New Patent for Bio Based Plastics

Kelly MarshallAgribusiness, bioproducts, Corn

ICPBThe Iowa Corn Promotion Board (ICPB) has just been issued a new patent relating to the imporved process used in making bio plastics.  The patent specifically pertains to the compound isosorbide, which allows the use of more bio material in plastics and improves other properties, such as a plastic’s melting temperature.

The patent, titled “Dianhydrosugar Production Process,” eliminates the need for an expensive vacuum or inert gas as well as solvents considered environmentally unfriendly.   Together these improvements mean a cheaper process using more corn.

“The new patented process allows for the increased production of corn derived isosorbide creating new markets for corn farmers,” said Research and Business Development Committee Chair Curt Mether, a corn farmer from Harrison County. “This allows for a reduction in the amount of petroleum needed to make plastics, lowers carbon emissions and decreases the cost of consumer goods manufactured employing this process.”

The Iowa Corn Research and Business Development Committee funds research to develop new uses for corn in the area of bioplastics. By 2017, the USDA estimates the bioplastics market will consume more than two billion pounds of plastic a year. This equates to 100 million bushels of corn. Traditional plastics use five percent of the global petroleum supply.

This is one example of the ICPB research yielding results for Iowa’s corn farmers. Also on the project table for ICPB investments are items such as bottles, dining utensils, and shopping bags, all of which can be made from corn.

New EPA Farm Worker Standards and Industry React

Cindy ZimmermanAFBF, ARA, Audio, Government, labor, Pesticides

epaThe Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Monday released updated farm worker standards to provide health protections under the law similar to those already afforded to workers in other industries.

“We depend on farmworkers every day to help put the food we eat on America’s dinner tables—and they deserve fair, equitable working standards with strong health and safety protections,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “With these updates we can protect workers, while at the same time preserve the strong traditions of our family farms and ensure the continued the growth of our agricultural economy.”

The new EPA pesticide rules include:

Requiring all pesticide applicators be at least 18 years old
Creating whistleblower protections so farm workers can confidentially submit complaints over pesticide abuses
Providing pesticide application records for all farm workers for the past two years
Easy access to all workers or their representatives for records involving exposure to hazardous chemicals
Posting pesticide hazard information in central locations, in both English and Spanish

McCarthy, U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez and United Farm Workers president Arturo Rodriguez took part in a telephone press conference Monday to talk about the new regulations. [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/epa-farm-workers.mp3″ text=”New EPA farmworker regulations press call”]

ARAWhile McCarthy says the cost to farmers for developing the new regulations, which have not been updated for 20 years, would be minimal, Agricultural Retailers Association President and CEO Daren Coppock says they have “substantially – and deliberately” underestimated the cost. “Industry comments submitted to EPA pointed out the error, but it does not appear to have been corrected in the final rule,” Coppock said. “The real costs were provided, yet the agency stands by its artificial estimates, which suggests a deliberate disregard of the real-world cost implications of the rule.”

The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) is also expressing concerns about the new law. “Farm Bureau shares the agency’s desire to protect workers, but we are concerned that the agency is piling regulatory costs on farmers and ranchers that bear little if any relation to actual safety issues,” said Paul Schlegel, director of environment and energy policy for AFBF. Schlegel says Farm Bureau filed extensive comments on the proposal more than a year ago and that EPA itself could not justify the regulation it was proposing.

Meet the New Holland Heroes

Cindy ZimmermanAudio, Farmers, International, New Holland

cnh-expo-heroes-2New Holland Agriculture is spotlighting ten farmers from different countries at the Expo Milano Sustainable Farm Pavilion and the “Seeds of Life” series.

During our recent visit to the expo, we had the opportunity to meet nine of those farmer “heroes” and interview eight of them. Check out the links below to learn more about them.

