FMC’s Kasper to Retire, Coen Named Successor

AgWired Precision, Audio, FMC, Video

FMC has announced that U.S. Commercial Director, John Kasper, is retiring in June and Christina Coen, currently North America marketing director, will assume the role effective May 1.

“We thank John for his years of service. He built key strategic relationships that drove outstanding results for the region. John has also been a mentor to many and set the bar high for our organization,” says Amy O’Shea, vice president and North America business director for FMC.

Coen leads marketing for the full FMC portfolio of herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, plant health and technology products. She joined FMC in 2017 from The Dow Chemical Company where she held operations, marketing and licensing leadership positions and was the North America crop protection project success leader.

We interviewed John at last year’s Commodity Classic, and Christina this year. We also talked with Christina at the 2018 Ag Retailers Association conference. Listen and watch below.

Classic18 Interview with John Kasper, FMC

ARA18 Interview with Christina Coen, FMC

Precision Ag Bytes 4/10

AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes

  • April 5 marked the 100th anniversary of the European Biological Control Laboratory, operated in Montpellier, France, by the Agricultural Research Service to find, describe and evaluate natural enemies of invasive pests and weeds that arrived in the United States from abroad.
  • The American Seed Trade Association welcomes the decision by the Commission of Phytosanitary Measures to develop a Systems Approach for seed as an Annex to ISPM 38 on the International Movement of Seed.
  • The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center announces the formation of a line-up of agricultural experts to advise the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN2) as it deploys up to $2.25 million in technical assistance for agtech startup companies.
  • Having succeeded in protecting funding for the Conservation Title in the 2018 Farm Bill, more than 140 leading farm, conservation, and wildlife groups are once again joining together to protect those hard-fought conservation funds and programs in the fiscal year (FY) 2020 appropriations process. In a letter, the groups called upon appropriators to respect the funding decisions made in the 2018 Farm Bill and reject any cuts to farm bill conservation funding through the appropriations process.
  • The National Corn Growers Association – in partnership with the Honey Bee Health Coalition – is releasing new best management practices to protect bees and other pollinators in and around cornfields.
  • The Climate Corporation, a subsidiary of Bayer, and Lindsay Corporation, a leading global manufacturer and distributor of irrigation technology, announced a platform agreement that will establish two-way data connectivity between The Climate Corporation’s Climate FieldView™ digital agriculture platform and Lindsay’s FieldNET platform. Through the collaboration, mutual farmer customers will be able to make faster, more-informed field and irrigation management decisions.
  • The editors of Farm Equipment magazine announce the release of the first-ever Ag Equipment Intelligence Audio Edition — an audio version of their monthly newsletter that is delivered to Ag Equipment Intelligence VIP subscribers. To listen to the complimentary March 2019 Ag Equipment Intelligence Audio Edition, visit AgEquipmentIntelligence.com/March2019.
  • For her outstanding contributions to food science and processing, Agricultural Research Service scientist Tara H. McHugh is the agency’s Distinguished Senior Research Scientist of the Year for 2019.
  • The Soil Health Institute invites applications to give a poster presentation at its Fourth Annual Meeting “Soil Health: A Global Imperative” to be held July 16-18, 2019 in Sacramento, CA. Online applications are due by 5:30 p.m., Saturday, June 1, 2019, and must designate the primary presenter, author(s), primary contact information, and affiliation(s).
  • The Yield Lab is pleased to welcome Allan Harari and Juan Ferreira to the team. Allan is joining the team as a Managing Director and Juan as a Venture Partner.
  • The next deadline for Conservation Stewardship Program applications to be considered for funding this year is May 10.
  • TerrAvion is excited to be integrated with the Agrian platform, the largest most widely adopted agricultural software in the United States.
  • The National Association of Conservation Districts announced it was selected as the recipient of the David Rockefeller Fund Pollinator Education Initiative Grant through an agreement with the Pollinator Partnership.

BASF Honors Top FiberMax Cotton Growers

AgWired Precision, Audio, BASF, Cotton

At a gathering in Lubbock, Texas last week, BASF celebrated cotton growers who achieved four-bale or greater yields by welcoming them to the exclusive FiberMax® One Ton Club™ for their 2018 harvest results. Ninety-one new members joined the club this year, bringing total membership to 1,181 cotton growers.

Several members received special recognition, including –
Most acres and most varieties:
H Bar H Farms in Dalhart, Texas, harvested an average yield of 2,208 pounds per acre on 3,996 acres with FM 1900GLT, FM 1911GLT, FM 1320GL and FM 1888GL.
Highest yield:
Shane and Sammi Jo McLain of Hart, Texas, harvested an average yield of 2,798 pounds per acre with FM 1911GLT.
Highest gross value:
Doug and Cari Ruble of Visalia, California, earned $1,530.77 per acre on their qualifying acres with FM 2498GLT.
Highest loan value:
Steve and Gina Milanesio of Strathmore, California, garnered $0.5764 on their qualifying acres with FM 1830GLT.

