New SMART Farmer Podcast

Kelly MarshallPodcast, SMART Farmer

Our latest SMART Farmer podcast episode – and the first of three from Commodity Classic – features Illinois farmer Roberta Simpson-Dolbeare. In the craziness that is Classic, Robert and I found a quiet corner to sit down and talk about what being a SMART farmer means to her.

Roberta says she and her husband are first generation farmers, with their daughter and son-in-law recently joining the operation, so farming smart is important to them. “We’ve had to buy our own (land) so it’s nice to think of passing that on to a next generation,” she said.

Listen to the podcast here: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/smartfarmer/smart-farmer-podcast-3-13-17.mp3″ text=”SMART Farmer Podcast with Roberta Simpson-Dolbeare”]

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Farm and Gin Show Hears Market Outlook

Kelly MarshallAudio, Farm & Gin Show, Markets

Richard Brock of Brock Associates spoke to attendees of the Mid-South Farm and Gin Show about commodity prices and why they are shaping up in a way most didn’t expect.

“You’ve got two crops to harvest every year- one is the one you grow and one is the speculator. I think the speculator is going to allows us an opportunity to sell corn and beans, in fact they already are, at higher prices than they were two months ago,” Brock explains.

This year shows an increase in intent to plant cotton, making it not quite king, but doing very well, Brock says. Cotton costs slightly less per acre to plant than corn, but costs to get back into cotton will be a factor. Cotton pickers come more dear than combines and growers who got completely out of the game will have a hard time jumping back in.

Brock looks for this year to be one of change. While the conditions have many differences from the mid-80s, the transitions agriculture will go through will similarly provide growers an opportunity. It may be good, it may be bad, but it will be different Brock believes.

Listen to his full remarks to Chuck Zimmerman here: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/gin-17-brock.mp3″ text=”Interview with Richard Brock”]

Mid-South Farm & Gin Show

Coverage of the Mid-South Farm & Gin Show is sponsored by
Coverage of the Mid-South Farm & Gin Show is sponsored by FMC

Big Buzz at Farmers Edge Booth from #Classic17

Kelly MarshallAgribusiness, Audio, Commodity Classic, Farmers Edge, technology

Farmers Edge had not one, but two major new product launches at Commodity Classic in San Antonio last week and their Vice President of Marketing, Marina Barnes was on hand to tell us about them both.

FarmCommand takes precision agriculture to decision agriculture, Barnes said, with it’s easy to use, all-in-one system. It eliminates the need for multiple passwords and unusable data. “Farmers don’t have time, they have to seed, they have to harvest, they don’t have time for that,” Barnes exclaims. “What we do is we make technology work and we make it so easy for them – that all they have to do is just open their Farm Command on a mobile device, on their tablet, on their laptop. It’s just so easy.”

Rest assured that data is safe with Farmers Edge. As an independent company they don’t sell inputs and they won’t compromise a farmer’s privacy. The information is there for farmers to make decisions and to make themselves profitable, says Barnes.

Corn Manager is the company’s other exciting release. It’s a break-through product, offering a three-in-one solution of zone-based nitrogen management, satellite imagery, and crop staging. The integrated, decision-support tool set can manage and maximize high-yield corn production,to help growers visualize overall crop health and variability.

If interest at Commodity Classic is any indication, these new products are set to make a real impact on the ag industry. Learn more in Cindy Zimmerman’s full interview with Marina Barnes here: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/classic17-farmersedge-2.mp3″ text=”Interview with Marina Barnes, Farmers Edge”]

2017 Commodity Classic Photo Album

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OHP Signs Agreement with Vestaron

Kelly MarshallAgribusiness, Insect Control

OHP, Inc. a leading marketer of crop protection solutions for the production ornamentals market, is partnering with Vestaron Corp. of Kalamazoo, MI to market a greenhouse bioinsecticide. Spear O provides control of thrips, whiteflies and spider mites that plague greenhouse ornamental growers. It is a toxin-derived bioinsecticide that controls pests without harming honeybees, fish, birds, humans or other mammals and it’s dual mode of action prevents against resistance.

