Big Crowd Expected at Iowa Power Farming Show

Cindy ZimmermanAg Leader, IA Power Farming Show

IowaWebBannerFINALThousands of farmers and ranchers are heading to Des Moines this week from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri to see big iron and futuristic ag gadgets at the 2013 Iowa Power Farming Show. Precision.AgWired.com is heading there too to take a look at what’s new, thanks to our sponsor Ag Leader Technology.

The show, January 29-31 at the Iowa Events Center, will feature more than 750 ag-related companies from 29 states and 4 Canadian provinces. With nearly 1840 total booths, it’s the third largest indoor farm show in the country, and show organizers anticipate over 20,000 visitors will attend at least one of the three days the show runs. “Farmers throughout the Midwest have identified the Iowa Power Farming Show as the show to attend to see the newest products and innovations from the biggest names in the farm equipment and services industry,” said show Co-Director, Tom Junge.

In total, the expanse of exhibitor displays covers 7.0 acres, three buildings and six floors. Two rooms will be used to host numerous seminars each day. Farmers can attend to learn about topics like transitioning family farms, changing tax implications, outlook on commodity prices and marketing advice, utilizing precision ag to boost efficiency and production.

Show hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday. Free shuttle and free parking are available at the Iowa Cubs’ Principal Park. Plus, farmers may register
online at www.iowapowershow.com and save $3 on admission (regular admission is $6).

You can also follow the @IowaPowerFarmShow – as well as @PrecisionPays and @AgLeaderTech – on both Facebook and Twitter.

More Power to You!

Sponsored by Ag Leader Technology

Precision Equipment on Display Next Week

Chuck ZimmermanAg Connect Expo, Agribusiness, Audio, Equipment, IA Power Farming Show

AG CONNECT Expo 2013Precision agriculture products will be on display next week at the 2013 AG CONNECT Expo & Summit. The show runs January 29 to 31 in Kansas City, MO. Yours truly will be there taking photos and conducting interviews to share. ZimmComm New Media is proud to be the official new media sponsor of the show once again. While I am attending Expo, Cindy will be attending the Iowa Power Farming Show in Des Moines courtesy of our sponsor, Ag Leader Technology. So expect some good stories next week.

To get a preview of the AG CONNECT Expo I visited with Rusty Fowler, official Expo spokesperson and President/CEO, Krone NA. Rusty says to expect a show “that’s different from other trade shows that you normally go to.” He says it is different because they started out to make it different. The idea for the show goes back a number of years even before the first Expo when a group of ag executives got together to create a show “made by the industry for the industry.” It is different because the attending customer will be able to talk with top people at the companies who are exhibiting. This is a commitment each exhibitor has made. Rusty’s interview is the subject of my weekly podcast, the ZimmCast.

Besides seeing our coverage of these shows here you can also follow along on Twitter by following AG CONNECT Expo at @AgConnect or on Facebook and Iowa Power Farming Show on Twitter at @IAPowerFarmShow and on Facebook.

Learn more about what you can expect when you attend the 2013 AG CONNECT Expo in my interview with Rusty in my weekly ZimmCast podcast: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/zimmcast/zimmcast381-1-25-13.mp3″ text=”AG CONNECT Expo Preview”]

Precision.AgWired.com Profile – Scott Parr of Wisconsin

Cindy ZimmermanAudio, BASF, Profiles

BASF Crop Protection held a grower symposium in Fort Lauderdale this month, inviting 275 of the nation’s most innovative farmers to attend. The theme of the symposium was “Fields of Opportunity” and some of the ways farming has improved in recent years and what is ahead for the future.

basf-scott“Our farm doesn’t look anything like it did even ten years ago,” says Scott Parr, a potato and vegetable farmer from Wisconsin. “We use larger, GPS-guided equiment and we also manage things to the nth degree. We have to be right on top of our game all the time.”

Parr says information management is their biggest issue right now. “We have a lot of concerns with traceability of produce throughout the system,” he said. “We have to be keeping track of that information and that’s our biggest challenge right now.”

Listen to my interview with Scott here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/basf/basf-13-grower-scott.mp3″ text=”Scott Parr, Wisconsin farmer”]

BASF Grower Symposium Photo Album

Get More of Ag Leader’s Insights Magazine!

Melissa SandfortAg Leader, Insights Weekly

Insights Weekly

Want to know more about the SMS software learning curve, or how Ag Leader products help farmers produce a variety of vegetables, in addition to corn and soybeans, or how tile drainage brings the water table down and yields up? You can find it all, and more, in Ag Leader’s Insights Magazine.

