Precision Pays

This weekend has officially been declared “Thank Domino’s Ag Pizza Party Weekend” by the agriculture social media community. It is our way of saying thanks to the pizza corporation for not caving into the demands of HSUS (Humane Society of the U.S.) Last month, Domino’s Pizza shareholders voted against a resolution that would have required pork suppliers to stop housing gestating sows in stalls. Domino’s made that decision after consulting industry experts about what is best for the animals.

Thousands have joined “The Truth About Agriculture” movement called “Farmers Paying it Forward with Pizza” and are planning to purchase pizza from Domino’s this weekend to say thanks! They have even created a custom thank you note for people to print out and deliver to Domino’s.

When you get your pizza this weekend, make sure to take photos and share them on the Pizza Party FB page and tweet using the hash tag #agpizzaparty with handle @dominos.

With all the talk about herbicide-resistant weeds this year, some farmers are still not concerned about the issue, according to our most recent BASF Production Poll.

37.5% of respondents said they don’t have resistant weeds (at least not yet!). However, the same number said they would be using a mix of methods to control or prevent resistance – pre-emergence herbicide, additional sites of action, and working with a consultant on a plan. Another 25% said they would be using a pre-emerge application for control.

With soybean planting running way ahead of schedule already – 46% planted, nearly twice the five year average – our new poll asks what farmers are doing to protect that crop this year. Let us know!

The Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) has endorsed a series of best management practices designed to reduce the incidence of herbicide-resistant weeds and the threat they pose to agricultural productivity.

WSSA president Rod Lym says the main recommendation for growers is to diversify both weed management practices and types of herbicides used.

“Today it is common to rely on repeated use of a single class of herbicides,” Lym said. “It is clear we need a different approach if we want to protect the future effectiveness of these products, which are important tools for farmers.”

WSSA scientists say the single most important factor contributing to resistance is over-reliance on a single herbicide — or group of herbicides — with the same mechanism of action. Weeds most often develop resistance in response to such repeated and exclusive exposure, which renders the herbicide ineffective over time.

The best management practices recommended by WSSA to combat herbicide resistance include common-sense, diversified approaches to weed management — from proactive steps to reduce the number of weed seeds in the soil to the use of well-established cultural practices to suppress weeds through crop competition.

What are you doing to control or reduce the threat of resistant weeds on your operation? Answer the BASF production poll and let us know.

One of the slick features that New Holland includes on their latest line of CR combines is the IntelliView IV color touchscreen display that monitors all combine functions and allows you to see a wide variety of performance information at a glance from up to three camera inputs, with direct USB connectivity for data collection.

Agricultural journalists had the opportunity to learn more about New Holland combines and other equipment at a media event last week in the company’s home town of New Holland, PA.

You may not realize it, but New Holland is kind of a big deal in combines. “New Holland was the first company to launch a rotary combine in the market,” Combine Market Manager Nigel Mackenzie told us. “That was back in 1975 with the TR70. That combine was built and designed in Nebraska and the latest evolution, the CR models, are still built there.”

The CR Combine was actually voted “Machine of the Year” last year at Agritechnica. “A lot of new features introduced on the model year 12 machines, primarily driven by greater fuel efficiency and emissions regulations,” Nigel says. “It was really great to be recognized by a group of journalists in Agritechnica for what we’ve done.”

Nigel says New Holland has six rotary combine models and three conventional models – he tells us all about it in this interview – Nigel Mackenzie Interview

New Holland Media Event album

Watch New Holland’s John Elliott give a short overview of their combine offerings with a CR8080 as a backdrop.

Our first BASF Production Poll is in the can and it was no surprise to find that growers are overwhelmingly optimistic about the 2012 growing season.

According to the poll:
65% of farmers think things are looking up this year.
29% say it’s about the same
Just 6% think this year will be worse and that winter did their fields no favors

With planting now well underway and ahead of normal, we are definitely hearing that weed resistance is a major concern this year – all over the country now. Each year the problem is getting more challenging, so we want to know – how are you controlling resistant weed on your farm this year?

Several farm organizations provided input last week on USDA conservation programs in the 2012 Farm Bill.

Among those who testified before the House Committee on Agriculture’s Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy and Forestry was National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) President Garry Niemeyer of Illinois who spoke on behalf of a broad coalition of agricultural organizations, including the American Soybean Association, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Association of Wheat Growers, the National Cotton Council, the National Farmers Union and the USA Rice Federation, all of which chose to directly support NCGA’s testimony.

“Our organizations have expressed support for the Title II framework in the 2012 Farm Bill that the Senate and House Agriculture Committees began developing last fall, which consolidates 23 conservation programs into 13 while maintaining the same tools that were available to farmers in the past,” Niemeyer, a farmer from Auburn, Illinois, explained in his testimony. “Our growers are seeking simplification, flexibility, and consolidation in these programs, and we believe these goals are achieved in the Senate Agriculture Committee’s recent draft language.”

