Adam McClung Recognized as Transformational Leader

jamie johansenAg Group, AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Beef

It is still hard to believe our friend and fellow ag communicator is no longer with us. We wanted to share the latest information from the Arkansas Cattlemen’s Association remembering Adam’s life and spirit. We send continued prayers to his family and close friends.

– Adam McClung Recognized as Transformational Leader –

Arkansas Cattlemen’s Association (ACA) Executive Vice President Adam McClung passed away August 6, 2017, at Baptist Health Medical Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. McClung succumbed to a brief, but severe illness. The unexpected passing sent shockwaves through the cattle industry in Arkansas and throughout the country.

McClung was known as a transformational leader, according to ACA President Jerry Christie. “Adam was one of a kind. His larger than life personality and unwavering dedication to the farm and ranch families of Arkansas was unparalleled,” said Christie. “Adam took this association to a whole new level. Under his leadership, we dramatically increased membership, effectiveness in the state legislature and created Young Cattlemen’s Leadership Class. Most importantly, Adam cared about cattle producers and made sure this association was member driven and member run. His passion was contagious.”

Adam first served ACA as director of membership before eventually becoming the executive vice president in 2009 after serving one year with the Oklahoma Beef Council as director of industry relations. His success was noticed throughout the country. McClung’s policy savvy and ability to draft innovative legislation that would truly advance the state’s cattle industry was evident by other state cattle organizations following his lead and pushing McClung’s ideas in their respective states. McClung honored tradition but pushed change when it was necessary to improve the cattle industry. His relentless efforts to bring positive change to the beef cattle industry spurred the White House and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to recognize him in 2014 as just one of 15 “Champions of Change” leaders from across the country.

Despite his passion and success in the cattle industry, those who knew him best would say that wasn’t his top priority. Past ACA President Marcus Creasy, who was a personal friend, said McClung’s first love and a primary driver in life was family. On July 3, 2010, McClung married his best friend, Chantel Powell. The real “game changer,” according to Creasy, came on May 26, 2015, when the family expanded with the birth of daughter, Magdelana “Maggie” Blair.

“Maggie Blair was a game changer for Adam. She was his whole universe. His devotion to the cattle industry paled in comparison to his love and commitment to Chantel and that little girl,” said Creasy. “It was impossible to have a conversation with Adam and not talk about his family. You could be talking cows one second and somehow his eyes would flicker with excitement and the conversation quickly turned to family.”

In honor of Adam, the “Maggie Blair Education Fund” has been set up at People’s Bank at 20409 Arch Street, Little Rock, AR., 72206. There has also been a memorial fund established through YouCaring.com.

The Memorial Service for Adam will be this Friday, August 11th at 2 pm at Springhill Baptist Church in Greenbrier, AR.

PERC Announces New Propane Farm Incentive Program

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If you’ve been thinking about switching to propane, now is the time, says Cinch Munson, director of agriculture business development at the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC).  The Propane Farm Incentive program has been newly revised, taking it from a two-step process to one-step where farmers receive their application packet from the dealer when they purchase a piece of qualifying equipment.  “We wanted to make things easier,” Munson said.

The purpose of the program is to offset the costs of purchasing propane-powered equipment and to gather valuable information about increasing efficiency and the development of new equipment.  Currently propane equipment in the ag space includes irrigation engines, prime power generators, heating systems for greenhouses and animals, and a few grain dryers.  To find a list of qualifying purchases, visit www.propane.com/farmincentive.

Two new offerings have also been brought to market by Origins Engines.  The new 5.7 L and 6.2 L engines provide higher horsepower that was previously lacking.  “We’re pretty excited to see that come to market because more choices are always a benefit for the consumer,” Munson told Cindy.

As with all good things, this offer will come to an end.  Currently it’s set to continue through 2017, but if you’re thinking about it, do it now, Munson advised.  There are lots of positives and very few negatives.

“It’s a good size incentive on an engine that, in most every case, costs considerably less than the latest Tier 4 engines.  So by choosing propane you save money on the cost up front.  Participating in the Farm Incentive Program you save even more money, and then the operating costs on those engines- we’ve seen over the last five years- by using propane instead of diesel, an operation can save 30 to 50 percent on their operating costs.”

