Jim Evans, Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, has written a great article about the use of blogs in agricultural communications. It’s titled, “Why and how journalists around the world are using blogs to cover agriculture” and you can find it on the IFAJ website. Here’s an excerpt:
During late 2005 agricultural communications researchers Emily Rhoades and Kelsey Hall conducted what may be the first analysis of agricultural blogs. They analyzed 52 agriculture blogs originating in North America and concluded that agricultural communicators cannot ignore blogging. You can read an abstract of their study and findings at: http://www.aceweb.org/JAC/index.html > Issues > 2007
By early 2009, time spent on social networks and blogs had become the fourth most popular online activity, ahead of personal email. The Nielsen Company reported that, globally, one in every 11 minutes online is accounted for by social network and blogging sites. The share of time accounted for by such sites increased 38% between December 2007 and December 2008. In Brazil, for example, 23% of minutes spent online in December 2008 involved social network and blogging sites. You can review a summary of findings at: http://www.nielsen-online.com/pr_090309.pdf
The IFAJ home page now features a repository of agricultural blogs from IFAJ members everywhere. You can view it at www.ifaj.org > “Join the global agricultural blogosphere”
- A comprehensive scientific review suggests that Converted Organics liquid agricultural fertilizers boost disease suppression characteristics in plants due to the product’s diversity of anti-oxidants and hormones.
- The initial class has been elected to the newly formed MEAT INDUSTRY HALL OF FAME. The 21 new members were chosen in voting by the Hall’s Board of Trustees from among more than 70 executives, researchers, innovators and association leaders across all sectors of the industry.
- Organized by Farm Journal Magazine and sponsored by StollerUSA, the second annual Corn College was held July 21-24. Stoller provided information on how farmers can best protect their expensive seed investment by maximizing genetic expression.
- The Agricultural Retailers Association is currently accepting nominations for the Agricultural Retailer of the Year Award.
AgWired coverage of IFAJ 2009 is sponsored by:
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The Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB) would like its producers to get to know them better, says Lynn Heinz, the executive director of communications. The organization serves all the 800,000 beef producers in the country, and is working with ag journalists to help them get their message out. In some cases this is with paid advertising, and in others it is to help them develop story ideas.
Since they are helping journalists come up with story ideas, I thought I’d ask him for a few ideas. So we discussed some of the key issues facing beef producers today.
“One of the things we’ve seen all summer with the economic situation, people have moved away from traditional steaks and those kinds of more expensive product. We’re working with retailers to help them feature those kinds of items. We’re helping consumers understand how to use something like the flatiron were they can still have the steak experience but at a lower cost.”
CBB is also working with exporters to meet the increased demand of Russia, Europe and Asia for middle meats. But this is the tip of the iceberg in terms of what CBB is doing to promote its beef producers. To hear more, listen to the full interview with Lynn.
You can see all our pictures in the IFAJ/AMS 2009 Photo Album.
You can listen to my full interview with Lynn here.
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There are a lot of agricultural policy concerns today and the Farm Foundation is taking an active role in helping DC adopt better legislation. The organization notes that agriculture is important and ag policy is important, and their role is to bring divergent views together and provide a forum for discussion. During these discussions, The Farm Foundation lets the best policies arise and then provides the outlet for policy makers to take advantage of these ideas. However, the organization does not lobby, but simply provides the best information for policy makers to use.
I asked Sheldon Jones what key issues they have been dealing with and he mentioned two: food prices and the agriculture’s role in feeding and fueling the world.
“A year ago when food prices were increasing and there were food riots around the world, we commissioned a study from three economists at Purdue on what are the real drivers to food prices. They reviewed literature, assessed the global demand for food and what were the driving factors including fuel, petroleum prices, world stocks, supplies of grain and more.”
The organization issued a report last July which they updated six months later, “What’s Driving Food Prices? and have also issued a report on global food and fuel demand, “The 30 -Year Challenge: Agriculture’s Strategic Role In Feeding and Fueling a Growing World“.
You can see all our pictures in the IFAJ/AMS 2009 Photo Album.
