If you’re looking for a Christmas present for your kids then how about one that showcases the dairy industry? Rebecca Long Chaney is proud to announce the release of her daughters’ second children’s book, “Mini Milk Maids on the Mooove.” This book is the second book in a children’s agricultural education book series by five-year-old twin sisters Rianna and Sheridan Chaney and focuses on the dairy industry.
The book highlights the twins personal experiences in the dairy industry including time with their grandfather, a retired dairy farmer; learning about what happens at a dairy farm from birth to milk production; participating in the Pee Wee division of the pretty cow contest at the county fair; joining the 4-H Cloverbuds club; and helping to make ice cream at South Mountain Creamery.
At the recent BlogWorld and New Media Expo I met Glenn, Chief Geek, for the Horse Radio Network. It looks like they’ve really got the podcasting thing down pat. I’m betting they’re even making a living at it. Must be something to it (he said tongue in cheek).
The Horse Radio Network is your home for equine related online horse radio. Over the next couple of months we will be providing you some fantastic shows and content all about horses.
From the serious to the sublime, from Arabs to Welsh Ponies, from 9 handers to 19 handers we will cover it all. There is no prejudice here, its just about horses. Sure there will be some shows that emphasis one breed or another, but we will do our best to cover it all.
The key to the Horse Radio Network is fun! We believe that people own horses for fun and entertainment. Why else would you put up with the early morning feedings, stall cleaning, vet bills, long trips to shows, empty bank accounts and everything else that goes with being a horse owner.
The 2009 Livestock Publications Council Heritage Center Royal Gala preparations are underway. The event is this evening. Wish I could be there.
As you can see in this photo by Diane Johnson, they’re working really hard.
Here’s the details if you can still make it out:
Friday, October 30, 2009
American Royal Headquarters
Kansas City, Missouri
6 – 10 PM Social Hour, Dinner, Dancing
Unveiling of the 2009 Honoree Temple Grandin
2009 Headliner Award Winner
Announcement of the 2010 Honoree
Silent and Live Auction
Ticket Cost $50/Person
Boehringer Ingelheim announced that it has closed its deal with Pfizer to acquire a significant portion of the Fort Dodge Animal Health business.
Syngenta announced a partnership with the California Department of Water Resources to improve irrigation and water management in the Gilroy, Calif. area. A new California Irrigation Management Information System station Syngenta provided is active and providing weather data to the public via the CIMIS Web site.
On Oct. 28, Syngenta held a grand opening for a new vegetable seed processing plant in Pasco, Wash.
Raven Industries, Inc. announced that the company entered into a purchase agreement to buy substantially all of the assets of Ranchview, Inc.
Getting down to the nitty gritty is part of what Commodity Classic is all about. It’s also about people who make their living off of the dirt. So, it’s fitting that the Grammy Award-winning Nitty Gritty Dirt Band will be on the Evening of Entertainment stage at the 2010 Commodity Classic convention and trade show in Anaheim, California.
Members of the American Soybean Association, the National Corn Growers Association, the National Association of Wheat Growers and the National Sorghum Producers will enjoy the band’s best known folk rock songs like “Mr. Bojangles” and “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” as well as music from their recently released CD Speed of Life. Nitty Gritty Dirt Band has been making music and entertaining audiences for more than four decades.
The theme of the 2010 Commodity Classic is “Cruising to Success” and it will be held in Anaheim March 4-6, 2010.
Spammers, those who are lower than pond scum, are really hitting Twitter hard right now. I’ve received over 30 spam Direct Messages (DM’s) from people I follow this morning and I know my followers have received one from me. You can read an article on PC World about it. It’s a phishing attack to try to get you to click through to who knows what. If you get a DM that starts out with “this youz??” then just ignore it.
Apparently the only thing you can do is change your password (to a better one) in the hopes that will prevent it from happening to your account again. However, I did so this morning and when I tried to log back in I’m getting a message that I’m locked out. So I’ve got a Twitter support ticket going. We’ll see how long this takes. In the meantime I’ll just use our @AgWiredLive team account so please follow me there until we can get @AgriBlogger back in shape. Thanks.
A group called the Vegetarian Society is standing up once again attribute global warming and the end to the universe to meat eaters. The article, Climate chief Lord Stern: give up meat to save the planet, published in Times Online, urged folks to turn vegetarian in order for the world to conquer climate change.
In an interview with The Times, Lord Stern of Brentford said: “Meat is a wasteful use of water and creates a lot of greenhouse gases. It puts enormous pressure on the world’s resources. A vegetarian diet is better.”
