Seeds in Space Benefit Ag on Earth

Ag Group, AgWired Precision, ASTA, Audio, Education, seed

There’s a good bet that the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) annual meeting of 30 years ago looked remarkably different than the event that took place last week in Minneapolis, MN. And it’s a good bet that the science and technology making an impact on the industry in another 30 years may not have even been thought of yet, but it’s those careers, those innovations that drive the education program of CASIS.

CASIS manages the laboratory on the International Space Station on behalf of NASA, making the results of experiments freely available. They also work hand in hand with ASTA and the First- The Seed program to draw students into the importance of growing food through the Tomatosphere curriculum.

Teachers in the U.S. and Canada can receive two packets of seed for their classroom, one that has been into space and one that has not. The classroom then gets to grow, hypothesize, and experiment upon those plants to learn the effects of space on plants.

Naturally, classroom students aren’t the only ones who want to know about the effects of space on our ability to grow food. CASIS is also conducting studies that will have far-reaching implications. They began with the quick-growing plant, arabidopsis, which is the genomic standard for plant research, but now they’re moving beyond.

“We’re ready to expand that and do any other crops because we want to learn things that are going to help earth– maybe make plants grow better here on earth, but also to prepare for that long duration mission going to Mars and who knows where else?” explained Debbie Wells, program manager for CASIS.

Listen to my full interview with Debbie Wells and Samantha Thorstensen to learn more about CASIS and the Tomatosphere program: Interview with Debbie Wells and Samantha Thorstensen, CASIS

2017 ASTA Annual Meeting Flickr album

ASTA Elects New Leadership

AgWired Precision, ASTA, Audio, seed

Justin Seed president Tracy Tally receives the gavel as incoming chairman of ASTA with the support of his family

The American Seed Trade Association has been a continuously growing family for the past 134 years, and the family of new chairman Tracy Tally has been a constant at the ASTA annual meeting for many of those years.

Tally is president of Justin Seed Company in Justin, Texas, a company founded by his father in 1956. Besides running Justin Seed for the past 25 years, he served as the ASTA Southern Region Vice President, an officer on the Texas Seed Trade Association Board, was previously a certified crop adviser and serves for a variety of organizations in his community. Joining Tracy in celebrating Friday were his wife, Julie and four daughters, Emily, Elizabeth, Erica and Ellen, as well as his parents Curtis and Oneta.

“My goal is to continue the strong legacy that has been built over the past 134 years as we work to address new and emerging challenges at home and around the globe,” said Tally. “In the coming days, weeks and months, we will have new opportunities ranging from new plant breeding innovations, and how they’ll be defined both domestically and internationally, the implementation of a new food labeling law, and making our voice heard in the midst of the changing political landscape.”

Listen to my interview with Tracy here: Interview with New ASTA Chair Tracy Tally, Justin Seed Co.

Other newly elected members on the ASTA board for the coming year are First Vice Chair Jerry Flint, DuPont Pioneer; Second Vice Chair Wayne Gale, Stokes Seeds; Canada rep Jim Schweigert, Gro Alliance; Mexico rep Pablo Fernandez, Dow AgroSciences; and Central Region Vice President Dave Pearl, The Cisco Companies.

2017 ASTA Annual Meeting Flickr album

Learning Innovation from the Seed at #ASTAannual

Ag Group, AgWired Precision, ASTA, Audio, seed

Stan Abramson of Arent Fox LLP, Law Firm spoke with members of the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) about promoting agriculture innovations in Washington D.C.

We can learn a lot about innovation from the seeds themselves.  “Plants and seeds are natural innovators. They constantly reinvent themselves,” he told the audience. “A lot of innovation is just figuring out how nature operates and try to use those same techniques to improve agriculture, to put more food on the table for folks here and all around the world.”

The current administration offers different possibilities than in the past for promoting innovation. Trump appears to be friendly to the industry, and while he is constrained by the usual laws, rules, and procedures of any President, Abramson believes agriculture has a real opportunity. The key is to be strategic in what is asked for, he advised. Think of the long- and short-term implications of your asks and consider all the stakeholders who stand to benefit.

We are also at a point in history where people are beginning to see the advantages of technology like gene editing. There isn’t a single documented incident of harm from science-based farming and other countries are taking notice. They don’t want to lose out, but the U.S. needs to take a leading role, he asserts.

