Thanks for a glorious 2014!
We look forward to seeing you down the Agriblogging Highway in 2015.
PacificAg Can Help Make 2014 More Profitable
The largest and most experienced biomass harvest company in the country is helping growers see increased profits in the emerging biomass markets. The company provides a comprehensive suite of services that allow growers to further diversify their operations and experience additional revenue.
PacificAg started in the residue management business nearly 20 years ago harvesting forage crops for feed in Oregon and CEO Bill Levy says they help growers to further diversify their operations and experience additional revenue.
“For growers I think PacificAg is an easy solution for managing residue,” says Levy. “The grower doesn’t need to invest in capital in both equipment and people necessary to perform the harvest. They can really focus on their primary harvest and let PacificAg come in with the latest equipment and skilled staff and manage that residue to the right level and make sure it’s performed sustainably as well.”
The most recent call for residue management assistance has come from the bioenergy market. “The great thing about residue management is that it’s unlocking value for a grower,” says Harrison Pettit, a partner with PacificAg. “One of the unique things that we do is that we connect and understand a grower’s needs and tailor a residue management program to fit these needs. We’re linking this with a long-term, year round bioenergy conversion plant. So it’s the first time a specific company like PacificAg has been matched with a long-term marketplace. This enables growers to unlock value that hasn’t existed before.”
PacificAg wants to share the benefit of their experience and turn that into long-term returns for growers. If you are a corn, wheat or milo grower who lives within 100 miles of an advanced ethanol biorefinery, is looking for new markets for your biomass and is interested in adding a new revenue stream to your operations, PacificAg wants to hear from you.
Find out more in these interviews:
[wpaudio url=”http://www.zimmcomm.biz/pacificag/pacific-ag-levy.mp3″ text=”Interview with PacificAg CEO Bill Levy”]
[wpaudio url=”http://www.zimmcomm.biz/pacificag/pacific-ag-pettit.mp3″ text=”Interview with PacificAg partner Harrison Pettit”]
GoPro Tops Gadgets for Gifts
Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “What type of gadget is on your wish or to-give list?”
Did you find your favorite gadget under the tree this year? Our results were pretty evenly spread out. I was excited to see many were wanting to utilize drone technology. But the GoPro video camera exceeded all other gadgets. I think that might be what I buy with my Christmas money.
Here are the poll results:
- Smart Phone – 12%
- Tablet – 9%
- Hybrid Laptop – 0%
- Wearable Tech – 9%
- Mobile Power Supply – 5%
- Cordless Power Tools – 9%
- Drone – 12%
- Camera – 9%
- GoPro Video Camera – 26%
- Bluetooth Speakers/headphones – 3%
- Other – 6%
Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, What do you think were the biggest ag stories of 2014?
No matter the segment of agriculture you are involved in, their has been at least one ag story throughout the year that has caught your attention. Let us know which topped your list as the biggest ag story of the year. As we review stories from 2014 I can’t help but wonder what 2015 will bring.
Top Precision.AgWired Stories for 2014
Precision.AgWired.com – formally Precision.Pays.com – was given its new name earlier this year to better identify with the ZimmComm family of on-line publications, but this site will celebrate its eighth birthday in just a couple of months. Since the re-branding, our viewership has tripled, so thanks for being a part of our year!
In keeping with our annual tradition, here are the top ten stories on Precision.AgWired in 2014. This is based solely on our Word Press statistics, which heavily weighs stories that were shared on social media. What do you think were the top precision ag stories of 2014?
New Holland Claims World Record
John Deere launches 2015 products
Control Power Hop with John Deere HydraCushion
Grassland Oregon Releases FIXation Balansa clover
Farmobile will let farmers sell data
Talking digitalization in corn and soybean cropping
AEM confident despite farm equipment sales drop
Develop with Deere underway
New John Deere 9R/ 9RT series tractors
MyJohnDeere lets other software bring new data to farming
Trimble Broadens Connectivity with IRON Solutions
Precision agriculture technology provider Trimble says it will broaden its connected farm solutions for growers, ag dealers and agronomists with its acquisition of IRON Solutions, Inc. Trimble says the deal will increase the connected farm user community through market-neutral information and analytics.
IRON Solutions provides market information, analytics-based intelligence and a cloud-based enterprise system to improve dealer and producer productivity. Coupled with Trimble’s Connected Farm™ solution, IRON Solutions will enable improved real-time decisions for equipment fleets and more tightly link equipment, seed and chemical dealers to the grower through its ERP/CRM systems. Farmers, their equipment dealers and their agronomy advisors will now have one Connected Farm platform for collaboration on key investment and prescription decisions. IRON Solutions manages over 15 million data points annually from over 1,200 manufacturers and over 2,200 retail sources throughout North America.
“With the acquisition of IRON Solutions, Trimble is empowering our dealers with trusted technologies that employ best-in-class information, next generation enterprise services and market analytics,” said Joe Denniston, vice president of Trimble’s Agriculture Division. “The IRON Solutions information together with Connected Farm will provide growers with a critical element in understanding their equipment lifecycle, enabling them to more efficiently manage their fleets.”
“We are excited to be joining Trimble at a time of increased collaboration between farmers, retailers and agronomists,” said Darwin Melnyk, CEO of IRON Solutions. “Our farm equipment, dealer and industry domain knowledge, independence and trust combined with Trimble’s leadership in agricultural technology can enable a farmer and their service provider to better drive efficiencies. In addition, by leveraging Trimble’s global presence we will work to extend the reach of our HQ product lines.”