He predicted that people’s attitudes would evolve until meat eating became unacceptable. “I think it’s important that people think about what they are doing and that includes what they are eating,” he said. “I am 61 now and attitudes towards drinking and driving have changed radically since I was a student. People change their notion of what is responsible. They will increasingly ask about the carbon content of their food.”
This is absolute bogus and total hypocrisy. I recently compiled a top ten list of ways that meat production is beneficial to the environment, and I firmly believe that agriculturalists are the original environmentalists, serving as stewards of the land and care givers to the livestock. And, more importantly consumers should feel confident in serving a well-balanced, wholesome meal (that includes animal protein) to their families. It’s amazing how a few animal rights activists and trendy green advocates can create a buzz so big with their banter that they can actually change mainstream public perceptions on the good, wholesome food we eat. Thanks for the soap box. Now, here is a few statistics from my list…
1. American agriculture is sustainable for the future. In the United States, 98 percent of farms are family farms. Today’s American farmer feeds about 144 people worldwide. 2009 versus 1960: 1.8 million less farms are feeding a U.S. population that has increased 61 percent. (Explore Beef)
2. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the entire U.S. agriculture sector accounts for only 6 percent of annual U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Of this, livestock production is estimated to account for 2.8 percent of total U.S. emissions. (EPA Climate Change Report)
3. If livestock production disappeared tomorrow, wouldn’t we just be transporting more tofu around? And wouldn’t we just be plowing and fertilizing the land to supply PETA’s vegetarian utopia? (Center for Consumer Freedom)
4. Grazing animals on land not suitable for producing crops more than doubles the land area that can be used to produce food. If 1955 technology were used to produce the amount of beef raised today, 165 million more acres of land would be needed – that’s about the size of Texas! (Explore Beef)
If you’re interested in becoming the next Executive Director of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting then contact Janice Dahl, Anchor Management Group.
NAFB will post the position on its website at www.nafb.com by November 1 and expects to be interviewing for the position in December, said President Pam Jahnke.
All queries regarding the position should be directed to Anchor Management Group at 314-503-7580 or jdahl@anchormanagement.net. Candidates are asked to hold their resumes until the job is posted and to reply directly as requested.
No inquiries should be made to the NAFB Board, members of the Search & Select Committee, or to the NAFB office.
Earlier this week, I wrote about Obama signing HR 2997 into law, another emergency stimulus package that, this time, could assist dairy producers. I was checking the news yesterday, when I came across this blog post about my blog post. Oh, how fun blogger buzz can be! Here is the post that was on KELO by Madville Times (who isn’t afraid to say what he thinks and doodle pictures as he sees fit, by the way!) Thanks for the nod, Madville Times!
I learned from Amanda Nolz that President Obama just signed into law more stimulus… for farmers! HR 2997 is actually the appropriations act for agriculture, rural development, the Food and Drug Administration, and other federal programs. It includes some increases that one would think will be good for South Dakota farmers…
$4 billion more for food stamps $1.9 billion more for school lunches (and breakfasts, I imagine) $290 million to keep struggling dairy farmers afloat (maybe Rick Millner can pay his bills) $60 million to buy up dairy products for public food programs
And Senator John Thune, champion of ending federal bailouts, voted aye on this federal bailout of dairy farmers.
Another AgChat session is wrapping up. The topic this week is the death tax or as some like to call it, the estate tax. As always, you can scroll back through the conversation via Twitter Search. We have a Twub set up for AgChat too which is becoming my favorite way to participate.
The NCGA started a viral email with a Halloween theme and links to the two videos that address some of the top food fears. The email links to a couple of new videos from NCGA that are filled with facts about food production to counteract the “urban legends” that family farmers have been gobbled up by giant corporate monsters that are ravaging the land and poisoning us with unsafe food.
Email Mark Lambert at NCGA to get the viral email to send along to your food friends and foes. It makes a great Halloween card.
Have you ever wondered what switchgrass looks like? That’s it behind Cory Christensen, Director of Product Managment, Ceres, who was conducting Sunbelt Ag Expo presentations in the field. He says it’s a first season stand of their Blade energy crop. It was developed specifically for the southeast. Since it’s the first season for this crop they won’t harvest it at Sunbelt until next year. A mature yield for the crop is about 8 tons per acre of dry matter.
Switchgrass is native to the United States everywhere east of the Rockies. Ceres, has been working on varieties that will yield better in different growing environments though. Cory says that they don’t expect it to displace corn in Iowa but in the southeast with the difficulties in cotton and tobacco it becomes a viable alternative on open acres. He provides some estimates of what the crop can mean financially as the market for a fuel crop like switchgrass develops.
