Another AgChat session is in the can. This time the focus was on food safety. You can follow back through the conversation via Twitter. Here’s the questions that were posed.
Q1 via @agriblogger Is it reasonable to expect that government can guarantee #food safety? #farm #agchat
Q2 Via @TruffleMedia What will Food Safety Modernization Act ’09 do for consumers and producers, if passed? http://bit.ly/117Y44 #agchat
Q3 via @KateOnline What are some of the biggest misconceptions about the way food is produced/grown/raised & safety of that food? #agchat
Q4 What are key resources for the consumer to learn about food safety? #agchat http://twubs.com/agchat
Q5 via @KateOnline Do you feel consumers perceive certain products as safer? Organic/Local/Conventional? #agchat
Q6 via @KateOnline What #ag and #farm practices do you see or use that improve #food safety? #agchat
Q7 – the grand finale: What is the one executable idea you can take away from this evening’s fiery #food convo? #agchat
The online session was fast paced at times as comments and ideas were proposed from a wide array of people. According to our moderator we had 1200 tweets in less than2 hours with 150+ different contributors. Over the last 3 months we’ve had over 400 unique contributors.
Thanks again to Michele Payn-Knoper for moderating. Also feel free to check out AgChat on Facebook.
Well, I’m finally here for an exciting week at the 2009 Cattle Industry Summer Convention. I’m writing to you from the News Room at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Denver. I’ve ditched the rainy plains of South Dakota for a much more summery mountain climate of Colorado. Before the week kicks off, I thought I would give an agricultural update about my home state.
While I’ve been gone, my mom reported to me that we received another 1.5 inches of rain last night. Now, for Texans, I know that must sound like heavenly music. However, since May 31, we have had over 17 inches of rain, and a lot of hail, too. Average rain fall for an entire YEAR in South Dakota is 20 inches, and we have had over six inches in the last week! Of course, I hate to complain, our grass is thicker and taller than ever. We need more pairs to run on the pastures this year! However, our oats have flooded out and haying has been nearly impossible. Last night, my grandpa’s pastures were hit with grapefruit-size hail, killing livestock, deer and pheasants during the storm. It’s certainly been an interesting “summer,” to say the least. I can honestly say this is one of the first summers to my recollection where we aren’t praying for rain at this time of year.
So, how about all of you? How is the weather at home? How are the crops and livestock doing this summer? Are you overcoming Mother Nature’s challenges, whether it be drought or flood? I want to hear from you.
Oh, and be sure to tune in tonight as I will be reporting updates on Cattlemen’s Beef Board activities. Check out more blog entries at the Beef Board Meeting Blog.
Signing off from my Denver vacation from the rainy plains!
Amanda
Here’s the latest change in the seed business and it’s a big one.
Dow AgroSciences LLC announced today it is acquiring the majority of assets of Illinois based corn company Pfister Hybrids. The addition of Pfister Hybrids will further expand Dow AgroSciences’ current U.S. seeds business as the company anticipates the introduction of SmartStax(TM) in 2010 and Dow AgroSciences Herbicide Tolerance (DHT) technology in corn in 2012. The transactional close is expected in the near future.
“Pfister was one of the founding seed corn companies in the Midwest, and we are proud to continue the legacy started more than seven decades ago by one of the nation’s original seedsmen Lester Pfister,” said Stan Howell, vice president, North America Regional Commercial Unit for Dow AgroSciences. “Pfister Seeds is a welcomed addition to our U.S. seed business. At Dow AgroSciences investing in innovation is the key to our future, and we look forward to building upon the Pfister tradition.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Dow AgroSciences will acquire the Pfister brand and the sales and marketing areas, as well as the warehousing and administrative services of the business. Dow AgroSciences will continue to independently market seeds under the Pfister Seeds brand, and Pfister Seeds will continue to be headquartered at its existing location in El Paso.
