John Deere 5R Series Utility Tractor – Power & Versatility

Agribusiness, AgWired Animal, AgWired Precision, Audio, Equipment, Farm Progress Show, Forage, Hay, John Deere, livestock

Offering tractors from 90 to 125 engine hp, the John Deere 5R series tractors were on display at the 2017 Farm Progress Show. Attendees saw first-hand the advanced technology to the utility tractor provides, meeting many farming demands. John Doyle, product marketing manager, took us through key product specs and the ideal customer of this new product offering.

“The 5R is the highest horsepower tractor we have made out of the Augusta, GA factory, with up to 125 engine horsepower. One of the key aspects of utility tractors is maneuverability. Our 5R tractors have best in class turning radius which is key for customers turning in tight spaces,” Doyle said.

The 5R series comes in four models, all with an easy-to-use transmission, AutoClutch and the list goes on and on. Doyle said this series is perfect for the livestock producer and anyone focused on forage production. Listen to my complete interview with John here: Interview with John Doyle, John Deere

View John Deere photos here: John Deere at #FPS17 Photo Album

View all our photos from FPS here: 2017 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by John DeereCoverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by GrowmarkCoverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Bayer CropScience

Arkansas Urged to Consider Impact of Dicamba Ban

AgWired Precision, Audio, BASF, Monsanto, Soybean, weeds

Soybean leaf cupping seen from suspected dicamba drift (ZimmComm file photo)

The Arkansas State Plant Board is considering recommendations for dicamba use in the 2018 growing season that Monsanto calls “unwarranted” and BASF considers to be a “rush to judgement.”

On August 24, the state’s Dicamba Task Force voted to recommend a cutoff date of April 15 next year for the use of all dicamba products, including Monsanto’s XtendiMax and BASF’s Engenia, meaning farmers could basically only use the product as a burn down, not post emerge.

“By just focusing on the burn-down, growers aren’t going to get the full advantage of an Engenia-like product,” said BASF Midwest Technical Service Manager Gary Schmitz during an interview at Farm Progress Show. “Weeds like Palmer amaranth, waterhemp, kochia, they’re really going to need that post-emerge application to manage that.”

BASF Vice President for U.S. Crop Scott Kay says farmers who used in Engenia this season were pleased with the results and the company is committed to fully investigating and understanding the off-target reports and damage this year. “It’s probably the best weed control farmers have seen in probably a decade,” said Kay. “We’re on the farm with over 400 people and talking with farmers and walking with them and we’re still looking at some results.”

Listen to interviews with Schmitz and Kay below:
Interview with Gary Schmitz, BASF

Interview with Scott Kay, BASF

Monsanto, which sells both the dicamba-tolerant soybean seed and the herbicide itself, last week filed a petition with the Arkansas State Plant Board to “halt an unwarranted and misinformed ban on dicamba, a critical tool for growers—and to ensure that growers in Arkansas have access to a vital new weed-control tool next year.”

BASF and Monsanto are both working with agriculture departments in the states where issues with dicamba drift were reported. Arkansas has been a hot spot for dicamba issues with nearly 1000 complaints filed, over 75% of the cases reported in more than a dozen states.

SMART Farmer Robb Fraley

AgWired Precision, Audio, GMO, Monsanto, SMART Farmer, USFRA

Robb Fraley isn’t our typical SMART Farmer, but after growing up on a small Illinois farm, his work has helped farmers around the world produce food more sustainably with science and technology that has helped increase yields by decreasing threats to crops. That technology is genetic modification of plants, creating GMO crops that are resistance to insects and disease, able to tolerate extreme variations in climate, and even provide human health benefits.

As executive vice president and chief technology officer for Monsanto Company, Fraley has made a commitment to broader open dialogue to address consumer concerns innovations in agriculture, including biotechnology, and one way Monsanto has done that is to help the efforts of the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA). “Working together as an industry we need to share more background and more information on food innovation and GMO safety with the millions of people out there who have legitimate questions,” Fraley said.

Listen to our SMART farmer conversation with Robb Fraley – SMART Farmer Podcast with Robb Fraley, Monsanto

Subscribe to the SMART Farmer podcast

Learn more about USFRA and SMART Farm

John Deere Acquires Blue River Technology

Agribusiness, AgWired Precision, Audio, John Deere, technology

Farming just keeps getting smarter thanks to new technology like that being developed by Blue River Technology. It certainly caught the attention of John Deere which just announced acquisition of Blue River. To learn more about what Blue River Technology does and what this means to John Deere and its customers I spoke by phone with Willy Pell, Director of New Technology, Blue River Technology and Deanna Kovar, Director, Production & Precision Ag Marketing at John Deere.

