Kinze’s New 3660 Planter Offers Electric Drive

John DavisAgribusiness, Equipment, Planting

KinzeA new planter from Kinze Manufacturing, Inc. is promising some key advantages, including electric drive. The company says the already proven performance of Kinze’s 3660 frame will reduce potential soil compaction and offer an optional exclusive split row system using push units for superior residue flow.

“The adoption rate of new technology and electronics in the agriculture industry is phenomenal,” said Susanne Veatch, Kinze’s vice president and chief marketing officer. “As farmers ourselves who have been in business for 50 years, Kinze knows the benefits this electric meter addition will bring to the 3660 planter and the farmers who use it.”

Electric Drive

The electric drive eliminates the need for clutches and offers greater maintenance simplicity (no drive shafts, chains, bearings, sprockets, etc.). The new meter allows for turning compensation and row-by-row variable rate planting, and will utilize heavy-duty, high torque 24-volt meter motors that are fully sealed against dust and moisture.

4000 Series Vacuum Meter

Electric drive combined with the 4000 series vacuum meter offers superior agronomic performance with singulation accuracy up to 99%+ and accurate seed spacing and population.

The new planter also offers several more features in the unit’s controller/monitor system, as well as giving producers a split row option that can easily convert from a 15” planter to a 30” planter.

Kinze will have a pre-production 3660 planter with electric drive on display at the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Kentucky from February 11-14, 2015.

Eco Agro Resources Introduces N YIELD AZ

Cindy ZimmermanFertilizer, Nitrogen, weather

N YIELD AZEco Agro Resources has introduced a new stabilizer product, N YIELD AZ, that combines a proven nitrogen stabilizer ingredient with the “power of PENXCEL technology for unsurpassed performance.”

Eco Agro Resources CEO Andrew Semple says they developed N YIELD AZ for situations such as using cold fertilizer with ice-cold steel equipment, for example. “To solve this, we’ve developed N YIELD AZ, a high-performance nitrogen stabilizer formulation that stays liquid, even at freezing,” said Semple. “It coats fast and consistently in the blender. And it gives growers reliable protection for their nitrogen investment.”

The new, patent pending N YIELD AZ formulation was created to stay liquid at zero (AZ) using PENXCEL technology that contains unique anti-freeze additives. It delivers excellent performance, not only in cold weather, but also under tough field conditions. N YIELD AZ with PENXCEL technology penetrates deeper into granular urea and provides consistent coverage throughout the blend. It conditions as it coats. The benefit is as much as 25% less time in the blender than the industry standard. Its water-free formula doesn’t add moisture to the fertilizer or to equipment, keeping the blend as free-flowing as possible.

Read more here.

Farm Bill is One Year Old

Cindy ZimmermanAudio, Conservation, Farm Bill, USDA

farm-bill-knifePresident Obama signed the 2014 Farm Bill into law one year ago this week, calling it a “Swiss Army Knife.”

“Despite its name, the farm bill is not just about helping farmers,” President Obama said at the signing. “Secretary Vilsack calls it a jobs bill, an innovation bill, an infrastructure bill, a research bill, a conservation bill. It’s like a Swiss Army knife.”

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack outlined some of the many ways USDA has implemented that multifaceted tool in the past year during a press conference Thursday. “I think by all measures this has been a successful first year implementation,” said Vilsack. “I think it pushes back on the notion that things are broken in Washington or that government is not working.”

Some of the Farm Bill implementation by the numbers:

4,000 – number of listening sessions and engagement events with stakeholders
226,772 – number of producers who received disaster assistance
23,000 – number of dairies enrolled in the new Margin Protection Program
115 – projects under the Conservation Partnership Program
$200 million – in conservation financial assistance

Joining Secretary Vilsack in the 2014 Farm Bill birthday recognition Wednesday was Ben LaCross, the Michigan fruit farmer who was at the signing of the bill last year; Michael O’Gorman, Executive director of Farmer Veteran Coalition; and Edgar Pruitt, an Alabama farmer who discussed how the Farm Bill is helping producers preserve land and water resources, and support pollinator populations.

[wpaudio url=”http://www.zimmcomm.biz/usda/2014-farm-bill-one.mp3″ text=”Secretary Vilsack and stakeholders discuss 2014 Farm Bill implementation”]

Iowa Corn Farmer at Soil Health Summit

Cindy ZimmermanAudio, Conservation, Corn, Cover Crops, NCGA, Soil

shps15-ncga-rossThe National Corn Growers Association is the administrator for the Soil Health Partnership which was launched at the 2014 Commodity Classic and Corn Board member Kevin Ross believes it’s a very worthwhile initiative for farmers and all involved.

“I’m really pleased with the direction it’s heading,” said Ross at the first Soil Health Summit last week in St. Louis. “It’s really good to see these groups on the same page with a common goal and that’s soil health.”

Ross, who is a farmer from Minden, Iowa, says he thinks of soil as a living, breathing thing that needs care to maintain and improve its health. “It’s just like your personal health, you have to manage it and correct things if there’s an issue,” he said.