New Holland Hero from Canada (second from left) – [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/cnh-expo-jordan.mp3″ text=”New Holland Hero Jordan Kambeitz, Canada”]

New Holland Hero from Brazil (third from left) – [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/cnh-expo-victor.mp3″ text=”New Holland Hero Victor Campanelli from Brazil”]

New Holland Hero From Germany (4th from left) – [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/cnh-expo-elke.mp3″ text=”New Holland Hero Elke Pelz-Thaller from Germany”]

New Holland Hero From Italy (third from right) – [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/cnh-expo-francesco.mp3″ text=”New Holland Hero Francesco Condello of Italy”]

New Holland Hero from South Africa (second from right) – [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/cnh-expo-gerry.mp3″ text=”New Holland Hero Gerry Manuel of Zimbabwe”]

New Holland Hero from Russia (center) –
[wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/cnh-expo-iliyas.mp3″ text=”New Holland Hero Iliyas Ganiev from Russia”]

New Holland Hero from France (far right) – [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/cnh-expo-xavier.mp3″ text=”New Holland Hero Xavier De Rozières from France”]

Not interviewed was Claudio Destro of Italy (far left) and you can learn more about him here.

Also, the tenth hero is Bo Fanyu of China, who was unable to attend the Heroes and Bloggers Days in Milan.

2015 New Holland Heroes & Bloggers Days Photos

NCGA Bids Speaker Boehner Farewell

Kelly MarshallGovernment, NCGA

NCGA-Logo-3Following the announcements of the House Speaker John Boehner’s retirement, the National Corn Growers Association President, Chip Bowling, has released a statement thanking him for his working in agriculture.

“We are grateful for Speaker Boehner’s leadership in so many areas, including service on the House Agriculture Committee, and his work for a more transparent and productive Congress,” Bowling writes.

The statement highlights Pope Francis’s words to Congress, praising Speaker Boehner for his commitment to “sacrifice particular interests in order to share, in justice and peace, its goods, its interests, its social life.”  NCGA further requests that Congress come together to solve the issues of the federal budget, tax reform, and infrastructure and be ready to move our country forward with constructive solutions.

CNH Wins Gold Medal for Grape Harvesting

Kelly MarshallAgribusiness, Award, Grapes, Harvesting, New Holland

cnh-blue-cab-4The winner of the prestigious SITEVI Innovation Award has been announced.  New Holland’s self-propelled grape harvester has received this recognition with a gold medal for the Blue Cab 4 and honorable mention for PLMTM Connect telematics system.

The Blue Cab 4 is an innovative cab concept designed around the safety and well-being of the operator. It features the industry’s most advanced filtration system. PLMTM Connect is a telematics solution that enables vineyard managers to be well connected with their operation, allowing them to stay in direct contact with their fleet, receiving real time data on their computer or smartphone. The application of telematics is of increasing value as the wine growing sector consolidates, with fewer vineyard businesses working larger areas, and with the harvesting season getting shorter, the need for efficiency has significantly increased.

“We are the world leader in grape and olive harvesting and in specialist tractors, not only because of our established experience in the vineyard industry, but because we are always looking forward, searching for innovative ways of increasing our customers’ productivity, making their work easier and safer, all the while guaranteeing the highest quality harvest and gentlest handling of their vines – which are of the utmost importance to them,” commented Carlo Lambro, Brand President New Holland Agriculture.

The announcements comes ahead of SITEVI 2015 international equipment and expertise exhibition for wine, olive, fruit and vegetable production taking place later this year in November in Montpellier, France.

Senators Urge Obama to Push Biotech in China

Kelly Marshallbiotechnology, Government, International

ThuneU.S. Senators John Thune (R-S.D.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), both members of the Senate Finance Committee and Senate Agriculture Committee, along with 42 other senators, have sent a letter to President Obama.  This letter asks Obama to address the concerns of Chinese delay in accepting U.S. biotech while President Xi is in Washington D.C.

“To reinvigorate last year’s progress, we ask that you seek a commitment from President Xi to move forward with the queue of biotechnology products, including those awaiting final import approvals,” the senators wrote. “In addition, we ask that you reengage President Xi on the value of elevating the agricultural innovation dialogue via the SAID so that our countries can continue to address mutual food security, environmental and rural economic policy challenges.”

Stakeholder groups from across the country, including Farm Bureaus, Corn Growers Associations, and Soybean Associations, among others, wrote President Obama separately earlier this month about the need for “continued engagement … on agricultural innovation and trade.”

