It looks like Mike Parry has Rural Life Radio.com up and running. On it you can watch video interviews from the SHOT show. Hmm. Video clips on the web/radio broadcasting? Goes together, eh? I assume this is a project of the NAFB. Feel free to add to comments.
“Welcome to RuralLifeRadio.com. This website is dedicated to those living the rural life….and to those who might be considering buying their first piece of paradise. Our intent is to bring you information that you can use while living the rural life. Featuring some of the best rural lifestyle broadcasters.”
You’ll find interviews with exhibitors at the show like the one pictured here in which ZimmComm client Southeast AgNet’s Gary Cooper interviews Samantha Virk, Samantha’s Wildlife.
It is often overlooked that the female in a farming operation plays a crucial role in the success of that business. This ranch partner wears many hats including: hired hand, meals-on-wheels service, chauffer, maid, errands-runner, fix-it gal and chore help. She can be found in the kitchen, in the feedyard, on a tractor or in a repair shop. She keeps the books, takes care of paperwork and makes sure the kids get to band practice and basketball games. She maintains several full-time jobs: housewife, farmer, career woman, mom and wife. She is a super hero; She is a ranch wife.
For these everyday agriculture super heroes, the Women In Blue Jeans (WIBJ) Conference was developed. Seven years ago, WIBJ started as a club for fifteen local farm gals. These women met in the conference room of a crop insurance building, and they discussed everything from farm prices to maintaining good health. The need for fellowship in women in agriculture was strong, and soon, the word spread about WIBJ. This year’s event boasted an all-time attendance rate, with over 200 female participants. The 2009 WIBJ Conference was held in Mitchell, S.D. at the Dakota Wesleyan University Campus on January 15-17.
I had the great opportunity to speak at the 2009 WIBJ Conference. My forum topic was, “What happened to the next generation of agriculture?” It identified the issues facing young people after graduation. This is a time when they have to choose between a high profile career in the cities and the rural lifestyle they have always known. It was a great presentation, and if you are interested in hearing more about it, let me know.
Anyway, another WIBJ Conference has come and gone, and with that, women in agriculture have renewed their passions for their lives on the farm. You might see her at the grocery store. She might be picking up feed at the elevator. She could be getting parts for the tractor. Maybe she is picking up the kids from practice. Wherever you see her, take the time to thank these agriculture superheroes for their efforts.
For more information on the conference, check out Women in Blue Jeans today!
Top Producer magazine has published it’s annual Top 25 list of people, issues and trends. “A Top Producer Staff Report…It’s difficult to predict who or what will shake out as agriculture’s biggest influences and influencers in the coming years, but we identify some that will surely have an impact on your business.” Yours truly is mentioned in the item titled, “Internet pundits and critics.” Here’s an excerpt:
“The conversation is taking place already, and agriculture needs to join it,” says Zimmerman, who runs several Web sites for a variety of clients, including his own AgWired. “There is no question public opinion about agriculture is swayed by people who are not directly involved in the industry. And it’s not just bloggers, either. I think you’re seeing a lot of reporting from more of the traditional media today that is opinionated reporting. I think that’s being driven by how blogging has changed the industry.”
Basically this is about people in agriculture getting involved in the online conversation that’s going to take place with our without us. This goes for companies and member organizations. You have no control over the message anymore. However, you can make sure that your side is told!
I guess that StollerUSA has started blogging with Cybercoffeeshop. They just started posting from their US Ag Associates Conference that is taking place in Houston, TX.
Join the insightful online chat between farmers, researchers, and crop consultants. Find out what others are doing to cope with the changes in today’s farming environment.
It looks like they’re asking questions in an attempt to engage visiting farmers in a conversation. That is a good tactic. I would also suggest posting more information on the actual activities, products, etc. being presented to provide them with more to “chew on.”
Lessing-Flynn has some company news.
Lessing-Flynn, a marketing communications firm based in Des Moines, Iowa, has named Jessica Held Executive Vice President of Client Services. Held was previously the Marketing Communications Manager at Vermeer Corporation in Pella, Iowa. A graduate from Central College, she also founded Studio 104, a design and advertising firm located in Pella.
