Sir Fazle Hasan Abed Wins World Food Prize

Kelly MarshallAward, Food, USDA, World Food

Sir_Fazle_Hasan_AbedSir Fazle Hasan Abed of Bangladesh has been awarded the 2015 winner of the World Food Prize, the most prominent award for individuals whose achievements alleviate hunger and promote global food security.  The announcement was by Tom Vilsack who made remarks at an event by the U.S. State Department.

“I offer my sincerest congratulations to Sir Fazle and appreciation for the progress he has made in improving people’s lives, alleviating hunger, and providing pathways out of poverty. Sir Fazle’s and his organization’s recognition that engaging women in STEAM fields—science, technology, engineering, agriculture, and math—benefits our local and global communities is a vision that we share at USDA.” said Vilsack.

World Food Prize1Awarded by the World Food Prize Foundation, the $250,000 prize honors Sir Fazle’s unparalleled achievement in building the unique, integrated development organization BRAC, which is headquartered in Bangladesh and operates programs in 10 other countries around the globe. Since he created it over 40 year ago, Sir Fazle’s organization has provided the opportunity for nearly 150 million people worldwide to improve their lives, have enhanced food security and follow a pathway out of poverty through its dynamic and effective development programs.

BRAC, which was formally known as Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, has been hailed as the most effective anti-poverty organization in the world. Its agricultural and development innovations have improved food security for millions and contributed to a significant decline in poverty levels through direct impacts to farmers and small communities across the globe. Today BRAC operates 18 financially and socially profitable enterprises, across health, agriculture, livestock, fisheries, education, green energy, printing and retail sectors, and has been responsible for extraordinary advancements in the poultry, seed, and dairy industries in Bangladesh and other countries in which it operates in Africa.

“At a time when the world confronts the great challenge of feeding over nine billion people, Sir Fazle Abed and BRAC, the organization he founded and leads, have created the preeminent model being followed around the globe on how to educate girls, empower women and lift whole generations out of poverty. For this monumental achievement, Sir Fazle truly deserves recognition as the 2015 World Food Prize Laureate,” commented World Food Prize President, Ambassador Kenneth M. Quinn.

This announcement comes on the heels of applause for Bangladesh by the United Nations for meeting the Millennium Development Goal, to halve hunger by the year 2015.

Sir Fazle will receive his award at a ceremony at the Iowa State Capitol building in Des Moines, Iowa on October 15, 2015.  The celebration is part of a international symposium to discuss issues in global food security. Also included in the World Food Prize events is the three-day Global Youth Institute, which includes 400 participants from the U.S. and abroad and is designed to inspire the next generation of high school students to explore careers in agriculture and fighting hunger.

Conservation Program Pre-Proposals Due July 8

John DavisConservation, USDA

usda-logoPre-proposals for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) are due July 8, 2015. Eligible conservation coalitions nationwide will submit pre-proposals to improve soil health, preserve clean water, combat drought and protect wildlife habitat.

USDA is investing up to $235 million through RCPP to improve the nation’s water quality, combat drought, enhance soil health, support wildlife habitat and protect agricultural viability. Created by the 2014 Farm Bill, RCPP empowers local leaders to work with multiple partners—such as private companies, local and tribal governments, universities, non-profit groups and other non-government partners—along with farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners to design solutions that work best for their region. Local partners and the federal government both invest funding and manpower to projects to maximize their impact. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service administers RCPP.

“RCPP offers a unique opportunity to design and invest in conservation projects specifically tailored for the communities of our local partners,” said NRCS Chief Jason Weller. “RCPP allows these public-private partnerships to thrive and have an impact well beyond what the federal government could accomplish on its own.”

More information is available on the RCPP website.

Very Mixed Results to ZimmPoll on RFS

Chuck ZimmermanBiodiesel, Ethanol, ZimmPoll

New Holland ZimmPollOur latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “Will EPA change RFS volume proposal?”

