Improving Plant Health Through Nutritional Balance

Jamie JohansenAgribusiness, Audio, Crop Health Labs, Fruit, Insect Control, Vegetables

aeaAdvancing Eco Agriculture (AEA) is a plant nutrition consulting company that works with fruit and vegetable growers from across the country. They have become known for helping farmers grow crops that are completely resistant to diseases and insects using nutrition and enhancing plant immunity through nutritional balance. During Crop Health Laboratories’ Power Growers Seminar I spoke with founder and CEO of AEA, John Kempf, he shared more about the new plant sap analysis technology that is sweeping the U.S. and Canada.

“Plant sap analysis is so sensitive and accurate that it can detect nutritional imbalances as much as four to six weeks earlier then typical tissue analysis. By understanding the connections between mineral nutrition and specific disease and insect challenges through sap analysis we have been able to develop nutritional models to very accurately identify and predict disease and insect susceptibility before it ever shows up.”

John said that as soon as growers start using sap analysis the value of it becomes immediately apparent. The information is actually usable because the information from the test correlates perfectly with what is seen in the field.

Listen to my interview with John here: [wpaudio url=”http://www.zimmcomm.biz/chl/chl-14-kempf.mp3″ text=”Interview with John Kempf”]

Find photos from the event here: 2014 Crop Health Labs Power Growers Seminar Photo Album

Verdesian Announces New Seed Inoculant Product for Soybeans

Jamie JohansenAgribusiness, Soybeans

verdesianVerdesian Life Sciences, LLC has announced the latest addition to its portfolio of seed enhancement products — Preside™ CL, a new soybean seed inoculant, available for the 2015 growing season.

Preside CL opens the door for added nodules, bringing more nitrogen in and generating a healthier plant right from the start. The product provides four times more rhizobia than the competition, increasing the number of productive root nodules that fix more nitrogen for the plant.

“We’re in the business of providing farmers with the best start possible to their growing season, and this product pays off that promise, particularly as growers are planting as early as possible,” said J.J. Grow, chief executive officer for Verdesian. “We think soybean growers will appreciate the fact that Preside CL helps create strong, healthy plants that can withstand adversity early in the season.”

Preside CL also contains the Take Off® technology from Verdesian that improves the nutrient acquisition and utilization of the plant. This combination of technology helps soybeans produce up to 65 percent more nodule mass than soybeans treated with a conventional inoculant. More nodule mass and root development lead to better nitrogen utilization, which, of course, leads to more bushels in the bin.

The inoculant proves its worth in replicated field trials. Seeds inoculated with Preside CL reached canopy closure faster than those with conventional inoculants. Canopy row closure by pod set (R3 growth stage) helps the plant maximize light interception during the critical pod- and seed-filling period and also can reduce soil moisture loss.

For seed treaters, the efficiency with which Preside CL is applied also helps the product stand apart. It has low viscosity, which limits stickiness during application to the seed, reducing bridging on treating equipment and thus the time spent handling the seed. The low viscosity also translates to ease of planting for the grower.

The Preside CL package consists of only two liquid bladder components, compared to the competitive standard of three, for ease and simplicity. Speed of application is also improved for the applicator due to the low use rate and low viscosity of the formulation. This minimizes the drying time and further speeds up the application process.

AgGateway Releases White Paper Data Privacy & Security

Jamie JohansenAgribusiness, Data

AgGatewayAgGateway’s Data Privacy and Security Committee has published a white paper to help the agriculture industry consider ways to incorporate data privacy best practices and standards into their operations. The paper is also intended to provide recipients of farm data and their customers with areas to consider when using that data. The paper, which is publicly accessible at www.AgGateway.org, includes key terminology to encourage consistency across the industry.

“This is a living document that we anticipate will continue to be updated,” said Deb Casurella, president of Independent Data Management LLC, who chairs the Data Privacy and Security Committee. “Data privacy, use and security are key issues for farmers today, especially as they create and use an increasing amount of data to better manage their operations.

“AgGateway has seen a tremendous interest and participation in putting together this white paper, from a broad cross-section of industry companies,” Casurella added. “There’s widespread recognition that we need to enable eBusiness in agriculture while also protecting the value of a farmer’s information.”

The white paper provides principles and general ideas as a starting point for companies to consider as they begin establishing security, protection and privacy standards and procedures. More information on AgGateway’s Data Privacy and Security Committee can be found under “Working Groups” at www.AgGateway.org.

