What’s New with LFR at FMC

Cindy ZimmermanAg Media Summit, Audio, FMC, Fungicides

ams15-fmc-hancock-captureLFR stands for Liquid Fertilizer Ready formulation and FMC Corporation is expanding that franchise to help growers.

“We’ve had a lot of success with Capture LFR,” FMC Corn Segment Manager Matt Hancock said during the recent Ag Media Summit. “It provides the control a grower wants with the convenience of just being able to toss it in the tank with liquid fertilizer and apply in the furrow at plant.”

Hancock says they plan to take that to the next level with ETHOS. “It’s the ‘new beginning’ – that’s what ETHOS means,” he said. “We look at this as launching a new category of combined insecticide and fungicide in that liquid fertilizer ready formulation.”

The first brand in the category will be ETHOS XB, which was approved this summer and will be available for use in 2016. “It combines the power of Capture LFR along with a bio-fungicide,” Hancock explains. “So we’re not adding resistance pressure on to those synthetic fungicides but we’re getting additional control of damping off diseases.”

Find out more in this interview: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/ams15-fmc-hancock-3.mp3″ text=”Interview with FMC Corn Segment Manager Matt Hancock”]

2015 Ag Media Summit Photo Album

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Coverage of the Ag Media Summit is sponsored by FMC   Coverage of the Ag Media Summit is sponsored by New Holland   Coverage of the Ag Media Summit is sponsored by the National Biodiesel Board

John Deere’s Tech Legacy Includes Modern Connectivity

John DavisAgribusiness, Audio, InfoAg, John Deere

infoag-15-jd-coreyFor 178 years, John Deere has been working with customers to bring farmers the latest technological developments in production agriculture. So it’s no wonder that now extends into the precision agriculture realm and connectivity on the farm.

“We started with the plow, we did it with tractors, and technology is an extension of that,” Corey Reed (pictured talking with the folks from MapShots) with John Deere’s Intelligent Solutions Group told Chuck at the recent InfoAg Conference. “We started years ago with equipping these machines with technologies like guidance and documentation systems ultimately leading to wireless communications. MyJohnDeere allows information to flow seamlessly from a customer’s operation in the field into a system they can use to manage their farm.”

Not only does Deere connect the producer with their information, but it also allows them to connect that information with their trusted advisers, such as their John Deere dealer. Mobile data transfer has been important to all this, as John Deere’s system allows for older and even competing systems to be loaded into MyJohnDeere. Apps through John Deere put it all right at the tip of a producer’s fingertips in their smartphone.

“It’s an exciting time in agriculture. It’s a time when you’re going to see technology accelerate, and we’re excited to be a major part of that,” Corey concluded.

Listen to all of Chuck’s interview with Corey here: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/jd-corey-reed.mp3″ text=”Interview with Corey Reed, John Deere”]

2015 InfoAg Conference Photo Album

Coverage of the InfoAg Conference is sponsored by
Coverage of the InfoAg Conference is sponsored by John Deere   Coverage of the InfoAg Conference is sponsored by Growmark

Raven’s Slingshot Field Hub 2.0

Chuck ZimmermanAgribusiness, Apps, Audio, InfoAg, Internet, Raven, Video

Josh Skanderup Raven PrecisionRaven Precision has introduced a new Slingshot product, the Field Hub 2.0. Josh Skanderup was available during the recent InfoAg Conference to talk about it.

The core of the Slingshot experience is the Slingshot Field Hub. A small device that fits neatly into the cab of your vehicle, the hub connects your precision ag hardware to Slingshot’s suite of services. It connects your operator, managers and Slingshot support to each other via the Internet and puts a complete web experience on your Raven field computer.

Josh says the new hub is 4G LTE capable allowing for much higher speed internet access. He says more and more customers are able to tap into new 4G coverage. Raven’s open platform allows using the device with a wide variety of agricultural software and application providers.

You can listen to my interview with Josh here or watch it below. Please feel free to share. [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/infoag-15-raven.mp3″ text=”Josh Skanderup, Raven Precision”]


2015 InfoAg Conference Photo Album

Coverage of the InfoAg Conference is sponsored by
Coverage of the InfoAg Conference is sponsored by John Deere   Coverage of the InfoAg Conference is sponsored by Growmark

Ayrstone Helps Bring ‘Revolution’ to Ag Data Management

John DavisAgribusiness, Audio, Ayrstone, InfoAg

infoag-15-ayrestoneThere’s a revolution coming in agriculture, and it has to do with technology and how data is managed.

“There’s just a lot more devices today that talk on a network and more coming all the time,” Bill Moffitt with Ayrstone told Chuck during the recent InfoAg Conference. His company offers producers long-range wi-fi networks that can cover up to 100 thousand acres! “All those devices generate data, and what we do is move data from where it’s generated to where it needs to be used.”

Bill added that all those devices come with their own bills for network charges. A wi-fi system from Ayrstone can eliminate those bills while giving the producers the connectivity they truly need. For the future, he said data will continue to be increasingly important on the farm. The key is keeping data integrity during all the transfers.

Bill said he likes coming to InfoAg because of the people who attend bring a lot of great ideas to discuss.