You can listen to my full interview with Sheldon here.
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Our photo album for the IFAJ Congress/Ag Media Summit has been giving us fits the last few days. Flickr is great but every once in a while . . .
So, I’ve got most of our photos re-uploaded and ready for your viewing pleasure.
Here’s the link to use for IFAJ Congress/Ag Media Summit photos:
IFAJ/AMS 2009 Photo Album
Allen Moczygemba has been busy creating a new enterprise.
The Haymond Group, LLC a new marketing consulting firm with an emphasis on providing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) expertise has been formed to serve agribusiness clients.
Industry veteran Allen Moczygemba has been named President of The Haymond Group, which is being funded with private equity. Joining Moczygemba on the management team of The Haymond Group are longtime livestock industry member, Bill Stovell who has been named Vice President, Business Development and Nicholas Poulos, Vice President, Customer Relationship Management.
In making the announcement, Moczygemba said, “I’m really excited about heading up this new business venture. I feel that there’s a real opportunity for our services as more and more agribusiness firms attempt to integrate CRM programs into their current marketing strategies. The Haymond Group’s mission is to provide focus and management across the key business disciplines of marketing, sales and channel management as they relate to Customer Relationship Management. Our strength will be leveraging the tremendous amount of business experience of the three principals of The Haymond Group as we work alongside clients to craft business designs that are both customer focused and customer based.”
A graduate of Southwest Texas State University in 1987 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Communications, Moczygemba has spent his entire career in agribusiness. His business experience includes sales, marketing, communications and event management. Most recently, he served as a member of the senior management team at Farm Journal Media where he had P&L responsibility for various business units. He also has served on several Board of Directors including World Dairy Expo, Livestock Publications Council, United States Canola Association and the National Agri-Marketing Association.
The results are in for the American Farmland Trust’s America’s Favorite Farmers Markets contest. Thousands of votes were cast. You can see a list of the top twenty here.
The winners for this year are:
Large
Davis Farmers Market
Davis, CA
Votes: 3032
Medium
Williamsburg Farmers Market
Williamsburg, VA
Votes: 725
Small
Collingswood Farmers Market
Collingswood, NJ
Votes: 1027
Peanut butter is one of my favorite foods. I’m also choosy enough to choose Jif. Now Jif has a contest going that will award some college scholarships. So get your peanut butter creativity going.
Adding some creativity to mundane lunch routines could have a huge payoff. Jif Peanut Butter, the trusted peanut butter of choosy Moms, is accepting entries for the Eighth Annual Jif Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest(TM). From August 7, 2009 through November 13, 2009, parents can help their kids ages 6 – 12 submit their most creative recipe for a chance to win a $25,000 college scholarship fund. Four runners-up will each receive a $2,500 scholarship fund.
Last year, the contest received the most entries in its history and 10-year-old Jordyn Boyer of Lebanon, Pa., was awarded top prize with her “Po’ Boy Peanut Butter Chicken Cheesesteak.” Inspired by regional culinary influences, her sandwich was made with Jif Creamy Peanut Butter, chicken, peppers, onions, mozzarella cheese — and even apples — providing a new twist on her home state’s staple cheesesteak. For added flavor, she created a dipping sauce of Jif Peanut Butter, Worcestershire sauce, honey mustard with a drizzle of honey.
The Eighth Annual Jif Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest encourages families to spend time together in the kitchen as an activity to foster creativity. A parent can submit their child’s original recipe which is scored based on creativity, nutritional balance, taste, appearance and ease of preparation. Ten semifinalists’ recipes will be selected in January 2010 and posted on www.Jif.com as part of a nationwide online vote. Peanut butter lovers who are 13 years or older can then vote for the five finalists who will compete in a live judging event in New York City during March 2010.
Today, I thought I would share some reflections from my role as a cattle producer, instead of an agriculture writer. Thanks for letting me stand on this soapbox so often…
Nowadays, it seems the worries of a farmer and rancher are monumental. High input costs, ballot initiatives, strict regulations, bad media coverage, consumer misconceptions, animal rights activists’ agendas and low prices seem to plague the agriculture industry. Most depressing, it’s been said that for every consumer dollar spent in the grocery store, the farmer and rancher only receives 18 cents. Yet, true agriculturalists don’t let these negative things get to them. Nope, they endeavor to persevere.
