Supporting the Renewable Fuel Standard

Talia GoesNew Holland, ZimmPoll

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “Have you recently purchased a gun?”

Our poll results: Thirty-three percent said Yes, Already Own Guns while twenty-nine percent said No, Don’t Own Any. Nineteen percent said No, Have Enough, Eleven percent said Planning To, five percent said Yes, First Gun Purchase, and three percent said Other. Looks like most of you have one or more guns. Let’s hope that ammo for those guns becomes available again soon! Right now it’s very difficult to find any and we all know that to be proficient in using a gun, it takes practice/practice/practice.

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Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “Do you support continuing the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS)?” The Renewable Fuels Standard, or RFS, program was first created under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and established the first renewable fuel volume mandate in the United States. It was expanded in 2007 and increased the volume of renewable fuel required to be blended into transportation fuel from 9 billion gallons in 2008 to 36 billion gallons by 2022. The program includes ethanol, biodiesel and advanced biofuels with the goal of helping America become less dependent on foreign petroleum.

The RFS continues to be challenged by the oil industry, some livestock and poultry interests and food retailers for various reasons but the biofuels industry contends the program is working as intended and has resulted in lower imports of foreign oil. What do you think?

ZimmPoll is sponsored by New Holland Agriculture.

Ag Day at USDA

Cindy ZimmermanAg Day, Audio, USDA

usda-agdayOur U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack spoke at the annual National Ag Day banquet Tuesday at the USDA Whitten Bldg.

Secretary Vilsack wished everyone a Happy Ag Day and then talked about American farm productivity, pointing to a chart showing how high the ag sector is compared to other industries since 1948. “American agriculture’s productivity far, far outpaced the entire American economy and its productivity,” Vilsack said. “It’s a remarkable story and it’s in large part a result of American farmers and ranchers embracing new technologies and new ways to do business.” Vilsack added that the main beneficiaries of this tremendous productivity are consumers.

Vilsack spoke to farmer and rancher representatives in Washington D.C. this week for National Ag Day.

Listen to Vilsack’s remarks here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/agday/agday-13-vilsack.mp3″ text=”Ag Secretary Vilsack Remarks”]

2013 National Ag Day Activities Photo Album

Post Driver Celebrates 15 Years

Cindy ZimmermanEquipment

Now here’s a precision piece of equipment you might not think about but it’s definitely a time and money saver – as well as a “man saver.”

post-driverRohrer Manufacturing is celebrating the 15-year anniversary of its trademarked Man Saver Post Driver, a multi-directional air-powered portable fence post driver for farmers, ranchers, vineyards, construction centers, highway, and public works departments.

Inventor Dan Rohrer says they have sold 16,000 of his post drivers since 1998 and sales continue to climb 10-15% annually. “We are proud of our success and satisfaction of fulfilling an unmet demand for fence post drivers, most notably in the agricultural and ranching industry. Named “Man Saver Post Driver™” for a reason, the driver was designed to take the back-breaking labor out of fencing.”

Watch how it works here:

Nothing Runs Like a Deere on Biodiesel

Cindy ZimmermanBiodiesel, Equipment, John Deere

nbc-13-borgmanEveryone knows the famous slogan “Nothing Runs Like a Deere” which has been used by the company for decades. But with more John Deere equipment approved for biodiesel, well that slogan needs to be updated a little!

John Deere demonstrated its vast array of diesel equipment able to run on biodiesel during the recent Biodiesel Vehicle Showcase.

In addition to security benefits for Americans, biodiesel also improves lubricity, reduces sulfur emissions, and reduces aromatics. Biodiesel has a high cetane content for faster ignition. These are just a few of the reasons Deere’s Don Borgman cites for the company approving the use of up to 20% biodiesel (B20) blends in all its equipment.

According to Borgman, when new equipment is ready to leave the factory, it’s filled with a biodiesel blend. Deere has coined this the “biodiesel factory fill.”

Learn more about John Deere’s Biodiesel Platform by listening to Don Borgman’s presentation: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/nbb/nbc-13-showcase-deere-borgman.mp3″ text=”Nothing Runs Like a Deere Using Biodiesel”]

2013 National Biodiesel Conference Photo Album

G-8 to Talk Open Data for Agriculture

Cindy ZimmermanGovernment, USDA

wotekiNext month the G-8 International Conference will be holding an important event in Washington on Open Data for Agriculture.

The purpose, according to USDA Chief Scientist and Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics Catherine Woteki, is “to make our agriculturally-relevant research and statistical data accessible to users in Africa and around the world.”

Woteki explained in a USDA blog post.

What is open data and why is it important to agriculture? In this internet age, information from all corners of the world is accessible in ways like never before. Quite simply, open data means liberating data in machine and human readable formats – it is a 21st century way of sharing information. By sharing data and the tools to analyze it, people can develop new insights and applications to help themselves. For agriculture, shared research can move us all closer to addressing the global food demands on the horizon.

Our food and agricultural challenges have no borders and neither should our research. At USDA, we recognize the importance of collaborative, scientific research and encourage international collaboration. Open data in agriculture allows us to pool our existing resources while pioneering fresh, new approaches to tackle the global challenges that lie ahead.

The conference, which is set for April 29-30, will bring together entrepreneurs, innovators, policy makers and thought leaders to discuss how open agricultural data increases food security, improves access to research for developing countries and provides new opportunities for private/public partnerships.

Announcing the Winner of iPad mini Giveaway

Melissa SandfortAgribusiness, Apps, Audio, Equipment, Farmers, Internet, social media, technology

ipad-miniThe winner of our iPad mini Giveaway Contest has been picked via random selection and he is Nick Leibold of New Hampton, IA. Nick farms about 600 acres of corn and 400 acres of soybeans.