Lessing-Flynn, a marketing communications firm based in Des Moines, Iowa, has added Jordan Bloodsworth to its creative/client service team. Bloodsworth is a recent graduate from Central College in Pella, Iowa. Prior to graduating from Central, Bloodsworth worked as an intern at Vermeer Corporation. She also served as a creative intern at Hatch Creative in London, England. In her new position, Bloodsworth will work with Lessing-Flynn clients in a newly created dual “hybrid” role as account coordinator and graphic designer.
Here’s a sign of the viability of online communications in agriculture. I think we’re going to see more of this at time goes on and travel budgets get tighter.
WATT, a global custom marketing solutions company, announces the launch of the agribusiness industry’s first-ever virtual tradeshow: WATT Online Animal Nutrition & Health Forum, to be held on 29 April, 2009 from 08.00 hrs. – 17.00 hrs. CST. The educational event offers live presentations and Q&A sessions, on-demand content, virtual sponsor booths and networking events – all the components of a live tradeshow, and more – in a format that is held 100% on the Internet.
The WATT Online Animal Nutrition & Health Forum will be available through our virtual event partner, InExpo. During the virtual event, attendees can:
Attend the live, feature presentation; Antibiotics in Animal Feeds: World Perspectives moderated by Dr. Peter Ferket with Lis Alban, DVM, Dr. Hector Cervantes and Dr. Spangler Klopp.
Listen to live and prerecorded presentations and participate in live Q&A with session presenters.
Explore sponsor booths and chat, e-mail and exchange Vcards (virtual business cards) with solutions providers.
Connect with peers from around the world through blogs, e-mails, Vcards and networking opportunities at the “virtual networking lounge.”
Download educational content such as product PDF’s, videos, pre-recorded webinars and white papers in their “virtual briefcase.”
Have a chance to win prizes just for attending the Forum.
Best of all, the Forum is FREE to attend and no travel is required!
- IRON Solutions add to their joint venture rollout with the IRON Search tool launch on all Farm Progress state and regional publications’ Web sites.
- Ag Leader Technology, Inc., announced the release of new features for their popular SeedCommand planter control system: Additional Sections of Clutch Control, Expanded Planter Monitoring and Hydraulic Drive Control.
- AgriLabs introduces First Arrival with Encrypt, a paste that enhances the natural immunity of kids and lambs, bolstering their immune protection and helping them cope with scours.
- High school and two-year college students are invited to apply for a $1,000 scholarship from the CHS Foundation. The application deadline for scholarships is April 1, 2009.
- SFP will be the primary 10-race sponsor for racecar driver Peyton Sellers and Cardinal Motorsports in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2009.
Thanks to Twitterer Rural_Broadband (who is?) for pointing me to some posts by Geoff Daily at AppRising.com who is supporting rural fiber as the method to bring high speed internet access to rural America. He writes:
Fiber is our future. It’s the only broadband that’s considered true 21st century infrastructure, and only full fiber networks equal world-class broadband.
Whatever broadband we subsidize today rural communities will be left with for decades.
We should do this right the first time and make sure they’re not left behind again.
The Rural Fiber Fund uses government guarantees to unclog billions from the capital markets to shovel-ready rural fiber projects, and sets communities on the path to a connected future.
I’m all for any method that gets us connected!
Post Update: Rural_Broadband contacted me and he’s a rural resident of Southwest Virginia. Here’s part of his message: “So I really want to be sure rural communities have access to broadband as the culture shifts so dramatically to digital media.”
This past June, I traveled with the SDSU Spanish Department to Buenos Aires, Argentina. For an entire month, we attended classes, lived with host families, explored the big city, traveled to vineyards, the Andes Mountains, the rainforest and Iguazu Falls, and learned a lot of Spanish along the way. The month was truly an experience of a lifetime, and I had the opportunity to share that experience at the Kingsbury Co. Cattlemen’s Association’s Annual Meeting in Lake Preston, S.D. this past Saturday.