Cory describes the current market as a “developing market.” They have a map that shows developing opportunities where plants will be located to process energy crops. He says that biomass is a local business so you need to be located near a biorefinery. He also points to the USDA’s Biomass Crop Assistance Program that provides monetary assistance to facilitate the transition of eligible land to energy crops.
Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc. (BIVI) has closed a deal with Pfizer to acquire a significant portion of the Fort Dodge Animal Health business. The acquisition, which includes products in the U.S., Australia, Canada and South Africa, as well as two manufacturing and research facilities located in Fort Dodge, Iowa, significantly increases the size of Boehringer Ingelheim’s companion animal and cattle portfolios and strengthens the company’s position as a leading vaccine supplier.
I talked with BIVI president George Heidgerken about the acquisition. “We’ll be expanding our business significantly, in fact, doubling our sales in the United States,” George says. “The product assets we’ve acquired from Fort Dodge are a broad range of strong brands in the cattle vaccine business. This is part of our long term strategy to improve our product offerings and our capabilities for the U.S. cattle producers and the U.S. cattle market.”
The cattle vaccines included in the acquisition include the Triangle®, Pyramid®, and Presponse® vaccine lines. Pharmaceutical products being acquired include Cydectin® (moxidectin) for cattle and sheep as well as Polyflex® (ampicillin sodium). The dairy portfolio includes the key brands Today® and Tomorrow®.
“With regard to the brands we are acquiring, it’s business as usual,” George added. “The producers and veterinarians and distributors who handle and benefit from these wonderful brands will really see no significant change.”
Listen to or download my interview with George here:
Phase II of the Alpharma Student Video Contest is now underway. This final phase of the contest ends November 23, so get your entries in asap. It’s your chance to win $5,000. You can find the contest rules here.
Thanks to those of you who submitted clips during Phase I of the Alpharma Student Video Contest. A total of 146 clips were submitted and are now available to download for the remainder of the contest. Phase I of the Student Video Contest is now closed, and it’s time to move on to Phase II, which opened Monday, October 19th.
With the kickoff of Phase II you’ll be able to view and download the clips that were submitted throughout the first phase of the contest by going to the contest Web site. You can use any number of video clips from the first phase of the contest and/or your own media to make the most creative and educational video possible for your chance to win $5,000.
We look forward to reviewing the submitted videos, but please remember you only have until November 23rd to submit them. As always, feel free to contact Amanda Eberle at aeberle@charlestonorwig.com or 262-563-5100 with questions.
David Bennett with the Western Farm Press just posted this news alert about President Barack Obama signing HR 2997, a emergency stimulus package that could benefit farmers. Here is the most recent news on the topic…
President Obama has signed legislation providing fiscal 2010 appropriations — $121 billion — for the USDA, the Department of Health and Human Services, and other agencies.
The article says that 80 percent of the funds will go to school nutrition programs and food stamps.
Of the remaining HR 2997 funds, slightly over $23 billion will be spread among programs for agricultural research, conservation, food safety, housing assistance and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Some $290 million, aimed at helping undergird the struggling U.S. dairy industry, will fund dairy farmers with direct support. An additional $60 million will be used to purchase dairy products for food pantries and nutrition programs.
The Fluidigm System starts with their Integrated Fluidic Circuits. The Product Manager who is intimately familiar with the IFC’s is Yong Yi. I spoke with him about this system and he helps explain what the IFC’s do and can do for a client company. In the picture he’s holding one of their chips containing an IFC.
It’s all about miniaturization and therefore efficiency which is particularly important in ag bio since you’re dealing with a tremendous number of samples and wide variety of species and applications. The company manufacturers the chips or IFC’s for their clients. The chips are built on semiconducter technology which uses silicon chips that allow them to be very precise. Yong says they work with a wide variety of clients including seed companies who want to use it for quality control to make sure their farmer customer is getting exactly what is ordered.
The IFC’s have become increasingly complex since they first started production and Yong says that will continue. So the chips will be able to handle increasingly complex functions as time goes on.
You can watch or listen to my interview with Yong below:
There’s a new copywriter at AdFarm. He’s Jacob Edenfield.
Jacob has worked on a range of agricultural and business-to-business brands and markets for companies including Monsanto, Intervet/Schering-Plough, United Soybean Board, National Pork Board, Solutia and SFP in his role as Associate Creative Director with Osborn & Barr Communications. His background also includes deep experience across the spectrum of message-delivery tools, including digital and social media.