Joining Thune and Stabenow on the letter were U.S. Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Thomas Carper (D-Del.), Robert Casey (D-Pa.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), Christopher Coons (R-Del.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.), Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), David Perdue (R-Ga.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Patrick Toomey (R-Pa.), David Vitter (R-La.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.).

The Senators’ full letter may be read here.

Bayer Promotes Integrated Weed Management

Lizzy SchultzAudio, Bayer CropScience, Farm Progress Show, Herbicides, Weed control

21068561675_6878c37eab_o-2The current amount of food being destroyed by weeds is enough to feed one billion people, and that could increase as herbicide-resistance increases.

That’s why at Bayer CropScience developed an Integrated Weed Management(IWM) strategy to help farmers better control weeds and help prevent resistance.

Jason Manz, cereals marketing manager for Bayer CropScience, sat down with AgWired at the 2015 Farm Progress Show to discuss this innovative solution platform, which focuses heavily on providing farmers with multiple modes of action to combat weeds in the field. “What we need to ask is how can we protect the products we have today. With the Integrated Weed Management system, we’re excited to look at this question from multiple modes of action, because it gives farmers more choice, and it also spreads out the risk of resistance,” said Manz, “We want to make sure growers are using multiple modes of action to ensure that their use will be lasting. We are an innovative company, we are bringing a lot of new products out, but we’re also looking at what we can do to preserve the American farm today.”

The Integrated Weed Management platform combines and integrates three different components that focus on productivity in the long-term: high-quality weed-control products such as Corvus and DiFlexx, improving management practices and education, and a focus on scientific innovation through global research partnerships.

New products like Corvus® pre-emergence corn herbicide are helping by providing growers three different levels of defense: Burndown ability, residual defense to control the early sprouting weeds, and the power of reactivation to control weeds later in the growing season. The product also boasts an ultra low use rate of 5.6 ounces per acre.

Along with providing a toolbox of different products for growers, Bayer’s IWM program focuses heavily on improving global weed management practices through several different education-based task forces. In the US, the task force is called “Respect the Rotation.”

“Every product can become resistant if it is not used correctly,” says Manz, “And that’s why the Integrated Weed Management platform has a focus on rotation: We are doing a lot of training and education on how to apply our products, when to apply them, the correct application timing, and on using effective modes of action. It’s about truly understanding what weeds are out in your field, and exactly which products can help control them.”

Listen to my interview with Jason here:
[wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/fps-bayer-manz-weeds.mp3″ text=”Interview with Jason Manz, Bayer CropScience”]

2015 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

Coverage of the 2015 Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Coverage of the 2015 Farm Progress Show is sponsored by John DeereCoverage of the 2015 Farm Progress Show is sponsored by GrowmarkCoverage of the 2015 Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Bayer CropScience

Verdesian Takes Seed Treatment to Next Level

Joanna SchroederAudio, Farm Progress Show, seed

Verdesian is taking seed treatment to the next level with the latest, tweak if you will, of Take Off ST and Tuxedo. To learn more, I visited with Jim Pullens during the Farm Progress Show. He explained they have adapted Take Off ST to fit their seed treatment philosophy by getting the rates down so low that it doesn’t overload the seed with too much material.

Jim PullensPullens said that they have a group of growers that used Take Off ST on their winter wheat last year and they’ve been getting calls from these growers saying the fields that had Take Off were their best fields. In fact, he said, a Virginian farmer who won best wheat crop this year used Take Off on the winning field.

“We really think this is a way for farmers to boost their yields with a product that is easy to use and relatively lost cost, especially for a low project crop like winter wheat,” said Pullens.

Another “neat technology” explained Pullens is their new Tuxedo product. “We’re utilizing our patented polymer technology that we’ve used in the past to protect micronutrients from binding in the soil,” he said. “Micronutrients are very important for us to get yields.”

For example, Pullen explained that they apply the product to seed such as cereals. Zinc is a big factor for cereal crops and they can apply as much zinc in the seed treatment for a grower to get the results he needs. “So we think it’s a more efficient way to get those nutrients to the crop to get the yield response they want to achieve,” Pullen added. A targeted version of Tuxedo is also available for soybeans.

