Over $150,000 Raised for WEDA Foundations

Agribusiness, AgWired Precision, Equipment

The Western Equipment Dealers Association (WEDA) is thrilled to announce that over $150,000 was raised at the recent WEDA International Dealer Conference for WEDA’s Foundations. Funds raised will go toward scholarships to support career and technical education programs for ag equipment technicians.

Recognizing critical labour shortages of properly trained dealership employees, the Canada Equipment Dealers Foundation (CEDF) and the Western Equipment Dealers Foundation (WEDF) were established as the arms-length charitable organizations of the Western Equipment Dealers Association. Focusing on professional education and workforce development issues specific to the industry, the Foundations help to fund educational programs and services for agricultural, industrial and outdoor power equipment dealers across North America.

The CEDF was established in 1998, and since inception it has distributed over $2.5 million in Canada to current and prospective dealership employees, colleges for training programs, scholarships and capital funding. WEDA, and its Canadian predecessor, the Canada West Equipment Dealers Association, has also provided capital funding to Olds College, Assiniboine Community College, Parkland College and Sask Polytechnic through the CEDF.

Since its inception in 2015, the WEDF has raised more than $110,000 through fundraising events and $70,000 has been spent on scholarships and other programs. “With the addition of last week’s funds this brings us close to $250,000,” said John Schmeiser, CEO, WEDA. “We’re excited to continue to award more scholarships to dealer employees to support career and technical education programs for ag equipment technicians.”

Click to read more from WEDA.

Eco World Group Announces Patent Allowance

AgWired Precision, Nitrogen, Nutrient Management, Precision Agriculture

Eco World Research and Development Group (EWG) has announced their latest patent allowance which protects the combination of Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO), NBPT, and Urea or UAN.

This allowance originates from a continuation patent and claims priority from EWG’s innovative patent technology filed in 2012 around DMSO and the PenXcel delivery system, which does not expire until 2032.

This patent allowance, which originates from a continuation patent and claims priority from EWG’s innovative patent technology filed in 2012, is the latest in a series of allowances that protects the intellectual property behind products that combine NBPT and DCD to protect from nitrogen loss on Urea and UAN.

“This continuation allowance provides specificity, simplicity, and enhancement to our current Intellectual Property,” stated David McKnight, EWG President. “Our strategy of patenting our technology families is now starting to reach significance in the marketplace.”

“Many products in the marketplace – both additives and products delivered as a pretreated urea – incorporate the technologies, Intellectual Properties, and Patents controlled by EWG,” added EWG shareholder Ray Perkins. “The broadening of the Property Rights and claims contained in these patents should eliminate all ambiguity.”

The Neon family of products supported by this allowance are available exclusively in the United States from Presidion Ag. and exclusively Internationally at InnovarAg.com.

President Trump Signs Farm Bill

Cindy ZimmermanAudio, Farm Bill

President Donald Trump gave Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue a happy birthday Thursday when he signed the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 with many members of the agricultural community in attendance.

“Mr. President, it is a great birthday present not only for me, but for all of agriculture, to give the producers, the ranchers, and farmers across America the peace of mind,” said Perdue. “Going forward, they can make their plans in 2019; make their lenders and bankers proud of what they can plan for.”

President Trump said, “With the passage of the Farm Bill, we are delivering to the farmers and ranchers, who are the heart and soul of America, all sorts of things that they never even thought possible. We are ensuring that American agriculture will always feed our families, nourish our communities, power our commerce, and inspire our nation.”

Listen to remarks at the signing here: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/farm-bill-sign.mp3″ text=”Remarks by Pres. Trump and Secy Perdue at farm bill signing”]

Bayer Seed Treatments Fight Cotton Pests

AgWired Precision, ASTA, Audio, Bayer, Cotton

Cotton growers continue to look to Bayer for its strong fungicide product line and industry leading seed treatments. While some crop protection products for cotton have failed due to resistance issues, Aeris continues to perform well with two modes of action to fight against insect damage.

