USDA to Resurvey Growers for Acres Planted in Several States

John DavisUncategorized

usda-logoUSDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released the June 30 planted acreage report this week, but weather issues that have caused planting delays in several states mean the numbers are not as accurate as they should be by now. Four states are to be re-surveyed.

NASS previously collected planted acreage information during the first two weeks of June, with the results published in the June 30 Acreage report. At the time of the survey, weather had prevented planting leaving a portion of acres to be planted for cotton in Texas; sorghum in Kansas; and soybeans in Arkansas, Kansas, and Missouri. If the newly collected data justify any changes, NASS will publish updated estimates in the Crop Production report to be released at noon EDT on Wednesday, August 12.

More information is available at www.nass.usda.gov.

Polenske Named Crop Adviser of the Year

John DavisAg Group, Agribusiness, agronomy, Award

polenske1Jeff Polenske of Tilth Agronomy Group in Appleton, Wisconsin, has been picked as the International Certified Crop Adviser’s (ICCA) Adviser of the Year.

Polenske began work with a bachelors’ degree in Agronomy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and experience as an intern in a county extension office, scouting fields and providing reports. Crop consulting was just starting as a profession, and Polenske sought out the additional training. In 1991 he became a Certified Professional Agronomist, which became the CCA program in 2012.

Polenske’s work can be described by the numbers: 29 years, 56 current clients and 50,000 plus acres of his own clients, while managing a consulting firm with 23 employees and helping with their clients. It can also be described as a commitment. “Some people would call it a passion, and some would call it a disease,” Polenske states. “If people are hiring me as a consult I should be available with farmers’ hours.”

Nominator and University of Wisconsin-Extension agent Bryan Jensen mentions Polenske’s generous approach: “Jeff has the mind and attitude of a teacher. He has laid the foundation for creating the next generation of agronomists.”

“One of the keys to growth is getting involved as much as we can. It’s a thirst for learning—now I’m teaching and I still want to learn,” Polenske says.

The award will be handed out at the American Society of Agronomy (ASA) Annual Meeting.

iCropTrak Getting Ready for InfoAg Conference

Chuck ZimmermanAgribusiness, Audio, CropTrak, InfoAg

iCropTrakThe InfoAg Conference is only four weeks away and companies like iCropTrak are getting excited to showcase their products to a record setting crowd in St. Louis. iCropTrak has been a supporter of ours for several years now and I look forward to visiting with them in the trade show and during a session I will be moderating that includes iCropTrak on the program.

I just spoke with Aaron Hutchinson, iCropTrak, about what’s new and what we can expect to see when visiting the company during InfoAg. They’ll be in booth 85. Aaron says they’ll be showing the new 6.1 release of their software. He says the key word this year is reporting with customers needing pixel perfect government forms and the ability to create them faster. So there’s a new software plugin that allows that to happen.

Listen to my interview with Aaron to learn more about what’s new with iCropTrak: [wpaudio url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/zimmcomm/icroptrak-6-30-15.mp3″ text=”Aaron Hutchinson, iCropTrak”]

Land O’Lakes to Merge Inputs with United Suppliers

Kelly MarshallAgribusiness, Crop Protection, seed

land o lakesLand O’Lakes, Inc. and United Suppliers, Inc. are announcing a merger of their crop inputs businesses. The organizations will provide expanded product offerings, enhanced precision agriculture services, tools and technologies, improved product insights, and consulting services among others.

“This move comes at a time when scale is increasingly important in addressing changing industry dynamics, including rapid consolidation on the supplier, retailer and grower levels, fast-paced technological innovation and the need for increasing and expanded service offerings for customers,” said Chris Policinski, President and CEO of Land O’Lakes, Inc. “We are excited to come together with United Suppliers and expect our members, owners and customers will benefit greatly from this merger.”

united suppliers logoThe first goal of the merger is to combine the seed and crop protection businesses, followed by bringing together the crop nutrient businesses.  The organizations hope to build on their individual successes and create a single, strong entity.  Both groups will move forward with their existing marketing strategies and will work together to gain better expertise for meeting customer demands.

“United Suppliers is excited to join with Land O’Lakes, Inc.,” said Brad Oelmann, President and CEO of United Suppliers. “We are both experiencing great growth in this industry and together we view this merger as a continuation of that journey.”

Member/owners must vote to approve the merger before the deal is finalized.  Ballots are scheduled to be cast in August of 2015, with closing anticipated for October 2015.

AgMag Fertilizer Approved for Organic Farming

Kelly MarshallAgribusiness, Fertilizer, Organic

AgMag-Infographic-smallInnovative Surface Solutions has a new option for farmers striving to meet the demand for organic crops.  Ag, Mag has become the first magnesium chloride-based fertilizer approved for organic farming in North America.  Magnesium chloride has been shown to improve quality and yields for crops including corn, wheat and small grains, soybeans, and potatoes.

“The demand for organic foods continues to grow and farmers are looking for cost-effective solutions,” said Greg Baun, President and CEO, Innovative Surface Solutions. “We are proud to offer North American farmers access to a liquid organic fertilizer that will increase quality and yields across a range of crop types and also contains natural fungal suppressant properties. We continue to see excellent results from our trials with Cornell University; 2015 will be the fourth year and most comprehensive trials yet with more farms participating in New York and New England.”

