The U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) Board of Directors installed new officers at its annual meeting July 12, 2010, in Bozeman, Mont. Don Schieber of Ponca City, Okla., was installed as Chairman, while Randy Suess of Colfax, Wash., became Vice Chairman, and Darrell Davis, of Ipswich, S.D., began his term as Secretary-Treasurer. Janice Mattson of Chester, Mont., moves to Past Chair and will chair the USW Budget Committee. These USW officers were elected to their one-year positions at a January 2010 Board of Directors meeting.
USW’s next Board meeting will be held jointly with NAWG, in Minneapolis, Minn., Oct. 22 to 25, 2010.
Here’s just one more reason to want to attend this year’s Agricultural Media Summit.
The re-birth of ARC continues with the re-introduction of the 2010 Golden ARC awards presentation set for July 27 at the Ag Media Summit in St. Paul. The awards will be given out as part of the Tuesday PR block workshop, from 10:15 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
First, attendees at the PR Workshop “Characteristics of a winning public relations program” will be treated to a dissection of one of the campaign winners from the 2010 contest. Following that seminar, the winners and merit selectees from about 20 categories will be announced by Contest Manager Amy McDonald of McDonald Marketing Communications and ARC Board President Deron Johnson of Rhea + Kaiser Marketing Communications.
Here’s an interesting looking app for your iPad. However, the $4.99 price tag makes me hesitate. Me, a carnivorous grill-a-holic. What do you think? Worth $4.99?
Almost one year after the launch of its successful Weber’s On the Grill recipe and grilling technique app for the iPhone and iPod touch, Weber-Stephen Products Co. has just released a new Weber’s On the Grill app for the iPad®.
Like its iPhone and iPod touch cousins, the Weber’s On the Grill app for the iPad has a colorful, clean and greatly intuitive interface connected to a wide variety of multi-media functions. At an affordable $4.99 from the iTunes store, this grilling app has more than 250 triple-tested recipes from cookbooks such as best-sellers Weber’s Way to Grill(TM), Weber’s Real Grilling(TM) and Weber’s Charcoal Grilling(TM)–all written by 2010 James Beard Award nominee Jamie Purviance. iPad users can tag favorite recipes; view videos; create and share master shopping lists from selected recipes to easily take to the grocery store; and browse by the app’s wide variety of recipe food categories (appetizers, red meat, pork, chicken, seafood, vegetables, fruits and yes, even desserts). Forty sauces, marinades and rubs are also part of the repertoire. Weber’s On the Grill app also features a handy grilling timer that sounds off when food is done.
Fungi like to move around and so does this conference where you can learn all about them.
The British Mycological Society, in association with Elsevier, the world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information, today announced the final programme for the 9th Mycological Congress IMC9: The Biology of Fungi. This congress takes place every 4 years at a different venue around the world.
Taking place at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, a comprehensive programme encompasses the latest research in all areas of fungal biology. More than 300 oral presentations are arranged within 45 thematic symposia and supplemented by over 1000 posters, optional special interest group meetings, field trips and an exhibition. A complementary public exhibition, entitled ‘From Another Kingdom’, will be hosted at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh during the Congress and later into Autumn 2010.
Fungal biology has never been as important in our everyday lives as it is today because of the commercial importance for biotechnology, medicine and the food industry. Fungi also provide a model for studying the eukaryotic mode of life. Further, fungi are crucial to the functioning of the ecosystems of our planet because of the role they play in decomposition and nutrient cycling. New areas of research will be reviewed within the following five main themes of the congress: Cell biology, biochemistry and physiology; Environment, ecology and interactions; Evolution, biodiversity and systematics; Fungal pathogenesis and disease control; Genomics, genetics and molecular biology.
Darlington dairy producer, Jay Stauffacher, has been re-elected to a sixth term as chairman of the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. Connie Seefeldt, Coleman, was re-elected vice chairperson, and Ed Jasurda, Phillips, was re-elected Secretary.
David Macedo – city councilman, 2006 World Livestock Auctioneer Champion and veteran California marketman – is Livestock Marketing Association’s president for 2010-2012.
Pfizer Animal Health has launched a new online resource offering technical and actionable information on mastitis management and milk quality.
Massey Ferguson introduces the new RK Series rotary rake in three models, each designed to help hay producers optimize hay quality.
Mark and Mark have become Partners with The Context Network. Both Mark Nelson and Mark Holland were Senior Associates.