Linda Brown, president for Pfister, will remain with Pfister Seeds LLC as general manager. Dale Brown will continue with Pfister as the business and brand development lead and Bill Salmi will remain as the company controller.
A new addition this year to the Southern Peanut Growers Conference first day fun was a Redfish Sport Fishing Seminar, presented by Redfish Riviera Outfitters.
Steve Bailey with Redfish Riviera and Captain Daniel Snapp with Grassy Flats Charters, in colorful shirts promoting peanuts, presented tips and tricks of the fishing trade to peanut growers and their families.
Listen to an interview with Steve and Captain Daniel here:
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The Webster definition of “valor” is “strength of mind or spirit that enables a person to encounter danger with firmness” and that was required this year more than any other for the peanut industry.
In recognition for his strength and leadership of the peanut industry during a time of crisis, American Peanut Council president Patrick Archer received the Valor Award, presented by Valent USA.
Patrick says this year is one he hopes he never has to repeat. “The recall started January 9th and was greatly expanded the following weekend, which was inauguration week in Washington DC,” Patrick said. “The city was in lock down, we had to work from home. It made a difficult situation even more of a challenge.”
He credits everyone in the peanut industry with the massive communications effort that helped get information out that eventually helped to resolve the situation. “The industry really pulled together during the crisis and everybody from the grower all the way through the manufacturer really worked hard in a concerted and coordinated effort to combat the problem,” Patrick said.
Listen to an interview with Patrick here:
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Soybean growers now have a new brand to add to their arsenal of seed options. This one from Pioneer Hi-Bred.
Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business, today introduced Plenish as the brand name for the high oleic soybean oil trait in the next generation of healthy soybean products from Pioneer. These products will bring more value to soybean growers in high-performing varieties and increased global competitiveness for the U.S. soybean industry.
The Plenish high oleic soybean oil trait will be introduced in the industry-leading lineup of Pioneer® brand soybean varieties. These varieties are on track for a limited introduction in the U.S. for 2010 planting, pending regulatory approval, and will be offered in a broad range of maturity groups.
“Pioneer leads the industry in the development and commercialization of soybean traits that benefit everyone from growers to consumers,” says John Muenzenberger, Pioneer business manager for specialty oils. “Developed through the Pioneer exclusive Accelerated Yield Technology (AYTTM) system and launched in the Y Series product line, these soybean varieties will have the key agronomic and defensive traits growers want, including resistance to SCN, Phytophthora and SDS. Also making it attractive to growers will be the opportunity to receive a premium for producing and segregating their high oleic crop.
Get your sweet tooth ready for Florida’s “pure” honey standard in Florida! According the the Miami Herald Breaking Business News, Nirvi Shah reports about Florida’s big step towards producing pure honey for the world.
Florida has become the first state — and possibly the first in the world — to ban additives, chemicals or other substances from honey produced, sold or processed in Florida.
”Too often in the past, honey has been cut with water or sugar, and sometimes even contaminated with insecticides or antibiotics,” said Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson. “In the future, when you’re paying for honey in this state, pure honey is what you will get.”
Are you geared up for the Cattle Industry Summer Conference in Denver? I’m getting ready and packing my suitcase for an exciting week with beef cattle raisers from around the country. There are so many things to see in do while at the conference, and I will be working with Cindy to cover the Cattlemen’s Beef Board meetings and events throughout the week.
Be sure to catch us at our new media workshops, where we will be discussing blogging tips and tricks for effectively telling the beef production story. I hope to meet a lot of you there! Who knows, maybe we will even stop you for an interview! See you there!
For a full schedule of events at the Cattle Industry Summer Convention, link here.
If you like to marinade your beef before cooking it then you might want to think Schwan’s courtesy of The Chicago Meat Authority. Take this Marinade on Demand Chimichurri Beef. Yes, Marinade on Demand. It doesn’t get any more convenient than that.
