Interview with Bret Lieberman, New Holland

Chuck ZimmermanAgribusiness, Audio, New Holland

Bret Lieberman_headshotLet’s meet and get to know Bret Lieberman, newly appointed Vice President of North America, New Holland. I just got off the phone with Bret and look forward to meeting him in person next week in New Holland, PA. We started our conversation talking about his background which is extensive and diversified. In fact, today he’s celebrating being with the company for 25 years.

Bret joined the company in 1990 with a position in service parts. Bret continued to expand his experience with various roles in purchasing, human resources, quality management and haytools production. Most recently, Bret has held the position of head of North America Manufacturing, where he has been responsible for all agricultural and construction manufacturing plants since 2009. He’s seen a lot of changes in the brand over the years and he says they’ve all been positive.

Bret is so new on the job (one week) that he’s still waiting on business cards! However, he has moved his office to be closer to his team and is ready to tackle this new chapter in his career. Bret is very optimistic about New Holland’s future and will be getting to meet with many New Holland dealers and the media almost right away.

Listen in to my exclusive interview with Bret to get to know him: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/nh-lieberman-7-9-15.mp3″ text=”Bret Lieberman, New Holland”]

How Are The Crops In Your Area Looking

Chuck ZimmermanFood, ZimmPoll

New Holland ZimmPollOur latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “What’s on your grill this July 4th?”

Hot dogs and hamburgers came out on top and the other category included ribs and brats. We hope everyone had a safe and tasty Independence Day!

Here are the poll results:

  • Hot dogs – 22%
  • Hamburgers – 22%
  • Steak – 17%
  • Chicken – 17%
  • Other – 17%
  • Fish – 5%
  • Pork chops – 0%

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, How are the crops in your area looking?

Lots of areas in the United States are suffering from either too much moisture or not enough this growing season. Whether it’s the drought in California causing farmers to fallow land, too much rain in Texas delaying the planting of cotton, or so many areas in the Midwest getting so much rain that fields are being flooded, Mother Nature is throwing lots of curve balls. How do the crops look in your part of the country? And please feel free to leave some comments.

Precision Ag Bytes

Kelly MarshallAgribusiness, Dow AgroSciences, Intern, Precision Ag Bytes

  • precision-bytesPfister Seeds is expanding its current Vector internship program.  The program was created to help young farmers get back to the family farm.  The new expiation will also provide students with paid internships, college credits, and practical experience managing a seed business.
  • Dow AgroSciences is added a new option for above-ground insect control.  The new new trait, named PowerCore, provides a broad spectrum of control for corn growers.

Mycogen Seeds Move Beyond Drought Tolerance

Kelly MarshallAgribusiness, Corn, yields

Mycogen stress tolerant seedsMycogen Seeds is unveiling a new portfolio of hybrids, bred to handle the challenges of the western Corn Belt.  Designed to help growers manage multiple variables with one solution, the new hybrids feature a strong agronomic foundation of disease and insect control, lack of available water, and extreme heat.

“Raising corn in the High Plains is not easy, and growers face more challenges than drought alone,” says Cole Hansen, U.S. corn marketing leader for Mycogen Seeds and a Nebraska native. “We have developed our stress-tolerant line-up to suit the growing conditions in the western Corn Belt, with hybrids that withstand many of the yield-reducing factors it presents.”

Mycogen Seeds’ stress-tolerant hybrids are highly rated for Goss’s wilt, high-pH soils, greensnap, and have flex ear to support a range of populations and improved pollination during heat. The hybrids are also drought tolerant. The company uses a local, targeted approach to screening for tolerance to these stresses. The portfolio has proven itself in a variety of challenging environments.

The hybrids begin with a combination of the right genetics, then moves on to testing.  Mycogen Seeds pressure-tests the seeds in a managed stress environment to evaluate their yield response.  The stress-tolerant hybrids are then classified as rugged hybrids– consistent yielders in tougher growing conditions and low-yield environment, and all-star– excellent yields in low and high yield environments.  

“Rigorous testing tells us how hybrids respond to each stress factor to more precisely place the hybrid in the field and help growers manage them,” Barker says.

“Growers only have one shot at their corn yield,” Hansen says. “Choosing stress-tolerant hybrids helps ensure they’re putting up the best defense against local stresses to maximize yield potential.”