Despite the challenges and obstacles, we have a lot to be thankful for in the agriculture industry. There is nothing better than having a career that provides nourishment for the world. For me, I live to watch my calves grow up, and it’s always a good feeling when we can fit the needs of our customers with our seedstock offerings. It’s amazing that the calves in my own pasture will someday move down the beef industry chain to backgrounders, feeders, processors, the grocery store and finally, to a dinner table around the world. The best part is knowing that the folks involved in every stop along the chain are great people that are dedicated to the same things as I am.
I’m thankful to be able to work alongside my family in a career that I love. I’m thankful to be able to work with my hands to help create something bigger than myself. I’m so blessed to be capable of the well being of so many animals, and I feel fortunate to live in America where food is abundant, healthy and safe. Today, set your worries aside and think about the things you are thankful for. You will quickly find that the list is much longer than your stresses and fears. God Bless the American farmer and rancher!
AgWired coverage of IFAJ 2009 is sponsored by:
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Several student and young professional awards were given during the IFAJ/AMS summit and one of the most coveted awards, the Forrest Bassford Award was given to Whitney Wallace and is sponsored by LPC. Whitney will be a senior at the University of Missouri this fall and she is an active member of ACT – the AG Communicators of Tomorrow. She will be graduating next May with a degree in Agricultural Journalism with an Ag Economics minor.
I had the opportunity to spend a few minutes with Whitney, and she is a talented and well spoken woman who has already taken the ag communications industry by storm. For those companies looking for a rare talent, you’d better get in line now, because I suspect that Whitney will be off the market in a blink of an eye!
As such an active and young member of the journalism community, I asked her to give her fellow students some advice.
“Just like I tell the other students at Mizzou, you just gotta jump in an try everything you can. Because we have so many opportunities that we can pick and choose and find so many great little niches of places we can succeed.”
Whitney, I like your style.
You can see the pictures of all the award winners in the IFAJ/AMS 2009 Photo Album.
You can listen to my full interview with Whitney here.
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I would roast or fry these. Wouldn’t you? Purple freedom fries!
Klamath Basin Fresh Direct, an association of potato farmers along the Oregon-California border, has been awarded exclusive rights to grow and market a new purple fingerling developed by the USDA and three Northwest universities.
The potato is called Purple Pelisse, named for an intense hue inside and out that looks like a color you’d find in a crayon box. The tuber is the first specialty spud that Oregon State University, the University of Idaho, Washington State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have jointly made available for public consumption. It’s called a specialty because it’s not like a traditional potato with white flesh and brown skin, such as Russets, commonly used for fries.
Dan Chin, chairman of the association, said his company was interested in the Purple Pelisse because it is looking to expand its color spectrum with a potato that it can grow on a small scale for a niche market. KBFD produces two potatoes: a red-skinned one and a small, white-skinned variety.
“Right now there’s not a good purple fingering on the market,” Chin added. “But this one has good flavor and looks good. It fits the bill for what we think a consumer might want.”
He said KBFD, which beat four other bids, plans to market it as a potato that can be boiled, fried and roasted. The group plans to change the name of the potato, which it will grow organically and market to high-end supermarkets and restaurants in the United States. He hopes to eventually promote it overseas. In November, he’ll take it to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and the Philippines as part of a trade mission with the Oregon Department of Agriculture.
- Dow AgroSciences announces that federal registration has been received for INSTINCT nitrogen stabilizer for use with UAN and liquid manure.
- Cooperatives Working Together announced that it has tentatively accepted 294 bids in the third herd retirement it has conducted in the last nine months.
- Kinze Manufacturing Harvest Commander grain auger carts offer growers an innovative, high quality grain handling option for the harvest season. These carts give growers the ability to unload 850 to 1,050 bushels of grain in just over two minutes.
- Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc., is again seeking research study proposals focused on one of the swine industry’s most devastating diseases — porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS).