Learn more Take Off SP and Tuxedo by listening to my interview with Jim Pullens: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/fps-15-pullens.mp3″ text=”Interview with Jim Pullens, Verdesian”]

2015 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

Coverage of the 2015 Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Coverage of the 2015 Farm Progress Show is sponsored by John DeereCoverage of the 2015 Farm Progress Show is sponsored by GrowmarkCoverage of the 2015 Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Bayer CropScience

Brookside Agra Offering Comprehensive Agronomy

Kelly MarshallAgribusiness, agronomy, Risk Management, sustainability

brookside-agra-logoBrookside Agra has acquired Cardinal Agriculture Services and is now offering comprehensive agronomy and agricultural risk management services. Brookside Agra has offered all-natural specialty feed addivitve for 30 years.  The new acquisition will expand these services.

“Brookside Agra has always been committed to finding the most cost-effective, research-proven and all-natural solutions to fit our customers’ needs,” said Chad Vaninger, Brookside Agra Executive Vice President and General Manager. “Combined with our expertise in all-natural agricultural products, acquiring Cardinal Agriculture Services allows us to provide comprehensive solutions between farms and soil experts to create crop management programs that help growers reach the full genetic potential of their crops in a sustainable and all-natural manner.”

The new Agronomy Division is being led by Ben Elliott, a plant and soil nutrition specialist.  His division will be covering soil and tissue sampling and analysis, fertility and hybrid selection, water and feed analysis, and many other services.

“We are extremely excited to be a part of Brookside Agra and working with their customers,” said Elliott. “Our soil sampling analysis capabilities provide farmers with the answers they need to be their most productive. Our programs include soil and tissue sampling, as well as weather monitoring, water testing, satellite imagery and expert recommendations. Over a five-year period, our programs have been proven to save growers up to 35% on their agronomy program and trimmed input costs by as much as $15 per acre in the initial two years. ”

The new Risk Management Division will be headed up Andy Rynski, the former co-owner of Cardinal Agricultural Services.    His team will offer farm property and casualty insurance, crop insurance, livestock insurance, precision equipment, and precision risk management

“The days of filling out acreage reports by hand for insurance use are gone,” said Rynski. “We want farmers to spend less time in the office and more time out in the fields making money. Using precision GPS-mapping technology, crop data goes straight from the tractor’s cab to our office, then to our system’s processing software where it creates the reports that the farmer reviews and signs. It’s that easy.”

Eco Agro ECOSYSTEM Launched

Talia GoesAgribusiness, Eco Agro, Equipment, Fertilizer

Eco AgroThe Eco Agro ECOSYSTEM™ is bringing the ability to custom manufacture enhanced efficiency fertilizer (EEF) to your local retailer. The system will allow EEFs to be produced on-demand, customized to local conditions and without requiring extra storage bins. The development of PENXCEL Technology and products based on that platform make it possible to quickly blend a customized mix of stabilizers to meet the local need.

Andrew Semple, CEO of Eco Agro explains “We’ve seen interest from fertilizer manufacturers in developing the EEF market worldwide. The challenge is the significant investment in infrastructure required to segregate materials during manufacture, storage, transportation and distribution.” Semple explains that the North American market has the ability to meet the needs for EEFs without these capital expenditures.

Eco-System-logo“Most modern retailers have the proper equipment in place to use our products in the ECOSYSTEM without additional investment,” observes Semple. Eco Agro has initiated testing the ECOSYSTEM approach with the help of equipment manufacturers who supply the industry with blending equipment. Semple states, “A number of these equipment companies have embraced the ECOSYSTEM. It allows the local retailer to use their existing bins and blending capacity. And the companies have been testing N YIELD and N-BOUND stabilizers in their equipment development trials for new machinery as well.”

Norm Davy, CMO of Eco Agro has worked with the equipment companies as they have successfully tested the ECOSYSTEM concept. Davy shares, “The equipment industry leaders appreciate the ease of using PENXCEL products like N YIELD and new N-BOUND nitrogen stabilizers. The liquid products pump easy, even in cold weather. In a blender, they quickly coat and penetrate fertilizer granules. And they aren’t corrosive.” Faster blending times and drier, free-flowing product get positive reviews from retailers as well. Repeated demonstrations show the system delivers, in high-throughput systems, including tests in below freezing conditions.

Read full release here.