Listen to Cindy’s full interview with Munson here: Interview with Cinch Munson, PERC

Ag Community Remembers Adam McClung

jamie johansenAg Media Summit, AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Beef

UPDATED

The beef and agricultural media communities lost a great man and passionate spokesperson for the industry. Adam McClung, executive director, Arkansas Cattlemen’s Association, passed away over the weekend after a brief but severe illness. Just weeks ago many Livestock Publications Council and American Ag Editors Association members were gathered together and Adam was among us. We all have such fond memories of his wit and commitment to agriculture.

Just three weeks ago, I was able to spend the day with Adam on a farm in North Central Arkansas gathering a story on the Black Headed Vultures and depredation loss Arkansas cattlemen are seeing. This policy issue is just one example of Adam’s dedication. We send prayers to his family and friends during this time, along with love and support to his wife and young daughter.

An education memorial fund has been set up in memory of Adam for his daughter, Maggie Blair. Make checks to “Maggie Blair Education Fund” in memory of Adam McClung. They can be mailed to Peoples Bank, Maggie Blair Education Fund, 20409 Arch Street, Little Rock, AR 72206.

AmericanWool.org Launches to Educate Consumers

Jamie JohansenAg Group, ASI, Wool

The American Sheep Industry Association and its American Wool Council have launched a multi-faceted campaign to take wool’s incredible story straight to the consumer, including a new website at AmericanWool.org.

A new American Wool logo was launched in 2016 to kick off renewed promotional efforts. The website will work in conjunction with a variety of social media sites to tell American wool’s narrative in a multi-media fashion that includes stories, photos and video.

“What we found is that consumers are not aware that wool is a high-performance fiber,” said ASI Director of Wool Marketing Rita Kourlis Samuelson. “A lot of consumers don’t understand how modern-day wool differs from grandma’s scratchy, old sweater. We saw a need to educate the consumer about American wool, and the new website is the best way to reach an audience that is ready to embrace products made with natural fibers such as American wool.”

USDA Getting #BackToOurRoots

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Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has been on a five-state “Back to Our Roots” Tour to gather input on the 2018 Farm Bill, meeting with farmers, ranchers, foresters, producers, students, governors, USDA employees, and other stakeholders. This is the first of two RV tours the secretary will undertake this summer.

This first RV Tour features stops in five states: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana. “The ‘Back to our Roots’ Farm Bill and rural prosperity RV listening tour will allow us to hear directly from people in agriculture across the country, as well as our consumers – they are the ones on the front lines of American agriculture and they know best what the current issues are,” Perdue said.

Secretary Sonny held a press conference this morning to talk about his trip, with reporters’ questions including issues with Sam Clovis’ nomination, dicamba concerns, and drought in the Dakotas.
Sec. Perdue presser on Back to our Roots tour

Animal Ag Bites 8/7

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  • Elanco celebrated the opening of their new autogenous poultry vaccine manufacturing facility in Winslow, Maine earlier this summer.  The new facility is dedicated to manufacturing customized inactivated vaccines for unique disease challenges.
  • This month the National Young Farmers Coalition is hosting the Young Farmers Roundtables to provide an oppoturnity for members to express their needs to members of the House Agriculture Committee.
  • On Aug. 4, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) announced that its members have approved a three-year extension of the labor contract covering 29 West Coast ports. The contract between ILWU and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) now runs through June 30, 2022 reports the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF).

New from Case IH

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Case IH made a number of new product announcements for 2018 this week.

For starters, they launched the next generation of Maxxum series tractors that “combine efficient power, versatility, comfort and convenience to handle the day-to-day demands of beef, dairy and row crop operations.”

The 2018 line up includes Maxxum ActiveDrive 4, Maxxum ActiveDrive 8, and Maxxum CVXDrive tractor configurations that can be equipped to meet the needs of any operation.