On his farm, Ross says they are 100% no-till and are experimenting with cover crops. “This last year we had some hail issues so it didn’t work out so well but I will continue to try them,” he said, with the idea of using them as grazing for his cattle operation.

Listen to my interview with Kevin here: [wpaudio url=”http://www.zimmcomm.biz/ncga/ncga-shps15-ross.mp3″ text=”Interview with Iowa corn grower Kevin Ross, NCGA Corn Board”]


2015 Soil Health Summit Photo Album

20 Best College Farms in America

Jamie JohansenAg Group, Education, farm land

Screen Shot 2015-02-04 at 10.39.45 AMBest College Reviews has published a ranking of the 20 Best College Farms in America. Best College Reviews is an editorially independent college review website focusing on college rankings, reviews of college features, and thought leadership on helping students find their place in the higher education landscape. I am excited to see a Missouri school on the list that is right in my back yard.

From small student-run organic farms, to large agribusiness training centers and entrepreneurial programs, farming plays a central role in many American higher ed institutions. Best College Reviews realizes that a university farm can mean a number of things, so as they reviewed 50 universities from across the country, they kept the following criteria in mind: Farm Size, Integration with the Main Campus, Sustainability, Are courses taught at the farm?, Do students use the farm?, and Integration with the Community.

Here are the top 5 on their list:
1. Warren Wilson College – Asheville, North Carolina
2. College of the Ozarks – Point Lookout, Missouri
3. Deep Spring College – Big Pine, California
4. Hampshire College – Amherst, Massachusetts
5. Butte College – Oroville, California

Evogene Optimizes Genes for Monsanto Products

John DavisAgribusiness, Canola, Corn, Cotton, Genetics, Monsanto, Soybeans

EvogeneA new gene optimization from Evogene is being incorporated into its multi-year collaboration with Monsanto. This Evogene news release says the addition of these new capabilities, designed to optimize desired trait efficacy and potentially accelerate product development, is part of a long identification and validation program by Evogene that has put more than 1,000 genes into Monsanto’s product development pipeline. This collaboration focuses on transgenic approaches for improved yield and enhanced stress tolerance in corn, soybean, cotton and canola.

Tom Adams, Global Biotechnology Lead at Monsanto stated: “We continue to be very pleased with our long-term collaboration with Evogene, as we look to bring to market new products that help farmers increase their productivity. As a valuable complement to Evogene’s proven gene discovery capabilities, we have recently also been very impressed with Evogene’s comprehensive gene optimization platform, which has the potential to accelerate our product development efforts. This has led us to devote a substantial portion of our remaining joint efforts under our current collaboration to applying these innovative technologies.”

Ofer Haviv, Evogene President and CEO stated: “Our collaboration with Monsanto is a substantial and important component of our company’s trait research and discovery activities. During the past six years, both teams have built a very strong and integrated relationship through the consistent sharing of knowhow and learnings, and the relationship continues to grow and evolve as we work together to bring yield and stress products to market. A key and increasing focus of our current efforts is to utilize more recently developed Evogene tools and systems in a comprehensive program for gene optimization, particularly with respect to gene combinations and trait stability. We are confident that our competitive advantages in these areas will have a significant impact on the probability of success for achieving novel end- products with substantial value to farmers.”

This gene optimization platform allows for advanced computational tools for defining the optimal expression pattern for a candidate gene, for assessing the ability of the gene to perform consistently across different varieties of the target crop, and for identifying novel gene combinations that improve crop performance.

Case IH’s Maxxum® Tractor Aggressive New Look

Jamie JohansenAgribusiness, Case IH, Machinery, Tractor

Screen Shot 2015-02-04 at 12.54.12 PMA bold new look exemplifies the enhancements to the new Case IH Maxxum series tractors and their reputation as versatile workhorses for the field and livestock operations. Case IH introduced the five new models with their new aggressive appearance at the 2015 Cattle Industry Convention in San Antonio.

With its redesigned hood and roof, the new Maxxum line foreshadows an updated, dramatic new styling coming soon to the Case IH high-horsepower families of tractors. But the improvements extend well beyond cosmetics.

“The Maxxum tractor series are exceptional tractors now made even better,” said Dave Bogan, Case IH Marketing Manager. “The new line encompasses product features that help livestock operators and specialty farmers achieve financial success and production efficiency.”

Performance – The new Maxxum series features an improved performance cooling package. They are also equipped with the fuel efficient Tier 4 B/Final SCR-only technology that meets current EPA requirements with less complexity and components than other emission systems used in the industry. This allows Case IH engines to run cleaner and cooler, which has doubled the service interval hours.

Better lighting – Some jobs need to be done outside of the daylight hours. These new Maxxum tractors are equipped with eight high-power LED lights and can be ordered with additional LED
lights — up to 14 — that provide daylight visibility during nighttime operations. This helps keep projects on schedule with less operator fatigue.

Agility – The new Maxxum tractors feature an improved turning radius on a longer wheel base for greater stability in the field. Operators can easily navigate tight turns in the field and maneuver in tight barns at feeding time. This gives the operator the best of both worlds, Bogan states.

