A great opening session at the Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. (BIVI) Swine Health Seminar in Omaha, with BIVI’s own Director of Technical Services, Dr. Tyler Holck, talking to attendees about FLEX vaccinology.
Dr. Holck talked about how Ingelvac’s CircoFLEX and MycoFLEX vaccines have nearly three years and 200 million doses of experience in U.S. swine herds. He says that has given the company lots of information on the vaccines.
“When we look at what we have for CircoFLEX, for example, we’ve got over 30 different trials conducted … either efficacy or safety.” And Holck says that can make for a mountain of data (even comparing it to the great mounds of snow Midwesterners have dealt with this winter!). He says BIVI’s goal is to simplify this vast amount of information for producers and veterinarians to make good, interpretive recommendations from that knowledge. Dr. Holck calls it distilling down to the simple side of complex.
“We do look at a lot of different things, but at the end of the day, we’re looking at what’s most economical for the producer.”
Dr. Holck says that really comes down to average daily gain and feed efficiency. He says, for example, a product like CircoFLEX can return on investment $4-5 for every one dollar a producer spends, so it’s too important not to monitor and have all the tools needed.
Hear more of my conversation with Dr. Holck below.
The world’s fastest omelet maker is Howard Helmer seen here in action at Commodity Classic. I missed his presentation but got there in time to talk with him. In the interview you’ll hear him tell you how to make a delicious omelet fast.
He also talks about the Good Egg Project. It is
. . . an initiative by America’s egg farmers to educate people about where eggs come from and encourage them to join them in the fight against hunger. For every pledge made to “eat good and do good every day” an egg will be donated to Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger relief charity. Already millions of eggs have been donated, delivering great nutrition, taste and versatility to those who can’t afford to buy them. By the way, if you haven’t done so already, visit the website now (www.GoodEggProject.org) and do your good deed today!
I’m going to do another post about Nathan Sawaya, Brick Artist, who built a farm scene in the BASF booth at Commodity Classic out of LEGO building blocks because I interviewed him during the show. For now though I just thought you’d like to see the final creation in this short video clip from my iPhone right at the end of the trade show.
Here’s your ZimmComm team on location at Commodity Classic in the media room. It kind of looks like a “Mac Attack” don’t you think? Tell Cindy she looks good in a Mac.
We’ve been producing a lot of content that will be posted here on AgWired as well as other ZimmComm sites like Domestic Fuel and Precision Pays. We’ll get what we can posted today before heading back to ZimmComm World Headquarters tomorrow.
I hope you’re enjoying it so far. It’s been a good one from what I can see and from all the feed back we’ve gotten from farmers, exhibitors and the media. Our photo album is just about up to date. We may have a few more to add but feel free to check it out.
Thank you to Mark Lambert, NCGA, for taking the photo.
In partnership with BASF, the National Corn Growers Association Academic Excellence in Agriculture Scholarship Program awarded five $1,000 scholarships to undergraduate or graduate students pursuing a degree in an agriculture-related field during the 2010 Commodity Classic.
Three of the five recipients were at the Classic to be honored on Friday and they are pictured here at the BASF trade show exhibit between Nevin McDougall of BASF and NCGA Chairman Bob Dickey of Nebraska.
Left to right, they are:
John Schultz of Dyersburg, Tennessee, a sophomore at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville studying food and agricultural business; Gina Meyer of New Ulm, Minnesota, a junior at the University of Minnesota pursuing a major in animal science; Carly Cummings of Pleasantville, Iowa – Carly is a sophomore at Iowa State University majoring in agricultural business.
Charlene Barlieb of Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania who graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 2009 and will be returning to Penn State this fall to pursue her graduate degree in animal sciences, and Lisa Tronchetti of Paton, Iowa
Listen to an interview with John, Gina and Carly below.
The American Agricultural Editors Association held a first time reception for members at this year’s Commodity Classic. We had very good attendance and it was a great way to unwind with friends at the end of a busy day.
If you haven’t joined AAEA then consider doing so. The organization has really been developing more and more benefits for members like educational webinars as well as the Ag Media Summit and awards programs.
Ben Bellar, a high school senior from Howard, Kansas, was named the 2010-2011 ASA Scholarship recipient during the 2010 Commodity Classic in Anaheim, California. An active member of the ASA and FFA, Bellar has been raising soybeans since he was a child and plans to study agriculture technology management at Kansas State University next year. He is pictured here at the BASF exhibit on the trade show floor with ASA First Vice president Alan Kemper of Indiana and Nevin McDougall, Group Vice President, North America Crop Protection Division at BASF. Ben is the one in the middle, in case you were wondering!
Bellar’s scholarship package includes a one-time $5,000 education award, a trip to the Commodity Classic and special recognition during the ASA Awards Banquet. The scholarship is offered and managed by the ASA and is made possible through a grant by BASF.
