Rhea + Kaiser Marketing Communications has announced major changes in the leadership of the agency starting at the top.
For the first time since the agency’s founding 32 years ago, a new leader is at the helm of Rhea + Kaiser.
Diane Martin, a 24-year veteran of R+K, has been named president and chief executive officer. She succeeds agency co-founder Steve Rhea, who will remain as chairman of the board. Rhea and agency co-founder Van Kaiser retain full ownership of the agency.
“This was a critically important decision for Van and me, and Diane emerged as the clear choice,” Rhea said. “Diane best understands our agency, our culture and where we have to go in the future as a leading independent agency. In particular, Diane understands what it takes to successfully serve our clients and align with their business priorities.”
Martin said Rhea challenged her to define the new agency model going forward.
“My top priority is anticipating and managing change, while also painting a vision of the agency’s future and empowering employees to get there,” Martin said. “I am fortunate to inherit a rich history in R+K, but I understand that the client service business is about continually looking forward and anticipating the new.”
The National Milk Producers Federation has a new Vice Chairman and three new board members. John Underwood was elected the Third Vice Chairman of NMPF. The new Board members include: Mickey Childers of Somerville, Ala.; Dan Senestraro of Johnson, Kan.; and Jim Werkhoven of Monroe, Wash.
Syngenta Crop Protection announced that Inspire Super fungicide received EPA approval for use on cucurbits.
Teammates Marco Andretti (left) and Ryan Hunter-Reay were on hand to promote American corn ethanol today at the grand opening of another Kum & Go E-85 pump location in Des Moines, IA. For two hours this today you could fill your tank with 85 cent/gallon E-85 and a lot of people came out to do just that.
Today’s promotional event was the kick off of my coverage of this year’s Iowa Corn Indy 250 race weekend thanks to the Iowa Corn Promotion Board. I’ll be attending various events and reporting here and on Domestic Fuel. The race is scheduled for 1:30pm on Sunday afternoon. I’ve got a photo album started for the weekend which I’ll be adding to periodically: Iowa Corn Indy 250 Photo Album.
The drivers were signing autographs and doing interviews. I spoke to both of them and they’re very glad to see the support they’re getting from Iowa corn growers. They like the fact that their cars are running on a renewable fuel and after doing so for years now they’ve proved the performance capability of the fuel.
Combine increasing global population and decreasing land availability with pests and diseases that like the same crops we do and you get a continued demand for crop protection tools to feed the world.
The problem is that the public in general views pesticides as unsafe, even though they both safe and necessary, according Dr. Jeff Driver, a toxicologist with George Mason University, who spoke at the BASF Ag Media Summit on sustainability last week in Chicago. “These perceptions or biases exist,” says Dr. Driver. “What consumers need to appreciate further is the risks and benefits of having or not having pesticides, whether in their food or dealing with public health threats like Lyme disease.”
He gave an example of comparing the toxicity risks of aspirin to peaches. “It’s the dose that makes the poison,” he said. “One could consume 32 aspirins of 325 mg strength and reach an acutely toxic dose. In comparison, to reach an acutely toxic dose of an example pesticide in a conventionally grown peach, one would have to consume over 1,000 peaches in one sitting, which obviously would not happen, not even in the best peach eating contest!”
Driver says that consumers have little understanding of the rigorous approval process that crop protection chemicals go through, which is even more lengthy and thorough than for a pharmaceutical product, and it is up to the scientific and agricultural community to do more to educate the public, even starting in elementary school.
Download Driver’s interview or just listen here basf-chi-driver.mp3
Following up Dr. Driver’s presentation, BASF Product Stewardship Manager Andrew Goetz got specific about what BASF goes through to get a crop protection product registered for use and ensure that it is safe for people, animals and the environment as a whole.
“Just in the pre-development time period, we’ll do 40-50 studies and spend $2.5-4 million,” Andrew said. “We’re as highly regulated as the pharmaceutical area in toxicology. In the environmental fate area, we do more, we look at how it behaves in the environment. And in the eco-tox area we do more than pharmaceuticals. So, overall we are probably more regulated than the pharmaceutical industry.”
PureSense Environmental Inc. announced that its Irrigation Manager iPhone application is now available through the iTunes App Store.
Built as a mobile platform for PureSense subscribers, the PureSense app brings the reporting power growers have come to expect from Irrigation Manager to the iPhone, allowing the grower to be more informed, efficient and mobile than ever before.