Smooth shifting; smooth ride – The new Maxxum series also offers Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) technology with a double-clutch design that allows smooth shifting and maintains continuous power to the ground. Coupled with the Case IH Multi-Control Armrest, these Case IH machines provide ease of operation that is hard to match in the tractor industry. The optional front axle suspension is now equipped with twin accumulators, which improve the ride, comfort and safety of these machines.

Iteris Makes Precision Ag Weather Agreement with BASF

Cindy Zimmermanagronomy, BASF, technology, weather

iteris-1Iteris and BASF have entered into an agreement to leverage Iteris’ ClearAg high-resolution field level weather information.

Under this agreement, Iteris’ ClearAg™ high-resolution, precision hail information will be integrated into BASF’s suite of precision agronomy sales and customer support tools. BASF sales and customer support staff will have access to Iteris’ field-level hail information, including descriptions of hail events by state, county, township, or zip code; hail amounts; and graphic maps of hail events in most U.S. states with the goal of being able to quickly notify U.S. corn and soybean growers in time for precise crop protection response to potential crop damage or other hail-related issues.

basf-new-logo“It’s important for corn and soybean growers to quickly assess and respond to hail-related crop damage before fungus or other diseases have time to set in and cause further damage,” said Gary Fellows, Ph.D., BASF Tech Service Fungicide and Seed Treatment Manager. “By leveraging Iteris’ ClearAg hail data, we can send a notification to growers on how to treat or respond to hail-damaged crops for improved execution in the field.”

“By delivering our high-resolution ClearAg hail data to BASF, we are empowering their sales and support staff, as well as their U.S. Crop Protection customers, with actionable information for more proactive field response,” said Abbas Mohaddes, President and CEO of Iteris. “We look forward to working with the world’s largest chemical company and their efforts to bring high-value, decision-support services to their grower customer base in the U.S.”

Read more here.

Superior Chelating Agent Makes Debut

Jamie JohansenAgribusiness, Nutrient Management

Screen Shot 2015-02-04 at 9.15.05 AMA first-of-its-kind chelating agent that enhances and maximizes nutrient efficiency for crops is now available to growers. Levesol, exclusively from West Central, is made from the purest ortho-ortho EDDHA chelating agent that exists and is the only pure chelating agent that can be mixed directly with liquid fertilizer and applied in-furrow.

Crops start demanding nutrients right away, but most can’t efficiently utilize what’s near them in the soil during early development. Levesol overcomes this to make micronutrients in the soil, such as zinc, iron, copper and manganese, all more available for early uptake. After uptake, the chelate increases translocation within the plant. By keeping micronutrients in a soluble form, Levesol prevents them from binding with phosphorus. This leaves more phosphorus free for uptake and increases overall nutrient efficiency.

This process allows developing crops to utilize micronutrients more efficiently during early development. Levesol is proven to increase yield and root mass for a range of crops, including corn, sugar beets, soybeans, dry beans, sunflowers, wheat, barley and sorghum.

Market research shows that over 90% of farmers know they have a problem with nutrients in the soil being unavailable to plants. To combat this, farmers commonly add phosphorus and zinc to the soil to maximize yields. However, those two molecules tie each other up very quickly and become unavailable to plants, resulting in wasted money for growers. “Levesol prevents that tie up and makes both the micronutrients and the phosphorus in the soil more available to plants, consequently maximizing nutrient efficiency,” says Josh Nuytten, director of proprietary business for West Central. “Chelation improves the availability of nutrients both in starter fertilizer and the soil.”

Read More

Soil Health Partners Pleased with Progress

Cindy ZimmermanAudio, Conservation, environment, Monsanto, NCGA, Soil

The Soil Health Partnership (SHP) was launched just shy of a year ago with seed funding in part from Monsanto and technical support from The Nature Conservancy (TNC).

shps15-monsantoAt the first Soil Health Summit last week in St. Louis, Monsanto Sustainability Business Development Lead Kevin Coffman said having partners in the environmental community is very helpful to the effort. “They’ve certainly thought about this a very long time,” said Coffman about the role of TNC and the Environmental Defense Fund in the partnership. “So, it was a natural partnership to bring them together.”

Coffman was pleased with the summit and the progress of the SHP to date. “This was really our first chance to get the cooperating farmers face to face to share more about they’re doing,” he said. [wpaudio url=”http://www.zimmcomm.biz/ncga/ncga-shps15-monsanto.mp3″ text=”Interview with Kevin Coffman, Monsanto”]

tnc-carrieCarrie Vollmer-Sanders, who is Director of the Western Lake Erie Basin Project for The Nature Conservancy, is also a farmer and she says the partnership is helping her learn a lot about her own farm. “(We’re) taking a closer look at the management of what we’re doing with cover crops versus no cover crops,” she said, adding that they ultimately hope to learn what the benefits are for the soil. “Really that can change the game for agriculture…it’s not just yield that we’re talking about.” [wpaudio url=”http://www.zimmcomm.biz/ncga/ncga-shps15-tnc.mp3″ text=”Interview with Carrie Vollmer-Sanders, The Nature Conservancy”]


2015 Soil Health Summit Photo Album