Thanks to Carly and Joanna, pictured here about to go into Billy Bob’s, our online photo album from this year’s IFAJ/AMS is very full. You’ll find almost 900 pictures in there. Please feel free to use them and if you need a high res version we’ll do our best to get one to you.
I got up early this morning and watched all the photos as a slide show via my Apple TV on my 42″ plasma screen. It felt almost like being there. I could hear the voices and know what they were saying. That happens when you spend a lot of time with good friends and colleagues at an extended event like this each year.
Quasimojo played once again at this year’s event. I’m thinking we should be recording these for future release. What do you think?
Then we could release an annual CD, Best of CD, etc. Perhaps a recording contract with a big label down the road? I don’t know.
IFAJ/AMS 2009 Photo Album
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All registrants to the IFAJ Congress 2009 received a great wild west souvenir to take home with them. These leather note pad holders were all printed with our names. I was registered although I did not get to attend.
Cindy brought mine home. She actually just got home yesterday after attending the APS meeting in Portland, OR right after IFAJ/AMS. She’s starting to know what it feels like to be me when I’m healthy!
If you attended this year’s IFAJ Congress for your first time I’d love to know your thoughts on meeting with fellow ag journalists from other countries. Did you find it helpful? What did you get out of the relationships you made?
Conversely, if you’re an IFAJ member outside the U.S. who attended, what are your thoughts? Was it a good Congress? What do you think about these crazy Americans? Feel free to post comments.
IFAJ/AMS 2009 Photo Album
AgWired coverage of IFAJ 2009/Ag Media Summit is sponsored by:
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Now that everyone is home safe and sound from Ft. Worth, you’ll have a little time to read the new books by the IFAJ/AMS lunch speakers. Participants were first treated to a presentation by Julie Wainwright, who is the owner of Smartnow.com. She worked her way up to found Pets.com (how can you forget the sock puppet) and then undergo a very public bankruptcy right as the Internet bubble burst.
But after a few false starts and five big mistakes, she is now back on her feet and spreading encouragement to others. I can’t speak for everyone who attended, but her message definitely resonated with me which is why I’m looking forward to reading her new self-published book, ReBoot My Five Life Changing Mistakes and How I Have Moved On, available on Amazon.com.
While Wainwright’s presentation was fairly serious, on Tuesday we were thoroughly entertained by Scott McKain, who is the vice president of Obsidian Enterprises and the co-founder and principal of The Value Added Institute, a think tank that explores client loyalty. Speaking of which, how do you maintain client loyalty? Through being distinct. McKain has written exhaustively about this topic and is a best selling author.
There are Four Cornerstones of Distinction according to McKain including clarity, creativity, communication and customer experience focus. I don’t have time to go into details but his presentation was not only extremely funny, it was even more insightful. McKain very much believes in the mission of ag journalists, so much so that he has done two things. First, he has made his presentation available; and second, he has made the audio and e-versions of his new book, Collapse of Distinction: stand out and move up while your competition fails, available for free.
You can see pictures from the presentations in our IFAJ/AMS 2009 Photo Album.
AgWired coverage of IFAJ 2009 is sponsored by:
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It’s birthday time for Smokey Bear (not “The Bear”).
The USDA Forest Service is preparing to celebrate the 65th birthday of an American icon – Smokey Bear – on Monday, August 10. The celebration will take place at the Whitten Building USDA headquarters in Washington D.C. The birthday party will also include the release of the new Smokey Bear Story “big book.” This bilingual (English and Spanish) illustrated educational book introduces Smokey Bear and fire prevention messages to a new generation of American children. Smokey Bear’s trademark message, “only you can prevent wildfires,” is one of the longest running PSA campaigns in U.S. history.
“Smokey Bear is one of the most beloved symbols in American history and his important message has been communicated to generations of Americans during the past sixty five years,” said U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell. “This new book will help mentor a new generation in carrying on Smokey’s message.”
Of course Smokey is tweeting. I’m just wondering how he does it with those big old paws of his.
A phone made from corn? Apparently.
