Following this morning’s opening general session Alltech held a press conference that included (left-right) Joaquin Pelaez, Yum Brands, China, Dr. Jim Pettigrew, University of Illinois, Dr. Pearse Lyons and Dr. Mark Lyons. It was an open question and answer session and I have made the audio available for you below.
In it you’ll find quite a few good questions on topics ranging from world hunger and organic food to the status of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. Ag journalists are welcome to utilize the audio and photos in the photo album too.
Alltech founder Dr. Pearse Lyons is now on stage after being introduced for the first time ever by his son, Dr. Mark Lyons.
Dr. Lyons started out saying that four very important words are “Once upon a time.” He has then told us a story about the challenges we face in the world and how we can work to solve them. I’ll be posting his remarks here after the session when I get back to the media room.
During our opening session here at the Alltech International Animal Health & Nutrition Symposium we just witnessed the presentation of Alltech’s 20th Medal of Excellence Award. Receiving the award is Dr. Jim Pettigrew, Univerity of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
He’s pictured here with the two Dr. Lyons (Mark (left) and Pearse). Right now he’s speaking about world food hunger. I’m recording these opening session presentations and will post a few of them for you later this morning.
I’m posting an excerpt from Dr. Pettigrew’s comments after receiving his award this morning. His focus is on world hunger, its causes and solutions. At the end of his comments he says that “Perhaps one of the most powerful things we could do to encourage agricultural development in poor countries is to reform the agricultural subsidy programs in the United States, in Europe and other developed countries. The reason for that is that our subsidy programs so distort the price signals that should otherwise encourage and reward people for developing agriculture in the poor countries.”
The Kernel is in charge at Corn Corps. That’s the Illinois Corn Growers blog. Find out what they think of Chipotle’s support of HSUS.
As Illinois’ corn farmers, we’re proud to power a sustainable economy through ethanol, livestock and nutritious food. We love agriculture, the land and CornBelters baseball. Visit us on www.ilcorn.org, or follow us on Twitter, http://twitter.com/ilcorn.
Regular AgWired fans know that I am a coffee snob. That’s Cindy’s term since I just prefer to drink good coffee. That’s why I got excited when I learned about Sanani, The Original Mocha Coffee.
In this week’s program we’re going to learn not only about Sanani but coffee itself. I think you’ll learn some things you did not know. I sure did. For example, mocha does not mean that this is chocolate flavored coffee. Here’s why from the company website.
Not commonly known is that the root of the word “Mocha” comes from the port city of Mocha in Yemen, where the history of coffee trading began. The Original Mocha Coffee, a pure single-origin coffee identified by its port of origin, is so prized that even the perceived imperfections are a desired characteristic. The irregular shape of these naturally organic beans, a result of an inhospitable growing environment, produces one of the finest cups of coffee in the world.
I visited with the founder and President of Sanani, Tarif Ausaf. He started his career as a computer engineer with a degree from Auburn University. After many years sitting behind a computer he decided to start a coffee career. I’m glad he did.
What attracted me to this story was a line from the company news release, “Intense Flavor without the Nerve Jangling Buzz!” I’m all about flavor and I’ve wanted to be able to drink more than just a cup without getting too much of a morning jolt. I haven’t yet tried the coffee but some is on the way and I’ll report on that later.
In our interview we talk about the history of coffee and things like the differences between arabica and robusto beans. Of course we also talk about how you can order some Sanani and their coffee club.
Since we’re talking coffee the program ends with a song titled, “Smell The Coffee” by Chris Crowder from Music Alley.
Sponsored by Pro*Act, LLC, five chefs from across the country and throughout the industry received top honors in the 2010 Produce Excellence in Foodservice Awards Program at United Fresh 2010.
Agrium Advanced Technologies has announced the promotion of Jeff Novak to vice president, marketing and innovation and the expansion of its marketing department to include agronomy, communications, marketing, product innovation and regulatory affairs.
The 6th National 25x’25 Summit, a gathering of policy makers; farm, ranch, livestock and forestry leaders; state alliance leaders; congressional staff and federal agency representatives, is set for June 29-July 1 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott, in Arlington, Va.
The American Soybean Association will host the Legislative Forum July 13-14, 2010, in Washington D.C., in conjunction with the ASA Summer Board meeting.
The Alltech 26th International Animal Health and Nutrition Industry Symposium got underway this evening with the International Dinner. This may be the 26th Symposium but it’s the celebration of 30 years since Alltech was founded by Dr. Pearse Lyons.
Once again this year Dr. Everett McCorvey, Professor of Voice at the University of Kentucky Opera Theatre, introduced some wonderful voices to sing for us. You can listen to one of the songs below.
The audience also got into the act on a couple of songs like “My Old Kentucky Home” and “Molly Malone.”
