Category Archives: Ag Business

Ag Business, Agriculture Careers

GUEST LECTURER WITH DAVE MAYONADO

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On November 12th, 2018 we had a guest lecture from Dave Mayonado. He gave a guest lecture on Industry and Academia in Agriculture. He started out the lecture by talking about technology in Agriculture. This started out with him talking about in the past when we used animals to pull plows and did things by hand. He also mentioned how the entire family was involved in farming. The first thing to cause a change was Land Grant Universities which established land-grant colleges to focus on the teaching of agriculture, science, military science, and engineering. From this we had more acts created that focuses on research in the agriculture field. This has led to an increase in US crop production via improved agronomic practices and the adoption of new tools. Dave also mentioned some examples of biological tools. This included CRISPR and GMOs. CRISPR is a gene editing tool that allows us to change the genes of a crop plant to be more drought or pest resistant. This allows for the crop to have a higher yield when faced with a drought since it can tolerate less rainfall. After talking some more about biotechnology he talked about Monsanto.

He started out by giving information on Monsanto’s history. He talked about the founding of it back in 1901. Then cell biology research began in 1972. From this he mentioned all the seed brands that they have. He also gave stats about the business. He also mentioned that Monsanto is a company that gets work done fast. He mentioned that they have been adjusting to the way things are now that Bayer has purchased Monsanto. He also mentioned new opportunities that will be available since Monsanto and Bayer cover different parts of the industry. Overall it was a very informative lecture. Thank you Dave Mayonado for being our guest lecturer and talking about the biotechnology industry in Agriculture.

Ag Business, Agriculture Careers, Commercial Production, Issues and Controversies, Livestock, Precision Ag, Production Agriculture, Vegetables

Building Sustainable Agriculture

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Tuesday November 13th, Bill Cowser and Bill Northey came to the UD STAR Campus to discuss biofuels and modern agriculture. All majors were welcome to this hearing and as a bonus at the end there was free UDairy ice cream! On Bill Cowser’s farm he raises beef cattle and grows soybeans and corn. He mentioned that every third row of corn goes to produce ethanol. In Iowa, 39% of its corn crops is used for ethanol. Cowser also mentioned the three commodities that come from a corn field: stalk/corn, feed, and bedding. One thing that I thought was kind of funny was what Cowser calls “The Chase.” The Chase is one thing that he needs/ wants to control the most but is unable too. He would like to control the weather but it’s impossible. He even said that he knows he can’t be he’s going to try. This past summer Iowa got a lot of rain. More than Delaware which destroyed some of the crops there.

Both men talked about the main goals of the agricultural industry. For instance, farmers want renewable, sustainable, environmental friendly, and profitable products. If it’s not profitable then that’s a huge lost right there because no one will be able to afford it and therefore, no one would buy the product. They also talked about the VTA or the Vegetative Treatment Area. What this is, is an area of perennial vegetation, like grass or forage. It is used to treat runoff from either a barnyard or a feedlot by settling, infiltration, and nutrient use. And when the runoff has settled into the soil, natural processes allow plants to use those nutrients. To me, this presentation was really interesting to hear. Even though it went over most of the topics we covered in class there was more to learn from it which is pretty cool. It’s also nice to get an insight view of the production from a different area.

Ag Business, Agriculture in the News

Building a Sustainable Agriculture

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On Tuesday November 13th 2018 I attended the “Building a Sustainable Agriculture” speaker series. This speaker series was held on south campus in the Star Health Sciences complex. the guest speakers that spoke at this session included Bill Northey and Bill Couser. Bill Northey has a long history with agriculture, Bill was the secretary of Agriculture for the state of Iowa. He was also the president of the National Corn Growers Association. Today he is the Department of Agriculture Undersecretary for farm production and conservation. Bill Couser an Iowa farmer who tills thousands and thousands acres of land, raises beef cattle, and is a leader in adopting conservation practices that mitigate nutrient loading in streams and other waterways in Iowa. I thoroughly enjoyed this speaker session. I learned many interesting things about current agriculture methods used by farmers today. I also learned how far the agriculture industry has come in the United States. I also enjoyed the free Ice cream that was given out after the session.