The Mycogen Seeds Agronomy Services team helps growers manage hybrids. Growers should see their local Mycogen representative for assistance selecting, planting and managing stress-tolerant hybrids.

Dow’s New Herbicide to Help Control Resistant Weeds

Kelly MarshallAgribusiness, Dow AgroSciences, Herbicides, Weed control

dow- resicoreRegistration for Dow AgroSciences new herbicide is expected in 2016.  The company recently announced they’ve named the previously known GF-3471; it will now be referred to as Resicore herbicide.

“Resicore is designed to control weeds throughout the season,” says Luke Peters, corn herbicides product manager, Dow AgroSciences. “It will provide trusted residual control, resistance management and resounding yield potential as the core of growers’ weed control programs.”

Resicore will help growers control herbicide-resistant weeds through three nonglyphosate and nonatrazine modes of action. The active ingredients included in this novel formulation are acetochlor, mesotrione and clopyralid. Resicore is expected to offer flexible application timing from preplant to early postemergence.

In 2014 trials, Resicore™ herbicide had a 97 percent efficacy rating on many common weeds found in Midwest fields such as waterhemp, marestail, giant ragweed and Palmer amaranth.

“By implementing a weed control program that rotates modes of action and uses herbicides with residual control, growers can combat heavy weed pressure in corn fields more effectively,” Peters says.  “Waterhemp continues to top the list of troublesome weeds for corn growers.  With three active ingredients that have never been included in a single product before, Resicore is a new, unique option for growers seeking control of waterhemp and other herbicide-resistant weeds.”

Waterhemp has been shown to be resistant to five modes of action in 18 states and resistant to multiple modes of action in Iowa, Kansas, Illinois, Minnesota, and Misssouri.

Case IH Glories Revealed in ‘Red Combines’

John DavisCase IH

redcombinesA new book recounts the glories of International Harvester and Case IH equipment. Octane Press says the book, “Red Combines 1915–2015,” comes out this September and chronicles the complete story of the most significant piece of farm equipment built in the 20th century.

The 384-page coffee table book is also a tribute to the people who invented the machine that helped shaped the farm as we know it today. Recounting the combine’s remarkable evolution, the book captures behind-the-scenes drama and clandestine encounters with rival companies, personnel and machines. Starting with research conducted by a rogue Swedish engineer in the 1950s and continued by a group of dedicated engineers who did their work in a top-secret garage, the book details how extensive research and development allowed International Harvester (IH) to build a new machine that took the market by storm.

Red Combines 1915–2015 includes detailed accounts by a host of authors and researchers, alongside more than 300 archival images, concept drawings, sketches, and new photography depicting the machines and men at work today. The six-pound volume is the result of dozens of interviews with engineers, salespeople, and customers — all under the direction of Lee Klancher, who serves as the project’s lead author and photo editor.

Klancher has overseen the development of some of the most-respected and best-selling books in the transportation niche, including Red Tractors 1958–2013, which has sold 16,000 copies and was the recipient of a “Gold” Benjamin Franklin Award and “Bronze” Independent Book Publisher Award.

Visiting the @BASFAgProducts Midwest Research Farm

Cindy ZimmermanAgribusiness, Audio, BASF, Corn, Crop Protection, Research, Soybeans

Seymour, Illinois near Champaign is the location for the BASF Midwest Research Farm (MWRF), which the company has developed into a showcase for the latest in crop development trials and stewardship practices.

basf-field-IL-aj“Several years ago we were farming about 45 acres worth of plots at this site and not really doing a whole lot of customer interaction,” said BASF Crop Production Specialist AJ Woodyard during a tour this week for agricultural journalists. “Today we’re running about 1500 customers through here in the summer with 200 acres of plots focused on not only development of new chemistry but also a lot relevant agronomic information for growers.”

Woodyard says visitors to the farm range from local growers and retailers to international guests. The media folks who visited Tuesday heard about some of the challenges facing the region this growing season, took a plot tour, and got an update on Engenia herbicide, which they are hoping will receive federal approval by the end of the year. We also learned about how BASF is educating growers about proper herbicide application and about the new Grow Smart approach working with farmers to get the most out of every acre.

