FMC Introduces New Tool to Combat Resistant Weeds

Agribusiness, AgWired Precision, Audio, Commodity Classic, Farm & Gin Show, FMC, Herbicide

FMC Agricultural Solutions introduces a new tool to combat resistant weeds, Authority® Supreme herbicide. And just in time for the 2018 growing season. The U.S. EPA and Canadian Pest Management Regulatory Agency have granted registration in soybeans, sunflowers and dry field peas.

Authority Supreme herbicide provides two effective sites of action to combat some of the toughest resistant weeds. The combination of a best-in-class Group 14 PPO herbicide with the newest Group 15 herbicide molecule enables long-lasting residual control of small-seeded broadleaf weeds and grasses. The new herbicide is effective against ALS, triazine, HPPD, ESPS (glyphosate) and PPO herbicide resistant weed biotypes.

It controls a wide spectrum of weeds including waterhemp, Palmer amaranth, pigweed, nightshade, lambsquarters, kochia, morningglories, smartweed, foxtail, barnyard grass and fall panicum.

We caught up with Brent Neuberger, senior technical service manager for FMC at the recent Commodity Classic and he said, “Whether growers already have resistant weeds or they are trying to avoid the development of resistant weeds, the best strategy is to start clean and stay clean. With multiple sites of action and excellent residual activity, Authority Supreme® herbicide reduces selection pressure and creates a window for timely postemergence treatments.”

Listen to Chuck’s complete interview with Brent here: Interview with Brent Neuburger, FMC

We were also able to learn more about the capabilities of the Authority Supreme herbicide during the Mid-South Farm & Gin Show. Matt Wiggins, technical services manager, FMC, said Tennessee is beginning to see resistance on grasses and this would be a perfect product in that fight.

“Just like all residual herbicides, we are going to need a good half inch of rain to get this product activated. It is going to be a very good, consistent and strong performer,” said Wiggins. He added that growers at the show are excited about these active ingredients and what it can offer them.

Listen to my complete interview with Matt here: Interview with Matt Wiggins, FMC

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

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

Transparency Key for Ag Data

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As more and more equipment will gather information for its farmer customers, John Deere is taking that data and the questions about privacy that go along with it very seriously.

“Data is becoming increasingly important for our customers. If you look over the past five years, data has really become a prominent part of the conversation, because customers understand how it can be utilized to make their operation better,” said Matt Olsen, product marketing manager for precision agriculture.

Olsen said the company recognizes that with the transfer of information comes privacy concerns for farmers. John Deere is working to maintain integrity through this age of information in a number of ways, including recent certification as an American Farm Bureau Ag Data Transparent company. The certification allows customers to better understand how their data is being used by the provider.

Listen to Jamie’s interview with Matt here: Interview with Matt Olsen, John Deere

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DowDuPont™ Ag Division to Become Corteva Agriscience™

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The Agriculture Division of DowDuPont™ will someday become a stand-alone company under restructuring and the name was revealed during last week’s Commodity Classic to be Corteva Agriscience™ (kohr-‘teh-vah), which is derived from a combination of words meaning “heart” and “nature.”

Vice President of Public Policy and Chief Sustainability Officer Krysta Harden said during the general session that it took months to come up with the name. “We wanted a name that means something,” she said. “So the name means heart of the earth, or heart of nature.”

The division will be called Corteva – the ag division of DowDuPont until the intended company is spun-off, which is expected to happen by June 1, 2019.

Listen to Harden’s comments here:
Krysta Harden, Corteva, at Commodity Classic

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FMC Expands Portfolio & In Hiring Mode

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

No doubt the FMC team is excited about the aquciaiton of the DuPont product line. Strong brands were brought over in insecticies, fungicides and herbicides. FMC Regional Business Manager, Chris Reats, shared more on the growth of the FMC portfolio at the recent Mid-South Farm & Gin Show.