Cindy visited with Nick by phone to let him know about his winning and to learn a little bit about how Precision.AgWired.com for his family farming operation. He says he’s been using precision ag in his farming operation for about ten years now including auto steer, yield monitor and row shutoffs on his planter. He says, “On the planter I’ll do a split variety and that way when I harvest I know which variety is which and I can compare strips across the field. I use it a lot for variety selection.” He uses it to farm more efficiently.

When it comes to his new iPad mini he says his dealer says he can hook up an iPad to help him record the different varieties he’s planting and then take it out to the field later when he’s scouting and find spots where he has been.

Nick is also very involved with the Iowa Corn Growers serving on the Iowa Corn Promotion Board. It’s important to him to see that those corn checkoff dollars are being put to good use.

Listen to Cindy visit with Nick here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/precision/precisionpays-ipad-nick.mp3″ text=”Interview with Nick Leibold”]

Thank you to everyone who has entered our contest. The iPad has become an increasingly useful tool for precision farming today. More and more apps are being developed to utilize this mobile technology and we hope Nick will find the iPad mini a great addition to his toolbox!

What do you think of our first contest? Want to see more product giveaways? Chime in using comments and let us know.

Be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more precision ag information.

A Recorder to Take to the Field

Chuck ZimmermanApps

iRig Recorder AndroidI’m not sure how many of you want or need to have an audio recorder handy when you’re out in the field but . . . Maybe you’ll want to take some notes so you don’t forget something when you’re field scouting, planting or harvesting. If so, here’s an app for your iOS or Android device you might consider using. It’s a simple recording app but it can also be a very powerful audio editing app if you want to get into some podcasting as you agvocate for your business and industry!

It’s the iRig Recording app which is now available for both the iOS and Android platforms. I’m not sure it will become my favorite recording app but I’ll be giving it a try on my Samsung Galaxy Note II and iPhone 5.

It’s a Field Recorder that’s always in your pocket.

Mobile recording and editing app

iRig Recorder is a powerful audio recording app for your mobile device that is convenient and easy to use. Now you can have a professional recording tool at your fingertips anytime, anywhere with intuitive and practical editing and export functions. Capture that great sound bite, inspiring speech, entire lecture or first words easily with your mobile device wherever life takes you.

If you’re interested in this type of app let me know. I’ve used a number of them and would be happy to share.

BASF Spotlights Science Behind Successful Growers

Cindy ZimmermanAudio, BASF, Commodity Classic, Farmers

BASF Ag Products spotlighted a couple of very successful and innovative farmers during the Science Behind event prior to Commodity Classic this year.

basf-classic13-randyRandy Dowdy of Georgia just got into the farming business in 2006 and has already been a multiple National Corn Yield Contest winner on pretty marginal farm land that he bought as an investment. “University guy told me I had some of the poorest soil in the state,” Randy told us. “Now that same university professor told me that I had made him rethink corn production in Georgia.”

Randy brought a different perspective to farming in his area. “Having the ability to change and the willingness to change quite often separates a good farmer from an average farmer,” he says. That includes using multiple modes of action for herbicides to work against resistant weeds and fungicides are extremely important in the south. “We are in a disease haven,” Randy said, noting that he uses several different BASF products to help prevent disease in his crops, including Headline, Headline AMP and Priaxor.

Where most of the country suffered from drought last year, Randy had just the opposite in Georgia. “We had a lot of rain events but our biggest problem was lack of sunshine,” he said.

Listen to Randy being interviewed by a couple of reporters at the Science Behind BASF event: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/basf/classic13-basf-dowdy.mp3″ text=”Randy Dowdy interview”]

basf-classic-13-kipMissouri rock star farmer Kip Cullers, who still holds the title of World Champion Soybean Grower, wrote the book on being able and willing to change farming practices to get better and better yields, but he still can’t control the weather, which hurt him bad last year. “It’s kind of heartbreaking when you work all year long and try and do everything right and Mother Nature just cuts the rain off and you’re done, but that’s farming!” Kip said.

That’s why Kip has been the poster child for BASF Headline to keep his crops under the least stress possible, even under stressful conditions like drought. And Kip uses Kixor technology to fight against resistant weeds. “I just hate weeds and once you let them go to seed you have to fight them for the next ten years,” he said. “I just want to have sterile ground.”

Listen to my interview with Kip here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/basf/classic13-basf-cullers.mp3″ text=”Kip Cullers interview”]

Check out more photos from the Science Behind BASF here

See Your Machine in the Field

Chuck ZimmermanAgribusiness, agronomy, Audio, Commodity Classic, Data Collection, John Deere

Kathy Michael John Deere“Machine & Agronomic Data Management: Maximizing Your Productivity” is the title of a Commodity Classic WIN session sponsored by John Deere. One of the presenters was Kathy Michael, Senior Product Manager, John Deere Intelligent Solutions Group.

The way that John Deere is helping farmers maximize their machine and agronomic data is with JD Link, their telematic platform, which is based on wireless communications available on mobile devices as well as table top computers. “Our goal is to make it easier for our customers to collect the data in the field, to see their machines in the field, to see their operators in the field and bring it in to one spot.” Kathy says feedback from customers includes “the more we know about what’s going on, the less phone calls, the less CB radio connections and running out to the field that they need to do.”

Listen to my interview with Kathy here: [wpaudio url=”http://zimmcomm.biz/commodity-classic/classic-13-john-deere-michael.mp3″ text=”Interview with Kathy Michael”]

2013 Commodity Classic Photo Album