Cindy took this picture of Hugh Whaley, (l) Broadhead+Co and Barry Nelson, John Deere, during the Commodity Classic trade show. That gives you an updated look at Hugh since I used an old one in the story about his moving to Broadhead+Co.
As things slowed down today I got to sit down and visit with Hugh about his new position. It made for a good Commodity Classic week ZimmCast. Hugh is a very good friend and I’m glad for this opportunity he has. He’s be working on obtaining, managing and working with farmer driven organizations, not for profit groups, agricultural associations as well as governmental organizations. This fits right in with the kind of work that he’s been doing which includes working with the United Soybean Board and other checkoff groups.
Hugh says he’s going to continue his involvement in organizations like NAMA, NAFB and others so we’ll be seeing him around still. One of his first duties will be working on an existing Broadhead+Co account, the California Almond Board.
You can download and listen to the ZimmCast here: ZimmCast 209 (9 min MP3)
With global demand for wheat up to more than 25 billion bushels, proper disease management in wheat and cereals is more important than ever and that was a hot topic at the 2009 Commodity Classic in Texas this week.
BASF hosted a panel at the conference to examine how today’s technology can help manage disease in wheat and cereals to meet the growing global demand for grain. The panel featured analyst Arlan Suderman of Farm Futures Daily, who set the stage by summarizing the global view for wheat production and demand, noting that production did exceed demand last year for the first time in several years, but demand also increased, so stocks remain tight.
“Rebuilding stocks is difficult due to wide yield variability caused by weather and disease,” Suderman said. “Greater yield stability and productivity will be essential for meeting the world’s food and feed needs over the next five years.”
Download Suderman’s comments with this link – Arlen Suderman
After Suderman’s comments, BASF technical experts on plant disease, Drs. Gary Fellows and Gary Schmitz, talked about how BASF products can help increase global production of wheat and other cereal grains by controlling the most aggressive diseases that affect those crops.
“Preventing disease right from the beginning is important to get seedlings off to a healthy start,” Dr. Schmitz said. “As the plant matures, disease pressure increases, so it’s critical to continue protecting the plant throughout its lifecycle.”
BASF’s product portfolio for wheat includes Charter® and Stamina™ fungicide seed treatments, Headline®, TwinLine™ and Caramba™ fungicides.
Trish Lynn (r) and the All American Cowgirl Chicks were at Commodity Classic sponsored by RFD-TV. Trish says they were real proud to be here.
The Cowgirl Chicks are a rodeo entertainment team that rodeo just about every weekend. They do about 85 performances a year, including outside the country. They’re trick riding professionals using castaway horses. They have to spend a lot of time working with them to train them. Trish says it’s a commitment and dedication to live the cowgirl way of life.
You could go to school and learn about precision land management in the New Holland booth at this year’s Commodity Classic. Mike Harvey was teaching when I stopped by. He says the mobile teaching trailer provides a place for growers to see their monitors and even operate a simulator.
The trailer can be configured in various ways and is also used for dealer and operation training. The trailer has heat and air conditioning so it can be used year round.
When it comes to this year’s Classic Mike says interaction with growers has been great. He says they’re really impressed with the ability to look at a machine in their booth and then come into the trailer to learn about all the controls.
BASF, the American Soybean Association (ASA) and the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) announced this year’s scholarship winners for both organizations at the 2009 Commodity Classic. The scholarships are awarded to tomorrow’s agricultural leaders pursuing a degree in an industry-related field.
Adam Burnhams (center) with U.S. Crop Protection Products at BASF presented the students with their awards on Friday. Four of the five students were able to attend this year’s Commodity Classic. They are pictured here, left to right – Michael Sukalski of Minnesota, Rita Cook of Iowa, Emily Treu of Wisconsin and Alex Coughlin of South Dakota. Not pictured is Elias Klokkenga of Illinois. Listen to interviews and get more information about the winners here on Corn Commentary.
Adam also presented the 2009-2010 Secure Optimal Yield (SOY) Scholarship, managed by the ASA and sponsored by BASF, to Brent Larson, a high-school senior from Canby, Minnesota, who plans to major in agronomy and minor in agricultural economics and agricultural marketing at South Dakota State University.