Blue River has designed and integrated computer vision and machine learning technology that will enable growers to reduce the use of herbicides by spraying only where weeds are present, optimizing the use of inputs in farming – a key objective of precision agriculture. I didn’t really know what the term “machine learning” meant for farming until this interview. One of the results is the ability to enable thousands of instantaneous, customized, precise decisions to be made at the plant level.

You can read the announcement release here.

You can listen to my interview to learn more: Interview with John Deere and Blue River Technology

Bayer Showcases Cotton and Peanuts

AgWired AgNewsWire, AgWired Precision, Audio, Bayer, Cotton, Peanuts

The peanut and cotton crops are looking especially good right now in Georgia and with harvest still about two weeks away farmers are hopeful Hurricane Irma will spare them.

“Harvest season is always critical and you can have a great year and it all be ruined by one hurricane,” said Keith Rucker, Bayer Southeast region technical service rep, during a showcase plot tour last week near Moultrie, Georgia.

The plot tour showcased Bayer solutions for peanut and cotton farmers in the southeast, including Propulse® which is a fungicide/nematicide, and Proline® fungicide with a new registration as a foliar fungicide for cotton to fight target spot.

Bayer regional agronomy manager Scott Asher talked about two new Stoneville cotton varieties introduced this year for the Southeast.

ST 5020GLT, a medium maturity variety with TwinLink, to provide season-long resistance to a broad spectrum of worms; and GlyTol and LibertyLink to control herbicide-resistant and tough weeds with the unique mode of action provided by Liberty® herbicide; and ST 5517GLTP, a later medium maturity variety with the industry-leading three-gene Bt technology of TwinLink Plus.

“The most interest in these two varieties would be around bacterial blight resistance,” said Asher, who says cases of blight increased this year in a broader area.

Learn more about Bayer’s cotton and peanut portfolio:
Interview with Keith Rucker, Bayer

Learn more about new Stoneville cotton varieties:
Interview with Scott Asher, Bayer

Soil Health Partnership Simulates Rain at FPS17

Chuck ZimmermanAgWired Precision, Audio, Conservation, Farm Progress Show, Soil Health Partnership

The weather was perfect at the 2017 Farm Progress Show but it was raining in the Soil Health Partnership exhibit.

The highlight of the exhibit was a rainfall simulator, demonstrating the effects of rainfall on different types of management practices. The eye catching display provided an opportunity for the Illinois Sustainable Ag Partnership to promote different aspects of soil management and how those relate to water infiltration and soil health.

“This rainfall simulator shows how much better a healthy soil will take in water. It will reduce erosion, it will have less nutrient runoff,” says Jim Isermann, Soil Health Partnership Illinois field manager. “We try to tie that back to the more conventional farmers who are here today in that discussion about soil health and ultimately improving their bottom line over time, recognizing that it’s a slow process and it’s a long term commitment to soil health.”

Farmers who work with the Soil Health Partnership are doing long term studies on ground to see what kind of effect practices such as cover crops can have on both environmental side and bottom line economically.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Jim Isermann at the 2017 Farm Progress Show: Interview with Jim Isermann, Soil Health Partnership

View all photos from FPS here: 2017 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by John DeereCoverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by GrowmarkCoverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Bayer CropScience

Achieve Your Personal Best Yields with Bayer’s Delaro™

Agribusiness, AgWired Precision, Audio, Bayer, Corn, Crop Science, Farm Progress Show, Fungicide, Soybean

Bayer Crop Science understands the need for chemistry that covers a broad range of environmental conditions. They also know the best way to do that is with a product that has two modes of action focused on advanced formulas with unique movement the entire growing season.

We spoke with Bayer’s Dr. Randy Myers during the 2017 Farm Progress Show who provided us with key grower benefits of their new product, Delaro.

“We’ve brought this new fungicide to the marketplace because we are trying to meet grower needs currently unmet. There are a number of fungicide choices out there and virtually all of them have similarities. We have to figure out what growers are needing, what the shortage is. Disease activity is increasing as we reduce tillage and have infections from one year to the next,” Myers said.