I’ve updated the photo album and we’ll get started at 9am with our first general session. So until then . . .
We’re still counting down the days until the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. 131 to go as of today. We may be counting down to the games but the annual Alltech International Animal Health and Nutrition Symposium is underway in Lexington, KY.
I’m getting ready to go to the opening International Dinner in just a few minutes and will have more to report later this evening. This opening dinner is a great start to making new friends and getting re-acquainted with old ones from around the world.
I’ll be covering this year’s Symposium primarily on AgWired. For additional information please visit the Alltech Symposium blog. You can also find it in Spanish.
I think that one, living in California, and two, living on a ranch, is causing me to obsess about food. Or maybe it is because publishers keep sending me books about food to review (come back next week for one of those very reviews). Regardless of the reason, I was in Whole Foods last week and the last few times I was there, I noticed that they are labeling all of their fruit and produce by country, and sometimes, city of origin (also known as food labeling a separate topic for discussion). The idea is to support local farmers first, and then to support American farmers second.
There are several driving factors for this change at Whole Foods one of which is that many people believe that as much as possible, they should eat local food. While the definition of local food varies, basically it is food that was produced within 250 miles of where you live. Second, people believe our food supply is not safe and knowing the country of origin of spinach will give them some sort of piece of mind, i.e. American food is safer.
Oftentimes, these same people are promoting that the local food movement will feed the world (and save Africa, yet another discussion you can read about here) but there are some serious problems with this way of thinking. Many people in our country do not live in areas that can even begin to produce food within 250 miles….Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada are just three states that could never produce enough food to feed their populations because they don’t have enough water and they would have to put land into production.
People are criticizing agriculture for the amount of land they use when in reality, farmers are producing MORE each year using LESS land. Hey enviros – are you prepared to put millions of acres of land back into production to ensure your local food supply?
People are also criticizing agriculture for the amount of irrigation needed to grow your food. Do you realize that the local food you eat is irrigated? No food grows without water. That being said, there are companies dedicated to creating hybrids that require less water but still have high yields. There I go again, it’s that less is more thing ag’s got going on.
Don’t get me wrong, I say this all the time and will continue to say it, I’m all for local food production and the support of small, family owned farms – I live on one. But we can not feed the world with local food production. However, production farmers can and will feed the world in a sustainable manner all while producing more from less. Now that’s something we need to get behind.
The Meat Industry Hall of Fame is profiling their inaugural class members. Richard “Dick” Knowlton is the first one that I’ve received information on.
Meat and poultry production has been a primary component of the nation’s agricultural productivity—a bedrock of our security and economic might. Meat and poultry processing has responsibility for industry growth that has provided many communities with robust economic activity, millions of jobs and a legacy of accomplishment and progress.
The MEAT INDUSTRY HALL OF FAME®.was created to be a repository of that history and a shrine to the leaders and legends whose vision, skill and dedication shaped and sustained the meat industry as the leading sector of food production.
Richard L. “Dick” Knowlton, a member of the inaugural class of the Meat Industry Hall of Fame®, began his career at Hormel Foods in 1956 as a merchandising manager and eventually became president and chief operating officer in 1979 and chairman in 1981. He managed Hormel Foods to consistent profitability and propelled the once staid, old-line meat packing company into the future by spearheading a company-wide emphasis on development of value- added products.
Among his many business accomplishments, he managed the company through a massive re-invention of its product lines to become a modern retail powerhouse. He built a $100 million state-of-the-art processing plant in Austin, Minnesota that in 1982 was the most productive in the industry and featured robotic technology that was years ahead of the industry.
Billy Frey calls the Alltech Symposium the “U.N. of agriculture.” I got a preview of the year’s event from him this morning that I thought I’d share. I’ll get in to Lexington, KY Sunday afternoon prior to the opening International Dinner. He says they’ll have over 1.500 in attendance this year with over half of them coming from outside the United States. They’ll be coming to learn more about animal nutrition for all species (beef, dairy, swine, aqua, poultry, equine and pets). Besides all the Symposium programs there’s also a lot of sharing of ideas which has been a real benefit seen by attendees year after year.
This year their will be live streams from the Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning sessions which you’ll find on their website.
This summer I will be conducting several presentations for ag communications groups and the use of new technology (gadgets) will be a central theme. I’m looking for some feedback here on what you would most like to know on this subject. Feel free to leave comments or email me. I’m thinking of doing a series of posts on the subject too.
Questions I would like some feedback on include:
How important is technology to your job?
Does your company organization provide sufficient technology support? Do you have a gadget budget?
What type of gadgets are you most interested in learning more about: computers, netbooks, tablets, cameras, audio recorders, video recorders, software, methods of internet access, memory cards/readers, cloud services for web apps/data storage, hard drives, archive solutions. Feel free to mention specific brands or items.
How do you currently use gadgets in your job?