Monsanto, Japan’s Sumitomo Collaborate on Crop Protection

John DavisAgribusiness, Crop Protection, Monsanto

monsantosumitomoMonsanto and Japan’s Sumitomo Chemical Company, Ltd. (SCC), along with SCC’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Valent U.S.A. Corporation, have agreed to extend their strategic partnership in Monsanto’s Roundup Ready PLUS® Crop Management Solutions platform for soybeans and cotton in the United States. This Monsanto news release says the platform empowers farmers to maximize the performance of their Roundup Ready crops by developing effective, economical and sustainable approaches to controlling tough-to-manage and glyphosate-resistant weeds.

Valent herbicides that will continue to be endorsed in Roundup Ready PLUS as a result of this extended partnership include preemergence herbicides, such as Valor®, Valor® XLT, Fierce®, Fierce XLT and Chateau®, as well as post herbicides, such as Cobra®, Phoenix® and Select Max®.

“The extension of this collaboration ensures that we will continue to deliver choice and long-term value for farmers through Roundup Ready PLUS by incorporating valuable weed management solutions provided in the portfolio of Valent products,” according to Chris Reat, Roundup Ready PLUS marketing manager at Monsanto. “By extending this strategic partnership with Valent, we are ensuring that soybean and cotton growers have the variety of effective options they need to proactively manage tough weeds and reduce the risk of developing weed resistance.”

Valent officials say they look forward to continuing the partnership with Monsanto.

USFRA Names New Executive Committee

Cindy ZimmermanUSFRA

USFRAThe U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA®) has announced its new 2015 Executive Committee members and Nancy Kavazanjian, farmer director of the United Soybean Board, was named as Board chairperson. As chair, Kavazanjian will work closely with the CEO of USFRA and members of the Board in providing thought leadership and serve as a national consumer spokesperson on behalf of farmers and ranchers across the nation. Outgoing Board Chairperson Bob Stallman and president of American Farm Bureau Federation has served in the role since the organization’s inception in 2010.

Other 2015 Executive Committee members include:
• Vice Chair – Brad Greenway, National Pork Board
• Secretary – Mike Geske, National Corn Growers Association
• Treasurer – Dawn Caldwell, Federation of State Beef Councils
• At-Large – Lisa Lunz, Nebraska Soybean Board
• At-Large – Todd Frazier, DuPont Pioneer

Bayer Launches #Thankful4Ag Initiative

Cindy ZimmermanBayer CropScience, Food

be-thankfulBayer CropScience is helping to make the holiday season a bit brighter for Americans struggling with hunger by sponsoring #Thankful4Ag in conjunction with Feeding America®.

The social initiative aims to provide up to 200,000 meals from November 10-December 19. Bayer will donate up to $20,000 towards the effort.

bayer-cropscience“We are all indeed thankful for the contributions of our nation’s farming families and everyone who helps get food from the farm to people’s tables,” said Jim Blome, president and CEO of Bayer CropScience LP. “There is no better way to show our gratitude than to help provide nutritious meals to those who need them. We encourage everyone to join us and share a digital plate today to help those in need this holiday season.”

People are invited to visit www.Thankful4Ag.com and create a “digital meal” showcasing three of their favorite classic holiday foods. Every time someone creates and shares a meal, Bayer CropScience LP will donate 10 meals ($1 per share, $1=10 meals secured by Feeding America on behalf of member food banks) to food-insecure families through Feeding America.

“Bayer has been such a great partner to Feeding America in our ongoing fight to end hunger,” said Nancy Curby, vice president of corporate partnerships for Feeding America. “They continue to find creative ways to engage the public in hunger relief and spread awareness about our cause. The #Thankful4Ag campaign will benefit families in need this holiday season.”

Feeding America is the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization, and its network of 200 local food banks serves 46 million Americans struggling with hunger.

New Holland Offers Internships for Students

Cindy ZimmermanAudio, Case IH, FFA, New Holland

ffa-14-new-holland-janetNew Holland is a major supporter of the National FFA Organization, but the company also supports youth in agriculture with internships.

At the recent FFA Convention, Jana Buchholz – who manages the North America recruiting group for CNH Industrial America – was talking with young people about what they have to offer. “What we have to offer is a lot of internships from the collegiate area,” said Buchholz. “What we’re trying to do is help them understand what they want to do, where they’re going, and how those particular careers fit into a company like New Holland.”

Buchholz says since New Holland is such a large corporation, they have internships in a variety of areas. “We have sales and marketing opportunities, mechanical engineering and manufacturing opportunities. We offer over 100 internships throughout the company all over the U.S.,” she said, adding that all of the internships are paid and housing opportunities are available as well.

