Center-Pivot Discbine Mower-Conditioners

Jamie JohansenAudio, Beef, Dairy, Dealers, Equipment, Hay, New Holland

new-holland-ag-13-064-editedOne of the six checkpoints we traveled through during New Holland Agriculture’s First in the Field Media Event was on their new discbines. New Holland has taken discbines to a whole new level with even more durability and functionality with their two new center-pivot models. Discbine 313 and 316 are designed for cleaner cutting, more efficient crop flow and smoother, more effective conditioning.

  • The MowMax II cutter bar offers improved durability and the ShockPRO fail safe system.
  • The WideDry conditioning system is 22.5% wider than New Holland’s previous models.
  • These models offer simplified drivelines with single drive shaft and advanced shielding with high density, bi-fold upper shielding, reducing the weight by 75%.
  • A two-speed conditioning system is adjustable for the perfect hay quality.
  • The LeaningEdge flail conditioning allows for even faster drying.
  • Those working in energy crops like cane and corn stover might be interested in the new BioMass Kit.

new-holland-ag-13-059-editedDuring the media event I spoke with Brand Marketing Manager for Hay & Forage Crop Preparation Products, Seth Doman. Not only did he share more insight into these proven technologies, but also when farmers can find them at their local New Holland dealership.

Listen to my interview with Seth from here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/new-holland/new-holland-ag-13-doman-discbine.mp3″ text=”Interview with Seth Doman”]

View photos from the event here: 2013 New Holland Ag Media Event Photo Album

Ag Leader Continues to Invest in Developing Dealers

Melissa SandfortAg Leader, Insights Weekly

Insights Weekly

Over the course of the past couple of years, Ag Leader has watched how the computer industry and the way they host peer groups in an effort to educate dealers and facilitate idea-sharing sessions, trying to see if it was a good fit for the precision agriculture industry. The genesis for peer group sharing has been around for decades, and being in a developing industry (precision ag is only a mere 20 years old), Ag Leader felt it mutually beneficial to develop the Precision Ag Peer Group program for dealers to help them grow their businesses. The purpose of the groups is business and personal growth driven by execution.

Michael Vos, Ag Leader territory development manager, says peer groups help dealers network, discover new and innovative ideas (that’s what precision ag is all about, right?), learn about business practices across the country and improve on their leadership and management skills.

Listen to my full interview with Vos here.

[wpaudio url=”http://precision.agwired.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/07/VosFullAudio.mp3″ text=”Listen to Vos explain”]

Vos says people understand the big idea behind peer groups but until you experience them for a day, you don’t really know their true value…the results are encouraging. Contact your Ag Leader territory manager today if you are interested.

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.

Nation’s Largest Outdoor Farm Show Expands

Jamie JohansenEquipment, Events, Farm Progress Show

FPS13-flagThe nation’s largest outdoor farm event, Farm Progress Show, has once again exceeded the initial projections for exhibit space. But don’t worry they are introducing an expanded show site for the event to be held in Decatur, IL. August 27-29. A new street has been added as well as an annex.

“When the Farm Progress Show sites were built in Decatur and Boone, they were built to accommodate the largest show usage in recent times,” says Matt Jungmann, national events manager. “Before the 2011 show, we added Eleventh Street to meet the demand for space. This year, it became clear that extra space was needed to accommodate all the requests by exhibitors, and the investment would need to be made to accommodate those requests.”

Throughout the last eight years Farm Progress Show has been in Decatur, grounds have grown from 10 streets 12. This expansion equates to 3.647 million square feet of exhibit space, a 6% increase since 2011. The new annex has an excess of 60 new companies exhibiting. With all these additions the show will host more than 600 companies, almost 100 more than in previous years.

The event is more than just the latest in ag technology, visitors can take in the 3rd Annual Great Lakes Hybrids Farm Progress Show Shootout Tractor Pull or a country music concert headlined by Chris Cagle.

Don’t forget to download the handy Farm Progress Show app for iPhone and Android. For more information visit the event website, like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

An App for New Holland Brochure

Chuck ZimmermanAgribusiness, Apps, New Holland

New Holland iBrochure AppNeed to look up some information about New Holland products? It just got easier with this new android app.

Browse the NH iBrochure anywhere and anytime: videos, photo galleries and a wide variety of media contents that offer you an interactive experience and product info about agricultural tractors, combine harvesters, forage harvesters, groundcare, balers, telehandlers and front loaders. Enjoy!

FieldWatch Adds New Board Members

Talia GoesAgribusiness

driftwatchThe Board of Directors of FieldWatch Inc., a non-profit corporation that operates the multi-state online crop registry for high-value specialty crops called DriftWatch, has unanimously approved the addition of four new members to the company’s board of directors.

The new board members and their stakeholder groups include: Producer Group—Dennis Dixon, Hartung Brothers, Madison, Wis.; Applicator Group—Mark Trostle, Crop Production Services, Loveland, Colo.; Manufacturer Group—David Flakne, Syngenta, Greensboro, N.C.; and Industry At-Large—Lori Bowman, Wisconsin Department of Agriculture.