Ag Business, Precision Ag, Weeds

Industry and Academia in Agriculture (Monsanto Lecture)

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Throughout this course, we have heard names of the big agricultural companies such as Monsanto, DuPont, and more.  I understood that they played key roles in the industry, but I actually had no idea what exactly they entailed. Mr. David Mayonado’s guest lecture helped me have a better understanding of not only what Monsanto is, but delved deep into the nitty gritty of GMOs and today’s pesticide industry.  He began his lecture by walking us through agriculture’s past and its evolution of pest management, from hand and animal labor, to the beginnings of mechanics, to the introduction of chemicals, all the way up to the present day’s ability to utilize biotechnology. He helped further break down what exactly GMOs are and how they worked, and talked about various crops that are genetically built to naturally fight pests, rather than requiring a heavy application of chemicals.  He then switched gears a little bit and focused on explaining to us exactly what Monsanto is, and how it was recently bought out by Bayer. All in all, I now have a much clearer understanding of pest management and the companies and minds behind it

Ag Business, Agriculture Careers, Equipment & Engineering

David Mayonado Guest Lecture

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I really enjoyed Mr. Mayonado’s lecture he gave on 11-12-18. He talked about Monsanto being bought by Bayer and how it was weird for him after working for Monsanto for 30 years but that it ultimately needed to happen. I learned that mergers happen to make the world more efficient meaning that more product can be produced while also saving money. It reminded me of my agricultural economic classes; if country A can make something for cheaper than  country B and country B can make a different product for cheaper than country A, the two countries will trade those products and won’t spend extra money trying to produce it themselves. Monsanto is a huge seed breeding company that uses genetic technology to get the traits they want. I always thought that after I got my PhD that I would want to work for a company like Monsanto and after this guest lecture I definitely want to.

Ag Business, Agriculture Careers, Issues and Controversies, Precision Ag, Production Agriculture

Building Sustainable Agriculture – Bill Couser and Bill Northey

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I was able to go see Bill Couser and Bill Northey speak about creating sustainable agriculture. Although I had to leave early due to an evening class, I gained a lot of knowledge about production agriculture in Iowa from Bill Couser.

One of the big points that stuck out to me from Couser was the fact that he said he tries to farm in a renewable, sustainable, environmentally friendly, but yet profitable way. Although this is pretty much commonsense, his reasoning for doing so is what stuck out to me. He wants to not only promote sustainable farming in general, but most importantly he wants to give the generations to follow nutrient rich, well managed, profitable land. Throughout his presentation you could tell that all the different management methods he has put into place since the 1930’s has been made to do just this. Putting in place different systems to control runoff and nutrient leeching from his feedlot, implementing more cover crop coverage on his land, practicing more no till methods, and also producing more commodities from one crop are all practices he has incorporated to better off his operation which ultimately will better off the upcoming generations. It interesting to see how leaving a productive farm goes hand in hand with environmental stewardship/sustainable agriculture. This is something I see in my operation at home, as I am getting older I see these little management decisions my dad makes to continue to create a sustainable and profitable farming operation. I also really enjoyed his comments on trying to control, or lack there of, the weather as a farmer. Weather is a continuous battle that farmers face.

Overall it was great listening to Couser speak about sustainable agriculture and see how even in Iowa, the concepts still hold true for farming in Pennsylvania. I always enjoy seeing how different operations run and the different systems they have in place.

Ag Business, Issues and Controversies, Precision Ag, Production Agriculture, Topics for Discussion

UD Building Sustainable Agriculture Seminar

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On November thirteenth, Bill Cowser and Bill Northey visited the University of Delaware to discuss biofuels and modern agriculture. Bill Cowser produces corn, beef, soybeans, and ethanol in Nevada Iowa. Cowser’s farm has grown from accommodating 50 beef cattle in the early 1900s to accommodating a couple thousand beef cattle. Cowser has worked with the EPA to accommodate the high levels of rainfall in Iowa through a multi-step filtration and reuse program on his farm. Cowser also raises his beef cattle on concrete so he is able to retain and use the manure produced on his farm. Agriculturalists are also looking at the way that they are affecting the environment through water management and nutrient management. A variety of cover crops are utilized to protect the soil from erosion as well as absorb excess nutrients in the soil. There is also research and development occurring to reduce nutrients that wind up in rivers and other bodies of water. Currently there is an issue with hypoxic zones in bodies of water that wind up killing aquatic life.  Thanks to technology, crop fields are no longer blanketed with fertilizer or pesticides. Technological advancements have allowed farmers to tailor the application of sprays and other materials based on the needs of different areas of a field. This technological advancement has also saved farmers money. Corn is the crop that allows processing plants to produce ethanol. There are 42 ethanol plants in Iowa presently and these plants produce 4 billion gallons of ethanol a year. Half of the corn being produced in Iowa goes to the production of ethanol. Ethanol is produced for less than traditional gasoline. Agriculturalists are finding a way to utilize all components of the corn plant. Husks and other components can be used as feed, fertilizer, and the production of charcoal and other products. It was interesting to learn about aspects of modern agriculture and biofuels from Bill Cowser and Bill Northey.

