Van Dyke Assumes Head of NACD

Kelly MarshallAg Group, Conservation

Brent Van Dyke was sworn into the position of president of the National Association of Conservation Districts at their recent annual meeting. Van Dyke was elected to serve one year as president-elect in 2016 and now begins his two year term as president.

“Brent knows conservation – he comes from the farm and understands how important sustainable agriculture is to not only the American economy, but to people around the world,” NACD Immediate Past President Lee McDaniel said. “Brent also understands that our work as the ‘Voice of Conservation’ includes engaging with our more non-traditional urban and tribal partners. He sees the need to broaden NACD’s base and intends to continue the policies established in my tenure to that do just that.”

Van Dyke and his wife Kim reside in Hobbs, New Mexico, where they run a commercial and registered cattle operation. The Van Dykes also raise irrigated alfalfa and coastal Bermuda hay in Lea County, New Mexico, and cotton in Plains, Texas. Prior to assuming the presidency, Van Dyke served as vice president of the New Mexico Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts from 2006 to 2009. He also served as chair on the Lea County Soil and Water Conservation District’s board of supervisors.

Build a Better Tomato at ASTA Veggie & Flower

Kelly MarshallASTA, Audio, Vegetables

There’s a chemistry to the flavor of food, says horticultural science professor Harry Klee, but most growers simply aren’t set up for the intense process of studying and improving the tomatoes they grow. That’s why Klee’s team at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences has been researching the chemicals that contribute to tomato flavor.

“Most everyone agrees there’s a huge problem with the commercial tomato and the flavor of those products,” Klee told attendees of the American Seed Trade Association’s Vegetable and Flower Conference in Florida last week. “We’ve set out a long term goal to understand flavor on a basic level and ultimatly how to improve it.”

First the team, which included scientists from China, Israel and Spain, identified chemicals that contribute to flavor.  Then these Chinese scientists mapped the DNA of the tomato gene to find the location of the good alleles in the genome, allowing them to replace bad alleles in modern tomato varieties with better tasting options.

“We identified the important factors that have been lost and showed how to move them back into the modern types of tomatoes,” he said, stressing that this technique involves classical genetics, not genetic modification. “We’re just fixing what has been damaged over the last half century to push them back to where they were a century ago, taste-wise. We can make the supermarket tomato taste noticeably better.”

Listen to Klee’s presentation here: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/asta-vfs17-klee.mp3″ text=”Horticultural Science Professor, Harry Klee”]

GMO Labeling Rule Faces Challenges

Kelly MarshallGovernment, Labeling

Many ag organizations put in multiple hours to pass the Labeling Law this summer, but now a new executive order aimed at reducing regulations may create additional challenges to the final release of these rules.  The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) was working on the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) to get feedback on the best way to handle the new law when the ANPR was withdrawn by the new administration, along with other actions that were in progress at the end of Obama’s term.

Although it is unclear how the current situation will affect the final outcome of the law, the confirmation of Sonny Perdue as Secretary of Agriculture should offer more direction.

Hortau Irrigation Company Expanding Rapidly

Kelly MarshallAgribusiness, Irrigation

Hortau has been in the business of providing precision irrigation management systems for nearly 15 years– but they’re not done growing yet. Recently named as one of THRIVE AgTech’s Top 50 growth companies, Hortau expanded by 50 percent in 2016, moving into Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas. Originally founded in Quebec, the company now covers North America from coast to coast, as well as Turkey, Morocco, Peru and Egypt.

Part of that growth is attributed to their eight new R&D projects in software and firmware development, improving user experience, data science, soil physics and project management.  “Our R&D team is tremendously enhanced to deliver the services we’ll need to support our customers,” said Jocelyn Boudreau, Hortau CEO and co-founder.

To learn more about Hortau’s irrigation management services for agriculture, visit Hortau.com.

Wheat and Sorghum Producers Honor Sen. Roberts

Cindy ZimmermanGovernment, Sorghum, wheat

Dan Atkisson, NSP Vice Chairman, Chairman Roberts and Don Bloss, NSP Chairman

The chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee was honored by both wheat and sorghum producers this week in Washington.

Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) was presented with the National Sorghum Producers 2017 “Friend of Sorghum” Congressional Award in recognition of his long-running work representing the U.S. Sorghum producers.

“Senator Roberts is a formidable champion for U.S. farmers,” said Don Bloss, NSP chairman from Pawnee City, Nebraska. “We appreciate his advocacy, expertise and wit in crafting farm policy that keeps U.S. agriculture competitive in an ever-evolving global marketplace.”

Both Roberts and key members of his staff were honored by the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) and the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers (KAWG). Roberts was presented with the “Wheat Leader of the Year” award, the much-coveted “Wheaties” box, which is given annually to one member of congress based on their commitment to the well-being and goals of the wheat industry. This is the second time Senator Roberts has received this award.

Members of Chairman Roberts’ staff received the “Friend of Wheat” award, given annually to congressional staff who demonstrated support for the wheat industry above and beyond the norm. The 2017 recipients include James Glueck, Janae Brady, Wayne Stoskopf, and Will Stafford.

