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#ExEx16 Hears La Nina Weather Forecast

Kelly MarshallOctober 31, 2016Ag Group, Audio, Events, Exports, weather

No matter where on the supply chain you are, members of the agriculture industry are always interested in the weather. Kyle Tamely, a senior ag meteorologist with MDA Weather Services, recently spoke at the Export Exchange 2016 conference, presenting on weather trends and the global grain market to international buyers and domestic suppliers of corn, ethanol co-products, sorghum and barley.

La Nina dominated his talk as Tamely explained how the weather phenomenon controls global weather. The Tropical weather patterns of La Nina occur when stronger than average trade winds move warmer water to the Western Pacific Ocean and cooler water moves to Central and Eastern Pacific. This pattern, the exact opposite of El Nino, is technically defined after five 3-month periods of water temperatures altered by 1/2 a degree Celsius. While the current situation may or may not reach the technical definition, Tamely says the affects on global weather will occur anyhow.

For the U.S., La Nina generally means dryer weather in the southwest, but for growers the impact will be minimal, with harvest unaffected overall. North America can expect slightly less than average rain fall now through the winter, however the north faces the possibility of high levels of snow pack through the winter.

South America may also see slightly dryer weather, although Brazil is typically unaffected by La Nina. Argentina is currently seeing good rains headed into the growing season, but too much rain in southern Brazil could affect wheat harvest. Tamely predicts a rise in crop production for South American over last season, due in part to the rebound from Brazil’s recent drought.

While Western Europe is still dry, Eastern Europe’s conditions are favorable for winter crops. A warmer than average winter should help decrease winter kill as well. The Black Sea region was dry until just recently, but rainfall has returned soil conditions to normal and above average winter temperatures there will be good for wheat too.

Australia has seen more precipitation, thanks to La Nina. In some areas the quality of the wheat harvest is being affected by damp conditions and an early frost and cool conditions aren’t helping. The continent will continue to see wet weather as La Nina continues through the end of the year. China has seen wet weather as well, but conditions are improving for harvest. Areas that were too dry are getting a boost from typhoons in the region. South Africa was hit hard by El Nino last year, but rainfall is returning to normal to above normal, relieving pressure after the drought.

While it’s too soon to say, Tamely looks for this weak La Nina too peter out with 2016 rather than gain strength. It is unclear what direction 2017 will take, but the forecast currently suggests water temperatures next year will be close to normal.

You can listen to Kyle Tamely’s talk here to get the details for yourself: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/exex16-tapley.mp3″ text=”Kyle Tamely, MDA Weather Services”]

2016 Export Exchange Photo Album

Coverage of Export Exchange 2016 made possible by

New Holland Acquires Grass & Soil Business

Jamie JohansenOctober 31, 2016Agribusiness, Equipment, Forage, Hay, Machinery, New Holland, Soil, Tillage

New Holland Agriculture will expand its wide offering with new implement product lines as a result of CNH Industrial’s agreement to acquire the agricultural Grass and Soil business of Kongskilde Industries, part of the Danish Group Dansk Landbrugs Grovvareselskab.

This business develops, manufactures and sells solutions for agricultural applications in the Tillage and Hay & Forage segments under various brands, including Kongskilde, Överum and JF. Kongskilde will continue to operate through its current sales organization and its dealer network ensuring continuity in its customers’ support.

This acquisition will create a major extension and enhancement of New Holland’s offering with the addition of a key product portfolio. New Holland has a long history of leadership in the hay tools which dates back to 1940, when it made a major breakthrough in hay harvesting with the introduction of the first self-tying automatic pick-up baler to the American farmers. Throughout the years it has been motivated by its forward-thinking commitment to respond to its customers’ requirements and has developed a complete product offering of hay equipment for cutting, tedding, raking, baling and stacking. Today New Holland is a Global leading brand and an industry-leader in North America in the haytools and agricultural equipment markets.

“The acquisition of the tillage and hay and forage activities of Kongskilde adds a key product range that will further broaden New Holland Agriculture’s product offering within the agricultural machinery sector. In the meantime the Kongskilde dealer and importer network will remain the reference point for their customers. This agreement will provide growth opportunities and create a strong platform to develop the Kongskilde business and its brands and we will also gradually integrate their products in the New Holland portfolio”, said Carlo Lambro, Brand President of New Holland Agriculture.