I talked to Ben about his background and goals in life and you can listen to that interview below.
Can you define sustainability? Neither can I. But that was the first task of the panel discussion of commodity group leaders this morning at Commodity Classic. Moderated by Mark Mayfield, the panel discussed what sustainability means to them. Panelists included: Darrin Ihnen, President, NCGA, Rob Joslin, President, ASA, Karl Scronce, President, NAWG and Gerald Simonsen, Chairman, NSP.
You’ll hear the panel says what sustainability isn’t and provide some good reasons why farmers are very much involved with this issue.
You can listen to the commodity group leaders with Mark below.
We learned some interesting things about sorghum such as how 30 percent of the crop goes into ethanol and when it comes to export and food aid it’s big too. And last year sorghum was the number one requested food commodity through the USAID. Half as much of our sorghum is going to food aid as animal feed.
Exports and trade was the first subject to come up in the interview. Karl says exports are vitally important and the U.S. is the biggest exporter in the world. He says trade has been very sporadic depending on the time and country you’re talking about. There are a number of trade agreements in the works that could be very important in the future.
In the general session at Commodity Classic we heard from the President of the American Soybean Association, Rob Joslin. Rob was interviewed by session moderator Mark Mayfield.
Rob says one of his goals has been to visit as many of the ASA state affiliates as he can and he’s over half way there. He thinks it’s important to know what the states are thinking. He says they really need the biodiesel tax credit back in place immediately. He says that’s in a jobs bill in the Senate right now.
South Dakota Corn Grower, Darrin Ihnen, President of the National Corn Growers Association, took the general session stage this morning with session moderator Mark Mayfield.
Mark had a list of questions for each of the commodity group leaders. With Darrin he started out talking about ethanol. Darrin talked about what the corn growers are doing in this area including pushing for higher blends in the fuel supply. All indications are that this is progressing in a positive way with the science looking good. He says they’re hoping for action by the end of this summer.
Just got in to Omaha just a few minutes ago to cover the Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. (BIVI) Swine Health Seminar. Should be a pretty interesting event with a host of veterinarians here to present and answer questions from the audience. I’ll have more details after things kick off a little later.
In the meantime, I’ll let you see my MOJO (even if you don’t know me that well ).
In my mobile journalism kit, I’ve got my trusty computer, along with the Zoom Handy Recorder H2 audio recorder and my backup emergency camera, the Canon Powershot SD630 (not sure how I can take a picture of the primary camera I’m using for this picture -the Nikon D200). Oh, and I forgot … I have a Flip camera I left in the bag but might use later.
Also, I just started tweeting, so look for me on Twitter @jdavisreporter.
Any way, I’m not quite as tech savvy as Chuck – who REALLY has his MOJO going. But we’ll be able to show you and let you hear from some of the good folks from BIVI who are sponsoring this seminar.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack spoke to the crowd at Commodity Classic just moments ago. You can listen to his full speech below. Joanna is attending his press conference right now and I’ll post audio from it later. Some of the standout phrases I heard included, “Different strategies for different markets” when he was talking about expanding world trade. He also said, “Rural America is the heart and the soul and the guts of America” when talking about revitalizing rural America.
Here are some of the points he made in his remarks taken from the USDA release:
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today discussed USDA’s work to strengthen the American agriculture economy and revitalize rural communities in the keynote speech at the 2010 Commodity Classic in Anaheim, Calif. Vilsack focused on the USDA’s efforts to increase exports of agricultural products to help American farmers, ranchers, and workers.
“USDA’s continued work to expand trade opportunities for America’s hard-working farmers and ranchers will play an important role in our effort to rebuild rural communities across the country,” said Vilsack. “Increased trade will not only create important income opportunities for producers, but also the off-farm jobs that are so critical for revitalizing rural America.”
While USDA has traditionally looked at agricultural trading partners by geographic region, under the new trade strategy outlined by Vilsack, USDA looks at countries based on their position on an agricultural market continuum, which enables tailored strategies to increase exports to each individual market. The continuum goes from fragile markets/food security states, to potential growth markets, to restricted access markets, to rapid growth markets, to developed consumer markets. The new strategy will improve collaboration among USDA agencies and guide priorities for international staffing, foreign assistance, and agricultural research.
For example, in potential growth markets, USDA programs will now emphasize building the institutional and human capacity needed to support increased trade, while in restricted access markets, USDA efforts are designed to remove trade barriers. In rapid growth markets, USDA will now emphasize using a full range of programs to build trade capacity, remove trade barriers and develop new markets for U.S. products.
Get a friend to join NAMA and be entered in a contest to win a Flip camera. That’s cool. Your friend will be entered too. Just get it done by April 12.
