PEMBROKE, Ky. — Corn producers in several Kentucky counties will be fertilizing for a cause this planting season as they take part in a “Go Pink with Zinc” campaign organized by agri-business ProSolutions in conjunction with local non-profit Pink Ribbon Network and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

 

According to Susan Wright, the ProSolutions fertilizer sales representative who organized the campaign, the first urea combined with zinc and dyed pink has already left the company’s bin. The company hopes to utilize the dyed dry fertilizer combination on at least 20,000 acres in four Western Kentucky counties during this spring’s fertilizer applications.

 

During the application, farmers will not only notice a visible change in the fertilizer, they will also be benefitting from the added zinc, which Wright says amounts to approximately one pound of active zinc per acre.

 

“Even though zinc is needed in small amounts, it has a huge impact on how a corn plant grows and ultimately how much yield is produced,” said Travis Askew, ProSolutions location manager/ag sales.

 

“Studies show increase in yield by adding zinc, one of the most important micronutrients for a highyielding corn crop.”

 

“We are impregnating dry fertilizer with zinc and adding a colorant to

make it pink, creating awareness for our cause.”

 

For Wright, who is a breast cancer survivor, the campaign married one of the company’s goals with a personal passion of her own.

 

“ProSolutions is a growing organization, and as our footprint expands, we want to grow our community involvement and what we do to serve, not only our farmers, but those in our community who could use assistance,” Wright said.

 

“As we grow, we just want to strengthen the communities in which we live and work.”

 

Choosing the Pink Ribbon Network and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital as benefactors for the campaign was integral to achieving that mission, Wright said.

 

“By giving to the Pink Ribbon Network and St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, we know that 100 percent of every dollar we donate will go to helping women and families in our community, and at ProSolutions we believe in the power of providing solutions,” Wright said.

 

For Ann Isom, a Pink Ribbon Network board member, the “Go Pink with Zinc” campaign reaches two groups closest to her heart – breast cancer sufferers and survivors as well as the farming community, of which her family has been a part of for decades.

 

“Everybody, not just farmers, are pretty much touched in some way by someone that

has had breast cancer or some type of cancer,” Isom said. “The farming community is no different than anyone else.

 

“At the Pink Ribbon Network, we know that there are many women that don’t really have a lot of support. Our focus is to offer strength, support, love, encouragement and hope for anyone dealing with a diagnosis of breast cancer,” she said. Isom said proceeds from the “Go Pink with Zinc” campaign will be used in local communities to achieve the group’s missions, including providing treatment kits for chemotherapy patients; snacks to local cancer centers; scholarships for high school students directly affected by breast cancer; and “special circumstance” funds for breast cancer sufferers and survivors who may need help with bills, transportation to and from appointments or help providing for their families during treatment and recovery.

 

ProSolutions, which provides wholesale and retail crop/turf protection chemicals, seed, fertilizer and cattle inputs to producers across the South, is based in Springfield, Tenn. The company is hoping to use their customer base and other agri-businesses to grow the potential for this campaign.

 

“We would love to see farmers get behind this cause, allowing us to really make a difference with our donation,” Wright said. For more information on the “Go Pink with Zinc” campaign, contact Wright at 270-475-2130.