Insect Control in Cotton with Prevathon

Agribusiness, AgWired Precision, Audio, Cotton, Farm & Gin Show, FMC

One of the new products creating buzz from FMC Corporation is Prevathon, which offers insect control in BT cotton. We were able to stop by the FMC booth at the 2018 Mid-South Farm & Gin Show to learn why cotton growers will want to take advantage of Prevathon this growing season.

“Reseach has shown that at least one application of Prevathon as an overspray reduces the amount of damage from those pests and also increases the yield for cotton growers,” said Don Johnson, FMC. “Prevathon gives you up to 21 days of residual control on that cotton plant. With it, you are also getting straight Rynaxypyr. You don’t have a pyrethroid in that combination that will flare mites and aphids in the cotton. And it’s easy on the beneficial insects out there.”

Prevathon insect control delivers crop protection to pests that have developed resistance to products with other modes of action. Listen to my complete interview with Don to learn more: Interview with Don Johnson, FMC Corporation

View and download photos from the event here: 2018 Farm & Gin Show Photo Album

Coverage of the Mid-South Farm & Gin Show is sponsored by
Coverage of the Mid-South Farm & Gin Show is sponsored by FMC

John Deere Connected Support Helps Dealers Help Growers

AgWired Precision, Audio, Commodity Classic, John Deere, Precision Agriculture

John Deere Connected Support™ Expert Alerts was honored by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) with the AE50 Award for 2018 as one of the most innovative designs in product engineering in the food and agriculture industry. But for John Deere dealers, what it means is helping their customers reduce downtime and save money, and that gives farmers who buy John Deere equipment piece of mind.

“What’s really cool is that we have embedded technology on our machines,” said Deere Product Marketing Manager Scott Brotherton during an interview at Commodity Classic. “In the event that something should happen in the field, this technology will alert the dealership and make them aware of the problem.”

Expert Alerts utilizes JDLink™ machine connectivity and data analytics to predict service needs, reduce diagnostic time and minimize downtime. This results in higher levels of machine availability, improved machine performance and lower cost of operation. “Customers are starting to see the value first hand because the dealers are so much more responsive,” said Brotherton.

Learn more about Deere Connected Dealer Support in this interview: Interview with Scott Brotherton, John Deere

John Deere at 2018 Commodity Classic

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Precision Ag Bytes 3/28

AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes

  • A new report from USDA’s Economic Research Service finds that despite higher winter loss rates, the number of U.S. honey bee colonies has remained stable or risen between 1996 and 2016. The report, “Effects and Responses to Changes in Honey Bee Health” provides an overview of the pollination services market and examines empirical data on pollinated crop production, pollination service fees, and annual numbers of honey bee colonies.
  • Farm supply retailer Southern States Cooperative has added industry veterans Jay Quickel and Joe Paoli to head-up their farm supply and sales divisions. Quickel will serve as executive vice president of the co-op’s farm supply division and Paoli comes on board as the executive vice president of sales.
  • Understory, the weather network, edge computing, and machine learning company, has announced an international expansion and strategic collaboration with Monsanto. Monsanto’s use of Understory’s weather network is providing on-the-ground insights into localized weather in Argentina to drive growers’ decisions and optimize high value operations.
  • The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) is currently accepting nominations for the 2018 AEM Hall of Fame. The Hall recognizes and celebrates industry leaders, innovators and pioneers who have contributed to the growth and overall quality of the off-road equipment industry.
  • Nichino America introduces Gatten®, a new fungicide for powdery mildew control in grapes and other crops. Nichino and OAT Agrio Co., Ltd., the discoverer and manufacturer of Gatten, have reached an agreement for Nichino America to market and sell Gatten in the United States and Canada.

Scholar Farms Offers Masterclass for Drones

AgNerd, AgWired Precision, Audio, Drones, UAV

If you’ve got a drone and are looking for some lessons then you need to talk to Dr. Greg Crutsinger, Founder, Scholar Farms. You can listen to my conversation with him about his newly announced Phytomappers Pro Masterclass below.

This course explains how to integrate drones into commercial workflows for agriculture, forestry, environmental consultancies, scientific research and other plant-related industries.

