Precision Lab Introduces Erase™ Spray System Cleaner

Jamie JohansenAgribusiness, Precision Labs

Before Erase - Dry Residue Comparison_2-1Whether they spray professionally or spray just their own acres, applicators know that a clean spray tank alone is no guarantee to preventing cross-contamination and crop injury. Crop injuring residues can build up in hoses, filters, end caps and other nooks where ordinary tank cleaners cannot effectively clean. Erase™ Spray System Cleaner from Precision Laboratories works throughout the system to penetrate, solubilize and emulsify hard-to-remove residues while protecting equipment with corrosion inhibitors.

After Erase - Dry Residue Comparison_2-1“Modern sprayers offer a lot of places for buildup to hide,” said Jim Reiss, vice president of Agricultural Chemistries at Precision Laboratories. “Erase was formulated to attack the residues left behind from complex tank mixes. Combined with proper cleanout technique, Erase virtually eliminates the risk of cross-contamination that leads to crop injury complaints, yield loss and a damaged reputation as a professional applicator.”

With a use rate of just two quarts per 100 gallons of rinse water, Erase is an easy to use and economical solution.

“There is a lot more to a sprayer system than just the tank,” Reiss said. “Applicators will need to utilize better system cleaning technology and technique to avoid cross-contamination in the future. Erase is the cleaning technology they need to get a good start on effective spray system cleanouts.”

The Power of AgFiniti

Melissa SandfortAg Leader, Insights Weekly

Insights WeeklyIt seems like every year it gets harder and harder to meet up with the consultant to grab your planting or seeding prescriptions; or if they do make it into our hands, the USB seems to get forgotten on the kitchen table.

The good news is, with the AgFiniti cloud platform, access to your valuable prescription and setup files is easier than ever! Instead of running into town to grab your files, or waiting for your consultant to get them to you, simply transfer them wirelessly, directly from the field!

AgFiniti took a unique approach in terms of wireless connectivity, Ag Leader provides the platform, and allows you to use the wireless connection that works best for you! Many already have a wireless solution that will work with AgFiniti. If you have a smart phone or tablet with a cellular data plan, you may have a device that is capable of becoming a “personal hotspot”. These devices can turn their cellular data connection into a Wi-Fi signal for other devices to connect to. Or, if your operation has a wireless network that’s accessible from the field, office, or shop, you can easily connect your Ag Leader display’s to your AgFiniti account without having to utilize cellular data at all.

AgFiniti-700x490Connect your Ag Leader display to your secure AgFiniti account to access prescriptions, guidance lines and display setup files without having to keep track of a USB! As the season progresses, wirelessly send your as-applied data back to your office or to your trusted advisor, without the hassle of managing multiple USB’s and spending valuable time transferring field data, making data management quick and easy.

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Hick Chick Chat on Sustainable Farming

Leah GuffeyAudio, Corn, Hick Chick Chat, Monsanto, sustainability, water

hick-chickAt the recent Walmart Sustainable Products Expo, Monsanto made two significant commitments to help address critical challenges in the areas of water and nutrient efficiency. 

In making the announcement, Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant asked a farmer leader to join him and talk about what these commitments mean for the agriculture community. Leon Corzine is an Assumption, Illinois farmer and past National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) president. Listen to what Leon had to say, particularly about how precision technology is helping farmers be more efficient and “increase productivity while lowering our environmental footprint.”

[wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/podcast/hickchickchat-14-corzine.mp3″ text=”Hick Chick Chat with Leon Corzine, former NCGA president”]

Join in the conversation on Twitter and on Facebook

Conservation Practices for Lesser Prairie-Chickens

Jamie JohansenAg Group, Conservation, USDA

usda-logoThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of the Interior today announced that farmers, ranchers and landowners implementing Farm Service Agency (FSA) Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) practices intended to protect and increase lesser prairie-chicken populations will not be subject to additional regulations as a result of the species’ listing as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported that last year, the range-wide population of the lesser prairie-chicken declined to a record low of 17,616 birds, an almost 50 percent reduction from the 2012 population estimate. Producers participating in CRP in lesser prairie-chicken states are planting native grasses and vegetation that will enhance nesting and brooding habitats, and taking other steps to help restore the declining lesser prairie-chicken population. Today’s announcement provides that producers who voluntarily engage in practices to protect the lesser prairie-chicken will not be subject to additional regulations related to protecting the species.