In addition, the FiberMax Maximizer Club™, now in its third year, recognizes growers with dryland cotton fields yielding at least 1,000 pounds per acre with FiberMax varieties.

Special awards for the Maximizer Club include –
Most acres and most varieties:
Darren and Lorre Haseloff of Farwell, Texas, averaged 1,351 pounds per acre on 749 acres with FM 1830GLT and FM 1911GLT.
Highest yield and highest gross value:
Louis and Pamela Davis of Hawley, Texas, harvested an average yield of 1,736 pounds per acre and earned $902.03 per acre with FM 2498GLT.
Highest loan value:
Ben Gwynn of Robstown, Texas, gained $0.5627 on his qualifying cotton acres planted to FM 1830GLT.

Listen to interviews with two of the big winners below and find more content on AgNewsWire.
Interview with FiberMax One Ton Club member Mark Howard, H Bar H Farms, Texas

Louis Davis, Cotton Grower, Texas: Interview with FiberMax Maximizer Club member Louis Davis, Hawley, Texas

2019 BASF Maximizer & One Ton Club Award Banquet Photo Album

2019 TCGA Trade Show Photo Album

Precision Ag Bytes 4/3

AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes

  • New Ag International will take two conferences to Brazil in August 2019. InfoAg International Conference & Exhibition, a three-day event jointly organized with the International Plant Nutrition Institute, will run in Campinas, São Paulo State, Brazil from 26-28 August 2019.
  • Kynetec, the global leader in agricultural and animal health market research, announced that it has completed the acquisition of Neil Clark & Associates, one of Australia’s most established providers of agribusiness data and business intelligence.
  • The Iowa AgriTech Accelerator hosted its second annual AgTech Day on Tuesday, March 26. Nine early-stage AgTech startups from across the country gathered in West Des Moines, Iowa, where they showcased their innovations to The Accelerator’s community of mentors and supporters.
  • Solinftec, a leading international digital ag company, was presented with a 2019 AgFunder Innovation Award in the category of Most Innovative International Startup Series A and Beyond.
  • Nominations for the 2019 Borlaug Field Award are open. This award honors a young scientist or extension worker who has shown Borlaug-like determination, dedication and intellectual innovation in the fight to eliminate global hunger, malnutrition and poverty. This prestigious award offers a USD $10,000 prize endowed by the Rockefeller Foundation. To learn more about awardee qualifications, visit www.worldfoodprize.org/nominate.
  • TerrAvion announces the promotion of Lee Smith to Chief Commercial Officer. In this role, Lee will be responsible for all commercial activities at TerrAvion, the world’s largest volume agricultural aerial imagery provider.
  • Having succeeded in protecting funding for the Conservation Title in the 2018 Farm Bill, more than 140 leading farm, conservation, and wildlife groups are once again joining together to protect those hard-fought conservation funds and programs in the fiscal year (FY) 2020 appropriations process. The groups called upon appropriators to respect the funding decisions made in the 2018 Farm Bill and reject any cuts to farm bill conservation funding through the appropriations process.

Bayer Feed A Bee Milestone

AgWired Precision, Audio, Bayer, Bees

Bayer national pollinator forage initiative, Feed a Bee, has announced it has reached its goal of awarding grants supporting diverse forage for honey bees and other pollinators in all 50 states. The 50th recipient awarded recently was Gateway to the Arctic Camp in Talkeetna, Alaska. I talked with Dr. Becky Langer, Bayer, about the milestone and success of this program.

Dedicated to service and agriculture, the nonprofit camp teaches the significance of serving those in need and the value of hard work through fun activities involving sustainability, farming and environmental stewardship. This summer it will dedicate an entire field as forage for bees and other pollinators where campers of all abilities, including those with special needs, will discover the connection between honey bees and the crops they pollinate.

“We’re proud to have awarded more than $650,000 for pollinator-focused planting projects over the last three years,” said Dr. Becky Langer, project manager, Bayer North American Bee Care Program. “We’re now connected to nearly 170 organizations all over the country who are thinking critically about how to diversify forage for pollinators, have put that plan to action and, equally important, have integrated educational components encouraging their local community to get involved.”

Listen to my interview with Becky here: Interview with Dr. Becky Langer, Bayer

New Ag International Brings Two Events to Brazil in August 2019

AgWired Precision, biobased, Biotech, Events, New Ag International

New Ag International is hosting two conferences to Brazil in August 2019.