Do you need training? What method of training would be most useful?
What gadgets do you currently own and use in your job?
What gadgets do you want the most?
And speaking of gadgets. Here’s an ad for one of my most recent ones that I use a lot.
The American Meat Institute, the Food Marketing Institute, and the United Fresh Produce Association announced the co-location of their premier trade shows – the FMI Exhibit and Education Event, the AMI International Meat Poultry and Seafood Convention and Exposition, and United Fresh – beginning in 2012 at the Dallas Convention Center in Dallas, Texas.
The powerful performance of Belt SC insecticide from Bayer CropScience protects sweet corn, field corn, cotton and tobacco from worm pest pressures. As a result, growers improve their yield potential and crop quality.
ISU’s Crop Adviser Institute has developed two educational modules covering research design and data collection for crop production research, designed for newcomers to on-farm research as well as extension specialists, crop advisors, agribusinesses and growers. Click here for complete details.
Actually St. Louis Cardinals left-fielder, Matt Holliday, is “Stepping Up To The Plate.”
A coalition of Missouri agriculture organizations has launched a summer education campaign with the St. Louis Cardinals. Themed “Stepping Up to the Plate,” the goal of this initiative is to increase consumer understanding of how today’s farmers are using the latest technology to provide safe, affordable, nutritious food. And the agriculture coalition is bringing in a heavy hitter.
St. Louis Cardinals left-fielder Matt Holliday is teaming up with Missouri corn, soybean, beef, pork, poultry and dairy producers to highlight the great strides farmers are making in meeting the nation’s growing nutritional needs while improving the environment. A native of Oklahoma, the nation’s number two producer of beef cattle, Holliday is partnering with Missouri farmers on an advertising campaign featuring radio ads, grocery store promotions and print advertising.
(Pictured from left): Kevin Hurst, corn farmer from Tarkio; Archie “Rusty” Mulford, poultry farmer from Aurora.; Donna Telle, dairy farmer from Uniontown; Matt Holliday, left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals; John Ridder, beef farmer from Marthasville; Rick Rehmeier, hog farmer from Augusta; Warren Stemme, soybean farmer from Chesterfield.
Cindy interviewed the Missouri Beef Industry Council’s (MBIC) representative on the MO Ag Team, John Ridder, who is now going by the name “Mr. Baseball” in the Missouri beef community. John kind of likes the name and is really excited about the promotion and working with all the state commodity groups. “We all kind of got together and shared some advertising dollars to help put a positive spin on agriculture with all the negative reports that are in the media,” John says. “We just want to have a good image in the public.”
The radio spots are already airing during the Cardinals games and they are also doing a tie-in promotion with Schnuck’s grocery stores and John says they are even getting their own baseball cards. During Friday night home games they will also be having a tailgate party to get out and actually meet the public.
Listen to or download Cindy’s interview with John here that will be featured as an upcoming MBIC weekly radio report:
I was interested to see that the Sorghum Checkoff is holding a food workshop since I’ve got a brother and sister who have Celiac disease. It made a major impact on their lives since so much of food today contains gluten. However, sorghum is providing an alternative.
The Sorghum Checkoff, in conjunction with USDA/ARS, is sponsoring a sorghum food workshop for food industry leaders on how to use sorghum in whole grain and gluten-free applications. The workshop will be held June 2-3, 2010 in Manhattan, Kan., in recognition of the Whole Grains Council’s “Sorghum Month”.
“Sorghum has been a staple food in countries around the world for years and has just begun to increase in popularity as a human food source in the U.S.,” said James Vorderstrasse, sorghum producer and Sorghum Checkoff board member from Hebron, Neb. “It is a gluten-free grain so it is an excellent choice for those with Celiac disease and for diabetics because of its low glycemic index. This conference will educate many of the major players in food processing about sorghum’s benefits and potential in the human food industry.”
For more information about the sorghum food workshop, please see the seminar notice on our website at www.sorghumcheckoff.com or contact Executive Director Virgil Smail at virgil@sorghumcheckoff.com.
The Alternative Fuel Vehicle Institute (AFVi) recognized outstanding use of social media in the alternative fuels industry as part of their 16th annual conference held this week in Las Vegas.
Robert White, Director of Market Development for the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), who tweets under the name @fuelinggood, was awarded the 24/7 Blend Award for “his leadership in industry-wide education about social media.” Robert helped RFA and other fuel advocacy groups get a $1.6 million U.S. Department of Energy grant to provide social media training for clean energy stakeholders.
You’ve got to love YouTube. I think it’s getting to where you can find just about anything on YouTube. Wonder about dairy legislation? Then let California Congressman Jim Costa tell you direct from the floor.
Congressman Jim Costa (D-Fresno) today introduced legislation to protect American jobs and strengthen our nation’s dairy industry. The Dairy Price Stabilization Act promotes market stability and individual dairy farmers’ ability to grow their own business.