Adam says BASF has made a five-year commitment to each organization to support higher education in agriculture for members’ families. “We believe that the future of agriculture is in the hands of our leaders,” Adam says. “We need strong leaders in our industry and we need to invest in those leaders.”
This afternoon I finally got to meet the Monsanto Future Ag Journalist Fellowship winners. Brooke Hoelscher (r) and Megan Ott (l) were escorted to my work station in the media room at Commodity Classic. Apparently they weren’t allowed access to the media room even though they had media badges. These students will someday possibly be professional ag journalists and part of the rationale for the Monsanto program is to provide them with a “real world” opportunity to write about their experience at Classic and interact with professionals. Unfortunately, they are not considered to be “media” and therefore, since they’re staying in a different hotel they have to go back to their hotel to post on their websites and they don’t get to have that professional journalist experience. However, they’re taking pictures, doing interviews and all the same things us professionals are doing.
I had the fortune of participating in the very first Monsanto Future Ag Journalist Fellowship project. One of them is now a very respected member of the professional ag journalist ranks. I guess I’m wondering how these media room policies are promoting good media relations and the development of professional ag journalists who will be the leaders in the industry tomorrow. I’ll be featuring my interview with Brooke and Megan in my ZimmCast podcast on Monday. They’re awesome young talents and just talking with them helps inspire this old ag journalist as I hope it will you.
If you tune into this blog, then you are undoubtedly involved in a career in agriculture, in some form or another. Certainly, people choose to work in agriculture for a variety of reasons, and as I prepare to graduate, I have been thinking long and hard about my choice to work in this industry, as well.
Growing up on a cattle ranch was tough at times, but looking back now, I realize that it gave me a sense of responsibility and a hard work ethic that transfers into the other things I do in life. More importantly, living on a farm gave me a passion for this industry that would be hard to walk away from. I don’t think there is a better place to be than agriculture, and I’m excited to start my career working for America’s food producers.
How about you? What pushed you to pursue a career in the agriculture industry? Or, if you don’t work directly in agriculture, what makes you want to learn more about food production? What type of work do you do? Where and what did you study? How has working in agriculture shaped your career?
I will be graduating from South Dakota State University in May, and hopefully, I will be ranching with my parents and working as a freelance writer once I hit the “real world.” When I’m not outside helping with cattle chores, I hope to get a lot of writing and photography work done. As I embark on my career as an agricultural journalist, I have decided I need to invest in a few pieces of equipment. On my wish list (based solely on need, of course…) is a new laptop computer, an audio recorder, a wide angle lens for my Canon and video editing software.
What do you recommend? I’m a PC person, but I seriously think it’s time to make the jump to Mac. Do you have any advice for purchasing audio equipment, and where is the best place to go? What is your favorite camera lens? What programs and brands work best in your day-to-day projects? I want to simplify and streamline my work station, so I want to hear your thoughts.
Keep in mind that I’m a poor college student, so quality, price, availability, and effectiveness are all key components to my future purchases. I can’t wait to hear from all of you! Your advice is greatly appreciated!
Here’s an example of how the stimulus is stimulating. I’m betting there will be other groups formed to help spend that money. I’m not saying this is a bad thing necessarily. Someone sure needs to provide advice to the government officials who are going to be making spending decisions.
The Rural Mobile Broadband Alliance (RuMBA) was launched to provide a single, clear, and significant voice to government agencies that will be involved in choosing grant recipients from the recently enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. RuMBA is committed to the vision of the Next Generation Wireless Network Grid. The development of a broad coalition committed to this vision will provide the group a competitive advantage for grants and increase the speed of awards to our members.
Sustainability is a hot topic and growers have often been put in the hot seat defending their use of the land. But today, sustainability practices can be assessed using the new online Fieldprint Calculator, created by Field to Market, The Keystone Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture.
As the world population explodes, producing food, feed, fuel, and fiber in a sustainable manner throughout the world will be paramount to success. “We’re adding three China’s in our children’s lifetime,” said Marty Matlock, Director of the Center for Agriculture and Rural Sustainability at the University of Arkansas. “Today, the U.S. is top of its game globally.”