Innovative’s AgMag™ is a high performance magnesium chloride liquid that is approved for organic production as a crop fertilizer and soil amendment to help increase quality and yield in row crops. It has just been listed by the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) in both Canada and the United States. AgMag™ is listed for use in certified organic production, food processing and handling according to the USDA National Organic Program Rule and Canadian Organic Standards.

AgMag™ is the base material for Innovative’s family of value added agriculture blends, which include NutriMag™. The magnesium chloride used in AgMag™ also forms the base for Innovative’s broad line of de-icing, dust control and industrial products.

“Innovative’s AgMag™ provides farmers with an organic option to strengthen their crops that is superior to traditional Epsom salts used by many organic farmers as a source of magnesium,” said Ray McDonald, General Manager of Cangrow Crop Solutions and Innovative’s Canadian distribution partner. “This magnesium chloride solution gives organic farmers access to the same benefits of this fertilizer that have been available to non-organic farmers in North America for more than 20 years.”

“The organic certification of Ag Mag will be great for organic farmers,” said John Van Heusen, operator of Sugar Creek Farm in Ossian, New York. “I have seen year-over-year increases in both yield and quality by using AgMag on conventional crops. Now the same benefits can be experienced on organic farms.”

An OMRI Listed seal shows that Innovative AgMag™ may be used in the Generic Material Listing.   You can find the product in the OMRI Products List© available on the website and will be released in the next print version. Look for more information regarding the OMRI status of AgMag™ in the next OMRI update.

AgMag is also approved for organic use by NOFA-NY and Baystate Organic Certifiers.

AGree Report Calls for Food & Ag Research Reform

John DavisAg Group, Agribusiness, Research

AGree1A new report calls for reforms in food and ag research. AGree, a group that’s supported by leading foundations that fund food and agriculture, international development, and health and well-being, unveiled its comprehensive report on food and ag research, “Research & Innovation: Strengthening Agricultural Research,” which includes nine recommendations to strengthen the impact of public research dollars by reforming the system and also makes the case for increased research funding.

“We need to make a smart investment even smarter,” said Deborah Atwood, Executive Director of AGree. “The need to modernize our research system has long been discussed behind closed doors – now it’s time to have an open national conversation about needed changes.”

The recommendations were developed based on meetings held across the country throughout a two year period involving more than 100 people. They were further informed by five Point of View papers commissioned by AGree, and guided by the direct engagement and insight of AGree Co-Chairs and Advisors. They are:

– Scrutinize and modernize federal funding mechanisms for public research, education, and extension to foster innovation and maximize public benefits.
– Review and reset publicly-funded research priorities periodically, employing a transparent process with input from multiple stakeholders and end users to ensure that funds are focused on high-impact areas.
– Minimize duplicative efforts and unnecessary costs by assessing the existing research infrastructure and improving grant monitoring and tracking systems.
– Target public research funding to areas unlikely to be addressed by private industry.
– Increase Congressional oversight of the U.S. agricultural research enterprise.
– Make data, information, and findings from publicly-funded research accessible.
– Strengthen the role of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Chief Scientist to help ensure the U.S. continues to serve as a global leader on food and agricultural research and innovation.
– Integrate research, education, and extension activities to promote coordination across each of these three interconnected elements at the university level.
– Maintain U.S. leadership and engagement in international food and agricultural research.

The next steps for AGree include convening a diverse coalition of thought leaders to coalesce around smart, long-term changes to the public food and agricultural research enterprise.

Crop Health Labs Offers Sap Analysis Webinars

Cindy Zimmermanagronomy, Nitrogen, Nutrient Management, Soybeans

crophealthlabsGrowers looking to reduce crop inputs and increase profits now have access to a program to achieve both – Plant Sap Analysis. The technology is offered by Crop Health Labs, in partnership with NovaCropControl Laboratories, and upcoming webinars can provide more information for interested farmers and crop consultants.

Crop Health Labs Executive Director Michelle Gregg says growers have seen significant financial benefits with Plant Sap Analysis. “We have a database of long-term, trend data from 10 years of sap analysis study,” said Gregg. “Growers report saving most on reserved nitrogen, up to 40 percent of their nitrogen costs, by modifying applications of macro and micro-nutrients in key ratios identified for optimum plant health. The technology is a systems balancer that can be applied to any production system.”

Crop Health Labs is offering three webinars for crop consultants, growers, and one specific to soybean producers. All webinars will be recorded and available for viewing or purchase following the event.

June 30, 2015 hosted in partnership with the American Society of Agronomy
1:00-2:00 PM EST
“Best Practices for Sap Analysis Application: Consultants and Clients Review ”
Daniel Davidson, PhD and Sjoerd Smits, co-founder of NovaCropControl Laboratory
Registration available at www.agronomy.org/education/online-courses/sap-analysis-webinar

July 7, 2015: Hosted in partnership with the American Soybean Association
2:00 PM EST
Sap Analysis Application for Soybean Producers
Daniel Davidson, PhD
Registration available at www.crophealthlabs.com

July 14, 2015
7:00 PM EST
Hosted in partnership with Advancing Eco Agriculture
John Kempf, CEO of Advancing Eco Agriculture
“Sap Analysis: The Competitive Edge Consulting Firms”
Registration available at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8180054616796989953

Visit Crop Health Labs’ website for more information and to register. To speak with a trained Plant Sap Analyst, call 1-800-495-7938 or email: info@crophealthlabs.com.