The EPA recently released a new proposal for biofuels volume obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard – one that has made no one happy but particularly corn farmers and ethanol producers who note that the agency is not implementing the law as intended. EPA held a public hearing to get comments on the proposal but will it lead to a change? Half of those who took our recent poll believe that the EPA won’t change RFS volumes. Time will tell.

Here are the poll results:

  • No – 50%
  • Yes – 29%
  • Maybe – 21%

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, What’s on your grill this 4th of July?

Beyond fireworks, grilling seems to be a top priority when families and friends gather to celebrate Independence Day. July is also known as National Hot Dog Month. So, will you be joining the tradition by eating hot dogs on the 4th or will you be grilling up something else?

New VP of North America at New Holland

Jamie JohansenAgribusiness, Company Announcement, New Holland

Bret Lieberman_headshotNew Holland is excited to announced the appointment of Bret Lieberman as Vice President of North America. Bret will be based in New Holland and will assume the role of Vice President immediately.

Bret has an accomplished resume at CNH Industrial and New Holland spanning 25 years in various roles which will bring a multi-faceted perspective and a passion from within to the brand’s top leadership position. 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.

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.

“Bret has brought strong leadership to each role he has held and has a deep understanding and passion for New Holland and the equipment that makes us a world-class leader in agriculture and construction,” said Brad Crews, COO of CNH Industrial NAFTA. “We are focused on the future and given Bret’s proven ability we see a great opportunity for continued growth through close partnerships with our dealers and customers.”

“I am excited for this new opportunity to lead the brand as I have spent a significant portion of my career here on the New Holland campus,” said Bret. “I deeply understand the importance of the quality and performance of the equipment that our dealers and customers rely on everyday for their success.”

Bret Lieberman holds a Master Degree in Business Management from Saint Francis College in Loretto, Pa. and received his Bachelor’s degree in Business, Management and Administration from Bloomsburg University in Bloomsburg, Pa. He currently resides in Lititz, Pa. where he enjoys spending time with his three children as well as a variety of outdoor sports such as bicycling, snowboarding and motorcycling.

Rate Control Manure Spreaders from Digi-Star

Jamie JohansenAgribusiness, Equipment, Fertilizer

DS_NT8000i_011215Digi-Star introduces the NT 8000i rate control system for manure spreaders. The NT 8000i is a weight-based system that improves application efficiency by varying the unloading rate in proportion to ground speed.

The NT 8000i is a closed-loop rate control system designed to provide precision guidance and prescription-based control of the spreading rate in hydraulically driven apron floor systems on manure spreaders using data collected and evaluated in real time.

“The unique feature of the NT 8000i is the weight-based self-calibration and calibration-check system that continuously monitors and readjusts the calibration factor based on the actual weight of the material spread,” says Jack Danner, Digi-Star sales manager. “The NT 8000i system provides enhanced spreading rate accuracy when working with challenging materials of varying densities such as manure, litter or compost.”

With complete as-applied data records saved to an SD card, NT 8000i applicators are equipped with automated traceability allowing them to meet the recordkeeping needs of land owners and government agencies. The system also reduces operator mistakes and fatigue with its fully automated spreader controls.

The NT8000i earned an AE50 award from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) earlier this year. AE50 awards recognize the most innovative designs in engineering products or systems for the food and agriculture industries.
For more information on the NT8000i, call (920) 563-1400 or email: sales@digi-star.com.

Nutrient Management Through Plant Sap Analysis

Jamie Johansenagronomy, Audio, Crop Health Labs, Nutrient Management

Michelle redGrowers who are interested in reducing crop inputs and increasing profits can learn more about a program to achieve both from Crop Health Labs. This nutrient management tool is plant sap analysis and they are hosting webinars throughout July to educate growers about this different approach to very common nutrient management problems.

I spoke with Crop Health Labs Executive Director, Michelle Gregg, to learn more about the benefits of plant sap analysis and whats sets it apart from traditional methods. “Plant sap analysis differs from traditional tissue analysis in that we are collecting the liquid portion of the plant instead of the structure of the plant. By collecting a ‘blood sample’ of the plant we are able to detail and predict nutrient deficiencies three to four weeks prior to traditional tissue analysis.”