Although most of my time in Argentina wasn’t directly related to agriculture, I was submerged in a country that is crazy about beef and wine production. With Argentina’s FMD free status, mandatory animal identification program and grass-fed beef, Argentina can access Japanese and South Korean markets, with ease. Also worth noting: Argentina is number one in the world’s soybean production and number two in world corn production. This global agricultural powerhouse is definitely worth watching in the future, and while I have tons of stories to share from my time spent in South America, this blog post will highlight the most interesting points about this amazing country.
-Argentines eat three times more meat in a given year than Americans, nearly 150 lbs./year.
-Due to an extreme economic recession, the government taxes farmers’ products entering the export market by 50% in order to keep domestic prices low.
-Of the millions of cattle that roam La Pampa (the plains of Argentina), only 10% enter the export market
-The world weather pattern La Nina, has killed 300,000 head of cattle in a terrible drought in Argentina this year.
-During my time spent in Argentina, the farmers were on a 4 month strike against the government.
-Feedyards are a new concept in Argentina, and grass-fed beef is the norm.
Stay tuned for more tales of my Argentine adventures. They range from protests, road blocks, theft, drug lords, wine tasting, rock propelling and more… Don’t miss a beat!
I smiled big when I saw that NAMA will be holding it’s convention in KC, MO the next 4 years. Makes sense to me, how about you? It does seem like we get better participation when it’s held in a central location that is easy for members to get to.
After careful review, the NAMA Executive Committee has announced that the annual Agri-Marketing Conference will be held in Kansas City the next four years. The committee cited two primary reasons: member satisfaction and cost control.
Historically, member participation has been stronger at Kansas City conferences, both in terms of delegate registrations and student competition. This is due in part because its central location makes the city a convenient and affordable travel destination from virtually anywhere in the country.
This year’s convention will be held in Atlanta and I hope to see you there. ZimmComm will be exhibiting once again and it will be in celebration of 5 years in business!
In case you don’t know the sweet, demure and charming Fabulous Farm Babe, Pam Jahnke, you can read an interview with her in the Wisconsin State Journal. Here’s an excerpt:
Melanie Conklin: I can guess how farming got into your blood, growing up on a farm. But why journalism?
Pam Jahnke: I went to school at UW-River Falls to be an ag lawyer. I went in to my adviser to figure out my classes and he said, “Jahnke, why don’t you wake up and smell the coffee? You never shut up, you’re always talking to everybody, you’re always a catalyst on things. Why don’t you walk across the street and see if journalism has got something that fits you?” I never looked back because this is such a natural fit for me — I don’t know what else I’d do.
Yep. Talking into a microphone is a “natural fit.”
With the new leadership in Washington, DC getting ready to take over I’d love to see the list of who wants a handout, bailout or whatever you want to call it. It seems like every group or industry is positioning themselves to get something out of whatever economic stimulus package we get. I just wonder where all this money is supposed to come from when we’re also seeing stories of record government debt at the state and national level. Can you say, “print me the money?”
A story in Business Week talks about those who aren’t happy with the $6 billion in the House Democrats bill slated for broadband development.
“I was incredibly impressed how quickly the House moved,” says Shirley Bloomfield, senior vice-president for federal relations at Qwest Communications (Q), a Denver-based communications provider that serves 14 Western states. “They’ve got some good concepts. But $6 billion is not going to get you to ubiquitous broadband.”
It seems like almost 8 times that is “required.” How about just getting started with what you get and see how it goes? One thing seems to be certain though and that is that we’re going to see continued efforts to develop rural broadband.
Actually recipes made with turkey like this Turkey Tostada Ensalada are fit for the inauguration even if they won’t be served there. But that didn’t stop two chefs who offered some dishes they would have served. Looks great to me. I would happily let them serve it any time.
Chefs Rocco Whalen and Mary Sue Milliken might not have been appointed White House Chef, but they shared dishes with the National Turkey Federation (NTF) fit for the President of the United States and his family.
