If you’re a coffee lover and want to support a good cause then consider Alltech Café Citadelle. I bought two pounds at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games where Carlos Ronchi was pouring for attendees.
Carlos says that a cooperative in Haiti is producing the coffee and they’re re-building after the devastating earthquake earlier this year. Attendees at the WEG like the coffee and the story behind it and are very happy to help. You can listen to my interview with Carlos: Carlos Ronchi Interview
Here’s what Alltech President, Dr. Pearse Lyons, says about this way to help the needy in Haiti.
We believed that buying Haitian coffee was one of the best ways that we could have an immediate impact. We decided to launch our own brand of Haitian coffee and to incorporate this coffee into existing Alltech products. After several trips to Haiti, we found the perfect partner: Cacgava is a 900 member coffee co-op located in Dondon, a small village in the mountains in northern Haiti. It is Haiti’s oldest coffee co-op and is fair-trade certified by FLO-CERT, an independent International Certification company. The coffee’s name was derived from the Citadelle Laferrière, the largest fortress in the Americas, next to which Cacgava and its member farms are located. Alltech Café Citadelle is a high quality, mild, mountain-grown Arabica. It is naturally shade-grown and is fair-trade.
Polish born artist Andre Pater was on hand at the John Deere media reception at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. He was signing prints of one of his four paintings that he produced for the Race For Education. You can purchase one of them online.
I spoke with him about his work and support for the Race For Education. He has lived in the Lexington area for over 20 years. He says it’s like living in Heaven. He loves the idea behind the Race For Education and was happy to help them by creating art work of the major competitions at the WEG: reining, dressage, jumping and driving. You can listen to my interview with Andre: Andre Pater Interview
The Race For Education (RFE) is a national 501(c)(3) scholarship organization, that enables young people of equine industry families as well as those who want to pursue an equine-related or agricultural career, both with significant financial need, to obtain a college degree by providing tuition support; financial literacy training to help students minimize their debt load; mentoring services to provide students with emotional support; and permanent jobs upon graduation.
AdFarm has expanded their public relations staff with the hiring of two new employees and an internal promotion. Congratulations guys. Dan Kirkpatrick has been hired as a senior public relations strategist and business development lead, with a special focus in Iowa. A marketing practitioner with 25 years experience, Kirkpatrick’s industry expertise ranges from production agriculture to the rural lifestyle market to the green industry.
Neil Neumeyer has been hired as a public relations account executive. He has worked in multiple marketing communications agencies since 1998 and specializes in strategic public/media relations, cause marketing, event management and copywriting. For more than seven years he was the corporate communications manager at Bernstein-Rein.
Dan Danford has been promoted to strategic team lead. In this role, he leads the team for a group of client business — providing strategic counsel and direction to effectively achieve clients’ business objectives, as well as concentrating on account growth and new-business opportunities. He is a veteran media relations and marketing professional with a strong background in agri-marketing and public relations.
The weather has been fabulous so far this week for the 2010 World Dairy Expo and Wisconsin’s own Fabulous Farm Babe (Pam Jahnke) has been hard at work as usual. She was the first person I saw when I walked in the door yesterday morning, so I figured she would make a great first interview for the expo since she has been the local farm broadcaster in Madison for over 20 years.
I talked with Pam about her background, her career, covering the expo as a reporter and judging cattle as a kid, how the show has changed and how the dairy industry in Wisconsin is doing these days.
Check out the 2010 World Dairy Expo Photo Album and the rest of our coverage of #wde10 on World Dairy Diary sponsored by Alpharma, Arm & Hammer Animal Nutrition, Charleston-Orwig, Novartis Animal Health and Novus International.
Cindy is on location at World Dairy Expo so I thought I’d share one of her posts from World Dairy Diary:
The World Dairy Expo exhibitor party sponsored by Hoard’s Dairyman is always a special event, but this year it was extra special because they are celebrating 125 years!
To mark the anniversary, the publication called in the University of Wisconsin marching band as surprise entertainment for the event. It just happened to be at the exact time that President Obama was speaking on the UW campus just a few miles away, so there was a little concern about whether the band would make it or not. But they made it right on time, giving up their opportunity to see the president visit their school to pay tribute to the dairy industry.