Growers can access timely, accurate data for each monitored irrigation set. With a single tap in the Charts feature, growers can view powerful PureSense charts used to support important irrigation decisions. The Alerts feature enables the viewing and analyzing of all recent moisture or weather related alerts, including frost, heat and wind alerts.
The app is available through iTunes and is only available to growers with a PureSense login. The Irrigation Manager app can be found here. For more information visit PureSense.com or call 888.882.7873.
More than 20,000 producers from 30 countries and over 400 exhibitors, including Novus International, celebrated the pork industry’s return to profitability during the 2010 World Pork Expo in Des Moines last week.
One of the international visitors who stopped by the Novus tent at WPX was Leonardo Cuevas, a consultant from Chile, who said the event provided him with lots of new information to bring back to his country. “I think we have to improve our industry, in nutrition, minerals and vitamins, especially in the sow and breeder aspect,” Leonardo told me. “Also artificial insemination, environmental control and management of mortality, composting, etc.”
He says this was his third visit to Pork Expo. “I would recommend for everybody to come here. It’s a good investment for producers.”
It’s also a good investment for exhibitors who offer products and services to help producers be more efficient and profitable. Novus International Global Marketing Manager Felipe Navarro says Novus is in about 80 countries, so it World Pork Expo is a great place for them to meet with their customers in many countries. “The only two areas we are missing in this show are China and Asia Pacific. This is related to the business situation, they’re not doing very well right now, but hopefully they will get to the same point where we are now in North America and Latin America where people are starting to make some profit again,” Felipe said.
He says that there are opportunities and challenges for a company like Novus marketing globally, with different regulations, production methods and diseases from country to country, but all producers want to increase performance, which is where Novus is focusing right now. “Especially sow performance,” Felipe said. “Because by working on the sow, which is the source of your revenue at the end of the day, they produce the piglets that you will raise to market weight.”
Novus representatives spent lots of time visiting with producers about their specific products that include chelated trace minerals, enzymes, mycotoxin technologies and anti-oxidants.
Listen to or download my interview with Felipe in the player below.
This week I’ve had the opportunity to speak to different agricultural communications groups about social media. The interest in this subject is very high. If you’re still somewhat skeptical about social media you should watch this video below. You can find statistics from the video here.
Social Media Revolution 2 is a refresh of the original video with new and updated social media & mobile statistics that are hard to ignore. Based on the book Socialnomics by Erik Qualman.
As you’ll see in the video it’s not a question of using social media to communicate but how well you’re using social media. Folks, you really don’t have a choice. Of course, if you choose not to participate in the online conversation then I guess you could call it a choice not to be in or have a successful business.
One of the questions I received most this week was how to get more traffic for your social media efforts with a blog being the specific channel pointed to. Good question and here are some of my thoughts on that:
1. Write about what you’re passionate and knowledgeable about.
2. Write regularly.
3. Write frequently. I can’t imagine having a blog you don’t post on at least 5x/wk.
4. Write as if you’re having a conversation with someone.
5. Don’t write only about yourself, company or products.
6. Point people to information on your subject they may not have known.
7. Use lots of links to more information, internal and external to your company.
8. Invite comment with questions. Solicit their opinion, questions, ideas.
9. Interact via comments or emails with your audience. Don’t ignore them.
10. Be persistent. Don’t give up. It will take time to develop an audience.
11. Use social networking to point people to your blog posts.
These are just a few ideas. There are more. I would also encourage you to create some objectives up front. How are you going to measure success? Realize that this isn’t about big numbers. This is about engaging your customers or members when and how they want. That will never include everyone. Think of social media as a big online cocktail party. Does everyone at the cocktail party get together in one group to chat? No. They are in many small groups. But those people mingle around and move from group to group. Influence your group and realize your audience will then go join another group and take what they learned from you with them.
The video says there are over 200,000,000 blogs. They’re not dead or no longer relevant. They’re more relevant than ever and I see them as the hub of your social media community. The spokes are Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, etc.
Showing that there is a career in professional blogging even for horse enthusiasts Cargill’s Nutrena brand launched a new blog site called The Feed Room that is designed to be a central source for horse enthusiasts to get the latest information on the care and feeding of their horses.
