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The battle between the GPS industry and LightSquared 4G-LTE network continues

The battle between the GPS industry and a proposed 4G-LTE network backed by ground towers and satellites that may conflict with GPS signals continues, according to an article published recently by Agri-Pulse.

LightSquared is dedicated to bringing fast broadband service with minimal delay in data transfer speed. To do so, it launched a satellite in November 2010 that could give all users signal regardless of cellular range. This all sounds like an answer to a prayer, especially for rural residents, who frequently experienced dropped calls and other issues associated with a lack of towers and limited capacity.

The conflict arises when the faster mobile 4G service essentially out-performs the satellite sending signals to GPS devices. If the GPS signal gets interrupted and the GPS device doesn’t receive a service, it could affect data capture in the tractor.

For example, when I shared this story with my marketing team, one of the girls had experienced this problem first-hand six years ago when she was interning with a regional cooperative in northwest Iowa. She was given the task of mapping field boundaries on 11,000 acres within seven days. Due to technical difficulties, it became an extremely daunting task. Her territory was in a very rural area, and the GPS device often lost the signal. She would have to retrace the field boundary with a four-wheeler on which the GPS device was mounted.

While the GPS satellite system has greatly improved since that summer mapping field boundaries, this is an excellent example to help illustrate what can happen and to help explain why the GPS industry is concerned about how its customers will be impacted by the 4G satellite. Just imagine the consequences of the GPS signal getting interrupted when fertilizer is being applied or yields are being calculated!

On the other hand, it’s easy to understand why LightSquared executives are upset that their project is being given the red light – or at least the yellow flag – when they’re nearly ready to launch. They’ve had permission since 2005 to build the 4G network, yet no concerns were raised until the eleventh hour. In the meantime, they’ve invested millions of dollars and countless hours on R&D.

No wonder the battle continues to wage. Let’s hope they find common ground. Figuring out how to protect the GPS signal’s viability for farmers while providing faster, more consistent mobile phone service would certainly benefit all who live in rural America!

Team Latham

January 24, 2012

Agriculture, General, Industry News
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Agriculture: One of the Most Useful College Majors
Photo Courtesy of the National FFA Organization

Ever since Yahoo! published an article Jan. 19 by Terence Loose listing “College Majors that are Useless,” agriculturists across the nation have been having a field day. The ground is snow covered throughout the Corn Belt, but the agricultural community is making hay any way!

I wouldn’t be surprised if Mr. Loose’s article does more than boost hits on the Yahoo! site… I’m betting it’s going to be one of the best PR opportunities our industry has seen. It gives agriculturists a great chance to tell our side of the story to a captive, engaged audience. He’s making our story relevant, timely and newsworthy!

Take a look at how people across the country are weighing in:
- “Without agriculture, everyone would be naked and hungry” is one of the tweets I read last week after the Yahoo story ran. Since I couldn’t remember who deserves attribution for this quote, I did a quite Google search for “hungry naked agriculture.” WOW. My search revealed about 14,200,000 results with this one listed at the top: Are You Ready to Be Hungry and Naked? | Hoosier Ag Today. You can even buy “Naked & Hungry” T-shirts from the National FFA Organization.
- Ag grads have posted nearly 4,000 comments over the past four days on a new website, I Studied Agriculture and I Have a Job.
- In the Huffington Post, Allen S. Levine, Dean of the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences and Director of the Minnesota Obesity Center, University of Minnesota, writes: “While I’m hesitant to give the list (by Terence Loose) more credibility than it deserves – it’s based almost entirely on U.S. Labor Department projections and one author’s opinions – this blog post is so far off base it has to be refuted.” Click here to read his rebuttal.
Interestingly enough, a publication entitled Recruiting Trends 2010-2011 published by Dr. Phil Gardner at Michigan State University concludes: “No sector appears stronger than agriculture/food processing with an increase in hires of approximately 14 percent.”

Mike Gaul, Director of Career Services for Iowa State University’s College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, says, “Every thing that’s happening at our college completely contradicts the Yahoo! article. Our college has the highest placement rate on campus at 98.2%. ISU CALS hosts the country’s largest agricultural career day. The fall career day, on Oct. 18, 2011, was the largest on record with 175 companies exhibiting. In addition, more nearly 1,200 interviews were conducted on-campus last fall. Now ISU CALS is getting ready to host its 5^th annual spring ag career for which record participation is expected.