New Precision Air 5 Air Cart Offered from CIH

Kelly MarshallAgribusiness, Case IH, Equipment, Planting

CIH air cartCase IH is introducing a new Precision Air 5 series air cart to seed with the highest level of confidence.  The air cart is designed to provide highly accurate seed and fertilizer placement and boasts next-gen boost capacity and AccuSection section control.

The modular metering system is appropriately named AccuSection, since the 5 series’ uses individual electronic meter drives, giving primary run control on a per meter basis.

“The new modular system is easy to use yet offers industry-leading precision and accuracy by metering each primary run on an individual basis,” Dan Klein, Case IH Crop Production Marketing Manager said. “This reduces or eliminates overlap to help avoid expensive over-application of seed and fertilizer.”

Other key design enhancements of the new Precision Air 5 series air carts include:

Greater capacity. From 350 to 950 bushels with larger openings, the 5 series allows operators to blend any tank with any other tank to cover more acres between fills. 

Faster filling. The fill system for the fourth tank lets the producer load from the ground, and a new master shut-off feature allows for meter servicing without having to empty the air cart’s contents. 

Reliability. Producers can trust corrosion-resistant tanks and meters in addition to a beefed-up LED lighting package for easier nighttime filling. 

Enhanced flexibility. The new meter design uses a modular cartridge system, making it easier to adjust for different seed or fertilizer types and sizes. As an added benefit, simple-to-insert, color-coded cartridges quickly tell operators whether they have the right size for the job.

“Whether working with small grains, pulse crops, dry fertilizers or a range of seeds from canola and rice to soybeans and milo, producers will appreciate the durability, ease of use and improved capacity of the 5 series,” Klein said.

Klein notes growers of small grain, pulse crops, dry fertilizers, or a range of seeds from conola and rice to soybeans and milo will benefit from the key design components of the 5 series.  Ease of use, improved capacity, durability, and more precision to match up with larger drills and higher-horsepower tractors will meet the demands of today’s producers.

EPA Rejects Glyphosate Limits, Seeks Butterfly Comments

Cindy ZimmermanGovernment, Herbicides, pollinators

epaAfter more than a year of review, the Environmental Protection Agency has rejected a petition to limit the use of the herbicide glyphosate claiming that it causes harm to monarch butterflies.

EPA responded to the petition filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council saying the agency “has not determined that glyphosate causes unreasonable adverse effects to the monarch butterfly.”

At the same time, EPA noted concern about the dwindling population of monarch butterflies and has identified actions to protect the monarch and the milkweed plant, an important resource for the pollinator. The agency has issued a Risk Management Approach to Identifying Options for Protecting the Monarch Butterfly, and is soliciting public comment on which potential action or a combination of actions would be most effective in reducing the impacts of herbicides on the monarch butterfly and its habitat. The agency is also requesting additional suggestions for protection measures for the monarch.

EPA’s efforts will be informed by input from stakeholders, while also balancing the needs of landowners for weed and vegetation management in varied landscapes.

Farmers Union Backs Declaration on Food & Sustainability

John DavisAg Group, Food, International

national-farmers-union-logoThe National Farmers Union (NFU) is backing a declaration on feeding the growing world population in a sustainable way. This NFU news release says the group backs the World Farmers’ Organisation (WFO) General Assembly’s pronouncement on the need to produce a food supply sufficient for the 9.2 billion people who will inhabit our planet in 2050 in a sustainable and environmentally-conscious way.

“American family farmers and ranchers play a tremendous role in both addressing global food security needs and properly stewarding the land for a cleaner, safer environment for future generations,” said National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson. “NFU thanks the Farmers Union delegation and the WFO for producing a declaration that ensures the farmers’ perspective is considered in the global conversation on food production and protecting the environment.”

The Farmers’ Declaration is meant to ensure the farmers’ perspective will be represented at Expo Milano 2015, “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life,” a six-month, universal exhibition focused on being able to guarantee healthy, safe and sufficient food for everyone, while respecting the planet and its equilibrium.

“We, farmers of the world, men, women and youth, taking care of small, medium and large-scale farms and cooperatives, recognize that Agriculture, including crops, horticulture, feedstock, livestock, breeding, fisheries and forestry, is at the heart of sustainable development,” states the declaration. “Farmers feed the planet, producing Energy for Life, transportation and heat and are integral to support sustainable development, globally. However, we also feel humble facing the responsibilities that come with the tasks of feeding the world and caring for the earth.”

Dave Velde, NFU vice president of international relations, Mark Watne, North Dakota Farmers Union president, and Robert Carlson, former North Dakota Farmers Union president and first president of the WFO made up the NFU delegation.