The Paris Accord and Agriculture

AgWired Precision, Climate Change, environment, Government, NFU, USDA

Unlike everyone else, agriculture interests had very little to say about President Trump pulling the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Accord.

“President Trump promised that he would put America first and he has rightly determined that the Paris accord was not in the best interests of the United States,” said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue in a statement. “The Earth’s climate has been changing since the planet was formed – on this there is no disagreement. At USDA, we rely on sound science and we remain firmly committed to digging ever deeper into research to develop better methods of agricultural production in that changing climate.”

The only farm organization to release a statement on the president’s action was the National Farmers Union (NFU). President Roger Johnson said the President’s decision “is shameful, and it fails to recognize the very real and immediate threats of climate change to family farmers, ranchers, and our nation’s food security.”

Under the Paris Agreement, the U.S. pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 26 percent by 2025. The Trump Administration intends to begin negotiations on an entirely new agreement with more favorable terms for the United States.

Deere Intros More Efficient Headers

AgWired Precision, Audio, Farm Machinery, Harvest, John Deere

Along with the new S700 Combines for 2018, John Deere is introducing the 700C/FC Series Corn Heads and 700D Drapers for more efficient grain harvesting.

The 700C/FC (folding corn head) Series Corn Heads with the RowMax™ row unit provides up to a 50 percent increase in the life of the row unit gathering chains and features solid-alloy bushings that reduce pin and bushing wear. “We’ve also increased the life of the stalk rolls by up to 25 percent by utilizing a harder material and adding a new wear coating on the front and trailing edges of the blades for increased performance,” says Brittney Guidarelli, product manager for front end equipment. “As a result, we’ve decreased the cost of operation by reducing how frequently wear parts need to be replaced. Producers will experience a savings of up to $20,000 over five years compared to previous models.”

For small grains, the 700D Rigid Draper provides a 20 percent increase in capacity in tough harvesting conditions over the previous model. The 700D features a top crop auger that’s 50 percent larger in diameter (now 18 inches) with heavy-duty drives, high-performance gauge wheels, and a new center section seal kit that reduces center section grain losses by up to 45 percent in canola

Learn more here and in this interview from the John Deere Reveal in Moline, Illinois. Interview with Brittney Guidarelli, John Deere

2017 John Deere Reveal Photo Album

AEM Encourages Safety 365

Kelly MarshallAEM, Equipment, Safety

June is National Safety Month, but the Association for Equipment Manufacturers is encouraging those who operate machinery to practice safety 365 days a year.

“The message of safety is one we should never get complacent about. We need to wake up every day, 365 days a year, with a commitment to being safety conscious,” said James Vos, AEM safety materials manager.

The Association outlines five basic tips to help workers focus on safety:

  • Take advantage of safety training that is available.
  • Be alert and know the work area and the equipment.
  • Follow the rules of safe equipment preparation and start-up, operation and maintenance.
  • Set an example: for your well-being and the protection of others, encourage fellow workers to act safely.
  • Put it in personal terms: think what is important to you that makes you want to stay safe.

AEM also offers safety products like manuals, videos, and posters. Find the complete line of AEM safety materials at safetymaterials.org.

NCGA Highlights Need for E15 Change

Kelly MarshallAg Group, EPA, Ethanol, NCGA

There is an EPA regulatory barrier against selling 15 percent ethanol blends between June 1 to September 15 and the National Corn Growers Association says it’s time for the rule to go. The organization is urging Congress to pass the Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act (S. 517, H.R. 1311) to give consumers free choice at the pump year round.

“This regulation handcuffs fuel retailers who want to offer E15 to customers year-round,” said Ethanol Action Team Chair Paul Jeschke, a farmer from Mazon, Illinois. “And, because E15 typically costs less per gallon than regular gas, consumers lose the opportunity to save money during the summer driving season when they make more stops to fill up.”

Currently blends of up to 10 percent ethanol have a waiver for the emissions regulations because ethanol-blended fuels reduce tailpipe emissions, but blends with 15 percent ethanol have failed to receive the same treatment. The act would clarify that blends of greater than 10 percent be treated the same.

John Deere Rolls Out Smarter S700 Combines

AgWired Precision, Audio, Farm Machinery, John Deere

John Deere is hosting agricultural media today at their harvester headquarters in Moline, Illinois – an appropriate place to unveil a smarter line of grain harvesting technology in the combines and headers John Deere is introducing for model year 2018 production.

This includes four new S700 Combine models (S760, S770, S780 and S790) that offer producers significant improvements in “smart” technology, improved operator comfort and better data, along with the 700C/FC Series Corn Heads and 700D Drapers for more efficient grain harvesting. Building on the proven field performance of the S600 Combines introduced in 2012, the new S700 Combines incorporate the latest in automated harvesting technology. Many of these changes make it easier on the operator by allowing the combine to make needed adjustments automatically, on the go.

“We are focused on, especially with the combine, on how do you harvest smarter,” says Beverly Flores, Media Relations Manager for Deere. “The new combine has a lot of innovation, a lot of true tech, that’s really bringing that together.”

This is the first media event in this role for Flores, who took over for Barry Nelson when he retired last year. In this interview with Jamie, she talks about the excitement about what’s new from Deere. Interview with Bev Flores, John Deere

Iteris Enhances ClearAg iOS Mobile and Web App

Kelly MarshallAgribusiness, Apps, Data, Iteris, Website

ClearAg Web and Mobile have both gotten an upgrade with a new Harvest Advisor and Nutrient Advisor now ready for ag retailers, crop consultants and crop science companies to use to advisor growers.