Watch the video of the band here:
Instead of getting presents, Hoard’s was giving presents to celebrate their milestone. They presented World Dairy Expo with artist Bonnie Mohr’s updated “Foster Mothers of the Human Race” featuring all seven dairy breeds. The original Foster Mothers print was created in 1957 followed by updates in 1963, 1991, and 1993 — all of which were painted by former Hoard’s Dairyman Art Director James Baird. Bonnie was commissioned by Hoard’s to paint the new version specifically for the 125th anniversary and it was unveiled officially in June. You can order prints online from Hoards.
The National Sorghum Foundation is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2010 Sorghum Challenge Scholarship and the Darrell T. Rosenow Memorial Scholarship.
John Deere Horicon Works announced production of the company’s 500,000th Gator utility vehicle, marking the milestone by building one of John Deere’s latest models, the XUV825i.
The U.S. dairy industry announced that it has completed a carbon footprint study that measured the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with a gallon of milk in the United States.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey announced that the Doug and Laurie Doran Family, who farm Beaver in Boone County, are the winners of the September “Gary Wergin Good Farm Neighbor Award.”li>
The organizers for the 2013 International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) Congress have announced some news.
On July 21, 2010, a meeting took place at the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange Building to create a work team for the 2013 IFAJ Congress. Besides the Argentine Circle of Agricultural Journalists (CAPA, by its Spanish acronym) Executive Board members, 35 representatives of different enterprises and institutions attended the event, all of which are related to the agribusiness sector. The first issue developed was the image we want to show to the world. We analyzed the results obtained from the survey made to the members of the CAPA and members of the IFAJ, in which the selection of a logotype and a slogan representing the 2013 IFAJ Congress was proposed. The participants also gave their opinions and finally, the most voted logotype was selected.
Following this line of work, another important issue we worked on was the slogan and the Congress objectives. The following concepts were put forward: “We have the potential to feed the world”, “Showing a diversity of sectors”, “Genuine traditional countryside elements wealth”. Possible venues suggested by the participants were also evaluated, including Buenos Aires, Salta and Rosario. After the debate took place, it was agreed that the most accurate option would be Rosario, due to the wide and assorted range of possibilities this city offers: ports, dairy farms, cattle farming, agriculture (it is the heart of one of the most productive regions of the country). Even so, we do not exclude the possibility of visiting other cities and an inevitable stopover in Buenos Aires. In addition, within the possible topics to be discussed in the Congress, biodiesel was the most suggested by the participants.
The John Deere Place at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games is a very impressive building and exhibit with a path through it containing a wide array of products. It sits on the walkway between the main entrance to the main outdoor stadium.
To find out what John Deere is doing at the Games and why they got involved I spoke with Roch Dold. He works with the various equine associations that John Deere has a relationship with. He says that because of those relationships they were approached early on to see if they would participate. It’s a natural fit when you consider the history of the John Deere company. As Roch puts it, “the horse and John Deere have a rich tradition.”
The company has a very diverse display of equipment that even includes construction equipment. Roch says that there is a diverse international audience and this allows them to see all that the brand has to offer. Besides the display they are also the official equipment supplier to the Games and you’ll see green equipment working all over the grounds. Listen to more about John Deere’s involvement in my interview with Roch: Roch Dold Interview
The media attending the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games were treated to a private reception with John Deere that included a reining demonstration. Our guide was Casey Deary, Deary Performance Horses, and you can see a portion of his presentation in the video.
We had representatives of several horse organizations with us too. John Deere has a great relationship with them, including the National Reining Horse Association. I spoke with their Director of Marketing and Communications, Christa Morris.
I asked her to explain how reining works since it is such a big part of the games and is a very American part of it. Christa Morris Interview
I want to thank John Deere for allowing me the opportunity to attend the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. It’s a once in a lifetime event since history has been made with the first ever games in the United States.
This evening John Deere hosted the media in their John Deere Place at the Kentucky Horse Park. Here’s Roch Dold (left) and Barry Nelson posing at the start of our event. I’ve got several interviews from the event that I think you’ll be interested in which I’ll get posted during the next several days. We’ll learn about reining for example. Lots more to come.