The site will cover a wide range of topics including horse feed, feeding tips, digestive health, weight control for horses, training tips & tricks, and industry events. Visitors can view videos, leave comments, ask questions and subscribe to receive updates via RSS feed or e-mail.
“Every day we engage in conversations with passionate horse owners across the country,” said Jackie Rieck, Nutrena® brand marketing manager. “We wanted to provide a central location for horse enthusiasts to educate themselves, interact with us and find a community of their peers.”
In developing The Feed Room, the Nutrena® brand commissioned a team of experts in the horse industry to blog and respond to site visitors’ questions, with new posts featured weekly. Featured bloggers will include experts from Cargill’s Nutrena® team and industry experts from outside the company.
A good friend of mine likes to say you need to get “whomped up” for an event. They’re getting whomped up in Iowa in advance of this week’s Iowa Corn Indy 250 and so am I, especially after hearing that Team Ethanol will be running again.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey found a fast track through morning rush hour traffic yesterday in an Indy Car. He was joined by representatives from Iowa Speedway and the Iowa Corn Promotion Board for breakfast and a quick trip into work. The group is celebrating the 4th running of the Iowa Corn Indy 250 this weekend at Iowa Speedway.
Following breakfast, Northey was given a ride to his office near the statehouse in a two-seat Indy Car. “It was a fun ride. I definitely got some looks this morning. It’s a fun chance to tell folks a little about the Iowa Corn Indy 250.”
“Certainly Ethanol is huge for the state of Iowa. We produce twice as much fuel as we use in the state. 3 Billion gallons of fuel of ethanol are produced in the state. It helps our corn markets as well as 40 plants out there producing jobs across the state so it’s huge. And so the visibility the Indy 250 gives to ethanol, not only here but around the world by the coverage it gets encouraging people to use ethanol as well.”
I’ll be on location starting tomorrow afternoon at a pump promotion featuring several of the Indy Car drivers.
The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal released a list of the top 100 Minnesota private companies, listed by revenue. Food and agriculture companies are a leading demographic in this list, holding nearly 40% of the spots. Further, the Agri-Growth Council is proud to have six companies included in their membership within the top ten.
The U.S. Wheat Associates have developed an executive summary titled: Analysis of the Effects of Trade Agreements on U.S. Agricultural Exports and U.S. Market Development Programs.
The National Milk Producers Federation’s Board of Directors voted to support the package of concepts contained in the Federation’s approach to reforming dairy policy entitled “Foundation for the Future.”
The new State FFA Officers were elected at the Illinois FFA State Convention in Springfield.
We’re using the #ACE2010 hashtag on Twitter in case you want to see what’s being tweeted or add to the conversation.
From what I am being told, the discussion at lunch focused on the strengths and weaknesses and the effect of changing demographics. The organization will unveil a new website within the next month too.
Cindy and Joanna are on location at the Fuel Ethanol Workshop this week. And yes, Cindy and I stayed in different hotels in different parts of the same city last night. It’s a little strange but . . .
Joanna came up with some news at FEW that’s going to make my coverage of the Iowa Corn Indy 250 more exciting. I’ll let her explain:
There was some big news announced during the Fuel Ethanol Workshop (FEW) – Team Ethanol is back. Dave Vander Griend, the founder of ICM and one of the three original sponsors of the Team Ethanol IndyCar program, delivered the news that Team Ethanol will be back on the track for the first time in nearly two years at the upcoming Iowa Corn Indy 250 on Sunday, June 20th. Ryan Hunter-Reay will be returning as the driver, as part of Andretti Green Racing.
I asked Dave how the return of Team Ethanol came to be and he explained, “We thought this is an excellent opportunity to showcase the fact that fuel ethanol is also biodegradable.” He continued, “Some of the things that are happening here in the Gulf Coast and some of the issues surrounding this oil spill would not be as severe if there was a higher use of ethanol and a lower use of non biodegradable fuel in our tanks.”
ICM is a title sponsor of the Iowa Corn Indy 250 and will be a supporting sponsor through the remainder of the season. They are also hoping to raise sponsorship dollars so that Team Ethanol can compete in several more races this season.
Vander Griend concluded that the best thing about the renewable fuels industry is that they produce fuel year after year and the money stays in America. “When we spend our money on foreign oil, we use the oil up, burn it in our cars, the fuel’s gone. The money’s gone. With renewables, the fuel may also be gone but we still have the money. And that is probably the most important thing if we want to revitalize our economy.”
