North American Ag Spotlight: Agriculture & Farming News and Views

In this week's North American Ag Spotlight Chrissy Wozniak talks to the president of American Agri-Women Heather Hampton Knodle about the organization's mission and what they've accomplished.

American Agri-Women are women from farms, ranches and agri-business forming a nationwide coalition of state and commodity affiliates and at-large members with a mission to provide networking and leadership development opportunities as we educate each other and the public about issues impacting our ability to feed, fuel and clothe our country and others around the world.

Heather Hampton Knodle grew up working on her family’s farm near Windsor, Illinois and continues to farm with her husband Brian and their four children in Montgomery County where they grow corn, soybeans, winter wheat and black Angus cattle. Their use of technology informs their efforts to apply regenerative practices across their farm and capture data to improve management. Heather earned her bachelors in agriculture news/editorial with emphasis in geography and economics and the equivalent of a minor in Russian language and area studies from the Univ. of Illinois, including an academic year at the University of Nottingham, England and exchange with St. Petersburg Agricultural Institute in Russia. Her masters work in post-socialist privatization was at University of Illinois Springfield as she launched her communication consulting business that quickly evolved into association management. Heather has served as Executive Director for the Upper Mississippi, Illinois and Missouri Rivers Association and statewide organizations in Illinois as well as the volunteer President of Illinois Agri-Women. She was the founding chairman of the public-private Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation and the $250 million, 11-county bond authority Central Illinois Economic Development Authority. In her time as an elected official on the Montgomery County Board, she helped leverage $6000 in coal royalty funds into a more than $15 million privately-funded fiberoptic to the premises buildout.

She has been appointed by four governors to serve on the Illinois Governor’s Rural Affairs Council and was reappointed in 2021 by the Federal Communications Commission to serve on the Precision Agriculture Task Force and chair the Examining Current and Future Connectivity Demand Working Group. Heather also serves as Farm Journal Foundation’s Lead Farmer for Illinois to advocate for agricultural research investments and training for smallholder farmers in developing countries.

Learn more about American Agri-Women at www.americanagriwomen.org.

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This week Chrissy Wozniak sits down with Marcel Kringe to hear the Bushel Plus Story. From a German Family Farm to International Ag Entrepreneur, Kringe has a robust and unique history in farming around the globe!   

Marcel Kringe, grew up on a family farm in Germany, where he pursued an AG Engineering degree. Work & travel studies in Canada, Russia and Brazil led him to move to Canada.   He has learned English on the go while working on different farm operations all over Canada, before settling in Brandon MB for a job as a Cargill Agronomist. Marcel left his corporate career and focused full-time on his hobby, called Bushel Plus. Today, the Agricultural products of Bushel Plus are sold in 28 countries and Marcel since co founded another manufacturing, as well as a custom software development company.  

Marcel works tirelessly to develop a great working environment for his teams and new products in pursuit of ensuring the safety and profitability of farmers!  

The Bushel Plus System is the authentic combine calibration system, designed to quantify your harvest loss by determining exactly how accurate your combine is calibrated. Every farmer’s goal is to maximize efficiency and to minimize combine losses during harvest. We offer the most reliable and robust calibration system for the harvest industry – which makes our all-in-one system the #1 combine loss measurement system and device on the market. The Bushel Plus system includes precise, dependable instruments that are designed to easily be used with any combine. With your safety in mind, all units are remote controlled and portable so that no wiring or bolts are needed to attach to any combine. Our magnetic drop pan can be used with multiple machines and is easy to move from one combine to the other – no tools needed!  

Learn more at https://bushelplus.ca/ 

This episode is sponsored by GAPS Ontario.

GAPS WORKS TO PROVIDE YOU WITH: 

• Simple Phosphorus Recovery
• High Absorptive Capacities
• Cost Effective & Long-Lasting Solutions
• Excellent Hydraulic Water Flow

BIOCHAR OPTIONS:

• Specialty Agriculture
• Oil and Gas
• Odor Control
• Bio-filler
• Algae Removal

Learn more at https://agr.fyi/gaps

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In this week's North American Ag Spotlight Chrissy Wozniak speaks with Allyssa King of the American Royal Society. The American Royal Livestock Show is happening again this fall!

