Farm Bill Expires, So Do Conservation Programs

John DavisAFBF, Conservation, Farm Bill, Government

afbf-logoAs Congress and the President wrestle over the budget and whether or not it should be tied to the Affordable Care Act, aka “Obamacare,” not only has the government shut down, but farm programs have come to a halt as the one-year extension of the last Farm Bill expired on Oct. 1. And that has meant some key conservation programs, such as the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, are not taking any new sign-ups.

While about 90 percent of the country, including probably a similar number of farmers and ranchers, is frustrated with Congress, the American Farm Bureau Federation is heaping scorn on all sides for not even moving the new farm bill to the conference process and issued this statement from AFBF President Bob Stallman.

“Farm Bureau members are deeply concerned over the political challenges that are making it next to impossible for Congress to reach a compromise on important legislation, while restoring fiscal order and setting a responsible course to get the federal budget back on track. Adding to our frustration, both the House and Senate versions of the farm bill would provide significant savings that could be applied toward reducing the federal deficit.

“Now that the 2008 farm bill extension has expired, farmers once again are left with uncertainty as to the safety net and risk management tools that are important in planning for next year’s crop. And come January, consumers once again face the impact of high food costs as decades-old farm policy kicks in.

“Both the House and Senate agriculture committees have worked hard to put together bipartisan packages that would deliver solid safety net options and comprehensive risk management tools for farmers and ranchers. It is past time for Congress to let these two committees get back to what they do best – work together in a bipartisan fashion to forge the best new farm bill possible in today’s tough political environment.”

Stallman encouraged Congress and Obama to start working together to fix the Nation’s budget and get a new farm bill, including its conservation provisions, approved.

Digi-Star Emphasizes Precision in New Brand Image

John DavisAgribusiness

DigiStar_Logo1Wisconsin-based Digi-Star, a company specializing in precision equipment for feed management, livestock weighing, harvesting technology, planting solutions and nutrient management, unveiled a new brand image. This company news release says the new logo with the tagline “Precisely,” represents Digi-Star’s continued goal of providing customers with valuable data that helps them make profitable management decisions and was debuted at this week’s World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wis.

“For more than three decades, we have worked to provide producers with tools that make their jobs easier and profitability more achievable. This new brand image highlights a tool that supports both of these goals; that tool is precision,” says Kevin Klubertanz, general manager of Digi-Star.

Digi-Star has led the agriculture industry in precision technology for several years, beginning with improving the efficiency of cattle feeding with scales on TMR mixers. Since then, Digi-Star has created software solutions that provide precise data for feed, harvesting, planting and nutrient management and additional technology for livestock weighing.

Klubertanz went on to say they furthered their commitment to producers by recently acquiring RDS Technology, a United Kingdom-based company specializing in agriculture and mobile machinery. This expansion of the Digi-Star portfolio includes precision technology for: sprayer rate control, yield monitoring, drill control, area measurement and vehicle monitoring.

“Our goal is to bring precise, accurate and valuable insights to livestock producers and crop growers, because this precision helps them to better manage their operations,” says Klubertanz. “Customers can feel confident when they purchase products with the Digi-Star logo that they are investing in products that have been built with the highest standard of quality.”

Animal Rights or Animal Welfare?

Talia GoesZimmPoll

zp-nhOur latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “What is your favorite rodeo event?” It looks like the majority of you are most entertained by the bull riding. Maybe it has just that extra thrill to see a cowboy ride such a huge animal!

Our poll results:
• Bull Riding 48%
• Barrel Racing 19%
• Bareback Riding 10%
• Tie-Down Roping 10%
• Team Roping 5%
• Steer Wrestling 5%
• Other 5%
“Wild Horse Race”
• Saddle Bronc 0%

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “Is there a difference between animal welfare and animal rights?” Which term is the best to use do you think? Or do they mean the same thing? Let us know!

Precision.AgWired.com Podcast: The future of corn planting

Meghan GrebnerAg Leader, agronomy, Farmers, Planting, Precision Pays Podcast, seed, technology

pp-podcastOver a year ago we talked about a new technology that would allow growers to plant offensive and defensive corn hybrids within the same field.  Last year Jason Webster with Beck’s Hybrids planted his first field with the Variable Hybrid Planter.  This year he has more trials and more acres.

In this Precision.AgWired.com Podcast, sponsored by Ag Leader Technology we’ll find out what they learned from last year and what he’s doing to make farmers excited about the future of agricultural technologies like this one.

[wpaudio url=”http://precision.agwired.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/09/PPP-0913.mp3″ text=”Precision.AgWired.com Podcast”]

The Precision.AgWired.com Podcast is sponsored by Ag Leader Technology.

New Holland Helping Farmers and Ethanol

Cindy ZimmermanAudio, Corn, Equipment, Ethanol, New Holland

cnh-club-kacherFarmers who provide corn for ethanol plants can get special discounts on New Holland equipment and help the ethanol industry at the same time.

New Holland district sales manager Bob Kacher says their American Ethanol Producers Club is an initiative they developed two years ago with Growth Energy to help both growers and the ethanol industry. “It offers the opportunity to reinvest back into the ethanol industry through the purchase of New Holland products,” he explained during an event last week at the Absolute Energy biorefinery near Lyle, Minnesota. “The producers are part of the club by their contracts and the amount of grain they sell to the ethanol producing plants and that membership allows them discounts off New Holland equipment that they purchase through their local dealer, and in turn New Holland reinvests back into the support and promotion of ethanol.”

