Salford is introducing the new Valmar 56 series line of granular applicators to replace the 55 series line. The 56 series feature polyethylene hoppers, a new ISOBUS controller and the ability to control up to 4 separate metering sections.- Equipment Technologies (ET) has unveiled a new series of hydrostatic sprayers. The Bruin Sprayers were reengineered for durability required by North American farmers and custom applicators and will be available in two models: HS700 (700 gallon) and HS1100 (1,100 gallon).
- BASF and Proagrica have signed an agreement to bring one of the first farm management system interfaces to market. Proagrica’s integration and connectivity solutions and expertise will work with BASF’s Maglis to connect with different digital farming applications.
- Raven Industries has released two new precision agriculture products. The RS1 combines auto steer, GPS, and Slingshot for easy-to-use navigation and the CR7 is a powerful, lightweight field computer with customizable in-job layouts.
Bright Outlook for #FPS17
The forecast for the 2017 Farm Progress Show is so bright Don Tourte has to wear shades inside the media tent!
Tourte, who is Penton Agriculture vice president and Farm Progress Show manager, says the weather is great and the crowds are here, despite the downturn in the farm economy. “I say, maybe farmers need the Farm Progress Show more in a farm economy like this than they do when things are great,” said Tourte. “You need to look at what’s the edge, that little thing or big thing that’s going to make you more money.”
Audio file: Interview with Don Tourte, Farm Progress Show
2017 Farm Progress Show Photo Album
Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by 
Harvey Hits Texas Agriculture
Rescuing people trapped in flood waters continues to be the number one priority in Texas but it’s clear that Hurricane Harvey has hit agriculture hard.
Texas Commissioner of Agriculture Sid Miller says cotton farmers who were looking at a bumper crop this year were especially hard hit. “Best estimate so far is about a 150 million dollar loss for the cotton industry on the coastal plains,” said Miller.
Livestock producers are also being impacted and in need of feed and fresh water. “If you really want to help farmers and ranchers…we have a STAR fund – State of Texas Agriculture Relief fund – and that gets right in the hands of producers.” To donate, click on this link.
In this interview from Tony St. James with All Ag News, Miller talks about the impact of the storm. All Ag News interview with TX Ag Comm Sid Miller
Welcome to Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show
This morning Jamie and Joanna went up top to get a bird’s eye view of the start of the 2017 Farm Progress Show. We hope to be live when the network allow it so keep you eye on the AgWired page. And, like it if can. We an use all the likes we can get! LOL.
BTW. The official hashtag for this year’s show is #FPS17. Follow along the journey.
Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by
Taiwanese Rice Importers Visit Missouri
No one traveled father for the Missouri Rice Council annual Rice Field Day in Campbell, Missouri than Taiwanese Rice Importer, Chris Lee. Forty years ago his father began a rice business in Taiwan and today Lee and his brothers have taken that business global by importing rice from around the world. Last week they were in the U.S. to learn more about varieties that will meet demands back home.
“We were here at the field day today and we saw the effort that was put in by the researchers- rice breeders and researchers- and we saw a lot of varieties. We’re glad to see how advanced and how much effort you guys put into creating new varieties and hopefully we find some type of variety that will fit into our market,” Lee said.
Currently that demand includes long grain rice, as Taiwan mostly grows medium grain. Lee has been talking to guest speakers at the events they’ve attended to learn more about the varieties of long grain rice and how they differ from state to state.
Listen to Jamie’s full interview with Lee to learn more: Interview with Chris Lee, Shan Shui Me Food Enterprise
Photos of the event can be found here: Missouri Rice Field Day Photo Album
U.S. Rice Production Finding New Markets
Greg Yielding of the U.S. Rice Producers Association says rice is looking good this year. He brought an outlook message to attendees of the recent Missouri Rice Council Field Day and says growers with good crops need to be deciding now if they’ll sell or wait at harvest time. Indicators point to a pretty tight market, he says.
Whatever farmers choose, the U.S. Rice Producers Association is there to help market that rice. They’re always on the lookout for new markets- like the current deal with China.