“We are excited to bring Spear O to the market as another tool for the greenhouse ornamental grower,” says Dan Stahl, OHP vice president and general manager. “Whether a grower relies on conventional or a biological insecticide approach or a combination of the two, Spear O is a great choice.”

FMC Invites Growers to PPO Resistance Webinar

Kelly MarshallFMC, Herbicides, webinar, Weed control

FMC is hosting a webinar to address the growing concern about PPO resistance and what growers can do to help prevent the loss of this herbicide technology. Dr. Aaron Hager, associate professor from the Department of Crop Sciences at University of Illinois and Nick Hustedde, FMC Technical Representative will cover why PPO resistance is a big issue, herbicide class diversity, concerns for multiple resistance biotypes, and best management practices to preserve herbicides.

The webinar will take place this Thursday, March 16, 2017 from 10:00-10:30 a.m. CT. You may register to either attend live or have the recording sent to you after the event.

Feed A Bee Offers Grants for Pollinator Forage

Kelly MarshallAudio, Bayer CropScience, Bees, pollinators

Dr. Becky Langer attended last week’s Bayer #Advocay Forum and we caught up with her there to get more details on Bayer’s latest Feed a Bee announcement.

To promote their new goal of providing pollinator forge in all 50 states, the Bayer Bee Care program is offering a total of $500,000 for grant projects over the next two years. Proposals should come from organizations and request either $1,000, $2,500, or $5,000 for innovative and creative projects. For example, a 4-H club may request money to put in an orchard, or a utility company could submit a proposal to plant forage in their power line right of way. Everyone qualifies for this grant, Langer says. Proposals are judged by what they can do for pollinators.

Forage initiatives in each state must include the following priorities to be considered for funding:

Establishing pollinator forage via a dedicated planting or habitat restoration led by the applying organization. Examples of activities may include but are not limited to establishing a pollinator garden, increasing acreage of existing forage, management of right of way vegetation, restoration of native habitat land, etc. Location must be viable and able to support pollinator forage plants (wildflowers, ornamentals or trees) and pollinators, including (but not limited to) farms, community/urban gardens, schools, rights-of-way, etc.

To learn more Langer suggests heading to FeedABee.com and checking out the “Impact” tab, or listen to her interview here: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/bayer-advoc-17-langer.mp3″ text=”Interview with Becky Langer, Bayer Bee Care”]

2017 Bayer AgVocate Forum Photos

#Classic17 Lines Up for John Deere C850 Air Cart

Kelly MarshallAudio, Commodity Classic, John Deere

The John Deere C850 Air Cart sat centerstage in their booth during the 2017 Commodity Classic. At times you even had to wait in line for a chance to climb the latter for a birds eye view and get a first-hand look at the cart’s 850-bushel carrying capacity. Tyson Harris, product manager at John Deere, also had a line of farmers anxiously waiting to get their questions answered and learn how this piece of equipment can help them drill more acres per day.

Tyson said the C850 Air Cart is equipped with John Deere’s AirPower™ 2 system giving farmers the capability to put out 550 pounds of product per acre, accurately and on a 15 degree slope across the width of the drill.

“If you are a producer who defines performance in terms of productivity, technology integration and accuracy then the C850 is the air cart for you,” Tyson said.

“I think the thing producers want to know the most is the capability of the system. They want to know the size of the tank, what are the tanks splits to see if it fits an ideal prospective on their farm and they want to understand pricing. With commodity prices the way they are, they want to make sure our product is competitive on the marketplace. I think John Deere has done a great job of providing a right price point, but also providing a machine that gives you value and a return to the producer,” Tyson added.