In his new role with AdFarm, Jacob will be working with clients across the spectrum of agriculture. In addition to copywriting, Jacob will be a key contributor to AdFarm Teams for strategic and message development, concept development, and brand and campaign work.
Jim Langcuster at Auburn University recently published an article in the Southeast Farm Press titled, Weakened Dollar Could Cause Farm Problems that highlights some issues farmers could be facing in times of a weakened dollar. Here is an excerpt of the article…
The mighty American greenback has fallen on hard times — so hard, in fact, that countries throughout the world are clamoring for its replacement as the world’s reserve currency. How would farming be affected by the change? One of the effects of the dollar’s replacement by another currency would almost inevitably be a vastly cheaper greenback. If history serves as any measure of the potential effect on agriculture, shouldn’t farmers be dancing for joy? After all, in historical terms, haven’t U.S. farmers traditionally favored cheap money and free trade?
“In terms of farming, economic theory says that devaluation would make our goods cheaper internationally and help us export more,” says James Novak, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System economist and Auburn University professor of agricultural economics.
But as he is the first to point out, the dollar’s loss of reserve status carries with it far more implications than the simple price of farm products. There is also the potentially wider, if not far-reaching effect on the entire U.S. economy to consider, he says.
US Farm Data is the new name of what we knew as GoLeads Farm. The new name goes along with a new commitment to agricultural marketing.
At the Sunbelt Ag Expo I spoke with Chris Sidles, National Accounts, who tells us what the company offers and why they created a new name. To start with he says they’re a full service direct marketing and database management company.
Their ag database has 2.5 million U.S. farmers and ranchers. They can pull specific farmographic data like number of acres, type of crop and how they own that farm. They also cross reference the farm data with their residential database of 220 million consumers as well as a business database of 14 million of which about 1 million are specific to ag. Clients range from technology to seed to irrigation and includes small business and Fortune 500 companies.
Chris says they help a client understand their customers and figure out ways to increase their footprint and market to new customers. Strategies can include direct mail, telemarketing and email blasts. They are also looking at ways to include new social networking strategies into their campaigns.
I’d like to thank AgWired Sponsor, Fluidigm, for their support of the ZimmCast.
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.
If you’re looking for a Christmas present for your kids then how about one that showcases the dairy industry?
At the recent BlogWorld and New Media Expo I met Glenn, Chief Geek, for the 
The 2009 Livestock Publications Council Heritage Center Royal Gala preparations are underway. The event is this evening. Wish I could be there. 
Here’s the details if you can still make it out:
Getting down to the nitty gritty is part of what Commodity Classic is all about. It’s also about people who make their living off of the dirt. So, it’s fitting that the Grammy Award-winning Nitty Gritty Dirt Band will be on the Evening of Entertainment stage at the 
Spammers, those who are lower than pond scum, are really hitting Twitter hard right now. I’ve received over 30 spam Direct Messages (DM’s) from people I follow this morning and I know my followers have received one from me. You can read an 
A group called the Vegetarian Society is standing up once again attribute global warming and the end to the universe to meat eaters. The article, 
If you’re interested in becoming the next Executive Director of the 
I learned from Amanda Nolz that President Obama just signed into law more stimulus… for farmers! HR 2997 is actually the appropriations act for agriculture, rural development, the Food and Drug Administration, and other federal programs. It includes some increases that one would think will be good for South Dakota farmers…
The 
Have you ever wondered what switchgrass looks like? That’s it behind Cory Christensen, Director of Product Managment, 
I talked with BIVI president George Heidgerken about the acquisition. “We’ll be expanding our business significantly, in fact, doubling our sales in the United States,” George says. “The product assets we’ve acquired from Fort Dodge are a broad range of strong brands in the cattle vaccine business. This is part of our long term strategy to improve our product offerings and our capabilities for the U.S. cattle producers and the U.S. cattle market.”
Phase II of the 
David Bennett with the Western Farm Press just posted this news alert about 
The 
There’s a new copywriter at 
Jim Langcuster at Auburn University recently published an article in the Southeast Farm Press titled, 
Their ag database has 2.5 million U.S. farmers and ranchers. They can pull specific farmographic data like number of acres, type of crop and how they own that farm. They also cross reference the farm data with their residential database of 220 million consumers as well as a business database of 14 million of which about 1 million are specific to ag. Clients range from technology to seed to irrigation and includes small business and Fortune 500 companies. 
In this week's program Chuck talks with David Armano, Global Innovation and Integration.
