Better control of the air that hogs breathe offers the greatest promise for preventing the transmission of PRRSv that the industry has ever seen.
That is what Dr. Scott Dee with the Swine Disease Eradication Center in Minnesota told producers attending the Boehringer Ingelheim swine health seminar in North Carolina.
We have chatted with Dr. Dee before here on Agwired – most recently at World Pork Expo – and his main message is one of optimism for ultimately eradicating PRRS. “I’ve just never seen anything work like this before, where we can actually protect a farm from a neighbor virus,” Scott says about using air filtration for hog operations, which are being studied long term at the research center in Minnesota.
Cost may be a limiting factor for producers, but Scott says they have seen even the most expensive systems can pay for themselves in one year.
Nominate someone you know for the Professional Development Awards of Excellence. These awards will be presented at the 2009 Trends in Agriculture fall meeting, November 10-11, at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center in Kansas City. Application deadline: Sept. 1.
Monsanto Company has announced that Terry Crews, 53, executive vice president and chief financial officer, will retire from the company effective Nov. 30, 2009. Carl Casale, 48, currently executive vice president of strategy and operations, has been named as Crews’ successor effective Sept. 1, 2009.
SePRO Corporation is pleased to announce the promotion of Sam Barrick to the position of director, SePRO aquatics business unit.
Call me biased, but I think my sister Kaley is one of the coolest kids on the planet. We have nine years in age difference, but it doesn’t seem to matter. We are like two peas in a pod. She is into the same stuff I was as a kid: showing cattle and giving speeches. Yesterday, my mom and my sisters, Kaley and Courtney, went to Sioux Falls, S.D. to attend the 70th Annual Sioux Empire Fair to watch Kaley compete in the 4-H CHARACTER COUNTS! speech contest.
Like any good, older sister, I taped her speech and critiqued her when she was finished. When she didn’t make it to finals, I encouraged her to find areas of improvement and give it a shot next year. For the remainder of the day, we watched the other speeches, attended the free pork luncheon for Ag Appreciation Day and then ditched the fair to head to the mall shopping (it was an all-girl trip, what did you expect?) Anyway, it got me thinking. We get so involved in our day-to-day tasks, chores and errands, do we often slow down to make sure our character is in check? Do you have your respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, trustworthiness and citizenship with you at all times? CHARACTER COUNTS! is a great program to ask ourselves those questions to make sure that we are the best we can be.
For more information on this program, link here. And, Kaley…Happy Early Birthday! You’re almost a teenager! The big 13! I’m proud of you, little sister!
Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc. (BIVI) is passionate about pigs, which is why working with producers to control PRRSv is so important to them.
Dale Polson, with technical resources in the swine segment of BIVI, was first up on the company’s annual swine health seminar in Carolina Beach today and his presentation talked about the “Golden Rule” of PRRS control. “Transmit unto your neighbor as you would have your neighbor transmit unto you,” Polson said. In other words, “To maximize PRRS control, it can’t be just what you do, it has to be what you and your neighbor do.” That means a coordinated regional control initiative.
Dale applies the Stockdale Paradox – “Confront the brutal facts, but never give up” – to the PRRS situation. “PRRS is a tough disease, probably the hardest one we have ever faced,” he said. “Confronting the brutal facts is facing the need to cooperate but never giving up is then doing the work, because it is a lot of work to do right.”
It only seems fitting that a group known for encouraging original thought and innovative ideas for the agriculture industry would pick a man known for his irreverent style and sharp intellect to lead them. Professor of agricultural economics at Kansas State University, Barry Flinchbaugh, is now the Chair of the Board of Trustees of Farm Foundation.
Farm Foundation included some biographical information about Flinchbaugh in its announcement… and that information certainly explains why he has been picked for the information:
Flinchbaugh has taught at Kansas State since 1971, focusing on national agricultural and economic policy. He is much sought after as a speaker, and has authored more than 100 publications, including an agricultural policy textbook. On three occasions students of the KSU College of Agriculture have given him the Outstanding Teacher Award. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Pennsylvania State University, and a Ph.D. at Purdue University.