Growers can then proactively apply nutrients instead of waiting until visible signs of the plant suffering are apparent. Gregg said that from what they have collected from real users of the technology, growers have reduced their total input costs between 15-40%.

RedingGaryPicGary Reding, Crop Consultant for Advancing Eco Agriculture, a distributor for Crop Health Labs, also spoke with me about the 21 different nutrient parameters for testing in a lab environment. Crop Health Labs is the only company that offers this, along with a customized analysis for each grower’s operation.

He shares an example of one of the most common parameters tested. “The potassium and calcium ratio is one of the 21 data points. We look at the parts per million of potassium in the plant sap and then how much calcium is in the plant sap and then we look at the relationship between the two.”

Listen to my complete interview with Michelle and Gary to learn more about the webinars they are offering and how your operation could benefit from plant sap analysis. [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/chl-gregg-6-30-15.mp3″ text=”Interview with Michelle Gregg & Gary Reding, Crop Health Labs”]

New FAPRI Report Shows ARC, PLC Picks

John DavisAgribusiness, Government, USDA

fapri-logoA new report from the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri (FAPRI-MU) shows how many farmers are using Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) plans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Highlights from the report, titled, “U.S. crop program fiscal costs: Revised estimates with updated participation information,” include:

· The FAPRI-MU baseline anticipated that most corn and soybean producers would elect ARC, because average ARC payments were projected to exceed PLC payments for those crops. Election results show that even more corn and soybean producers chose ARC than had been expected.

· For wheat, we expected a more even split, with 60 percent choosing PLC, given a closer balance of projected payments. Instead, a narrow majority chose ARC.

· As expected, given projected payments, the vast majority of long grain rice and peanut producers chose PLC, as did smaller majorities of sorghum and barley producers.

· The reallocation of base acreage resulted in more base acres for corn, rice and peanuts, crops that have larger projected ARC or PLC payments than most other crops.

Based on this new information, FAPRI expects increased outlays associated with the 2014 and 2015 crops, especially for corn. In 2017 and 2018, outlays are expected to drop.

Got Drone? Get Interdrone

Chuck ZimmermanAudio, drone, UAV

ZimmCast 480Got Drone? Want Drone? Then plan to attend Interdrone! It’s Interdrone, the International Drone Conference & Expo, taking place in Las Vegas, September 9-11.

InterdroneAgWired is a media sponsor for Interdrone and I hope to attend the show to provide coverage right here and on Precision.AgWired.com. I talked with Ted Bahr, President/CEO, BZ Media, the company that is conducting the show to learn more about it.

Registration is open and a lot of people have already taken care of it. One of the interesting components of the show is a drone flying area inside for vendors to show off their products. A number of ag focused companies are on the list and precision ag is on the program. Get a full overview of the program by listening to my conversation with Ted.

Listen to my conversation with Ted in this week’s program: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/zimmcast480-6-30-15.mp3″ text=”2015 Interdrone Conference”]

Subscribe to the ZimmCast podcast here.

Lower Corn Acres This Year

John DavisAg Group, Agribusiness, Corn, Government, NCGA, USDA

NCGA-Logo-3Wet weather in the corn belt and plenty of carry over has pushed down the number of acres of corn planted this year. But the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) says there’s plenty of the crop for all uses from the grain. Citing the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Acreage report, NCGA says total corn planting in the United States totals 88.9 million acres, the lowest planted acreage since 2010 but the sixth-largest U.S. corn acreage planted since 1944.

“Corn farmers produced an abundance in 2014 that resulted in a large carry over into this year,” National Corn Growers Association President Chip Bowling said. “While planted acreage has decreased as farmers in many parts of the country face unrelentingly wet conditions, U.S. farmers have steadily increased our ability to grow more corn on every acre. Americans can rest assured that we will be able to meet all needs, be they for food, fuel or fiber, for years to come.”

USDA projects 13.5 billion acres of corn to be harvested this fall.