“[We see] a really good back and forth with people who know what they’re doing, use our products, use competing products and give me really solid feedback. That alone is worth the price of admission,” he said.

Listen to all of Chuck’s interview with Bill here: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/ayrstone-bill-moffitt.mp3″ text=”Interview with Bill Moffitt with Ayrstone”]

2015 InfoAg Conference Photo Album

Coverage of the InfoAg Conference is sponsored by
Coverage of the InfoAg Conference is sponsored by John Deere   Coverage of the InfoAg Conference is sponsored by Growmark

Woods End Releases Field Test for Soil Biology

Kelly MarshallAgribusiness, Soil, Soil Sampling

woods end logoAn manufacture of soil respiration and amino-nitrogen soil tests, Woods End Laboratories, has announced the release of the Solvita® Field Test.  The test allows growers and crop consultants to skip the expense of sending samples to a lab and save time with on-site evaluations of soil biology.

As growers have become more interested in biological soil fertility – more popularly known as “soil health” – measuring soil CO2 respiration in the field has become important as a way to gauge the quality of the soil’s biology. This measurement is also significant for a reason that has been overlooked until recently: It provides a way to track how much CO2 the plants are receiving.

Plants have a large appetite for CO2, particularly mid-summer. They extract CO2 from surrounding air to form basic sugars through photosynthesis. During the most rapid growth, however, CO2 can be a limiting nutrient. This means yields are saturated at lower than potential levels.

“It would take 12 to 38 cubic acres of air to provide enough CO2 for an acre of wheat and corn,” Will Brinton, Ph.D., the inventor of Solvita, explained. “We commonly assume plants just somehow get all this from the air but the fact is much is coming directly from soil due to microbial respiration.”

This test was developed so that growers or crop consultants in the field can obtain results with a few simple steps. The Solvita® Field Test enables the user to put a moist soil sample in a jar, insert a probe, let it set for 24 hours and then check the probe’s color against a color chart or with a digital color reader (handheld spectrometer). The results indicate a CO2 value that shows how many pounds of CO2 per acre the soil microbes are releasing (directly related to crop growth). From this one can estimate how much organic nitrogen and phosphorous are likely to be released from the organic matter in the soil due to microbes “feeding” on it.

A complete, integrated view of soil biology is still available for growers who so desire.  Soil samples may be send to Woods End Laboratories or another soil test lab using Solvita products and instructions can be found on the Woods End website.

Managing Acres with SATSHOT

Jamie JohansenAerial Imagery, Agribusiness, Data, InfoAg, Satellite

infoag15-41-editedThere is no question that the precision agriculture industry is on a steady incline when it comes to growth. While at the 2015 InfoAg Conference precision ag companies were present to share how they can aid farmers in the competitive growing season. Lanny Faleide, president of SATSHOT, sat down with me to explain why all farmers need to get on board when it comes to the benefits of precision ag technology.

“SATSHOT is a company focused on distribution and remote sensing satellite imagery and other imagery sources. We have a full distribution system that allows you to be notified on how your field is growing, how many acres have issues and how good it is. We can take that image and make it an actionable item in your tractor.”

As participants walked through the SATSHOT booth they had to opportunity to use satellite imagery to take a look at their fields right then and there. While I was standing there a grower from the Midwest was checking to see how much water damage his fields at home had suffered.

“We can also look at a region for ag dealers and see all the fields together. This shows how different growers are doing so dealers can bring out more precision ag serves to fit a grower.”

Lanny summed it by saying that they offer the data to allow the precision ag specialist to create services for the grower. This increases profitability for the grower and creates more opportunity for precision technology in general.

Listen to my complete interview with Lanny here: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/infoag-15-satshot-lanny.mp3″ text=”Interview with Lanny Faleide, SATSHOT”]

View and download photos from the event here: 2015 InfoAg Conference Photo Album

Coverage of the InfoAg Conference is sponsored by
Coverage of the InfoAg Conference is sponsored by John Deere   Coverage of the InfoAg Conference is sponsored by Growmark

Syngenta Breaks Ground on Expansion

Kelly MarshallAgribusiness, seed, Syngenta

syngenta 1The Syngenta North America Seedcare Institute in Stanton, Minnesota is beginning a $20 million expansion project. Syngenta leaders,  Congressman John Kline of Minnesota’s 2nd District, Matthew Wohlman, assistant commissioner, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, and other local officials and industry leaders, participated in a ground breaking for the construction of a building that will be nearly five times the size of the present facility.

The new structure will house high-tech laboratories for R&D, treating, plantability, dust-off and quality assurance, a scale-up treating area, a treating equipment performance area to simulate real-life experiences for customers, state-of-the-art training facility, seed warehouse as well as office and meeting space.

The expanded Seedcare Institute will allow Syngenta to accelerate the development of new seed treatment products and technology and meet the increasing demand by farmers and seed companies to protect high-value seeds and seed traits. In addition, it will augment customer education and stewardship.

syngenta 2“Farmers’ challenges are becoming increasingly complex,” said Ponsi Trivisvavet, president of Syngenta Seeds Inc., and regional director of Syngenta for North America. “We are committed to our customers’ success and that begins with innovation. Syngenta invested more than $1.3 billion in R&D last year. And our commitment continues right here in Stanton today with the expansion of our North America Seedcare Institute.”

