Conservation in Action Tour Coming Up

Cindy ZimmermanConservation, CTIC, Video

2013 CTIC TourThe 2013 Conservation in Action Tour will be held July 9-10 in Livingston, Illinois and for those who are interested there are still a few seats left. A pre-tour seminar on July 9 has also been added. Learn more about the tour in the video below.

This tour will feature three stops focusing on soil health, nutrient management and drainage water management. Farmers, agribusiness personnel, media and others involved in agriculture will be attending to hear from speakers with experience in several aspects of conservation, such as building soil health, efficiently managing nutrients and controlling the water that drains from fields. Featured speakers include Jason Weller, chief of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Denise Keehner of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Jean Payne, president of the Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association.

Along with the tour, Solutions from the Land and CTIC will be presenting a seminar on July 9 discussing the Indian Creek Watershed Project. This event will be held at the Marriott before the tour’s evening social. The program for the pre-tour seminar can be accessed here (.doc). To sign up for this seminar, click here.

Raven Helping Rural High-speed Internet

Talia GoesAgribusiness, Internet, Raven, Wireless

Project-Loon-ImageRaven Industries, Inc. announced it is involved in a pilot project with Google designed to provide high-speed wireless Internet accessibility to rural, remote and underserved areas of the world. Google plans to use Raven-designed and developed high-tech balloons as part of its new project for balloon-powered Internet access, Project Loon.

Raven Aerostar has been working for several months in close collaboration with Google on the design and development of this technology innovation. While the program is still in its early stages, a successful trial began this week in New Zealand involving 30 balloons provided by Raven Aerostar providing Internet connectivity to an area covering nearly 10,000 square kilometers.

The balloons are designed to be 60 feet tall and fly at an altitude of 66,000 feet. The teams designed sophisticated technology that can control the path of the balloons as they move through the sky. This technology moves the balloons up and down in the stratosphere so they can sail on the wind traveling in the right speed and direction. This, along with software developed by Google for managing a fleet of balloons, is a significant step in turning balloons into a viable platform for providing Internet access to rural and remote areas.

GE Wheat in Oregon Could be Sabotage

Cindy ZimmermanAgribusiness, Audio, Monsanto

MonsantoMonsanto officials held a press call on Friday regarding “suspicious” evidence in the investigation of genetically engineered wheat plants found in an Oregon field last month that suggests it was possibly intentionally planted.

“The evidence now collected, the fact patterns established and the original Roundup Ready CP-4 event appearing suddenly after 12 years, out of nowhere in a single field in the state of Oregon is highly suspicious,” said Monsanto Vice President and Director of Technology Robb Fraley, stressing that they don’t know the grower or the field or have the plant samples available. However, “the more data we generate, the more clarity we’re getting on this, and the more suspicious it looks.”

When pressed by reporters, Fraley said, “It’s fair to say that there are folks who don’t like biotechnology and would use this as an opportunity to create problems.” He also pointed to the recent destruction of two sugar beet fields in the state of Oregon by anti-GMO activists.

[wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/monsanto/monsanto-wheat-6-21-13.mp3″ text=”Monsanto’s Robb Fraley”]

Farm Foundation Gets New Trustees and Directors

John DavisGeneral

farmfoundationlogo3Farm Foundation names three to their Board of Trustees and another two to their Board of Directors. The group says the three new trustees come from the food and agribusiness value chain:

Elected were William Buckner, CEO of the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation; David Cleary, Director of Global Agriculture for The Nature Conservancy; and Jerome Lyman, Vice President, Quality Systems & Food Safety, McDonald’s Corporation. The election took place earlier this month at the Board’s annual meeting in Ames, IA.

“We are excited that these accomplished executives are adding their leadership to the Foundation’s Board of Trustees,” says Jay Armstrong of Muscotah, KS, who was elected Chairman of the Board. “The Foundation’s leadership reflects the diverse character of today’s food and agricultural systems and is dedicated to providing public and private decision makers with comprehensive, objective information on the issues that will shape the future,” Armstrong added.

The two new members of the Board of Directors include Joe Swedberg, Vice President of Legislative Affairs for Hormel Foods, and George Hoffman, President and CEO of Restaurant Services, Inc.

Aerial Precision Ag is Ready to Fly Multirotors

Talia GoesAerial Application, Aerial Imagery, Agribusiness

Aerial-Precision-Ag-Product-Mutlirotor-UAV-1Aerial Precision Ag is officially off the ground and flying. Following great success at AgConnect 2013, the Aerial Precision Ag, also known as APA, decided to pursue additional exhibits in order to provide the information and education that producers need surrounding Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) assisted precision agriculture. The company will be attending several shows and exhibits this year including the following: Farm Progress Hay Expo, Farm Progress Show, The InfoAg Conference, and Husker Harvest Days.

Aerial Precision Ag is providing producers an easy to fly multirotor platform that captures HD video and photo images for use in precision agriculture operations. Producers no longer have to wait on a third party for crucial updates. The advantage of aerial imagery is giving producers immediate access to a birdseyeview of their fields to determine crop progression, plant health, storm damage, herbicide and insecticide application windows, drainage management, livestock monitoring, water runoff, as well as documented crop production.