InfoAg International Conference & Exhibition, a three-day event jointly organized with the International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI), will run in Campinas, São Paulo State, Brazil August 26-28.

This is the ideal event to learn how digital revolution is changing agriculture in South America. After years of success in the USA, the organizer of InfoAG is partnering with New Ag International and coming to South America to create the premier event for discussion and advancement for precision agriculture looking at field centric monitoring with imagery and sensors, seamless connectivity with IoT, data analytics and prediction modelling, variable rate technology, precision plant nutrition and irrigation management, prescription platforms and digitalization.

This event will be followed by the largest biocontrol event in Latin America – the Biocontrol LATAM Conference and Exhibition, scheduled for Campinas August 28-30.

The event is co-organized by 2B Monthly, in conjunction with IBMA and with support from the host association ABCBio. Topics to be covered include regulation in Latin American countries; new and emerging technologies in microbials, natural extracts and semiochemicals; the current status of the biocontrol market; the integration of biocontrol solutions in IPM programmes; case studies of adoption by growers; and novel approaches to formulation and production.

For more information about the events, contact marketing manager Carmen Hernandez.

Managing Bollworms with Prevathon® Insect Control

AgWired Precision, Audio, Cotton, Farm & Gin Show, FMC, Insecticides, Video

Research conducted at Texas A&M University has shown wide-spread bollworm/earworm resistance to the majority cotton and corn Bt technologies and that cotton bollworms have developed resistance to pyrethroids to some degree in most of Texas. One of the insecticides recommended for growers to manage cotton bollworm populations is FMC Prevathon.

At the recent Mid-South Farm and Gin Show, we talked with FMC senior technical service manager Don Johnson about Prevethon and how it fits in with what has changed recently in bollworm control and the new guidelines for treatment with a foliar insecticide. Listen here: Interview with Don Johnson, FMC Prevethon

2019 Mid-South Farm and Gin Show Photo Album

Precision Ag Bytes 3/27

AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes

  • The EPA and Army Corps of Engineers are currently collecting comments on their proposed rule of the term “Waters of the United States.” Agricultural Retailers Association has prepared draft comments that are supportive of the proposed rule. The draft comments are intended for you to easily submit to the agencies before the deadline of April 15th. Submit comments now on the Clean Water Rule.
  • Feed a Bee, the national pollinator forage initiative by Bayer, announced it has reached its goal of awarding grants supporting diverse forage for honey bees and other pollinators in all 50 states. The 50th recipient awarded recently was Gateway to the Arctic Camp in Talkeetna, Alaska.
  • As the Soil Health Partnership heads into its fifth year of long term data collection on working farms, the organization is hiring for several roles to support its expanding footprint. Open roles include Development Director, a Michigan Research Manager, Soil Health Kansas-Nebraska Field Manager, and Soil Health Minnesota Field Manager.
  • EnviroMonitor is an award-winning sensor platform that helps farmers measure, monitor, and manage crops at every stage of the growth cycle. With the Davis Mobilize app, farmers can monitor soil moisture and soil temperature to plant with confidence, track growing degree days for each field by crop and plant date, and improve daily decisions with real-time field conditions.
  • NewLeaf Symbiotics announces the hiring of three experienced agriculture leaders to its business development team. Dave Coorts has been named Director of Field Biology; Brad Walkup joins as Technical Sales Lead for the Western Region; and Caroline Currie will serve as Technical Sales Lead for the Eastern Region.

Dr. Adrian Percy Joins Finistere Ventures

AgWired Precision, Audio, technology

ZimmComm congratulates Dr. Adrian Percy for his new role as Chief Technology Officer for Finistere Ventures. Adrian will provide strategic, technical and regulatory guidance for current portfolio companies. He will also support Finistere’s continued investment efforts, working with the team to identify and evaluate potential opportunities. Adrian is pictured with Arama Kukutai, a co-founder and partner at Finistere Ventures.

As part of the appointment, he will be joining the Boards of two Finistere-backed companies, BioLumic and Hi Fidelity Genetics (also based in Research Triangle), and will play a pivotal role in helping shape their ongoing research and development strategies, as well as supporting their partnership and commercialization efforts.

Adrian Percy noted: “We need to completely transform our agricultural and food production systems so we can ensure food security for all, meet evolving consumer demands and conserve our planet’s precious resources for many generations to come. I am excited to continue to contribute to this ecosystem by helping talented and passionate entrepreneurs drive meaningful change in the food and agriculture space through technology innovations.”

I spoke with Adrian just now as he is on his way to the first of what sounds like many flights around the world in his new job with Finistere Ventures. Interview with Dr. Adrian Percy