Flinchbaugh chaired the Commission on 21st Century Production Agriculture authorized in the 1996 Farm Bill. He has led Kansas Agricultural People-to-People tours to the Soviet Union, China, the South Pacific and Africa. Flinchbaugh is a member of Rotary International, serves on the Board of the Kansas City Board of Trade and KARL Inc. He is a recipient of the prestigious Hildreth Award for career achievement in public policy education, as well as distinguished service awards from the American Farm Bureau Federation and the American Agricultural Editors Association.
As you might remember from our coverage of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists Congress/Ag Media Summit on Domestic Fuel and AgWired.com, Flinchbaugh was involved in the “Great Debate” with former Texas congressman Charlie Stenholm. You can also check out some pics from that summit on Flickr.
The annual Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc. (BIVI) North Carolina Swine Health Seminar started off with a seafood supper and fireworks on the beach Thursday night.
The location is beautiful Carolina Beach at the Courtyard Marriott and the weather was beautiful this evening. The event will include a day long business session on Friday featuring the latest in swine health information for producers – and then a day of fun on Saturday for fishers, golfers and beach goers.
I’ll be #oink tweeting from the sessions on Friday – be sure to re-tweet and show support for our nation’s pork producers!
Yesterday, I attended the 70th Annual Sioux Empire Fair in Sioux Falls, S.D. While there, I stopped at the infamous Old MacDonald’s Farm, the destination for urban kids to come learn about farm life. I had a minute to chat with FFA member Gabrielle Emmett about her experiences in working at the barn. Here is what she had to say…
“Through FFA and the Old MacDonald’s Farm project, I have been able to work alongside some great people while growing as an individual,” said Emmett, who is also active in cross country, National Honor Society, National Forensics League and Floriculture and Agriculture Issues in FFA. “Old MacDonald’s farm is a lot of work, especially setting up, lining up animals and cleaning up afterwards, but I think it’s a clean, well-organized, safe environment for kids to learn about farms and ranches.”
At each station of the barn hung different agriculture facts for young people to read as they viewed the farm animals. Did you know that there are 3,700,000 cattle in South Dakota compared to 750,000 people? Did you know that a dairy cow producers 200,000 cups of milk in her lifetime? These are a few examples of the educational tidbits included in the display. For Emmett, the best part of the day is watching the kids interact with the animals.
“The little kids really enjoy visiting the Old MacDonald’s farm at the fair,” said Emmett. “It’s really rewarding to watch kids look at big farm animals for the very first time. It seems like the parents really enjoy the display, as well. It’s really an eye opener to realize that this is the only exposure some people have to the agriculture industry, and we are happy to provide that opportunity to the community.”
At the conclusion of the IFAJ Congress and Ag Media Summit there were a number of tours.
Thanks to Denny McClintic I have a photo of the group that went on the South Texas tour. He also sent a few more which have been added to the IFAJ Congress/Ag Media Summit Photo Album. I think I have more coming from the other tours which will be added to the album when I receive them.
My main man Russell Graves has been putting his new Canon 5D Mark II digital SLR to good use in the production of his Hunt Junkies show. He needed a new camera after his previous one met with the “untimely death” referred to in his description of the latest episode. I talked Russell into attending the recent Ag Media Summit and had planned to be there to introduce him around. That didn’t work out but I hope you got to meet him if you were there. He’s a good writer and photographer.
A long time coming, this latest episode of Hunt Junkies is the first ever fishing episode and takes place in the beautiful Devils River country of Southwest Texas. Adventure, fun, and even an untimely death
Cindy is on her way to North Carolina and the Boehringer Ingelheim, Swine Health Seminar. I am jealous since I got to cover this event last year and it’s a really good one.
