SD Corn

*Photo courtesy of PrecisionAg.com

Walking around the giant tradeshow at Commodity Classic in Nashville you couldn’t get very far without seeing a company who had something to do with precision agriculture. And rightfully so as a large majority of farmers continue investing in and adapting to the latest technology to make their operation more efficient and productive while reducing their inputs, costs and environmental impact.

Precision ag has done wonders for the industry and it has evolved considerably. From following a straight black line with your tractor to becoming hands free in your combine. If you can dream it, ag engineers have either done it or are working on it. While remote control equipment is still not for sale just yet, there is much that you can control right from your home computer.

Certain precision systems now allow producers to monitor everything from equipment speed, seed population and fuel usage with a virtual dashboard on their home computer with the ability to communicate back and forth with the machinery operator. Operators can also sync machinery with each other in the same field sharing speed, maps and guidance lines.

As smartphone and tablet devices become more and more prevalent, so do the applications that involve some sort of agriculture functionality. Mapping, creating shapefiles, analyzing elevation, measuring distance and marking soil sample locations are just of the functions possible from your mobile device. While the purchase price of theses applications might seem high, so is the convenience and quality of information that you will be able to plug into your operations wealth of data.

South Dakota Corn is proud to announce the winners of the FREE Culver’s Custard for a Year promotion from each South Dakota location. The following folks will each receive certificates awarding them a Free Pint of Custard each month for the next year.

Congratulations to…

Aberdeen: JaCee Dennert

Brookings: Bart Sweebe

Mitchell: Heidi Dorsey

Rapid City: Brad Heilman

Sioux Falls – Louise: Eric Engdahl

Sioux Falls – Minnesota: Jenelle Wilson

Sioux Falls – Arrowhead: Lois DeHaan

Sioux Falls – Empire Mall: Cassie Blair

Spearfish: Cathy Johnson

Watertown: Cori Peterson

Thanks to everyone who participated in this year’s contest. We hope you all enjoyed a free dish of custard on National Ag Day and remember to Thank our South Dakota Farmers.

Early next week folks should start to receive copies of our new newsletter, emerge. This new publication merges the SDCGA Corn Talk and SDCUC Review into one quarterly magazine.

This is the latest step of the evolution of the two organizations’ newsletters, which were started in the late 1980s as small, occasional publications. Rather than continue to produce separate publications for two organizations that work hand-in-hand for the betterment of South Dakota’s corn industry, it makes sense to have one comprehensive magazine.

emerge will be delivered in March, June, September and December and will be packed with more news, pictures, columns and information you can use. We’ll delve into local, regional and national issues that are important to you and your business. We will also feature South Dakota producers hard at work on their farms.

Because we are committed to the environment, emerge will be printed on Cascades Enviro Kraft Print, which is 100% post-consumer, unbleached, FSC Recycled and EcoLogo certified paper with soy based inks. It’s a small step, but many small steps can make a big difference.

There are already plenty of reasons why you should become a member of the South Dakota Corn Growers Association, but the long list just keeps getting better with our newest promotion. If you become a new member or renew your membership during the months of April, May or June, you will be entered into a drawing to win the New Apple iPad.

For complete details about our membership options and benefits visit: http://www.sdcorn.org/page/SDCGA/sub/Join_SDCGA

and remember…Every day is a Great Day to Stand Up for Corn!

To finish celebrating South Dakota Corn’s National Ag Week promotion, “THANKS South Dakota FARMERS” we will be giving away FREE Frozen Custard for a Year to one person at each South Dakota Culver’s location through our Facebook Page!

But time is running out to register. So be sure to visit www.facebook.com/SouthDakotaCorn by March 10th to get signed up.

The 10 winners will be announced on our Facebook page on March 19, 2012 and will receive a confirmation email message from the South Dakota Corn Utilization Council. Winners receive one free pint of Culver’s Fresh Frozen Custard each month in your choice of vanilla, chocolate or the flavor of the day at the Culver’s in the specified city.

Best of luck to you.

Farm policy issues, a gigantic tradeshow and numerous informational speakers are just few of the many facets of Commodity Classic which starts today and ends Saturday in Nashville, TN. An estimated 5,000 people will be attending the largest grower-run tradeshow as farmers and industry folks gather to share their passion about American agriculture.

State and national commodity organizations will be in action as they gather for state caucus and national corn congress meetings to discuss future farm policy. South Dakota Corn will be well represented with 14 board directors from both the SDCGA and SDCUC, with six of them serving as delegates at the two corn congress sessions. The 2012 farm bill, ethanol policy and crop insurance will be the major topics discussed at this year’s meetings.

The tradeshow involves hundreds of ag companies and manufacturers from all realms showing off their new or soon to be released products. Classic will also be filled with the opportunity to listen to over 30 different educational seminars on everything from getting the most out of precision technology to farm estate planning.

South Dakota Corn will be providing live updates from Classic via our Facebook and Twiter accounts for those who can’t attend. And if you’re a regular Twitter user, follow all of the events at Commodity Classic by looking up the #Classic12 hashtag.