Two companies join PrecisionAg Institute
WILLOUGHBY, Ohio — TeeJet Technologies and Leica Geosystems have committed their corporate and financial support to the PrecisionAg Institute, the industry’s independent global forum dedicated to the sharing of precision agriculture practices, ideas, research, products, services and success stories.

The PrecisionAg Institute is managed by the CropLife Media Group of Meister Media Worldwide. The companies have joined as Precision Partners, reinforcing their commitment to improving the transfer of knowledge, the widening of adoption and effectiveness of the use of precision agriculture technology.

TeeJet and Leica join members AGCO Global Technologies, Ag Leader Technology, Dickey-john, Micro-Trak Systems, Inc., OmniStar, Raven Industries, Terra, SST Software and Trimble Navigation in the Institute.

In addition to financial support, they will be providing guidance and counsel as activities and initiatives move forward in the months ahead.

CME Annual Meeting set for May 5
CHICAGO, Ill. — The CME Group announced its 2010 Annual Meeting of Shareholders will be held at 3:30 p.m. Central Time, May 5, at The Conference Center at UBS Tower, Michigan Ballroom, 2nd Floor, One North Wacker Drive in Chicago.

Bridgestone ag tire price increasing
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Bridgestone Americas Tire Operation’s Agricultural Tire, U.S. & Canada Commercial Tire Sales division (BAAG), has announced price increases on all Firestone branded agricultural, construction and forestry tires as well as all Bridgestone branded garden tires sold in the United States and Canada replacement markets.

BAAG will increase prices by 5 percent, with possible specific in-line adjustments in excess of 5 percent. The increase will be effective April 1.

Ohio fair takes home excellence awards

DAYTON, Ohio — The Montgomery County Fair received four Communications Excellence awards from the Ohio Fair Managers Assoc. The presentation was Jan. 7.

The four awards included a first-place Newspaper Flyer, first-place Fair Book Cover, second-place Radio Ad and second-place Website Home Page. Entries are submitted from the county fairs across the state and judged by Advertising Federation Consultants from Columbus. Montgomery County was honored in four out of eight communications categories for large fairs of 65,000 and up in attendance.

Indiana’s Precision Partners, AAS join forces

HOPE Ind. — Precision Partners, LLC announced a strategic alliance with Advanced Ag Solutions, LLC (AAS) of Lafayette, Ind.
The flagship products include AgLeader and Trimble yield monitoring and RTK auto-steer systems. Precision Partners sells TruCount planter clutches and sprayer boom section control, as well. It also provides nutrient management planning, GPS soil sampling and environmental consulting services to hundreds of farmers and retailers across Indiana and neighboring states. Founded by Mark Dodd, the company has undergone numerous changes and improvements over the years.

Owner and President Daryl Starr launched AAS in 2006 and has been a pioneer in GPS crop scouting, GPS fertility management and spatial decision making. AAS recently unveiled a seed selection software program dubbed “Optimizer,” which speeds effectiveness and accuracy of variety selection and placement.

The two company owners are expected to announce more developments in the coming months. For more information about Precision, visit www.PrecisionPartnersIN.com and for more information about AAS, visit www.AdvancedAgSolutions.com

New Bayer service aims to stop cattle theft

LENEXA, Kan. — With the recent challenging economy, there has been a substantial increase in cattle theft, especially in rural areas. Bayer Animal Health recognized the scope of the problem and asked Cattlenetwork to assist them in developing CattleWatch.

CattleWatch is a program designed to assist in the national notification and communication of cattle thefts and indictments. It also serves as a resource center to help cattlemen prevent theft. The system will be online 24/7 and notices of thefts will include as much information as possible.

Todd Firkins, Livestock Category manager for Bayer Animal Health, said Bayer will back up CattleWatch with posters and brochures available to livestock auctions and other places where cattlemen gather. For more information, go to www.cattlewatch.com online.

Gowan acquires Intruder rights from Nippon

YUMA, Ariz. — Gowan Co., LLC announced it has obtained exclusive U.S. marketing rights from Nippon Soda Co., Ltd. for Intruder 70WSP insecticide for use on cotton. Intruder 70WSP contains the active ingredient acetamiprid, part of the neonicitinoid  family of insecticides, discovered and wholly owned by Nippon.

Gowan has the exclusive distribution rights for Intruder 70WSP and will continue to position it as a premier cotton insecticide for use in 11 states, including Tennessee. The addition of Intruder 70WSP insecticide further strengthens the presence of Gowan in the cotton market while laying the foundation for future product development.