Bayer Seed Treatments Protect on Multiple Fronts

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With one of the broadest and most diverse portfolios of seed treatment in the industry, Bayer is helping farmers to protect their crops against more than just insect and disease pressure.

“Being covered on multiple fronts, whether that’s against diseases, pests, nematodes, maybe it’s drought or nutrient deficiency, having a different breadth of seed treatment can really help protect against whatever unpredictability Mother Nature throws your way,” said A.J. Hohmann, U.S. Marketing Manager for Bayer’s Seed Growth Business.

Hohmann said seed treatments can also fight against nematodes, or maximize root mass with bioenhancers. He said seed treatments routinely provide a two to seven bushel yield boost, and can even bring up to a 30 bushel advantage in situations where high pressures and adverse weather conditions threaten production.

Hohmann said in addition to protecting seed, Bayer is also working to protect farmers and agriculture communities with its Farm State of Mind initiative. The focus on mental health began in May 2019 as farmers in many areas work through one of the more challenging years on record. He encouraged farmers to join in on social media with the hashtag #FarmStateOfMind or visit acceleronsas.com/farmstateofmind to share stories and find resources for managing mental health challenges.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with A.J. here: Interview with A.J. Hohmann, Bayer

Bayer at the 2019 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

Precision Ag Bytes 9/4

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  • Three Iowa FFA chapters were awarded bragging rights and cash prizes in the Pioneer® brand A-Series Soybeans Big A Challenge. The winning chapters were recognized and their statues displayed prominently at the 2019 Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Illinois. Judges selected Mount Ayr FFA of Mount Ayr, Iowa, as the overall winner of the $2,500 top prize. North Tama FFA of Traer, Iowa, won $1,500 for second place and Wayne FFA of Corydon, Iowa, earned $1,000 for third place.
  • Share the story of how conservation is part of your farm operation and you could be recognized with a Conservation Legacy Award. The awards recognize farm management practices of U.S. soybean farmers that are both environmentally friendly and profitable. More information on past winners of the award and how to submit your application is available in the “About” section under “Awards” on the ASA website. All applications must be submitted by Friday, Sept. 13, 2019.
  • Syngenta and The Cropio Group announced that Syngenta has completed the acquisition of all relevant assets of The Cropio Group, an Ag Tech company with a presence in over 50 countries, but with a primary focus in Eastern Europe. The Cropio platform is an equipment-integrated, end-to-end software solution that provides imaging, recordkeeping, and equipment tracking. Approximately 10 million hectares of crops are currently managed using Cropio.
  • CNH Industrial N.V. announced its agreement to acquire AgDNA, a leader in Farm Management Information Systems.
  • BASF is adding 43 new varieties to their 2020 Credenz® seed lineup. Credenz is now the 10th most planted soybean seed in the U.S., offering over 75 varieties nationally and over 45 varieties for Midwest growers.
  • Syngenta introduced a new $30 million Trait Conversion Accelerator – a highly-automated “controlled environment” corn breeding facility – at its Nampa R&D and seed production facility.
  • Premier Crop Systems® launched their new Data Visualization platform, a part of their three-tier technology strategy. This new platform allows growers to gain key insights that give them the ability to make informed decisions based off economics, seed, crop protection, fertility, operations and management.
  • Valley® Irrigation announced another industry first: the ability to push updates “over the air” to their ICON® control panels. This ag tech advancement is available automatically through the built-in Valley ICON Link.
  • Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc. announced that Dr. Pam Marrone, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, has received the 2019 American Chemical Society Award for Innovation in Chemistry of Agriculture, sponsored by the Agrochemical Division of ACS and BASF Corporation, in honor of outstanding achievements in the discovery, development and commercialization of biopesticides.

FieldView Data Drives Better Decisions

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Bayer is working to help farmers make better decisions using data with the FieldView platform.

“Farmers today have got tremendous amounts of information whether it’s about what they planted, what they sprayed, the yield that they received and many other aspects of that field and/or the environment,” said John Raines, Global Commercial Lead for The Climate Corporation. “We want to help bring that information together and analyze it to bring back to the farmer information or insights that will help them drive yield or productivity or limit their risk.”

Raines said farmers are adopting data driven technology rapidly, and proprietary algorithms can help them to bring information together and solve problems based on the results. Raines encouraged farmers to get connected with FieldView in order to take advantage of things like seed advisor services, as well as artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with John here: Interview with John Raines, The Climate Corporation, Bayer

Bayer at 2019 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

New NK Seed Selection Tool From Syngenta

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Syngenta Seeds launched a new NK® seed selection tool at the Farm Progress Show that combines artificial intelligence, two decades of agronomic information and a simple user interface, to provide farmers with data-driven seed recommendations.

The NK® Seed Analyzer allows retailers and farmers to proactively plan for weather volatility, soil variability and planting specifications by seeing actual results from numerous sources.

