Crop Insurance Education for Capitol Hill

Kelly MarshallCrop Insurance

National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS) is hoping to educate new Congressional staff members and the media about what crop insurance means to American farmers. To that end they’ve created  an informational video featuring the knowledge of Tom Zacharias, President of NCIS.

“Farming is no easy task. It is one of the riskiest enterprises in the world, defined by uncontrollable conditions that are unlike any other profession. Bad weather, blight, insects, natural disasters, price fluctuations, and global subsidization all make it hard to make a living as a farmer,” NCIS explains.

“That’s where crop insurance comes in. It’s basically no different than auto insurance or homeowner’s insurance. Banks require farmers to purchase it, just as they require insurance from homebuyers.”

Learn more to share more at Crop Insurance 101.

Fields-of-Corn Photo Contest Winners Announced

Kelly MarshallAg Group, Contest, NCGA

Twenty-two winners of the National Corn Growers Association‘s 2016 Fields of Corn Photo Contest have visually communicated the message of hard work and beauty that are the hallmark of our nation’s agriculture.

“For the third year in a row, we opened up this photo contest to the general public, and we are again impressed with the high quality of the results,” said NCGA Graphic Communications Designer Beth Musgrove. “These images will help us tell the story of farming in a meaningful, powerful way and, in fact, they are already featured in some of our publications and on our website.”

Judges looked through more than 300 photographs and chose Morgan winkler of Lyon Station, Pennsylvania as the grand prize winner for her photograph, “Bee’s Wings-A-Fly’n” (pictured right).  Along with the grand prize winner, three winners were selected from seven categories. You can view the winning pictures on the Fields of Corn website.

Worried About Weeds?

Kelly Marshallwebinar, Weed control

The factors involved in weed resistance can be complex. That’s why BASF is sponsoring the Growing for Tomorrow weed resistance management webinar next Wednesday, February 1 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. CST.

Technical Marketing Manger, Chad Asmus from BASF and Professor and Extension Weed Specialist, Dr. Eric Prostko from the University of Georgia will be discussing issues of weed resistance, from product overuse to the right sprayer technology.

Cost is free, but make sure to register online.

Corn Advocacy is Always in Season

Kelly MarshallAdvocacy, Corn

Sharing the story of agriculture just got a little easier, thanks to Illinois corn farmer, Justin Durdan.  He spent 2016 filming 360 degree, panoramic, season-long action shots of his family’s corn and soybean farm in Lasalle County, and now the four-video series is ready for sharing on your social media feeds.

You can link to these videos at www.watchusgrow.org/home-grown-corn to help your off-farm friends understand what happens to their food.  The videos feature a Chicago-area radio personality and a self-proclaimed “city girl” who ask questions for Durdan to answer.

“We know consumers have questions about farming,” Durdan says. “The goal with these videos is to answer those questions and let consumers see for themselves what we do on our farm.”

Des Moines Hosts 3rd Soil Health Summit

Cindy ZimmermanSoil, Soil Health Partnership

Nick Goeser, SHP director, with Dave Muth, AgSolver

Nearly 200 scientists, industry leaders, environmentalists, water quality experts and farmers gathered in Des Moines last week for third annual summit of the Soil Health Partnership, a project to make agriculture more productive and sustainable through healthy soil.

“Through this program, we have powerful analytics underway providing early indicators of tangible links between soil health and enhanced farm performance,” said Nick Goeser, SHP director.

Among the presenters at the event were David Muth with AgSolver, Iowa farmer Roger Zylstra, who is enrolled in the SHP program, and Doug Karlen, a USDA distinguished senior research scientist based in Iowa. Working with their agronomists and trained field managers, SHP farmers have enrolled about 32,000 acres to provide data for the analytics. The three main areas of study are cover crops, reduced tillage and advanced nutrient management. Other speakers included Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey, The Nature Conservancy’s Director of Working Lands Michael Doane and Purdue Agricultural Economics Professor Wallace Tyner.

S&W Commences Commercial-Sale Sorghum Production

Kelly Marshallseed, Sorghum

S&W Seed Company has begun a new venture into commercial-scale production of hybrid grain sorghum and hybrid forage sorghum seed. The move towards sorghum is the result of consumer demand for gluten-free, non-GMO and whole grains that the grain provides.

