Case IH Steiger 620 Sets New Records

Kelly MarshallAward, Case IH, Equipment, Tractor

The Case IH Steiger 620 has been proven the most fluid-efficient and highest drawbar horsepower tractor in the world by recent tests at the University of Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory (NTTL).  The 620 set new records in drawbar fuel efficiency, drawbar horsepower and maximum pull.

“It’s one thing to generate a lot of horsepower,” said Mitch Kaiser, Case IH Steiger tractor marketing manager. “But it’s just as important to efficiently transfer that power throughout the tractor and, ultimately, to the ground and to the implement you’re pulling. That fluid efficiency — including diesel fuel and Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) — translates directly to lower operating costs.”

In addition to the Steiger 620 achieving the highest marks recorded for any tractor ever tested at NTTL, the Steiger 580 scored the second-highest drawbar fuel economy ever recorded* at 17.53 horsepower hours per gallon — 6.63 percent higher than the tested competition in its power class.  The complete Steiger tractor lineup (370 to 620 horsepower) features best-in-class power, torque and fluid efficiency.

TechAccel and Iowa Corn Opportunities Invest in Agrivida

Kelly MarshallAgribusiness, Feed, Grain, livestock

Agrividia is a St. Louis-based company that has patented technology that uses the protein expression in grain to simplify the process of enzyme production for use as a feed additive. Now the company announces they have received financial support from TechAccel and Iowa Corn Opportunities to develop the enzyme.

“We see Agrivida and its technology as a great new platform for using corn as a cost- competitive factory for a wide variety of products,” said Brian Jones, Chief Operating Officer of the Iowa Corn Growers Association, parent company of Iowa Corn Opportunities.

These strategic investments come on the heels of Agrivida’s announcement of a $20.4M Series E financing round completed in September 2016. Terms of TechAccel and Iowa Corn Opportunities investments were not disclosed.

Meet Emerging Leaders in Crop Insurance

Cindy ZimmermanAg Group, Audio, Crop Insurance

Last year at the Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau annual meeting, we heard about the first class of the organization’s Emerging Leaders Program. The program was so popular that the second class has almost twice the members and we had a chance to talk with two of those emerging leaders at the meeting last week.

Chock Hefner started his crop insurance career with Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Company in 2010 and he’s very excited about being a part of this program. “The program for me means that I get exposed to the ins and outs of especially the political side of the crop insurance and reinsurance business,” said Hefner.

Nicholle Renshaw serves as the Regional Business Development Sales Representative for RCIS. “It was huge honor to be accepted into this program, it’s been a real eye opener,” she said.

The Emerging Leaders Program is for professionals in the crop insurance industry that seek to increase their knowledge and hands-on experience with key issues to help build the next generation of crop insurance leaders.

Listen to Cindy Zimmerman’s interviews with Chock and Nicholle here:
[wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/cirb17-nicholle.mp3″ text=”Interview with Nicholle Renshaw, RCIS, CIRB Emerging Leader”] [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/cirb17-chock.mp3″ text=”Interview with Chock Hefner, FMH, CIRB Emerging Leader”]

2017 CIRB Annual Meeting photo album

John Deere Showcases Equipment #CattleCon17

Kelly MarshallAgribusiness, Audio, John Deere

The John Deere booth at the 2017 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show is the place to be if you’re a producer, says Dave Yuska, Senior Product Manager.

“It looks like we’ve got pretty much everything a livestock producer would be looking for in their product portfolio. We’ve got the tractors, the 569 baler, which is our best selling round baler in our family of balers. We also have some utility vehicles and then some construction worksite equipment as well.”

Hear from John Deere’s booth yourself in Jamie Johansen’s full interview with Yuska here: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/ncba17-yuska.mp3″ text=”Interview with Dave Yuska, John Deere Product Manager”]

Challenges and Opportunities for #CIRB2017

Kelly MarshallAg Group, Audio, Crop Insurance

The 53rd annual meeting of the Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau is officially underway with the theme of Change-Challenge-Opportunity and record attendance, according to Executive Vice President Michael Torrey.

“I think it reflects the theme,” said Torrey. “Obviously a transition is going on, there’s going to be a lot of new people, and we’re going to have a lot of folks who probably aren’t fully aware of what risk management is for America’s farmers and ranchers.”

And that change is both a challenge and an opportunity for the industry, especially as work begins this year on a 2018 farm bill. “As folks start looking at where to get the money to spend on some programs, I think one can safely assume they are going to look at crop insurance,” Torrey said.

Considering the mood in Washington right now, Torrey says there’s “obviously a lot of uncertainty, a lot of unknowns, and folks are just trying to find their way through all of this, but there’s excitement as well.”

