INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. The team of more than 100 Pioneer Hi- Bred agronomists from across the country converged in Indianapolis recently to learn more about to day’s latest crap production and precision fanning technologies from leading university and com pany experts. The educational conference featured presentations on topics such as new herbicide systems, in sect and disease management strategies for com and soybeans. 1997 Pioneer agronomy research findings, performance and man agement of ECB-rcsistant com hybrids, and new products under development for special end-use markets. “Pioneer has a long standing tradition of providing agronomic knowledge and in-field assistance to our customers to help them im prove profitability. Our Agro nomy Conference is an integral part of that effort and sets the stage for our efforts during the roming crop season,” said Paul Carter, agronomy sciences man ager at Pioneer in Des Moines, lowa. With an estimated 80 percent of Pioneer® brand hybrids being consumed by livestock, a focal point of the conference was an up date on the Pioneer-Optimum joint venture and new products under development for end-use markets. Agronomists learned more about the pending launch and agronomic management of highly available phosphorus com hybrids. These hybrids allow live stock to absorb mote of die phos phorus, leaving less to be excreted in manure. Other products in development include com hybrids high in avail able lysine and hybrids that com bine the benefits of high oil, high lysine and highly available phos phorus. Soybean varieties win soon feature value-added traits such as high oleic, low linolenic, low saturates, high protein and high sucrose for use in the food, feed and industrial markets. “Pioneer agronomists not only hear from leading university and industry experts plus the Pioneer team of nearly one dozen agro nomy research managers and pre cision farming experts, they have a unique opportunity to learn from each other during our Hall of Ideas exhibition,” Carter said. An agronomic trade show of sorts, the Hall of Ideas featured mote than SO exhibits from Pion eer agronomists, researchers, pro duct managers and technical ex perts from across the country. Pre sentations on insect and weed management systems for soy beans and com were popular among the agronomists attending. ‘Today, seed is often the de livery mechanism for weed and insect management choices. Pion eers agronomy research has been evaluating these different systems, many since before their introduc tion to producers,” said Dennis Wickham, agronomist from Hil liard, Ohio. “I can take this in formation back to the customers in my area to he!)) them evaluate these systems and determine which systems best fit their pro duction challenges and profit ability goals.” In addition to information from Pioneer, the agronomist* also heard from Tom Bauman. Purdue University and Bob Hayes from the University of Tennessee on the Conference Shows Producers How To Benefit From Technologies efficacy and crop responses from new herbicide systems. Precision farming presentations on yield map interpretation and split planter comparisons also were popular among the agronom ists attending. “Proper use of yield monitors and mapping systems and the in terpretation of the data from these HORSEHEADS, N.Y. - United Ag Services recently held its annual meeting at the Holiday Inn. In his opening remarks, President J. W. Welch stated how pleased he was with the continued sustained growth of United Ag Services and its mem ber cooperatives. Membership grew by 31 per cent this past year. He believes United’s basic structure of pro viding member services and quality markets while not being required to invest in bricks and mortar appeals to dairy farmers. A strong commitment to sustain ing the family farm without regard to size is the basic con cept of United and its members cooperatives. James Patsos, United CEO, presented the financial report. United continues to maintain a strong equity position. Earnings are kept at a minimum in order to maximize the return to the dairy farmer members. Many cooperatives brag about the thousands or millions of dollars returned to their producers without revealing the true mea sure - the amount per hundred weight returned. United’s phi losophy is to improve the month ly milk checks of its members. Efficiencies in operations have allowed United to have no increase in dues since its incep tion more than 10 years ago. United has also been able to enhance its income by providing accounting, employee payroll, and other services to individual dairy farmers and other agricul tural businesses. In his management report, Patsos remarked about how challenging a time we have in the dairy business today - possi bly one of the most exciting items in history. Plant sales, co op mergers, Federal Order reforms, and the Northeast Dairy Compact expansion into New York and Pennsylvania all demand our attention and involvement. Currently milk prices have shown some improvement; how ever; we can expect normal sea sonal adjustments this year. Moreover, we should not see the dramatic changes in prices which took place over the past several months. The current strong national economy will help buoy the demand for diary products, thereby helping to uphold better milk prices this year. Patsos also spoke about the cooperative’s efforts to work with dairy farmers in western New York to develop a market for organic milk. Peter Fredricks of the market Administrator’s office discussed the Federal Order Reform process and the timetable of vot ing and implementation. He encouraged the dairy farmers to systems to help develop site-spe cific management plans are the fo cus of our precision fanning ef forts,*’ said Phil Bax, agronomist from Spencer, lowa. “In my area. I’ve also worked with producers to conduct split planter compari sons. This technique lets a pro ducer compare two products or United Ag Services Posts Reports attend the hearing in Syracuse and submit written comments regarding the proposed order. Edward Gallagher, director of planning and regulatory reform for Dairylea, spent considerable time discussing the proposed order reform and how it would impact the dairy farmers. He urged all members to write to USDA Secretary Glickman, requesting the use of Option la for pricing class I milk. Option lb would reduce class I prices by Agricultural Leaders Complete UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre