Brownfield

Environment and livestock focus of meetings in Indiana, Iowa this week

Ken Anderson reports today Des Moines where Iowa's 3rd Annual Renewable Fuels Summit and the Iowa Pork Producers Annual Meeting are underway.   (Pork Congress officially begins tomorrow.)

Dave Russell was at the Statehouse in Indianapolis yesterday for a Senate Environment Committee Hearing on SB 221.  This bill would establish a “good character” requirement for new and expanding regulated livestock farms. 

While you are checking out Dave's story on the hearing, be sure to check out his story on climate policy change and what it means to agriculture.   From the story: 

President Obama on Monday, Jan. 27 began reversing climate change policies of the Bush administration, Otto Doering, Purdue University agricultural economist tells Brownfield he isn’t sure what that means for agriculture.

Today in Indianapolis?  The Indiana Pork Annual Meeting.  Download Meeting agenda

Grandpa Bob

Buttons are bursting in Marshfield, Wisconsin today!  This just in from Brownfield's Bob Meyer:

I have a new grandson!  Marshall Richard Meyer came into the world at 11:43 this morning.  8 pounds-12 ounces and 20.75 inches tall.  He is the son of Ryan and Heidi, all are doing well.

Congratulations to Bob and Coni Meyer on the arrival of their 5th grandchild.  This is Ryan and Heidi's 4th child. 

Young farmers (and very young farmers) meet in Indy

Dave Russell is sort of like the Energizer Bunny or a Timex watch.  He just keeps going - covering ag meetings and events and telling the story of agriculture - which is a good thing for all of us!  Dave was excited about the future of the ag industry after an event held over the week-end, and he offers some observations from that conference:

More than 500 young farmers attended the State Young Farmer Leadership Conference in Indianapolis this past weekend. Just a couple of things to share;

1. Current Indiana Farm Bureau President Don Villwock and his wife Joyce got their start in Farm Bureau serving on the State Young Farmer Committee from Knox County (gosh  it was probably in the mid to late 70s).
2. I can’t remember the last time I was at an ag meeting and heard babies cry.
3. I can’t remember the last time I had to walk around baby strollers to get to my table.
4. Sippy cups may have outnumbered coffee cups.

(Photo is Dakota Schwab, son of Doug and Becky Schwab of Franklin Co.)

Speaking circuit

Most members of the Brownfield Ag News team do some public speaking from time to time.  I ran across this piece promoting an event I'll be a part of this coming Saturday night.

24th annual Jackson County Livestock Expo scheduled

The 24th annual Livestock Expo will be held on Saturday, Jan. 31, at the Jackson County 4-H Fair Building in Holton, Kansas.  The doors will open at 1 p.m. and trade show vendors will be present to showcase and demonstrate the latest animal health products and livestock equipment, it was reported. Afternoon sessions will include a hot and cold shoeing demonstration by farrier Ed McClintock and a discussion on “Calving Season Strategies and Care of the Calf” by Dr. Timothy Parks of Heartland Veterinary Clinic. David McAffee, Farm Service Agency executive director, will also have a session on what the new Farm Bill offers to livestock producers. There is no charge for any of the daytime programs. The evening program will begin with a dinner that includes a 10 oz. grilled steak with “all the fixings.” There will be a western wear fashion show by Bar S Tack Shop, and music will be provided by Dara Conley. The guest speaker will be Cyndi Young, farm director and manager of the Brownfield Ag Network. Young has traveled extensively throughout the United States and to 15 different countries covering agriculture for Midwestern farmers, it was reported. Her work has earned her dozens of honors from agriculture groups and associations. She was recognized as Farm Broadcaster of the Year in 1997 and currently serves as vice-president for the National Association of Farm Broadcasters Foundation. Brownfield, founded in 1972, includes America's largest agriculture radio network, providing commodity and livestock reports, agribusiness news and other feature programming to 300 radio stations across the Midwest.

Sharpen that pencil

Brownfield offers a wide variety of programs.  We provide news, markets and analysis, weather, and commentary.  We also provide some "feature" programs like Rural Issues, Hoofbeat, and Managing For Profit.

During this time of global recession, a sharp pencil and calculator are two of the most important tools a farmer has in his toolbox.  Program topics in recent days include fundamentals of marketing, marketing strategies for grain producers, and tips for recruiting good ag employees.  It matters not what size or type of farming operation you have, we can all learn from this program which airs daily on Brownfield partner radio stations across teh Midwest.  And, of course, you can listen to it online on our website.