“When you invest in a college degree, you want to be marketable upon graduation. A degree in agriculture is offering a great ROI right now,” adds Gaul. “Agriculture is diverse and agriculture grads are in high demand.”

Agriculture is a far different industry than it was 50, 30, or even 10 years ago, says Levine of the University of Minnesota. He’s quoted in the Huffington Post as saying, “Who knows? The next George Washington Carver, Temple Grandin or Louis Pasteur might be thinking about a future in the agricultural sciences right now; the health of our people and our environment could depend on what he or she chooses.

ISU’s Gaul agrees there are many more majors under the ag umbrella today including microbiology, horticulture, culinary science, and global resource systems.

Agriculture in 2012 is certainly broader than it was in my grandparents’ and my parents’ day. It’s even broader than it was in 1993 when I enrolled at Iowa State University with a double-major in Agricultural Journalism and Public Service Administration in Agriculture. My degree has provided me with wonderful experiences during the past 19 years including lobbying on behalf of Iowa agribusinesses, doing public relations for agricultural leaders and now owning a business where I have the pleasure of working daily with those who help feed, clothe and fuel the world. Truly, an ag degree is one of most useful degrees!
Team Latham

January 23, 2012

Agriculture, General, Industry News
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

What Can a Cookie Do?
It’s Girl Scout cookie time! As Cookie Manager for our daughter’s troop, I’m having a hard time keeping certain varieties in stock. Truly, these little boxes of sinful goodness sell out as soon as I get a new supply.

“If only seed were as to easy to sell as Girl Scout cookies!” I’ve said to myself on more than one occasion. “These little cookies practically sell themselves.”

It made me wonder what we could learn from the Girl Scouts’ cookie sales program. Here are the top five reasons I believe the Girl Scout Cookies NOW! program is so successful:
1. Limited time offer
2. Unique products
3. Instant gratification
4. Return/repeat customers
5. A great sales pitch with practice overcoming objections
Girl Scout cookies are only available for a limited amount of time (January 13 – March 4, 2012) and only from troop members, who either call customers on the phone or make door-to-door sales. Each of the eight varieties is unique, and you certainly can’t whip up a batch at home. (There’s a good reason the recipe is called “Mock Thin Mints”.)

Speaking of Thin Mints… The only cookie that outsells Thin Mints is Oreo®, which are available 365 days a year from nearly every grocer and big box store nationwide.

New to our area this year, cookies are delivered at the time of sale. There’s instant gratification because you can treat yourself to a cookie as soon as the Scout walks out your front door. Plus, customers can order early and reorder often! You no longer need to ration your intake or freeze surplus quantities until March since there is nearly a two-month sales period this year.

If you dare say “no” to the friendly Scout who rings your door bell and asks you to buy cookies, be prepared. (Remember, that’s the Girl Scout motto, after all!) These girls have been trained to overcome objections, and they’ve had plenty of practice – about 80 years’ worth.

The first recorded Girl Scouts cookie sale was 1917, and the organization itself is celebrating its 100^th anniversary in 2012. Founded in 1912 by Juliette Gordon Low, Girl Scouts of the United States of America’s membership has grown from 18 members in Savannah, Georgia, to nearly 4 million members throughout the United States in more than 90 countries.

In honor of the Girl Scouts’ birthplace in Savannah, today I’m featuring a recipe from another Savannah resident. A meal at Paula Deen’s restaurant was a highlight when several members of the West Fork Girl Scouts traveled to Savannah last summer.

Treat your family to a home-cooked chicken dinner this weekend, and open a box of Girl Scout cookies for dessert. You can eat the whole box and still have time to reorder yet this sales season. 🙂

What’s your favorite Girl Scout cookie? Cast your vote on our Facebook poll today.
Team Latham

January 20, 2012

General, Poultry, Recipes
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Telling Your Story Comes With a Price!

As a family-owned, independent seed company, we believe it’s both our right and responsibility to get involved in the communities where we do business. That’s why we look for opportunities where our interests and expertise align with community needs.

