Forage Aid From Latham Seed

Jamie JohansenAgribusiness, Audio, livestock, seed, World Dairy Expo

wde-14-178-editedThe New Holland Trade Center tent was packed full of ag company’s like Latham Hi-Tech Seed during the 2014 World Dairy Expo. I stopped by there booth to learn more about the family-owned company’s latest seed genetics and products.

Corey Catt is a forage specialist for Latham and has been in the seed industry his entire career. “What I do is select good varieties and make sure we have the most high powered corn silage and alfalfa varieties out there for livestock producers. We want you to get the best bang for your buck. We also look at new technologies and innovations with our main goal being helping you produce healthier meat, milk and eggs for the consumer.”

In the dairy industry the main thing they are looking at is starch digestibility. Latham is looking at hybrids that have a low level of prolamin-zein, meaning the starch is available and digestible. Letting the producer know if a product has a very high level allows them to manage differently. In my interview with Corey, he also shares more about some other products they have coming out in the near future.

During the Expo, Corey said he could tell the temperature of farmers was really good. Milk prices are fairly stable and farmers have been able to restore some of the inventory lost over the past couple of years with some really good feed from this past season.

Listen to my complete interview with Corey here: [wpaudio url=”http://www.zimmcomm.biz/wdexpo/wde-14-lathem-catt.mp3″ text=”Interview with Corey Catt, Latham Hi-Tech Seed”]

Find all photos from the event here: 2014 World Dairy Expo Photo Album.

Coverage of World Dairy Expo is sponsored by
Coverage of World Dairy Expo is sponsored by New Holland

Will You Use New MyFarmRadio.com App?

Jamie JohansenZimmPoll

New Holland ZimmPollOur latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “What is your favorite type of cheese?”

It is obvious we all have different tastes when it comes to cheese. It is such a staple in many meals nationwide and there are an endless amount of varieties. Cheddar seems to rise to the top slightly. However, like myself, many like them all.

Here are the poll results:

  • A simple American – 5%
  • Any type of Cheddar – 24%
  • Something soft, like Gouda – 19%
  • Artisan all the way – 19%
  • I like them all – 19%
  • Other – 14%

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, Are you ready for MyFarmRadio on your mobile device?

On November 3rd the new platform MyFarmRadio will launch. The 24/7 digital mobile radio channel will focus on a mix of best-in-class news, weather and markets along with entertaining and informative conversation for America’s farmers and ranchers. The app will allow listeners to pick and choose what they want to hear – and when they want to hear it. What do you think about this new way to get farm news? Will you be one of the first to check it out? Learn more about it in our latest ZimmCast.

FFA Members Ready to Held to Louisville

Jamie JohansenAg Group, Education, FFA, Youth

ffaThe 2014 National FFA Convention & Expo is right around the corner and the AgWired team will be there to cover it all. Here is a little preview of what you can expect to see at this year’s event to take place for the second year of its three-year run in Louisville, KY. on Oct.28 through Nov. 1.

The convention and expo will bring an estimated economic impact of $40 million, making it the largest convention and expo for Louisville this year. Attendees will stay in 136 hotels for a combined 39,247 nights within a 60-mile radius of Louisville. The event will stay in Louisville through 2015 before returning to Indianapolis for three years.

“Go All Out” is the theme of this year’s convention and expo. “With the opportunities we are given in our lives, we must take action. We must give it our all and put everything we have into everything we do,” 2013-2014 National FFA President Brian Walsh, a Virginia Tech student, said. “We must go all out to develop positive leadership, personal growth and career success.”

Nine general sessions will draw FFA members together at the Kentucky Exposition Center. Students will have countless opportunities to engage exhibitors from more than 450 corporations, organizations and colleges at the expo inside the center. Other events will be held at venues downtown, in the suburbs and beyond.

Nick Vujicic will be the opening session’s headline motivational speaker. Tyson Foods, Inc., President and CEO Donnie Smith will deliver his message to attendees during the third general session on Oct. 30. On Oct. 31, Elanco President Jeff Simmons and Southern humorist Jane Jenkins Herlong will address convention goers during the fourth and seventh general sessions, respectfully.

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2015 National No-Tillage Conference

Jamie JohansenAg Group, erosion, Events, No Till

no tillBehind the theme of “Building Better No-Till Practices,” the 2015 National No-Tillage Conference (NNTC) from Jan. 14-17 lands on the banks of the Ohio River in Cincinnati, Ohio, for the fifth time in the conference’s 23-year history.