Ag Business, Agriculture Careers, Tools of the Trade

Monsanto Overview on Agriculture with Dave Mayonado

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On November 12, Dave Mayonado,  a long term Monsanto employee, spoke to AGRI 130 students on the topic of agricultural technology, working in the agricultural industry, and Bayer/Monsanto. Agriculture is commonly seen as a simple, low technology, and low stress job. In reality, agriculture is a field involving cutting edge science, technology, and modern methodology.  Many laws have paved the way for agricultural development through land grant universities, cooperative extension, and research farms. The agricultural field has grown from human and animal labor to steel tools, chemical tools, and presently biological advances. Biological research has led to the first GMO seed in the 1970s. Through genetic modification research, Monsanto has developed traits for pesticide resistance, built in pesticide for corn borers, enhanced drought survival, and the production of an olive quality oil from soybeans. Genetically modified products are regulated by the USDA, FDA, and EPA. Public and private companies conduct research to develop and sell GMO crops. These crops are more successful in harsh environments and result in higher yields. American business is all about evolving and continually providing a customer base with products and services that are valuable. Through innovation on behalf of a company and its employees, an industry will be successful. Agriculture is a field in need of innovative individuals that are knowledgeable and educated in the field. Monsanto was established in 1901 as a chemical producer, but the company moved to the development and sale of crops involving biological technology. Today, Monsanto is the biggest seed producer in the world. Bayer bought Monsanto in 2017 and the deal finalized in 2018. Thank you to Dave Mayonado for sharing agricultural knowledge with AGRI 130 students.

Ag Business, Equipment & Engineering, History, Precision Ag, Production Agriculture

Industry and Academia in Ag

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Dave Mavonado came to speak to the class about Industry and Academia in Agriculture and how much it has evolved since it all started. The main thing that he talked about was how much the agricultural business has changed and developed over the last century. The reason why it has changed so drastically was because of the four topics Dave spoke about: labor, mechanics, chemical usage, and biotechnology. Back in the day, it was all hands on deck. Farmers mainly relied on the use of animals for labor. Such as pulling plows. There would also be groups of people in the fields harvesting the produce by hand because they didn’t have combines or tractors like we do today. It wasn’t up until steel came about that helped the agricultural industry evolve the way it did. Tractors slowly started making its way into the business and helped the farmers produce a higher yield of crops because they were able to get through everything much faster. Next was the use of chemicals. This allowed protection of the plants to repel itself from pests that might damage or kill the crop. Finally, biotechnology. With biotechnology we are able to produce a much higher yield in a shorter time frame without harming the produce like GMO’s. There’s also CRISPR which allows scientists to take a certain gene out of the plants DNA and make it better so the farmer can produce more.

Dave also talked about the different grants that were and still are available today. The Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890 established the raising of funds to create land-grant colleges. The Morrill Acts mission was to take kids who did not know a thing about agriculture and teach them about practical agriculture, science, and engineering. But in order for kids to learn about agriculture they needed the land. Hatch Act of 1887 lead to the creation of agriculture experiment stations to be affiliated with the land grants. If it wasn’t for these grants who knows what the agricultural industry would be like today.

Ag Business, Equine/Horse, Equipment & Engineering, Field Trips-Tours, Livestock

UD Farm Final Field Trip

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This past Saturday we had our final field trip which was located here at the UD farm and hosted by the farm superintendent Scott Hopkins. Even though it was a little cold and the wind was blowing it was still a nice day. Being a Pre-Vet major, I’ve had a couple classes on the farm such as the ANFS 111 lab and Organic and Sustainable Farming so I knew most about the farm but it stills amazes me that every time I step foot on it there’s always something learn. For example, last year I volunteered to help Larry Armstrong the Webb Farm Manager in vaccinating the ewe’s and help with the ultrasounds The farm is consisted of over 350 acres of land which is home to different types of animals such as Black Angus beef cattle, Holstein dairy cattle that get milked twice a day, Dorset sheep (which is my favorite), several varieties of chickens, bees, and seven horses. And even a field with hops for beer! On most Fridays there is a tent set up by the organic green houses that sells fresh produce to everyone including students plus the UDairy Creamery where you can buy more than just ice cream.

My favorite part about the farm is how hands on it is. Like during the ANFS 111 lab we get the opportunity to milk the cattle, trim the sheep’s hooves and have the ability to interact with the horses. The day of the field trip, Black Angus beef cows were loud but that was because they were separated from their young who are being weaned off the milk. The best part I like is that UD doesn’t just interact with itself. They have partnerships with other universities such as Rutgers (New Brunswick). For instance, when the dairy cows give birth UD keeps the bull calf for so long and then they ship them to Rutgers for research. UD and Rutgers share the cattle more or less to say which is pretty cool. There is so many career and research opportunities on the farm. If you talk to the right people you are able to be put on a wait list to be able to work with the animals although it is hard to schedule a break time within your normal class schedule to work on the farm but its most definitely worth trying. Also a huge thank you to Dr. Isaacs for treating everyone to ice cream and to Max as well for putting a performance on playing his fiddle!