One such opportunity presented itself a few years ago during a regular meeting of the Iowa 4-H Trustees when I learned that Franklin County is one of the few counties in our great state without an endowed 4-H scholarship. I had a proverbial “light bulb moment” and decided then and there that I wanted to spearhead efforts to establish an endowment that would help the next generation of agricultural leaders in their pursuit of higher education.

Why is it when you come up with an idea that you find yourself leading the charge? Now I’m helping lead the charge to raise $20,000 to endow the Franklin County 4-H Scholarship. As much as I enjoy baking, I could never raise the needed dough through bread and muffins alone!

Our fund-raising efforts kicked off last fall with a Brown Bag Burger Benefit during harvest. Thanks to Fareway of Hampton, Franklin County Pork Producers and Rainbow Feed & Grain for making our first-ever barbecue a success! Special thanks to Craig Donnelly of KLMJ, the staff at the Franklin County Extension Service and my parents for their service. (Yes, 4-H is still a family affair– 20 years later.) And all of the area residents who came out on a beautiful fall day to support this cause also deserve a round of applause; we sold 396 pork burgers from our inventory of 400 burgers!

The Brown Bag Benefit helped raise awareness about the endowment fund, but it was just one tactic in our overall campaign. The majority of our funds will be raised through the creation of a book documenting the history of agriculture in Franklin County. The completion of this book is going to take the support of our county and of Franklin County natives.

To garner participation in our book, we began by inviting Century Farm Families to share their stories in honor of the 100^th year of 4-H in 2012. Coincidentally, this book will be written during the 65^th anniversary of Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds. Yours truly will definitely be submitting a story about our company’s founders and the contributions they made to agriculture and farm life here.

We hope you’ll join our efforts, too! It’s as simple as sharing your family’s farm story. Click here to download a form and to learn more about the donor levels. Feel free to contact me directly to see how I might help tell your story.

Team Latham

January 19, 2012

Agriculture, General, Industry News
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Misuse of Big Equipment has Big-Time Consequences

Submitted by Tracy Schlater
Marketing Director, Farm Safety For Just Kids

From the time they’re in diapers, many farm kids are driving tractor. They push scale model toys across kitchen floors and “rip” through living room carpets. After years of just pretending, many farm youth are excited when they finally are given the opportunity to get behind the wheel of the real deal.

Not properly operating big equipment, however, can have big-time consequences. Just ask Trevor Hoff of Maryland, who was 14 years old when he was run over by a tractor while on his way to feed cattle in the pasture.

Trevor put his tractor in park and jumped down to open a gate. Upon climbing back into the seat, he put the tractor in gear. A few seconds later he heard a bang and realized the gate had swung shut. Without a second thought, Trevor slid out of the tractor seat. And just as his foot hit the ground, the tractor started to roll. He’d forgotten to put the tractor back in park.

“I can still remember the tractor tire going over my face,” he says in a Herald-Whig article. “It broke every bone from my chin to my eye socket. I have seven plates and 37 screws holding my face together, a couple of plates and screw in my hips.”

Eighteen hours of surgery later, the 14-year-old was told he’d never walk again. Amazingly enough he survived. His mom calls it a miracle. Click the video link below to hear his story.

Gary Geske

January 18, 2012

Agriculture, General, Industry News
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Farm productivity climbs while land, energy and water use decline

submitted by Aaron Putze
Director of External Relations & Coordinator
Iowa Food & Family Project, Iowa Soybean Association

If past performance is an indicator of future success, then there’s much to be optimistic about regarding agriculture! Corn production has nearly doubled since 1980 while the amount of nutrients used to grow it has declined by more than half.

The numbers speak for themselves. Nearly 30 years ago, America’s farmers harvested 6.64 billion bushels of corn and used 3.9 pounds of nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium) per bushel to nourish it. In 2010, farmers harvested 12.45 billion bushels of corn while using 1.6 pounds of nutrients per bushel.

Similar trends can be found in soybean, beef and dairy production. For example, since 1987, producing a bushel of soybeans uses 26 percent less land, 61 percent less energy and 20 percent less water. Similarly, a gallon of milk is produced today using 65 percent less water and 90 percent less land than in 1944 while each pound of beef requires 14 percent less water and 34 percent less land.