Marinate with all of the flavor but none of the mess. SCHWAN’S® exclusive packaging lets you marinade your meat all in one package-no additional bowls needed! This self-marinating package contains USDA Choice Ranch steaks and a popular South American Chimichurri marinade made with cilantro, onion, garlic, bell pepper, parsley and lime juice. Just thaw, marinade and grill for steak house perfection.
I’m pretty sure the Joint New Products & Culinary Initiatives Committee of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and NCBA had something to do with this.
But let’s say you’d like to have a nice pork dinner and wish there was a way to do the same. There is. Isn’t life wonderful? Try Schwan’s Marinade on Demand Herb and Garlic Pork.
Hello from Panama City Beach, Florida and the Southern Peanut Growers Conference.
The theme of the 11th annual conference is really a tribute to the U.S. peanut industry for overcoming adversity in 2009.
Everyone knows that this year has been a tough one for the industry, starting out with the salmonella issue in January. But, Georgia Peanut Commission executive director Don Koehler says the industry has come back stronger than ever after what could have been a complete crisis.
“Farmers are really resilient and even though it wasn’t a crisis they caused themselves, we have made it through,” Don says. “And the really good news is that our May 2009 numbers for peanut butter were 13 1/2 percent over what we did in May 2008.”
That is truly an amazing example of crisis management and communications, two topics growers will be hearing about during the conference this week, as well as an even bigger emphasis on food safety than ever before. “We want to make sure that can never happen again,” said Don. “But, when you look at it, we’ve got to take our hats off and maybe even bow just a little bit to the growers and to the peanut industry in general.”
See all the coverage of the peanut conference here on the SPGC blog.
The SPGC Flickr Photo Album is started – view it here and keep checking back as photos will continue to be updated throughout the conference.
Listen to an interview with Don here:
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It sounds like our agricultural marketing friends in Alberta are becoming more active. Thanks to Janet Kanters for an update. We’ll see her in Ft. Worth, TX very soon for the combined IFAJ/AMS meeting.
After several years, the Alberta CAMA Chapter hosted its first meeting in April at Olds College in Olds, Alta. Over 60 people attended the networking social and meeting where they learned more about CAMA and discussed an action plan for the newly revived Alberta Chapter. The guest speaker was Steve Warme, Woodruff Sweitzer Calgary, who provided insight on the latest tools and techniques being used for social media marketing, what is currently happening in the agricultural world online and how best to harness current and emerging tools.
Following this successful meeting, a smaller group of CAMA Alberta members held a ‘Rebuilding CAMA Alberta Workshop’ on June 15, with 15 eager ag marketers raring and willing to help get CAMA Alberta back up and running after several years of being MIA.
Much discussion took place around the configuration and number of board members required for the resurrected Chapter. And a new CAMA Alberta slogan was adopted: ‘Building Success in Agri-Marketing’.
Other discussion took place around the constitution, how the executive/board would function, and the cost of yearly membership. There was also general discussion around having a student chapter.
Finally, the group discussed how best to attract members to the organization, via PR/press, education, events and a blog. All ideas were felt to have a positive impact to raise the profile of the Alberta Chapter and drive membership sales.
A CAMA Alberta kick-off barbecue is being planned in the Calgary area for late August 2009. More details to follow as plans evolve.
- Ag Leader Technology recently broke ground on Ag Leader Academy, a 25,000 square-foot facility dedicated to providing the ag industry with specialized, hands-on training of precision farming systems.
- United Fresh Produce Association is gratified to see key produce industry objectives incorporated in the Obama Administration’s food safety recommendations being announced at the White House.
- On the eve of the Russia-USA Business Forum in Moscow, Deere & Company announced that it is prepared to significantly expand its farm, forestry, and construction operations in Russia, reinforcing Deere’s long-term commitment to a market in which John Deere has had a presence for nearly 130 years.
- Elecsys Corporation announced that it has signed an Electronic Design and Manufacturing Services Agreement with Reinke Manufacturing Company, Inc.