S&W acquired the operations of SV Genetics (“SVG”) sorghum program in May 2016 with the goal of advancing deployment of the proprietary high-yielding, disease resistance germplasm worldwide. The company has royalty-based licensing agreements with 12 partners in 9 countries that are currently increasing production, and commencing commercial-scale production of hybrid grain sorghum and hybrid forage sorghum operations is the first step in the company embarking on its dual strategy to expand vertically as well.

Mark Grewal, chief executive officer of S&W Seed Company commented, “When we acquired the sorghum operations of SVG, we saw an opportunity to leverage our capabilities and infrastructure within alfalfa, including our production and distribution capabilities, for the benefit of a growing global crop. Today’s announcement is an important step in growing our sorghum operations as we look to become more vertically integrated, which we anticipate will help to capture a greater share of the gross profit dollar for sorghum, while providing many of our existing distributors with additional products they can sell. I look forward to continued advancement of this strategy in the coming years as we plan to increase global acreage dedicated to sorghum.”

Stronger Demand Leads to Brisk Export Says USGC

Kelly MarshallAg Group, Grain

A report published by the U.S. Grains Council has good news for the grain industry. Exports of U.S. feed grains were promising in the first quarter of the 2016/2017 market year, rising 32 percent over the same quarter last year. Many are hopeful that this strong first quarter, combined with the USDA’s latest full-year forecast, could foretell a higher marketing year.

Exports increases are mostly thanks to corn exports to Mexico, Japan and South Korea, with Mexico importing 128.9 million bushels, 18 percent more than 2015/2016 first quarter. Corn exports to Japan are up 72 percent to 110.6 million and South Korea received 62.4 million. Peru, Nicaragua, Panama, Taiwan and Indonesia also contributed to the rise in exports. Ethanol also played an important role, with the U.S. sending 353 million gallons overseas.

The U.S. Grains Council’s global staff is continuing its marketing push to increase near-term sales and, ultimately, help support farmer price in a time of high production and an unsure farm economy. This work compliments the long-term demand building work done by the Council in more than 50 countries for grain and grain products.

ZimmCast Interviews CNH Industrial Precision Solutions

Kelly MarshallAudio, Case IH

ZimmCast 534This week Chuck Zimmerman got to talk precision ag with the new Industry Relations Manager, Precision Solutions and Telematics for CNH Industrial, Dan Danford. Dan already has travel scheduled for the new job that will take him to South America and Europe as well as around the USA.

In his role with CNH Industrial Dan will be getting involved with organizations like the Agricultural Data Coalition and AgGateway. Part of his job is to work with groups like these that are trying to create commonality of data and develop an industry approach that makes thing clearer for all customers. He will also be working with third party developers and others what want to work with CNH through their equipment and systems.

Learn more about Dan in his new role and what CNH is doing in this space in this week’s program: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/zimmcast534-1-23-16.mp3″ text=”ZimmCast with Dan Danford, CNH Industrial”]

Subscribe to the ZimmCast podcast here.

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Learn About CommonGround’s 7-Year PR Evolution

Kelly MarshallAg Group, webinar

If you’re looking for solutions in the PR department, perhaps this is your answer. Missy Morgan of Osborn & Barr is presenting a webinar on the success of the 7-year PR Evolution of the GommonGround organization, brought to you by the Agricultural Relations Council.

“Have you ever scratched your head in wonder when a PR program thrives despite overwhelming obstacles?” asks Morgan “Often shifting strategies, leadership and budgets can render an otherwise relevant program dead in the water. CommonGround is thriving at year seven, and I’m excited to share with you how it keeps on growing.”

The webinar will be held on February 2, 2017 from 12:30-1:30 EST.  Tickets for the event are available via Eventbright.

BASF Expands On Target Application Academy

Kelly MarshallBASF, Herbicides, Spraying

Good stewardship is a cornerstone of the agriculture community; that’s why BASF is offering a new online training module to help growers and applicators learn all they need to know to concerning new herbicide technologies. Classes are available at home or in the field, and on any device, with topics covering drift mitigation, nozzle selection and proper calibation. Applicators can even earn Continuing Education Units for completing the training.

Proper application ensures the highest level of success, says Dr. Bob Wold, owner of Wolf Consulting & Research LLC and trainer for the On Target Application Academy (OTTA). “With easy-to-access herbicide application tips, growers and applicators can improve on-target applications.”

“BASF is continuing its commitment to stewardship through this one-of-a-kind program,” said Chad Asmus, Technical Marketing Manager, BASF. “The newly released module allows BASF to reach more applicators with information that will help steward new technologies and the land for future generations.”