Why the improvement?

Better feed, seed, livestock facilities and farm equipment. Advancements in all phases of agriculture have helped farmers optimize the use of each acre of land and raise livestock, dairy and poultry that’s healthier and achieve market weight sooner.

Team Latham

January 17, 2012

Agriculture, General, Industry News
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Corn Plants Need Well-Balanced Diets, Too

Dr. Fred Below, plant physiologist and professor with the University of Illinois at Champagne-Urbana

Eating healthy is always a favorite topic around the New Year when people make resolutions, but have you ever considered the importance of providing a well-balanced diet for your corn crop? After all, corn plants are living, breathing organisms! They have needs, too.

Dr. Fred Below, plant physiologist and professor with the University of Illinois at Champagne-Urbana, says 50% of corn yield is determined by weather and nitrogen. We can all agree that weather greatly affects nitrogen usage and efficiency. While no one can control Mother Nature, Dr. Below says farmers can manage nitrogen to have as much impact on yield as weather.

Nitrogen is a mobile nutrient, so the timing of fertilizer application is critical to meet a plant’s needs. The plant’s biggest need for fertilizer is between V12-R1. With this in mind, Dr. Below asks why so many farmers are applying nitrogen seven months before the plant needs it. Consider this analogy:

You want to throw a party during the third week of June 2012. However, canned beverages can be purchased cheaper in early November 2011. You stock up on drinks and store them, on the edge of your field, near the road for seven months. Will those beverages still be located in the same spot on June 22, a hot, dry day when you’re especially thirsty and want to drink 7 cans?

Instead of providing a feast or famine situation for a corn plant, Dr. Below says farmers can benefit from controlling the release of fertilizer and by managing micronutrients. During a presentation to a group of farmers and Seed-2-Soil® clients in Clear Lake last Thursday, he showed how taking a system approach that combines seed technology with fertilizer technology can significantly – and consistently – improve corn yields.

Have you set a goal of consistently raising 250- or 300-bushel corn? Nitrogen management is key, but it’s not the only factor influencing yield. Click here to see Dr. Below’s 7 Wonders of the Corn World, which are the seven factors that have the most influence on yield.

Team Latham

January 16, 2012

Agronomics, Corn, Crop, General
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Satisfy a Healthy Appetite in 2012
Submitted by Darcy Maulsby,
Darcy Maulsby & Co.

Achieving your New Year’s resolutions to boost health and have more energy is as easy as eating more. Yes, that’s right. Instead of worrying about what not to eat, focus on adding more nutrition powerhouses (like lean protein, fruits and vegetables) to your meals.

Even better, you’ll never feel deprived, if you do it right. This is an insight I’ve learned from the talented home cooks, chefs and dietitians whom I’ve interviewed through my work as an ag journalist and marketing specialist.

These health professionals and culinary experts have taught me that satisfying, nutritious, home-cooked meals don’t have to be time-consuming to prepare. (Check out my easy recipes for Pork Milanese and Orange and Cashew Lettuce Salad below).

At my house, “fast food” often starts with pork. Did you know that pork tenderloin is as lean as skinless chicken breast? The dietitians at the National Pork Board also note that today’s most popular cuts of pork have 16 percent less total fat and 27 percent less saturated fat than they did 20 years ago.

The key to a great pork meal is not to overcook this lean protein. New guidelines from U.S. Department of Agriculture show that pork can be consumed safely when cooked to a lower internal temperature of 145° Fahrenheit, followed by a three-minute rest time.

These are just some of the many handy cooking tips I’ve gleaned by writing about food and farming. I love spreading the word to help others make the farm-to-fork connection. After all, if you eat, you are a part of agriculture.