So, expect to find out what’s going on with BIVI over the next couple days and hopefully we’ll see some tweets from @FarmPodcaster. Which reminds me. Like we did with showing support for dairy producers on Sunday by using the #moo hashtag in our tweets, this Sunday it’s time to show support pork producers by using the hashtag #oink in your tweets on Sunday. Let’s show the Twitterverse our support for pork! As @AFBFMace puts it in one of his tweets, “Going 2 make twttr #oink at 9 am EST, Sun. Aug. 16. Set yr alarm. Goal: It’s H1N1, not Swine Flu. Spread the wrd.”
Ag Leader Technology brought their Ag Media Summit booth to my office today via UPS. It’s true. Editors attending the Ag Media Summit found a briefcase in their hotel room and had to go to the Ag Leader Technology booth to crack the code to open them. The theme was, “Mission: Precision II, Operation Crack the Code.”
So, I just received mine today and it contains a number of items like coffee mug, memory stick, t-shirt, etc. And it all comes in a nice briefcase! Very handy and I would call it a stand out item.
Ag Leader Technology is a new long term sponsor of our Precision Pays website btw. We’ll be working with them over the next year to help bring new and useful information about the latest precision farming techniques and equipment to farmers and I’m sure some of that will find its way to AgWired too.
Plant disease experts at the American Phytopathological Society annual meeting are preparing to potentially do battle with a new strain of wheat stem rust.
Washington State University plant pathologist Tim Murray says wheat stem rust has been in the United States since the early 1900s but this new strain could pose new problems. “The Ug99 strain is a new strain of this fungus that emerged in Africa in 1999,” he said. “That fungus has since spread in West Africa and there is concern in the United States that if it eventually gets here it could cause problems.” Over 80 percent of the wheat varieties currently grown globally are susceptible to the disease.
Scientists in the U.S. are working together coordinating a surveillance program to watch for the fungus, similar to the Asian soybean rust program. “It’s very similar to Asian soybean rust with the rusty red color on the plants and both spread by aerial spores,” Tim said.
No time frame for when, or if, the fungus could arrive in the U.S., but Tim says they are working on a recovery plan and they are investigating which fungicide will be most effective on it. “There are materials registered now that can be used,” he said.
Listen or download to an interview with Tim Murray here:
Farm Journal Media announced that Mike Morgan has joined the company as Vice President, Publishing Operations where he will oversee both magazine production and circulation for all Farm Journal Media magazine titles.
Arenus recently acquired the intellectual property, technology and product lines of Equilite, Inc.: the Sore No-More Liniment Product Line, Herbal Supplement line and Botanical Animal Flower Essence line.
Nolan Ryan’s All-Natural Beef is debuting new, smaller packages of fully cooked burger patties and mini-burger patties (sliders). The new packages will feature an updated look, resealable opening, a lower price point and be available in the freezer section.
When animal lovers get together, they tell stories about their dogs, cats, and horses. They share advice. They recommend products they’ve learned to trust. That’s the idea behind ProbioticSmart.com, the newest customer-focused division of BVPI.
Registrants can participate in a myriad of topical sessions including land use change, nitrous oxide, new technologies and their effect on greenhouse gas emissions, domestic and international yields, satellite data and land conversion greenhouse gas emission factors, defining renewable biomass, and distillers grains.
“This conference provides a unique opportunity to get the latest information on land use from some of the most prominent experts in industry and academia. We are fortunate to have speakers representing each of the various models used in developing the rules implementing the new Renewable Fuel Standard,” said Jamey Cline, NCGA Director of Biofuel Programs.
Presenters already scheduled for the conference include Dr. Bruce Dale of Michigan State University, Dr. Wally Tyner of Purdue University, Dr. Pat Westhoff of the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute and Dr. Michael Wang of Argonne National Laboratory.
Cost for the conference is $250, and includes refreshments, a cocktail reception and lunch. The meeting will take place at the Renaissance St. Louis Airport Hotel. Registration information is available on-line.
Holistic health for horses just got a little better.
Horse and pet nutrition and health products company Arenus of St. Charles, MO recently acquired the intellectual property, technology and product lines of Equilite, Inc.