Context Managing Partner, Blake Sieker said, “Context is very pleased to announce the advancement of Mark Holland and Mark Nelson to Partners. Their contributions and expertise as Senior Associates have proven their commitment to consulting excellence. The actionable solutions and solid, strategic results they provide have had a profound and indelible positive influence on our clients, our industry and on The Context Network. We are confident their contributions will bring continued growth and business success to our clients.”
Zachary Larson, Borlaug Summer Intern, is on location at Nanjing Agricultural University and providing us with updates this summer of his trip. Here’s his latest. You can also find a photo album he’s got started here: Borlaug Summer Intern Photo Album. The internship is being sponsored by the Iowa State University Plant Sciences Institute.
My lab work here in the wheat lab has been a bit of a trial and error experience, but I take this as an experience every person who wants to get involved in a research setting must undergo before they can actually conduct a research task proficiently.
For the last few weeks I have been solely working on helping my friend Wang Jia do his lab work, and understand his research. He is trying to detect the genetic differences between a variety of wheat, and a species of grass that shows a serious resistance against a variety of wheat disease. To do this, he first has to run hundreds of PCRs and Page Gels in order to get enough data to find the genetic differences. (more…)
If you have questions, USDA has answers. They just launched a new portal to Ask The Expert.
. . . a knowledge-based search engine that optimizes customer experience while conserving taxpayer dollars. This intuitive tool relies on self-service to deliver reliable and relevant information 24/7, greatly reducing wait time and USDA resources associated with the previous system.
Since so many of you have become more web savvy than you used to be I thought I’d point out a growing problem that I’ve been seeing lately. It’s website browser compatibility. Have you ever looked at your website in a browser other than the one you use? I highly recommend it and you may be very surprised at what you find. Does your web developer do this? You should make sure.
Why? Well if you look at this graphic which shows AgWired visitors for the last month by type of browser they use you can see a top ten list. That’s right. Ten different browsers and there are actually more. So not everyone is using Internet Explorer or Firefox. And although Internet Explorer (IE) is the biggest you need to realize that there are multiple versions of IE. There’s IE6, IE7, IE8 and a test version of IE9. Google Analytics isn’t breaking them out here. Your website could look different in each of them if it isn’t properly coded. And besides the browsers you have to also consider the operating system of your computer. What version of Window are you using or Mac OS? It makes a difference.
I’ve seen this browser compatibility problem with all kinds of websites and companies lately even including my bank where I do online banking. Now, even when we upgrade to a new version of our website software we have to fix all kinds of little bugs that pop up depending on which browser you’re using. It’s a pain in the you know what! But it’s reality. BTW. We find the most problems with IE and its various versions. And if I go back just 2 years ago IE was at 70% and of course there was no Chrome.
Rabobank recently appointed David C. Nelson as Global Strategist, Animal Protein Grains and Oilseeds for the Food & Agribusiness Research and Advisory group based in Chicago.
The newly released Soybean Cyst Nematode Management Guide, produced by the North Central Soybean Research Program and the Plant Health Initiative, is a comprehensive guide to SCN and how to manage it.
Agriculture Future of America is excited to announce that the 2010 AFA Leaders Conference will be held Nov. 4-7, 2010, in Kansas City, Mo.
Kansas Governor Mark Parkinson presented Osborne Industries with the 2010 Kansas Governor’s Exporter of the Year Award.
A new research summary shows that BASF Headline® fungicide effectively controls a broad spectrum of corn and soybean diseases, provides Plant Health benefits, and maximizes crop yields.
The Headline Fungicide Yield Research Summary demonstrates that the BASF fungicide provides corn growers approximately a 3 bu/A yield advantage over other available fungicides.
“Growers are constantly weighing the practices and inputs they use for successfully growing a crop and maintaining their business,” said Nick Fassler, BASF Technical Market Manager. “BASF conducts this exhaustive research so growers can be assured that selecting Headline will help them meet their operational goals.”
The results of the report are based on a summary of university small plot trials, seed company hybrid evaluations and large scale, on-farm side-by-side comparisons of Headline from 2004 to 2009. Headline was applied with a 6 oz/A use rate in all tests. Compared to untreated checks, research shows a 13.5 bu/A average yield increase and 12.2, 16.9 and 19.4 bu/A yield improvements under conditions of low, moderate and high disease pressure, respectively, in corn. In soybeans, an overall 3.5 – 5.5 bu/A yield increase was demonstrated, along with a 7.3 bu/A yield advantage in East and Southeast soybean trials.
In addition, due to the hot, muggy weather this year, BASF is giving growers more time to take advantage of the Headline Advantage by extending a $50 per gallon grower incentive on Headline® fungicide through August 15. More info is available at headlineadvantage.com.
