New Website for GROWMARK

John DavisAgribusiness, Growmark, Website

growmarkwebsite1GROWMARK has unveiled a new company website. Company officials say the old site had been around for the last five years, and it was time for a change.

“[C]ombined with the adoption of responsive design technology, we believe users will have a better experience on the redesigned website.” [Cliff Dolbeare, GROWMARK’s corporate strategic development manager] said the new site will be cleaner and easier to read, incorporating smart use of white space and large format images. It will be simple to navigate, easy to read, and will look appropriate across all device platforms.

To execute the redesigned site, GROWMARK partnered with Tahoe Partners, a Chicago-based firm specializing in designing and implementing personalized, digital experiences. .

The new site will also help customers locate their local FS member cooperative, FAST STOP, or grain cooperative, as well as to connect directly with GROWMARK headquarters. Prospective employees, whether they are potential interns, seasonal employees or experienced workers, will also find it easier to view available positions within the system.

FMC and Monsanto Expand Agreement for Growers

Cindy ZimmermanAgribusiness, Audio, Corn, Cotton, FMC, Herbicides, Insecticide, Monsanto, Soybeans

heroFMC Agricultural Solutions and Monsanto last week announced the expansion of an agreement of participation in the Roundup Ready PLUS® Crop Management Solutions platform. The exclusive agreement includes FMC’s Authority® brand sulfentrazone herbicides, and adds FMC’s Capture® LFR® insecticide as a soil-applied insecticide for corn and Hero® insecticide.

“We believe growers should make use of the best technologies available,” said FMC Soybean Segment Manager Flavio Centola. “Monsanto and FMC together can offer farmers those cutting edge technologies to help them fight against weed and pest resistance and reach higher yields.”

Corn Segment Manager Matt Hancock says he likes the way the program helps them position the proper agronomics. “If it’s Authority brand herbicide, or Capture LFR insecticide at plant, or Hero foliar insecticide … we feel like that’s just really good stewardship of our brands and of our products,” said Hancock.

Learn more about how the agreement benefits growers here: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/fmc-monsanto.mp3″ text=”Interview with Flabio Centola and Matt Hancock, FMC”]

DSC_0556“FMC has become a really strong partner with Monsanto and the Roundup Ready PLUS platform,” said Roundup Ready marketing manager Chris Reat in an interview at the Farm Progress Show last week. “We’re really excited about the expansion of the agreement, because it’ll ensure farmers have the choice to continue to use the Authority Brand with Roundup Ready products,” said Reat.

Monsanto and FMC have worked together on the Weed Management Solutions platform since 2010, providing benefits for both companies, as well as the growers.

“When we look for partners to partner up with, we want good, solid companies that provide industry-leading brands and products, and certainly FMC does that with the Authority brand,” says Reat, “The good thing about collaborations with two industry-leading companies like FMC and Monsanto is that when we get a chance to work together its very powerful and very impactful. It really is a win win for Monsanto, FMC, and our customers.”

Listen to an interview with Reat here:
[wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/fps-15-monsanto-reat.mp3″ text=”Interview with Chris Reat, Monsanto Company”]

John Deere Commits to Nutrient Application Accuracy

Jamie JohansenAgribusiness, Audio, environment, Equipment, Farm Progress Show, John Deere, Nutrient Management

DSC_0419The folks at John Deere have recently introduced the 2510H High-Speed Applicator with Dry Nutrient Attachment to increase nutrient placement accuracy and reduce trips across the field. At last week’s Farm Progress Show, Brad Pasvogel, tillage and nutrient management product engineer for John Deere, said with this new machine they have the ability to apply anhydrous ammonia and dry nutrients in one pass.

“Right now in our industry there is a lot of discussion around nutrient reduction strategy. With issues such as hypoxia in Lake Erie and with point source pollution in Des Moines, Iowa. This is a resource to help our customers manage their nutrients as responsible as they can and help their plants efficiently uptake the nutrients they need to reach their maximum yield potential while being the best stewards to the environment by using sub-surface application.

John Deere has a limited number of these units available for this fall and full production will begin in the spring. Brad said to contact your local dealer to learn more about how to be the new owner of the 2510H High-Speed Applicator with Dry Nutrient Attachment.

Check out my complete interview with Brad here: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/fps-15-jd-pasvogel.mp3″ text=”Interview with Brad Pasvogel, John Deere”]

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

Equipment Sales Steady to Down This Year

Jamie JohansenZimmPoll

New Holland ZimmPollOur latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “How are farm equipment sales this year?”

The 2015 Farm Progress Show was a huge success and the streets were packed. But with crop prices lower this year, the question was, are people buying? It looks like we have responses all over the board, but leaning towards not so good. Whether you are buying this year or not, you can not deny farm equipment and technology companies have stepped it up this year and are providing their best.