This free, confidential calculator, measures several factors including land use, soil loss, energy use and water use. After entering your data, a summary graph in the shape of a “spider” appears –the smaller your spider, the better your sustainability practices.
“This tool will hope us demonstrate how the U.S. measures up when talking about sustainability,” said Doug Goehring, who grows corn, soybeans and wheat in North Dakota. “This tool helps a grower re-affirm how sustainable he is. The feedback is vitally important.”
The Keystone Alliance is asking growers to test out the Fieldprint Calculator and offer feedback before its anticipated full-scale launch on March 15. You can visit them at Commodity Classic in booth 718. You can also sign up online by visiting www.fieldtomarket.org.
Watch a video of Doug demonstrating the Fieldprint calculator here:
Our opening general session has just ended and once again we got a chance to hear from the Presidents of the commodity groups involved in Classic. This year there are four. Pictured (l-r) are Moderator, Mark Mayfield, NSP Chairman Toby Bostwick, NAWG President, David Cleavinger, NCGA President, Bob Dickey and ASA President, Johnny Dodson.
This was their opportunity to provide a little perspective on their organizations and the industry. Prior to their roundtable discussion they each had a one on one session with Mark.
Grain samples without running a combine? Minibatt, a portable grain sampler, can do this. Reichhardt Electronic Innovations is now distributing this handy device in North America.
DuPont has received federal registration approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for two corn herbicides: Accent Q and Steadfast Q. Both new herbicides provide corn growers with the flexibility to apply them under more diverse weather conditions, across more hybrids and with a wider range of adjuvants.
Soil Warrior, a unique pull-type and one-pass tillage machine that provides the proven economic, agronomic and environmental benefits of strip-tillage – with deep zone tilling (with fertilizer) in the fall and superior planting zones (with fertilizer) in early spring – is now available from Environmental Tillage Systems.
Georgia-Pacific (G-P) Plant Nutrition announces the addition of Jon Mixson as national sales and marketing manager, and Blake Covert as sales agronomist for the western U.S.
At the 2009 Commodity Classic trade show, growers are finding that the BASF exhibit not only features new products to help them be more productive, it is also showcasing new products made from the corn they grow.
The floor in the BASF exhibit is covered with a carpet made from corn polymers, and they are giving away plastic coffee cups made from 100 percent corn plastic, as Dan Westberg and Leon Duschene explain in this YouTube video.
This evening we had a very nice and well attended media reception, sponsored by New Holland. The presidents of each Commodity Classic participating organization were on hand to greet us and it was a nice opportunity to unwind a little and share some fellowship.
We successfully got the farm broadcasters present to pose for a group photo. This is just one of those NAFB traditions.
I announced the New Holland Zero Turn Radius mower giveaway at the end of this afternoon’s trade show session. The winner was Duane Lee from Albion, NE.
This annual giveaway really draws a crowd since you have to be present to win. All growers who fill out a registration card are automatically entered. I believe this is the first time we’ve had the first name drawn be present. It made for a short program.
Duane was very excited and happy to win the mower. He’s seated on the mower in the picture along with me and two boys who helped me with the drawing. Duane grows soybeans and says he’s been coming to Classic for 4 years now.
You can listen to my interview with Duane here: cc-09-mower.mp3
Photographers almost never get their picture taken. That’s why I try to always include pictures of them.
This is the ever so creative John Walter, AgricultureOnline, who was seen getting his shot during the opening session of the Commodity Classic trade show. He’s afraid I was going to tweet it. Actually, I am since AgWired’s rss feed posts to my Twitter account. Some farmers got a kick out of seeing my shooting John’s picture while he was shooting a picture. They then walked up and said hello to him. Obviously he’s in close contact with his audience and they like him.
I’m sure I’ll have more photos of ag photogs in the photo album.
This was part of the buzz in ag media at Commodity Classic today. You can click on the photo to get a big enough version to read.
Commodity Classic Media Room Etiquette. Are you kidding? What’s that all about? I’ve never heard of such a thing and I dare say I’ve been to a few media rooms and not just for ag events. I’d love for you to post your comments, especially items 4 and 6.