This is just too good to pass over. The following is new media advice from Trent Reznor, Nine Inch Nails, to artists about ways to market themselves. It’s for anyone though regardless of what industry you’re in. He just plain gets it and says it better than I can. He sure hits the nail on the head about removing flash from your website. I guess web designers just like to show off and don’t really care about the user experience.
Have your MySpace page, but get a site outside MySpace – it’s dying and reads as cheap / generic. Remove all Flash from your website. Remove all stupid intros and load-times. MAKE IT SIMPLE TO NAVIGATE AND EASY TO FIND AND HEAR MUSIC (but don’t autoplay). Constantly update your site with content – pictures, blogs, whatever. Give people a reason to return to your site all the time. Put up a bulletin board and start a community. Engage your fans (with caution!) Make cheap videos. Film yourself talking. Play shows. Make interesting things. Get a Twitter account. Be interesting. Be real. Submit your music to blogs that may be interested. NEVER CHASE TRENDS. Utilize the multitude of tools available to you for very little cost of any – Flickr / YouTube / Vimeo / SoundCloud / Twitter etc.
If you don’t know anything about new media or how people communicate these days, none of this will work. The role of an independent musician these days requires a mastery of first hand use of these tools. If you don’t get it – find someone who does to do this for you. If you are waiting around for the phone to ring or that A & R guy to show up at your gig – good luck, you’re going to be waiting a while.
Thank You Podcasting News.
I don’t know what you think about it but it sure seems to me like we’ve got a government that thinks that the answer to every problem in our society can be fixed with a new program and new taxes. I’m just wondering where in the world they think that money is going to come from.
Here’s the latest backlash I’ve seen. This one is in response to the idea that we should tax certain foods and beverages. I don’t see how anyone can believe we can solve things like obesity by taxes. I think the government is doing more than enough to provide good food and nutrition information to the public. Food companies are already providing plenty of information on which you can make an informed decision about what you eat. Isn’t there a point when people have to be responsible for their own decisions? If someone wants to drink a case of soda in two days isn’t it their responsibility to deal with the consequences?
I just found out about this organization called Americans Against Food Taxes. I’ve got a feeling we’re going to see a lot more of this type of activity. You can follow them on Twitter too.
Americans Against Food Taxes is a coalition of concerned citizens – responsible individuals, financially strapped families, small and large businesses in communities across the country – opposed to the Government’s proposed tax hike on food and beverages, including soda, juice drinks, and flavored milks. The coalition has twin primary aims: 1) To promote a healthy economy and healthy lifestyles by educating Americans about smart solutions that rely upon science, economic realities and common sense; and 2) To prevent the enactment of this regressive and discriminatory tax that will not teach our children how to have a healthy lifestyle, and will have no meaningful impact on child behavior or public health, but will have a negative impact on American families struggling in this economy.
I’m on board with this idea. Of course I guess we can’t expect common sense to be used by legislators anymore or can we?
U.S. Wheat Associates welcomed Shawn Campbell as the new Assistant Director, West Coast Office, Portland, OR, July 6, 2009.
USW’s West Coast Office staff maintains a liaison with the grain export trade and constituent state wheat commissions, hosts visiting foreign trade delegations, leads the USW crop quality improvement efforts, and serves the needs of USW offices around the world.
While at the University of Idaho, Campbell received undergraduate degrees in agribusiness and agricultural systems management and a master’s degree in agricultural economics. He also participated in the University of Idaho’s College of Agriculture Tour of Taiwan in 2007 and interned for Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company in Puunene, HI. His professional experience working as an agricultural economist for a cattle feedlot in Alberta, Canada, and growing up on a ranch in Condon, OR, also speak to Campbell’s knowledge of the many stages of agriculture that he will apply in his new position.
- Cooperatives Working Together has now finished the farm audits of its seventh herd retirement round since the program was started in 2003, removing 101,040 cows that produced almost two billion pounds of milk.
