Precision Pays

In this Precision Pays Podcast we are going to visit the Iowa Power Farming Show, held January 31 through February 2 in Des Moines.

The 57th annual show, which is owned and managed by the Iowa-Nebraska Equipment Dealers Association, was the biggest ever and the event can now claim to be the second largest indoor farm show in the United States.

While the big equipment displays take up much of the floor space, technology is really front and center and Ag Leader Technology is one of the sponsors of the show. Iowa farm broadcast legend Ken Root took in some of the Ag Leader technology on display and shared those interviews with us – one with Chad Vick on the OptRx sensor and one with Mark Anderson talking about Integra with advanced seed monitoring.

Listen to or download the Precision Pays Podcast: Precision Pays Podcast from Iowa Power Farming

More photos of Ag Leader Technology at the Iowa Power Farming Show.

South Dakota State University (SDSU) Extension’s 13th annual Precision Ag Conference is set for Feb. 22 in Aberdeen S.D.

The one-day event is designed to provide producers with the latest in precision ag research, technology, equipment and information through presentations and a trade show.

The program will include presentations on Making ‘Cents’ out of Yield Data, Mapping and Interpreting Yield Maps, Precision Ag – Machinery Innovations for the Future, Ag Information Systems of the Future, The Miracle of Modern Agriculture. Concurrent sessions will feature industry updates from a number of companies including Ag Leader Technologies, Raven Applied Technologies, and John Deere/RDO Equipment.

The conference opens at 7:30 a.m. at the Best Western Ramkota Inn with registration and coffee and presentations will begin at 9:00.

Pre-registration cost for the event is $20 before Feb.15. The cost at the door is $25 per person. For more information contact Mark Rosenberg at the SDSU Aberdeen Regional Extension Center – mark.rosenberg@sdstate.edu.

The administration is rethinking plans to prevent children from doing many types of farm work.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) this week announced that a proposal which would have barred children from many on-farm tasks will be revised to allow broader exemptions for parents who own or run agricultural operations.

The proposed rules would have prevent children younger than 16 from using most power-driven equipment on farms and prohibit anyone under 19 from working in grain bins, stockyards and feedlots.

Agricultural organizations had unanimously opposed the concept which strikes at heart of the farm and ranch lifestyle and the Labor Department was inundated with thousands of comments from the countryside. “Your voices were heard,” said National Cattlemen’s Beef Association president Bill Donald, who announced the news at the annual Cattle Industry Convention in Nashville. “This goes right to the very fiber of who we are in this country.”

American Farm Bureau Federation president Bob Stallman says the decision to re-propose the ‘parental exemption’ in the child labor rule is a positive step, but much more work is needed. “Any final regulation must make sense, not infringe on the traditional rights of family farms and not unnecessarily restrict the ability of young people to work in agriculture,” said Stallman. “Laws and regulations need to be sensible and within reason, not prohibiting teenagers from performing simple everyday farm functions like operating a battery-powered screwdriver.”

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the decision shows the Labor Department listened to the nation’s farmers. “This announcement and the additional opportunity for comment represent a common-sense approach to strengthen our agricultural economy while keeping farm kids safe,” Vilsack said.

The House Small Business’ Subcommittee on Agriculture, Energy and Trade held a hearing on the issue Thursday to get additional input from agricultural interests.

The latest in precision farming technology and techniques are always part of the annual Commodity Classic and this year is no exception.

In addition to the huge trade show featuring the latest equipment and gadgets, there will also be a number of break out sessions dedicated to the latest in precision agriculture, including a panel discussion sponsored by the Precision Ag Institute.

Three growers will share their precision agriculture success stories in a presentation, “PrecisionAg: Know More; Grow More,” on March 3 at Commodity Classic. The growers are Lon Bohn of Gibbon, NE; Don Glenn of Hillsboro, AL and Kevin Stoy from Ashley, IN. See this article from PrecisionAg Works for a preview.

The annual meeting of corn, soybean, wheat and sorghum producers will be held March 1-3 at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville. Convention details and registration information are available at commodityclassic.com.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack this week signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between USDA, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the state of Minnesota to develop a new state conservation program for agriculture. The program is designed to increase the voluntary adoption of conservation practices by farmers and ranchers that protect local rivers, streams and other waters by reducing fertilizer run-off and soil erosion.

Through this partnership producers, who undertake a substantial level of conservation activities to reduce nutrient run-off and erosion, will receive assurance from the state that their farms will meet Minnesota’s water quality standards and goals during the life of the agreement. Vilsack, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson signed the MOU during a ceremony in the Minnesota Capitol.

“Establishment of this program will protect our water resources by providing assurances and incentives to participating farmers that their good deeds – their strong commitment to conservation – will be recognized,” Vilsack said. “Farmers will know the rules of the game while the state, EPA and the public will know that this program will lead to cleaner water.”