Export Exchange 2010 is 10 days away but it’s not too late to register. You have two days to take advantage of pre-registration for the event which will connect DDGs (dried distillers grains) and course grain buyers with domestic sellers. Export Exchange is being held in Chicago and will be the place to get answers, make contacts and build your business. Conference attendees will learn from international leaders about current opportunity and constraints surrounding the export of U.S. DDGs and course grains, both of which are growing each month.
In addition, breakout sessions will cover contracting and risk management. coarse grain production, supply and demand, DDGs shipping, handling and contracting, and the use of DDGs in livestock industries.
Export Exchange is co-sponsored by the U.S. Grains Council and the Renewable Fuels Association. The event will bring together more than 170 international buyers of U.S. DDGS and coarse grains with hundreds of U.S. producers and agribusinesses. Click here to register before it’s too late.
I was sure glad to see the Animal Agriculture Alliance here at the 2010 Alltech World Equestrian Games. Sarah Hubbart, Communications Coordinator, is pictured on the left. This is a big international stage with a huge contingent of media on par with the largest I’ve ever seen. Wouldn’t it have been a great place for ag to be on display? Well it is since horses are a big part of agriculture!
But more importantly these folks and common sense are about all that’s combating the deceivers at HSUS which also has an outdoor booth here. I know that’s strange but it happened and they’re pretty well restricted in what they can distribute. See my TwitPic. However, HSUS wants to end animal agriculture so they are leaving an impression with their misinformation campaign on some people who wander through the trade show. Hopefully people will wake up and get the facts from trustworthy sources like HumaneWatch.org.
It may be raining off and on today at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games but that’s not dampening anyone’s spirits that I can tell. I’m about to go on a photo walk starting with Rolex Stadium where we have the dressage competition underway.
Later this afternoon John Deere will be hosting media for a reception and I’ll be there with interviews and photos afterward.
Joining the ranks of the ag apps, like the AgWired iPhone App, is the Farmers Market Finder iPhone App.
Apptika Inc. has just released a new version of its popular Farmers Market Finder app which now includes over 2,500 farmers markets across the U.S. Fresh food lovers and locavores in California, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. can now easily locate farmers markets, U-pick farms, farmstands and CSA’s (community supported agriculture) using their iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.
Responding to user requests for an “open market” feature, the updated app now displays open markets (day of) in green, both in list format and on the map. Favorites are displayed in red.
The Olympics of horse sports, the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, is off to a great start in Lexington, KY and I’m enjoying every minute of my stay here courtesy of John Deere. These Games have been in the planning stages for years and during that time I’ve spoken with title sponsor owner, Dr. Pearse Lyons, Alltech, several times. I had that chance again when Dr. Lyons was escorting Haitian Harmony around The Alltech Experience. They’re a group of children who will be performing here and are part of the efforts Alltech is making to assist the needy in Haiti. As you’ll hear him say in this week’s program, any business man needs “to give back” and this is one way he’s doing it.
You will rightly also hear the pride in Dr. Lyons voice as he talks about the Games finally arriving. And you’ll hear him give full credit to his team and the partnering companies who have stepped up to provide support. I’ve also got to make a point of saying that if you want a lesson in branding your product, service or industry, you need look no further than Alltech and it’s owner. Dr. Lyons makes a comment in the program about how agriculture in the U.S. has done a terrible job of “branding” itself and I can’t agree more. Here at the Games Alltech is doing that in a big way. I wish farm groups and other ag companies had gotten involved since this is a great stage to communicate with consumers. Not sure why they didn’t. Do you? It’s my understanding the opportunity was there the requests made. Anyway, please enjoy this week’s program: ZimmCast 274 - Dr. Pearse Lyons
This week’s program ends with some music from Music Alley. It’s a song titled, “Concerning Charlie Horse” by Great Big Sea. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.
A couple of weeks ago, we had a major storm blow through with straight-line winds of almost 90 miles per hour. It knocked over power lines, corn, blew off shingles and took down hundreds of old trees. It was a mess, and for miles, you could see farmers with loaders and forks carrying off piles of branches. My nieces, on the other hand, found this thrilling because they could finally go count the rings on the tree stumps in Grandpa’s back yard.