“It’s been a great transition. We just got into this last November and we are through the hard parts. Here in March 2018, we feel like we are a long way along the way. We have a really great company this year,” Reats said.

As the business side of FMC expands, so do options for growers. “We hope it will be a positive thing they will experience. Traditionally, FMC has been a pretty lean company as far as representation. This new acquisition has allowed us to be right staffed. We have more people in the geographies to help us serve. You will see more of us in the field. The people we have brought on are super and we are actually in a hiring mode,” Reats said.

Learn more about the growing FMC portfolio and expansion here: Interview with Chris Reats, FMC

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

USFRA Launches engAGe App to Help Advocate Online

Ag Group, AgWired Animal, AgWired Precision, Apps, Audio, Commodity Classic, USFRA

In in a proactive effort to bring farmers and ranchers into the mainstream conversation about food and ag-related issues, U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance® (USFRA) has launched engAGe – a new app to give farmers, ranchers and advocates a turnkey tool in sharing their story on social media.

This platform allows users to easily stay abreast of current news in agriculture and broadens relevant content to their social media channels with a simple click. It’s easy to download and integrates with social media accounts to strengthen agriculturalists’ voices and share a united message.

“Agriculture has an opportunity to come together and proactively elevate the voices of farmers, ranchers and agriculturalists on social media,” says Brad Greenway, USFRA Chairman and South Dakota diversified crop and animal farmer. “We know through USFRA research that consumers are interested in how their food is grown and raised. It’s our responsibility to take 5-10 minutes a day to join the dialogue on social media and share our story while we’re in the fields and in our barns.”

The news feed within the app allows users to publish stories and posts to their own social media networks. engAGe also encourages farmers, ranchers and advocates to network with others, so if someone has a video, photo, link or story they want to share, it can be posted and distributed to the entire engAGe community.

How to download engAGe:
– To join, search “Dynamic Signal” in either iTunes or Google Play and download the free app.
– Once you download and open the app, the app will prompt you to enter the engAGe community code: ENGAGE (not case sensitive).
– Once you type in the community code, you will be able to create an engAGe account.
– For further instructions, or to download a manual, visit fooddialogues.com/engAGe

Listen to the audio tutorial here: engAGe App Tutorial

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Precision Ag Bytes 3/7

AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes

  • Caterpillar Inc. is using AT&T Internet of Things (IoT) services to connect and manage heavy machines and engines around the globe. The new multi-year, global deal connects Caterpillar products to the AT&T 4G LTE network.
  • MKC, a full-service farm cooperative offering a complete line of products, programs and services for both farm and urban customers throughout Kansas, has joined the CommiditAg network, where farmers can browse farm input products and view its transparent pricing.
  • CLAAS of America has reorganized its Dealer Council to represent the full CLAAS product line: combines, forage harvesters, balers, hay tools and tractors. The council consists of 10 newly appointed members representing the company’s diverse sales channel.
  • Natalie Shuman, a fresh produce marketing and communications professional, has joined Inocucor, the Denver-based developer and producer of biological crop inputs for agriculture, as director of marketing. Shuman will be responsible for brand management, communications, product management, trade marketing and product lifecycle management for Inocucor’s microbial and plant nutrient technologies.

Northey Takes Oath of USDA Office

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It was a long time coming, but finally Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue administered the oath of office to Bill Northey to serve as the Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Service (FFAS) at USDA. Northey has served as Iowa’s Secretary of Agriculture, and is a former president of the National Corn Growers Association.

“After months of waiting, I’m thrilled to finally have Bill on board at USDA,” Secretary Perdue said. “The patience he displayed throughout this process is an indicator of what kind of steady leader he will be on our team, and we are eager for him to get to work. Bill comes to us at an important time, as farm incomes are down and expected to fall further. Additionally, with work on the 2018 Farm Bill already underway, Bill will play an integral role in the advice we offer to Congress.”