Here’s one way to get your employees excited about an upcoming promotion. Create your own holiday.
It’s official. Alltech has named July 9th “Alltech Games Day.” In anticipation of the largest sporting event to come to the United States since the 2002 Winter Olympics, Dr. Pearse Lyons, president and founder of Alltech, has announced that all 120 Alltech offices located worldwide will be celebrating a day of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.
Twenty-three hundred employees from around the globe will celebrate Alltech Games Day by dressing in Games apparel and buttons. Along with having a dress down day at the office, each employee will take one hour out of their work day to call and invite customers, friends and family to the Games. That time is equal to more than 287 work days worth of time spent on inviting contacts.
The National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) Foundation just announced their 2010 scholarship recipients.
The Foundation is pleased to announce the 2010 selections:
Taylor James, Kansas State University, Glenn Kummerow Scholarship, $5,000
Denise Donley, Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, $4,000
Julie Martin, University of Wisconsin-Madison, $4,000
The NAFB Foundation Board of Directors would like to congratulate these students. In addition to their scholarship, they will each receive a trip to Kansas City for the 2010 NAFB Annual convention, funded by the Foundation. These scholarships and other projects that sustain the future and prosperity of the ag and rural broadcasting industry, would not be possible without the NAFB Foundation Boosters and supporters. Thank you to everyone who supports the NAFB Foundation.
For more information on the NAFB Foundation, or to pledge your support, visit www.nafbfoundation.com.
Registration is now open for this year’s NAMA Boot Camp.
Join us for the 7th annual NAMA Boot Camp, August 17-19, 2010 in Kansas City. Sign up for this program today to learn more about the agri-marketing industry. This year the Boot Camp will take it to a new level expanding on marketing and agriculture basics.
Sessions at this year’s Boot Camp include:
Producer Panel
Marketing to the Row Crop Industry
Marketing to the Animal Health Industry
Little Red Writing Hood
The Impact of Digital Media on Farmers and Ranchers
Recalls, Oil Spills and the Media – Oh My!
Marketing to Key Influencers
Career Builder Session
Advocating for Ag Panel
. . . and there will be plenty of opportunities for networking during the reception on Tuesday, in addition to during the Opening General Session. Network during lunch on Wednesday and during the reception at the Boulevard Brewery or at the Dine Around that evening!
All attendees will receive a notebook packed with agricultural terminology, facts, case studies and speaker presentations. This notebook has become one of the most popular aspects of the boot camp experience.
Congratulations to Cali Yost. Her website/blog Work+Life Fit made the Forbes Top 100 Websites For Women. Cali has been a ZimmComm client for years and had this to say when she let us know about the distinction: I thought I would share this with you because my blog was just named one of the Top 100 Websites for Women by Forbes!! And I couldn’t have done it without you! Thank you both.
We’re very proud of what Cali has accomplished. She’s a shining example of what you can do online today if you’re passionate about your subject and willing to be persistent and patient. It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in either. There might just be something to this whole blogging thing, eh? See the complete list on the Forbes website.
To determine which sites and blogs made the cut we looked for compelling and decidedly female-oriented content, outstanding design, an active community and frequent updates. In short, sheer clickyness.
Missourians For Animal Care continue to fight the HSUS battle by releasing another video to help create public awareness.
Our mission is to promote and protect Missouri’s vibrant and diverse agriculture, which includes livestock and domesticated animals.
Like ‘em on Facebook.
A ballot initiative is currently underway in the state of Missouri. This ballot initiative is called “The Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act”. This ballot measure would place onerous restrictions on Missouri’s well-run licensed breeding facilities which is unfair and misguided. This law punishes law-abiding, licensed breeders for the minority of unlicensed breeders who do not follow the Animal Care Facilities Act Program (ACFA) and who are non-compliant to the law. This measure would also impose detrimental economic consequences for our Missouri farming and agriculture communities.
A University of Chicago economist says banning the herbicide Atrazine would add to the current unemployment level in the United States.
According to University of Chicago economist Don L. Coursey, a ban on the herbicide atrazine would cost between 21,000 and 48,000 jobs from corn production losses alone. His findings were presented today at a National Press Club briefing sponsored by the Triazine Network in Washington.
Coursey estimates atrazine’s annual production value to corn alone to be between $2.3 billion and $5 billion. Atrazine’s additional value to sorghum, sugar cane and other uses increases these totals.