The American Royal has been Advocating for Agriculture Since 1899. It's a non-profit organization based in Kansas City since 1899. We provide opportunities for youth and adults from around the country to compete in our Livestock Show, ProRodeo, and Horse Shows. Many people know us for our World Series of Barbecue®, which is actually our largest fundraiser. Events including the barbecue allow us to give over $1 million annually for youth scholarships and support agriculture education programs.

Allyssa King began her career at the American Royal as an intern nearly 14 years ago. Upon completing her internship, Allyssa came to the realization of her passion for the American Royal.

Allyssa was given an opportunity in 2012 to expand her skills, with the Equine Manager position. The following five years found Allyssa, developing and expanding the horse events.

2017 found Allyssa back at her roots as the American Royal Livestock Manager. Getting back to what she loved, Allyssa expanded, increased and developed the American Royal Livestock Show helping to make it what it is today. Allyssa is proud and blessed to be able to work along so many amazing team members and volunteers, that all make the American Royal Livestock Show a success. In the past five years, the Royal has expanded breeding cattle shows, breeding lamb and goat shows and the Royal Elite Drive.

Allyssa is active in her community as an Executive on the Johnson County Fair Board and volunteers at the Johnson County spring livestock shows.
2022 finds Allyssa moving on to her next adventure at the American Royal as the Director of Communications. It will be exciting to see what the future holds for both Allyssa and the growing American Royal.

Learn more about the show at www.americanroyal.com

This episode is sponsored by TECC Ag.

Crop status alerts sent to growers or trusted agronomists. Artificial intelligence screens for trouble areas and crop stages so that you can make your own assessment of crop production risks. Hi-Res, ground-based imagery available on platforms of your choice.

Contact TECC Ag for a  field up for free remote crop scouting at TECC Agriculture

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Amanda Stanton knows that marketing an ag business starts with human connection. This week she talks to Chrissy Wozniak about their shared passion - marketing ag based companies.

Amanda owns Stanton Small Business Marketing, providing simple, sustainable & social marketing solutions for small businesses in the agricultural space.

She's the daughter of the only agricultural John Deere dealer in Connecticut. Stanton was COO for 4 years before selling the business to United Ag & Turf. She stayed on as Marketing Manager for another year and a half, then realized her heart was truly in small business and agriculture, decided to start her own marketing consulting business supporting farms, equipment dealers, and other small businesses.

Amanda also advocates for Agriculture in Connecticut through social media and a bi-weekly segment on NBC CT highlighting farms, causes, and events in her state. She's passionate about agriculture in Connecticut and shopping small. Working on an exciting project with Connecticut Foodshare (the largest food bank in CT) through which they are purchasing food from local farms to distribute to those in need through a grant from the state.

Learn more about Stanton Small Business Marketing at - https://www.stantonsbm.com/

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This week Chrissy Wozniak speaks with Brekke Munks & Ashley Bruner about carbon markets, and how they can add another revenue stream for farms with Agoro Carbon Alliance.

Agoro Carbon Alliance is creating a new solution to our planet’s carbon challenge that’s grounded in the soil. Our partners are committed to Agoro Carbon’s ambition of decarbonizing farming on a global scale by helping to transform practices on every farm, generating reliable Farm Carbon Credits and certified climate-smart crops.

Guided by transparency, security and collaboration, we create incentive for farmers, buyers, and consumers to choose change from the ground up. Agoro leverages Yara’s deep agronomic knowledge and credibility to make it possible for every farm to transition to climate-smart farming practices, restoring carbon to the world’s soils, and reversing the effects of climate change.

Meet their team and join the journey at https://agorocarbonalliance.com   

Ashley Bruner is the U.S. Growth Market Manager at Agoro Carbon Alliance. She's a marketing professional, with a passion for agriculture. She has worked in the agriculture and renewable energy and remote power throughout her career, building high quality brands and marketing that is authentic, memorable and engaging.  She grew up on a small grain and livestock farm in the Midwest, and now lives in Colorado with her husband and two children.

Brekke Munks is one of Agoro Carbon Alliance's Carbon Cropping Agronomist. She grew up in rural Wyoming on an elk refuge surrounded by rangeland and cattle. She fell in love with agriculture when she worked at a local vet clinic and realized that quality forage or feed is vital for health livestock. She went to school to become a vet but luckily was asked to get a master's degree in plant breeding for specialty oilseeds. This venture made her then think about the fact that a good medium is needed to grow forage in order to grow healthy animals. This sparked her interest in soils, that led to her Ph.D. Brekke believes that farmers and ranchers are exceptional land managers and she is inspired to find ways to make their livelihoods sustainable!