A limited release of the C850 Air Cart took place in Canada last year and it has officially been released in the United States this spring and will be available for model year 18 for ordering. Listen to Jamie’s complete interview with Tyson here: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/cc-17-jd-harris.mp3″ text=”Interview with Tyson Harris, John Deere”]

View and download photos from the event here: 2017 Commodity Classic Photo Album

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Commodity Classic coverage made possible by FMCCommodity Classic coverage made possible by John DeereCommodity Classic coverage made possible by Farmers Edge

FMC Looking for a Cotton Comeback

Kelly MarshallAgribusiness, Audio, Cotton

Mid-South Farm and Gin Show took place last week in Memphis, Tennessee and FMC is a big part of making that happen as a long-time sponsor. Chris Reat says the show is a lot of fun; a place where relationships are built and reconnected as members of the industry gather to learn about a commodity which plays a lesser part in many conferences– cotton.

Things are looking up for this southern favorite, Reat says, and for growers who may have had to move away from the crop in the past, the mood is brighter. Of course, most farmers want to know what the weather or the markets will bring this season, but FMC is ready to help with what they can: insecticides and fungicides they’ll need for a great year.

“Lots of positive conversations about the markets,” Reat comments. “They are what they are, but I still need to maximize my return on investment and maximize the production I’m getting on my individual acres.”

Listen to Chuck’s full interview with Reat here to learn more: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/gin-17-reat.mp3″ text=”Interview with Cris Reat, FMC”]

Mid-South Farm & Gin Show

Coverage of the Mid-South Farm & Gin Show is sponsored by
Coverage of the Mid-South Farm & Gin Show is sponsored by FMC

Poncho/VOTiVO Gives Great Odds

Kelly MarshallAudio, Bayer CropScience, Commodity Classic, seed

If you could go to Vegas with 80 percent favorable odds, would you take it? asks Greg Ginisty, Bayer product manager. That’s what Poncho/VOTiVO has provided growers – a consistent product with a consistent return on investment, and really great odds. Poncho/VOTiVo has been game-changing in terms of insect control since 2010 when it was first launched and it remains the number one seed treatment in the U.S. market.

While Bayer is proud of what Poncho/VOTiVO has already accomplished, there’s more. A new formulation is coming in 2018, Ginisty says. “At Bayer we’ve been working on the next generation of Poncho/VOTiVO. This will be Phocho/VOTiVO 2.0. We’re keeping the same great advantages of Poncho, the same benefits of VOTiVO and we’re adding a third component to the mix. It’s a second biological seed treatment. This second biological is going to focus on soil health.”

Growers are increasingly more interested in the environment in which seeds and plants will be growing and the new biologic provides increased microbial growth. Testing shows a nearly 4 bu/A additional gain over Poncho/VOTiVO’s already documented 10 bushel bump.

To learn more about 2.0 listen to Greg Ginisty and Jennifer Riggs, Bayer product development manger, in this press conference from Commodity Classic. [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/classic17-bayer-votivo.mp3″ text=”Poncho/VOTiVO Press Conference”]

2017 Commodity Classic Photo Album

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Commodity Classic coverage made possible by FMCCommodity Classic coverage made possible by John DeereCommodity Classic coverage made possible by Farmers Edge

ARA Encourages Use of AgGateway’s ADAPT Toolkit

Kelly MarshallAg Group, AgGateway, ARA, technology

Precision agriculture doesn’t come without its share of frustrations; getting systems to “talk” to each other is certainly one of them. Now the Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) is encouraging the use of AgGateway‘s ADAPT toolkit to allow multiple formats to share data across software applications.

“We encourage manufacturers to integrate the ADAPT framework in their offerings, and to leverage the many resources available through AgGateway to provide this benefit to ag retailers and producers as soon as possible,” said ARA President and CEO Daren Coppock. “The AgGateway teams worked with ag retailers in developing ADAPT to make sure their needs were addressed. ADAPT will help ag retailers and agronomists more easily manage data, saving an enormous amount of time and resources, and leading to more satisfied producer customers with stronger tools to manage their operations.”

Equipment manufacturers and software companies are encouraged to go to www.ADAPTFramework.org for more information.