“We want our customers to know that the people who are working on developing these new products are the same types of people they are,” says Lori Costello, Ag Leader Marketing Communications Manager. “A lot of Ag Leader employees either come from a farming background or are currently actively involved in farming. They are key to helping growers learn about their products and be able to keep them maintained and doing what they want them to do out in the field.”

[wpaudio url=”http://precision.agwired.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/01/Lori1.mp3″ text=”Listen to Costello explain”]

AgLeader-Insights-Winter.pdfPrecision ag isn’t a “one size fits all” product, and Costello says Insights hopes to open up growers’ minds to the possibilities of different farming practices and uses of precision ag technology outside of their own geographic region.

[wpaudio url=”http://precision.agwired.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/01/Lori2.mp3″ text=”Listen to Costello explain”]

So what kind of content will Insights deliver in 2013? Listen to more from Costello.

[wpaudio url=”http://precision.agwired.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/01/Lori3.mp3″ text=”Listen to Costello explain”]

And, the magazine had such a great response after its first three issues in 2012 that they’ve added a fourth, making it a FREE quarterly magazine. Growers can either view Insights online (http://www.agleader.com/subscription/) or sign up to have a free copy mailed to their home or business.

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.

eMaint CMMS For Your Farm

Chuck ZimmermanAgribusiness, Audio, Data Collection, Equipment, Software

emaint logoHave you wondered how to measure the return on decisions you make like the choice in tractor tires? How to keep track of how, when, where you did maintenance on your equipment? eMaint Enterprises has a solution. I learned about it in a conversation with Rona Palmer.

When it comes to farming, eMaint offers farmers a system to keep track of equipment maintenance and it can be scaled from a one user, one tractor operation to a very large fleet operation. The first thing I learned is what CMMS stands for (see below). Rona says the system is very user friendly and that you don’t need a degree in computer management to use their service. Service plans start at $40/month. The service is managed by web browser access which you can do from any internet connected computer or tablet or smartphone. Find out more about how eMaint can help you and your farming operation in my conversation with Rona.

eMaint Enterprises has been providing innovative CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management Software) solutions since 1986. eMaint was one of the first CMMS providers to develop a completely web-based “Software as a Service” (SaaS) model for more rapid implementation at a lower total cost of ownership.

Our growing client-base consists of over 16,000 users worldwide across 1,000 sites ranging from small & medium sized organizations to Fortune 500 corporations including manufacturers, service providers, fleet operators, energy and utility companies, health care facilities, universities, municipalities, and facility and property managers, among others.

Listen to my interview with Rona here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/precision/emaint-palmer-1-13.mp3″ text=”eMaint Software Solution”]

Testing Methods of Herbicide Resistance

Talia GoesAgribusiness, Weed control

2 The journal Weed Science reports on methods of testing for herbicide resistance. The authors of a review article discuss testing techniques, including field surveys, plant sampling, and dose-response levels. Rapid resistance confirmations are contrasted with more thorough DNA-based tests.

More than 200 plant species worldwide are resistant to herbicides. Modern agriculture depends on resistance testing to determine the best resistance management and mitigation. There are basic steps in testing, but details may vary depending on the herbicide mechanism of action, weed species, and timing of application.

The classical approach to resistance confirmation is to collect seeds from surviving plants in suspected fields, plant them in pots, and apply appropriate herbicide(s). Multiple doses are used to allow the production of a dose-response curve that will show the magnitude of resistance. The test should include three to four replications to confirm results, taking up to 2 months.

Full text of the article, “Review: Confirmation of Resistance to Herbicides and Evaluation of Resistance Levels,” Weed Science,Vol. 61, No. 1, January-March 2013

AgFanatics Podcast from AgriVisor

Cindy ZimmermanAudio, Growmark

agfanaticsCory Winstead and Nick Klump are AgFanatics and they are not afraid to tell the world about it.

AgFanatics is a new podcast from AgriVisor.com, an agricultural advisory firm that is part of the GROWMARK family of companies, and Cory and Nick are the happy hosts making stuff like Farm Bill, Fiscal Cliff, the river situation, marketing and USDA reports fun and interesting!

“You will notice we have a good time doing what we do,” Cory says. “The best part of this is we are starting to get a good number of listeners in just our short month of doing this.”