The just-completed conference program offers cutting-edge farmers 45 presentations over 4 highly valuable days of learning. Sharing the best no-till management practices and ideas to improve no-tillers’ bottom line, speakers include no-tillers, agronomists, consultants and university experts from South and North America teeing up topics ranging from soil biology to precision ag to fertility management to cover cropping and much more.

The 23rd annual event includes 17 general session presentations, 28 classrooms and 69 roundtables. Nearly 100 hours of in-depth no-till learning can be found at this year’s event held at the Hilton Netherland Plaza in downtown Cincinnati.

Darrell Bruggink, executive editor and publisher of No-Till Farmer and the organizer of the National No-Tillage Conference, says both experienced no-tillers and farmers considering adopting no-tillage practices will get dozens of practical tips to use in their operations and be challenged to improve their farming system.

“With 114 educational sessions to choose from between general assemblies, classrooms and roundtables, we’re really trying to leave no stone unturned by offering farmers the broadest educational experience possible,” Bruggink says. “Our goal is to help no-tillers identify actionable tactics to use on their farm to improve their practices and profitability and become energized for a new cropping year.”

Registration is just $309 per person, with a special $282 rate for additional farm or family members. The event is co-sponsored by No-Till Farmer and 14 industry-leading companies, including Ag Leader Technology, Agro-Culture Liquid Fertilizers, Bayer CropScience, Case IH, Cover Crop Solutions, Equipment Technologies (Apache sprayers), Gypsoil, Koch Agronomic Services (Agrotain), Needham Ag Technologies, SFP, Syngenta, Thurston Mfg. (Blu-Jet), Titan International and Yetter Mfg.

Hick Chick Chat talks Feed Beets

Leah GuffeyAudio, Dairy, Food, Hick Chick Chat, New Holland, World Dairy Expo

11326519286_c9a07ae0bf_oWhile at the World Dairy Expo my colleague, Jamie, stopped by to learn more about feed beets as feed additive. 15232895320_126174985f_mAccording to Lisa Butzer, marketing manager Feed Beets are a sweet improvement to dairy rations and margins. Feed Beets are a high dry-matter beet hybrid grown for dairy cow rations. When added to rations as a forage source, you can lower feed costs without diminishing milk production or ration palatability.

You can listen to my chat here: [wpaudio url=”http://www.zimmcomm.biz/podcast/hickchickchat-14-feed-beets.mp3″ text=”Hick Chick Chat Feed Beets”]

Join in the conversation on Twitter and on Facebook

What is a GMO?

Cindy Zimmermanbiotechnology, Food, Video

A new Consumer Reports report on genetically modified food is getting a lot of media attention, despite glaring errors pointed out by the National Corn Growers Association.

The premise of the report is that 70% of Americans say they “don’t want” GMOs in their food, but that they are present in lots of foods, even those labeled “natural.”

Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel asked his audience this week how many did not want GMOs “in your body” and applause indicated a good percentage. He then showed a video of his latest “man on the street” interviews at a local farmers markets to ask people why they avoid GMOs and, more specifically, what the letters GMO stand for. It would be funny if it were not so true.


New SpotOn® Temp Probe Offers Digital Accuracy & Speed

Jamie JohansenAgribusiness, agronomy, Forage, Hay

Screen Shot 2014-10-09 at 8.02.58 AMInnoquest, Inc., the designer and manufacturer of sensors and measurement instruments, has released the SpotOn® Temp Probe, which was created for large agricultural and commercial operations that require accurate, quick temperature measurements of hay bales; compost, forage and mulch piles; stored grain; and soil temperatures.

“The SpotOn® Temp Probe is unique from others in the market,” Bill Hughes, President of Innoquest, said. “To meet our durability requirements, we designed it with a fiberglass probe shaft to eliminate bending failure, but kept a small stainless steel probe tip for unmatched speed of response.”

Its features include:
– A long (34”), indestructible fiberglass probe shaft that cannot be permanently bent
– A reduced-size stainless steel tip for a very fast response
– A digital reading that is very precise and easy to read (°C or °F)

The SpotOn® Temp Probe currently lists in the U.S. for $195. A video demonstration shows the speed, durability and uses available on YouTube.

Nominations Open for 2015 4R Advocate Awards Program

Jamie JohansenAg Group, Award, environment, Fertilizer, Nutrient Management

Screen Shot 2014-10-09 at 7.49.23 AMThe Fertilizer Institute (TFI) launched the 2015 4R Advocate Awards Program with a call for entries from retailers wishing to highlight the exceptional nutrient stewardship practices of their grower customers. The 4R Advocate Award program, now in its fourth year, recognizes farmers who are protecting the environment, boosting profitability and benefiting society through nutrient stewardship practices based on the 4R’s. Under the program rules, farmers are nominated by their retail dealers who are also recognized with 4R awards.