Apparently I’m the last to know about the sport of pig racing. While I was at the World Pork Expo (WPX) last week, I watched a few of these cute little pigs race to the finish line. The motivation to race? A Fig Newton. I must say, these are my kinds of pigs! The pigs are trained at the Hedricks Exotic Animal Farm in Nickerson, Kansas and travel all over the country to entertain crowds.
The pig races at WPX are a fan favorite and the stands were full for most of the races. I watched three heats the first being an all female heat called the “Powder Puff Derby.” Representing the red team was Britney Squeals, the white team featured Lindsey Loham, the blue team Hamma Montana, and on the yellow team Miss Piggy. And the winner was….you’ll just have to watch the video to find out who won this heat. And if you get a chance, don’t miss the racing pigs coming to a track near you.
ACE is the place if you’re involved in agricultural communications at a land grant university. I am now at the Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Life and Human Sciences Annual Meeting. Now that is a mouthful.
The Association for Communication Excellence (ACE) is an international association of communicators, educators and information technologists. It offers professional development and networking for individuals who extend knowledge about agriculture, natural resources and life and human sciences.
I got here just in time for the welcoming reception. Speaking to the group is meeting committee member Terry Meisenbach, eXtension. So I got him to sit down for a few minutes to tell me more about this organization.
Terry says the program here has 5 keynote speakers who will speak at different times during the program as well as many breakout sessions of which I’m doing one on social media. You can find the program here (pdf). The organization does ongoing professional improvement programs including virtual workshops using Adobe Connect. He says the membership has been holding steady in the last couple years primarily due to budget challenges at many universities. We also talk about eXtension too.
One of the points I brought up was that in my opinion blogs are more relevant today than ever. In fact, I view them as the hub of the social media wheel or perhaps the workhorse of social media. Let’s face it. Blog is a dumb and boring word but it is a powerful tool. You can sure communicate more on a blog post than you can on a tweet. My blog posts “feed” out to all my other social media mechanisms in some way or another. This allows my visitors, subscribers, followers, fans, friends and contacts to get my information whenever and wherever they want. I’ve learned that different people have different social media preferences and I try to satisfy them all.
So, there you have it. One little tidbit from today’s session. Let me know if you’ve got questions or would like a presentation of your own.
Looking for a way to learn strategies to improve your feed quality? Then look no further than your computer. On June 24, 2010, WATT is offering a free “WATT Online Feed Forum.” This virtual forum offers researchers, producers and executives an opportunity to learn about the latest research and products that will not only improve your feed quality but also improve your bottom line. The forum will cast a wide net with the audience but offer a narrow focus with the presentations.
I caught up with Jeff Miller, the Director of Strategy of Sales and Marketing in the Novus International booth during World Pork Expo to learn more about this virtual feed forum. Novus is a supporter of this event. He explained, “This is synonymous with a live trade show but its on the internet. So we’re putting five presentations on in which an audience of knowledge seekers from over 100 countries from around the world have signed up to attend these presentations and they also have the ability to mingle with their colleagues from all over the world. And of course they have the opportunity to go to sponsor booths that are also in the virtual event.”
How to feed high yielding dairy cows to maintain milk yield and fertility
Feed ingredients for sustainable aquaculture
Although the presentations are pre-recorded, event day participants will have the opportunity to join a live Q&A session with the speakers. However, if you can’t make the live event, the feed forum will be archived for three months.
Miller said that while they appreciate being at live events, his company strongly feels that there is a global audience of people who are looking for knowledge and education in any channel available. “This virtual trades show platform is another channel for professionals to get quality information about agribusiness,” concluded Miller.
Listen below to my full interview with Jeff. You can register for the free feed forum and see the archive of the Watt Poultry Nutrition & Health Forum, at www.wattevents.com.
The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and AG CONNECT Expo 2011 announced they are teaming up in 2011 with the co-location of the 2011 AFBF Annual Meeting and AG CONNECT Expo 2011, both to be held in early January 2011 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Ga.
AFBF’s 2011 Annual Meeting will be Jan. 9-12, while the AG CONNECT Expo runs Jan. 8-10, with “Preview Day” on Jan. 7 by special admission.