The rules here for media are getting a little bit “over the top.” No other organization or media room that I have worked in is quite this severe and strict and none of them ever have any problems other than an occasional incident here and there. I for one am quite happy to have a public relations professional, farmer or company representative able to visit the media room. Most are very courteous and respectful of the fact that the media room is a working environment. I’d use the media room that NCBA runs for the Cattle Industry Convention as an example of one of the best that I know of. Or perhaps the Farm Progress Show media tent, which is also sponsored by New Holland.
3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . Hugh Whaley has a new job. (old farm broadcasters will get the 3,2,1 thing) This was the only picture I could find quickly of Hugh (far right). Hugh will be the director of Broadhead+Co.’s association and federal government practice. Major congratulations to Hugh and to Dean Broadhead.
“I’m very excited and honored to be invited to join the top-notch professionals at Broadhead + Co,” said Whaley. “I’ve had the unique privilege of competing against Dean and his staff in the past, and I’m now proud to call Broadhead my professional home.”
Hugh Whaley served as head of the Association Business sector for over 12 years at Osborn & Barr in St. Louis. He led a team of 20 professionals responsible for strategic and tactical advertising, public relations and issues management communications programs, primarily for agricultural producer-funded organizations, not-for-profit associations and U.S. Government agencies.
“Hugh will provide veteran leadership to our government and association team that has deep roots in the nation’s capital,” said Dean Broadhead, President|CEO. “We are an agency that has always valued experience, making Hugh’s extraordinary background and keen instincts a natural fit.”
Whaley has held numerous leadership positions with a number of organizations including the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) and the NAFB Foundation, the American Society of Association Executives, National Agri-Marketing Association and the St. Louis Agri-Business Club. Hugh received a Bachelors degree in Political Science from Purdue University, and is a U.S. Navy veteran.
As BASF prepares to introduce its new Kixor™ herbicide this year, the media got a preview of the “Science Behind” this new product at the Commodity Classic on Wednesday.
Kixor is cutting-edge chemistry that basically kicks weed butt. It offers rapid burndown and residual control of more than 90 broadleaf weeds, including the toughest weeds that have become more tolerant of glyphosate, and has been shown to be safe on more than 30 crops, including corn, sorghum, soybeans, cereals, tree fruits and nuts.
Rex Liebl, Global Herbicide Marketing for BASF says their goal was to create a new breed of protoporphyrinogen IX oxidase (PPO) inhibitor with high levels of weed control and crop selectivity.
BASF Technical Market Manager Dan Westberg oversaw more than 1,700 U.S. field trials for Kixor in 38 states. “Our results showed that Kixor provides fast, complete burndown of all major broadleaf weeds,” said Dan. He talked specifically about the results in both corn and soybeans.
In this week's program Chuck talks with David Armano, Global Innovation and Integration.
David conducted a presentation on delivering expert opinion via social media to an audience at the start of International Poultry Expo week. He's got some great information about who consumers trust and how you can use today's consumer behavior to help communicate your message.
Cindy took this picture of Hugh Whaley, (l) Broadhead+Co and Barry Nelson, John Deere, during the Commodity Classic trade show. That gives you an updated look at Hugh since I used an old one in the story about his moving to Broadhead+Co.
As things slowed down today I got to sit down and visit with Hugh about his new position. It made for a good Commodity Classic week ZimmCast. Hugh is a very good friend and I’m glad for this opportunity he has. He’s be working on obtaining, managing and working with farmer driven organizations, not for profit groups, agricultural associations as well as governmental organizations. This fits right in with the kind of work that he’s been doing which includes working with the United Soybean Board and other checkoff groups. 
ZimmCast 209 (9 min MP3)
and 
BASF hosted a panel at the conference to examine how today’s technology can help manage disease in wheat and cereals to meet the growing global demand for grain. The panel featured analyst Arlan Suderman of 
After Suderman’s comments, BASF technical experts on plant disease, Drs. Gary Fellows and Gary Schmitz, talked about how BASF products can help increase global production of wheat and other cereal grains by controlling the most aggressive diseases that affect those crops.