Learn more about the CIRB meeting here: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/cirb17-torrey.mp3″ text=”Interview with Michael Torrey, CIRB Executive Vice President”]

2017 CIRB Annual Meeting photo album

Soil Health Partnership Adds New Leadership

Kelly MarshallAg Group, Soil Health Partnership

Jack Cornell, a plant scientist recently from Monsanto, will be moving into a new position at the Soil Health Partnership. Cornell’s new role in the organization is to lead the ambitious on-farm data collection efforts as operations manager. He and his team will manage the collected data, provide strategic direction for SHP and act as a conduit of information to the Science Advisory Committee.

“Jack has an excellent background with a practical understanding of agronomy, crop and data management,” said Nick Goeser, SHP director and NCGA director of soil health and sustainability. “He brings a real-world industry perspective to help improve the efficiency of SHP data collection and management. We’re thrilled to have him on the team.”

John Deere Extends Warranties for Ag and Turf

Kelly MarshallAgribusiness, Equipment, John Deere

John Deere has extended a retroactive warranty on Ag and Turf Equipment parts sold after November 1, 2016. This includes dealer-installed original equipment manufactured (OEM) parts and labor and non-dealer or customer-installed John Deere OEM parts. These warranty terms give greater value to OEM parts and to dealership services for all customers, no matter what they own, says project manger Josh Dinwiddie.

“These new, improved warranty terms create a more consistent customer experience across all our John Deere Ag and Turf equipment lines and for all our John Deere dealers,” says Dinwiddie. “The longer term parts and labor warranties help our dealers be more competitive in offering high-quality OEM parts and service to their customers. And in certain cases, they match the warranty terms already being offered by some of our aftermarket parts suppliers and dealers.”Read More

Altavian Expands Line with Multispectral Sensor

Kelly MarshallAerial Imagery, UAV

The world of drones has an ever changing landscape, and Altavian is making changes of their own by partnering with MicaSense to integrate their RedEdge multispectral camera on Altavian’s UAVs.  The Nova and Galaxy UAVs are capable of 90 minute flights covering up to 600 acres, now while simultaneously capturing images using RGB, NDVI, CIR, GNDVI, NDRE, and Chlorophyll Maps.

“Our partnership with Altavian, will help empower growers, agronomists, and agricultural service providers to easily capture data on a large scale, for greater insight into crop health. The integration of our RedEdge sensor on an advanced long-endurance platform combined with data analysis and processing by MicaSense Atlas, provides end-users the tools they need to effectively manage their farms.” – Gabriel Torres, co-Founder and CEO

Actagro Introduces Innovative Approach to N Management

Kelly MarshallNitrogen, Nutrient Management

For growers looking to management nitrogen applications in a natural, sustainable way, Actagro LLC has introduced it’s newest product, Proximus. Derived from Nutri-Guard Technology the product can be sued with liquid N fertilizer to deliver nutrients to the plant when they are needed most.

“Proximus represents a new alternative solution for nitrogen management in production agriculture,” said Monty Bayer, President and CEO, Actagro. “The benefits Proximus offers growers are a direct result of Actagro’s continued investment in technology development and R&D.”

Proximus will be available in select U.S. markets for the 2017 growing season.

TerrAvion Expands Footprint in Key Ag Areas

Kelly MarshallAerial Imagery, Agribusiness

TerrAvion is one of the largest providers of aerial imagery for agriculture and now, thanks to financing from Merus Capital, Promus Ventures, Initialized Capital and 10x Group, the company will be expanding into the Great Plains, Mississippi Delta and Pacific Northwest. For founder and CEO Robert Morris this expansion is an important step in his goal of offering service to 80 percent of the U.S. irrigated agriculture by the end of 2017. The company is hiring aggressively, Morris states.

“TerrAvion is providing a valuable service to growers – helping them improve yields, lower costs and ultimately feed the world,” said Sean Dempsey, co-founder and managing director at Merus Capital. “Robert and his team have grown the company methodically using grassroots methods and have earned a stellar reputation in the ag community – we’re excited to partner with them to help accelerate their growth in the U.S. and internationally.”

Every week, TerrAvion takes hundreds of low-altitude flights to capture bird’s-eye views of farms, and then uploads the images to the cloud within hours so growers can plan scouting, management activities and interventions with unprecedented accuracy. TerrAvion imagery is much more detailed and up-to-date than satellite imagery, and far more cost effective than drone-based services. Its customers receive aerial photographs, plant vigor images, thermal images, custom color maps, underlying data, and histograms, at far greater detail than any other aerial imagery provider .