Throughout the year, 4R Advocates act as spokesmen and share their stories of how they use fertilizer best management practices to mitigate nutrient runoff and improve their nutrient use efficiency on the farm. The program demonstrates the commitment fertilizer retailers and growers have to help protect the environment.

“The farmers honored in the 4R Advocate program know that environmental protection and economic prosperity are not mutually exclusive,” said TFI President Chris Jahn. “This award program adds value to the 4R nutrient stewardship initiative by engaging growers and retailers with peers who can share their fertilizer best management practices success stories.”

In 2015, five winning growers, a spouse or companion and their nominating retailers will be awarded an expense-paid trip to the Commodity Classic, scheduled for Feb. 26-28 in Phoenix, Ariz. The Commodity Classic is the once-a-year, can’t-miss event for America’s soybean, corn, wheat and sorghum farmers. At Classic, 4R Advocate winners will see the latest agricultural innovations first-hand, meet other growers and agricultural leaders from across the nation, and will be honored at an invitation-only banquet. Full profiles and videos featuring interviews with 4R Award winners may be found at www.nutrientstewardship.com/4r-advocate.

Ag Innovations Abound at Los Alamos Nat’l Lab

Joanna SchroederAgribusiness, Education, Events, Fertilizer

I recently had the opportunity to spend some time at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). While the federal lab’s main mission is military defense, many innovations can be reimagined to work well in agriculture. To learn more about going from the lab to the field, I spoke with John Mott, technical writer for LANL.

Mott first started at LANL in 1988 when he arrived as a post doc in the life science division – his background is in neuroscience. After a brief hiatus he came back as a technical writer. “My job is to move innovations developed in the laboratory into the marketplace.”

John Mott Los Alamos National LabHis current role is to manage intellectual property estates and work with patent attorneys to take innovations and protect them in the proper way. Then he manages those innovations through their patent and copyright processes. So how exactly does this process work?

“Once we’ve established a patent position whether it is a patent application or an issued patent then we look to find partners for that. We work with companies large and small such as Verdesian,” explained Mott. “The transfer of the right to use the patent is called a license. With that generally comes a financial stream back to the laboratory. As the company gets the product onto the market we get a royalty on sales.”

Thirty-five percent of those funds are given to the inventor as an incentive to work with the company holding the license to help make the produce successful and the rest is used by the laboratory for new R & D projects to support, what they call ‘technology maturation’. “Food security is part of our national defense mission so working with companies like Verdesian is part of our mission,” said Mott.

Mott noted that the first product they worked with Verdesian on was their Take-Off product and there will be forthcoming announcement on the next generation of the product soon.

To learn more about how LANL innovations go commercial, listen to my interview with John Mott: [wpaudio url=”http://www.zimmcomm.biz/Verdesian/Verdesian-mott-14.mp3″ text=”Interview with John Mott, LANL”]

View the 2014 Verdesian Los Alamos Media Tour photo album.

Mizzou and ADM Tackle Feeding and Fueling the World

John DavisResearch, University

cafnr1The University of Missouri’s College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources and its College of Engineering have teamed up with Archer Daniels Midland Company to open a new research center focusing on biofuels and food production. The ADM Center for Agricultural Development was designed to give students more of a hands on approach in learning the latest theories of biofuel development, food production and energy processing.

“As the global population continues to grow, the world is looking toward agriculture to create viable, sustainable solutions to some of the world’s most pressing needs – like an abundant food supply and advanced renewable fuels,” said Michael D’Ambrose, ADM senior vice president and chief human resources officer. “To help our industry meet this challenge, ADM is pleased to invest in the University of Missouri and the next generation of agricultural leaders.”

Leon Schumacher, professor of agricultural systems management helped coordinate the project and said the lab will allow students to step out of the classroom and into the lab where they will team with peers and faculty on projects and equipment typical in the rapidly-changing agricultural industries.

Schumacher said the lab allows students to select critical issues facing agriculture and brainstorm solutions, develop a timeline and budget, make decisions, take the initiative to test solutions in the lab, and be accountable for results. Schumacher said this is the best approach to develop team skills needed by industry.

ADM donated $1 million to renovate the labs that will help students to “learn to work as a team and tackle problems in a systematic way,” officials said. They also expect the labs will be key in finding solutions to the problem of fueling and feeding an expected world population of 9 billion by the year 2050.