The MOU signing is the first step toward developing the Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program (AWQCP), designed to increase the adoption of recommended conservation practices to improve water quality on agricultural land. The partners will next establish a Technical Advisory Committee to develop the certification program that will support the state’s water quality standards and goals. The committee will solicit input from stakeholders in designing criteria to provide certainty for producers who have voluntarily attained or maintained a certain level of water quality improvements on their agricultural land. Minnesota will test the program in several pilot watersheds.

Farmers around Illinois who are interested in receiving a “check-up” on their risk management plans are invited to attend one of three upcoming meetings, sponsored by AgriVisor and COUNTRY Financial.

The meetings will be held on January 31 at the Holiday Inn in Mt. Vernon, Ill.; February 1 at the Northfield Suites in Springfield, Ill.; and February 2 at University Plaza in DeKalb, Ill. All meetings begin at 5:00 pm and include a ribeye dinner. Cost is $19 per person. A drawing for an iPad will also be held at each location.

“The meetings will be a ‘one-stop shop’ where farmers can learn about many key factors that may affect their risk management plans in 2012,” said Clayton Pope, manager, AgriVisor, LLC. “Today’s markets are so volatile; our goal with these meetings is to provide farmers with specific tools to help them reduce their risk to enhance the prospects for a successful growing season.”

Registration closes January 23. Call your local COUNTRY financial representative, county Farm Bureau office, or visit www.agrivisor.com for more information and to register.

January 31, 2012 is the deadline to submit project pre-proposals for fiscal year 2012 Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) from the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Pre-proposals support large-scale demonstration projects that test and prove original approaches to conserving America’s private lands.

“These conservation grants continue to generate exciting new ideas that help farmers and ranchers run sustainable and profitable operations and address high-priority natural resource concerns,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

This year’s CIG projects focus on nutrient management, energy conservation, soil health, wildlife and CIG projects assessment. NRCS is especially interested in projects that demonstrate:

-Optimal combinations of nutrient source, application rate, placement and timing that improve nutrient recovery by crops.
-Procedures for refining the usefulness of the phosphorous index in reducing phosphorous losses.
-Suites of conservation practices that protect water quality.
-Renewable energy systems that reduce the use of fossil fuels and increase energy efficiency on farms.
-The impacts of cover crops, crop rotations, tillage and other conservation practices on soil health.
-Conservation practices that increase the water-holding capacity of soils.
-Decision tools that help producers assess their operations and conservation needs in order to improve wildlife habitat.
Assess the technology transfer potential of completed CIG projects.

More about the program and application process is available on-line from USDA.

The year was 1922 and the transition from horsepower to tractors on the farm was the basis for the forming of the Illinois Farm Supply Company, which eventually became the multi-billion dollar, multi-faceted farm cooperative system that is know today as GROWMARK.

In honor of the GROWMARK System’s 85th anniversary this year, a new history section has been added to the cooperative’s website. The anniversary is marked from 1927, when the Illinois Farm Supply Company was chartered under the State of Illinois Cooperative Marketing Act of 1923.

“A company’s future is rooted in its history. And for the GROWMARK System, 85 years of history communicate a clear mission for improving members’ profitability, working together with a strong sense of integrity, and always positioning this network of cooperatives for long-term success,” said Ann Kafer, GROWMARK director of corporate communications and marketing services. “Honoring that rich history with this website is fitting. I’m certain past, present and future employees, directors, and farm customers will learn much and come away proud of the legacy that’s been created by the GROWMARK System.”

The site is designed for the future, with the ability to add eras and events as needed. More videos and photographs will continue to be added in the coming months. The site can be found by clicking on the “Our History” tab on www.growmark.com

It is really pretty interesting and worth a look.

Thanks to our Precision Pays readers for helping us hit 50,000 unique visitors in 2011! That’s an increase of 3.5% over 2010. We look forward to kicking that up another notch in 2012.

Our Precision Pays reporters brought you a total of 380 stories, including over 80 with audio interviews or podcasts and 15 YouTube videos. The most popular YouTube video of the year was the John Deere Subcompact Utility Tractor Unveiling at the National Farm Machinery Show, which has been viewed almost 40,000 times.

Some of the most popular stories of the year on Precision Pays were:

John Deere introduces Farm Sight
Corn Choppers at Farm Progress Show
John Deere product launch
Drones tested for Ag Use
LightSquared Wireless Broadband Issues
JD Combine Can sculpture

Best wishes to all for a healthy, happy, prosperous and blessed new year!

The USDA Economic Research Service has a Farm Program Atlas online for your searching pleasure.

The Farm Program Atlas is a web-based interactive mapping tool that displays payment and participation data on major farm programs and covered commodities at the county level — to visualize how these Federal farm programs vary across the United States. Users can select maps displaying county-level data for nearly 100 variables. Each map may be viewed for the entire country or users can use a zoom tool to focus on a single region, State, or county. When viewing a program map, users may also click on a single county to view a table of data on all the variables associated with the program for that particular county.

GROWMARK gets my vote for the most creative holiday video greeting this season!