“Anything you can do to get that crop off to a good start leads to a higher yield potential for cotton,” said Chip Graham, Bayer Seed Treatment Technician.

Graham said Velum Total is another product that is helping cotton growers, particularly in Texas and Georgia where nematode pressure is also high. Graham said these products proved benefit even under perfect weather conditions, but they really shine when adverse weather creates challenges for the crop. Graham was at the 2018 American Seed Trade Association CSS and Seed Expo in Chicago.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Chip here: Interview with Chip Graham, Bayer Seed Treatment technician

Bayer at ASTACSS18 Photo Album

2018 ASTA CSS Photo Album

Inari Introduces the World’s First Seed Foundry

AgWired Precision, ASTA, Audio, Food, seed

Inari, a Flagship Pioneering company, recently announced the world’s first Seed Foundry as part of the company’s mission to reintroduce genetic diversity and challenge the seed industry with a shorter, lower-cost and more precise product development cycle

Inari aims to revolutionize plant breeding by merging the latest technologies with leading-edge data analysis tools to bring top-performing plants to market faster with the aim of cutting breeding time by two-thirds and cutting development costs by up to 90 percent. Inari also plans to combine biology, agronomy, data science and software engineering to make innovative breakthroughs by working with seed company partners.

Purdue Research Park business complex, in West Lafayette, Indiana, will be the location for the Cambridge-based Inari to fuel its product development with its proximity to the seed industry and the Purdue University College of Agriculture. Inari’s total 26,000 square feet at Purdue Research Park will include office space, lab and a 6,000-square-foot greenhouse complex. Growing the Inari team, currently at 65 people, the team based out of Research Park will add another 50 people by 2023 and consist primarily of scientists and product development teams.

We caught up with Inari VP of Digital and Strategy Matthew Perkins at the recent ASTA 2018 CSS and Seed Expo to learn more about this new development with the company. ASTACSS18 Interview with Matthew Perkins, Inari

Earlier this year, we interviewed Inari CEO Ponsi Trivisvavet and VP of Communications Julie Borlaug about the company’s goals to transform agriculture.

Deere to Launch Startup Collaborator Program

AgWired Precision, John Deere, Precision Agriculture, technology

Deere & Company has announced the launch of a new Startup Collaborator program in the Intelligent Solutions Group.

John Stone, senior vice president of Deere’s Intelligent Solutions Group, says the purpose of the program is to enhance interaction with startup companies whose technology could add value for John Deere customers. “Innovation has been at the heart of John Deere for more than 180 years,” Stone added. “The Startup Collaborator welcomes innovative companies into a program that could help us drive improved results for our customers.”

Three leading startups working to transform agriculture are already part of the program:

• Bear Flag Robotics – A California company developing autonomous technology for farm tractors and implements to reduce operational expense and increase worker safety.

• Hello Tractor – A Nigerian company with a strong understanding of agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa that has developed an application to manage tractor fleets for small holder farmers.

• Taranis – An Israeli company that developed an automated field scouting service based on sub-millimeter aerial imagery utilizing deep learning for problem detection and analysis in agriculture.

BASF Seed Solutions Focused on Seed Treatments

AgWired Precision, ASTA, Audio, BASF, seed

The recent ASTA 2018 CSS and Seed Expo was a great venue for BASF to showcase its Seed Solutions business, including the launch of Vault® IP Plus seed treatment and Obvius® Plus fungicide seed treatment.

“We decided we were going to create a whole new business unit in North America … a seed solutions business really focused on seed treatments,” said Martin Horrocks, Director of North America Seed Solutions, BASF.

Horrocks discusses the new BASF Seed Solutions business in this interview.
Interview with Martin Horrocks, BASF Seed Solutions

Kerry Grossweiler was named marketing lead for BASF U.S. Seed Solutions just before the ASTA event.