“We are proud to welcome the well-established products and brands of Kongskilde, Överum and JF into the CNH Industrial Group. It is our intention to build upon these proud heritages and significantly increase their market access as part of our worldwide distribution network,” commented Richard Tobin, CEO of CNH Industrial.

USDA Invests $1.7 Billion in Sensitive Ag Lands

Kelly MarshallOctober 31, 2016CRP, USDA

More than half a million Americans will receive payments for lands enrolled in the voluntary Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). The USDA will issue nearly $1.7 billion through the program to protect almost 24 million acres of wetlands, grasslands and wildlife habitat for 2016.

“We have seen record demand to participate in this important program,” said Vilsack. “Despite the current enrollment limit of 24 million acres, USDA is committed to continuing our important partnerships with farmers, ranchers, state and local governments and sportsmen to maintain the environmental benefits provided by the Conservation Reserve Program.”

More than 1.3 million acres were newly enrolled in CRP in fiscal year 2016 using the continuous enrollment authority, triple the pace of the previous year. In fiscal year 2016, FSA also accepted 411,000 acres through its general enrollment authority, plus 101,000 acres in the new CRP-Grasslands program, which balances conservation with working lands. More than 70 percent of the acres enrolled in CRP-Grasslands are diverse native grasslands under threat of conversion, with more than 97 percent of the acres having a new, veteran or underserved farmer or rancher as a primary producer.

During its 30-year history, CRP has reduced nitrogen and phosphorous runoff by 95 and 85 percent, respectively, and restored 2.7 million acres of wetlands. It has also protected more than 170,000 stream miles with riparian buffers, enough to go around the world seven times. The program provides 15 million acres that are beneficial to pollinators, and hundreds of thousands of acres of wildlife habitat that has resurrected waterfowl and gamebird populations, like pheasants, quail and prairie chicken.

The CRP program is credited with removing 49 million tons of greenhouse gasses and preventing nine billion tons of soil erosion.

Ag Groups Defend Sustainability of #GMOs

Cindy ZimmermanOctober 31, 2016Audio, biotechnology, Food, GMO, USFRA

Agricultural organizations are doubling down on their defense of biotechnology as sustainable, after challenging Dannon for its pledge to eliminate genetically-modified ingredients from some products, citing that it improves sustainability.

“There comes a time when we as farmers and ranchers need to step up and challenge when companies misinform consumers,” said U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance CEO Randy Krotz on a press call this morning to announce plans for a “Straight Talk” campaign to engage the food industry in a dialogue on sustainable agriculture production.

While many foods are being marketed as non-GMO, Dannon was a tipping point for the industry because their pledge indicated that GMO crops were less sustainable that non-GMO crops. “It’s really about sustainability – it’s not about non-GMO or GMO, we can grow whatever the customer wants,” said USFRA chair Nancy Kavazanjian of Wisconsin. “To equate a modern technology that we use that makes us more sustainable and to try and say it makes us less sustainable – that was the point where we had to say something.”

“When you look at the product that Dannon is talking about putting on the shelf…there’s only two differences,” said National Milk Producers Federation chairman Randy Mooney of Missouri. “One is the writing on the carton and the other is the price. If agriculture goes back 20 years, food prices in this country are going to go up.”

University of Arkansas Office for Sustainability Executive Director Dr. Marty Matlock discussed how food biotechnology has helped improve agricultural sustainability since 1980, citing statistics on corn and soybeans from the Field to Market® 2012 Environmental and Socioeconomic Indicators Report. “U.S. agriculture is the most efficient production system in the world,” said Matlock. “Efficiency means reducing inputs and reducing impacts.”

USFRA and NMPF also launched an on-line dialogue about the topic today with the hashtag #AgTechTalk.