Listen to Cindy’s full interview with Abramson here:Interview with Stan Abramson, Arent Fox

2017 ASTA Annual Meeting Flickr album

Clariant Ups R&D Support for Agriculture

Agribusiness, AgWired Precision, Clariant, Crop Protection

Clariant is excited to announce their new greenhouse at Clariant Innovation Center (CIC) opened earlier this week. The state-of-the-art greenhouse will offer R&D for crop protection and managment, along with yield-enhancement solutions.

The 400sqm greenhouse offers smart simulation of environmental conditions such as humidity, light, rainfall and temperature, creating a proper climate for testing to supplement Clariant’s existing laboratory testing facilities at the CIC. The aim is to reduce development time and speed-to- market for advances in the niche growth areas of Plant Growth Regulators, Foliar Fertilizers and Bio-herbicides. These have been identified as focus areas to Clariant for successfully addressing current customer-specific needs and future global food demands.

“The new Crop Solutions greenhouse creates the perfect environment for fostering joint development in the areas we see as having most potential for delivering sustainable crop protection and, in the bigger picture, addressing the world’s increasing nutrition requirements,” said Britta Fünfstück, Member of Clariant’s Executive Committee. “It’s a level of support that sets us apart within our industry and we are excited at the prospect of contributing even more closely to the innovations of tomorrow.”

The new facility reinforces Clariant’s focus on sustainability and puts the company in a stronger position to provide answers going forward. Keep watching for unique solutions to come.

Enogen Presents American Ethanol Race in Iowa

AgWired Precision, Audio, Corn, Ethanol, Syngenta

Coming up tomorrow at the Iowa Speedway, Enogen presents the NASCAR XFINITY Series American Ethanol E15 250 for the fifth year.

Ron Wulfkuhle is excited to be attended the race for the first time as head of Enogen at Syngenta. “We’ll have about 1200 corn farmers attending as our guests and also we’ll be working with the FFA,” said Wulfuhle. “They’ll be doing a fundraiser at the race and just to make it interesting we’ve agreed to match whatever they raise.”

At the Fuel Ethanol Workshop in Minneapolis this week, Wulfuhle was spreading the word about the winning combination of Cellerate™ process technology and Enogen corn for ethanol plants and corn farmers by getting more ethanol from the same kernel of corn.

Learn more about Cellerate, Enogen, and the race in this interview and watch for photos and stories from the race where our Jamie Johansen will be this weekend.
Interview with Ron Wulfkuhle, Enogen

2017 Fuel Ethanol Workshop Photos

Coverage of the Fuel Ethanol Conference is sponsored by

Coverage of the Fuel Ethanol Conference is sponsored by Syngenta Enogen

Precision Ag Bytes 6/22

AgWired Precision, Zimfo Bytes

Herrmann Concludes Year as ASTA Chair

Agribusiness, AgWired Precision, ASTA, Audio, seed

The American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) annual meeting marks the end of Mark Herrmann’s service as Chair of the organization. For the past year he has lead the group in some major changes and successes, including the passing of a federal GMO bill.

“The GMO transparency bill being a federal bill, as opposed to the patchwork that was being done by state bills, is huge– for not just the American Seed Trade Association but the entire food industry in general,” Herrmann stated.

There have been other major milestones during his tenure as well. ASTA placed a staff member in China to assist with developing intellectual property rights and processes along with other bills. The communications team has also released two videos, one featuring a plant breeder, mother, and gardener, and a new animated video that seeks to educate the public on a very simple level about what breeding actually means.

Herrmann also leaves behind the legacy of an entirely rebranded event for future years. While “annual conference” is a very broad term, the summer meeting has evolved into something more specific. The new title of the session going forward has been changed to “Policy and Leadership Development Conference” to reflect this focus.

Listen to Cindy’s interview with Mark here: Interview with ASTA Chair Mark Herrmann, Ag Reliant Genetics

2017 ASTA Annual Meeting Flickr album

Panel Offers Food Company Perspectives

Ag Group, AgWired Animal, AgWired Precision, ASTA, Audio, Food Security

The Opening Session of the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) annual meeting featured three speakers offering “Perspectives from Today’s Major Food Companies.”  John Wiebold from General Mills, Jenny Verner from Cargill, Inc., and Autumn Price representing Land O’Lakes each addressed the audience before participating in a panel discussion and taking questions from the audience. Each spoke of the challenges of feeding the world balanced against the needs of the environment and the changing consumer who is more aware of these issues.

“We believe the work that we do upstream in our supply chain has a direct impact on the ecosystems around the world and we want to leverage that for positive,” said John Wiebold regarding General Mills. “So as we roll forward not only do we want to help farmers but we want to help farming communities around the world.”