This morning Sprint CEO Dan Hesse announced the August 16th release of the Samsung Reclaim™. Speaking with the media from the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in New York City where the Nature Conservancy’s Design for a Living World exhibit is on display, Hesse introduced the new device – a messaging phone that offers environmentally conscious consumers a perfect blend of responsibility without sacrificing speed, style or must-have features.
The Reclaim is constructed from bio-plastic material (40 percent of the Reclaim’s outer casing is derived from corn). It’s RoHS compliant and free of potentially hazardous materials like polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and phthalates, and nearly free of brominated flame retardants (BFR).
It comes with an ENERGY STAR-approved charger that uses 12 times less power than the standard for standby power consumption. The typical thick paper user manual has been replaced by a virtual user manual. The packaging is 100% recyclable material, made with a high percentage of post-consumer waste content, and printed using soy inks.
via Mark on Corn Commentary
I spent last night as the watchman, I mean watchwoman, over the county fair grounds during the Davison County 4-H Achievement Days being held this week in Mitchell, S.D. This job meant I had to keep the cattle, pigs, sheep and goats in their proper place, which is sometimes no easy task. Over the night, I tied up 15 calves, and I’m going to be sure to show a few unknowing 4-H members how to tie a rope halter today!
Anyway, in my overnight duties of watching over the 4-H livestock, I spent a lot of time doing several things: drinking coffee and catching up on blogging (two thumbs up for internet access in the barn!) It must have been the caffeine overdose, or the fact that it stormed, or that I was all alone in the dark, but I had a lot of time to reflect on life and write out some goals for the future.
Now, this may not be the direction you thought my ramblings were going to go, but I have some thoughts I wanted to run by you this morning. I need a website asap. Why? Because I want to promote my work as an agriculture speaker. I’m getting new jobs all the time, but I’m hoping to do more than word-of-mouth advertising. I would like a place to showcase my speech topics, workshops and writing highlights to help launch my speaking career.
So, this is where you come in. What makes a good website? What features keep visitors coming back for more? How extensive does a promotional website need to be? Should it tie in with my current blogging somehow? What should the website be called? How often does it need to be updated? Should it include a newsletter? It’s your turn to weigh in; I can’t wait to hear your thoughts! In the meantime, I’m off to catch a catnap between shows. I’ve still got another dose of night duty tomorrow, and I NEED to catch some shuteye!
John Deere is bringing you the 811.
John Deere is a major sponsor of National 811 Day in the United States, August 11, a day set aside by the Common Ground Alliance (CGA) to promote homeowner, farmer and contractor awareness of underground utilities through the use of the national 811 call-before-you-dig phone number.
“Our customers are individuals who work the land and their safety is a high priority for John Deere,” said Samuel R. Allen, chief executive officer of Deere & Company. “It’s vital to call attention to homeowners, farmers and contractors that one simple call to 811 before they dig to prevent injuries, property damage and inconvenient outages of important services.”
The FCC-designated 811 number was launched in 2007 by the CGA to eliminate the confusion of multiple call-before-you-dig numbers that were being used across the country. As a result, homeowners, farmers and contractors can call one easy-to-remember number to have crews mark a requested site for underground lines prior to any excavation.
Alpharma is continuing to reach, teach and learn with students after just announcing a fall essay contest.
Alpharma Animal Health will launch its inaugural student essay contest in select locations across the United States, the company announced today at Ag Media Summit in Fort Worth, Texas.
The essay contest is the latest initiative in Alpharma’s Reach Teach Learn (RTL) educational stewardship program. RTL also features an ag video contest for college and university students.
“We are excited to add another plank to our Reach Teach Learn platform,” says Jeff Mellinger, Global Leader, Sales & Marketing for Alpharma. “Supporting and promoting education makes communities stronger and fosters an environment that provides opportunities for our customers, employees and business in general to be more successful. Our essay contest is simply another step in that direction.”
The contest is a partnership between Alpharma, the Agriculture In The Classroom program and the American Farm Bureau.
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In this week's program Chuck talks with David Armano, Global Innovation and Integration.
