“When Millennials Take Over” at ARA Conference & Expo

Kelly MarshallAgribusiness, ARA, Events

ARAThe Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) Conference & Expo is coming up on December 1-3 a the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa in Palm Desert, CA.

In addition to many other speakers, ARA has announced that Jamie Notter, consultant and author, will be presenting a breakout session instilled “When Millennials Take Over.”  The session will focus on integrating millennials, the 20-30 something generation, into your workplace.  Millennials are the largest generation in our history and they mean big changes.  Mr. Notter will present ideas of how your company can adapt to this generation, along with insights for integrating baby boomers with Millennials for future success.

You can register now for these informational sessions, networking opportunities, and exhibits.

The Importance of TFP

Joanna SchroederAgribusiness, Audio, Food, John Deere, Research, World Food

John Deere’s Kelly Winquist provided a preview of how countries are doing with Total Factor Productivity (TFP) as a means to reach the goal of feeding 9.7 billion people by 2050 as part of the 2015 Gap Report release during World Food Prize. The 6th annual Global Agricultural Productivity Report: Building Sustainable Breadbaskets focused on the U.S. and Zambia. Winquist explained that TFP is a measure of outputs to inputs. So outputs are such things as crops and livestock or things produced through our agriculture production systems while inputs are the things, i.e. resources, needed in order to get those outputs such as machinery, feed, fertilizers, etc.

Kelly Winquist John Deere“So its a ratio that tells us, are we getting a lot for the output? explains Winquist. “Are we putting a lot in to it or are we only putting a little in to it? Because with the population growing to 9.7 billion by 2050 we need to be able to feed a lot more people. But earth’s not getting any bigger so we need to make more with the resources we already have.”

The Global Harvest Initiative has calculated that in order to meet that demand, global countries need to grow their TFP by 1.75 percent each year and even developing markets like the U.S. is not meeting this. Globally the average is 1.72 percent while low-income countries are only at 1.5 percent. This means, says Winquist, there is a big gap in where we need to be to meet future demand. She explains that there are multiple factors affecting TFP such as agriculture and research development is underfunded and needs investments from both the private and public sectors. In developing countries, they lack infrastructure, access to markets and more. She also notes that in developing countries, John Deere is helping to address market development and financing through collaborative partnerships so small-holder farmers, and especially women, can increase their TFP.

Listen my interview with Kelly Winquist to learn more about Total Factor Productivity: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/wfp15-winquist-interview.mp3″ text=”Interview with Kelly Winquist, John Deere”]

2015 World Food Prize photo album.

Coverage of the World Food Prize Global Harvest Initiative is sponsored by Coverage of the World Food Prize Global Harvest Initiative is sponsored by John Deere

Food Dialogues Heading to South Carolina

Taylor TruckeyFood, USFRA

FD_SouthCarolina1The next edition of the Food Dialogues travels to South Carolina to discuss the non-agricultural needs for water and the needs of the ag industry to use water to raise the food we all eat.

Water is a precious commodity and there have been local, state and federal solutions to making water available to all. In South Carolina, one such solution was the Surface Water Act of 2010, which made the state’s riverways available for agricultural use. Yet, there is a continued debate on the amount of water available for agricultural purposes.

Join the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance and South Carolina Farm Bureau Federation for a Food Dialogues discussion on water use in South Carolina featuring farmers and ranchers and experts on water and sustainability.

During two separate panels, moderated by David Stanton, former broadcast news anchor, public affairs program host and political debate moderator, we’ll address the following questions:
Panel 1 – A Closer Look at South Carolina’s Water Needs

What are the state’s water needs? What options, such as the Surface Water Act of 2010, have been employed or evaluated to address those needs?
Panel 2 – Balancing the Demands for Water with the Need to Grow and Raise Food
Is agriculture the biggest user of water in the state? Are there technologies we can employ to better manage water being used by agriculture? What more can agriculture, business and residential users of water do to be more efficient users of this precious commodity?

More information, including registration to attend the event at the Brookland Baptist Banquet and Conference Center
at 1066 Sunset Blvd. in West Columbia, South Carolina, or to watch it via livestream is available here.

ZimmPoll Says Some Winners in TPP for Ag

Jamie JohansenZimmPoll

New Holland ZimmPollOur latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “Is TPP good for US agriculture?”

