25 February 2009

Genuity...





So you may wonder what exactly Genuity is - but Monsanto just gave us the details.

"Genuity is the family of traits that enables farmers to so what they do best, even better.". We're at Monsanto's new product announcement and they're trying to unite producers with the technologies they embrace. The three key terms are Unite, Simplify and Differential.

Dion McBay who is a member of the Monsanto family said when producers helped to make the choice of the branding - McBay said farmers identified "Genuity" they saw "genuine". McBay elaborated and said they're trying to keep things more simple.



You can expect to see "Genuity" in your product line up starting in 2010 Genuity SmartStax (pending regulatory approval).


We'll have more details as the week goes on... This is "their next step forward towards the future of technology." Here's a quick look at what the Genuity lable may look like going forward....
























Bayer, Day 2.

I'm sure you're thinking you're pretty blessed this morning... Two blogs from me in two days.. Yeah - you got that right. Today is Day to of the Bayer CropScience Ag Issues Forum. Yesterday was a great day - we heard from Murray Wise (as we discussed yesterday), Aaron Hager and then a great Grower Panel which consisted of growers from all over - Kansas, Illinois, North Dakota, Iowa and Oklahoma. One thing that was consistent - no matter where growers are from... their concerns run solid throughout the nation.



That was the business at hand yesterday. Then there was the fun.... and OMG was it ever fun. Last year was awesome and I wasn't sure if they could top it.. This year was amazing. Great food, Great fellowship and an opportunity to socialize in a non professional setting. Now - I'm sure you're wondering how exactly that benefits those of us in the professional setting.. But I value it just as much as being able to attend these types of functions on the professional side. It allows all of us to be able to let our hair down.. To relax and get to know the people we work side by side with every day. People know I love my job - but I love learning and these are great ways to do that, too.



So let's talk about the Phil Vassar concert last night. It was amazing... Not over exaggerating either. He was a phenomenal piano player, amazing entertainer and he was down to earth, too. He sat on the edge of the stage, talked to all of us and I got to snuggle him during our time backstage. The picture below is of the three farm broadcasters lucky enough to end up backstage at the Phil Vassar concert....



I have to personally thank the folks at Rhea + Kaiser as well as Bayer for a phenomenal night. It hands down topped many of the events I've been too in recent years. Great speaker line-up, great entertainment and Day two has been just as interesting.


Our morning started off with Phil Needham - from Needham Ag Technologies, LLC. We saw photos of wheat fields that averaged yields of 200+bu/ acre. No.. SERIOUSLY. Pretty cool, eh? Needham highlighted the importance of Global Crop Management. Following Needham's session we broke out in the cereals and corn/soybean sessions. Dr. Bryan Young of Southern Illinois University talked about weed control and weed management (remember me telling you how much I've started to really enjoy learning about weeds and agronomy? oh yeah - I've become a dork.. I admit it). I love the fact that we're learning about the emerging technologies.. New Soybean traits, things that area already in the pipeline. We even got an insight of something really new.


Up next is Don Young of Ducks Unlimited... We're going to talk sustainability... We're trying to get him on the show today at Noon... So you'll have to tune in... It is definitely a project that we'll have to see if it's all it's "quacked" up to be. Sorry for the silly joke - but I couldn't help myself!




That's all for now...

After today - Commodities Classic starts in full gear and we'll let you know what exactly is going on in Grapevine, TX.

24 February 2009

For the love of all that's...

Yeah... You know - I made a "resolution" to be more diligent in my blogging... I still am horrible. Sorry. That's just how it is.. You'll be lucky to get an update once a month. I have no clue how people blog more than once a week - let alone once a day. I salute them. Seriously. It takes some serious diligence and dedication to accomplish that. I'm sitting in the back of the Bayer CropScience Ag Issues Forum. Talk about interesting - and we're only halfway through today's session. Earlier today we heard from Dr. David Kohl who is a Professor Emeritus at Virginia Tech. One of the thing he talked about was the past century of Super Cycles. Later today or tomorrow I'll get the audio uploaded so you can hear what he was talking about. He showed the correlation between the major wars and the effect on our economy.


The picture of the slide to the right illustrate the correlation he was talking about. I hope you're able to see its details.
We just finished hearing from Murray Wise with the Westchester Group. Wise touched on some of the crop land issues as well as to what growers in the US are doing correctly. In all the negativity going on in the ins and outs of our daily lives - it was a nice change of pace. Don't get me wrong - Wise didn't sugar coat anythings. Things are a mess... and we know this. But he gave a different view - one that almost resembles a glimpse of hope. Psst... I'll post that audio, too. :-)
We just started our next session with Aaron Hager. He's a weed scientist at the University of Illinois. Actually - one of my favorite people to talk about on one of the topics most interesting to me. He just started talking about the difference or similarities of Weed Control vs. Weed Management. Using Illinois as an example - Hager says Illinois corn farmers have relied on a combination of tactics to control weeds. From tillage, soil-applied, POST herbicides, etc.
Did you know weed interference begins to reduce corn yields long before it effects soybean yields? Yikes! We're learning lots of new things today. Hager says it depends on the crop, the weather conditions, the year and the weed.
Here's an interesting face.. of 877 people polled if glyphosate resistance weeds will change the way we manage our weeds... 91% of people said yes.
So yes - it's been very interesting and I'm excited about tomorrow, too. Another great lineup is in store -and I could quite possibly keep continue to be impressed.
I promise - I'll get the audio posted as soon as I can.
Until next time..