For both corn and soybeans, Delaro provides unbeatable broad-spectrum disease control, best-in-class dual mode of action residual and improved plant health.

Listen to my complete interview with Randy as he shares scouting tips and where you can go to learn more about fungicides that will help growers improve their bottom line.

Interview with Randy Myers, Bayer

View Bayer photos here: Bayer CropScience at #FPS17 Photo Album

View all photos from FPS here: 2017 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by John DeereCoverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by GrowmarkCoverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Bayer CropScience

GROWMARK Supports Hurricane Harvey Relief Efforts​

AgWired Precision, Audio, Food, Growmark

GROWMARK has donated $50,000 to support relief efforts following Hurricane Harvey through the Midwest Fo​od Bank,​ a Salvation Army​ First Responder organization. The contribution was made through The GROWMARK Foundation, GROWMARK’s philanthropic arm which supports not-for-profit charitable organizations.

“They have put together disaster relief boxes to help those residents who have been affected by Harvey,” said GROWMARK Foundation manager Amy Bradford. “We know that Midwest Food Bank has sent five semis full of thousands of these boxes and hygiene kits to help in the Houston, Texas and Louisiana area.”

GROWMARK’s donation will enable the Midwest Food Bank and the Salvation Army to continue their important mission for as long as there is a need. In addition, Bradford says employees throughout the GROWMARK System continue to individually support relief efforts, and they will be watching the situation developing with Hurricane Irma to determine what help might be needed in the aftermath of that storm heading our way.

click here to learn more about Midwest Food Bank listen to this interview with Amy for details: Interview with Amy Bradford, GROWMARK

John Deere 2025R Compact Tractor Gets Complete Overhaul

Agribusiness, AgWired Animal, AgWired Precision, Equipment, Farm Progress Show, John Deere, livestock

The completely redesigned John Deere 2025R Compact Utility Tractor has a Final Tier 4-compliant diesel engine providing customers with an easy-to-use, versatile machine designed to tackle a variety of jobs. Jon Schebler, product manager for the 2025R series, took us through the specs of the redesigned tractor at the 2017 Farm Progress Show.

“When we think of this kind of tractor, we think about folks who have a small acreage. Maybe they have equine, some livestock and snow removal is a great application for this machine,” Schebler added.

The 2025R comes equipped with TwinTouch™ foot controls, allowing the operator to select speed and direction of travel with the light touch of a toe, reducing operator fatigue and increasing productivity. With the addition of the optional Auto-Throttle, the operator can automatically increase or decrease engine speed while pressing on either of the TwinTouch pedals. The 2025R also features equal forward and reverse ground speed, which, when combined with the TwinTouch pedals, allows for faster direction changes.

Listen to my complete interview with Jon here: Interview with Jon Schebler, John Deere

View John Deere photos here: John Deere at #FPS17 Photo Album

View all our photos from FPS here: 2017 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by John DeereCoverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by GrowmarkCoverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Bayer CropScience

No Weed Left Behind with DiFlexx DUO

Agribusiness, AgWired Precision, Audio, Bayer, Crop Science, Farm Progress Show, Herbicide, weeds

Challenges with resistant weeds were still seen across the country this season. However, Bayer CropScience beleieves these resistant weeds have met their match with a new herbicide introduced before the 2017 season.

We visited with Frank Rittemann, selective corn herbicides product manager at Bayer, last week at the Farm Progress Show to learn more about the key benefits of DiFlexx® DUO to growers.

“Many growers who used DiFlexx DUO during its first season saw the same results we observed in trials,” said Rittemann. “It cleaned up weeds that other herbicides left behind. DiFlexx DUO provides powerful control against the particularly tough glyphosate-resistant weeds that many growers struggle with.”

Rittemann said they like to refer to DiFlexx DUO as a zero tolerance weed control. The simple goal for growers is ‘no weed left behind.’ A recent University of Nebraska-Lincoln trials featured an extensive look at broadleaf weed response to corn herbicides. DiFlexx® DUO demonstrated a complete control against the full spectrum of problem weeds, controlling up to 95% of waterhemp, Palmer amaranth, morning glories, cocklebur and lambsquarters.

Listen to my complete interview with Frank to hear the entire story: Interview with Frank Rittemann, Bayer

View all photos from FPS photos here: Farm Progress Show Photo Album
View Bayer photos here: Bayer CropScience at #FPS17 Photo Album

Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by John DeereCoverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by GrowmarkCoverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by Bayer CropScience