Deere Adds New Tillage Models

AgWired Precision, Audio, Farm Progress Show, John Deere, Tillage

John Deere introduced a number of new product offerings at the 2018 Farm Progress Show, including the new 2660VT Variable-Intensity Tillage Tool.

Paul Richardel, Deere Product Line Marketing Manager for Tillage, was excited to talk about the new 2660VT with its adjustable gang angle that features an all-new frame and the right amount of weight per blade to handle a wide range of soil, crop residue and field conditions at operating speeds up to 10 miles per hour.

Specifically for the 2660VT, Deere is introducing the exclusive 22-inch (55.8 cm), heavy-duty Commander™ Blade with its double-cut edge to more easily penetrate hard soils and size and mix residue. This wavy straight blade on 7.25-inch (18.4 cm) spacings has a serrated edge and shallow concavity to fracture and lift hard soils with less smearing and is designed for low-draft tillage at maximum field speeds.

Richardel talks about the 2660VT in this interview. FPS 18 John Deere 2660VT Interview with Paul Richardel

John Deere at the 2018 Farm Progress Show

Content Creation at the Farm Progress Show brought to you by Farm Progress Show content creation courtesy of John DeereCoverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by GrowmarkCoverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Bayer CropScience

Secretary Perdue Comments on Current Issues

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Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue visited the Farm Progress Show this week, making an appearance for everyone at the show to enjoy with Max Armstrong and Orion Samuelson in the VIP tent, followed by a press gaggle where trade was the number one topic, along with WOTUS and the Renewable Fuel Standard.

Asked about Canada and its dairy policy – “The president’s been pretty firm on this…We’re not asking Canada to do away totally with their supply-management system, but if they’re going to continue we want them to manage their supply.”

Regarding trade assistance to farmers – “It’s based on what is the tariff damage actually calculated. That’s why you see the difference between the soybean award and the corn award, because of the tariff damage.”

WOTUS court decision – “Administrator Wheeler now is working on a renewed WOTUS rule that will be affirmed in the courts to give our farmers certainty.”

E15 year round – “President called me this morning said let’s get it done.”

Listen here – FPS 18 Secretary Perdue press gaggle

2018 Farm Progress Show

Content Creation at the Farm Progress Show brought to you by Farm Progress Show content creation courtesy of John DeereCoverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by GrowmarkCoverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Bayer CropScience

2018 #FPS18 Bayer Grower Panel on Next Gen Ag

AgCareers, AgWired Precision, Audio, Bayer, Farm Progress Show, Video

The last in the series of Bayer Grower Panels during the Farm Progress Show focused on “Preparing for the next generation of ag – on and off the farm.”

Moderated by Pam Fretwell, the panelists included Bob Arndt, Wisconsin farmer, Jill Bramble, Senior Vp & Chief Resource Development Officer, National 4-H Council, Greg Nickrent, Senior Relationship Manager with BMO Harris, Serena Woodard, 4-H and Jeff Waller, Wisconsin farmer.

You can listen to the panel here: Bayer Grower Panel 3 – Preparing for the next gen of ag

Photos of Bayer activities can be found here: Bayer at 2018 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

Content Creation at the Farm Progress Show brought to you by Farm Progress Show content creation courtesy of John DeereCoverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by GrowmarkCoverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Bayer CropScience

Bayer Discusses Integration With Monsanto

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There were lots of people at the Farm Progress Show this week wearing different hats – or shirts – as a result of Bayer’s acquisition of Monsanto, which just became final-final this month. There were former Monsanto people now working for Bayer and former Bayer people working for BASF now, and let’s just say it will take some time before everyone gets used to it.

Brett Begemann was president and COO for Monsanto up until this month when he became CEO of Crop Science Commercial Operations for Bayer – or maybe Chief Operating Officer for Bayer Crop Science – his title is not entirely clear. He says their goal is to “take a terrific crop protection portfolio, a great seeds and traits portfolio, the world’s best digital platform for agriculture and bring those together into one company … to drive innovation in agriculture faster than we’ve seen agriculture drive innovation before.”

Begemann was joined by two other Monsanto legacy execs now with Bayer – Bob Reiter, head of Research and Development at Bayer Crop Science, and Jesus Madrazo, head of Agricultural Affairs & Sustainability, to talk about how they are growing stronger together and to take questions from the media.

Listen here: #FPS18 Bayer Monsanto Integration press conference

2018 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

Content Creation at the Farm Progress Show brought to you by Farm Progress Show content creation courtesy of John DeereCoverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by GrowmarkCoverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Bayer CropScience

BASF Provides Dicamba Update at #FPS18

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An update on dicamba from BASF and a couple of growers drew a lot of media interest this week at Farm Progress Show.

Scott Kay, BASF Vice President of U.S. Agricultural Solutions, talked with farmers Steve Anderson of Iowa and Scott Dauk from Minnesota about their experiences using BASF’s advanced dicamba formulation Engenia® Herbicide this year on their operations.