However, there is still a little work to do when it comes to that title, and it is a little confusing right now. Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC), the position for which Northey is intended, is a new position created by the realignment of agencies to encompasses the Farm Service Agency, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the Risk Management Agency. The realignment was necessitated by the creation of Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, as directed by the 2014 Farm Bill. So USDA is working with Congress to formally change the name of Northey’s mission area to FPAC. One step at a time.

Welcome to ‘The New FMC’

AgWired Precision, Audio, Commodity Classic, FMC

FMC is now the fourth largest chemical producer in the world after its purchase of assets from DuPont back in November. That gives the company a much larger reach globally, and particularly in the United States, said John Kasper, U.S. Commercial Director for FMC.

“It is the new FMC. We’re much larger. We’re on a wider range of crops and within those crops we have an increased portfolio, so it truly is a new FMC,” said Kasper, who noted customers are looking forward to the impact of the acquisition. “We’ve heard from customers that they are really excited about this new company, and it secures FMC’s future in the global marketplace, specifically innovating new products for the market needs.”

Kasper said the company already had a very robust pipeline, but this integration will allow for more internal synthesis and discovery. He said there are also more opportunities within the company as it grew from five sales regions to nine regions after the acquisition.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with John here: Interview with John Kasper, FMC

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Delaro Fungicide Shows Yield Advantage in Corn, Soybeans

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Bayer has released results from 500 DelaroTM field trials which took place in 20 states. Across two years of trials, Delaro averaged a 12 to 18 bushel-per-acre increase in corn and a four to five bushel-per-acre increase in soybeans compared to an untreated check. In these trials, Delaro had a 90 percent win rate over the untreated check.

The recent Bayer AgVocacy Forum and Commodity Classic allowed us to talk with growers who participated in these field trials and have seen the results first-hand. Beau Morris, grower from Stewardson, Ill., said the results convinced him to use Delaro again for the 2018 crop year. “I saw an eight bushel per acre increase with Delaro on soybeans, compared to untreated acres,” said Morris. “That’s huge in soybeans. During the season you could see a noticeable difference in the areas treated with Delaro. The plants were much greener, and we didn’t have the dropped leaves or pods we had in the untreated acres. Honestly, Delaro is my preferred soybean fungicide right now.”

Randy Myers, product development manager, Bayer CropScience, said Delaro performed consistently in the trials. “The 90 percent win rate Delaro has over the untreated check is a great illustration of the consistent performance Delaro provides,” Myers said. “In fact, across weather conditions and geographies, this is the highest win rate I have seen on corn and soybeans in my 30-plus years in the industry.”

In this audio and video you will hear from both Beau and Randy share more about Delaro: Interview on Yield Advantage in Corn, Soybeans

View and download photos here: 2018 Bayer AgVocacy Forum Photo Album

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Cotton Market Update from Mid-South Farm & Gin Show

Agribusiness, AgWired Precision, Audio, Cotton, Farm & Gin Show, Farm Shows, Markets

A larger cotton crop than expected sets tone for an unusual year for the cotton market. Senior Cotton Analyst, Informa Economics, Kip Butts, was on hand at the recent Mid-South Farm & Gin Show to shed light on the current cotton market, where cotton stands with farm bill changes and what 2018 will look like.

“I think we will find out the latest USDA number will be a little lower in the near term. We have the second largest export sales on record. Those shipments are a little behind. Part of that is due to logistic problems, warehouse delays, trucking issues which have occured this year…it is divided on if we will ship out as much as we thought,” Butts said.

Many cotton growers have had some challenges over the course of the year, but Butts said overall a great crop year as fair as production is concerned. However, challenges are expected throughout Texas with very dry conditions in the West. Timely rains could solve those predictions.

The cotton industry has needed more price security and the recent budget agreement provided just that. “It’s not the know all end all, but it’s certainly an improvement. And it helps the cotton farmers quite a lot,” Butts said.

Listen to my complete conversation with Kip to learn more about the current market and the impact future trade deals would have on cotton: Interview with Kip Butts, Informa Economics

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