AgFanatics can be found on Itunes or right from the front page at www.agrivisor.com. It is a 15-20 min program updated on Tuesdays and Thursdays that touches on a variety of agricultural topics. We will be featuring them here on AgWired as well.

Here are the two most recent podcasts:
[wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/growmark/AgFanatics7.mp3″ text=”AgFanatics #7 – Risk Management Tools”] [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/growmark/AgFanatics8.mp3″ text=”AgFanatics #8 – Market Talk”]

How Many Machines are on Your Farm?

Talia GoesGeneral

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “Should we sit down with HSUS in ‘common cause’?”

The results of this poll are skewed due to the hacking by HSUS. In the end, the poll read that eighty one percent voted Definitely, fifteen percent said Never, and four percent thought we Should in some cases. The attempt to affect our poll results has the HSUS/PETA goal of an end to animal agriculture. They are working to get the livestock industry to make concessions that drastically change production methods. When that happens it becomes a very slippery slope very quickly. It will only be a short matter of time before allowing chickens more room in cages becomes allowing all animals the right to life. Treating animals humanely is not the same as treating them like they are humans – but many activists see no difference.

The hacking we are referring to was having almost 400 poll responses to the Definitely answer come in during a few hours one night last week and none since. If you take them out, the answer Never would have been the highest result by far.

1.23.12graph

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “How many machines (tractors, etc.) does your farm own?” Some of the urban folk believe that if you own more than 1-2 pieces of machinery, that would classify you as a large farmer. We disagree with that. So let’s see how many pieces of equipment most farmers/ranchers own. Let us know!

ZimmPoll is sponsored by New Holland Agriculture.

T-Series Soybeans from Pioneer Announced Today

Chuck ZimmermanAgribusiness, Audio, Dupont Pioneer

Dupont PioneerThis morning Dupont Pioneer announced a new series of Pioneer brand soybeans – the T Series (pdf). You can learn more about it from comments made by Don Schafer, soybean marketing manager, and Dr. Jessie Alt, research scientist, during a press call. It looks like there will be new product available throughout the soybean growing regions. The new soybean line also included a new product numbering system (pdf) similar to that of Pioneer corn products.

A new series of Pioneer® brand soybean products, developed through the innovative DuPont Pioneer Accelerated Yield Technology (AYT™) process, will bring soybean growers across North America a broad range of high yielding varieties. The new line of soybean products – named the T Series – includes 39 new products and will be introduced in this year.

Signaling an exciting new era in soybean production, the T Series supports soybean growers committed to seeking the right product for the right acre on their soybean fields. Available in seven maturity groups, T Series products represent the largest number of soybean varieties advanced in a single year by Pioneer. The new T Series varieties succeed the popular Pioneer Y Series soybeans introduced several years ago.

“The next generation T Series soybean products provides growers a total package that helps them gain the most from every acre,” says Don Schafer, DuPont Pioneer senior marketing manager – soybeans. “A step change from earlier offerings, the T Series is a direct result of the AYT system that allows Pioneer soybean breeders to maximize yield potential, agronomic traits and resistance to yield-robbing pests.”

Listen to Don describe this new product launch here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/pioneer/pioneer-t-soybeans-schafer.mp3″ text=”Don Schafer Remarks”]

Listen to Jessie talk about the AYT system here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/pioneer/pioneer-t-soybeans-alt.mp3″ text=”Jessie Alt Remarks”]

AGCO Launches Auto-Guide 3000

Talia GoesAgribusiness, Satellite

AGCOAGCO announced the release of Auto-Guide 3000 – AGCO’s latest integrated assisted-steering solution designed to provide professional farmers around the world with best-in-market functionality.

Auto-Guide 3000 is a complete satellite-assisted steering technology and is the mainstream offering for precision technology solutions from AGCO. To meet a growing customer demand for guidance systems, AGCO has taken steps to design its next generation of guidance solutions to be simple to operate and fully scalable from sub-meter to sub-inch accuracy.

Key highlights include:
• Affordability as well as fully-integrated plug-and-play convenience.
• High quality and reliability driven by extensive testing at nine of AGCO’s global manufacturing sites.
• Customers’ choice of system scalability with both basic and easy-to-use features on the base monitor, or more advanced characteristics and functionality on the optional monitor.

In North America, Auto-Guide 3000 will be available starting in second quarter of 2013 as a factory-installed option on select Challenger and Massey Ferguson tractors, combine harvesters, including Gleaner and self-propelled windrowers.