“Farmers are exceptional stewards of the environment because our livelihoods depend on preserving land and water resources. We are committed to leaving our environment in better shape than we found it so resources can be passed on to the next generation to farm,” Niemeyer said. “Most producers throughout America view protecting agricultural land as more than a worthwhile goal. It is a lifelong commitment. Voluntary conservation programs developed over the past 30 years help farmers and ranchers play a major role in improving our environment while also expanding their sources of income and keeping them on the land. We hope this committee will choose to continue to invest in these programs through a robust and efficient conservation title in the new farm bill.”

Read Niemeyer’s statement here.

Agricultural organizations are pleased that the U.S. Labor Department has officially withdrawn proposed rules that would have prevented many young people from working on farms and ranches.

“The Obama administration is firmly committed to promoting family farmers and respecting the rural way of life, especially the role that parents and other family members play in passing those traditions down through the generations,” said the department in a press release. “Instead, the Departments of Labor and Agriculture will work with rural stakeholders — such as the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Farmers Union, the Future Farmers of America, and 4-H — to develop an educational program to reduce accidents to young workers and promote safer agricultural working practices.”

“This victory for farm families is due to the thousands of farmers and ranchers who sent comments to the Labor Department opposing the rules and continued to voice their concerns with members of Congress,” American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman. “This announcement shows the strength of American agriculture and grassroots action.”

The Labor Department said it received “thousands of comments” against the proposal rule regarding youth in agriculture and made it clear that the “regulation will not be pursued for the duration of the Obama administration.”

Just about this time last year, the GROWMARK Plant Food Division reorganized for continued growth both within and beyond the core Midwest FS territory. A year later, they have lots to show for it – including a brand new dry and liquid plant food storage facility in Casey, Illinois.

Core Market Plant Food Sales Director Joe Kilgus says the new facility was a good investment for GROWMARK to help support their FS members. “Obviously we need good distribution, having fertilizer in the right place at the right time,” he said during a recent tour of the terminal. “Teaming up with TGM gave us a location with capabilities of bringing in unit trains, which is valuable for purchasing fertilizer.”

Kilgus says GROWMARK’s Plant Food Division offers a variety of services for FS members that have become increasingly important in our global economy. “What happens in China, what happens in India, Europe, all around the globe, does have an affect on the prices of fertilizer here in the U.S.,” he said. “GROWMARK provides the service and the manpower to keep up on that world market. You have to be in that market every day and watch it. The price of oil, the value of the dollar, all of that affects fertilizer prices.”

GROWMARK also helps FS member companies and grower members by encouraging more efficient use of fertilizer. “GROWMARK’s a big supporter and promoter of precision farming. We also promote the 4Rs – right product, right place, right time at the right rate. We don’t want to see fertilizer over-applied, we want to see it put on correctly. We have a growing population to feed and we want to help farmers maximize what they produce.”

Listen to my interview with Joe here: GROWMARK's Joe Kilgus

Dry conditions may have a negative impact on nitrogen applications in some areas of the country, according to experts at South Dakota State University.

According to SDSU Extension Soils Specialist Ron Gelderman, while surface application of nitrogen fertilizer in late fall and early spring is a typical practice in South Dakota, dry soils this season may be putting that nitrogen in jeopardy.

“With the weather being so very dry, warm and windy, and if we didn’t get that third to a half an inch of precipitation on that urea to move it into the soil and protect it, fields could have experienced some significant loss,” Gelderman said in a radio interview.

Gelderman says winter wheat, which is at, or close to jointing, will need a nitrogen application soon if significant loss of the applied urea occurred. Producers have more time before they need to test spring- planted grains and row crops. Gelderman says growers may want to use a urease inhibitor with future surface urea applications to increase the odds of getting some moisture.

Read more from SDSU iGrow.

With the 2012 crop year now underway, we’re introducing the BASF Production Poll. This new poll will be conducted twice each month during the season with timely questions that we think both farmers and non-farmers alike will find interesting. We’d love to hear from you. So let’s get started with our first one.

Please let us know if you have any questions about the poll.

The new GROWMARK dry and liquid plant food storage facility in Casey, Illinois is in business to serve farmers in the south central part of the state this spring.

“It is a 25,000 ton dry fertilizer blend facility and a 10,000 ton solution facility and this is the first spring we are using it,” said South Central FS CEO Randy Handel of the new facility which just opened at the end of February and is located on the same site as Total Grain Marketing (TGM). The fertilizer facility also benefits from being right on the rail line. “It’s a very good location being on the CSX track and it’s good sharing the resources with our grain elevator and it’s a very strategic location.”

Listen to my interview with Randy Handel here: South Central FS CEO Randy Handel

GROWMARK Southern Region Manager Brian Koenig says the liquid fertilizer terminal is fully automated and features around-the-clock load out capabilities. “It’s very efficient. We don’t need a lot of manpower here to operate the facility. It’s very technically driven,” he said during a recent GROWMARK media day tour.