Tell your friends, peers, and business associates how you benefit from being a member of NAMA – the learning and networking opportunities, skill development, access to agribusiness solutions, etc. They can access our social media sites directly from our website at www.nama.org to learn more about NAMA activities.
Every NAMA member who recruits a new member between now and April 12 will be included in a drawing for a new flip video camcorder. The more new members you recruit – the better your chances. New members will have their names entered, too.
Simply tell your recruit to join on-line at http://www.nama.org/register.aspx. Tell them to add your name and company in the box titled “Referred By.” They can also call the NAMA office at 913-491-6500 to join; remind them to say they were referred by you! Be sure to tell them they’ll be included in the drawing.
When will the drawing take place? During the annual Agri-Marketing Conference, April 21 – 23, at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center in Kansas City. We’d love to have you there, but you don’t have to be present to win!
Cibus Global announces the grant of a new patent for Cibus’ unique Rapid Trait Development System (RTDS) in the production of a non-transgenic plant that is resistant to or tolerant of certain herbicides, particularly glyphosate.
The Appaloosa Horse Club is proud to announce Bella Sara as a Silver Sponsor for the 2010 World Championship Appaloosa Youth Show.
United Soybean Board farmer-leaders recently selected USSEC, under a new organizational structure, to continue as its international marketing primary contractor.
U.S. exports of agricultural-related machinery totaled nearly $8 billion in 2009, a 23% drop compared to the previous year, with the largest declines in business to Europe and South America, according to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers.
Here’s the AgChat tweetup group at Commodity Classic. By now you should know that a tweetup is an opportunity for fellow Twitterers to meet face to face at an event.
In this case those who participate in the weekly AgChat Twitter conversation got together here for a little bit of networking. Cindy (@FarmPodcaster) took the photo from above us as she rode the escalator up in the convention center.
Hopefully, Scott Richert’s wife believes him by now. He really did win the New Holland G4050 Zero Turn Radius mower in the drawing held at the New Holland exhibit at the Commodity Classic trade show Thursday evening.
Scott is president of the Nebraska Soybean Association and lives in Gresham, Nebraska. He was the sixth name to be drawn out of the tumbler and announced by AgriTalk host Mike Adams but the first one who was present on the trade show floor to win. But when he called his wife to tell her the news, she didn’t believe him. Scott says that when the snow finally melts in east central Nebraska, he expects to get some good use out of the new mower. “We gotta get the piles of snow off the yard yet,” he said. “But we were just talking about that it’s time for our kids to start mowing so this is going to come in pretty handy.”
Scott and his wife have four children, two girls and two boys, between the ages of 4 and 12 and the oldest daughter will be the first to learn on the new ZTR mower. Congrats!
Listen to my interview with Scott as he calls his wife below.
Members of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting got together for their traditional Commodity Classic photo this evening during the media reception that was sponsored by New Holland.
Our good buddy Gene Hemphill, New Holland, was on hand as we welcomed new Executive Director for NAFB, Mark Vail, who is in his first week on the job.
More photos have been added to our photo album so check them out and keep stopping by as we add even more.
It’s time once again for a Commodity Classic edition of Guess Whose Boots.
The first person to post the correct answer in the comments of this post will win a prize from the ZimmComm New Media prize stash. I have no idea what that will be right now.
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.
A great opening session at the Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. (BIVI) Swine Health Seminar in Omaha, with BIVI’s own Director of Technical Services, Dr. Tyler Holck, talking to attendees about FLEX vaccinology.
The world’s fastest omelet maker is Howard Helmer seen here in action at Commodity Classic. I missed his presentation but got there in time to talk with him. In the interview you’ll hear him tell you how to make a delicious omelet fast.
and 
In partnership with BASF, the 
Ben Bellar, a high school senior from Howard, Kansas, was named the 
Can you define sustainability? Neither can I. But that was the first task of the panel discussion of commodity group leaders this morning at Commodity Classic. Moderated by Mark Mayfield, the panel discussed what sustainability means to them. Panelists included: Darrin Ihnen, President, NCGA, Rob Joslin, President, ASA, Karl Scronce, President, NAWG and Gerald Simonsen, Chairman, NSP.
In the general session at Commodity Classic we heard from the President of the 
South Dakota Corn Grower, Darrin Ihnen, President of the 
).
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack spoke to the crowd at Commodity Classic just moments ago. You can listen to his full speech below. Joanna is attending his press conference right now and I’ll post audio from it later. Some of the standout phrases I heard included, “Different strategies for different markets” when he was talking about expanding world trade. He also said, “Rural America is the heart and the soul and the guts of America” when talking about revitalizing rural America.
Hopefully, Scott Richert’s wife believes him by now. He really did win the
Members of the 
In this week's program Chuck talks with David Armano, Global Innovation and Integration.