All in the family

Julie Harker and husband Bob made a trip to the Lake of the Ozarks last Saturday where Julie pulled double duty - as ag journalist and supportive cousin.  She tells the story:

My husband and I had the opportunity to watch my second cousin Will Hunter of Sikeston receive the Missouri Jaycees Outstanding Young Farmer of the Year award January 17th at the Lake of the Ozarks.  His sister, Laura Hunter Collins, and I were together at a family event in December and she told me about Will's upcoming award. I told her I wouldn't miss it!  Will and Laura are farming partners. I'm biased, but these two are an impressive pair.  They are the children of my late father's cousin, Sam Hunter, a Sikeston veterinarian, and his wife Erica. Will and Laura's aunt and uncle, Dale and Eric Morse, flew in from Vermont for the occasion. Their grandmother, Frances, and brothers, Sam and Seth, were not able to attend but were there in spirit.  It's extra nice when my work covering agriculture for Brownfield and being with family coincide.

-Julie Harker

In the picture, I'm standing next to FCS Financial's Dan Rhoades of Columbia.  The rest are friends and family.  Laura (Will's sister/farming partner) is second from the left. 

You'll learn more about Missouri Jaycee's Outstanding Young Farmer for 2009 by reading Julie's story and listening to the interview on the Brownfield website. 

Nebraska Agribusiness Club

 Ken Anderson is the newest member of the Brownfield team, having joined us about 3 months ago, but he is certainly not new to the ag industry!  We're proud of his new role, which he describes:

I am serving as president of the Nebraska Agribusiness Club in 2009.  The club is based in Lincoln and members come from area agribusiness firms, ag and commodity organizations, state and federal government, the University of Nebraska and elsewhere. 

-Ken

Club leaders for 2009 include (l-r) Cary Sandell of Wells Fargo; Lynn Gordon of the Nebraska Dept. of Agriculture; Tammy Myer of the Nebraska FFA Foundation; Ken Anderson of Waitt/Brownfield; and Dayle Williamson of Senator Ben Nelson’s office.   Not pictured is Tom Dorn of the Lancaster County Extension Service.

On the road with Mike Cady

Brownfield Affiliate Relations Manager Mike Cady travels A LOT, visiting radio stations in the Midwest.  He shares with us some of the "scenery" from a recent trip:

A few more pictures from my recent trip through Indiana and Illinois. Afternoon DJ Bob Martin is seen manning the studio at WSCH-FM in Lawrenceburg, while in Batesville Morning Man Caz Burdette was nice enough to fill the chair for a shot of the WRBI-FM studio. At WIBN-FM in Oxford, GM/morning host Dan McKay is seen telling everybody just  how cold it is, 7 below at the time I took this shot. We also see that Dan is a fan of Regis and Kelly.

 In Illinois I stopped in at the studio of WKXQ-FM. While they serve Rushville their studio is located at the Quincy airport with sister  station WPWQ-FM. The studio overlooks part of the runway and in the picture looking through the STL antenna you can see a refurbished Russian MiG fighter plane.

 -Mike Cady



 
   

Brownfield, Ag News for Brasil

It never ceases to amaze me the vast world geography that we reach with the Brownfield website.  It is humbling to know that the work we do reaches so many people, hungry for information.  As an example, last week I received an email message from an agronomist/farmer in the south.  WAY south:

My name is Marcelo Favarão. I am an agronomist and a farmer in western Paraná, a southern state in Brazil. I wonder if Chicago is aware of the calamity that we are living here. The losses due the historical drought we are suffering are huge.

We had a meeting on friday, with agents from the farm bank, Banco do Brasil, to discuss the next corn crop. Before the meeting, the bank showed some data about the losses. Corn losses are around 45% of the initial numbers, and soybean is around 40% below.

That is in the state of Paraná, that produces 12 million tons of soybeans. But you can use the same percentage to Rio Grande do Sul, that produces 8 million tons of soybeans, Santa Catarina and Mato Grosso do Sul. Agronomists that are coming from Argentina and Paraguay says the situation there is even worse. If can be worse.

Although we have covered this topic, the urging from Marcelo gave me motivation to ask one of our Brownfield reporters to contact someone in the U.S. who could speak to this email and enlighten our listeners.  Dave Russell suggested an expert and John Perkins conducted the interview. 

Dr. Michael Cordonnier, President of Corn and Soybean Advisor Inc., recently returned from more than two weeks in Brazil, touring Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul and Parana.

Marcelo emailed me to let me know he appreciated reading the story on our website:

Dear Cyndi,
 
Thank you very much.

It is raining now, but it is too late. A friend comined some soybeans last week. He got 32 sacks per hectare. Last season, the same variety on the same field produced 60 sacks per hectare. That made all the farmers scared, because we would bet that his beans would make 40 sacks per hectare. Smaller grains and less weight.
 
Marcelo

He's Baaaaack

  

    

Warm fuzzies