Consultants to Discuss Impact of Big Data

Jamie JohansenAgribusiness, Data

Screen Shot 2014-06-11 at 9.25.11 PMThe impact of Big Data and how it can best be used by professional ag consultants and their clients will be a primary discussion point at the annual conference of the American Society of Agricultural Consultants which will be held Oct. 19 – 21 in St. Louis.

“Big Data is everywhere but delivers limited value and clarity unless interpreted through objective knowledge and context” says Norman Brown, CAC, president of FBS Systems, Inc., and overall chairman of the ASAC annual conference “The Big Data session will look beyond the current debate over data access and ownership and envision how third-party consultants can add true value to all segments of agriculture.”

Brown explains that a panel of industry leaders will take part in a discussion during the conference. “Big Data: Cultivating Insight from the Cloud to the Client” will feature: John Jansen, director of sales at Climate Corporation; Dr. Terry Griffin, and independent consultant formerly of the University of Arkansas and CrescoAg. LLC, Memphis, TN; and user-producer. The discussion will be moderated by Robert Merhle, Ph.D., CAC, Mid-South Ag Data, LLC.

“We are looking at this uniquely-qualified group to give us a definitive overview of Big Data so we can work together for the common goal of feeding the planet,” Brown says.

There will be discussion groups focusing on networking with producers, supervising client transitions, and managing effective communications with the next generation taking over the leadership roles on farms and ranches.

The luncheon program on October 21 will be a joint event between the Ag Consultants group and members of the St. Louis Agri Business Club. Jeanne Bernick, editor of Top Producer magazine, will address the combined audiences.

CrescoAg-Raytheon Develop New Generation of Ag Tech

Jamie JohansenAgribusiness, technology

CrescoAg Corporation and Raytheon Company have entered into an exclusive agreement to develop a new generation of agricultural technologies and analytics designed to help agriculture producers increase productivity and manage their operations more efficiently.

The CrescoAg-Raytheon collaboration will pair Raytheon’s demonstrated capabilities in engineering, climatic science, analytics, sensor technology and systems integration with CrescoAg’s agricultural domain knowledge, farming expertise and relationships within the network of crop input retailers and advisors. Utilizing mobile and advanced cloud computing, the CrescoAg-Raytheon collaboration will deliver information products and technologies that will help agronomic advisors support growers in their efforts to increase efficiency, productivity, profitability and crop sustainability.

“Raytheon has made major investments in research and development in analytics, climate science and Big Data computing for our customers in the defense and Intelligence Communities that have applications in farming and the agriculture community,” said Bill Jones, vice president for Systems Modernization and Sustainment at Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services.

“U.S. farmers are already adopting precision ag technologies at a record pace. This collaboration will provide them and their trusted advisors with new ways to combine farmers’ crop production activities with innovative climatic, remote sensing and analytical technologies,” said Barry Knight, president of CrescoAg.

Headquartered in Memphis, CrescoAg provides geospatial data management, data analysis, and precision agriculture services to agricultural retailers, crop advisors and companies across the United States. The company is committed to further expanding its analytical footprint into both domestic and international regions of agricultural importance.

Knight notes that CrescoAg is already collaborating with Raytheon on product concepts that will be tested during the 2014 growing season, with a goal of offering step-change improvements in how producers and their trusted agronomic advisors examine the contribution of seed, tillage practices and other agricultural inputs to their operations.

Nutrient Needs of Modern Soybean Varieties

Jamie JohansenAgribusiness, Dupont Pioneer, Research, Soybeans

Dupont PioneerGrower interest in management strategies for high-yielding soybeans is spurring DuPont Pioneer to fund research to determine if nutrient recommendations, established almost 50 years ago, should be adjusted to fit current genetics and agronomy practices.

Pioneer is providing support to Shawn Conley, University of Wisconsin-Extension soybean specialist, and Adam Gaspar, UW graduate student, to study nutrient usage in soybeans. The Pioneer Crop Management Research Awards (CMRA) project will take three years to complete.