“USDA’s partnerships with farmers, ranchers, producers and landowners in voluntary initiatives like the Conservation Reserve Program are critically important and are yielding real results,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “Today’s announcement gives producers who remain engaged in responsible conservation plans the certainty that they are in compliance with the new listing of the lesser prairie-chicken.”

“We applaud USDA for their commitment to provide incentives for voluntary conservation,” said Interior Secretary Sally Jewell. “With the majority of the lesser prairie-chicken’s habitat on private lands, we all need to work together to ensure the conservation of the species and the economic well-being of ranchers and farmers across the species’ range.”

FSA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service worked together to develop a Biological Opinion to ensure CRP compliance with Endangered Species Act provisions. This Biological Opinion gives predictability to CRP participants who voluntarily apply protective conservation practices for the lesser prairie-chicken so additional regulations may be unnecessary in the future. This gives agricultural producers using proactive conservation practices confidence that they can maintain traditional farming and ranching activities.

The final rule for listing the lesser prairie-chicken as a threatened species and the special rule limiting regulatory impacts on landowners and businesses because of this listing will be effective May 12, 2014. Learn more about the threatened lesser prairie-chicken.

NCGA Addition Brings Expertise & Enthusiasm

Jamie JohansenAg Group, Corn, NCGA

Screen Shot 2014-05-08 at 2.31.12 PMThe National Corn Growers Association welcomes Dr. Nick Goeser who joins the organization as Manager of Soil Health and Sustainability. Goeser, a multi-faceted scientists and educator, brings nearly a decade of experience in the agricultural industry and academic research to the position.

“Nick is an incredibly valuable addition to our team, and we are excited utilizing his deep knowledge of agronomy and field research to our new Soil Health Partnership program,” said Director of Production, Stewardship and Livestock Max Starbuck. “He is uniquely suited to the position because, in addition to his scientific achievements, Nick has already developed an extensive understanding of the many issues which impact farmers in relation to soil health and has a wealth of experience interacting with the many stakeholders necessary to ensure the success of this exciting new venture.”

Goeser most recently worked for Monsanto as a Technology Development Representative based out of Arlington, Wisconsin. He previously worked as an agronomist and crop manager and at the University of Wisconsin – Madison as a Graduate Research Assistant in both Agronomy and Horticulture.

In his new position, Goeser will be responsible for administrating the Soil Health Partnership. SHP is a five-year initiative dedicated to improving soil health through a series of demonstration farms throughout the Midwest. The Partnership is an NCGA initative with generous support from Monsanto and the Walton Family Foundation.

DuPont Pioneer Collects Valuable Data

Jamie JohansenAgribusiness, Data, Dupont Pioneer

Dupont PioneerDuPont Pioneer researchers use sophisticated, state-of-the-art equipment to plant, manage, harvest and collect data from test plots. Doing so leads to improved hybrids and varieties for growers.

“We’re using specialized equipment for precommercial testing and product development,” says Jan Jackson, DuPont Pioneer IMPACT field-testing lead. “We can more effectively identify the best products for grower environments and support the Pioneer sales team in providing growers with the right product for the right acre.”

The IMPACT™ (Intensively Managed Product Advancement Characterization and Training) trial program provides local data to help Pioneer with decisions on crop genetics. Plots allow researchers to test dozens of Pioneer® brand corn hybrids and soybean varieties that are candidates for commercialization. The large number of local plots means Pioneer researchers can learn how products perform in a wide variety of growing environments. Data from these plots show which products offer the best performance in a given environment, allowing Pioneer to bring only the best products to market for growers.

“We need to extract high-quality data on each hybrid or variety we’re testing,” Jackson says. “It’s not just planters and combines: we’re using specialized equipment for preparing and managing seed before planting, and for collecting and analyzing complex data at harvest.”

Pioneer uses the data to make precommercial decisions about which products to keep or cull. Information pulled from test plots also helps researchers develop agronomic trait scores for each.

Researchers use four- and eight-row planters. The planters are the perfect size to establish thousands of test fields across North America. Row width may vary between 30-, 36-, 38- or 40-inch row spacing or require planting on soil ridges depending on geography, grower preference and field management. For these areas, research must use special planters with telescoping row units to be able to adjust to the different row width of each grower cooperator.

“We test in thousands of North American fields to understand local environments and how each product performs in those environments,” Jackson says. “We need high uniformity within the field to accurately separate genetic differences. At the same time, we need diverse field environments on a field-to-field basis.”

“We start collecting information on growth and plant development as soon as the plant emerges,” Jackson says. “When we decide to advance a product, we must know how it performs in a wide array of conditions.”

Is Climate Change Impacting Agriculture?