Listen to comments from Kavazanjian, Matlock, Mooney and Krotz here: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/usfra-agtechtalk.mp3″ text=”Ag Groups Defend GMO Sustainability”]

Dialogue with reporters: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/usfra-agtechtalk-2.mp3″ text=”USFRA/NMPF #AgTechTalk”]

FMC Offers New Fungicides

Joanna SchroederOctober 31, 2016Audio, FMC, Fungicides

“This is one of the most exciting times to be at FMC,” Kaustubh Borah, segment manager for specialty crops, told AgWired during the 42nd annual CAPCA Conference & Agri-Expo. With the acquisition of Cheminova, FMC’s fungicide portfolio has expanded. For instance, in the TF&V segment FMC now has some new fungicides along with some insecticides and herbicides to complement the entire portfolio.

FMC’s Kaustubh Borah speaks with AgWired’s Joanna Schroeder about their new fungicides Rhyme and Fracture during the 2016 CAPCA Conference.

FMC used CAPCA as the platform to launch two new fungicides. The first is Rhyme™ fungicide, which Borah says it is one of the most highly systemic triazoles in the marketplace. “What this basically means is that it translocates within the plant very quickly and helps to control some very difficult to control diseases such as powdery mildew, brown rot blossom blight and leaf rust.” Borah said they are also going to be getting a chemigation label to help their farmer customers use it through the drip. Borah also pointed out iprodione, Sovran® fungicide and mancozeb (Koverall® fungicide) as some other fungicide offerings complementing the portfolio.

FMC also has a new biological called Fracture® fungicide. I asked Borah how the fungicide works and how it differs from others on the market. He explained that the polypeptide is extracted from sweet lupine plants and it binds itself to the cell walls of the fungi and fractures it, hence the name Fracture. It then coats the fungal cell membrane covering it completely and then prevents the cell from absorbing nutrients thus suffocating it. Within four hours the cell cannot reproduce and within eight hours the cell is dead. “Fracture controls powdery mildew and botrytis. It has a 24 hour PHI and a four-hour REI,” said Borah.

In terms of how it stands out, Borah explained Fracture fungicide has multiple modes of action and it is so unique that Borah said a new FRAC Group, M12, had to be created for its active ingredient, BLAD. “So growers who want to practice good resistance management should use Fracture fungicide in their program.” He recommends rotating different classes of fungicides for resistance management and using Fracture fungicide in the rotation program to break the ‘cycle’.

Borah noted that if a grower keeps using the same mode of action, resistance is likely to develop. Fracture fungicide is a preventative material with some curative activity. He added that they expect the OMRI label in the first quarter of 2017, enabling organic growers the ability to use Fracture fungicide. He seemed excited that the organic growers would soon be able to use this effective fungicide in their program. The product is available in all TF&V markets across the country and is currently labeled on strawberries, grapes, tomatoes and almonds. It controls powdery mildew, botrytis and brown rot blossom blight. FMC is looking to add new crops and testing for control of additional diseases with Fracture fungicide. He reiterated FMC’s commitment to work with customers in understanding gaps and bring truly new innovative solutions to the market place.

To learn more about FMC’s expanding portfolio, listen to my interview with Kaustubh Borah here: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/CAPCA16-fmc-borah.mp3″ text=”Interview with Kaustubh Borah, FMC”]

Be sure to check out even more action by viewing the 42nd Annual CAPCA Photo Album.

Field to Market Offers Measurable Sustainability

Kelly MarshallOctober 28, 2016Ag Group, Audio, Energy, environment, Exports, Grain, International, sustainability

Addressing the issue of sustainability with international buyers of U.S. grains at the Export Exchange 2016 was Field to Market data and technology director Paul Hishmeh. Field to Market focuses on quantifiable sustainability in agriculture and Hishmeh brought an overview of what that looks like to the conference, which is co-sponsored by the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) and the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) every other year to bring together international buyers and domestic suppliers of corn, ethanol co-products, sorghum and barley.

Sustainability is being touted in many areas and various ways, but consumers are the real drivers behind behind the movement, Hishmeh asserts. Eighty percent of consumers expect more sustainability from companies, 70 percent want to know more about how their food is cared for before it arrives at the super market, and 60 percent of millennials are willing to pay more for sustainable products; a fact that can be seen in the growth of organic food and fair trade products.