Ag Business, Agriculture Careers, Field Trips-Tours

Hoober Inc. Field Trip

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On Saturday, October 20th we visited the Hoober Inc. shop in Middletown, DE. It was an eye-opening day, full of learning and first-hand experience. First, the company’s history and services were explained. After receiving an explanation of the services provided, we took a tour of the facilities and the shop. We got the chance to see tractors and spreaders being worked on and complete models of combines and harvesters. It was intriguing to see how much work goes into precision agriculture. We learned that their store, the auto-steer is the most popular precision ag equipment sold. Precision ag is a field that offers many jobs, looking for applicants that are tech savvy and can work under pressure. A new and emerging precision ag technology being used are drones for filed scouting and spray applications. 

** precision ag – managing crop production inputs (seed, fertilizer, lime, pesticides, etc.) on a site-specific basis to increase profits, reduce waste and maintain environmental quality.

Ag Business, Agriculture Careers, Equine/Horse, History

Horse Racing Industry

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On October 24th, we had guest speaker Mark Davis give us a lecture on the horse racing industry in Delaware. 

The modern horse racing began in the 12th century when English knights returned from the Crusades with swift Arabian horses. It was not until the mid-1600’s when British settlers brought horse racing to the new world, with the first track made in Long Island. American horse breeders and racers established the Jockey Club, that still defines standards and regulations for racing, racecourses, and breeding. Harness racing is a prevalent part of the Delaware horse industry. In 1940, the opening of the Roosevelt Raceway set the stage for the current era of harness racing, which took off after WWII. In 1945, the Delaware Harness racing Commission was established. Delaware has two tracks used annually, Dover Downs and Harrington Raceway. Over time, the popularity of harness and thoroughbred races went down. The decrease in public interest and aim to regain the interest of the industry the Delaware government passed a law allowing casinos to be established in the state. Casinos could only be established alongside a racetrack. With the law in place, the industry has been able to gain a steady income. Annually, the DE Harness Racing Commission issues 2,000 licenses to owners, trainers, drivers, groomers, vendors, and track employees. In 2014, the horse racing industry total contribution to Delaware economy was nearly $182 million dollars and 1500 jobs. Currently, in the U.S. there are 9.2 million horses which are used for show, racing, recreation, employees, and volunteers. The horse industry has a direct economic effect on the U.S. of $39 billion dollars annually. 

Ag Business

DELAWARE’S HORSE RACING INDUSTRY WITH MARK DAVIS

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On October 24th, 2018 we had guest speaker Mark Davis give us a lecture on the horse racing industry in Delaware. Before his lecture I already knew some information about the horse racing industry since my neighbors had horses that they raced in harness racing. I also have a friend from high school who does barrel racing. Even with this information that I had been exposed to it was only a little bit of the industry. Mark Davis went on to explain the industry in more detail on things I hadn’t heard about before. He started out by mentioning how the origins of modern horse racing began in the 12th century when English knights returned from the Crusades with swift Arabian horses. He also mentioned that the earliest records of racing were in England during the year 1530. He then went on to information about the current stats in the US for the industry. In the US there are 9.2 million horses which are used for racing, show, recreation, and other. He also mentioned a common misconception about raising horses. Most people think only the wealthy raise horses. It turns out that there are approximately 34% of horse owners who have a household income of less than $50,000 and 28% have an annual income of over $100,000. After this he mentioned information on Delaware and then different jobs in the industry. Some of the jobs in the industry are judges, investigators, veterinarians, and horseman. One thing I didn’t know was that you needed a license for harness racing.

Ag Business, Commercial Production, Equipment & Engineering, Field Trips-Tours, Precision Ag

Hoober Field Trip

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On Saturday, October 20th we visited the Hoober shop in Middletown, DE. The day was full of learning, and receiving experience many of us have never had. First, we learned about the company, including it’s history and services. After understanding what the company provided, we toured the facilities and saw the shop. Tractors and spreader were being worked on, and we also looked at some combine and harvesters. While all of this was great, the best part of the day was riding the tractor/sprayer. It was intimidating at first, but once you got the hang of it, it was smooth sailing. We also learned about drone usage in agriculture, which actual requires a state permit to operate. Overall, the day was filled with fun and learning, and each student gained a valuable experience in precision  ag.

Ag Business

Livestock Industries in Delaware

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Dan Severson shared data on beef, hogs, sheep, goats, and dairy cows. Severson gave information on each species different kinds of productions. He also explained and emphasized what it means to be defined as a farm. A farm is a production that sells at least $1,000 of farm products a year. Severson explained the big hit that the dairy industry has faced causing dairy farmers to sell their farms and animals. Surprisingly, Delaware has 28 dairy farms. That’s a large number for such a small state. Severson’s lecture on livestock was definitely insightful and I enjoyed listening to him come in and speak about the other livestock industries that Delaware has to offer.