WEDA Acquires Friend Management Systems™

Agribusiness, AgWired Precision, Audio, Equipment, John Deere, WEDA

Western Equipment Dealers Association (WEDA) announced today that it is acquiring Friend Management Systems™ (FMS), pairing two leading providers of management consulting and professional development services for equipment dealers.

Friend Management is a Canadian-based management consulting firm providing leadership development and peer-to-peer learning to agricultural, consumer, and golf equipment dealerships in Canada, United States and Australia. The company is also John Deere’s recommended provider of Leadership Dealer Performance Groups and provides aftermarket and golf distributor specific leadership groups.

After 30 years of providing management and financial advice and peer group facilitation to John Deere dealer groups, Doug Friend decided it was the right time to look at succession. “I am pleased to join with WEDA,” said Friend. “Our consolidated energies will make us well-positioned to offer deeper client consultative analysis, broader scope of products and enhanced geographical footprint, to the already large ($6 Billion annual sales) data base.”

Dealer Institute, one of WEDA’s largest divisions, provides consulting, education and training to dealers so the addition of FMS will expand the suite of services to their members.

“We’re delighted with the opportunities presented by fusing our collective consultative approaches with Friend Management’s technology and support,” said WEDA CEO John Schmeiser. “This joining of talent not only brings leading-edge expertise to our association but will further expand on our ability to offer specialized experience and insight that dealers rely on for strategizing and growing their business.”

Schmeiser adds that Boyd Hofmann, former partner in a large multi-store John Deere dealership, will also join WEDA and Dealer Institute and will focus on the facilitation of the current Large Ag and Large Turf Dealer Performance Groups as part of this transition.

In this interview, Schmeiser explains how this move enhances the offerings of WEDA Business Management Services to benefit the equipment dealer industry. Interview with WEDA CEO John Schmeiser

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For more information about Friend Management Systems™, visit the website DealerInstitute.org.

Precision Ag Bytes 4/11

AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes

  • Cytozyme Laboratories, Inc. has announced the recent opening of a Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprise office in Beijing, China, to improve its business processes and meet the growing demands of consumers throughout the region.
  • The LG Seeds brand announces the launch of a new Technical Team Agronomist role. This role will provide technical support services to LG Seeds’ sales team, customers, and dealers. These individuals will leverage the product knowledge that already exists among AgReliant Genetics’ six regional brand agronomy teams making up the new LG Seeds brand. The team will focus on supporting sales growth and strategic brand initiatives, including the company’s digital ag platform, Advantage Acre.
  • Western Growers and Radicle Growth have partnered to create The Radicle Automation Challenge, a competition where AgTech automation entrepreneurs are eligible to compete for a minimum of $250,000 in investment capital and exclusive access to farm acreage to pilot their technologies. Four finalists will be chosen to showcase their technologies in front of a group of investors, corporate partners and agribusiness experts and the winner will be announced during the Western Growers Innovation Showcase Dinner at the Forbes AgTech Summit on June 26, 2018.
  • Syngenta is offering members of the ag community a way to honor those individuals who have ignited their ag passion the most. The application period is now open for the annual #RootedinAg contest. In exchange for sharing their stories, participants will have a chance to be named one of five finalists, who will each receive mini touch-screen tablets and have their inspirational stories featured on the Syngenta Thrive website. From those finalists, one grand prizewinner will receive a $500 gift card and have their story published in Thrive magazine, plus Syngenta will make a $1,000 donation in the winner’s name to a local charity or civic organization.
  • AgVend, the leader in agricultural eCommerce, announces the close of a $1.75m seed fundraising round led by Iowa native Drew Oetting at 8VC.
  • Agrian Inc. continues to expand internationally, announcing that they will bring their comprehensive agriculture software platform to Brazilian agronomists, growers, retailers and food processors. To spearhead efforts in the new territory, Agrian has hired Ed Siatti as the senior sales director, Brazil.

Equipment Dealers Fighting Tax Policy Changes

AgWired Precision, Audio, Equipment, WEDA

The 2018 Oklahoma state legislature has seen several bills this session that seek to increase revenue by making tax policy changes that would impact the agriculture industry at an already difficult time, and the Western Equipment Dealers Association (WEDA) says they expect more such challenges in the future.

WEDA Vice President of Government Affairs Eric Wareham explains that the Oklahoma legislature faced a $400-600 million projected budget gap at the beginning of this year. “Once again legislators have taken to turning over every rock to raise revenue, and the teacher walkout has upped the ante on finding funding sources,” said Wareham.