Here are the poll results:

  • Good – 13%
  • Not so good – 27%
  • Steady – 27%
  • Really down – 20%
  • Unsure – 13%

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, What is most important personal issue to today’s farmers?

No one can argue the passion farmers and ranchers have for the products they produce. It is not a job, it is a way of life they proudly live. We want to know what issues farmers today take the most personally. Is it producing a sustainable product, securing the farm for future generations, the ability for new farmers to get started, consumer education or maybe learning and utilizing new technologies? Are there other things…let us know.

AFBF Releases More EPA Overreach Maps

Kelly MarshallAFBF, Ag Group, EPA, Farm Bureau, water, Water Management

The American Farm Bureau Federation has released even more maps to help visualize the EPA’s overreach in the new WOTUS rule.  The maps show how the government intends to radically expand its jurisdiction over land, highlighting the fact that nearly all of the total acreage for the four states illustrated would full under EPA jurisdiction.

WOTUSThe maps prepared by Geosyntec Consulting show the dramatic expansion of EPA’s regulatory reach across wide swaths of land in Missouri, Oklahoma, New York and Wisconsin.

“The EPA’s new rule places farmers in the agency’s crosshairs for using the same safe, scientifically sound and federally approved crop protection tools they’ve used for years,” AFBF President Bob Stallman said. “This rule creates a new set of tools for harassing farmers in court, and does it all with language that is disturbingly vague and subject to abuse by future regulators. It’s worth saying again: The EPA needs to withdraw this rule and start over.”

Maps detailing EPA’s overreach in Missouri, Montana, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin can be found here: http://www.fb.org/issues/wotus/resources/

IA Ag Secy @BNorthey Visits IL #FarmProgressShow

Cindy ZimmermanAudio, Farm Progress Show

Iowa Ag Secretary Bill Northey visits Deere exhibit at FPS

Iowa Ag Secretary Bill Northey visits Deere exhibit at FPS

We usually see Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey on the even year Farm Progress Shows in his home state, but for the first time he paid a visit across the border to the Illinois show.

“It’s always great to be at a Farm Progress Show,” said Northey. “And I get to see a lot of Iowans at the Illnois Farm Progress Show.”

I had the opportunity to catch up with Secretary Northey about a number of important issues for agriculture, including the Clean Water Rule, which went into effect on August 28 for all but 13 states granted an injunction by a federal judge under a lawsuit they filed. “Iowa is not one of them,” said Northey. “Actually, Iowa is not on any of these different lawsuits out there. I think we ought to be, we may well be at some point….so I guess it’s going into effect in Iowa but we don’t even know what that means.”

In this interview, Northey also comments on the crops in Iowa, the presidential candidates that just visited the state fair, and how the state is recovering from avian flu. [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/fps-northey.mp3″ text=”Interview with Iowa Ag Secretary Bill Northey”]

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

Tools to Fight #Soybean Sudden Death Syndrome

Cindy ZimmermanAudio, Bayer CropScience, Crop Protection, Farm Progress Show, Soybeans

At the Farm Progress Show last week, Bayer CropScience launched a new online industry resource, www.soysds.com, to provide information addressing the growing danger of Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) in soybeans.

fps-bayer-cary“For the second year in a row we’re seeing widespread Sudden Death Syndrome,” said Seed Growth Crop Manager Kerry Grossweiler. “Sudden Death Syndrome was first seen in Arkansas in 1971 and now this deadly disease has been documented in nearly every state where soybeans are grown.”

SDS is the number two yield-robbing pest in soybeans and losses range from 20-70 percent of a crop, which is why Bayer CropScience developed the first and only solution for growers called ILeVO®. “It’s the first soybean seed treatment that controls Sudden Death Syndrome and has activity against nematodes in the seed zone,” said Grossweiler.

ILeVO® was just introduced this season for soybean farmers and Grossweiler says they’ve already seen a lot of demand for next year. “People are already booking seed and determining what they want on that seed and they’re asking for ILeVO,” he said. “And they’re also asking for Poncho®/VOTiVO® … when you combine ILeVO with Poncho/VOTiVO, you have unmatched protection against nematodes, insects and SDS.”

Find out more in this interview: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/fps-bayer-kerry.mp3″ text=”Interview with Kerry Grossweiler, 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

On Target Application Academy Graduates Grow

Cindy ZimmermanAudio, BASF, Crop Protection, Farm Progress Show, Spraying, Video

fps-basf-otaaBASF Crop Protection has been sponsoring the On Target Application Academy was started in 2012 and in the past three years the program has trained about 10,000 farmers and commercial applicators in 20 different states.