This episode is sponsored by Harvest Hosts.

Harvest Hosts connects farms & other small businesses to an extensive network of self-contained RVers to boost annual revenue.  As part of the Harvest Hosts program, thousands of host locations across North America simply offer RVers a one-night stay on their property & in return, RVers patronize the Host's business via onsite purchases.

For more info or if you are ready to sign up to become a Host visit HARVEST HOSTS

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The co-founder of the Emmy Award Winning show 'American Grown: My Job Depends on Ag' Erik Wilson, takes some time off the job today to talk with Chrissy Wozniak about the show, their hugely successful Facebook Page, and farming in California.

Their vision, through a true grassroots effort, is to show how many people’s lives are related, connected and, most importantly, dependent on agriculture. The goal is to illustrate just how massive the fraternity of Ag really is, as well as educate and inform the public with articles, stories, images and more, directly from the farmers, ranchers and other agricultural support businesses, whose daily lives – and livelihoods – are affected every day by agriculture in this country.

My Job Depends on Ag started with a Facebook group in May of 2016, which in the matter of just a few weeks grew to over 20,000 members, now having over 102,000 members! They began by sharing stories about how their own jobs depend on ag. By putting a face with entire agriculture industry chain, they hoped the impact of agriculture would be recognized by not just political leaders, but consumers as well. Making a huge difference to the farmers of California. They have “My Job Depends on Ag” decals you can purchase on their Merchandise page, to further help get the word out, show solidarity, and fund scholarships & other educational efforts. You can order decals for each state as well! Order decals here - https://www.myjobdependsonagstore.com/

Founded by Steve Malanca & Erik Wilson, My Job Depends on Ag aims at telling the stories of all the fine men and women whose jobs depend on agriculture. Help spread the word about how everyone depends on ag, whether they think so or not.

Learn more about My Job Depends on Ag at https://www.myjobdependsonag.com/. Watch the trailer here - https://vimeo.com/675595740

This episode is sponsored by Harvest Hosts.

Harvest Hosts connects farms & other small businesses to an extensive network of self-contained RVers to boost annual revenue.  As part of the Harvest Hosts program, thousands of host locations across North America simply offer RVers a one-night stay on their property & in return, RVers patronize the Host's business via onsite purchases.

For more info or if you are ready to sign up to become a Host visit HARVEST HOSTS

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This week Chrissy Wozniak speaks with Steven Valencsin of GROWERS about their goal of putting ag tech into the hands of every farmer, advisor & ag retailer.

As the founder and CEO of GROWERS, Steven Valencsin used his personal experiences to build technology that makes it easier to do business with farmers. He has personally farmed in three states, ran his own custom application and retail chemical business, founded the first privately owned soil lab in North Carolina, and consulted with farmers across ten states - helping them use data and new technology to make better decisions. Valencsin founded GROWERS over a decade ago because he saw an opportunity to push technology forward in the ag industry. Steven is devoted to changing ag through the adoption and advancement of technology. Since it’s founding, GROWERS has grown to over 45 employees who all share the same passion and respect for agriculture. Today, that passion is focused on championing the ag retailer’s role in the increasingly competitive marketplace.

GROWERS believes the future of ag retail is in the people of ag retail and the small-to-medium-sized businesses are the heart of the industry. GROWERS provides business support to ag retailers through a variety of technologies and services. On the tech side, they have developed a sales enhancement platform, GROWERS Rally, and offer financing through GROWERS Rally add-on GROWERS Flex (2022 pilot). In addition, they offer GROWERS Guide precision ag data analysis and GROWERS Connect marketing support to clients who need more manpower and expertise in those areas.

Learn more about GROWERS at https://growers.ag

This episode is sponsored by Harvest Hosts.

Harvest Hosts connects farms & other small businesses to an extensive network of self-contained RVers to boost annual revenue.  As part of the Harvest Hosts program, thousands of host locations across North America simply offer RVers a one-night stay on their property & in return, RVers patronize the Host's business via onsite purchases.