Many of today’s nutrient recommendations for soybeans were derived from research conducted in the 1960s and 1970s, Conley explains. Soybean genetics and agronomy practices have changed significantly.

“The goal is to see if plants are using more nutrients or using them at different times than the older research indicates,” Conley says. “If nutrient needs are different today, we can develop up-to-date recommendations for growers.”

Conley and Gaspar will measure nutrient uptake multiple times during the growing season and assess where the plant is using each nutrient. The three-year project will require the collection and review of a large amount of data from fields in Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota—a process that Gaspar will spearhead.

Soybean production has changed since the research that led to current nutrient recommendations. Growers are planting earlier. In the best growing environments, they’re pushing yields up to and beyond 100 bushels per acre.

Conley and Gaspar will be studying nutrient uptake and nutrient movement in the plant. They’ll sample plant tissues (stems, petioles, leaves, pods, seeds and fallen leaves and petioles) to analyze nutrient partitioning throughout the growing season.

“We want to see if existing recommendations are in line or may need updating to help growers optimize soybean production,” Conley says. “Nutrient analysis is costly and time-consuming. This is a massive undertaking.”

Case IH Rolls Out Disk Handle Today’s Toughest Residue

Jamie JohansenAgribusiness, Case IH, Equipment

Screen Shot 2014-06-10 at 2.30.25 PMCase IH announces a new True-Tandem 345 Seed Bed Disk Harrow to handle farmers toughest residue. Building on a field-proven Case IH tillage legacy, new True-Tandem™ 345 delivers key advances to improve field finish, machine productivity and durability.

These features include:
– New optional rolling reel basket with active hydraulic down pressure for sizing clods and soil conditioning.
– Rugged Earth Metal blades for effectively sizing and mixing residue from today’s hardiest hybrids
– Optional three-bar coil tine harrow for excellent leveling and residue flow

“The True-Tandem 345 makes short work of Bt corn and other residue and leaves a level soil finish out the back in spring or fall,” says Tim Nix, Case IH Tillage Marketing Manager. “We love to put our disk harrows in the field next to any other brand and watch the growers react.”

Growers can now choose an optional rolling reel basket with active hydraulic down pressure to size any remaining large clods and further condition the soil ahead of the planter. The optional True-Tandem 345 basket uses the same patented, double-edge bent bar found on the Ecolo-Tiger® 875. The active hydraulic down pressure system on the basket maintains constant down pressure and gives farmers total control from the comfort of the cab.

Find more information on Case IH’s True-Tandem 345 Seed Bed Disk Harrow here.

New Bulk Storage Prompts Positive Results

Jamie JohansenAgribusiness

United SuppliersUnited Suppliers, Inc.® announced it has added three million gallons of storage in Iowa Falls. One of the main attractions for the Iowa Falls site is the rail spur access, which the company needed due to a loss in local rail service in Eldora, IA. Increase in supply demand is another reason that prompted United Suppliers to build the addition. This addition has increased local employment, recycling efforts and overall capacity.

Dave Hoyt, Operations Manager for United Suppliers, said there were three major objectives in purchasing the site for development: environmental safety, safe work environment and to operate efficiently.

“Being environmentally safe and guaranteeing a safe work environment are principals that United Suppliers adheres to in everything we do. We must protect our environment as well as make the work place desirable for employees,” Hoyt said.

This new effort almost doubles the storage capacity in Eldora, making it very exciting to employees since United Suppliers has been in the bulk storage business since 1989 and the need in the industry is only growing. While this endeavor is beneficial financially for United Suppliers it is also strengthening relationships with clients and manufacturers. Bulk agricultural chemical distribution has become a very specialized business and United Suppliers devotes itself exclusively to the Ag market.