In Oklahoma, there have been three major bills this legislative session that would impact both farmers and farm equipment dealers. Wareham says one bill would have sunset all tax credits and exemptions by 2021, including the farm equipment sales tax exemption. Another bill would have eliminated the ag sales tax exemption for purchases under $25,000, and the third would repeal the state capital gains exemption. The bills have all been either changed, killed or stalled, thanks to the efforts of WEDA and others.

Wareham says other states, such as Kansas and Oregon, have attempted to take similar actions as commodity prices have dropped in the past few years. “Over the past 4-5 years, net farm income has reduced by 50 percent and therefore (states) are not receiving the money from farmers because they’re just not making it.” But Wareham says trying to “tax your way out of a hole by increasing taxes on the hardest hit segment of the economy” to quote Winston Churchill “that’s like standing in a bucket and trying to pull yourself up by the handles.”

In this interview, Wareham provides an update on the Oklahoma legislation, and comments on the potential for more challenges in the future and how such actions would impact an already depressed farm economy. Interview with WEDA Vice President of Government Affairs Eric Wareham

Deere’s Lagemann New AEM Vice Chair

AEM, AgWired Precision, Audio, CNH, John Deere

John D. Lagemann is the new Vice Chair of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), filling the unexpired officer term of recently retired Jim Walker of CNH Industrial. Lagemann is Deere & Co. Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing-Regions 3 & 4. Lagemann has served in AEM leadership roles since 2001.

AEM has also elected CNH Industrial’s Scott Harris to its Board of Directors, filling Walker’s unexpired 2018 Board term.

“We are very pleased to announce John’s expanded leadership of AEM and welcome Scott to its Board of Directors. Their knowledge and dedication exemplify the active company participation that underpins AEM’s success and growth for its members, the equipment industry and the overall agriculture and construction-related sectors,” said Dennis Slater, AEM president. “We also take this opportunity to publicly thank Jim Walker for his years of leadership as an AEM officer and Board member, and his support of the AEM staff.”

Listen to this interview with Lagemann at the 2017 Commodity Classic where he represented AEM as Agriculture Chair: Interview with John Lagemann, John Deere

Credenz Soybeans Building on Strong History

AgWired Precision, Audio, Bayer, Commodity Classic, Soybean

Bayer CropScience is seeing rapid growth in the use of its Credenz soybean varieties. In 2018, Credenz sales broke into the top ten out of more than 150 soybean brands available in the United States.

The strength of the Credenz soybean brand continues to be the fact that it is based on the LibertyLink system, which is outstanding for both weed control and elite genetics, according to Bayer agronomist Monty Malone.

“Going forward, Credenz will remain the same focus of being grower choice. Any trait platform that is in need that can serve as a tool to a grower, we will definitely try to provide that within the Credenz brand,” said Malone, who noted that over 90 percent of the Credenz portfolio is enabled by Liberty.

Malone was at the 2018 Commodity Classic in Anaheim.

Listen to Jamie’s interview with Monty here: Interview with Monty Malone, Bayer – Credenz History

Bayer at 2018 Commodity Classic Photo Album

Photos, video, and audio interviews from Bayer at Commodity Classic Bayer sponsor logo

Nebraska Water for Food at 8th World Water Forum in Brazil

AgWired Precision, Audio, International, Irrigation, water, Water for Food

The 8th World Water Forum, held in Brazil last month, drew more than 20,000 participants from 170 countries to focus on the challenges and solutions to ensuring water security around the world. The Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska (DWFI) coordinated the Water for Food track of sessions with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

The institute organized a High Level Panel on Water for Food, moderated by DWFI executive director Peter G. McCornick, featuring international leaders who shared their views and experiences on ways organizations and nations can work together to improve food security and successful farming production, conserve natural resources and mitigate the effects of climate variability.

“We are building awareness of the urgent importance of looking at water issues differently, especially when it comes to agriculture,” said McCornick. “If we’re not including agriculture in the water security challenge, we’re ignoring 70 percent of the equation, and missing the opportunity to increase resilience in our food systems. Nebraska has a lot of expertise to share, as well as a lot to gain through our involvement with the many partners participating in the World Water Forum – developing potential projects that will further our goal of ensuring water and food security.”

DWFI also held a side event to discuss ways in which organizations can support farmer-led agricultural production, including access to irrigation for small-scale farms.