According to a press release, Equilite provides many all-natural herbal health products that are safe for horses, horse owners and the environment. Ingredients are human grade and made in the US without sugars, fillers or chemical additives.
Arenus acquired Equilite’s three product lines: the Sore No-More® Liniment Product Line, Herbal Supplement line and Botanical Animal® Flower Essence line, totaling 39 individual products. Other Equilite products include bathing, fly control, general health, behavioral training, relaxation, liniment and legs, as well as natural pasture seed.
ARENUS® is owned by Novus Nutrition Brands, LLC (a Novus International company) and is specifically dedicated to improving the health, performance, and longevity of all horses and dogs.
Speaking of NAFB . . . They have announced their 2009 Foundation Scholarship Recipients.
The NAFB Foundation has awarded three scholarships to college students actively seeking a career in agricultural journalism and communications. The recipients will be formally recognized at the Foundation Luncheon on Wednesday, November 11 at the NAFB Annual Convention in Kansas City, Mo.
Selected for the Glenn Kummerow Memorial Scholarship of $5,000 is DeAnna Schertz of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. DeAnna is a college senior, majoring in Agricultural Communications with a concentration in broadcast journalism and advertising.
Iowa State University junior Chet Hollingshead, recipient of a $4,000 NAFB Foundation Scholarship, grew up on his family’s corn, soybean and pork production farm in Iowa. Chet is majoring in Agricultural Education with a communications option, and plans to become a farm broadcaster when he graduates.
Mattie Nutley is the third NAFB Foundation Scholarship winner of 2009 and recipient of $4,000 toward her junior year at Oklahoma State University. Mattie grew up in rural Oklahoma, where her family has a ranch with Angus cattle and grows alfalfa.
The NAFB Foundation also announced new directors including, Tami Craig Schilling, Monsanto, Don Borgman, John Deere, Eric Brown, Rural Radio Network/KRVN and Lyle Orwig, Charleston-Orwig.
It’s time to book your room and reservation for this year’s National Association of Farm Broadcasting convention. You can hear a message from Greg Akagi about the convention here (mp3).
Registrations are filtering in and hotel rooms are booking up fast! Don’t miss out on the agri-media event of the year…”Connecting: 2010 and Beyond”…the 65th Annual Convention of NAFB. Be sure to block November 11-13 on your calendar.
Follow these steps to make sure you are ready for Kansas City:
NAFB is not mailing this information via Postal mail, so it is important to access these online forms. If you have any questions, please contact the NAFB office at 816.431.4032.
Don’t forget you can book your flight for a discounted fare through Midwest Airlines, using Promo Code CMZ1675.
Here are a couple of new online resources to get information about food and farming in the United States today. Both are backed by the Center For Food Integrity.
Best Food Facts employs the Food Integrity Index.
The Food Integrity Index is designed to provide balanced, objective information to help consumers make informed choices. We have partnered with leading universities to provide information on common questions or issues about the contemporary US food system. The Index provides a quick overview of the issue and the conclusions. A link is provided to the full research for more information.
The other site is Farmers Feed Us.
Across our great country, farmers and ranchers work each day to produce the food you and your family enjoy. To us, farming is much more than our chosen profession. It is a commitment to providing you with safe, nutritious and affordable food, caring for our animals and our land, and giving back to our communities.
We invite you to explore this site and learn more about what we do each and every day. You can tour our farms, meet our families, and see for yourself how we grow the food that ends up on your family’s table.
Here are the organizations supporting the CFI.
The Center for Food Integrity is supported by more than 20 organizations representing each segment of the food chain, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, Dairy Management Inc., Elanco Animal Health, Fair Oaks Dairy Farm, Foster Farms, Indiana Farm Bureau, Indiana Packers Company, Indiana Soybean Alliance, Indiana State Department of Agriculture, International Association of Fairs and Expositions, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, Kentucky Soybean Promotion Board, Michigan State University, Missouri Department of Agriculture, Monsanto, National Pork Board, National Pork Producers Council, Novus International, Ohio Farm Bureau, Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin, Purdue University, United Egg Producers, and United Soybean Board.