“While you can never control all the factors that affect a growing season, you can set yourself up for the best chance of success by choosing hybrids that perform well in fields like yours, regardless of the weather,” said Joe Bollman, NK corn product manager. “The NK Seed Analyzer injects some much-needed predictability into a process that otherwise is anything but predictable.”

We talked with Bollman about the new tool at FPS. Listen to the interview here or watch it below: Interview with Joe Bollman, NK corn product manager

2019 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

ZimmCast 624 – #FPS19

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It was a busy Farm Progress Show this year with great weather and lots to talk about. Happy to have a long weekend to recover from our labor!

In this edition of the ZimmCast, you will hear from some of the many voices at #FPS19, including Show Manager Matt Jungmann, BASF External Communications Manager Casey Allen, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, President Donald J. Trump, National Corn Growers Association 1st VP Kevin Ross, and National Hemp Association executive director Erica Stark.

Links to lots more content can be found on the 2019 Farm Progress Show virtual newsroom. Special thanks to Syngenta, GROWMARK, and Bayer for their support in helping us bring you the sights and sounds of #FPS19.

Listen to the ZimmCast here:
ZimmCast 624 – #FPS19

2019 Farm Progress Show photo album

Subscribe to the ZimmCast by clicking here.

GROWMARK Supply Chain Focused on Efficiency

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GROWMARK’s Rod Wells (far right) with several State Directors of Agriculture at the 2019 Farm Progress Show.

The weather challenges many farmers faced over the past year tested the supply chain for companies like GROWMARK, but the regional cooperative was well equipped to help their customers react to changing conditions like river shutdowns, the need for shorter season hybrids in some cases, and crop protection adjustments.

That’s a benefit of working across all of the company’s various divisions from energy to agronomy to grain with a continued focus on operational efficiency.

“Given the farm economy and what we’re faced with this year – farm incomes being down – everybody is open at this point, I think, to looking at a better way to do something, again, being responsive to that customer but also being as efficient as you can possibly be doing it because you just can’t afford to have the waste in the system anymore,” said Rod Wells, Executive Director, Enterprise Supply Chain, GROWMARK.

Wells said he is excited about implementing Lean Six Sigma principles within the cooperative over the coming year, looking at all processes and identifying and removing waste where possible, while still balancing that with responsiveness to the customer. Wells was at the 2019 Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Ill.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Rod here: Interview with Rod Wells, GROWMARK

2019 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

USDA Secretary Addresses Ag Issues at #FPS19

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Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue spent a full day at Farm Progress Show in just a few hours. After listening to farmers’ concerns during an Ag Policy Forum across the street, the secretary drove a tractor in the ride and drive, took a call from President Trump during a live show on stage with Max Armstrong, and then answered questions from a few dozen reporters gathered in the BASF Media Tent.

Listen to the press conference with USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue here: FPS19 USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue Press Conference

2019 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

BASF Talks Future of Weed Control

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BASF hosted a panel discussion on the future of weed control at the 2019 Farm Progress Show. Moderating the conversation was Scott Kay, BASF Vice President of Operations for North America.

Panelists included Rick Van Genderen, BASF Global Lead for Soybean & Corn Seed & Trait Strategy; Bryan Young, Weed Science Professor at Purdue University; and Brad Wade, Illinois Corn and Soybean Grower.

Listen to the full panel discussion here: BASF Panel Discussion on Weed Control

2019 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

Secretary Perdue at Illinois Ag Policy Forum

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U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue told those gathered at an ag policy forum during the 2019 Farm Progress Show that he expects President Trump to announce small refinery waiver mitigation efforts soon. Perdue declined to provide further details about the coming announcement.

Members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation including Rep. Rodney Davis, Rep. John Shimkus, Rep. Mike Bost and Rep. Darin LaHood hosted the forum, where they and Secretary Perdue answered questions from farmers and agribusiness leaders on trade and tariffs, biosecurity, renewable fuels and hemp production among other topics.

Listen to the entire Ag Policy Forum here: FPS19 Ag Policy Forum

2019 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

Golden Harvest Connects with John Deere Operations

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Syngenta E-LuminateGolden Harvest announced a collaboration with John Deere on its E-Luminate digital platform at the 2019 Farm Progress Show.

“If I’m a grower and my data is already stored to the John Deere cloud, we have a way for that grower then to share information with us within E-Luminate, in order for us to work together to make better decisions for that grower,” said Justin Welch, Syngenta Digital Commercial Lead for U.S. Seed Business. “We believe by having that grower have his information available to more trusted advisors, they’re going to have a better opportunity to have a higher return on their investment.”

Welch said the E-Luminate service is already very customer focused, delivered through one of 1,200 Golden Harvest seed advisors who use an eight-step process to connect with growers throughout the year.

Listen to the interview here or watch it below: Interview with Justin Welch, Syngenta

2019 Farm Progress Show Photo Album