For more info or if you are ready to sign up to become a Host visit HARVEST HOSTS

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The 2022 growing season has seen a multitude of threats, including the rising cost of inputs and fuel, unpredictable weather events, the slow recovery of supply chains due to the COVID pandemic & the war in Ukraine causing an unstable global economic environment. On the other hand commodity prices are high, giving some hope of profitability to close out 2022. Farm Credit Canada's Jean-Phillippe Gervais weighs in on what he's seeing, and what producers can do to stay ahead of the dangers in order to come out the other side successfully.

Jean-Phillippe Gervais is an agricultural economist with specialized knowledge of markets at all levels of the supply chain. He also has valuable experience in research organizations with a focus on helping businesses gain insights in the marketplace. He specializes in macroeconomic trends, agricultural economics & competitiveness of agri-food businesses. Hear the outlook on livestock, crops, inputs & interest rates - with FCC’s JP Gervais.

FCC builds strong relationships and shares knowledge and expertise with thousands of customers across the country. They are proud to serve the industry that feeds the world. As the only lender 100% invested in Canadian agriculture and food, they are there to help their customers dream, grow and thrive and support the success of the industry.

To learn more about Farm Credit Canada visit https://www.fcc-fac.ca

This episode is sponsored by Harvest Hosts.

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This week Chrissy Wozniak has the opportunity to speak with the CEO Joel Holland of Harvest Hosts, a membership program that connects RVers with unique overnight experiences at 3,000+ wineries, farms, breweries, museums, golf courses, churches and other interesting destinations in the US and Canada.

Hosts simply offer RVers a one-night stay on their property, and, in return, RVers patronize the Host's business while spending the night. Our program is a cost-free opportunity and 100% of the money spent onsite goes straight to the Host. Their members spend millions of dollars each year while visiting Harvest Hosts locations and love to support small businesses.

According to Allied Market Research, agritourism was valued at over $42 million in 2019, and is estimated to reach over $62 million by 2027. Not only can producers open up a secondary income stream, but they can also make a difference by impacting the perception of farming to people who may have little to no connection with the land.

Applying to become a Host is easy! Visit https://agr.fyi/harvesthosts now if you're interested in creating a separate revenue stream for your farm! Open to farms across North America.

North American Ag is devoted to highlighting the people & companies in agriculture who impact our industry and help feed the world. Subscribe at https://northamericanag.com

Want to hear the stories of the ag brands you love and the ag brands you love to hate? Tune in at https://whatcolorisyourtractor.com

Need help with your agriculture based company's marketing plan? Visit https://chrissywozniak.com

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This week Chrissy Wozniak speaks with Gwen Legrand of FIRA & FIRA USA about tech innovators, automation & robot manufacturers planning to showcase & share their advances in agriculture at FIRA USA in Fresno, California October 18-20, 2022.

FIRA USA 2022, the agricultural autonomous solutions' event for California and North-America producers is happening soon!

FIRA USA is the only 3-day event for autonomous farming and agricultural robotics solutions. Co-organized by GOFAR-FIRA, University of California and Western Growers Association, this event will take place on October 18 to 20, 2022 in Fresno, Calif., USA, with support of Fresno-Merced Future of Food (F3).

What is #FIRAUSA22?

FIRA USA 2022 is the unique event which gathers the leaders of the Ag Robotics industry in North America. Robot manufacturers, agribusinesses, technology innovators, service suppliers and more will be present to share and discover the new advances of the North American industry.

On the agenda: a R&D Day with scientific workshops, a second day focused on Business with expo zone and panel discussions, and a last day of in-field robot demos. All the opportunities for you to share knowledge, to better understand the sustainable development of agricultural robotics and explore new collaborations.

Registrations are open, don’t waste time and register at #FIRAUSA22. More
information and registration at: https://www.fira-agtech.com/event/fira-usa

North American Ag is devoted to highlighting the people & companies in agriculture who impact our industry and help feed the world. Subscribe at https://northamericanag.com

This episode is sponsored by Morning Ag Clips.

Morning Ag Clips collects in one place breaking local and national agricultural news every day. We give farmers, ranchers, industry leaders, advocates, educators, and friends of farming the quick one-two on agriculture happenings delivered through our website or state-by-state e-blast. We are America’s #1 Daily Ag News Source.

Learn more at https://agr.fyi/mac

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