Since FieldWatch’s inception, it has been the company’s goal to strike a balance between the interests of various stakeholder groups. To that end, nine original directors were appointed from the following four groups: Producer Group—Steve Smith, Red Gold and Levi Huffman, Huffman Farms; Applicator Group—Scott Schertz, Schertz Aerial Service, and Bob Wolf, application technology expert; Manufacturing Group—Andrew Burchett, Monsanto, and Elisha ModisettKemp, Dow AgroSciences; and Industry At-Large Group—Jean Payne, Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association, and Tami Griffin, Aon Risk Solutions. In addition, Purdue University’s Dean of Agriculture, Jay Akridge, serves as an ex-officio voting board member.

Precision.AgWired.com Podcast: Ag Apps

Meghan GrebnerApps, Precision Pays Podcast, Research, Scouting

pp-podcastApps on our smartphones and tablets make our lives much simpler.  Brian Arnall is the precision nutrient management extension specialist for Oklahoma State.  Earlier this month he presented at the 2013 InfoAg Conference on precision agriculture.  Arnall’s presentation focused on agricultural applications. 

In this Precision.AgWired.com Podcast we’ll find out what makes an agricultural app great.

[wpaudio url=http://precision.agwired.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/07/PPP-07-13.mp3 text=”Precision.AgWired.com Podcast”]

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

Most Have Some Ag Apps

Talia GoesZimmPoll

zp-nhOur latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “How many ag-related apps do you have?”

Our poll results:

· 1-5 44%
· None 31%
· 5-10 16%
· More 6%
· 10-15 3%

The number of ag-related apps for smart phones and tablets continues to grow – from news and information, to markets and products, you name it. Find out more about what’s out there in this recent ZimmCast.

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “Do you think cellulosic ethanol can be commercialized?” For those of you who may not know, cellulosic ethanol is a biofuel produced from wood, grasses, or the inedible parts of plants. It is a major part of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) with the goal of using more non-food sources to make biofuels. Some recent announcements include a plant in Vero Beach, Florida and a new bolt-on process to allow existing corn ethanol plants to produce ethanol from the cellulosic parts of corn. But some call it a “phantom fuel” that will never come to fruition – what do you think?

ZimmPoll is sponsored by New Holland Agriculture.

Make Plans to Attend the 12th ICPA

Talia GoesAgribusiness, ICPA

ICPA2013_logoThe International Society of Precision Agriculture (ISPA) is pleased to announce the 12th International Conference on Precision Agriculture (ICPA) to be held at the Hyatt Regency in Sacramento, California, USA from July 20-23, 2014.

Precision agriculture techniques, technologies and their applications are now ‘mainstream agriculture’ and can certainly help towards solving the problems and challenges that face agricultural production worldwide. Following the success of the 11th Conference which attracted 450 delegates from 37 countries, we are confident that the 12th Conference will be a great success, complementing its sister conferences, ECPA and ACPA. Look out for full details on the ISPA web site and start preparing to submit abstracts for papers or posters.

As with previous conferences, oral and poster sessions will report much current research in PA, application of research will be highlighted in practitioner ‘A to Z’ sessions and the latest technologies will be on show in the commercial exhibition. Overarching all that, there will be extensive networking opportunities leading, hopefully, to collaboration in research and international research proposals. Situated in the heart of California agriculture, field trips will be organised by the University of California, Davis campus to view the latest research and application of PA.

The “P.C. Robert Young and Senior Scientist Awards” will be awarded at the 12th Conference. In addition, several awards will be made in the graduate student category to recognize their work and encourage participation in ICPA.

Ag Fanatics Update

Cindy ZimmermanAudio, Farmers, Growmark

agfanatics-2The AgriVisor AgFanatics podcast has logged 40 episodes since its debut in December 2012, and quite a few since we last talked to them in March, so we decided it was time to check in for an update on how these two wild and crazy ag guys are doing.

“It’s going great, we’re continuing to gain listeners and we’re continuing to talk,” says one-half of the AgFanatics duo, Cory Winstead, account manager with AgriVisor. They did decide to cut back from two episodes a week to one to avoid having some of the same conversations too often, but he and partner Nick Klump are still having fun with it.

“We’ve gotten some of our best feedback when we’ve spent the first five minutes talking about baseball and our lives and our kids,” Cory said. They have spent a lot of time this year focusing on the weather market for grain, the farm bill and other things that interest farmers, such as crop insurance.

The AgFanatics will be podcasting live from the Farm Progress show this year in Decatur, so be sure to stop by and meet them in person at the GROWMARK tent. You can find the AgFanatics podcast page from the link on the AgriVisor homepage.

Get an update on the AgFanatics in this interview with Cory. [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/growmark/agfanatics-cory-2.mp3″ text=”Interview with AgFanatic Cory Winstead”]

New Online Resource about GMOs

Talia GoesAgribusiness, BASF, Bayer CropScience, Dupont Pioneer, GMO, Monsanto, Syngenta

site_logoThe agricultural biotechnology companies that develop genetically modified seeds (GMO) are coming together to launch a broad, new initiative to provide accurate information and answer the toughest questions about GMOs and how our food is grown. GMO Answers is a new conversation, public Q&A, and central online resource for information on GMOs, their background, use in agriculture, and research and data in one easy-to-access public resource for the first time.

As the public discussion on GMOs continues, the scientists who develop biotech seeds along with farmers who grow them want to make information about GMOs easier to find and understand.

GMO Answers is produced by the members of The Council for Biotechnology Information, which includes BASF, Bayer CropScience, Dow AgroSciences LLC, DuPont, Monsanto Company and Syngenta. Together, their commitment to openness and access to information is outlined in the GMO Answers five core principles.