Jamie JohansenZimmPoll

New Holland ZimmPollOur latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “What is the MOST important part of sustainability?”

The environment is the number one thing on pollers mind when it comes to sustainability. The economy came in with a close second. Those resources and are utilized daily when it comes to agriculture. What are you doing to make them more sustainable?

Our poll results:

  • Environmental – 35%
  • Economic – 28%
  • Human resources -5%
  • Public policy – 5%
  • Inputs – 0%
  • Energy – 12%
  • Other – 15%

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “Is climate change impacting agriculture?”

The White House released a sweeping climate change assessment this week that has a large section on how agriculture is being impacted. What do you think about that?

ASA Pushes for Broad Land Grant Coalition

Jamie JohansenAg Group, ASA, Farm Bill, Soybeans, USDA

American Soybean AssociationIn a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack this morning, the American Soybean Association (ASA) and six other national farm groups urged USDA to consider the needs of soybean growers and growers of all crops when awarding funds included in the 2014 Farm Bill to land grant universities for the development of websites and web-based tools to assist producers in deciding which of the new law’s farm programs to sign up for.

“Given the complexity of choices in the commodity and crop insurance titles of the farm bill, these tools will be critical for producers in our organizations to make well-informed decisions,” wrote the groups in the letter. “It is important that academic institutions representing different regional views on farm programs participate in this work. As a result, we urge you to select a lead institution possessing substantial experience with revenue-based risk management tools and representing a broad-based, national consortium of land-grant universities. In order to be effective, these web-based decision tools will need to come from institutions that have both the confidence of producers and a strong familiarity with the cropping practices and farm economics of the Midwest and northern Great Plains, which have the majority of acres subject to program decisions.”

The letter came following the Senate Agriculture Committee’s hearing this morning on USDA’s implementation of the farm bill, and included the American Farm Bureau Federation, National Association of Wheat Growers, National Barley Growers Association, National Corn Growers Association, the National Sunflower Association and the U.S. Canola Association, in addition to ASA. USDA anticipates making its awards for website development and other decision aids on May 22, with the final tools expected to be in place by late summer.

Study Finds High Value of Rice Agriculture for Wildlife

Jamie JohansenAg Group, Conservation, Rice

Screen Shot 2014-05-08 at 11.07.33 AMThere’s no doubt that rice, waterfowl and wetland habitats work cohesively to form a perfect ecosystem, and a recently published report puts a monetary value on those existing rice lands. Authored by Ducks Unlimited scientists for The Rice Foundation, the study found that the cost of attempting to replace rice lands with natural wetland habitat would exceed $3.5 billion.

“I’ve been in the rice business for more than three decades, and know firsthand that rice agriculture is a multifunctional agro-ecosystem,” said DU President George Dunklin. “In addition to nutritious food for people, rice lands provide critical habitat for waterfowl and countless other migratory birds and wetland-dependent species.”

All three rice-growing regions of the United States – the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV), Gulf Coast and California’s Central Valley– overlap directly with the continent’s most important waterfowl wintering grounds.

“Rice production and farming are important components to ensuring we meet the population goals set forth in the North American Waterfowl Management Plan,” said DU CEO Dale Hall. “This study is an excellent tool we can utilize to show policymakers and waterfowl managers just how critical rice lands are to waterfowl populations.”

According to the study, more than 40 percent of the food resources available to wintering dabbling ducks along the Central Valley and Gulf Coast derive from flooded rice fields. The values for geese are higher because of dry-land feeding.Read More

iCropTrak Introduces 60 Second Soil Zoning

Cindy ZimmermanCropTrak, Software, Soil, Soil Sampling, technology

icrop-ssurgoiCropTrak has released a new mobile farming app with the ability to create a new grower, a new farm, add CLU field boundaries, and soil zones in as little as 60 seconds on an iPad without the need of a desktop or cloud server.

According to Cogent 3D president Aaron Hutchinson, this new application means that for the first time, even small and medium sized farmers have access to simple technology to track their fields using zones.

Farmers can use iCropTrak Soil to determine a field’s most typical soil types for making better seed selection and application decisions. Visually see where the soil changes in your fields to make better soil sampling decisions. Know what was applied to every field and how your different soils produce. Even use it to evaluate new leases since you can quickly look at the soil productivity potential for the land against your other fields in seconds.

Subscriptions start at just $250 per year, including native mobile app, private cloud, report engine, support, and all upgrades for one price. To learn more about iCropTrak visit www.iCropTrak.com or schedule a live web demo at
Contact@Cogent3D.com.