Listen to my interview with McCornick here: Interview with Peter McCornick, Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute

Precision Ag Bytes 4/4

AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes

  • Dr. Henry Nguyen, a Curators’ distinguished professor of plant sciences in the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources, has employed NRGene‘s DeNovoMAGICTM to assemble two genomes of soybean: “Lee,” a Glycine max variety, and a Glycine soja accession PI 483463. In addition to the United Soybean Board, funding for the sequencing project was provided by three private companies: Bayer CropScience, DOW AgroSciences and Monsanto.
  • Semtech Corporation, a supplier of high performance analog and mixed-signal semiconductors and advanced algorithms, announced that Teralytic, a manufacturer of wireless soil sensors, implemented LoRa devices and wireless radio frequency technology (LoRa Technology) in its wireless sensor to detect nitrogen, phosphate and potassium (NPK) levels in soil to help farmers reduce waste and to improve crop yields. Teralytic launched its LoRa-enabled NPK soil sensor at the recent World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit in San Francisco on March 20, 2018.
  • The National Corn Growers Association partnered with the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council to conduct a study on the benefits of poultry exports to corn. The study, conducted by World Perspectives, Inc., entitled “Corn and Poultry: A Great Partnership,” outlined the benefits realized by America’s corn farmers from exports of poultry and eggs.

U.S. Farmers Advocate for Trade in SE Asia

Ag Group, AgWired Precision, Audio, trade, USGC, USSEC

Ag Supply Chain Asia 2018 took place in Surabaya, Indonesia March 20-22. The event, organized by the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) and U.S. Grains Council (USGC), took international attendees ‘Beyond the Horizon of Food and Agriculture.’ Relationships sit center-stage even in the international marketplace and putting a face to the U.S. farmer is pivotal for buyers of U.S. agricultural products.

This event brought buyers and U.S. farmers together to share stories, ask questions and even discuss challenges each face. I was able to sit down with a few of the farmers to learn why they are involved in such trade missions, how trade impacts their bottom line and why free trade is so important.

Meet the U.S. Farmers:
Interview with Jamie Beyer, Minnesota Farmer

Interview with Bill Bayliss, Ohio Farmer

Interview with David Droste, Illinois Farmer

Interview with Sharon Covert, Illinois Farmer

Interview with Jeff Frank, Iowa Farmer

Interview with John Longley, Illinois Farmer

Interview with Josh Miller, Indiana Farmer

Interview with Alan Moore, Michigan Farmer

Interview with Ryan Wagner, South Dakota Farmer

View and download images from the event here: USSEC SE Asia Buyers Conference Photo Album

EOS Offers Remote Sensing Data for Agriculture

AgWired Precision, Precision Agriculture

Earth Observing System (EOS), a Menlo Park based startup, has released a unique cloud-based platform called EOS Crop Monitoring, which provides solutions for farmers and all sectors of the agriculture supply-chain.

EOS Crop Monitoring allows its partners to extract valuable insights from remote sensing data, including crop types classification maps, crop yield forecasts, field boundaries, vegetation indices, crop conditions, soil moisture and weather data on a field, regional or country scale. It includes both historical and current observations allowing for quick identification of a field’s performance throughout the growing season as well as high-risk areas affected by weather conditions.

EOS Crop Monitoring features include reliable algorithms for more accurate agriculture statistics estimation, crop yield prediction, a seasonal overview of current and historic crop conditions to manage risks and evaluate crop performance. With an extensive global satellite imagery database, EOS’ data analytics provides its partners with new, expanded capabilities, such as the ability to monitor crop production rates in any crop zone at any given time in both numerical and imagery formats.

EOS’ solutions are available in North America, Europe, and the Commonwealth of Independent States, and are currently being developed in Asia, Middle East and North Africa, and South America by applying its own cutting-edge methods and algorithms.

Learn more from EOS.

Deere Introduces 60 Foot No-Till Drill and ProSeries™ Openers

AgWired Precision, Equipment, John Deere

Small-grain and oilseed producers can now plant more acres faster and more accurately with the introduction of the 60 foot 1895 No-Till Air Seeder from John Deere, which is 40 percent wider and incorporates many new technologies designed to improve seed and fertilizer placement, while decreasing soil disturbance and maintenance demands.

Highlighted features of the 60-ft. (18.29m) 1895 Seeder include the new ProSeries™ Openers, RelativeFlow™ blockage warning system, TruSet™ in-cab downforce pressure control, and larger, high-floatation tires for less soil compaction when operating in the field. When combined with an air cart and NH₃ wagons, the 1895 provides the ultimate single-pass seeding system for producers of small grains and oilseeds.

The new ProSeries Openers, which replace the 90 Series Openers, will be available for the first time on the wider 1985 and expanded to other models in the future. These performance-driven openers feature a serrated closing wheel option for better seed and fertilizer sealing, narrow and flexible press wheels along with a narrow seed boot for reduced soil disturbance while ensuring more precise seed placement.

Learn more from John Deere.