Companies are looking for ways to accomplish what consumers are expecting. Some Field to Market members are taking great strides, like Coca-Cola working to reduce greenhouse gases across the supply chain by 25 percent, or Wal-Mart looking to assure fertilizer optimization on 14 million acres.

“There is a strong commitment in the United States for sure, and abroad, to look at sustainability in a very meaningful way,” Hishmeh says.

Key to the success of Field to Market is a nonprofit with a small staff, but it is member companies that make things happen within the organization. Members include grower organizations and companies across the food supply chain. Their overall goal, he says, is simple but important. Field to Market is “meeting the needs of today while improving the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

Learn more about Field to Market’s four pillars, the Field Print Calculator, agronomic tools and other sustainability efforts in the U.S. in Paul Hishmeh’s speech here: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/exex16-field2market.mp3″ text=”Presentation by Paul Hishmeh, Field to Market”]

2016 Export Exchange Photo Album

Coverage of Export Exchange 2016 made possible by

NCGA Promotes NASS Surveys

Kelly MarshallOctober 28, 2016Ag Group, NCGA

The National Corn Growers Association is encouraging growers to pay attention to the importance of USDA surveys. Action Team Chair, Steve Ebke told the National Farm Broadcasters that responses to these National Agricultural Statistics Service requests for information can affect a farmer’s bottom line.

“There seem to be county-to-county differences that are unaccounted for and, when you look at it, some counties did not have enough information from responses to the National Agricultural Statistics Service for them to publish data. Farm Service Agency uses that data to calculate ARC payments. So, if NASS does not have the data, they will have to look elsewhere for it,” Ebke explains.

“This has resulted in a great deal of concern in the countryside. What we are doing at this time is urging everyone to complete their NASS surveys so that each county has a sufficient amount of data for FSA to calculate the payments based upon what actually happened in that county.”

Reporting as at an all time low, and the lack of data has lead to discontent regarding ARC payments for 2014 and 2015.

“In fact, I just received my county agricultural production survey in the mail for 2016 the other day,” says Ebke, who farms in Daykin, Nebraska. “You can either do it manually with the booklet that you receive and mail that back in, or you can complete it online. Most of the information in that survey is information farmers have readily available.

“One thing that we want to emphasize is that your data is confidential. Your individual data is confidential and never individually presented somewhere. Your data is aggregated and only presented in that format. The confidentiality of your individual data submitted on the NASS survey is protected by federal law.”

Lack of data puts growers at risk for receiving ARC payments that do not reflect accurate production in your county.

“I just want to urge everyone to go ahead and complete this as it is very important to your bottom line. We have additional information on our website and even a direct link to USDA’s site, where you can complete your survey.”

CAPCA Honors FMC PCA Advisor

Joanna SchroederOctober 28, 2016Audio, CAPCA, FMC

Each year, the California Association of Pest Control Advisors (CAPCA) honors a member with its “PCA Advisor of the Year Award and Service to CAPCA.” The highest honor given by the association was awarded to Henry “Buck” Buckwalter, state regulatory government affairs manager for FMC, during the 2016 Conference & Agri-Expo luncheon. The 42nd annual event was held at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, California and Buck received thunderous applause as he took the stage to accept the award.

FMC’s Henry “Buck” Buckwalter receives PCA Advisor of the Year Award and Service to CAPCA from former President Jeremy Briscoe.

I asked Buck how it felt to get up in front of hundreds of people and accept such an honor. “It was difficult because I never thought I’d be a recipient of this award. There’s a lot of good people who have received this award before, and to put me in with that crowd was a bit humbling. I might say very humbling,” he said.

He joined a CAPCA chapter when he moved to California and said at the time the biggest draw was that the organization calculated your CEU hours (Continuing Education Units. Buck said his next draw was the camaraderie and the exchange of information with his peers. Today he sits on the board and helps with regulatory issues.

I also asked Buck if 30 years ago he could envision the new tools and technologies available today to which he answered, “No, I could never predict some of the precision agriculture we have today or some of the genomics we have to choose from as growers today – no, I never would have thought.” However, the water issues California is seeing today, Buck said, the ag industry saw coming back in the late 70s and so water and pesticide management was used then to conserve resources just as they are now.

