Hello ZimmComm Fans:
This week Chuck went cross country to Palm Desert, CA for the Agricultural Retailers Association Conference & Expo. He's sharing stories on AgWired of course and there are lots of photos available too. The conference was held just about an hour from the terrorist tragedy that happened in San Bernardino, CA which really brought home how close the reach of these fanatics has become. Our prayers join with everyone else's over the loss of so many lives. Our latest ZimmPoll found out that a majority of respondents do not have a crisis communications plan for their agribusiness or farm. How about you and yours? This weekend Jamie will be attending the North American PRRS Symposium with BIVI. Look for her stories on Animal.Agwired.com. Then Taylor and Cindy will be off to the annual ASTA 2015 CSS & Seed Expo in Chicago. Still more agriblogging and farm podcasting in 2015! Here is some audio from this week you might have missed: Now for some news from the ZimmComm News Network: |
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 AgWired ARA Performance. Precision. Passion. Preview.
It's time to get back on the agriblogging highway with a trip to the 2015 Agricultural Retailers Association Conference & Expo. The theme is Performance. Precision. Passion. MOREZimmCast
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Updates from Case IH at #NAFB15
The Case IH team was out in full force for the 2015 NAFB Trade Talk in Kansas City. One highlight for the well-known equipment company is their 20-year anniversary of tracks on their Steiger tractor. Mitch Kaiser, marketing manager for the Steiger tractor line, said the 2016 enhancements set the bar for high performance, operator experience and all around improvements. MOREListen to audio here.
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AgFuse Wants to Connect Farmers
It has been a while since I've seen an announcement of a social network designed to connect farmers and the whole agricultural community. But I just found out about AgFuse. Take a look and let me know what you think. MORE
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 Domestic Fuel
Midwest Renewable Energy to use Enogen� corn
Syngenta has signed an agreement with Midwest Renewable Energy to begin using Enogen� corn enzyme technology at its Sutherland, Nebraska ethanol production facility beginning with the 2016 planting season. MORE
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Cruz Asks ARF to Pull Down Ads
This week America's Renewable Future (ARF) launched an ad campaign targeted at presidential candidate Senator Ted Cruz, who they say is against the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The #RFS has been under fire for several years and on Monday, after reviewing more than 270,000 public comments, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the final volumes for 2014, 2015 and 2016. While the numbers were higher than in the proposed rule, clean energy advocates are calling for the #EPA to raise the volumes of renewable fuel blended to statutory levels. Cruz, it would seem, is not one of those calling for strengthening the RFS. MORE
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Clean Energy Victory Bonds for a Clean Climate
A new bill was introduced in the U.S. this week in conjunction with COP21: the Clean Energy Victory Bonds Act of 2015. If passed, it would help the U.S. meet its climate goals. Introduced by Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Doris Matsui (D-CA), the Act would also create more than 1 million jobs. The Clean Energy Victory Bonds would begin as low as $25 and the funds raised would be invested in clean energy. The bill is endorsed by Green America and the American Sustainable Business Council who have been touting clean energy bonds for several years. A similar act was introduced in 2012 but failed to gain momentum. MORE
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Precision
DuPont Pioneer Focused on Boosting Yields
Brody Benton, DuPont Crop Protection, gave us an update at TradeTalk about ways growers can take advantage of sound agronomics from DuPont Crop Protection and Pioneer seed salespeople to improve profits during a difficult time with low commodity prices. Brody says there are two avenues to maintain profitability at a time like this: either cut input costs or produce more bushels. MOREPodcast
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Food Companies Launch SmartLabel™ Initiative
The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) has launched the SmartLabel™ technology initiative that will enable consumers to have easy and instant access to detailed information about thousands of products, with more than 30 major companies already committed to using it. Consumers will be able to find this detailed product information in several ways: by scanning a QR code on the package, using a search engine, going to a participating company's web site, or eventually through an app. MORE
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Precision on the ARA Conference Program
The 2015 ARA Conference & Expo is underway in Palm Desert, CA. We have a big crowd attending again this year. The theme is Performance. Precision. Passion. and the conference programs reflect those concepts. After a morning general session we'll have afternoon breakouts on topics like millennials, using data, banking and finance. I plan to get some interviews to share with you, especially on the Precision part of the conference theme. MORE
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Biodiesel Board Outlines Positives in #RFS Rule
The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) is very pleased with the final rule on volume obligations for biodiesel under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) released this week by EPA. Under the rule, Biomass-based Diesel volumes would grow to 1.9 billion gallons in 2016 and 2 billion gallons in 2017. The Biomass-based Diesel category - a diesel subset of the overall Advanced Biofuel category - is made up mostly of biodiesel but also includes renewable diesel, another diesel alternative made from the same feedstocks using a different technology. MORE
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Ag Retailers Conference & Expo Kicks off in Cali
The 2015 Agricultural Retailers Association Conference & Expo is being held this week in Palm Desert, California with the theme of "Performance. Precision. Passion." MORE
Listen to audio here.
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Reaction to Final #RFS Numbers from @EthanolRFA
The Environmental Protection Agency's final rule for volume obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) "puts the future of biofuels and climate policy in the hands of the oil industry," according to Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) president and CEO Bob Dinneen. MORE
Podcast
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National Bison Association Reports High Demand
Dave Carter, the Executive Director for the National Bison Association recently attended the NAFB 2015 Conference and shared with Kindra Hall a bit about bison. MOREPodcast
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Alltech Harvest Analysis Shows Risks in Livestock Feed
Inconsistent weather patterns this past summer wreaked havoc on the 2015 North America crop, producing irregularities in plant growth that now put swine, poultry, dairy and beef cattle at high risk for mycotoxin exposure, according to Alltech's North America Harvest Analysis. MORE
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Bayer Talks Animal Health Innovation
Bayer Health Care had several representatives from their Animal Health Team on hand at Trade Talks during the 2015 National Association of Farm Broadcasters (NAFB) Convention to discuss two of their latest innovations in animal healthcare. MORE
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