Listen to their comments here: #FPS18 BASF Dicamba press conference

2018 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

Content Creation at the Farm Progress Show brought to you by Farm Progress Show content creation courtesy of John DeereCoverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by GrowmarkCoverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Bayer CropScience

Weather Causes Early End to FPS18 Day One

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There’s always something new at Farm Progress Show and this year a big storm caused something that has never happened before – an evacuation and shut down of the show before noon.

Rain had been in the forecast for the day, but everyone was hoping it would either miss us or not be too bad. However, when the storm was within minutes of hitting, reports of hail, strong winds, and lightning in the area forced organizers to shut everything down and and try the get people out as quickly and safely as possible. Unfortunately, the downpour created muddy conditions in the parking areas almost immediately and dozens of vehicles become stuck in the mud, which made leaving a lot more difficult.

Day two is like day one all over again, since everyone is now a half day behind and struggling to reschedule activities scheduled for yesterday afternoon, plus we have Secretary Sonny on the grounds starting at noon.

Watch this video from the Bayer tent as Pam Fretwell was moderating the farmer panel and got the word to tell everyone to evacuate.

2018 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

Content Creation at the Farm Progress Show brought to you by Farm Progress Show content creation courtesy of John DeereCoverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by GrowmarkCoverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Bayer CropScience

Precision Ag Bytes 8/29

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  • Syngenta announced the expansion of the NK® soybean portfolio with 13 new varieties for the 2019 season, furthering the company’s commitment to helping growers maximize whole-farm profit potential through innovation.
  • Syngenta also announced that Force® 6.5G, a high-load granular corn insecticide for control of corn rootworm, is registered by the Environmental Protection Agency and will be available for the 2019 growing season.
  • The American Soybean Association and the United Soybean Board present the final installation in a series of webinars designed to help soybean farmers understand how new technology and effective data management can help improve the sustainability of their operations. On Aug. 30 at 1 p.m. Central Time, learn more about pairing a solid plan for managing data with the use of existing and emerging technology tools from planting, fertility and crop protection all the way to harvest from The Ohio State University’s Dr. John Fulton. Click here to register.
  • CommoditAg.com, an e-commerce platform for growers, announced expanding into Minnesota with the addition of Farmward® Cooperative based in Morgan, Minnesota.
  • Benson Hill Biosystems and Agribody Technologies, Inc. are partnering to deliver non-GMO yield and sustainability traits for seed companies working in corn, soy, alfalfa, cotton, sugarbeets, canola, potatoes, peanut, beans, rice, sorghum, wheat, and flowers.

Bayer Grower Panel on Smart Agronomics at #FPS18

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This morning in the Bayer tent growers got to listen to one of three panel discussions planned throughout this year’s show. Each panel will feature growers and experts who will share their advice and strategies that are paying off on their operations.

The first of the Bayer grower panels was titled, “Smart Agronomic Decisions to Help Manage Farm Margins.” The Moderator was Pam Fretwell, Fretwell Communications and the panelists were Todd Golly, MN Farmer and Co-Founder of Aker, Kyle Meece, IL Farmer and Innovation Agronomy Lead at United Prairie and Mike Weber, Principal Scientist at Bayer.

You can listen to the panel here: Bayer Grower Panel 1 – Smart Agronomics

Panel interviews:
Bayer panel farmer Todd Golly, Minnesota

Bayer panel farmer Kyle Meese, Illinois

Photos of Bayer activities can be found here: Bayer at 2018 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

Content Creation at the Farm Progress Show brought to you by Farm Progress Show content creation courtesy of John DeereCoverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by GrowmarkCoverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Bayer CropScience

Farm Progress Show 2018 is Underway

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The 2018 Farm Progress Show is officially underway now with the opening press conference in the media tent.

Don Tourte, Farm Progress Sr. Vice President, Sales & Events Advertising, kicked off the show saying it may be the best show he has seen in his over 20 years with the event.

Once again, the media is being kept cool thanks to BASF, which sponsors the media tent that provides food and fun in air conditioned comfort.

Listen to welcoming remarks from Tourte and BASF – #FPS18 Opening Press Conference

Photo album is started and will be constantly updated:
2018 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

Content Creation at the Farm Progress Show brought to you by Farm Progress Show content creation courtesy of John DeereCoverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by GrowmarkCoverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Bayer CropScience

Hello From Day 1 of #FPS18

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I like to start out with a “special” photo which is usually a sunset or sunrise. However, when Cindy and I were leaving the show site yesterday I saw this little area of clouds out over the highway exit to the show. It said to me that God is looking down on us and we should all take a deep breath and get to it, confident that everything will go well.

So, the ZimmComm Team – Cindy, Heather and myself – are ready for a very busy schedule as we cover what’s new in the world of agribusiness. We’re set up in the media tent and the Golden ZimmComm Microphone mixer station is ready for action.

We have started a photo album and will have individual ones for companies we’re working with on the creation, publication and distribution of content this week. Here’s our general photo album for your viewing/sharing pleasure. 2018 Farm Progress Show Photo Album