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Don't tinker with what's not broke Back in mid-February, President George W. Bush sent his budget to Congress. In it was a proposal to cut $587 million in farm program spending over the Budget proposal unfairly targets farm bill There's a popular old adage that says, If it isn't broken, don't fix it. That saying came to mind in early February when the administration released a Learning the lessons When you've had the chance to visit with farmers, ag retailers, and farm managers for more than 30 years, there's one thing you learn right away about Share your joy of agriculture A century ago most Americans lived either on a farm or near a farm or had relatives they could visit on a farm. The public looked at farming as God's Treat seeds for success SINCE THE INTRODUCTION of genetically modified herbicide-tolerant and insect-resistant traits in corn and soybeans, ag retailers have seen a huge shift Court good customers WHAT'S THE best way to keep good customers coming back and to attract new ones? Fix annoying problems The first step is to focus on frustrations, says Atrazine adjustments FOR GROWERS concerned with using atrazine to control weeds on sensitive watersheds, management alternatives are plentiful, says Bill Johnson, Purdue University Looking to lenders CROP INPUT financing programs have become as competitive as the products themselves, and all signs point to a continuation of this trend. The crop input Stay ahead of your customers WITH THE fast pace of change nowadays, identifying your customers' needs may seem like trying to hit a target moving at the speed of a Japanese bullet Memorable field days FIELD DAY season rolls around again in just a few months. Farmers will attend, knowing they will more than likely get a good meal and a seed cap. But Grain storage spillover LIKE MANY grain-handling businesses, Buckingham Cooperative, near Waterloo, IA, needed to react quickly last year to find enough storage space to accommodate Covering new ground Venturing into new markets can have its ups and downs. Some ag retailers have successfully added lawn and garden or hobby farmer product lines, for example New GVM sales rep Charlie Hickman takes over as the southern sales representative for GVM, Inc. He brings 20 year’s experience in related fertilizer and crop protection More E85 at the pump CHS ANNOUNCES it will provide a Cenex-branded E85 fuel to 22 terminals in Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, Nebraska and South Weed control in small grains TWO NEW broadleaf weed herbicides geared to wheat and other small grains will be available for growers this spring. CleanWave and Starane NXTcp herbicides GreenSeeker goes red GREENSEEKER technology will now be sold in the South and Midwest through Redball. The GreenSeeker technology that uses optical sensing for crop application Soybean rust Is this the year? AT THIS time a year ago, retailers were scurrying to stock up on fungicides to quell panic among soybean growers about Asian soybean rust (ASR) and finalizing Environmental protectors Agricultural businesses and individuals must project a positive image by promoting environmental stewardship of the crop protection industry to receive Innovations at Agromek Boom controller, seed monitor. LH Agro introduced its 75 Command Box at Agromek. The Command Box can command up to seven boom sections using pulse width Ditch liner PENDA Corporation claims its corrugated plastic water management system called SmartDitch will greatly reduce water seepage in unlined irrigation canals Inoculant application system PIONEER HI-BRED International says silage producers can save time and wear and tear on their choppers by using its patented Appli-Pro Super Low Volume Double-span pivot A NEW dual-span irrigation pivot from Valmont Irrigation is helping growers in the West raise high-density crops such as carrots. Two sets of spans on Precise ag chemical injection CHEMILIZER says its new CP33 injector adjusts easily to a range of water volumes and helps to deliver chemicals quickly and accurately into the water 8 ways to reduce atrazine runoff ANOTHER CROP season means another season of atrazine application. Farmers and custom applicators need to take steps to protect sensitive watersheds from The "git 'r done" approach Git 'r done. Anyone who has watched the Blue Collar Comedy Tour knows the phrase has been a good one for Larry the Cable Guy. It might be just as good Computers don't get tired The sole purpose of Tri-State LLC, located in Fairmount, ND, is to supply either raw or blended fertilizer for other retailers. For that reason, it has Nurse tank plates THE ILLINOIS Fertilizer & Chemical Association recently posted an important reminder to ag dealers on its Web site. Nurse tanks for carrying anhydrous Strip-till's profit boost AG RETAIL businesses wanting to expand sales should investigate new ways to help current customers become more profitable, says Dan Towery, ag consultant, Buying flexibility A NEW 40,000-ton dry fertilizer plant standing alongside a unit-train spur in Alton, IA, has allowed its owners to largely avoid this winter's expensive Fertilizer outlook HIGH ENERGY prices that put the fertilizer market in the doldrums this fall and winter could result in spot shortages of nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers New mix for pop-ups FMC CORPORATION has developed a new formulation of its Capture insecticide for corn that has better mixing properties than emulsifiable concentrates (EC) Price predictions THIS GROWING season there is good news about nitrogen fertilizer: It appears that prices for the fertilizer will fall in late spring and early summer Just-in-time fertilizer THE TIME when fertilizer dealers will be able to reliably supply customers who want to book fertilizer just before they need it is coming to an end. Dealers, Prevent rust in nurse tanks IF YOU test your company's nurse tanks, remember to put ammonia back into the tanks as soon as possible to prevent the inside of the tank from rusting, Energy anxiety AFTER HURRICANE Katrina battered the Gulf States in August of last year and inflated the nation's energy-related prices, some ag retailers were caught 4 risks in buying fertilizer PERHAPS THE biggest lesson learned by the agricultural supply industry in the past year is that the business environment is riskier than ever, especially Smart nitrogen advances If David Hodges' experience with marketing Agrium's ESN (Environmentally Smart Nitrogen) fertilizer in 2006 is any indication, sales of the polymer-coated Volatile product Michigan is one of only six states to have passed legislation that regulates the use of ammonium nitrate, an important nitrogen (N) fertilizer used to Thwart meth makers Some 10.4 million Americans age 12 or older have used methamphetamine (meth) at least once in their lifetimes Crop Sensor: Q & A VIACHESLAV (SLAVA) Adamchuk is one of several U.S. land-grant researchers currently investigating innovative ways to use sensor technology for precision agriculture Assessment tool The Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association (IFCA) has a good tool to help ag retailers ensure that they are complying with regulatory requirements License plate enforcement The state of Illinois recently announced that it will more uniformly enforce the requirement for fertilizer wagons to have license plates STEP up to stewardship The Mid America CropLife Association (MACA) recently recognized three ag retailers that have gone above and beyond the requirements of their state and federal laws to ensure good stewardship in their communities Fall fertilizer forecast Fertilizer Management has become more of a year-round responsibility than it used to be, says Gayle Melcher, manager of Clarinda Co-op Company, Clarinda, Valued partners In the last few years, distributors of crop inputs have seen their role evolve from warehouse and transportation managers to providers of information A fresh approach We need to look from the outside in to step back and reassess how we are conducting business, says retailer Tim Sanders of the DeLong Company, Clinton, Swift action Timing is the name of the game in treating Asian soybean rust. That message was sounded loud and clear by researchers and company executives at the recent Be prepared If the prospect of Asian soybean rust (ASR) hasn't already given you a scare, keeping track of the treatment options could add to the fright. A dozen Value and profits Although retailers across the country specialize in helping growers produce a wide variety of crops from rice to soybeans to peppers, retailers have one Complaint control UNCOOPERATIVE WEATHER patterns in much of the Corn Belt kept many ag retailers and applicators working overtime to keep pace with farmer demands this Service-selling tips WHEN SELLING to a customer, you must illustrate value, and to keep a customer, you must prove value over time, says John Wagner, president of AgRePlan One up on Wal-Mart AN IMPORTANT part of the success of Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, is attributed to its sophisticated inventory management systems. In the world Contract savvy As more products with valuable output traits come out of the crop technology pipeline, so, too, should come new opportunities for ag retailers and growers. Low impact? U.S. SOYBEAN producers, bombarded almost daily with reports of new discoveries of Asian soybean rust, may be wondering at what point new findings of the Urban opportunities URBANIZATION HAS contributed to the demise of some ag retail operations. But for retailers able to adapt to the changing landscape, it has opened new 3 ideas to help you keep customers THESE DAYS it's extra challenging to satisfy and keep customers, says Nancy Friedman, president, Telephone Doctor, St. Louis, MO, an international customer Complete systems THE WORD may cause some ag retailers to cringe, but not Rod Miller, seed systems manager for Crop Fertility Specialists (CFS), Rossville, IN. Miller says Wireless grain COMMODITY Resource Corporation (CRC) based in Caledonia, NY, is one of a growing number of operations that are working to bring bulk commodity handling Invaluable service WHY SHOULD ag retailers sell services? The resulting customer interaction is invaluable and helps create long-term ties that are difficult for competitors Dry run IN 2005, agricultural retailers confronted grower fears, procured adequate fungicide supplies and developed plans for rapid application, all for a disease 4 ideas for coping with ASR WORK HARD to manage growers' expectations about Asian soybean rust (ASR), advises Duane Mol, chemical manager for Crop Production Services, Galesburg, To expand or not to expand EXPANSION THROUGH merger or acquisition has been taking place in the ag retail industry for some time now. Some mergers and acquisitions have gone relatively Optimal application NOT EVERY expert agrees on how best to boost a sprayer's effectiveness, but few would disagree that the ultimate objective of a crop protection application Variable-rate review GLOBAL POSITIONING systems (GPS) and variable-rate technology (VRT) have been available to ag retailers and their farmer-customers