From all of us at GROWMARK –

Have a wonderful holiday season with family and friends!
We look forward to working with you in 2012!

The use of fungicides for overall plant health has been a new growth area for agriculture in recent years. As that occurs, farmers and crop consultants continue to find out more about best times to apply and best ways to use them during the season.

“There was a time not that long ago, when to consider applying a fungicide post-emergence to corn or soybeans was almost unheard of,” said GROWMARK Insect/Plant Disease Technical Manager Kevin Black who notes that the strobilurin class of fungicides have been game changers. “Because they not only have activity against fungi but also seem to have some growth regulation effects, we’ve seen some remarkable results in the field.”

Speaking very generally, Black says they have found that about two-thirds of the benefit from fungicides comes from a VT application and about one-third from a V5 application. “The VT or R1 timing of application typically is much more consistent in providing returns,” he said.

Black says university research and on-farm discovery work continues to look at new ways to use fungicides in combination with insecticides and micro-nutrients in tank mixes, but he believes it’s important to be sure there is a solid benefit before doing so. “If we start to get to the point where we’re just mixing up these soups and saying ‘there’s got to be something in there that’s good’ then I have to part company,” said Black.

Listen to my conversation with Kevin Black here: Kevin Black Interview

Like all of agriculture, aerial applicators are facing potentially onerous regulations that could ground them if they are allowed to continue.

The biggest issue they are dealing with right now is the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program, which National Agricultural Aviation Association executive director Andrew Moore told me just went into effect on Halloween. “It’s kind of a scary regulation,” said Andrew of the regulation which impacts pesticide application near water. “The problem is that it’s duplicative of everything that already exists to protect the environment in regard to pesticide regulation.”

Moore says the NPDES would require a great deal of paper work on the part of applicators. “FIFRA already regulates the safety of pesticides to water, so this is a completely unnecessary burdensome rule.” In addition, he says they are very considered about lawsuits under the new regulation.

So, NPDES was a big topic at the NAAA convention in Las Vegas last week, where workshops were held and applicators were educated about the current status of the federal rule and where it stands at the state level. Andrew says they are also urging aerial applicators – and really anyone in the agriculture industry – to contact their senators about the issue. “Because we’ve been successful in passing legislation that would exempt pesticide applications over water for FIFRA approved pesticides,” said Moore. The measure has been passed by the House and has gone through the Senate Agriculture Committee. “We believe we have the votes in the Senate but it’s not being brought to the floor for a vote,” he added.

Listen to my interview with Andrew Moore here: NAAA executive director Andrew Moore

2011 NAAA Convention Photo Album

ZimmComm New Media is proud to announce the very first (that we know of) Ag Events Calendar.

This slick 10×15 wall calendar includes dates for all the major ag-related events in 2012, along with photos each month from the 2011 events that we covered. There’s photos from the Iowa Power Farming Show, National Farm Machinery Show, Commodity Classic, Farm Progress Show and lots more.

We ordered a limited number of the calendars to give to some of our clients for Christmas, but then discovered that there are lots of other folks out there who would like to get a copy, so we are ordering more and offering them for sale.

For just $20 each plus $2 shipping/handling, you can get your very own 2012 Ag Events calendar here:

Order 2012 ZimmComm Ag Events Calendar.

Seed treatment can be classified as a precision application for growers because it allows crop protection to be used more precisely right at planting within the seed itself.

Seed treatments have actually been around for decades and it’s reached the point that virtually all of the corn seed planted today is treated with some type of crop protection technology. However, GROWMARK product manager Dave Gentry says that while use of soybean seed treatment is growing, it is not yet as pervasive as corn. “Seed treatments on soybeans have not been quite as accepted until the last 4-5 years,” he said.

Gentry identifies four key reasons for a dramatic increase in the popularity of soybean seed treatments recently. “One is the improved active ingredients,” he said. “They are very effective at a much lower use rate.” The second reason is pushing the planting envelope. “As we’ve become more aggressive in our planting, soybeans are going into soils that are cooler and wetter, there’s more stresses early in the season and so seed treatments can reduce the impact of some of those stresses.”

Gentry says another reason is the value of the seed itself, which makes it worth investing in the treatment to protect it. And finally, the range of products to treat the seeds with has expanded, with additional offerings such as growth stimulants, inoculants, microbials and nematicides.

He notes that about 60% of soybean acres are currently being planted with treated seed, although percentages vary between regions with the east coast and the deep south lower and the eastern corn belt closer to 85%. As for the future, Gentry expects to see most soybean seed treated with products in the pipeline to control Sudden Death Syndrome and soybean cyst nematode. “I think the percentage of treatment will continue to grow and, like corn, start to approach 100%,” he says.

The big difference he sees between corn and soybean seed treatments is that soybeans are moving more to the local dealer level, “allowing them to respond to local situations and local disease and insect pressures.”

Listen to Dave’s thoughts on soybean seed treatment here: Dave Gentry Interview

Find out more about seed treatment options in your specific area at FSSeed.com.