AgWired

Make Plans for Canada’s 21st Outdoor Farm Show

Cindy Zimmerman July 22, 2014 Leave a Comment

Starting September 9, Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show (COFS) returns to Woodstock, Ontario after an extremely successful 20th anniversary last year.

The annual three day event is arguably Canada’s largest and top farm show. Best known for interactive outdoor demonstrations in the field, Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show (COFS) continues its 20-year tradition once again with a full line-up of new technology demonstrations.

In the Livestock Central area, there will be a fully functional dairy barn showcasing Lely and DeLaval robotic milking systems in a side-by-side comparison. In the popular Southwest Demo field, new agricultural equipment of all sorts will be in action, including live demonstrations featuring Corn Stalk Baling, Vermeer Biomass Equipment, Cover Crop Tillage, high speed Tempo Planters and Corn Silage Harvesting.

Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show also offers more than 750 exhibitors across 100 acres – including more than a dozen live commercial crop plots. To learn more about Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show visit www.outdoorfarmshow.com, follow @outdoorfarmshow on Twitter or call 519-822-2890. Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show will be held on September 9, 10 and 11, 2014.

COFS, Events, Farm Shows

CTIC Tour to the Everglades

Cindy Zimmerman July 22, 2014 Leave a Comment

If you ever wanted to see the Florida Everglades up close and personal, here is your chance!

Lettuce, sugar cane and owls will be just a few of the crops and creatures seen on this year’s Conservation in Action Tour, hosted by the Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC).

Early-bird registration is now open for CTIC’s seventh annual tour, which showcases innovative farmers and their conservation agriculture successes. This year’s tour will take place Oct. 14-15 and provide an in-depth look at the unique story of the approximately 700,000-acre Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA), which is located south of Lake Okeechobee in Florida.

More than 250 tour participants will hear from government and industry representatives, researchers and local producers as they take an up-close look at the EAA’s conservation practices. They also will learn about the area’s muck soils, which present distinct opportunities and challenges in conservation, erosion control and nutrient management, as well as get an up-close look at specialized water management systems used in the EAA, such as regulated storm water treatment and sub-surface irrigation.

We’ll be there and hope you will join us for what could be the most interesting Conservation in Action tour yet! The price is right too. Just $75 for CTIC members and $100 for non-members, $25 for producers, media, federal/state employees and students.

Find out more here.

Conservation, CTIC

Finding Old Rural Cemeteries

Chuck Zimmerman July 22, 2014 Leave a Comment

Now for something a little different. Cemeteries. We cover all kinds of things here on AgWired.

This is about cemetery plots that members of the Crystal Pig Hunt Club found on the hunting lease property. In a small section of trees that were not clear cut during a logging operation before we leased the property lie a couple of family cemetery plots. During a fairly recent storm an oak tree fell across the plots smashing the fences and toppling over a couple of the grave stones. On our last work days we cut up the tree and did some clean up work on the area. More needs to be done. There were tall weeds that I treated with some weed killer right before I left. We view it as a community service project since their are undoubtedly relatives of these people buried here that might come to pay their respects sometime.

In fact, using Google I looked up Annabella Tucker Graybill, one of the names on a head stone. Find a Grave came up with information from an entry made just last year. It looks like this is the Moye Cemetery. The family names on the second of two fenced grave areas are all Moyes. One example is Emma Hobbs Moye.

Annabella’s spouse is Dr. Tully Graybill. Here’s some information from his Sandersville Newspaper clipping in 1883: “Capt. Co.A (The Irish Guards) 28th Georgia Infantry. Promoted to Major Sept 10, 1861, Taken POW on May 3,1862 at Seven Pines, exchanged. Wounded in Action Sept 1, 1862 at Antietam.Promoted to Colonel Nov. 3,1862.”

I shot a video clip of the cemetery before heading back to ZimmComm World Headquarters that shows the condition of the cemetery. I wonder how many of these exist out in the woods where they may not even be remembered or cared for any more. Have you found any on your property?

You can find more photos from the cemetery here: CPHC Cemetery Photos

Hunting, Video

Busy Week in DC for Corn Growers

Cindy Zimmerman July 22, 2014 Leave a Comment

Members of the National Corn Growers Association had a busy week in the nation’s capital last week – hearing from and meeting with administration officials and lawmakers, saying goodbye to retiring industry leaders, and inspiring new young leaders.

One of the highlights was an update from EPA Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe on the proposed Waters of the United States rule. “NCGA is taking the position that yes, we are opposed to the interpretive rule and yes, we think the rule itself needs to be changed immensely, but we want to work with EPA and see if we can’t put our stamp on that to make it better for farmers and still work for the environment,” NCGA president Martin Barbre said in an interview yesterday.

NCGA members also heard from a number of farm state lawmakers and spent some time on the Hill talking with their representatives about important issues and Barbre presented NCGA’s 2014 President’s Award to Representative John Shimkus (R-IL).

The week in DC also included updates from NCGA action teams and committees on a variety of topics, such as ethanol, biotechnology, government regulation and trade. Delegates also re-elected four board members and elected one new one last week. Re-elected were Bob Bowman of Iowa, Lynn Chrisp of Nebraska, Kevin Skunes of North Dakota and Paul Taylor of Illinois and new to the board is Jim Zimmerman of Wisconsin.

There were quite a few good-byes said to corn industry members who are retiring this year, including Don Hutchens of the Nebraska Corn Board, Marsha Stanton of Monsanto, and Don Borgman with John Deere – as well as NCGA CEO Rick Tolman, who received a special tribute.