Application technology extension specialist Scott Bretthaur with the University of Illinois, one of the program advisers, says the goal is educate about spray technologies and techniques for safe and effective application of crop protection chemicals. “The average On Target Application Academy is about two hours long,” he said during an interview at Farm Progress Show. “We go through information related to different nozzle types, spray adjuvants, how to match that up with droplet size depending on the herbicide, also some of the sprayer technology out there,” he said.

Learn more in this interview: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/fps-basf-otaa.mp3″ text=”Interview with application extension specialist Scott Bretthaur”]

basf-tn-sprayBASF has been actively promoting the importance of proper application techniques in preparation for anticipated registration of Engenia™ herbicide later this year. At research farms in various areas of the country, BASF has been demonstrating the correct nozzle for use in applying Engenia – the Turbo TeeJet Induction (TTI) – and why it is so effective.

Watch the video below to see the TTI droplet size demonstration in vivid purple!

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BASF Southern Media Event in Tennessee

Cotton and Fiber Symposium Set for November

Kelly MarshallAg Group, Cotton, Events

cotton symposium“The fabric of our lives” will be the subject of a symposium scheduled for November.  In the U.S., cotton is a $25 billion dollar industry.

Because of the importance of fiber crops to the United States, there will be an “Exploring Genetic Diversity for Fiber Improvement” symposium at the Synergy in Science ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting in Minneapolis, MN, on Sunday, November 15, 2015. The meeting is sponsored by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and the Soil Science Society of America.

“From a genomics perspective, there’s not the diversity in upland cotton as there is in other crops like corn and wheat,” says Wayne Smith, organizer of the symposium and professor at Texas A&M. “Many of the fifty-two species of cotton are not cross compatible, so moving traits from ‘wild’ species into commercial cotton appears more difficult than in some other crops. Even in the species that are compatible and can be cross fertilized, cotton’s genomic structure appears to prevent, or at least inhibit, the genetic movement of desirable traits into the upland genome through conventional breeding methods.”

Eric Hequest, professor at Texas Tech, will discuss making cotton more competitive with synthetic fibers.  “Cotton has lost half its market share to synthetic fiber,” he says. We need to develop “cotton fiber with reduced variability, so it performs more predictably at the mill.”

Phil Bauer, USDA-ARS scientist, Phil Bauer, will address climate change, specifically drought tolerance.  “Improved cultivars for changing climate will include more tolerance to heat and drought. Farmers will also likely be changing their management practices so these cultivars may require traits that optimize production with those practices.”

To attend you must register by November 1, 2015.

Bayer CropScience #SoyExcited about LibertyLink®

Cindy ZimmermanAudio, Bayer CropScience, Farm Progress Show, Herbicides, Soybeans, Weed control

During the 2015 Farm Progress Show, Bayer CropScience unveiled a social instant win experience for growers, the LibertyLink® Real Yield Game.

Bayer CropScience soybean marketing manager Malin Westfall and Liberty product manger David Tanner

Bayer CropScience soybean marketing manager Malin Westfall and Liberty product manger David Tanner

Soybean Marketing Manager Malin Westfall is “soy excited” about the new promotion. “It’s really an opportunity for our customers to tell their story,” said Westfall. “We want to hear the great things that the Liberty Link system and Liberty herbicide is doing on their farm to help them control their resistant and tough-to-control weeds.”

The LibertyLink Real Yield Game offers growers the chance to win prizes while playing an animated game to defeat tough-to-control weeds. Growers get to virtually spray soybean fields with Liberty® herbicide and see how the LibertyLink system provides superior control. Growers can instantly win a 2015 John Deere® Combine or a one-year supply of LibertyLink soybeans and Liberty herbicide, and every play gets an entry to win a one-year lease on a 2015 John Deere® Tractor. And every time the game is played, Bayer CropScience will make a contribution to FFA on the state level. [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/fps-bayer-malin.mp3″ text=”Interview with Malin Westfall, Bayer CropScience”]

Liberty product manger David Tanner says they are also “soy excited” about the expanding use of the Liberty Link system nationwide. “We have about 60 million Liberty Link-enabled acres across corn, soybeans, cotton, canola – and we are just seeing that growth continue,” said Tanner. “We’ve seen great yields with the Liberty Link soybeans and we’re seeing great weed control with Liberty.”

Growth has been so significant that Bayer recently announced plans to invest $50 million in upgrades to production capacity at the plant that produces Liberty herbicide in Michigan. “We increasing our supply capacity in Muskegon, as well as Mobile, Alabama,” Tanner said.

Find out more in this interview with David: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/fps-bayer-liberty.mp3″ text=”Interview with David Tanner, 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