“We took U.S. rice into the stores. We saw that there was a market. We showed the Chinese importers and the supermarkets that there was a market for U.S. rice and now, with this administration, we’ve finally got a protocol signed so we can begin trade and actually sell rice to China. It’s going to be huge for the U.S.,” Yielding said. And he believes the deal will happen quickly, with rice heading across the globe within 30 days of China’s final visit to the U.S.
The organization is also working hard on a program in Guatemala. They’re bringing education to schools, especially small schools, about how to cook and serve rice. In places where the mothers come in to cook the lunch meal, this is especially important because the knowledge of how to cook rice goes home as well. Currently, 100% of the rice purchased in Guatemala comes from the U.S., making this program’s impact even more significant.
Learn more about U.S. rice production in Jamie’s full interview here:Interview with Greg Yielding, U.S. Rice Producers Association
View and download photos from the event here: Missouri Rice Field Day Photo Album
New Joint Venture Capitalizes on Precision Platform
Four leading agribusinesses, Wheat Growers, Landus Cooperative, Central Valley Ag and WinField United, are coming together in a joint venture called FieldReveal. Together they will provide ag retailers with a platform, allowing them to provide better service to growers and keep pace with new technologies. FieldReveal will offer ease in writing prescriptions for seed, fertility, and other inputs thanks to the geo-referenced, multi-layered sampling taken from grids, soil management zones, or both.
The FieldReveal precision platform helps agronomists work closely with growers to help optimize input costs and yields to deliver improved returns on each field. The genesis of the FieldReveal platform was the MZB precision farming system from Wheat Growers, which has proven its worth to growers since 1997.
“This tool was built by agronomists and is used by agronomists. That’s what makes it so relevant and effective,” says Brent Wiesenburger, executive advisor for FieldReveal and precision ag manager at Wheat Growers. “It was designed to enhance the partnership between ag retailers, agronomists and their customers.”
AgriBlogging From Farm Progress Show
Welcome to Farm Progress Show week. The ZimmComm Team, Cindy, Jamie, Joanna and myself will be on location by late afternoon to set ourselves up for a busy week.
I want to thank our sponsors this year which include John Deere, Bayer CropScience and GROWMARK. We’ll be working with these companies and more to find out what’s new in the world of agribusiness so expect lots of photos, interviews and video as the opportunity present itself.
Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by
SMART Farmer Anne Meis
Anne Meis is a family farmer from Elgin, Nebraska who raises corn, soybeans, and beef with her husband Jim, and serves on the boards of the Nebraska Soybean Board and the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA). In this SMART farmer podcast episode, she talks about the importance of technology such as genetically modified crops for smart farmers.
She also talks about the upcoming “Food Dialogues: Pivoting the GMO Conversation” at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln on September 6, presented by USFRA and Nebraska Soybean Board and invites everyone to join live and in person or live and on Facebook for the event next week – details are here.
Listen to our SMART farmer conversation with Anne – SMART Farmer Podcast with Nebraska farmer Anne Meis
Missouri Rice Council Hosts Field Day
The Missouri Rice Council hosted their annual Rice Field Day August 24, at the Rice Research Farm in Campbell, Missouri. Research personnel from Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) and the University of Missouri Fisher Delta Research Center were on hand to provide area farmers a chance to see and learn about recent developments in rice research and other agricultural related topics. Nearly 250 growers and rice industry leaders took part in the field day.
I caught up with Eric Hover, Missouri rice producer and chairman of the Missouri Rice Council, to learn more about how they serve producer-members and ways research dollars are spent. “There are 10 counties in the bootheel of Missouri that grow rice. We [Missouri Rice Council] administer the checkoff funds and TRQ funds that are made through the sale of rice. We conduct research and promotion of rice throughout the state and country. We take trade missions and develop new lines of rice with our breeder at SEMO that are best fit for our Northern growing area.”
Listen to my complete interview with Eric here: Interview with Eric Hover, Missouri Rice Council, Chairman
View and download photos from the event here: U.S. Soy Global Trade Exchange Photo Album