The APA UAVs are professional multirotor units that are assembled, calibrated, and tested in the corporate headquarters in Tempe, Arizona and sold from the national sales office in Jackson, Missouri. The durable units have builtin gyros that allow for steady hovering and easy flying for every customer, and all parts are replaceable and very durable. APA multirotors can cover a two mile radius and reach altitudes up to 400 feet. Photos and video are captured on a memory card in the camera and can be transferred directly to a computer or smartphone for immediate review and storage.

NCGA Tools for Water Quality

Talia GoesAgribusiness, NCGA, Video

To help corn farmers understand water issues and ways to enhance water quality on their farms, the National Corn Growers Association has added a video and an interactive educational module to its online learning tools concerning water quality management.

The video, titled “Driving Change,” showcases NCGA members describing the practices they are implementing to enhance water quality on their farms and in their area. The 30-minute NCGA Water Issues Learning Module was developed to help farmers better understand water quality issues and best practices.

Both tools reveal the major benefits in using best management practices, and stress the importance of becoming knowledgeable about issues related to water quality and use at local, state and regional levels. They also help farmers learn regulatory requirements and understand key elements of the Clean Water Act.

Trust the Technology

Melissa SandfortAg Leader, Insights Weekly

Insights WeeklyChoosing how much nitrogen (N) to put on fields isn’t something farmers take lightly. Many factors go into the decision, including past experiences, the timing of application, yield goals, and results from soil tests.

That’s where crop sensor products such as OptRX from Ag Leader can help. When the OptRx sensors detect healthy plants, the system will call for less N to be applied. When the OptRx sensors see plants that need some help, the system will recommend more N.

Growers need to trust the technology. Trust that the sensors will detect if and when more N needs to be applied. “Have faith that the sensors are going to do what they’re built to do.” That’s what Chad Fick, Ag Leader crop sensor product specialist, says, especially in “odd” years like this when crop sensors can play a big role in producing healthy crops.

[wpaudio url=”http://precision.agwired.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/06/Chad1.mp3″ text=”Listen to Fick explain”]

Fick says crop sensors help growers get the best yields possible while not being wasteful.

[wpaudio url=”http://precision.agwired.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/06/Chad2.mp3″ text=”Listen to Fick explain”]

Fick says there are two different approaches and strategies to using crop sensors.

[wpaudio url=”http://precision.agwired.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/06/Chad3.mp3″ text=”Listen to Fick explain”]

So what are the advantages to using OptRx sensors?

[wpaudio url=”http://precision.agwired.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/06/Chad4.mp3″ text=”Listen to Fick explain”]

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.

House Rejects Five Year Farm Bill

Cindy ZimmermanAudio, Farm Bill, Government

fb-no-buttonDespite an impassioned plea by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas to “move this bill forward” the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013 (FARRM) failed on a vote of 194 to 234, with 60 Republicans joining the majority of Democrats to defeat the House version of the farm bill.

“If it fails today, I can’t guarantee you’ll see in this Congress another attempt,” said Lucas. “If you care about your folks, if you care about this institution … vote with me on final. If you don’t, when you leave here they’ll just say it’s a dysfunctional body, a broken institution full of dysfunctional people. That’s not true!”

Listen to Rep. Lucas urging his colleagues to vote for the bill [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/government/lucas-6-20-13.mp3″ text=”Rep. Frank Lucas on the House farm bill”]

Here’s a link to Roll Call vote.

Researchers Develop Custom Product Testing

Talia GoesAgribusiness, Dupont Pioneer, Research

EMH_News_Release_Header3ad95522Custom research methods developed by DuPont Pioneer corn researchers to breed Optimum AQUAmax products are being used to target other yield-robbing, environmental and disease stresses. During the testing of Optimum AQUAmax products — which are helping farmers grow corn in stressful, water-limited environments — a research program, called managed stress environment testing, was developed.

Managed stress environment testing is not a standard operating procedure; in fact, it is unique to Pioneer for evaluating new products for specific corn stresses. Currently, Pioneer researchers use managed stress environment testing to evaluate corn responses to abiotic stresses associated with limited nitrogen availability, to important corn diseases and to plant damage from strong windstorms. Traditionally, corn breeders relied on diverse environments in widely scattered research locations to get close to a real-world evaluation of overall hybrid performance.

In developing the research tactics for managed stress environment testing a cadre of methodologies — under the umbrella of the Accelerated Yield Technology (AYT) system — plays a central role. Acting as a filter to sort out specific environmental screens for disease, genetics, fertility and drought, the AYT system is used to test all phases of corn product development. Testing methods incorporate genetic mapping, marker assisted selection, whole genome modeling and precision phenotyping, among others.

Government Taking Away Privacy

Talia GoesZimmPoll

Before we get to our new Zimmpoll let’s look at the results of our latest one which asked the question, “ What is your opinion of Senate immigration bill?” From our poll results it looks like you want to see changes to the immigration bill.

Our poll results: Forty-one percent said Border Security First! Sixteen percent said Bad Deal Overall, Fourteen percent said Needs Improvement, eleven percent said Will Never Pass House, eight percent said Great For America, and six percent said Good For Agriculture and Other. Not many are happy with the immigration farm bill as it stands. We will see what changes are made as it advances to the next level.

Untitled

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “How concerned are you about the government having your private data?” Recent information privacy scandals with the EPA and NSA have brought the issue of privacy to the forefront. A lot of agricultural information in digital form is being collected by various services, including the government. How do you feel about it now? Let us know.

ZimmPoll is sponsored by New Holland Agriculture.