“Navigating the drone industry can be a daunting process with so many options for hardware, sensors, and software. Then, it can then be quite challenging to understand what all those data mean for different kinds of plants and across the growing season,” says Greg. “Phytomappers Pro was built to provide a solid foundation for plant professionals to get up to speed quickly and integrate drone effectively into their everyday workflow”.

Phytomappers Pro is designed for drone service providers, commercial agriculture team members, land managers, and academics (students, faculty, and researchers) that want to get the best results from using drones for mapping in the field.
 

The course is available for $397 from www.ScholarFarms.com. Additionally, there is a free lesson available, “A Quick Start Guide to Plants and Drones” which gives an industry overview.

You can listen to my interview with Greg here: Interview with Greg Crutsinger, Scholar Farms

Soil Health Partnership Grows and Changes

AgWired Precision, NCGA, Soil, Soil Health Partnership

As the Soil Health Partnership (SHP) heads into its fourth year of long-term data collection on working farms, the National Corn Growers Association initiative (NCGA) continues to grow and change.

Nick Goeser, who has served as the project’s director since its launch in 2014, has been promoted to the position of Vice President of Production and Sustainability for the National Corn Growers Association, and while he will still be involved to some degree, SHP will be seeking a new director.

“The Soil Health Partnership is a project I have poured my heart and soul into for the last four years,” Goeser said. “My hope is that this change will bring additional opportunity and support to the partnership.” Goeser will serve as a member of the SHP Steering Committee and remain engaged with the Science Advisory Council.

In other SHP staff changes, former Eastern Iowa Field Manager Elyssa McFarland has accepted a promotion to a new position as Key Relationships Director to identify key contacts at new and existing stakeholder organizations to establish and foster relationships.

Jack Cornell has been promoted to Field Team Director from his former position of Operations Manager to oversee the SHP Field Team and work to add new levels of support in areas like farmer relationship management, data collection and management, special collaborative projects and network expansion efforts.

Former Program Coordinator Anne Dietz has been promoted to SHP Project Manager and will take a more active role in overseeing management of essential projects across SHP such as assistance in grant management, website development, and technology integration efforts.

In addition to a new director, the organization plans to hire a Business Development Director, a Lead Scientist and additional field managers as expansion continues. Several positions are posted on the Soil Health Partnership careers page.

Walker Retires from Case IH

AgWired Precision, Case IH, Equipment

Case IH Vice President in North America Jim Walker has retired from the company after more than 11 years, and Scott Harris, current vice president of CASE Construction, will transition to Case IH and lead the brand as vice president for the North American region. The company made the announcement Monday.

“Jim’s leadership has made a significant impact on the Case IH brand, and we thank him for his contribution,” said Andreas Klauser, Case IH president. “We are excited for Scott Harris to join the Case IH brand and drive success for the brand as we look toward the future.”

Harris has demonstrated strong leadership in many positions at CASE Construction and displayed passion for the high-efficiency farming equipment producers rely on every day. His varied roles have prepared him to lead Case IH, focusing on both the needs of producers and its dealer network.

FMC Offers Season Long Disease Protection

AgWired Precision, Audio, Commodity Classic, Corn, FMC, Fungicide

Kyle Bauer, KFRM, visits with FMC’s Matt Wiggins at Commodity Classic

FMC ever-growing portfolio of products offers corn, soybean and wheat farmers season-long protection from the top disease threats.

At Commodity Classic, FMC Technical Service Manager Matt Wiggins was talking about the three primary solutions they offer for diseases such as Northern corn leaf blight, grey leaf spot, frog-eye leaf spot, target spot, and white mold in soybeans, rust and head scab in wheat. “Number one would be just Topguard®, single mode of action triazole for corn, soybeans and wheat,” said Wiggins. From that, they have Topguard EQ that combines a strobilurin fungicide with FMC’s patented flutriafol, and Preemptor® SC.

Wiggins says FMC has other fungicides in the pipeline going forward. Learn more in this interview –
Interview with FMC’s Matt Wiggins on fungicides

FMC at 2018 Commodity Classic Photo Album

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Commodity Classic coverage made possible by FMCCommodity Classic coverage made possible by John Deere

Liberty Weed Control Guarantee Returns

AgWired Precision, Audio, Bayer, Commodity Classic, Liberty Link, weeds

For the second year, Bayer is offering the Liberty® Weed Control Guarantee on the effective weed control of Liberty herbicide.