Listen to my interview with AJ here to learn more about the research farm: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/basf-IL-woodyard.mp3″ text=”Interview with AJ Woodyard, BASF”]

Listen to an overview of the farm from AJ: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/basf-IL-AJ-present.mp3″ text=”Overview of BASF Midwest Research Farm”]

BASF Midwest Research Farm photo album

Hagie Mfg Joins AirScout for Custom Applicator

Kelly MarshallAgribusiness, Crop Protection, Scouting

Hagie AirScout Edition PhotoHagie Mfg. is known for its innovative crop protection solutions, so it makes sense they’d be looking for a partnership in AirScout, a company that combines ground scouting with ariel photography.  Together the companies are please to provide customers state-of-the-art field prescription services with capability for timely applications management.

Disease pressure can create crop demise and result in significant financial impact. Through marrying advanced aerial technology with capability to perform full season applications as needed, growers and agricultural retailers are able to optimize soil and crop health for maximum yield potential. The perfect complement to traditional field-based scouting services, AirScout’s Application Program utilizes advanced thermal technology and ADVI imagery to build precise field prescription maps to be transmitted to a specially designed 2016 Hagie AirScout Edition STS unit.

The fully customized applicator will utilize technologies including Raven’s Slingshot® wireless tool, 360 Yield Center’s “Undercover“ and “Y-Drop” devices. The unit also features a modified tank that is divided into four sections and a plumbing manifold that allows various loading options. The machine’s dual pumps and manifolds allow for two entirely different application processes to occur at the same time.

For growers in Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois utilizing Air Scout’s services, the Hagie AirSout Edition unit will be available this summer.  See the tour schedule and find out more visit www.hagieairscout.com.

Corn Growers Join Lawsuit to Overturn WOTUS

John DavisAg Group, Agribusiness, Corn, Government, NCGA

NCGA-Logo-3The National Corn Growers Association is the latest group to join a lawsuit to overturn the “Waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) rule. Chip Bowling, president of NCGA and a farmer from Newburg, Maryland, says the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are overstepping their limits with the rule.

“Farmers need clarity and certainty about their responsibilities under the Clean Water Act. Unfortunately, the Waters of the U.S. rule does neither. Under the new rule, every farmer and rancher in America now has at least one WOTUS on their farm. That puts far too much power in the hands of the federal government and exposes farmers to considerable liabilities – without actually do anything to improve water quality.

Clean water is important. Corn farmers remain committed to working with the EPA, the Corps, and other stakeholders to protect America’s water supply.”

Co-plaintiffs in the lawsuit include American Farm Bureau Federation, American Petroleum Institute, American Road and Transportation Builders Association, Leading Builders of America, National Alliance of Forest Owners, National Association of Home Builders, National Association of Manufactures, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, National Mining Association, National Pork Producers Council, and Public Lands Council. Similar lawsuits have also been filed by 27 state attorneys general.

Salford Group Bolsters Line-Up

Kelly MarshallAgribusiness, Equipment, Fertilizer

salford-logoNew products are being added to Salford Group‘s fertilizer application line.  Two new spreaders and the largest pull-type pneumatic boom applicators on the market are being included as the result of the recent acquisition of BBI Spreaders and Valmar Airflo.

New to the Canadian market are two Salford BBI spreaders, the MagnaSpread Ultra and Javelin. This equipment has previously been distributed in the American market and the company is now excited to offer it throughout Canada as well. Both featured in the Producer Series, these spreaders are optimized for large-acreage operations, a hallmark of the western Canadian market.

Both spreaders arrive in the field standard equipped with the Task Command System from Salford BBI Electronics but are compatible with other precision farming equipment as well. The Task Command System offers producers true precision farming technology, with guidance and variable rate control among its capabilities.

Salford also welcomes the Salford Valmar 8600 to its product line. Valmar manufactures the only pull-type pneumatic boom fertilizer applicators on the market, with the 8600 being the largest model.

The 8600 gives farmers increased versatility through its 54, 57, 60 and 66 ft. boom widths, standard half-machine shut off, and its option package for metering and tire types.  What sets Salford Valmar applicators apart is the ability to maintain accuracy throughout the width of the boom and achieve an even spread pattern, even in windy conditions. Fan options include a 1000 rpm PTO driven fan or a hydraulically driven 17 in. fan that operates at 4700 rpm.

These new addition add significant benefits Salford Group.  Their new, expanded product line includes: primary, secondary, and vertical tillage, air seeders, commodity carts, cover crop seeders, spinner-type fertilizer spreaders, air-boom applicators and granular applicators for fertilizer, insecticide, seed, seed inoculant and forage preservatives.