Koenig says the new facility is very beneficial for FS member co-ops in the region. “It really helps Illini and South Central the most.” he said. “They’re able to retail right out of here. It’s a really key facility for them.” The facility’s location on the CSX rail line allows for nitrogen solution to be sourced from a number of points on the U.S. East Coast.

Koenig is pictured here during the media day doing an interview with Rita Frazer with RFD Radio Network.

Listen to my interview with Brian Koenig here: GROWMARK's Brian Koenig

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology is becoming more important in the global production of food and fiber.

According to GIS software technology firm Esri, the ability of GIS to analyze and visualize agricultural environments and workflows is proving to be very beneficial for farmers in the challenge to feed an ever-growing population.

For example, using GIS tools like Esri’s ArcGIS, can help farmers conduct crop forecasting by collecting georeference samples in cultivated areas and applying a statistical process to the samples. After completing the data, they create a geodatabase that helps farmers make better decisions. This forecasting measure helps them better accurately conduct harvests and save on spoilage, meaning more food gets to people.

Agriculture is one of the fastest-growing GIS customer bases and that means more career opportunities for GIS professionals.

“GIS is crucial in agriculture as it can be used to understand everything from where to better apply fertilizers to mapping various conditions of the soil. The information is processed immediately and indicates to farmers whether they need to adjust their strategy to improve production, which directly impacts revenue, food and products for the world’s population,” says Devon Cancilla, Ph.D., dean, business and technology at Colorado-based American Sentinel University.

Cancilla says American Sentinel offers on-line GIS degree programs to prepare students who like working with software that visualizes data, as opposed to simply reporting it in numbers and charts.

The Illinois “Keep it for the Crop” (KIC) by 2025 campaign is on GROWMARK‘s list of legislative priorities on the state level for 2012, according to government affairs director Chuck Spencer.

“What is important about that is that it’s going to provide additional research dollars for stewardship programs,” Spencer said. “What we will see through this program is the ability to fund research projects in watersheds, looking at nutrient movement, and how we maximize efficiency, productivity and profitability for a producer. And when we do those things, we can feed the world.”

Spencer shared some of the cooperative’s top legislative priorities on both the state and national level during a media day tour last week on the day before Ag Day at the Illinois state capitol, where GROWMARK and other agricultural interests met with legislators to discuss issues important to the industry.

“Obviously everyone in Illinois is very concerned about budget, the cost of operations, consistency of policies, predictability of regulation in our business climate,” Chuck says. “We are seeing agriculture in the very fortunate position of being able to grow in this economy. We want to continue to do so.”

National priorities include the farm bill, of course, but also issues related to pesticide application permitting (HR872), transportation (limited exemption for hours of service for agriculture) and renewal of the Pesticide Registration and Improvement Act.

Listen to my interview with Chuck Spencer here: GROWMARK's Chuck Spencer

Dale Bermester with Gateway FS in Red Bud, Illinois has been an FS Certified Crop Specialist (CCS) for nearly a quarter of a century and nothing makes him happier every day than helping farmers be more profitable.

“It’s really an on-going process, especially with your customers that you’ve been doing business with for 25 years,” Dale says. “We’re in tune with a lot of the steps they do in their business. We’re like one of the family.”

Dale was among the first crop of crop specialists back in the late 1980′s when GROWMARK first developed the program. “When I became a salesman back in 1985, the general manager of Gateway, which was Randolph Service Center at the time, said he wanted to be the first company to have all certified crop specialists,” Dale said. “GROWMARK was a step ahead when they came out with the certified crop specialist to make sure that the people who were making recommendations were helping the farmer and not just putting money in their own pockets.”

Becoming a CCS requires testing in a number of different areas and frequent continuing education to keep up with the latest technological and crop protection advancements. “You have to keep that going with continued eds, on-farm discovery and contacts to make sure we’re doing it the right way,” said Dale. “I have to stay focused on what’s ahead.”

Dale says a lot has changed in farming since he first became a CCS, with less farmers and bigger operations, more focus on the environment and the advancement of precision technology. “The technology has really opened our eyes about drainage, backing away from the tree line,” he said. “Once you have a number off the yield monitor, it really gets farmers thinking about what he can do to better manage.”

Listen to my interview with Dale here: Dale Bermester Interview

A coalition of environmental groups has filed lawsuits in New York and Louisiana to require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Clean Water Act to address nitrogen and phosphorous runoff in the Mississippi River basin.

The lawsuits allege that nitrogen and phosphorous fertilizer run-off from farm fields adversely affects water quality in the Mississippi River basin and creates a “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico.

According to the environmental legal firm of Faegre Baker Daniels, the implications of the lawsuits are significant for the agriculture industry and farmers, noting that the cost of complying with the nitrogen and phosphorous standards sought by environmental groups could be as high as $600 million per year nationwide.

Industry groups are considering intervening in the actions. Industry intervention in the Gulf Restoration Network case appears particularly likely because that action addresses the question whether EPA acted reasonably in rejecting a nationwide nitrogen and phosphorous standard in favor of EPA’s existing cooperative, state-by-state approach to nutrient management.