During the recent Ag Media Summit my friends at Gibbs & Soell conducted an “Ag Industry Pulse Check: Use of Digital and Social Media.” It’s a survey of attendees to gauge their feedback on the subject. To learn about the results I spoke with Gardner Hatch, who you can contact to get the full story.
It was very interesting to note that although over 94% expressed high levels of confidence with proposing the use of digital and social media, a high number (39.7%) said their top challenge was “unclear ROI to justify efforts.” So although they like and are comfortable with new media options they aren’t clear how to justify them. I think it’s interesting since these social media mechanisms are so “measurable.” However, there seems to me to be a lingering fear and or distrust of using measurements that don’t include all of a person’s demographic data. As if somehow, the visitors to a blog on agriculture aren’t farmers. Of course, some may not be but on the other hand why would you not think that visitors to a topical blog are involved or at least very interested in the subject?
Gibbs & Soell also had a drawing at the Ag Media Summit for a new iPod touch. The winner is Bob Callanan, American Soybean Association.
So, listen to my conversation with Gardner as he reviews the results of the survey and we discuss what they mean.
The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired. Subscribe so you can listen when and where you want. Just go to our Subscribe page.
Looking ahead to the Farm Progress Show, there’s already a lot of activity on the site, including exhibitors. Take Monsanto for example. They’re not only busy but you can follow along since they have several web options.
To keep up with the latest activity at this year’s site, simply do so from the comfort of your own home or office by viewing the work online with the Monsanto Farm Progress Show blog and watching the live webcam.
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.
Better control of the air that hogs breathe offers the greatest promise for preventing the transmission of PRRSv that the industry has ever seen.
It only seems fitting that a group known for encouraging original thought and innovative ideas for the agriculture industry would pick a man known for his irreverent style and sharp intellect to lead them. Professor of agricultural economics at Kansas State University, Barry Flinchbaugh, is now the Chair of the Board of Trustees of Farm Foundation. 
The annual 
The location is beautiful Carolina Beach at the Courtyard Marriott and the weather was beautiful this evening. The event will include a day long business session on Friday featuring the latest in swine health information for producers – and then a day of fun on Saturday for fishers, golfers and beach goers.
At the conclusion of the IFAJ Congress and Ag Media Summit there were a number of tours.
Cindy is on her way to North Carolina and the Boehringer Ingelheim, Swine Health Seminar. I am jealous since I got to cover this event last year and it’s a really good one.
Plant disease experts at the 
If you are concerned about the indirect land use change (ILUC) issue, you should plan to attend the 
Holistic health for horses just got a little better.
According to a 
Speaking of NAFB . . . They have announced their 2009 Foundation Scholarship Recipients.
It’s time to book your room and reservation for this year’s National Association of Farm Broadcasting convention. You can hear a message from Greg Akagi about the convention 
Here are a couple of new online resources to get information about food and farming in the United States today. Both are backed by the 
The other site is 
During the recent Ag Media Summit my friends at 
It was very interesting to note that although over 94% expressed high levels of confidence with proposing the use of digital and social media, a high number (39.7%) said their top challenge was “unclear ROI to justify efforts.” So although they like and are comfortable with new media options they aren’t clear how to justify them. I think it’s interesting since these social media mechanisms are so “measurable.” However, there seems to me to be a lingering fear and or distrust of using measurements that don’t include all of a person’s demographic data. As if somehow, the visitors to a blog on agriculture aren’t farmers. Of course, some may not be but on the other hand why would you not think that visitors to a topical blog are involved or at least very interested in the subject?
Looking ahead to the Farm Progress Show, there’s already a lot of activity on the site, including exhibitors. Take Monsanto for example. They’re not only busy but you can follow along since they have several web options.
In this week's program Chuck talks with David Armano, Global Innovation and Integration.