Most agree that the Trans-Pacific Partnership is full of winners for agriculture, but few believe all of it is good for the industry. Whichever you currently believe, you can’t argue that the future of U.S. agriculture must include trade.

Here are the poll results:

  • Yes, all of it – 18%
  • Some winners – 73%
  • Most losers – 0%
  • Bad deal for all – 9%

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, How do you pass the time flying?

The ZimmComm Team really racks up some miles in the skies each year. Chuck and Cindy are currently in New Zealand and are experts when it comes to passing time in the air. So, we want to know how you pass the time when flying. Do you read, work or play?

AgJunction Completes Merger with Novariant

Kelly MarshallAgribusiness, Company Announcement

AgJunctionAgJunction Inc. and Novariant, Inc. have completed their merger.  The merger, previously announced on March 16, 2015, gives AgJunction the intellectual rights to more than 140 patents and makes them a leader in automated steering and machine control technologies.  Autosteer is being sought after at the factory level, and now the newly merged company will be able to provide advanced machine automation to its customers.  In fact, AgJunction’s future goal is to become the world’s leading OEM and VAR supplier for autosteering and machine control tech in the precision ag industry.

The merger gives AgJunction the means to meet their objectives by offering a wider complementary product portfolio, increasing their global presence with more resources, providing them with a broader OEM and VAR partner list, and adding to their R&D capabilities among others.

Dave Vaughn, CEO of Novariant, will be appointed CEO of the combined company and former AgJunction CEO, Rick Heiniger, will be named Senior Project Advisor to the CEO. Jonathan Ladd will be appointed Chairman of the Board and Senior Strategic Advisor to the CEO and Michael Lang, the current Chairman of the Board, will be appointed Vice-Chairman. Mike Manning will continue to serve as Interim Senior Vice President and CFO.

“The merger between AgJunction and Novariant is a transformative step in our shared long-term vision to deliver best-of-breed guidance, autosteering and machine control hardware and software solutions for manufacturers and value added resellers throughout the worldwide Agriculture markets,” said Dave Vaughn, incoming CEO of AgJunction. “By combining two premier providers of advanced steering solutions for precision agriculture, we can better capitalize on the growing opportunities created by the accelerating demand for configurable precision control products and services. Combined, we are ideally positioned to serve our customers more effectively and committed to building on our market-leading solutions portfolio, creating the most compelling and comprehensive offering for both current and new customers seeking global steering control solutions and services.”

Iteris, GEOSYS Partnership Offers Enhanced Weather Content

Taylor TruckeyFarm Management, GEOSYS, Iteris, technology, weather

GEOSYS_logoThe partnership of a global satellite- and weather-based insights company with a leader in information solutions for the transportation/ag markets will provide enhanced weather content through the integration of Iteris’ ClearAg API and GEOSYS Croptical monitoring application.

“Our dual expertise — in agriculture and the high-tech world — is at the core of our identity and our commitment to clients,” said Cécile Tartarin, product manager at GEOSYS.

iterisThe GEOSYS Croptical monitoring application provides growers fast access to digital farming solutions. The application allows growers to track crop condition and precipitation, temperature and growing degree days, while comparing current crop conditions and weather patterns to past seasons. Available March 2016.

GEOSYS will apply Iteris’ ClearAg APIs to produce an enhanced Croptical monitoring application with field-level weather data and weather maps the augmented application will leverage ClearAg state-of-the-art weather forecast models, giving users reliable resources to predict rain events and monitor growing degrees in order to plan ahead for effective agriculture management.

Tom Blair, Seniro V.P. of Iteris’ Performance Analytics Division, said, “Combined with ClearAg’s weather data and map APIs, GEOSYS’ enhanced Croptical monitoring application will allow growers to make even more informed decisions and address crop production issues at key stages of the crop growth cycle. [The integration will allow growers to define management practices] from a current, historical and predictive perspective.”

For more information, here.

GROWERS Utilizes New Tech To Increase Yields

Taylor TruckeyFarm Management, GROWERS

growersGROWERS is using new technologies to revolutionize the way farmers are managing their operations. Precision farming & data-driven capabilities are the focus of GROWERS, allowing producers to take their personalized farm data to create customized plans that will allow them to reduce costs and increase yields. Opportunities like this are vital when commodity prices are sitting where they are at.

GROWERS is the first company to use an On-the-Go Organic Mapping (OM) Sensor, a highly specialized piece of equipment that collects hundreds of organic matter readings per acre and uses GPS to geo-locate each data point. Since organic matter is directly related to a soil’s yield capacity, the ability to map this attribute is highly beneficial for farmers.