“We wanted to take President-elect Barack Obama’s favorite foods – Italian and Mexican — and challenge chefs to create a turkey centric dish that had presidential status,” said Sherrie Rosenblatt, NTF’s vice president of marketing and communications.
First to the challenge was Whalen, executive chef and owner of Fahrenheit, an urban bistro on the western edge of downtown Cleveland, who thinks his Turkey Bolognese would be perfect for an inaugural event.
“Obama loves Italian food and makes healthful choices for his meals,” said Whalen. “Adding turkey to this classic Italian pasta sauce provides a healthy, flavorful and interesting dish that would satisfy President Obama and his family.” (more…)
The American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers recently surveyed its members and asked them some communications technology questions. I provided some ideas for the questions and they’ve shared the results with me. So here’s some items you might find interesting (I rounded out the #’s).
To start with, of the respondents, almost 70% are over 50 years old and an even higher percent are male. 97% say they have high speed internet access. 24% have visited Facebook. 24% have or visit blogs. 18% download podcasts. 9% use or visit LinkedIn. 55% use or visit YouTube. 5% subscribe to an RSS feed.
I find the RSS feed response interesting. The questions were very simple and perhaps there are some respondents who don’t even know they’re using RSS. But it’s one of the technologies I get asked about very often or find that people don’t understand very well.
Here are some of the additional comments that were posted:
My employer blocks You Tube, Facebook, and many blogging sites.
Most of these items are blocked by company servers
I believe in and use technology. Other than the internet, how do the above relate to the appraisal industry ?
We have an IT dept. that handles all this and sets up limitations for staff.
I read financial and economic blogs every day.
no time for a lot of this.
What is an RSS???
Pod casts, maybe very occasionaly. You tube, but rare, RSS?
Are you going to tell us what RSS is?
Yahoo search engine regularly.
Business operates in a corporate banking environement, many of these features are blocked or prohibited due to security and privacy concerns.
Too out of it to know what RSS is?
DO NOT LIKE LINKED IN OR UTUBE
Janet Kanters has contributed another story from Green Week in Berlin. This one is on the huge food trade show. I’ve wandered around in it before and it really is a place where you can eat your way around the world in one location. The photo is courtesy of Janet too.
An astounding 1,600 exhibitors from 56 countries are presenting a unique trade fair and some fascinating shows dealing with every aspect of agriculture, the food industry and horticulture during International Green Week in Berlin, Germany, Jan. 16-25, 2009.
The world’s largest consumer show consists of a display area covering 115,000 square metres.
With 6,000 square metres, Russia is again staging the largest display by any foreign country on the Berlin Exhibition Grounds. This impressive presentation by the many regions of a country stretching from St. Petersburg to the far reaches of Siberia is given added importance by the first visit to the Green Week by the Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin.
The Green Week is expected to attract a total attendance of more than 400,000, including some 100,000 trade visitors.
During the10-day trade show, industry experts and professionals will be able to attend over 300 conferences, meetings and seminars. Some 150 leading national and international politicians are attending, along with their delegations.
In addition, approximately 5,000 members of the print, visual and sound media from 75 countries, including representatives of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists – which has 40 associate member countries – will be reporting on the events in Berlin.
This year marks the 83rd annual event.
I love the name of Lessing-Flynn’s new blog – Ad Mavericks. A name does not a blog make, but it’s a good start.
Welcome to Ad Mavericks, Lessing-Flynn’s blog.
We are members of a Des Moines advertising agency that has been in business for over 100 years and we’re blogging because we have something to say. We think our collective experience will provide an interesting point of view on all things marketing. We’ll hit on everything from agricultural marketing to interactive campaigns to things we like and things we don’t.
We’ll blog about what we know, what we think, and how it impacts your world. Whether you’re a marketer, a farmer, or some kid who found us using Google Image Search, we’re happy you’re here.
So Tom, Jess and Josh, we’ll be watching.
I couldn’t attend the Schillinger Seed Technology Day last week but thanks to Jess Held, Lessing-Flynn, I did get a photo.