“BASF Seed Solutions offers a broad portfolio of seed treatment innovations that protect, unlock and enhance the full genetic potential of the seed,” says Grossweiler. “We offer fungicides, insecticides, nematicides, innoculants, colorants and functional coatings and we’re really excited that we’re going to launch five new products in the next two years.”

Grossweiler talks about some of BASF’s seed treatment products in this interview.
Interview with Kerry Grossweiler, BASF US Seed Solutions

BASF at ASTACSS18 photo album

Precision Ag Bytes 12/19

AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes

  • Ceres Imaging, which provides science-backed aerial images to growers, has announced the release of its new Cumulative Stress Index. The index combines Ceres Imaging’s various imagery indices into a single metric to assess overall plant stress over a growing season and strongly correlates to actual yield results.
  • Topcon Agriculture announces the release of the NORAC Tillage Depth Control system, leveraging the same core technology used on the industry leading NORAC Boom Height Control system. The system utilizes ultrasonic sensors to automatically compensate for differing soil types and terrains, while maintaining the correct implement depth.
  • John D. Lagemann, senior vice president of sales and marketing, Ag & Turf Division – Regions 3 and 4 for John Deere, has been elected 2019 Chair of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers.
  • The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers has named AgGateway‘s ADAPT and ISOXML Plugin the winner of a 2019 AE50 award. AE50 awards honor the year’s most innovative designs in engineering products or systems for the food and agriculture industries.
  • Pioneer has added more than 100 new, top-performing corn and soybean products to its industry-leading product lineup for growers in the United States and Canada.
  • The Conservation Technology Information Center, a clearinghouse of information on conservation farming practices, has launched its brand-new website at www.ctic.org.
  • Seeing both forests and trees is about to get easier, thanks to a new open-access tool developed by US National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, with support from the Google Earth Engine Team and the US Government’s SilvaCarbon Program – allowing anyone to track land-use and landscape changes anywhere. Collect Earth Online can be accessed by simply clicking on a link http://collect.earth/ and registering on the platform.
  • Colin Hurd, founder and CEO of Iowa-based Smart Ag, has been recognized by Forbes magazine as a leading young innovator and entrepreneur for 2019. Hurd has been honored by Forbes as a member of the eighth annual 30 Under 30 list in the category of manufacturing and industry.
  • With improved seed varieties, advanced production techniques and innovative growing practices, corn growers achieved impressive yields despite weather-related adversity in the National Corn Growers Association 2018 National Corn Yield Contest.
  • Pioneer congratulates farmers who placed in the National Corn Growers Association 2018 yield contest. In total, the NCGA awarded seven national and 189 state awards to growers using Pioneer brand products who entered the annual yield contest.
  • Farmers planting Pioneer brand sorghum hybrids won seven of nine first-place finishes and placed in 21 of the 24 national categories in the 2018 National Sorghum Producers Yield and Management Contest, representing 88 percent of all national winners.
  • Results are in for World Ag Expo’s® Top-10 New Products Competition, sponsored by Bank of America. The winners will be showcased February 12-14, 2019, during the World Ag Expo® in Tulare, California.

FMC Working on Soybean Gall Midge Control

AgWired Precision, Audio, Crop Protection, FMC, Insecticides, NAFB

A new pest is popping up in soybean fields across the country – the orange gall midge.

“It’s a very tiny fly that lays its eggs in the stem of a soybean plant,” said FMC Agricultural Solutions subject matter expert Bob Hooten during an interview at the annual NAFB Trade Talk last month in Kansas City. Bright orange maggots develop from the eggs and eventually kill the plant.

The pest was reported in Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota and South Dakota this year and FMC is working with university researchers in those states. “The universities have done DNA mapping and are trying to figure out the species now and then we’re trying to figure out control measures and how to manage this pest to keep it from expanding further,” said Hooten.

Learn more in this interview.
NAFB18 Interview with Bob Hooten, FMC – Gall Midge

2018 NAFB Convention Photo Album