“Our customers require highly specialized products and services from us,” said Ravi Ramachandran, head of the Syngenta’s North America Seedcare Institute. “As a result, the solutions we work on today are much more sophisticated than they were five to 10 years ago. The seed treatment business has evolved, and the products we develop require an increased level of training for our seed company customers, ag retailers, applicators and farmers to fully realize the value of our technologies and best management practices and stewardship.”

Syngenta now operates 10 Seedcare Institutes globally, and one more is scheduled to open shortly in Singapore. Our global network of Seedcare Institutes serves as centers of excellence in product application, quality management, training, seed science and product support for customers.

“This expansion in Stanton further underscores Syngenta’s investment in innovation and commitment to our Seedcare customers,” said Tim Kroenke, head of Syngenta’s Seedcare business in North America. “This is an exciting time in the seed treatment industry, the Stanton community, and the state of Minnesota.”

The new facility is scheduled to be completed by end of 2016.

#AgMedia Learn About Overlap System From FMC

Cindy ZimmermanAg Media Summit, Audio, FMC, Herbicides, Weed control

Ag journalists had the opportunity to learn more about the Overlap™ System that FMC promotes for weed control during the recent Ag Media Summit.

ams15-fmc-wheeler-2“Overlap is a term that we use for overlapping residual herbicides and we do that in order to manage resistant weed species like tall waterhemp and palmer pigweed, primarily,” said FMC Technical Business Manager David Wheeler during an interview with AgWired intern Lizzy Shultz at AMS. “We want to ensure that they never come out of the ground.”

FMC supports this approach for the benefit of their customers to help them manage weeds as best they can. “We know we have some shortcomings in managing weeds after they emerge,” said Wheeler. “By using this approach, they keep weeds from emerging and a weed that doesn’t emerge cannot reproduce. So they get good weed control in the crop but for the long term they reduce the deposits into the ‘weed seed bank.'”

FMC products recommended for the overlap program include Authority, Anthem, Marvel and Solstice.

Listen to Lizzy’s interview with David here: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/ams15-fmc-wheeler-2.mp3″ text=”Interview with David Wheeler, FMC, on Overlap System”]

2015 Ag Media Summit Photo Album

Coverage of the Ag Media Summit is sponsored by
Coverage of the Ag Media Summit is sponsored by FMC   Coverage of the Ag Media Summit is sponsored by New Holland   Coverage of the Ag Media Summit is sponsored by the National Biodiesel Board

John Deere’s Ops Center Puts Data in One Place

John DavisAudio, InfoAg, John Deere

infoag-15-jd-tylerLots of farmers have tons of information, but the real key is how to organize all that data into something that helps their bottom line. At the recent InfoAg Conference, Chuck talked with John Deere’s Tyler Hogrefe about how the John Deere Operations Center helps consolidate the information where producers can make the most of it.

“We realized that we needed to pull all that information together into one place where growers could start to benefit from the information and working with that information to get more insight from it,” he said. “The Operations Center is that place where you can interact with all your information seamlessly and even share it.”

Tyler said one of the best features of the center is growers can filter down to what they really are interested in. Users have provided some pretty positive feedback so far. In addition, since every grower has different needs, John Deere dealers are prepared to educate their customers to get the Operations Center to do what producers need it to do. He concluded it all starts with a trip to your local dealer.

“We’ve got a lot of venues [to learn about our products], but that John Deere dealer is going to be the best educated one to really point you in the right direction,” he said.

Listen to all of Chuck’s interview with Tyler here: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/jd-tyler-hogrefe.mp3″ text=”Interview with Tyler Hogrefe, John Deere”]

2015 InfoAg Conference Photo Album

Coverage of the InfoAg Conference is sponsored by
Coverage of the InfoAg Conference is sponsored by John Deere   Coverage of the InfoAg Conference is sponsored by Growmark

Get the GeoVantage View

Chuck ZimmermanAerial Imagery, Audio, Aviation, InfoAg, Video

GeoVantageHigh resolution aerial imagery is the specialty of GeoVantage and during the InfoAg Conference Matt Sweeney told me all about what they do. The company not only owns planes but has a substantial list of pilots they work with to get jobs done.

Aerial imagery is a key component in utilizing precision agriculture techniques for the management of farmland. The GeoVantage Imaging System provides high-resolution, orthorectified images that are used by Cooperatives, Ag Service Providers (ASPs), Crop Consultants, and Growers to manage farm land profitably.

Matt says they work with companies like MapShots to supply their customers with the aerial imagery they need.

You can listen to my interview with Matt here or watch it below. Please feel free to share. [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/infoag-15-geovantage.mp3″ text=”Matt Sweeney, GeoVantage”]


2015 InfoAg Conference Photo Album

Coverage of the InfoAg Conference is sponsored by
Coverage of the InfoAg Conference is sponsored by John Deere   Coverage of the InfoAg Conference is sponsored by Growmark