for more than a decade Invaluable service WHY SHOULD ag retailers sell services? The resulting customer interaction is invaluable and helps create long-term ties that are difficult for competitors Natural disaster preparation LAST YEAR'S hurricanes and flooding made many stop and think about what they would do if they, too, were hit by such a natural disaster. Not long after Less chemistry, more biotechnology BY NOW, it's no surprise to most agricultural retailers that few new herbicides are entering the corn and soybean marketplace. Because new product development Cherry-picked software solutions WHEN MIDLAND Co-op Inc. and Impact Cooperative Inc. became partners in 2002, the partnership, called Midland-Impact LLP, faced the challenge of integrating State-of-the-art facility SYNGENTA SEEDS recently celebrated renovations to its Phillips, NE, corn production facility. The $4.7 million project increases the plant's seed-conditioning The adjuvant advantage MORE THAN 4,000 adjuvants are on the market today to help improve a herbicide's performance. Bryan Young, associate professor of weed science at Southern Ways to manage health-care costs AS INSURANCE rates have risen over the last few years, ag retailers have looked for more cost-effective ways to offer high-quality benefits for their Old habits die hard YOUR GROWERS' crop rotation has most likely changed over the years, but their lime applications may not reflect that change. Some Midwestern researchers Tougher beans STEVE HENRY, who farms near Nevada, IA, is trying to learn everything he can about Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS). However, he's frustrated with the lack Scout for western bean cutworm WESTERN BEAN cutworms (WBCs) have been a problem in the western Corn Belt since the 1940s and last year were discovered to have migrated further east Too reliant on Roundup? RYEGRASS AND marestail were the first two weeds to develop resistance to glyphosate, such as Roundup and Touchdown herbicides, but they won't likely be First-class delivery SPRAYER AIR technologies have been around for more than 20 years, but until recently, retailers and growers didn't use them much. That has changed, due Environmental edge SOME AG retail businesses have found a lucrative new enterprise in an unlikely source: manure. Take the Farmers Cooperative Society (FCS), Sioux Center, The Phosphorus Index NEW EPA and USDA efforts to improve surface water quality throughout the nation emphasize keeping a close eye on phosphorus (P), says Antonio Mallarino, Seed trackers THE MANY new combinations of traits and seed-applied insecticides have quickly multiplied the number of seed choices available to growers. Although most Nourishing the bottom line Offering nutrient management services requires a fair amount of investment whether it be in additional staff, training, specific software or simply more 21 days and counting It generally takes 21 days for a certain behavior to become a habit, says Colleen Francis, president of Engage Selling Solutions, a sales training company PRODUCTS New fertilizer grades Honeywell has launched two new grades of Sulf-N ammonium sulfate (21-0-0-24S) and improved quality specifications and supply for Software developers and suppliers 2005 AGRIS Corporation 800/795-7995; Fax: 770/238-5205 E-mail: info@agris.com; sales@agris.com Web site: www.agris.com What's new: AgroGuide is an agronomy Pollen blocker HOEGEMEYER HYBRIDS, a regional seed company based in Hooper, NE, appears to have found a way to prevent cross contamination of pollen from genetically Super sprayer MODERN Flow Equipment reinvented its big sprayer line from the ground up. Built for high-acreage growers and custom applicators to service both large Grain aeration system BROCK GRAIN Systems has developed the Parthenon support system specifically for use with the Brock Tri-Corr aeration and drying floor. The new floor system Highlights from Louisville farm show THE NATIONAL Farm Machinery Show held February 15-18 in Louisville, KY, had a record-setting attendance year, with more than 312,000 people visiting the A boom in control AUTOMATIC BOOM section control is emerging as one of the most popular features on high-tech sprayers. As controller manufacturers have added this option Aerial detective DEALERS INTERESTED in applying variable rates of crop inputs based on current crop conditions have another service option in 2006, courtesy of John Deere Spiral stairway BROWNIE'S NEW Safe-T-Max spiral stairway system is made of all-galvanized steel and modular construction for easy installation. Smooth, circular, 1-in. Signal interrupted? THE TEMPORARY loss of a base signal on a guidance system no longer means lost work time. John Deere Ag Management Solutions (AMS) recently received a Be your own weatherman Dynasen For remote monitoring, Dynasen's custom-built Sens-Alert systems offer three choices: a radio-controller interface unit (RCIU), digital cell phone Buy big, run hard, work smart In an era of higher costs and increasing competitive pressures for custom application services, Meadowland Farmers Cooperative has relied on a three-pronged Next level of guidance When lightbar guidance systems came on the market a few years back, agricultural retailers and custom applicators quickly saw their potential to improve both application quality and the quantity of work that could be accomplished in a day Mobile office pro When Mark Hinze began operating a computer-based office out of his pickup truck in the mid-1980s, he was among the first agronomists to adapt delicate computer electronics to the harsh field environment