Pork Milanese

Ingredients:
- 1 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ pounds of pork loin, sliced (pound each slice to a thickness of 1/3 inch)
- Salt
- Black pepper, or lemon pepper
- Olive oil
Directions:
1. Combine panko and Parmesan cheese and place in a large shallow bowl or pie plate. Lightly beat the eggs in another large shallow bowl or pie plate. Sprinkle pork slices with salt and pepper or lemon pepper. Dip the pork, one piece at a time, in the egg. Then dredge the pork in the panko/Parmesan mixture. Coat completely. Place the pork on a small baking sheet.
2. Heat oil (approximately ¼ cup) in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork to the hot oil and cook until golden brown and just cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer pork slices to paper towels and drain. Then transfer pork slices to a clean baking sheet and keep them warm in a 200-degree oven. Add more oil, as needed, to the skillet and finish cooking the remaining pork slices.
Darcy Maulsby is based in Lake City, Iowa, where she runs her own marketing/communications company. She assists clients in agriculture and other industries with magazine articles, sales materials, newsletters, website articles, photography and more. Darcy, who is also an avid home cook, invites you to follow her food and ag updates on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/darcy.maulsby and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/darcymaulsby.

Check out Darcy in “Eat, Pray, Farm : Women in Ag”
Team Latham

January 13, 2012

General, Pork, Recipes, Sides
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

“Special Delivery” campaign promoted today on two-year remembrance of Haiti earthquake

submitted by Aaron Putze
Director of External Relations & Coordinator
Iowa Food & Family Project, Iowa Soybean Association

Today marks the two-year remembrance of the 7.0-magnitude quake that devastated Haiti, killing tens of thousands and leaving more than a half-million people homeless.

“Special Delivery. Homes. Help. Hope. For Haiti,”launched last month and coordinated by the Iowa Food & Family Project, is in full swing. Its goal: to generate cash donations of more than $300,000 to the Global Compassion Network for the purchase and construction 48 Sukup SafeTHomes on the Village of Hope near Port au Prince.

“Special Delivery” campaign co-chairs Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds and Ag Secretary Bill Northey will join representatives of GCN, Iowa FFP and Iowa Soybean Association on today’s Jan Mickelson Show from 9-10 a.m. (listen in at 1040 on your AM dial).

Also, be sure to read a guest editorial about the campaign in today’s Des Moines Register and share it via Facebook and Twitter. The Register will also provide ongoing updates as the campaign progresses. To date, more than a dozen SafeTHomes have been donated!

Thank you for helping share the “Special Delivery” story as we strive to provide homes, help and hope to the neediest of the needy.

Team Latham

January 12, 2012

Agriculture, General, Industry News
Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds

Golden Opportunity Awaits Soybean Growers

The USDA, on Dec. 16, 2011, announced it had deregulated the biotech trait MON 87705, which is found in Monsanto’s Vistive® Gold soybeans.

Many Latham customers are familiar with the first generation of Vistive (low-linolenic) soybeans that produced an oil which reduced the trans-fat levels in food products. This new wave of soybeans will produce an oil that is more similar to olive oil in its content and usefulness, yet will be much easier and cheaper to produce.

In addition to maintaining next-to-zero trans fats in their food products, Vistive Gold soybean oil will allow food companies to significantly reduce saturated fats. As an example, French fries cooked in the fry oil/shortening commonly used results in 23.4% saturated fats and 15.7% trans-fat. Using oil from Vistive Gold soybeans will lower those numbers to 13.2% for saturated fast and 0.3% for trans-fat! Additional testing within the food industry has shown that Vistive Gold soybean oil also has excellent stability and flavor.
This new oil from the Vistive Gold soybeans will enable U.S. soybean growers to compete once again for food oil business while also helping provide a healthier lifestyle for themselves and for consumers. Over the past several years, other vegetable oils including palm, sunflower and canola have taken away a fairly large portion of the global food oils market that soybean oil once held. This was, in large part, due to the heart-healthy consciousness of the general public and the FDA’s mandate for displaying the percentage of trans fats on food product labels.

Soybean varieties that carry the Vistive Gold trait are currently in the Phase 4 (pre-launch) stage of development. Monsanto has also announced that this new trait will be combined with its current Genuity® Roundup Ready® 2 Yield technology, giving farmers soybean varieties that deliver excellent agronomic and yield performance.

Keep watching our website and our blog, TheFieldPosition.com, for updates on this exciting new “golden opportunity”!

Webspec Admin

January 11, 2012

Agriculture, Crop, General, Industry News, Soybeans