Finally, last week graduated the inaugural class of the NCGA DuPont New Leaders Program, which Barbre says included some enthusiastic new young people for the future of the industry.

Listen to my interview with Martin here: Interview with NCGA president Martin Barbre

Check out pictures from the event in the NCGA Flickr photo album.

Ag Group, Audio, Corn, Government, NCGA

Zimfo Bytes

Talia Goes July 21, 2014 Leave a Comment

Exmark announced a joint promotion with leading animal nutrition company, Hubbard Feeds Inc., the companies are teaming up to give away three top-of-the-line Exmark zero-turn mowers away in the Hubbard Life ‘This is the Life’ Sweepstakes.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has declared August 3 through 9, 2014, “National Farmers Market Week“.
Biotechnology Industry Organization announced the Livestock Biotech Summit will be held September 16-18, 2014, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota at the Sioux Falls Convention Center.
The American Royal Association has announced that Neal Patterson, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of KC-based Cerner Corp., will be the featured speaker at this year’s Business & Scholarship Luncheon to be held September 10 in Kemper Arena.

Zimfo Bytes

New Holland Officially Unveils New CR Series Combines

Chuck Zimmerman July 21, 2014 Leave a Comment

This morning New Holland is holding a press conference in Berlin, Germany via Twitter primarily using the #NHharvest2014 hashtag. It is mostly about the new CR Series combines topped by the CR 10.90. Presenting is Carlo Lambro Brand, President. Here are a few of the tweets so far:

Award-winning Cursor 16 engine developed by #FPTIndustrial that powers the new CR 10.90 #NHharvest2014

We also extended our offering with the launch of the highest capacity combine in the world #NEWCR #NHharvest2014

#NEWCR range: enter a new harvesting dimension- up to 15% more productivity in small grains #NHharvest2014 http://goo.gl/P7BnJY

We gave the CR combines more horsepower than any other combine available on the market today #NHharvest2014 pic.twitter.com/0Nug5S41VU

Learn more by clicking on the hashtag link above.

Agribusiness, Equipment, Harvest, New Holland

Southern Peanut Growers Meet this Week

Cindy Zimmerman July 21, 2014 Leave a Comment

It’s time once again for the Southern Peanut Growers to head to Panama City Beach.

The 16th Annual Southern Peanut Growers Conference will be held July 24-26 at the gorgeous Edgewater Beach Resort in Panama City Beach, Florida.

The three-day event provides farmers an opportunity to learn more about the industry and important issues while also enjoying a relaxing time at the beach. This will be the seventh year that we have covered this event for the peanut growers on the SPGC Conference Blog and we are greatly looking forward to being there. Besides the fun events, there will be plenty of work being done with outstanding sessions on markets, research, production and farm policy.

This conference is great because it’s such a family affair where friends reconnect every year. It’s also great because they have fantastic sponsors, like John Deere, Syngenta, BASF, Bayer CropScience, and Ag Leader, just to name a few. Once again this year, Ag Technologies/Trimble Agriculture are sponsoring the blog, as they have since the beginning.

Ag Group, Events, Peanuts

ZimmComm Summer Intern

Chuck Zimmerman July 21, 2014 Leave a Comment

Let me introduce you to Sara Gillum, the ZimmComm Summer Intern. Sara will get her first taste of agriblogging at the Ag Media Summit coming up in Indianapolis. Learn a little more about Sara here:

My name is Sara Gillum, and I am a junior at Mizzou majoring in Agribusiness Management with an emphasis in Science and Agriculture Journalism. I was raised on my family’s farm in northern Missouri where we farm around 2,000 acres of row crops and run around 250 head of commercial cattle. My three siblings and I are all products of 4-H and FFA. I began showing cattle at a young age, and over the years, I have developed an unparalleled love for the show stock industry. It has become my passion; the livestock, the grooming, the show ring, and the countless people I have met… I love it all. Because of my involvement in the show livestock industry, I know that I want to go on to positively advocate for livestock and agriculture and hopefully make a career out of it. I look forward to joining the ZimmComm team this summer and traveling the agriblogging highway!

We are looking forward to working with her and I think you will as well.

ZimmComm Announcement

New Holland Press Conference Live Tweet from Berlin

Chuck Zimmerman July 21, 2014 Leave a Comment

It looks like New Holland will be live tweeting a press conference today in Berlin, Germany. The graphic says it will be Unconventional / Unprecedented / Unmissable.

Here’s their latest tweet with hashtags. If I calculate right it will start at 11:30am central time.

Live Tweet of our Press Conference #EnteraNewHarvestingdimension starting at 6.30 pm (GMT+2) today! Don’t miss it! #NHharvest2014

We’ll all know more then.

Agribusiness, Harvest, New Holland

James Garner Original Beef Spokesman

Cindy Zimmerman July 21, 2014 Leave a Comment

With the passing of film and television actor James Garner over the weekend, many are remembering his popular roles such as Bret Maverick in the 1950s western-comedy series Maverick and Jim Rockford in the 1970s detective drama The Rockford Files.

One great role he played for the Beef Checkoff was the voice and face for some of the very first “Real Food for Real People” radio, television and print ads. He and Cybill Shepherd were signed together as celebrity spokespersons in November 1986 and their ads ran in 1987 and 1988. And, before the comments from the anti-meat brigade start, it’s true that after he had quintuple-bypass heart surgery in April 1988 his contract with the beef people was not renewed.

Here’s one called “Right Brain, Left Brain.” RIP Mr. Garner.