The Harvest Advisor within the iOS application now provides users with the ability to both harvest and archive crops in preparation for using the fields for new crops in the next growing season. The Nutrient Advisor provides recommendations for fertilizer applications based on user-supplied information, including fertilizer type, yield target, and proposed application date and depth.

ClearAg is also available in Portuguese, Russian, German, Dutch, Ukrainian, Japanese, Italian and Spanish, in addition to English.

Iowa Gov and Ag Groups to Make China Trip

Ag Group, AgWired Animal, AgWired Energy, AgWired Precision, Audio, Beef, Corn, Ethanol, Pork, Soybean

Iowa’s new governor and the state’s agricultural organizations miss Terry Branstad so much that they are already planning a trip to see him in China.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds will lead an all-Iowa agriculture trade mission to China July 19-28 with representatives from the state’s corn, pork, soy, beef, egg, poultry, dairy and turkey industries. The trip marks the first time all of Iowa’s farm groups have come together for a trade mission which will be jointly funded by the participating organizations.

“There is no better time than now to market and pitch our products in China,” said Reynolds. “Our relationship with the country is strong, and their growing middle class means increasing purchasing power and Iowa stands to gain significantly as a result.”

The goal of the mission is to build relationships, understanding and trust with the hope of opening new possibilities for Iowa’s agricultural products. The groups will be meeting with government officials and industry partners. Reynolds says they will be visiting Ambassador Terry Branstad in Beijing, whose insight will be important as the groups navigate solutions to some of the current issues.

China currently accounts for 60 percent of global soybean imports – and growing. “It’s a vital market and an historic trip,” said Iowa Soybean Association CEO Kirk Leeds. “Relationships matter for the Chinese. Rarely do they do business with people they don’t know.”

China was the second-largest purchaser of U.S. ethanol last marketing year and a major buyer of U.S. distiller’s dried grains (DDGS), but because of Chinese antidumping and countervailing duties investigations, U.S. DDGS entering China now face duties of over 90 percent, and China has not approved any corn products derived from biotechnology since December 2014. “This has created market access challenges for corn exporters and restricted farmers’ access to new technologies,” said Iowa Corn CEO Craig Floss.

China is the second largest export market for U.S. pork producers but imports of U.S. beef have been banned for 13 years, so cattle producers are optimistic about the opportunities with the recent announcement to lift the ban.

Reynolds made the announcement Tuesday during her first weekly press conference as governor, joined by Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg, Iowa Corn CEO Craig Floss, ISA CEO Kirk Leeds, and Iowa Cattlemen’s CEO Matt Deppe. Listen to the announcement here: IA Gov China Trip Press Conference

MagGrow Brings Innovation to Crop Protection

Agribusiness, AgWired Precision, Alltech, Audio, Crop Protection

After three years of developing products, founding member and CEO of MagGrow, Gary Wickham became part of the Pearse Lyons Accelerator just as they were ready to bring their solutions to growers.

It was Wickham’s brother who discovered the need that was the mother of this invention. While working in Florida he saw serious flaws with pesticide spray. As a chemist, Wickham looked at the problem and developed a magnetic technology to solve it.

“Conventional technology tries to control drift, but can’t achieve good coverage and get the product to the crop- it can’t do both,” Wickham points out. “Seventy percent of what they spray is wasted. It goes into the rivers and streams. We stop all that from happening. We reduce that waste to less than 10 percent by passing the fluid through magnetic systems and basically making it easier for the drop to detach to the crop. So growers now have a solution to control drift and also get better coverage, which means they’ll have good yields and be using less to grow more.”

Learn more about MagGrow in Jamie’s full interview here: Interview with Gary Wickham, MagGrow

Alltech ONE17 Photo Album

BASF Introduces Provisia Rice System

Kelly MarshallAgribusiness, BASF, Rice, Weed control

BASF’s Provisia Rice System will offer growers post-emergent control of a variety of weeds, including acetolactate synthase (ALS) resistant grasses, weedy rice, and red rice. The new system has received EPA approval for the 2018 growing system.

“The Provisia Rice System provides growers with a much-needed technology,” said Nick Fassler, Manager, Technical Marketing, BASF. “This system helps achieve more rotational control of operations, enabling growers to consecutively produce rice without increasing weed resistance year after year.”

Developed by BASF, the system enables growers to apply the Provisia herbicide on the Provisia seed crop. This application allows for a rotation of Clearfield® rice, Provisia rice, then Roundup Ready® or LibertyLink® soybeans. This creates ongoing weed control by using different herbicide modes of action: ALS inhibitor, Acetyl-CoA carboxylase inhibitor for rice, and Roundup Ready or LibertyLink soybeans.

New Report on Specialty Crop Insurance

Kelly MarshallCrop Insurance, Specialty Crops, USDA

The USDA’s Economic Research Service has released a new report entitled “Changes to the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program Under the Agricultural Act of 2014: Their Potential Risk Reduction Impacts.” The report looks at the impact of the Buy-Up coverage addition to the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP).

The study found that Buy-Up coverage can better mitigate a farmer’s risk more than NAP Basic and slightly improves a producer’s average revenue. It also noted a significant increase from 2014 to 2015 in the number of producers who selected Buy-Up, especially among those with limited resource, socially disadvantaged, and beginning farmers.

Read the full report to learn more.