Heading into the 2018 season, growers who use Liberty can look forward to clean fields, thanks to the herbicide’s effective weed control and the guarantee. To qualify, growers must talk to their retailer about local requirements and S.T.O.P. Weeds with Liberty application guidelines.

“I have been using Liberty herbicide for two years,” said Mark Tuttle, a grower from Somonauk, Ill. “I’m always impressed by how Liberty controls some of the most challenging weeds like waterhemp and giant ragweed. But, every season is different, and weeds are always one of my greatest concerns. The Liberty Weed Control Guarantee helps make the decision to use Liberty each year easy. It’s a great added benefit.

S.T.O.P Weeds with Liberty application guidelines

Start clean and stay clean – Start clean with a burndown herbicide prior to planting and stay clean by controlling escapes
Target weeds under three inches tall – Small weeds are easier to control and Liberty should be applied on less than 3 inch weeds.
Optimize coverage – Use appropriate rates, a minimum of 15 gallons of water and medium to coarse droplet size.
Pair with residuals – Apply labeled rates of pre-residual herbicide with two effective modes of action.

Local Bayer representatives can provide requirements for specific regions.

Listen to Mark Tuttle at Commodity Classic talk about why he uses Liberty: Interview with Mark Tuttle, Illinois Grower

Learn more about Liberty from Jody Wynia and David Tanner: Interview with Jody Wynia & David Tanner, Bayer

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

Ayrstone Updates Hub and Receiver

Carrie MuehlingAgWired Precision, Ayrstone

Ayrstone Productivity has introduced the AyrMesh Hub2T antenna, which replaces the Hub2n.
The AyrMesh Hub2T offers a more powerful antenna, heavy-duty stainless steel mounting bracket, water-resistant bottom gland, and lower power consumption for the same price as its predecessor. The new 24″ long antenna has more reach, especially to normal consumer/commercial WiFi devices, in marginal areas.

Ayrstone has also released a new AyrMesh receiver that is larger with some new features, including mounting tabs on the back for mounting to poles or flat surfaces, an “extra” external Power-over-Ethernet port on the Receiver for connecting external PoE devices like cameras, and a standard 48V power injector/power supply.

Both products are available at www.Ayrstone.com.

Precision Ag Bytes 3/21

AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes

  • Corn farmers and Midwest landowners who want to help honey bees and Monarch butterflies have a unique opportunity to do this in a strategic fashion through The Bee & Butterfly Habitat Fund’s SEED A LEGACY Pollinator Habitat Program, which is being supported by the National Corn Growers Association. The updated program, expanded in 2018 to include 11 states, seeks partnerships between landowners and beekeepers to provide cost-effective, high-quality pollinator habitat to ensure honey bee and Monarch butterfly populations thrive. Applications for each state are being accepted online at BeeAndButterflyFund.org/habitat-programs through March 31, 2018 for spring planting. A second application period will open later in 2018 for projects to be planted in the fall.
  • AgGateway has submitted its proposed irrigation data exchange standard to the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, a major achievement in precision agriculture to help growers manage data from their irrigation management systems. Equipment manufacturers and software companies can go to https://goo.gl/ZCyuwU for more information. More on AgGateway activities, including how to become involved, can be found at www.AgGateway.org.
  • For the second straight year, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers is working to help member companies discover and manage those opportunities through its Thinking Forward series of events. This year’s kick-off event is set for April 3rd from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Carnegie Mellon University – National Robotics Engineering Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
  • NRCS is seeking assistance to complete restoration work of degraded wetlands, floodplains and forestlands. Proposals are requested from qualified individuals and organizations to implement restoration activities on eligible easement properties.
  • A new ag company, Pairwise Plants, has closed a $25M Series A financing co-led by Deerfield Management and Monsanto Growth Ventures. In addition, Pairwise and Monsanto announced a collaboration to advance agriculture research and development by leveraging gene editing technology for corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton and canola crops.
  • The National Association of Conservation Districts assembled on Capitol Hill alongside conservation leaders to advocate for locally-led conservation. This year’s fly-in united 150 conservation district officials representing 27 states from across the country. Members met with their representatives to communicate the value of farm bill conservation programs and why funding for these programs and technical assistance is so crucial.