Adapt-N Brings Big Data Value to Farmers a Million Times a Day

agronomy, AgWired Precision, Precision Agriculture, Video

Agronomic Technology Corp – a leader in agricultural field modeling for soil, water, crops, and fertilizer – has just surpassed over one million daily nitrogen recommendations and is nearing one billion cumulative platform recommendations. The company provides Adapt-N and N-Insight and is adding additional crop, nutrient, soil, and yield solutions to its platform.

“We’ve gained traction because the value to farmers is real. We have the most advanced and proven nitrogen management solutions that are independently shown to increase crop yield and input efficiency for an average profit increase of $30/acre,” says Steve Sibulkin, CEO of Agronomic Technology Corp.

ATC CEO Steve Sibulkin (left) discusses optimizing yields at 2017 Forbes AgTech Summit

The company took part recently in Forbes’ AgTech Summit in Salinas, CA and impressed Rabobank’s Food & Agribusiness Research Executive Director Ken Zuckerberg, who spoke at the summit. “There are many agricultural data companies claiming to ‘add value’ but lacking a credible way to prove the ROI,” said Zuckerberg. “Agronomic is one of a handful of exceptional agricultural technology companies always focused on provable value to farmers and partners.”

Leading ag retailers, crop consultants, and technology companies have partnered with Adapt-N to deliver advanced nitrogen management solutions to growers. The company has also completed integrations with key software solutions, including SST Software, Agrian, EFC Systems, and the John Deere Operations Center. Sibulkin expects many more to come on board as well, including through the use of Agronomic Technology Corp’s own API. “It is easy enough to offset any farmer tool costs, and produce a ‘win-win-win’ outcome,” Sibulkin says.

Learn more about how Adapt-N works in this video:


“Peanut Program Works” Website and Video Launched

AgWired Precision, Farm Bill, Peanuts

As preparations for the 2018 Farm Bill begin, the Southern Peanut Farmers Federation (SPFF) has launched a website and video to showcase the benefits of the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) program in the 2014 Farm Bill.

Through the website, SPFF aims to educate policymakers, farmers and the agriculture community about why the Peanut Program must be retained in the upcoming Farm Bill. The message challenges attempts by a new Florida peanut group not affiliated with SPFF to change the program, according to Don Koehler, executive director of the Georgia Peanut Commission.

“The fact is the Florida Peanut Federation would undermine the market-based Peanut Program that works for peanut farmers, our families and our communities by pushing to dramatically lower the reference price and championing a self-serving effort on behalf of a few farmers who want to arbitrarily declare peanut base – a move that would put farmers in our community out of business and wreak chaos in the marketplace,” Koehler said.

The SPFF consists of the main peanut grower organizations in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi – including the Florida Peanut Producers Association, but not the new organization.

Adapt-N® Integrates with John Deere API

agronomy, AgWired Precision, John Deere

Agronomic Technology Corp announces the integration between Adapt-N® and the John Deere Operations Center, which will make it even easier for farmers and agronomists to get Adapt-N’s leading nitrogen diagnostics and recommendations, and then apply them in the field using John Deere equipment.

“This integration expands our growing presence in the Precision Agriculture space and, more importantly, makes it easier for farmers to see the impact of different tillage, planting, and nutrient management approaches in their soil and with their weather,” said Steven Sibulkin, CEO of Agronomic Technology Corp, which operates Adapt-N.

The integration allows Adapt-N users to utilize the Operations Center to make more informed decisions that can drive yield, reduce costs, and improve nitrogen use efficiency.

Agronomic Technology Corp also provides N-Insight®, the “instant nitrogen diagnostic tool,” and other leading agricultural solutions that incorporate soil, weather, crop and field management modeling. Adapt-N has been proven to increase farmer profitability by $30 per acre through yield increases and nitrogen use efficiency. Adapt-N also plugs into leading third-party platforms, including SST Software, EFC Systems, Agrian, and others.

Click to find out more from Adapt-N.

Precision Bytes 6/30

AgWired Precision, Zimfo Bytes

  • Jeff Morris is stepping into the role of vice president and chief marketing officer for AgJunction Inc., a leader in automated steering and machine control technology for precision agriculture. Morris will now be responsible for leading all marketing initiatives, developing go-to-market strategies and driving the product road map for AgJunction.
  • Isagro USA, Inc. has signed an agreement to market Vestaron Corporation’s Spear®-T biological insecticide, an environmentally conscious choice for use on greenhouse pests.
  • Live LoRaWAN internet connectivity will be provided at the InfoAg 2017 Conference coming up on July 25-27 in St. Louis, Missouri. Senet, the first and fastest growing provider of secure, public, low-power wide-area networks (LPWANs) and Managed Network Services for Internet of Things (IoT), is providing the service and will be speaking at the event as well.

Agribusiness News Briefs

Agribusiness, AgWired Precision, Syngenta, World Food Prize

Syngenta has announced its new ambition and priorities following the completion of the transaction with ChemChina. The company aims to profitably grow market share through organic growth and collaborations, and is considering targeted acquisitions with a focus on seeds. The goal is to strengthen Syngenta’s leadership position in crop protection and to become an ambitious number three in seeds.

Agricultural retailers and manufacturers recently offered powerful testimonials on how moving from paper-based tracking systems into electronic connectivity – through standardized transactions, barcoding and other systems – has dramatically improved their efficiency, accuracy and customer service; and they called on others to embrace eConnectivity to better streamline the supply chain.

Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank, was announced as the 2017 World Food Prize Laureate during a ceremony at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Hon. Sonny Perdue gave keynote remarks and applauded the selection.