With the increased storage United Suppliers has added five employees in Iowa Falls. The company also leases space to Tri-Rinse Inc. to recycle Ag plastic on site, which has also added employees. Additionally, Greenbelt Transportation, who hauls products in and out of the terminal, has added employees due to the increased volume.

Research & Practical Insights into Using Gypsum

Jamie JohansenAgribusiness, Education, Soil

logoKey industry experts will discuss the benefits of agricultural gypsum at the fourth annual Midwest Soil Improvement Symposium: Research and Practical Insights into Using Gypsum. The symposium offers advanced education on the use of agricultural gypsum for managing soil quality. It will take place at the Kansas State University Alumni Center on August 13, 2014, and is co-sponsored by GYPSOIL, a division of Beneficial Reuse Management (BRM), and the Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association (KARA).

“People are expressing an interest in using gypsum in agriculture to provide a source of nutrients and push the yield envelope. The Midwest Soil Improvement Symposium is a great opportunity for people to come together – as growers and consultants – to learn about gypsum, reasons for using it, the key benefits and the nutrient content. It’s also a great chance to hear presentations from renowned soil scientists,” says Dr. DeAnn Presley, Associate Professor of Environmental Soil Science and Management at Kansas State University.

A list of confirmed speakers can be found here. The symposium also includes panel discussions with experienced gypsum users, plus spreader set-up and application tips.

“Kansas prairie soils have great production potential, however, deteriorating soil structure, weather extremes, rainfall patterns and sulfur deficiencies are often problems. This educational event will discuss how gypsum provides sulfate sulfur, the readily-available form that satisfies crop needs. We’ll also talk about how gypsum balances calcium and other important nutrients leading to better soil structure, improved water use efficiency, nutrient utilization, biological activity and a cleaner environment,” says Ron Chamberlain, Lead Agronomist for GYPSOIL.

Register online or the day of the event. Lunch and parking are included with registration. An optional pre-conference spreading demonstration by J.B. Pearl Sales and Service is scheduled at the Kansas State University North Agronomy Farm. Continuing Education Unit (CEU) credits will be available. Cost for the symposium is $20 in advance or $25 at the door.

Growers Benefit from Nitrogen Management Tools

Jamie JohansenAgribusiness, Data, Dupont Pioneer, Nutrient Management

Screen Shot 2014-06-10 at 12.20.51 PMDuPont Pioneer has announced a first-of-its-kind collaboration with eight Midwestern land-grant universities through their respective soil nutrition management experts to help growers more sustainably maximize crop yields.

This collaboration will pull together expertise in different soil nutrition areas and generate field data to improve crop models used to enhance more efficient production practices. Each university will be able to significantly expand its field data collection and analysis.

The universities involved in this effort are Iowa State University, North Dakota State University, Purdue University, the University of Illinois-Urbana, the University of Minnesota, the University of Missouri, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Results of data collection and research from this collaboration offer opportunities to improve crop nitrogen management, both in pre-plant and in-season fertilizer applications. This advanced solution will significantly narrow the nitrogen profit loss gap by giving farmers a new ability to plan, monitor and adapt nitrogen management practices to maximize profitability and improve environmental quality in the face of climatic uncertainty.

The field data generated through this collaboration will enhance on-farm nitrogen management for farmers, as well as EncircaSM services, the new whole-farm decision solutions offering from Pioneer.

Chuck spoke with Dupont Pioneer’s Joe Foresman at the recent Corn Utilization Technology Conference about Encirca. “This summer we are rolling out Encirca Yield. We are going to be featuring nitrogen and seed management in this offering.

“With Encirca, we are going to provide tailored, brand neutral whole-farm solutions with an advisor for farmers. This will allow us to move away from just the maps to actually developing new management zones in the field.”

The information platform, Encirca View, was announced at this year’s Commodity Classic. It is a crop observation tool that a farmer can download from the Apple Store or Android Marketplace.