The co-location will provide Farm Bureau members attending the 2011 AFBF Annual Meeting with the added value of convenient access to the AG CONNECT Expo show floor on January 8-10. The 5,000-plus attendees expected at the AFBF Annual Meeting will have the opportunity to participate in an event that offers the best in technological advances and showcases innovative agricultural equipment, inputs, components and services. This unique opportunity for Farm Bureau members – a one-time exception in AG CONNECT’s standard registration – became a reality after AG CONNECT Expo organizers approached AFBF about teaming up in Atlanta, according to AFBF President Bob Stallman.
The Conservation Technology Information Center’s Conservation In Action Tour, slated for Aug. 2-3, 2010, will visit innovative farm operations in east central Virginia. Presenters will initiate discussions about agriculture’s role in addressing Chesapeake Bay water quality concerns and will demonstrate equipment, tools and technologies that help farmers use nutrients efficiently. (*photo credit: Charles Carter)
During this event, participating farmers, policy makers, agricultural advisors, conservation professionals, private industry and others will visit farms and farmers in the Williamsburg area. Tour stops will feature successful, profitable farming operations built with conservation in mind. Presenters will discuss the appropriate role, system and support for Bay Region ecosystem services provided by agriculture – through government programs and new market-based approaches. Participants will learn more about the actions producers take to protect soil and water quality, plus possible generation and sale of these services, often measured with carbon or water quality “credits.”
The registration price covers transportation, meals and refreshments, and a social event on Aug. 2, the evening before the Tour. CTIC members pay $75.00 and non-members pay $100.00. Agricultural producers and members of the media pay $25.00.
Tour sponsors, including Syngenta, John Deere, Mosaic, Agrotain, Case IH, Monsanto and Agri Drain, recognize the need to conserve natural resources while feeding the world and making a living from the land.
Click here to register, or call CTIC at (765)-494-9555. For more information, please contact Karen Scanlon, executive director, CTIC, at 765-494-9555 or scanlon@ctic.org.
You can’t get enough Gator. Most of you know that I graduated from the University of Florida, so a utility vehicle called a Gator has always held a soft spot in my heart.
Last week’s unveiling of the new line of John Deere Gator XUV’s included getting out in the wild and riding them. I’ve got two video clips to share. The first one is an interview with John Deere’s Mark Clodfelter while we had the vehicles sitting still for photos. He talks about all the features and options and focus on safety.
So now that you’ve heard about all the products and features while the Gator was sitting still how about seeing what it’s like out on the trail? I’ve got to say that holding a camera steady while interviewing John Deere’s Kevin Lundt was not easy, especially in bright sunshine. Conditions were perfect for a trail ride though.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announces new members of the Farm, Ranch, and Rural Communities Committee for its 2010-2012 term.
Today, the American Agri-Women will be hosting its 17th annual symposium in Washington, D.C., over “Agriculture Under Siege: How to Be a Force for Truth.”
FreshCowInnovationCenter.com is a new hub for everything fresh cows developed by Cattlenetwork and Dairy Herd Management magazine in conjunction with Pfizer Animal Health.
Appaloosa Horse Club (ApHC) announces the new ApHC International Appaloosa Directory. For more information call (208) 882-5578 ext 235 or email marketing@appaloosa.com.
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.
Rhea + Kaiser Marketing Communications has announced major changes in the leadership of the agency starting at the top.
Teammates 
The problem is that the public in general views pesticides as unsafe, even though they both safe and necessary, according Dr. Jeff Driver, a toxicologist with George Mason University, who spoke at the 
Following up Dr. Driver’s presentation, BASF Product Stewardship Manager Andrew Goetz got specific about what BASF goes through to get a crop protection product registered for use and ensure that it is safe for people, animals and the environment as a whole.
More than 20,000 producers from 30 countries and over 400 exhibitors, including 
It’s also a good investment for exhibitors who offer products and services to help producers be more efficient and profitable. Novus International Global Marketing Manager Felipe Navarro says Novus is in about 80 countries, so it World Pork Expo is a great place for them to meet with their customers in many countries. “The only two areas we are missing in this show are China and Asia Pacific. This is related to the business situation, they’re not doing very well right now, but hopefully they will get to the same point where we are now in North America and Latin America where people are starting to make some profit again,” Felipe said. 
In this week's program Chuck talks with David Armano, Global Innovation and Integration.