“Farming is not big gardening,” he continued. Crops need a stable climate and it’s important to work across the entire value chain to ensure crops are available now and in the future. Listen to Wiebold’s full remarks here: Remarks by John Wiebold, General Mills

The challenges of nourishing 9 billion people concern the folks at Cargill as well, noted Jenny Verner. “You care a lot about what you put into your body, what you feed your family, what you feed your friends. And so for us as an industry, it really is a powerful opportunity to work collaboratively to help people come together and solve the world’s issues.”

Those solutions will involve transparency, sustainability, and trade, Verner asserts. Listen to her full address here: Remarks by Jenny Verner, Cargill, Inc.

Autumn Price reiterated that Land O’Lakes believes in these ideals too, but also stressed support for science-based farming.

“We’ve stayed true to our roots as a farmer-owned cooperative and are honored to be advocates to the farmers and producers who are our members. We’ve also expanded and evolved our businesses to meet the challenges and changing demands of farmers, customers, and consumers in the last 100 years.”  Listen to her comments here: Remarks by Autumn Price, Land O’Lakes

2017 ASTA Annual Meeting Flickr album

The GROWMARK Endure Initiative Grows

AgWired Precision, FS System, Growmark, sustainability

The GROWMARK Endure sustainability initiative is enduring. For the second year GROWMARK has announced winners of the Endure 4R Advocate award. They are:

Adam Dexter – West Central FS – Williamsfield, Illinois
Don Jones – GROWMARK FS – New York/Pennsylvania
Jay Matthews – AgVantage FS – Charles City, Iowa
John Musser – Stephenson Service Company – Stockton, Illinois
Nicole Weber – FS PARTNERS – Ontario, Canada

I spoke with GROWMARk’s Lance Ruppert about the program and this year’s winners. He says the program is designed to encourage and promote 4R practices. The 4R approach to nutrient stewardship involves using the right source, place, time, and rate of fertilizer.

Agriculture industry professionals outside the GROWMARK System served as judges. The winners earn recognition at August’s GROWMARK Annual Meeting and Agribusiness Symposium. They also get an all-expense paid trip to attend the event with their spouse.

Ruppert also talks about a new component of the Endure initiative called Endure Farms and the Enduring Farms Award.

The FS System created the Enduring Farm Award to award farmers who have excelled to preserve and improve their land and natural resources for future generations by utilizing proven best management practices such as using the 4Rs of nutrient management, soil sampling, phosphorus management, and nitrogen management.

Nominations can be submitted annually September 1 – December 31 with announcements and awards given in February. The initial nomination period will be in the fall of 2017 with the first awards given out in February 2018. Find specific qualifications here.

Listen to Lance talk more about this award and GROWMARK’s commitment to sustainability in this interview. Interview with Lance Ruppert, GROWMARK

Trump Commits to Agriculture in Iowa

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President Donald Trump stood among various models of John Deere and Case IH farm equipment as he pledged to boost agriculture exports, loosen federal regulations on the agriculture industry, and support ethanol and biofuels yesterday while speaking to a crowd of about 250 at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

“Today we are celebrating the dignity of work and the greatness of the American farmer,” said President Trump. “I’m not a farmer, but I’d be very happy to be one. It’s a very beautiful world to be in.”

President Trump began his speech by congratulating former Iowa governor Terry Branstad before he leaves for Beijing on Friday to begin serving his new role as U.S. Ambassador to China. Branstad stepped up to the podium following the send-off to praise the Trump Administration’s work in re-gaining access for U.S. beef in China.

In his speech, President Trump pledged to support and protect corn-based ethanol and biofuels, emphasized his commitment to reforming the nation’s existing trade agreements, advocated for improving rural infrastructure, including access to rural broadband and increased resources for vocational programs like Kirkwood, and pledged to eliminate “the intrusive rules that undermine farmers’ ability to make a living.”

“U.S. farmers produce great products, but you have to work too hard and too long to make a living,” said President Trump. “We’re going to make it easier to produce and grow in America by eliminating job-killing regulations and supporting schools like Kirkwood that are helping to train young people in the cutting edge technologies that are making American agriculture greater and more productive than ever before.”

Prior to his speech, President Trump toured Kirkwood and learned about the institution’s successful precision agriculture program. He expressed sincere understanding and respect for the technologies that have advanced modern agriculture and pledged his support for the continued advancement of agricultural technologies and educational programs.

“If we continue to train our workers in these new technologies, then we will usher in a new era of prosperity for American agriculture and for the American farming family,” he said.

Listen to the full speech here: President Trump at Kirkwood Community College