Listen to Chuck’s complete interview with Joe and learn more about Encirca here: [wpaudio url=”http://www.zimmcomm.biz/ncga/cutc-14-foresman.mp3″ text=”Interview with Joe Foresman”]

2014 CUTC Photo Album

Genome Database to Aid Fruit Growers & Scientists

Jamie JohansenAgribusiness, Fruit, Herbicides

Screen Shot 2014-06-10 at 10.33.20 AMScientists and growers can use a new genome database developed in part by University of Florida researchers to help make fruit trees more disease and pest resistant and enhance crop quality.

Researchers who study citrus, rosaceae and vaccinium crops will be the primary users of the portal, said Mercy Olmstead, assistant professor of horticultural sciences at UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, but agricultural producers will also reap the benefits. Rosaceae include apples, cherries, peaches, strawberries, pears and ornamental roses. Vaccinium fruits include blueberries and cranberries.

Fred Gmitter, a genetics and breeding professor at the Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred and Jim Olmstead, assistant professor of horticultural sciences, both also at UF/IFAS, helped create what they and other scientists are calling the Tree Fruit Genome Database Resources.

The portal, will help explain the genetic database and show how the information can be used to grow better fruit, Mercy Olmstead said.

The website provides data about 22 horticultural crops: almond, apple, apricot, blackberry, blueberry, cherry, clementine, cranberry, grapefruit, lemon, lime, mandarin, nectarine, orange, peach, pear, plum, pummelo, raspberry, rose, strawberry and tangerine. It also features videos and articles that highlight the role genomics, breeding and these databases play in solving industry problems in fruit production.

“It’s important that growers and industry stakeholders understand how these data can be used to solve production issues, improve breeding efforts and find sources of disease and pest resistance,” she said. “This website will help to connect the dots and show how scientists are taking genetic data and improving fruit varieties for sustainable production.”

Researchers at UF/IFAS, Washington State, Clemson, North Carolina State and Cornell universities created the new website and will keep it updated.

USDA Programs Help Land and Beginning Farmers

Cindy ZimmermanConservation, USDA

usda-logoFarmers, ranchers and landowners committed to protecting and conserving environmentally sensitive land may sign up for USDA’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) starting today. In addition, retiring farmers enrolled in CRP can receive incentives to transfer a portion of their land to beginning, disadvantaged or veteran farmers through the Transition Incentives Program (TIP).

“The average age of farmers and ranchers in the United States is 58 years, and twice as many are 65 or older compared to those 45 or younger,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “The cost of buying land is one of the biggest barriers to many interested in getting started in agriculture. The Transition Incentives Program is very useful as we work to help new farmers and ranchers get started.”

The Conservation Reserve Program provides incentives to producers who utilize conservation methods on environmentally-sensitive lands. For example, farmers are monetarily compensated for establishing long-term vegetative species, such as approved grasses or trees (known as “covers”) to control soil erosion, improve water quality, and enhance wildlife habitat.

Read more here from USDA.

New Holland Donation to Fisher House Foundation

Cindy ZimmermanAgribusiness, New Holland

New Holland Fisher HouseNew Holland, an AgWired sponsor, just presented another check to the Fisher House Foundation – $57,800! This check was presented on June 3 during a groundbreaking ceremony for the newest Fisher House, which will open on the grounds of the Milwaukee VA Medical Center. In the photo you can see Paul Wade, New Holland Construction Marketing Manager (center), Fisher House Foundation Chairman/CEO Ken Fisher (left), and President David Coker (right).

The check represented the donation for Fisher House Foundation accrued from New Holland’s 2013 True Blue Salute program. New Holland will continue the tradition of honoring military heroes during its 2014 True Blue Salute. From Memorial Day, May 26, 2014, and continuing through the celebration of Independence Day on July 5, 2014, New Holland will again make charitable donations to the Fisher House Foundation and extend a special equipment offer to active, reserve and retired military, first responders, and their immediate family members. Since January 2012, New Holland has raised over $1.2 million for the Fisher House Foundation through True Blue Salute programs.