As a tree grows, it produces new layers of wood around the trunk, just under the bark. If a tree is cut down, the layers are visible in a cross section. The layers appear as a set of concentric circles known as tree rings.
In general, one layer of wood grows each year. Each layer consists of two colors of wood: light-colored “earlywood” that grows in the spring and summer plus darker, denser “latewood” from the fall and winter.
Tree rings vary in size each year depending upon the environmental conditions that the tree experiences. For most locations, tree rings will be wider during years of abundant rainfall and narrower during times of drought.
By counting back from the year a living tree was cut, it is possible to determine the date of tree rings with reasonable accuracy. It ended up that this one was 19 years old. Funny – I don’t remember them planting it!
This is what it’s all about at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. Horses. Well not just horses but . . . My sponsor, John Deere is a major sponsor of the games and they are the sponsor of the Reining World Championship. Besides their pavilion they also have a reining demonstration arena set up and I just happened to walk by when one was in progress.
Now, if you don’t know much about reining don’t despair. I never did either and I’m going to make sure we do before I’m out of here. So expect to learn more about the different competition disciplines during the next couple days.
I thought I’d share the photo as a tease for tomorrow’s ZimmCast which will feature an interview with Dr. Lyons about the culmination of years of work leading up to the Games taking place now in Lexington.
The 24 members of the Alltech Haitian Harmony children’s choir have touched down in Lexington, in preparation for their scheduled performances during the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. The children are aged between 6 and 13 years and are pupils of the Centre Educatif l’Union des Coeurs elementary school in the town of Ouanaminthe in northern Haiti.
The choir will tour Kentucky, acting as ambassadors for and raising awareness of Haiti, the poorest nation in the western hemisphere. The philosophy behind the formation of the choir is to provide the boys and girls from Ouanaminthe with the best education for a better future. The program was inspired by “El Sistema”, a youth outreach program that brings musical education to some of the world’s most underprivileged children. The children will perform their repertoire of songs in Creole, French and English.
Speaking at the arrival of the children to Blue Grass Airport, Dr. Pearse Lyons commented, “As some of these children come from the most needy families, the Alltech Haitian Harmony choir is committed to enriching both their educational and emotional development. The driving force behind all of Alltech’s projects in Haiti has been sustainability, because only with long-term sustainable development and enterprise can people get the education, jobs and income they need to ensure a brighter future for themselves and to secure a better start for the next generation.
I am betting there are people at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games who got their hotel or airfare via Priceline. If so, it would have made the master pitch man, William Shatner, happy. He made an appearance during the opening ceremonies here last night and got huge cheers from the crowd. He didn’t beam anyone up though. Now that would have been interesting.
It’s now day two and I’m getting ready to head toward the Kentucky Horse Park. Today I’m planning to “chill out” with Alltech. I’ll explain that later. I’ll also be visiting with my sponsor, John Deere. I found their exhibit on the way back to my car last night. This is a big venue and there are also celebration activities in downtown Lexington that I’m going to try to visit before leaving. There’s too much going on to cover it all so I’m not even going to try. I hope though to give you a good overview of the Olympics of horse sports.
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 a coffee lover and want to support a good cause then consider Alltech Café Citadelle. I bought two pounds at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games where Carlos Ronchi was pouring for attendees.
The weather has been fabulous so far this week for the 2010 
Cindy is on location at World Dairy Expo so I thought I’d share one of her posts from 
Instead of getting presents, Hoard’s was giving presents to celebrate their milestone. They presented World Dairy Expo with artist Bonnie Mohr’s updated “Foster Mothers of the Human Race” featuring all seven dairy breeds. The original Foster Mothers print was created in 1957 followed by updates in 1963, 1991, and 1993 — all of which were painted by former Hoard’s Dairyman Art Director James Baird. Bonnie was commissioned by Hoard’s to paint the new version specifically for the 125th anniversary and it was 
The Olympics of horse sports, the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, is off to a great start in Lexington, KY and I’m enjoying every minute of my stay here courtesy of 
In this week's program Chuck talks with David Armano, Global Innovation and Integration.