The purpose of the event, held in Queenstown, MD, was to provide a glimpse of:
At a glimpse:
• Behind the Schillinger Story
• Revolutionizing the soybean industry
• Launch of soybean industry firsts
• Meet with several international and domestic end users of non-GMO Soybeans.
• An “in-the-lab” look at high-tech Trait Marker Technology
Our Green Week eyes and ears have reported in again today from Berlin. Here’s a story on what’s happening from Janet Kanters:
During International Green Week (IGW) in Berlin, ministers of agriculture and leading representatives of agriculture and the food industry from all over the world will be discussing global solutions.
German industry is using the Green Week as a platform where global solutions for safeguarding world food supplies can be discussed with more than 30 ministers of agriculture and over 1,000 experts from agriculture and the food industry.
The 1st Berlin Summit of Agriculture Ministers, the 2nd International Conference of Agriculture Ministers and the International Forum for Food and Agriculture (IFAE), all taking place on January 17, are the most important conferences in the history of the Green Week.
“Never before have the leading representatives of every stage in the value-added chain of agri-business been able to engage in such high-level discussions and on such a global scale with agricultural policymakers on issues of vital importance to the future of humankind,” says Dr. Christian Göke, chief operating officer of Messe Berlin GmbH, organizer of IGW Berlin 2009.
The Federation of German Food and Drink Industries, the German Farmers’ Union, the German Agricultural, the German Agency for Technical Cooperation and the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations are jointly staging the first IFAE on the subject of ‘World food situation 2020 – innovative solutions in the face of limited resources’.
Over 1,000 experts from agriculture and the food industry from all over the world will be meeting here in order to present new approaches and models, to introduce more sustainability to the debate and to discuss recommended courses of action.
In addition to the plenary session dealing with the ‘World Food Situation 2020′, there will also be three panels, which will investigate what strategies can be adopted by agriculture and the food industry to cope with climate change, as well as asking why agriculture, which has been neglected for so long, is now seen as the key to global development processes, and also why safeguarding livestock health makes a decisive contribution to providing humankind with healthy food.
The photo is also courtesy of Janet.
The NCBA is forming a Young Producers’ Council. So I’m helping spread the word. They’ll be meeting in Phoenix at the convention coming up later this month.
This is YOUR opportunity to make a difference by joining and helping to spread the word about the newly created NCBA Young Producers’ Council (YPC). YPC was created to encourage more involvement from younger members in the industry to help shape the future of the nation’s most respected association representing America’s cattle producers. If you are between the ages of 18 and 35 join YPC today for free as part of your NCBA membership. If you are not 18-35 years old, please forward this e-mail to someone who is a potential candidate. Help create something that is groundbreaking, dynamic and worthwhile where YOU can make a difference.
YPC Business Meeting
Thursday, January 29, 2009 from 12:30pm-3:00pm
YPC Kickoff Celebration*
Thursday, January 29, 2009 from 8:00pm-10:00pm
For more information visit www.beefusa.org/ypc or call 1-866-BEEF-USA (233-3872).
There’s an interesting new report out from the PEW folks. This time on a comparison of young and old users of social networking sites. The bold sections are added by me.
The share of adult internet users who have a profile on an online social network site has more than quadrupled in the past four years — from 8% in 2005 to 35% now, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project’s December 2008 tracking survey.
While media coverage and policy attention focus heavily on how children and young adults use social network sites, adults still make up the bulk of the users of these websites. Adults make up a larger portion of the US population than teens, which is why the 35% number represents a larger number of users than the 65% of online teens who also use online social networks.
You should read the whole thing to get the complete perspective. While I’m at it I had to post this excerpt from a recent post on “The View From The Tractor.”
I have spent an inordinate amount of time alone. I farm around 4000 acres by myself, so I spend a lot of time alone. Most of that time is with an ipod or talk radio sending me good vibrations. But now, with a blackberry, facebook, twitter, blogs, and a computer, the world has shrunk. Frankly, I love it. I test as an introvert, but I live as an extrovert. I know, it doesn’t make sense.
« Previously Posted
Recent Posts »
In this week's program Chuck talks with David Armano, Global Innovation and Integration.