The new Case IH Steiger CVXDrive series tractors with the strongest CVT on the market are available in 370 to 540 horsepower and in 17 different configurations in Quadtrac™, Rowtrac™, wheeled and scraper options.

The Steiger is the first continuously variable transmission to be offered in a 4WD articulated tractor and delivers the highest horsepower available on the market.

To top it off, Case IH launched the “industry’s fastest converting combination applicator” which converts from “liquid to dry in as little as 42 minutes.”

The Trident 5550 Liquid System offers the latest Case IH application technology, including AIM Command FLEX™ advanced spray technology and it’s engineered from the ground up to be changed from liquid to dry and back again throughout three seasons of use.

New Product Lineup from Krone

jamie johansenAg Media Summit, Agribusiness, AgWired Animal, Audio, Equipment, Forage, Hay

Krone North America will soon be rolling out several new products and product improvements for producers to take home and put to use for the next hay and forage season.

“We are a German company, but we really focus on providing innovative products for the North American producer. At any given time throughout the year we typically have a German engineer over here talking to producers, finding out what features they need for their machines and understanding crop conditions. That’s why we say Krone equipment is German engineered for the North American market,” said Kristine Walker, Krone NA, Manager of Marketing Communications and Public Relations.

We spoke with Kristine at the recent Ag Media Summit where she gave us the details on their new EasyCut TS 320 Pull-Type Disc Mower. The mower features a new frame design, fewer moving parts and a cutting width of 10ft. 4in.

Krone has also introduced two new large tedder models featuring working widths of 43 and 50 ft. They have also come out with a new Comprima Round Balers. These are equipped with new a pick-up design delivering better feeding and wrapping.

Listen or watch my complete chat with Kristine to get all the details on these products and for a sneak peek on what we will see announced later this year. Interview with Kristine Walker, Krone NA

View and download photos here: 2017 Ag Media Summit Photo Album

Coverage of the Ag Media Summit is sponsored by
Coverage of the Ag Media Summit is sponsored by FMC

The Kings of Hay & Forage

jamie johansenAg Media Summit, Agribusiness, AgWired Animal, Audio, Equipment, Farm Machinery, Forage, Hay

All our German speaking friends already know that Krone translates to king in German. We spoke with Dave Patterson, Krone NA, during the recent Ag Media Summit to learn what makes them the ‘kings of hay and forage’ production globally.

“Our customers and dealers are critical to our strategy and to our success. We are unique. We are a family-owned German company. We don’t answer to stockholders, quarterly earnings reports or others things that can restrict a true focus on the customer, their needs and our long-term investments,” Patterson said.

When it comes to focus, two areas spring to the top. The first is product innovation driven by customer feedback. People are number two. Krone hand-selects people in sales, service and marketing that can deliver.

Even with a downturn market, learn how Krone has sharpened their focus in Chuck’s complete interview with Dave here: Interview with Dave Patterson, Krone

View and download photos here: 2017 Ag Media Summit Photo Album

Coverage of the Ag Media Summit is sponsored by
Coverage of the Ag Media Summit is sponsored by FMC

Animal Ag Bites 7/31

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  • A new report from RaboResearch Food & Agribusiness, “Foraging for Higher Prices” explores hay prices and the impact on dairies. Members and journalists may request a copy by contacting RaboResearch Report Requests/Media Inquiries, Sarah Kolell, at (816) 350-4811 or Sarah.Kolell@RaboAg.com.
  • The July Dairy Market Report is ready for download from the National Milk Producers Federation website.  Indicators suggest milk prices have rebounded from their earlier spring lows.
  • Students wishing to apply for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and Public Lands Council 2018 Spring and Summer public policy and law clerk internships must submit their applications by August 15, 2017.
  • Register now to attend the CattleFax Trends+ Cow-Calf Webinar being held on August 30, 2017 at 5:30 MT.  The seminar will provide an overview of the beef and cow-calf industry through the end of 2017 and into 2018.
  • Alltech is hosting a webinar on the topic of trace minerals and their role in livestock health and performance.  Register for this event taking place Thursday, August 3, 2017 at 2:00 EST.

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