- Hoosier Ag Today has announced a new service to deliver time sensitive information wirelessly: current weather, market, and farm news to any web-enabled wireless device.
- This year, Hay & Forage Grower will be partnering with the National Alfalfa & Forage Alliance to publish the “Fall Dormancy & Pest Resistance Ratings for Alfalfa Varieties 2010 Edition” in the November 2009 issue of Hay & Forage Grower.
- LibertyLink soybeans are now available through more than 100 seed companies, providing growers expanded maturity range of 0.5 to 5.9 and enhanced agronomic performance packages.
I was very saddened to learn of the passing away of Jack Eberspacher, Ag Retailers Association. Cindy and I knew Jack first when he led what is now the National Sorghum Producers. We’ve had the opportunity to interview him and share good times and fellowship many times and he will be sorely missed. Here’s a statement by ARA:
Jack Eberspacher, president and chief executive officer of the Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA), died peacefully in his sleep on July 5, 2009 at the Inova Cameron Glen Care Center in Reston, Virginia. Eberspacher was out on indefinite medical leave from ARA after a diagnosis of cancer in late April of this year.
“ARA and the industry lost a dynamic leader and true visionary,” said ARA Chairman Ken Manning of Wilbur-Ellis Company. “Jack worked tirelessly to build this organization into the strong voice for agricultural retailers and distributors we have today in the nation’s Capitol. He always stressed the importance of ARA listening to its members and providing value to those members. Due to his efforts, we have an experienced and very capable team at ARA who are committed to seeing Jack’s and the Board of Director’s vision for the organization fulfilled. ARA has a solid foundation in place that will only get stronger through the active involvement of its members and the industry.”
Here’s a statement (pdf) from NSP:
“Jack was our colleague and dear friend,” said Tim Lust, NSP CEO. “His leadership carried this organization both through rough patches and tremendous growth. He cast a remarkable vision for NSP and never let the organization stray from its farmer members and the basics.”
Friends of Jack Eberspacher have set up an educational trust for his children. Please make checks payable to the “Sam and Maggie Eberspacher Educational Trust.” Memorials may be mailed to:
Bank of America, N.A.
c/o Carolyn F. Grant-Suite
8300 Greensboro Drive
Suite 500
McLean, VA 22102
A memorial service is scheduled for Saturday, July 11, at 2:30 p.m., at the Vienna Presbyterian Church in Vienna, Virginia. A reception will be held at the church immediately following the service. The church is located at 124 Park Street, NE. Click here for driving directions and parking locations near the church. Those wishing to attend the memorial service can obtain more information about travel and lodging here.
Let’s move from hamburgers to hot dogs. These tasty staples of the American diet owe a lot to the guys at Oscar Meyer.
Well, past Chairman Oscar Mayer has passed away at the age of 95. That’s right. Shows what a good hot dog will do for you. He was the third person of that name in the family to work for the company.
Turnabout is fair play, as they say. Some of you may remember the Steak Sundae post here on Agwired about three years ago that generated lots of comments from anti-meat eaters who thought it was disgusting.
So, how about this? Ice Cream Hamburger Treats, a recipe from Blue Bunny. These are “cool” – in more ways than one.
The burger is chocolate ice cream, the grill marks are licorice sticks, the ketchup is red gel frosting, the mustard is yellow food coloring in marshmallow cream, the pickles are sliced green gum drops, and the bun is a dessert sponge cup with sesame seeds on top.
Check out the recipe on BlueBunny.com for a fun summer treat that kids will love!
The Renewable Fuels Association has launched a new online destination for ethanol information called Choose Ethanol.
The new website features a section dedicated exclusively to E85, plus a news center and quick facts, as well as links to follow RFA on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Flickr.
The site also invites visitors to sign up to “stay informed, share your stories and become a part of the discussion about clean, renewable fuel in the United States.”
The website address is www.chooseethanol.com.
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In this week's program Chuck talks with David Armano, Global Innovation and Integration.