Find out more in this interview: [wpaudio url=”http://www.zimmcomm.biz/fmc/ffa-14-nh-hr.mp3″ text=”Interview with Jana Buchholz, New Holland”]

87th National FFA Convention Photos

Coverage of the National FFA Convention is sponsored by
Coverage of the National FFA Convention is sponsored by FMC

A Blood Test for Plants

Jamie JohansenAgribusiness, Audio, Crop Health Labs, Fruit, Nutrient Management, Vegetables

chl-14-53-editedCrop Health Laboratories presented Power Growers Seminar over the weekend in Santa Clara, CA. The event provided a comprehensive introduction to plant sap analysis technology. This new nutrient management strategy was created by Sjoerd Smits, owner of NovaCropControl and HortiNova.

Both companies are based out of the Netherlands and currently sap samples are shipped there for analysis. Crop Health Labs is changing that and is hoping to have a U.S. lab in operation in 2015.

Sjored Smits was one of the keynote speakers at the event and shared more about his research at HortiNova, the history of the company and benefits of utilizing plant sap analysis.

“We are more then seven years into the business of doing plant sap. We have found it to enhance plant health. We want healthy crops with disease suppressiveness. Plant sap looks more to the available part of the nutrients compared to the total part in a tissue analysis. We heard from our clients that in the past tissue analysis didn’t reflect what you saw in the crop and plant sap does.”

NovaCropControl works with growers from 15 countries and currently can test for 21 different parameters. Once the samples research their lab, there is a fast 24-hour turn around time so growers can take quick action. They are also currently testing 200 different organic, sustainable and conventional crops.

Listen to my interview with Sjoerd here: [wpaudio url=”http://www.zimmcomm.biz/chl/chl-14-smits.mp3″ text=”Interview with Sjored Smits”]

Find photos from the event here: 2014 Crop Health Labs Power Growers Seminar Photo Album

USDA Finds Green Method to Control Stink Bugs

John DavisInsect Control, Research, USDA

sorghumgrass1Federal researchers have found a green way to control stink bugs. This article from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) says an entomologist in Georgia figured out that certain plants could keep out stink bugs that attack crops in the southeastern United States, without using insecticides that could kill the good bugs.

Many farmers in Georgia plant corn each spring, then peanuts and then cotton, often near each other or side-by-side. The farmers control stink bugs with broad-spectrum insecticides, which kill not only stink bugs but also beneficial insects.

Patricia Glynn Tillman, who is with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Crop Protection and Management Research Unit, collected stink bugs from corn, peanut and cotton fields for 6 years and studied a number of strategies designed to control them. ARS is USDA’s chief intramural scientific research agency, and this research supports the USDA priority of promoting sustainable agriculture.

In one study, Tillman and her colleagues placed nectar-producing buckwheat plants, sorghum Sudan grass (an annual grass that grows to about 8 feet), and two different-sized plastic sheets (about 6 feet high and about 2 feet high) between peanut and cotton fields. The grass and plastic sheets were introduced to see if they would prevent stink bugs from migrating from low-growing peanut plants into cotton. She found that the plastic and the grass were effective, as long as the barriers were at least as high as the cotton (4.5 feet). She also found that the buckwheat attracted Trichopoda pennipes, a beneficial insect that reduced the number of stink bugs in nearby cotton. Results were published September 1, 2014, in the Journal of Pest Science.

Other work included putting potted milkweed plants along the edges of cotton fields in peanut/cotton production areas, and researchers found that not only did they control the stink bugs, but the milkweed was a nice attractor for Monarch butterflies.

Rural Transportation Topic of Next Farm Foundation Forum

John DavisAg Group, transportation

farmfoundationlogo3News of too few rail cars to move this year’s grain harvest from farming areas to consumers has grabbed the headlines most recently, but agriculture and rural America are facing several other transportation issues this year. Farm Foundation will look to address some key issues, including the nation’s aging transportation infrastructure – roads, bridges and waterways, during its next free forum, Wednesday, Nov. 19 from 9 to 11 a.m. EST at the National Press Club, 529 14th St., NW, Washington, D.C. with a live audiocast being made available for those unable to attend in person.

The Forum will begin with presentations by four industry leaders:

Eric Jessup, Vice President, Transportation, Industrials & Energy Services, Informa Economics;
John H. Miller, Group Vice President, Agricultural Products, BNSF Railroad;
Mike Steenhoek, Executive Director, Soy Transportation Coalition; and
Jon Samson, Executive Director of the American Trucking Associations’ Agriculture and Food Transporters Conference.

Moderating the session will be grain farmer Mark Scholl of J&M Scholl, Inc. Mr. Scholl and Mr. Miller are both Trustees of Farm Foundation.

More information and sign-up is available here.