitment of the Bayer Bee Care Program to improving pollinator health.”

The record-breaking number of 2015 Award applications were judged by a four-person independent panel of industry and academic experts that included Kim Flottum, editor of Bee Culture magazine, Elina Lastro Nino, researcher at UC-Davis Department of Entomology, Tim Tucker, president of American Beekeeping Federation as well as Dr. Langer. This year’s applications represented a wide range of projects that will have a long-lasting and positive impact on bee health.

“It is truly an honor to be chosen the winner of the 2015 Bayer Bee Care Community Leadership Award,” said Vonk. “With Bayer’s recognition and contribution, even more students and beekeepers will be able to learn about HiveTool and how it can be used to improve pollinator health.”

FIGARO to Present at 2015 Agri-Water Workshop

Kelly MarshallEU, Irrigation, Water Management

FIGARO-logoThe EU-funded FIGARO precision project has designed DDS, -Decision Supporting System to improve irrigation management.  They have been invited to present the precision irrigation system at a special workshop on coping with climate change and water scarcity at the Expo Milano 2015.

Dr. Adriano Battilani, senior researcher at the Canale Emiliano Romagnolo (CER) research institute in Bologna, Italy and a FIGARO partner, will make a presentation on “How to Integrate Knowledge to Improve Water Productivity in Agriculture” at the Agri-Water Workshop to be held on June 17 at the EXPO 2015 – EU Pavilion. The workshop will deal with methods to cope with climate change and water scarcity in Africa and Europe by improving monitoring and water-use efficiency in agriculture.

“The workshop is a great opportunity for FIGARO to present the progress we have made so far and show how we can help fight water scarcity,” said Battilani. “By offering a crop-oriented management tool, FIGARO optimizes irrigation and fertilizer dosing, significantly reducing the use of fresh water.”

The FIGARO (Flexible and Precise Irrigation Platform to Improve Farm Scale Water Productivity) platform acts as an SAAS platform. It periodically runs leading and approved crop models to provide farmers with on-line recommendations regarding the best irrigation and fertilization schedules for their farms. Data is provided for specific crops and soils, water and climate conditions.

In order to make the recommendations precise, the FIGARO platform is connected to actual sensors, and collects environmental and crop-growth data from a wide variety of in-field and remote sensors and data sources including soil moisture, water meters, satellite images and weather stations. The data are fed automatically or manually into the DSS platform models and supply the crop module operating on real-time data.

Nine European countries have field tested the FIGARO system, all with promising results.

The Buzz About Pollinators

Kelly MarshallBees, Government, Honeybees, pollinators

soil-health-logoJune 15-21 has been declared Pollinator Week by the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD).  In conjunction with the USDA–NRCS, US Forest Service, the Pollinator Partnership, and others the group is celebrating what may seem like annoying insects.

“Pollinators play a critical role in our everyday lives, and it’s important that we work to protect their habitat,” says NACD President Lee McDaniel. “Pollinators form the underpinning of a healthy and sustainable future for food and the environment.”

“America’s families depend on pollinators, essential in agriculture and critical to the production of more than one-third of our food products. In fact, more than 75 percent of flowering plants rely on pollinators,” said U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden. “National Pollinator Week is a once-a-year observance that helps to educate the American public about the importance of pollinators to our food supply, information that we should remember year-round.”

When pollinators shrink in number, many plants either produce less seed or no seed at all. The bottom line is, when pollinators start disappearing, plants start disappearing. Most plants depend upon pollinators to reproduce. While animals can travel and move around to find mates and reproduce, plants are rooted to one spot. Therefore, plants depend on pollinators to move pollen from their anthers to their stigma.

On planet Earth there are more than 100,000 species of insects, including bees, flies, moths, butterflies and beetles that work hard as pollinators. There are also over 1,000 species of other animals such as birds, reptiles and mammals, including bats that pollinate plants.

Corn Farmers Learn About Drones

Cindy ZimmermanCorn, drone, NCGA, UAS, UAV

ncga-chip-droneNational Corn Growers Association president Chip Bowling got a first-hand drone demo in his home state of Maryland last week.

The demonstration was one of several educational tours for NCGA board members highlighting advances in technology and sustainability, as well as diversified farming operations. Bowling, left, got a lesson in flying an unmanned aerial system from Matthew Creger of Maryland-based Intelligent UAS. The company demonstrated several examples for NCGA board members, answered questions, and discussed potential applications of the technology in agriculture.