Producers can qualify for club membership if they have a current contract with an ethanol plant for at least 10,000 bushels, supply at least 50,000 bushels per year or purchase at least 280 tons of distillers grain, or be a board member or major investor in an ethanol plant. Bob suggests producers contact their local ethanol plant or Growth Energy for more information.

Find out more in this interview: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/new-holland/newholland-kacher.mp3″ text=”Interview with Bob Kacher, New Holland”]
New Holland American Ethanol Producers Club photo album

Slow Start to Harvest in Central Illinois

Leah GuffeyAudio, Harvesting

_DSC2517Harvest is off to a slow start in Central Illinois.  It’s the final week of September and around my neck of the woods only a few fields have been shelled.  It’s getting cool and dry here but so far USDA reports that harvest is only 13% complete compared to almost 70& this time a year ago.  

With harvest running a little later than normal this year, precision technology can make the job faster and smoother. I stopped by the Bell Farm outside of Athens, Illinois last week and spoke with Coady Bell, who along with his brother and mom farm about 1600 acres. He told me how precision planting helps at harvest, and how gathering data on application and yield carry over from one year to the next. [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/harvest-13-coady-bell.mp3″ text=”Interview with Coady Bell”]

PLANTS Database Provides Answers

Talia GoesAgribusiness, USDA

plants_photo_bannerRecently the PLANTS website crossed a milestone with the uploading of its 50,000th image. The database, managed by the National Plant Data Team at the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service’s East National Technology Support Center, hosts images of plants that grow in the U.S. and its territories.

The PLANTS site is one of USDA’s most frequently visited websites.

Besides images, PLANTS provides basic information on plants, including scientific names and distribution. It is used worldwide by scientists, educators, conservationists, students, farmers, horticulturists and others. All of this information assists people in identifying plants with the correct scientific names.

The correct identification of plants can be a serious business. For example, farmers and gardeners need to be able to properly identify weeds so they can take the appropriate steps to control them. Plant identification could even mean the difference between life and death. For example, edible parsley (Petroselinum crispum) and carrot (Daucus carota) are closely related and are similar in appearance to water hemlock (Cicuta maculata) and poison hemlock (Conium maculatum), two species that can be fatal if eaten.

Better Test for Glyphosate Resistant Cotton Weeds

John DavisCotton, USDA

Cotton pickerA USDA Agricultural Research Service scientist is working with Monsanto to develop a kit that cotton growers could use to determine whether weeds in their fields are glyphosate resistant. Don Parker, Manager of Integrated Pest Management for the National Cotton Council, explains that early detection is key in managing glyphosate-resistant weeds.

“If a resistant weed is detected early, alternative measures can be employed to try to prevent the spread of that resistance,” he says.

Parker says scientists can determine the resistance to glyphosate in a weed by measuring the amount of the compound shikimate in the tissue. Glyphosate interferes with the production of aromatic amino acids through the shikimate pathways in weeds. “Glyphosate disrupts this pathway, causing shikimate to accumulate so plants susceptible to glyphosate will have high levels of shikimate, while resistant plants will not.”

He says the current detection methods for detecting shikimate takes sophisticated lab work that can take weeks. But this new method can return results in about 24 hours.

SMS Basic/Advanced v13.0 and SMS Mobile v7.0 Released!

Melissa SandfortAg Leader, Insights Weekly

Insights WeeklyAg Leader is proud to announce the release of SMS Basic/Advanced v13.0 and SMS Mobile v7.0. Here are just a few items that are included in this update:
• Enhanced support for Ag Leader® Integra and Versa™ displays; as well as for ISO 11783 displays and displays from CNH®, John Deere™, and Precision Planting.
• Added support for Ag Leader Compass™ displays
• Added support for importing LIDAR elevation data
• Added option to show direction arrows for heading/degree based maps
• Added option to show surface contour lines
• Enhanced Water Management tools
• Enhanced 3D Terrain View and Terrain Analysis
• …and many more. To learn more about this update, you can find the release notes by clicking here.

Luke James, Ag Leader Software Sales Manager, explains the new features and updates in more detail for both the Basic and Advanced software.

[wpaudio url=”http://agwired.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/LukeSMSv13A.mp3″ text=”Listen to James explain”]

James explains how growers can get the v13 update.

[wpaudio url=”http://agwired.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/LukeSMSv13B.mp3″ text=”Listen to James explain”]

If you have any questions about the update process please contact Technical Support at (515)232-5363 or by email at SMSsupport@agleader.com.

Become a fan of Ag Leader on Facebook today, and get the latest precision ag videos on the YouTube channel. For more information about Ag Leader products and services, or to visit the blog site, go to www.agleader.com.

What Rodeo Event Is Your Favorite?

Melissa SandfortZimmPoll

zp-nhOur latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “Planning to buy new iPhone or upgrade?”

Our poll results:
· Happy with my current iPhone 25%
· Still using a dumb phone 25%
· Not an iPhone fan 17%
· Upgrading to 5S 17%
· Buying 1st iPhone – either one 8%
· Other 8%
· Upgrading to 5C 0%

It looks like the majority of you are satisfied with what your current phone has to offer, or still using what you’re comfortable with. Leave the bells and whistles for someone else you say!

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “What is your favorite rodeo event?” What really gets your heart racing (besides the cowboys and cowgirls)? Do you show up early for the roping or stay late for the bull riding? Let us know!