To learn more about Buck, listen to my interview here: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/CAPCA16-fmc-buckwalter.mp3″ text=”Interview with Henry Buckwalter, FMC”]

Be sure to check out even more action by viewing the 42nd Annual CAPCA Photo Album.

Agri-Pulse Polls Shows Trump Leads in Ag

Joanna SchroederOctober 28, 2016Government

A new nationwide poll commissioned by Agri-Pulse reveals that a majority of farmers and ranchers favor Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race. Fifty-five percent of those surveyed said they support Republican Trump while 18 percent indicated they support Democrat Clinton. Only 2 percent plan to vote for Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and just 1 percent for the Green Party’s Jill Stein. With only two weeks until the election, 15 percent of those surveyed said they were undecided and 8 percent did not answer the question.

When the results are broken down between male and female respondents, 59 percent men and 37 percent women indicated they would vote for Trump while 15 percent males and 33 percent females responded with support for Clinton. Eighteen percent women indicated they were undecided. The GOP nominee scored particularly well in two battleground states, with support from 68 percent of the farmers and ranchers in Ohio and 58 percent in Florida.

Compared to a similar Agri-Pulse poll conducted in late January, respondents indicated an even greater dissatisfaction with the direction of the country, the farm economy and the regulatory environment.

When asked if they were satisfied or dissatisfied with the way things are going in America, 86 percent said they were “somewhat” or “very dissatisfied.” That indicates an uptick from another Agri-Pulse poll conducted in late January of this year. At that time, slightly over three-quarters of the voters surveyed were dissatisfied with the direction of the country. Those levels of dissatisfaction were at 90 percent or higher in Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

“Economic growth” rose to the top when respondents were asked to identify the one most important issue facing this country heading into the 2016 presidential election, with about 19 percent nationally selecting this option, up from 9 percent in January. That was the choice of about 19 percent of the Republicans, 16 percent of the Democrats and 18 percent of the Independents.

That represents a substantial shift from the January poll, when 19 percent of Republicans and Democrats listed “national security/terrorism” as their top choice, followed by “moral values” at 14 percent, “immigration/ag labor” at almost 14 percent and “deficit reduction” at 13.5 percent. In the October poll, the second most important issue selected was “deficit reduction,” favored by about 16 percent, followed by “moral values” at 12 percent nationally. National security and terrorism dropped down to 7 percent. Read More

Eroding Infrastructure of Major Concern for Farmers

Kelly MarshallOctober 27, 2016transportation

Mid-America Freight Coalition has shared new research that quantifies what we already knew; aging river locks and dams on the Mississippi are threatening the economy with billions of dollars in lost jobs and reduced activity.

The USDA recently conducted a study on the economic implications to agriculture if something were to happen at either Lock & Dam 25 on the Upper Mississippi or La Grange Lock & Dam on the Illinois River waterway. These locations were chosen because they represent the overall system and because of their key location.

“These are both 600 foot locks even though modern tows are 1,200 feet-long. They are also at the lower reaches of the waterways,” said Ken Hartman, chair of the National Corn Growers Association‘s Market Access Action Team. “The southbound traffic here already contributes to long delays because of the lock size. But a disruption of any length of time related to their deteriorating condition would be catastrophic for family farmers who are increasingly dependent on exports and trade.”

Among several important findings, the report concludes a L&D 25 closure could result in a loss of more than 7,000 jobs, $1.3 billion of labor income and about $2.4 billion of economic activity (total industry output) annually. Similarly, closing La Grange Lock & Dam could result in a reduction of 5,500 jobs, $900 million of labor income and $1.8 billion of economic activity annually.

“A majority of these locks were built in the 1930s and have surpassed their designed lifespan,” Hartman notes. “With growing demand being made on the system upgrading the navigational efficiency of these waterways is a priority for corn farmers and NCGA, especially when most of our prospective customers are now overseas.”

A total of 36 locks and dams, 28 on the Upper Mississippi River, are maintained at a 9-foot depth navigation channel for barge transportation.

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