Trish Lynn (r) and the 
You could go to school and learn about precision land management in the New Holland booth at this year’s Commodity Classic. Mike Harvey was teaching when I stopped by. He says the mobile teaching trailer provides a place for growers to see their monitors and even operate a simulator.
BASF, the American Soybean Association (ASA) and the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) announced this year’s scholarship winners for both organizations at the 2009 Commodity Classic. The scholarships are awarded to tomorrow’s agricultural leaders pursuing a degree in an industry-related field. 
Adam also presented the 2009-2010 Secure Optimal Yield (SOY) Scholarship, managed by the ASA and sponsored by BASF, to Brent Larson, a high-school senior from Canby, Minnesota, who plans to major in agronomy and minor in agricultural economics and agricultural marketing at South Dakota State University. 
This afternoon I finally got to meet the 
Growing up on a cattle ranch was tough at times, but looking back now, I realize that it gave me a sense of responsibility and a hard work ethic that transfers into the other things I do in life. More importantly, living on a farm gave me a passion for this industry that would be hard to walk away from. I don’t think there is a better place to be than agriculture, and I’m excited to start my career working for America’s food producers.
I will be graduating from South Dakota State University in May, and hopefully, I will be ranching with my parents and working as a freelance writer once I hit the “real world.” When I’m not outside helping with cattle chores, I hope to get a lot of writing and photography work done. As I embark on my career as an agricultural journalist, I have decided I need to invest in a few pieces of equipment. On my wish list (based solely on need, of course…) is a new laptop computer, an audio recorder, a wide angle lens for my Canon and video editing software. 
Here’s an example of how the stimulus is stimulating. I’m betting there will be other groups formed to help spend that money. I’m not saying this is a bad thing necessarily. Someone sure needs to provide advice to the government officials who are going to be making spending decisions.
As the world population explodes, producing food, feed, fuel, and fiber in a sustainable manner throughout the world will be paramount to success. “We’re adding three China’s in our children’s lifetime,” said Marty Matlock, Director of the Center for Agriculture and Rural Sustainability at the University of Arkansas. “Today, the U.S. is top of its game globally.”
“This tool will hope us demonstrate how the U.S. measures up when talking about sustainability,” said Doug Goehring, who grows corn, soybeans and wheat in North Dakota. “This tool helps a grower re-affirm how sustainable he is. The feedback is vitally important.”
Our opening general session has just ended and once again we got a chance to hear from the Presidents of the commodity groups involved in Classic. This year there are four. Pictured (l-r) are Moderator, Mark Mayfield, NSP Chairman Toby Bostwick, NAWG President, David Cleavinger, NCGA President, Bob Dickey and ASA President, Johnny Dodson.
At the 2009 Commodity Classic trade show, growers are finding that the BASF exhibit not only features new products to help them be more productive, it is also showcasing new products made from the corn they grow.
There’s not really a story for this photo. I just thought it was a very cool looking promotion.
This evening we had a very nice and well attended media reception, sponsored by New Holland. The presidents of each Commodity Classic participating organization were on hand to greet us and it was a nice opportunity to unwind a little and share some fellowship.
I announced the New Holland Zero Turn Radius mower giveaway at the end of this afternoon’s trade show session. The winner was Duane Lee from Albion, NE.
Photographers almost never get their picture taken. That’s why I try to always include pictures of them.
3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . Hugh Whaley has a new job. (old farm broadcasters will get the 3,2,1 thing) This was the only picture I could find quickly of Hugh (far right). Hugh will be the director of 
As BASF prepares to introduce its new Kixor™ herbicide this year, the media got a preview of the “Science Behind” this new product at the Commodity Classic on Wednesday. 
Rex Liebl, Global Herbicide Marketing for BASF says their goal was to create a new breed of protoporphyrinogen IX oxidase (PPO) inhibitor with high levels of weed control and crop selectivity.
BASF Technical Market Manager Dan Westberg oversaw more than 1,700 U.S. field trials for Kixor in 38 states. “Our results showed that Kixor provides fast, complete burndown of all major broadleaf weeds,” said Dan. He talked specifically about the results in both corn and soybeans.
In this week's program Chuck talks with David Armano, Global Innovation and Integration.