“The economic data on atrazine are very clear. As a first-order estimate, banning atrazine will erase between 21,000 and 48,000 jobs related to or dependant on corn production, with additional job losses coming from both sugar cane and sorghum production losses,” Coursey said.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) re-registered atrazine in 2006 based on the evidence of nearly 6,000 studies and more than 80,000 public comments. It began an additional, unscheduled review of atrazine in late 2009.
“Atrazine is essential to U.S. agriculture. We appreciate Dr. Coursey’s findings and will distribute them to our members, the EPA and to our elected representatives. With unemployment still painfully high across the nation, we can’t afford to lose as many as 50,000 jobs and the corn yield that sustains them,” said Jere White, Triazine Network chairman and executive director of the Kansas Corn Growers Association.
Unemployment is at 9.5 percent – which means in human terms that about 14.6 million Americans are looking for work right now. That’s a lot of people collecting unemployment.
A couple of weeks ago, United Farm Workers (UFW) launched a campaign called “Take Our Jobs”, urging Americans to sign up for farm labor jobs that are normally done by migrant workers – many, if not most, of them illegals. Their point is not really to put unemployed Americans to work but to prove that regular Joes in this country are unwilling to do the hard labor that farm work requires.
Organizers of the campaign are set to appear on the Colbert Nation show tonight to talk about the plan and make the point that it is really a joke. According to a CNN Money article, about 4,000 have responded to UFW’s on-line offer to set them up with local farm jobs. Spokesman Arturo Rodriguez says only a few dozen have been serious, which is pretty sad. Sure, farm work is tough – ask any farmer or rancher. They do dirty jobs every day – just ask Mike Rowe of “Dirty Jobs.” But it is sad to think that millions of Americans would rather collect unemployment than pick oranges. It is honest, hard work – what our country was built upon.
What about high school students looking for summer jobs? The unemployment rate for teenagers in this country is over twice that of the national average – nearly 26 percent last month! Harvesting summer fruits and vegetables would be great work for them. Heck, you can get a tan and a work out while making some good money at the same time!
I hope that unemployed Americans do respond and prove that we can do the hard work required to feed the nation and the world. That’s no joke.
Each fall, we cruise past fields where combines are busy harvesting crops, averaging 200 bushels per acre at 6 mph with a 6- or 12-row corn head. We have augers and grain bins and yield monitors and so many numbers our computers, not our notepads, are full to the brim. Now let’s rewind about 80 years.
I have to preface this week’s walk by providing you with some background. My grandfather, now 88, has an entire semi trailer full of antiques behind his shop. He has purposefully and meticulously cleaned each and every piece and proudly displays them for anyone interested in learning a bit more about “how things used to be” on the farm. I myself find this very interesting.
So this past weekend, I held a little piece of farming history in my hand (literally) and wanted to share it with you. We came across a palm corn husking hook, which sparked my interest, so I converted grandpa into a hand model for the morning. As you can tell, these are hands that have seen a bit of hard work.
You see, back in the 1930s, you would hold the corn shank in your left hand and rake the hook across the husks, break the ear loose from the shank, and toss each ear into a wagon. Corn cobs would then go in the corn crib to dry before being shelled. The average field size was 80 acres (or a quarter at 160 acres). If you were fast, you could pick 100 bushels a day…taking you about 75 days to harvest that 80-acre field. The job required a lot of hand labor and a simple year’s harvest would take the entire fall and winter.
Now go sit in your big green air-conditioned combine, turn on your satellite radio, and smile because that was then.
The NAFB Foundation is committed to the future of the ag and rural broadcasting industry, and each year awards three college scholarships to deserving upper-classmen aspiring for a career in ag broadcasting and/or ag communications: 2010 winners are Taylor James, Denise Donley and Julie Martin.
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.
The U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) Board of Directors installed new officers at its annual meeting July 12, 2010, in Bozeman, Mont. Don Schieber of Ponca City, Okla., was installed as Chairman, while Randy Suess of Colfax, Wash., became Vice Chairman, and Darrell Davis, of Ipswich, S.D., began his term as Secretary-Treasurer. Janice Mattson of Chester, Mont., moves to Past Chair and will chair the USW Budget Committee. These USW officers were elected to their one-year positions at a January 2010 Board of Directors meeting.
The 
The National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) Foundation just announced their 2010 scholarship recipients.
According to University of Chicago economist Don L. Coursey, a ban on the herbicide atrazine would cost between 21,000 and 48,000 jobs from corn production losses alone. His 
A couple of weeks ago, United Farm Workers (UFW) launched a campaign called 
In this week's program Chuck talks with David Armano, Global Innovation and Integration.