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Hick Chick Chat with PrecisionHawk
Not all that long ago I had the chance to visit with the folks from PrecisionHawk. They have had some growth in their technology and partnership with Intel Capital. They are working more with universities to manage and collect data and of course the farmer as far as education and learning what they can do with unmanned aircraft to help collect data on their farm.
I had a chance to talk with Tyler Collins director of business development and he tells me PrecisionHawk is currently providing aerial data solutions to enterprise-level customers across a wide variety of industries, from agriculture, energy, forestry, and government to environmental protection. In the time since the funding was announced, the company has launched its data management and analysis tool, Data Mapper, to automatically interpret data coming off the UAV; it plans to release a new model of its fixed wing UAV, the Lancaster Mark IV, in the first quarter of 2015.
You can listen to my chat with Tyler here: [wpaudio url=”http://www.zimmcomm.biz/podcast/hickchickchat-14-precisionhawk-collins.mp3″ text=”Hick Chick Chat with Tyler Collins, PrecisionHawk”]
Expect ‘Different Kind of Market’ for Farm Land
A leading expert in land, auction and agribusiness related transactions says 2015 is going to be a different kind of market for farmland. Murray Wise Associates, LLC says while falling commodity prices will play a role, there’s more at work there.
“This year has been one of transition, with prices varying widely depending on land quality and location. The market has been rewarding the more productive land, but buyers have been less enthusiastic about lower quality land in poorer areas. As to the overall direction, I think we’ll start to get more clarity in the coming months, especially in the Corn Belt,” said [farmland authority Murray Wise, president of Murray Wise Associates].
Low commodity prices have put downward pressure on the market in the Midwest, but Wise said that’s only one of many factors expected to influence next year’s land prices.
“Commodity prices vary a lot year to year, and farmland buyers generally are thinking in terms of a time frame that’s 10 years or longer. So today’s low corn prices are just one of many factors — and a short term one at that,” said Wise. Other considerations include interest rates and the availability of alternative investments. Even international developments play a role, including output of other countries and the Chinese government’s policies for allowing the import of genetically modified crops.
An exception to the cloudy and mixed outlook is Florida, where Murray Wise Associates has sold almost 12,000 acres during the past 24 months. That surge has been fueled by strength in the groves, row crops, pasture and woodland markets.
Record Corn Yield Contest Winner in Georgia
Georgia is a long way from the nation’s Corn Belt, but this year’s National Corn Yield Contest winner Randy Dowdy set a new record of 503 bushels per acre on his farm near Valdosta.
“While the contest does not award a single, national prize or have an overall winner, Dowdy’s accomplishment certainly deserves recognition,” said National Corn Yield Contest Manager Rachel Jungermann-Orf. “We congratulate him on this accomplishment and look forward to seeing further innovation from contest participants over the years to come.”
Dowdy has actually been achieving record yields since he started farming just seven years ago. “I’m a first generation farmer,” said Dowdy. “My first corn crop went in 2008.”
The Georgia farmer admits he did not know what he was doing so he was all about trying new things. “In 2010 when I entered the (corn yield) contest I made 279 (bushels per acre),” Dowdy says. “The next year, we went in to 350s, the next year 370s, the next year in the 400s. It’s rewarding, I’m thrilled about it, but I still know there’s some things I can do better, so the sky’s the limit.”
Dowdy accomplished his record using DEKALB® corn seed genetics. “Monsanto would like to congratulate Randy Dowdy on setting this new world yield record for corn,” said Dr. Robert Fraley, Monsanto Chief Technology Officer and 2013 World Food Prize Laureate. “This accomplishment puts a spotlight on the important role that farmers all around the world play in society, and it showcases the valuable role that agriculture advancements can play in helping farmers achieve optimum and consistent corn performance so they can get the most from their land, wherever they are.”
All corn farmers nationwide this year are expected to average a yield of just over 174 bushels per acre – which is also a record.
USDA to Survey Land Owners on Ownership, Economics
The federal government knows how many acres of farmland are rented or leased; now the feds want to hear from the owners. This news release from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) says the agency will be surveying farmland owners to measure financial impacts and challenges of land ownership, and landowners should expect to see forms for the Tenure, Ownership, and Transition of Agricultural Land (TOTAL) survey in the next few days.
“The latest Census of Agriculture helped us determine that more than 350 million acres of farmland in the United States are rented or leased, but it has been more than a decade since we spoke to individuals who own that land,” said Jay Johnson, Director of NASS’ Census and Survey Division. “Today’s economic conditions change so quickly that we constantly have the need for new and updated data, which reflect the true conditions in agriculture sector.”
More than 80,000 farmland owners and producers across the United States will receive TOTAL forms. The TOTAL survey program will collect data from both farmers and landlords, who are not farm operators themselves, to create a complete picture of farm costs, land ownership, demographics about landowners, and improvements made to farmland and buildings, among other characteristics.
The survey builds on information collected in the 2012 Census of Agriculture. As with all parts of the Census, responses to TOTAL are mandatory by law. The same law also ensures confidentiality of individuals’ data. NASS safeguards the confidentiality of all responses, ensuring no individual respondent or operation can be identified.
USDA officials acknowledge that this is quite the lengthy survey but point out how much value there is in the information farmers and landowners provide.
Results will be published in August 2015.