“While periods of boom and bust are not new to the dairy industry, our dairy families cannot afford another year of low milk checks that don’t even cover the cost of production,” said Costa. “The dairy price crisis is devastating our local economy and ability to create and sustain jobs. This bill will help the dairy industry get back on track and curb the milk price volatility that is driving dairy farmers in the Valley and our nation out of business”
Maybe I’m just hungry right now but when I saw information about the Plugrá Culinary Institute and European style butter I thought this should be shared. It’s all about creating great food ideas for your spring soiree. The photo is herbed pretzels.
Plan a chic shower for a special bride-to-be or mother-to-be with sophisticated ideas and complementary menu from Plugrá European-Style Butter at www.plugra.com.
Welcome guests with a fresh menu that celebrates the sunshine of spring and summer, courtesy of the Plugrá Culinary Institute. Start with the mouthwatering masterpieces on www.plugra.com , such as Lemon Cucumber Canapes, Butter-Rich Salmon Pate, and Mango Cake with Raspberry Mango Italian Butter Cream Frosting. Personalize your menu by adding one or two favorites of the guest of honor. Perfect beverage pairings from Plugrá complete the culinary experience.
Plugrá is marketed by Global Dairy Products Group, a division of Dairy Farmers of America, Inc. To be inspired, visit www.plugra.com.
It may not be very conservation-minded, but it’s still a clever slogan that makes a great t-shirt.
The credit for “Till, Baby, Till” goes to SynGest, Inc, the company behind the t-shirt and the website where you can buy it. SynGest CEO Jack Oswald a “Till Baby Till” chant as he delivered the keynote address at the 2010 International Biomass Conference in Minneapolis last week where he introduced his new “cornucopia biorefinery” model to produce food, fertilizer and fuel from corn,
“Our integrated biorefinery model will put an end to the ‘food versus fuel’ debate,” Oswald said. “Now you can have your fuel and eat it too.” According to Oswald, the Cornucopia process can yield an impressive slate of end products, including anhydrous ammonia, food grade corn oil, high protein food for human consumption, stillage for animal feed, butanol for liquid transportation fuel, and biochar for conditioning and maintaining soil.
“We intend to use each and every component in an ear of corn,” said Oswald. “The cob and bran are gasified into hydrogen for ammonia synthesis, while leaving biochar as residue. The germ is separated into food grade oil and protein, and the endosperm/starch is converted into butanol and animal feed.” Oswald notes that his integrated biorefinery concept “represents a true intersection between agriculture and energy interests, a formula that sets SynGest apart from others who are just making fuel, power or singular bioproducts.”
The concept has already yielded at least one new product – “Till, Baby, Till” t-shirts are available for $19.99 in short sleeve or $24.99 in long sleeve models.
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.
Following this morning’s opening general session Alltech held a press conference that included (left-right) Joaquin Pelaez, Yum Brands, China, Dr. Jim Pettigrew, University of Illinois, Dr. Pearse Lyons and Dr. Mark Lyons. It was an open question and answer session and I have made the audio available for you below.
Alltech founder Dr. Pearse Lyons is now on stage after being introduced for the first time ever by his son, Dr. Mark Lyons.
During our opening session here at the Alltech International Animal Health & Nutrition Symposium we just witnessed the presentation of Alltech’s 20th Medal of Excellence Award. Receiving the award is Dr. Jim Pettigrew, Univerity of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
Regular AgWired fans know that I am a coffee snob. That’s Cindy’s term since I just prefer to drink good coffee. That’s why I got excited when I learned about 
At 
The Alltech 26th International Animal Health and Nutrition Industry Symposium got underway this evening with the International Dinner. This may be the 26th Symposium but it’s the celebration of 30 years since Alltech was founded by Dr. Pearse Lyons.
We’re still counting down the days until the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. 131 to go as of today. We may be counting down to the games but the annual Alltech International Animal Health and Nutrition Symposium is underway in Lexington, KY.
Cindy interviewed the Missouri Beef Industry Council’s (MBIC) representative on the MO Ag Team, John Ridder, who is now going by the name “Mr. Baseball” in the Missouri beef community. John kind of likes the name and is really excited about the promotion and working with all the state commodity groups. “We all kind of got together and shared some advertising dollars to help put a positive spin on agriculture with all the negative reports that are in the media,” John says. “We just want to have a good image in the public.”
I was interested to see that the 
The 
Robert White, Director of Market Development for the 
The credit for “Till, Baby, Till” goes to 
“Our integrated biorefinery model will put an end to the ‘food versus fuel’ debate,” Oswald said. “Now you can have your fuel and eat it too.” According to Oswald, 
In this week's program Chuck talks with David Armano, Global Innovation and Integration.