“Farming is more than a livelihood—it’s a way of life, and these new technologies will help our customers secure their farms’ legacies for future generations.” – GROWERS CEO & Founder Steven Valencin.

GROWERS is also using a new device called a Passive Uplink Connection (PUC) to wirelessly connect to customers’ machinery and view in real-time all of their operational data.

“We provide a completely independent, full-service solution for farmers looking for ways to maximize every inch of their land, from soil fertility to input optimization and business profitability,” said Valencin.

Visit GROWERS for more information.

My New Holland Hits Smartphones

Joanna SchroederAgribusiness, Apps, New Holland

One of the tremendous values of precision agriculture is instant availability of our information through tools such as the cloud and our cell phones. New Holland customers may now access information through their cellphones via the MyNewHolland app. Its a personalized space where the user can a access instructional videos, operating and maintenance tips from New Holland product experts, educational white papers, and more.

Screen Shot 2015-10-16 at 4.26.28 PM“Our customers can now take their passion for farming and access very useful, informative, and personalized content related to their New Holland equipment while they operate from the field.” says Dawn Pelon, New Holland Brand Marketing Communications Manager. “The My New Holland community can now stay connected from their mobile devices.”

Owners of New Holland equipment can also gain access to premium content to help them get the most from their machines. By registering their equipment on their My New Holland profile, operators can download operator manuals and other useful materials from our training courses. They can also upload their PLM product information so the machines will appear on My New Holland.

New users who register from their desktop are invited to download the app available on iTunes and Google Play, and current app users are also encouraged to visit www.MyNewHolland.com.

Fall 2015 Corn Harvest Progress – October

Taylor TruckeyHarvesting, USDA

oct harvestAs of October 13, 2015, corn harvest is progressing nearly exactly on schedule according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. With 42 percent of the crop harvested as of Sunday, total progress came with in one percentage point of the five-year average. Harvest totals ranged from 88 percent of the North Carolina crop to 15 percent of Colorado’s and North Dakota’s.

“Despite difficulties with early season flooding, the overall crop is on track to have the second-highest national average yield on record. At NCGA, we continuously work to grow demand for this sustainable, abundant crop as our nation’s farmers work hard to get it in the bins.” – NCGA President Chip Bowling

Over the same period, estimates of the crop condition remained stable with 68 percent of the crop in good or excellent condition. At this time last year, 74 percent of the crop fell within this range.

To read the full report, click here.

John Deere Brings Precision Ag to Small-Holder Farmers

Joanna SchroederAudio, Education, Food, International, John Deere, Precision in Practice, World Food

Geoff Andersen John DeereJohn Deere is bringing agricultural training to thousands of small-holder farmers with their new pilot mobile education unit. According to Geoff Andersen, director, Global Citizenship and Strategic Planning with John Deere, who I spoke with this morning during the World Food Prize in Des Moines, Iowa, the unit was first used in Ghana and Kenya to help more than 60,000 farmers learn how to increase productivity. Andersen was in country to work with the farmers and he said the program was a huge success and TechnoServe has been a great partner.

Rather than displace farmers to get training, the mobile unit was designed to take the training to them, to their farms, the fields and their communities. Andersen said they have really seen tremendous improvement in how farmers grow their crops and sell them at a higher price and reduce post-harvest lost. On average, farmers have increased their income up to two-fold in a matter of a couple of years.

They also supplement the grants with demonstration plots and provided equipment to TechnoServe to do demo plots right in these communities. This enables farmers to see right there how what they are getting trained on really works in their own fields.

Andersen said John Deere plans to expand the program and they appreciate any support that can be offered by other companies, governmental organizations and NGOs. He noted that there are other companies doing similar small-scale programs but to meet goals, they need to do more. “I really believe in this opportunity to come together to try to solve things on a much broader scale and optimize our collective levels of resources,” adds Andersen who encourages people to get in touch directly with him through the John Deere website.

Listen my interview with Geoff Andersen to learn more about their small-holder farmer mobile training unit: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/wfp15-andersen.mp3″ text=”Interview with Geoff Andersen, John Deere”]

2015 World Food Prize photo album.

Coverage of the World Food Prize Global Harvest Initiative is sponsored by Coverage of the World Food Prize Global Harvest Initiative is sponsored by John Deere