ASTA Preparing Farm Bill Input

AgWired Precision, ASTA, Audio, Farm Bill, seed

Virginia Houston

The American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) has an interest in several titles of the farm bill, so the organization is making preparations for the 2018 legislation.

The research title is extremely important to the industry, and trade promotions are absolutely critical, Jane DeMarchi, VP of Government and Regulatory Affairs and Virginia Houston, Associate Director for Domestic and Government Affairs for ASTA reiterate. But it’s conservation that got a lot of attention at the recent annual meeting.

“Part of our membership segment supply conservation seed that goes for the farmers to implement these programs and just like the farmers you’re hearing are having difficulties with program efficiencies and deliveries, so do seed suppliers,” explained Houston. “So we’re really looking at how can the seed industry help NRCS and help the farmer partners improve the program efficiency– make them more cost efficient and also help them meet conservation goals.”

ASTA’s Jane DeMarchi

ASTA will work with a lot of partners to meet these goals, but most especially their members. The process is already rolling along; members of the working group heard a first draft last week at the meeting and now staff members will head to the hill to find out how the ideas float with lawmakers and other stakeholders.

Learn more about ASTA’s work on the farm bill in Cindy’s interview here: Interview with Jane DeMarchi and Virginia Houston, ASTA

2017 ASTA Annual Meeting Flickr album

Farm Groups Cheer WOTUS Repeal

AFBF, AgWired Animal, AgWired Precision, NCBA, NCGA, NPPC

Ding dong the ditch rule is dead!

The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have officially begun the process to withdraw the highly controversial Waters of the United States (WOTUS) final rule and begin a replacement rulemaking process to gather input and re-evaluate the definition of WOTUS, to cheers from farmers and ranchers nationwide.

American Farm Bureau – “Today’s announcement shows EPA Administrator Pruitt recognizes the WOTUS rule for what it is—an illegal and dangerous mistake that needs to be corrected. Farm Bureau looks forward to supporting Administrator Pruitt’s proposal. EPA should ditch this rule once and for all, go back to the drawing board, and write a new rule that protects water quality without trampling the rights of businesses and the states.”

National Corn Growers – “We are thankful this Administration is working to draw clear lines in terms of what is and what is not jurisdictional under the Clean Water Act. In doing so, they will enable farmers to implement best management practices such as grass waterways and buffer strips without the burden of bureaucratic red tape or fear of legal action. These types of land improvements have enormous water quality benefits, such as reducing sediment and nutrient runoff—a win for farmers and the environment.”

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association – “This is another great step in the right direction, and the Administration deserves a great deal of credit for injecting some much-needed common sense into our nation’s environmental policies. It’s important to remember, though, that this rule isn’t dead yet. The rulemaking process continues, and NCBA will submit and solicit additional comments on behalf of America’s cattle producers so that they finally get the sanity and clarity they need on land use policy.”

National Pork Producers – “The WOTUS rule was a dramatic government overreach and an unprecedented expansion of federal authority over private lands. It was the product of a flawed regulatory process that lacked transparency and likely would have been used by trial lawyers and environmental activists to attack farmers.”

Clariant Colors the Seed Industry Bright

Agribusiness, AgWired Precision, ASTA, Audio, Clariant, seed

If you haven’t heard of Clariant, it’s pretty remarkable to discover all the ways this manufacturer of chemicals might be involved in your daily life. With manufacturing plants around the globe, Clariant’s color division is providing pigments to industries like plastics, oil, even airline de-icing. They were at the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) annual meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota last week, however, to make sure the industry is aware of what they can do for seeds.

“We have six colors that are dry colors and six dispersions from those colors, said Eric Wrice, technical sales manager for Clariant. “They’re all EPA approved and they meet the specifications of the United States market. Another thing about these products- you can get them globally any where in the world, so if you’re a big manufacturer of seeds and you market all around the world you can get the same products anywhere.”

Clariant’s newest colors are shades of white and yellow that allow greater precision when it comes to providing an exact shade to, say, match a brand. They can get into almost any color space, Wrice explained. And you won’t find higher quality products, since Clariant even makes many of the products that go into the coloring. In addition, these color products can actually enhance all the work that has gone into creating a seed since they also contain a sustainability additive.

Listen to Cindy’s full interview with Wrice here to learn more about Clariant seed colors: Interview with Eric Wrice, Clariant

2017 ASTA Annual Meeting Flickr album

ASTA Honors Dr. Stephen Smith

Ag Group, AgWired Precision, ASTA, Audio, Award

Dr. Stephen Smith was honored last week at the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) annual conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Dr. Smith was made a Lifetime Honorary Member during the Gala Banquet in recognition of his leadership, vision, and service to the seed industry.

“Dr. Smith has been an ardent supporter of ASTA’s activities on the domestic and international levels for over 20 years,” said ASTA Chair Mark Herrmann. “He is known worldwide, well respected and deeply committed to the seed industry. An unfailing volunteer, a tireless worker and an unrelenting defender and advocate of intellectual property rights, he has traveled the country and the world attending meetings, giving speeches, organizing symposia and other activities related to intellectual property, germplasm protection and breeding for the seed industry. Respected by his colleagues in industry and government, domestically and internationally, he has become a ‘go to’ person in the industry on seed intellectual property.”

Dr. Smith holds a B.S. from the University of London and an M.S. in Conservation of Plant Genetic Resources and Ph.D. on the Evolution of Maize from the University of Birmingham. At North Carolina State University he continued his research on maize as a postdoctoral student. He spent many years at DuPont Pioneer securing intellectual property rights and has served on both ASTA and Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) intellectual property committees.  His newest endeavor is as a professor and visiting scientist in the Departments of Agronomy and Seed Science at Iowa State University.