Co.) - A seminar on the role and responsibilities of the director in leading an agricul tural cooperative was held at the 14th Annual Cooperative Director Institute here at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel. More than 40 participants from 13 states and several inter national representatives attend ed the institute, which offers issue-driven educational pro grams to develop the business and leadership skills of coopera tive members. Sponsored jointly by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and Penn State’s Cooperative Business Education and Research program (CBERP), the institute identi fies and develops emerging lead- Dairy Profit Seminars At Empire Farm Day STANLEY, N.Y. - Keep the dates of Aug. 11-13 open for the fourth annual Dairy Profit Seminars to be held at Empire Farm Days in Seneca Falls, N.Y. at the Rodman Lott Farm. Management seminars held daily offer new ideas and infor mation for Northeast dairy pro ducers. Complimentary lunch is served to all dairy producers who attend. Tuesday, Aug. 11 features alternative management styles and employee relations. Wednesday, Aug. 12 overviews cow comfort and using sand bed ding for the ultimate in cow comfort. Thursday, Aug. 14 high lights nutrition and will espe cially emphasize on-farm shrink - how to avoid feed loss after your commodities are on the farm. Melanie Wickham, Empire Farm Days Show manager, said “The Dairy Profit Seminars are a tremendous way for dairy pro ducers to keep up the the latest information while seeing and management practices in parallel strips across a field to help choose the method that offers the greatest production benefit It’s just one more way we can help producers maximize the return they get from Pioneer products.” Comparisons can include estab lished versus newew hybrids or varieties, two fertilizer treatments $1.07 per hundredweight when fully implemented. He also dis cussed the effect of the change from farm point pricing to plant point pricing. Following the discussion period, Robert Nichols, Addison, N.Y. Don Hamilton, Millerton, Pa.; and Laverne McCarty, Forksville, Pa.; were re-elected to the board of directors Eldon Towner, Bath, N.Y. and Douglass Steward, Rome Pa. were newly elected directors. ers within the cooperative com munity. The institute trains directors of the region’s member-owned cooperative organizations to build the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in the rapidly changing business environment. To be successful, cooperatives must maintain and increase their value by helping members improve profits, gain access to markets and services, and limit risk. Other topics addressed at the institute included director liabil ity, communications, strategic issues in cooperative mergers and joint venturing, board man agement relations, leadership, strategic planning, understand ing cooperative finances, and the changing legal and regulato ry environment. Aug. 11-13 hearing what others in the industry are doing. The panel discussions featuring your peers allows everyone to learn some thing new. Be sure to join us.” Seminar sponsor Agway Agricultural Products offers the daily sessions as a way for Northeast diary producers to continually gain useful manage ment information. Mark Giles, director of strategic develop- ment, said “We feel very strong ly that the Dairy Profit Seminars are invaluable for all our customers. The seminars address topics that are timely and useful in today’s dairy industry.” With hundreds of exhibits and displays, Empire Farm Days offer many opportunities for farmers to see the latest agricultural technology and products. Plan now to attend. The Dairy Profit Seminars are sponsored by Agway Ag Products, Syracuse, N.Y. and coordinated by HFW Commun ications, Sandy Creek, N.Y. Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 25, 1998-C3 such as starter and no starter, two seeding rates or seed treatments or products from different seed com panies. The Pioneer Agronomy Confer ence is a week-long event held each year in February. This year’s event was attended by guests from Europe, Africa and Asia. Because United Co-op has a one member, one-vote policy, the increase in membership required the addition of two directors to the board. Outgoing President J.W. Welch was presented a plaque in recognition of his many years of dedicated service to dairy farm ers. Douglas Stewart also made a presentation to Welch since he has resigned as president of Progressive Dairymen’s Cooperative. Cooperatives Directors Institute ' • ■>- Keynote speakers included Bruce Anderson, professor of agricultural economics at Cornell University; Gordon Milbrandt, cooperative leader ship consultant from Spokane, Wash.; Don Schriver, executive vice-president of newly formed Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) Cooperative Inc.; Dennis Mullen, president and chief executive of Agri-Link Foods Inc.; Donald Dufek, retired senior vice-president of Kroger Foods Inc.; Poerter Little, vice president of Coßank; Chris Fox of Agway Cooperative Inc.; and William Frantz, manager of environmental affairs for Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc. Dr. Robert D. Steele, dean of- Penn State’s College of. Agricultural Sciences, ancf- Samuel E. Hayes, Jr., Pennsylvania’s secretary of culture, addressed the confer ence at separate luncheons. A panel of industry experts led dis cussion of key issues driving strategic moves by their organi zations. Following presentations by Mullen, Schriver and Dufek on behalf of AgrilLink Foods (Pro- Fac), DFA Cooperative Inc. and Kroger Foods, respectively, the panelists answered questions about their recent experiences. An advanced director insti tute, coordinated by Cornell Cooperative Extension and Northeast Cooperative Inc., and Kroger Foods, respectively, the panelists answered questions about their recent experiences. An advanced director insti tute, coordinated by Cornell Cooperative Extension and the Northeast Cooperative Counsel (with support from Coßank), is scheduled for November 1998 in Albany, N Y. Penn State CBERP, with the Pennsylvania Council of Cooperatives, also offers on going training in cooperative principles; general business con cepts and practices; and leader ship for cooperative employees, young cooperative leaders, and older teens. For more informa tion, call Penn State CBERP at (814) 863-0644 or send electron ic mail to cberp@psu.edu.
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