Syngenta Agrisure Viptera Demonstrates Control of Pests

Kelly MarshallInsect Control, Insecticide, Syngenta

Agrisure Viptera traits offered growers effective control of above-ground pests, says Syngenta. In 2016 the products protected better against western bean cutworm and corn earworm in side by side, competitive tests.

“Growers face tough decisions when selecting hybrids and trait technologies,” said Iris Tzafrir, commercial traits product lead, Syngenta. “Growers concerned about input costs may consider hybrids with little to no insect control, but they are taking a big gamble on the success of their crop. Choosing hybrids with insect control traits, such as Agrisure Viptera, can help defend a valuable seed investment against unpredictable pest pressure throughout the growing season.”

Read more about the tests of Agrisure Viptera in Missouri and Nebraska, and get more information by visiting Know More, Grow More.

Frost & Sullivan Provide Analysis of Smart Ag

Kelly Marshalltechnology

With the concept of smart agriculture on the rise, Frost & Sullivan have released information concerning this hot topic.  The report covers advancements in agriculture such as: sensors, intelligent networks, UAVs and robotics. Frost & Sullivan believe that these smart farm resources will allow consumers better access to the type of food they’re seeking, be it ethically produce items, allergen-free options or sustainably grown products.

“Remarkable innovations in allied industries such as ICT, chemicals, hydroponics and aquaculture have resulted in a slew of innovative, smart agriculture technologies,” said Frost & Sullivan Agriculture & Nutrition Global Director Christopher Shanahan. “Some of the high-potential technologies under development include farming apps that provide data for on-field activities, roof-top farming technology in land-scarce regions, and monitoring systems that record information and place it in a cloud for further access.”

Epcot Flower and Garden Festival to Feature Seeds

Cindy ZimmermanASTA, Audio, seed

The 24th Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival will feature a special place of honor this year for that which makes it all possible – the seed!

Debbie Mola Mickler and Eric Darden with Disney horticulture speak to ASTA members

During the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) 56th Vegetable & Flower Seed Conference this week at Disney’s Epcot Center, festival coordinator Eric Darden announced that they will feature an ASTA garden at this year’s three month long event. “We’re going to tell the story to our guests about your organization and more importantly about seeds,” he said. “We’re going to show both edibles and ornamentals…to visually tell our guests about what plant breeding has done for their food and their ornamental plants.”

The display will be in front of the Land Pavilion between March 1 and May 31 and will include signage explaining the importance of seed and plant breeding and some special activities. “There’s no better storyteller than Disney,” said ASTA CEO Andy LaVigne. “We’ve got two days where we’re going to be able to make four presentations to participants about the seed…We really appreciate the chance to get in there and tell a story with master storytellers.”

Listen to the announcement here: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/asta-vfs17-epcot.mp3″ text=”Disney horticulturist Eric Darden and ASTA CEO Andy LaVigne”]

Precision Ag Bytes

Kelly MarshallPrecision Ag Bytes

  • Pinnacle Operating Corporation announced an agreement with its First-Lien Term Loan and Second-Priority Notes on a financial recapitalization plan that will reduce Pinnacle’s overall debt by over $5 million, reduce cash interest costs, increase the Company’s liquidity and strengthen its overall capital structure.
  • People at the American Sugar Alliance work with their policy day in and day out, so the organization recently asked a former journalist who was brand new to sugar policy to research it and write a brief explanation for new Hill staff or Administration officials.  That review is available here.
  • Trelleborg has been selected as an official partner of the 6th AGCO Africa Summit.  The event is scheduled to be held in Berlin, Germany on January 23.

Competitive Advantage of #USsoy

Kelly MarshallAg Group, Soybeans, USSEC

Iowa no-till corn and soybean farmer, Rolland Schnell, was one of the many farmers from states throughout the Midwest who trekked south to Panama for the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) and Soy Aquaculture Alliance (SAA) Aquaculture Educational Opportunity. During the event, AgWired’s Jamie Johansen spent a day at the Panama Canal getting a full glimpse of the important role infrastructure plays in our export market.

As a soybean farmer, Rolland understands how vital the expansion of the Canal is and the type of competitive advantage it provides. He said, “We have a very open free-trade program. Our infrastructure allows us to be timely, which is very important to our customers. We need to support every effort to keep our infrastructure efficient.”

When it comes to aquaculture, U.S. soy also has a competitive advantage with USSEC’s Soybean Sustainability Assurance Protocol (SSAP) which global customers are very interested in. “Aquaculture is a fast growing industry and we have an opportunity to be in at the ground floor showing preference, dependability and advantages in sustainability. They get efficiency with the use of U.S. soy.”

Listen to Jamie’s complete interview with Rolland here: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/ussoy-panama-17-rolland-grower.mp3″ text=”Rolland Schnell, Iowa Farmer”]

View and download photos from the event here: 2017 USSEC Aquaculture Educational Opportunity Photos