Day one of the NAFB convention is underway. Showing their concern for the environment, you can get an NAFB water bottle to use and re-use, sponsored by Boehringer-Ingelheim.
The first activity on the schedule is the meeting of the Marketing & Promotion Advisory Board. Photos are in the photo album. Cindy is on her way and throughout the next couple days we’ll bring you all the action we can.
NAFB Convention Photo Album
The staff of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting is hard at work setting up for convention number sixty six. I caught a few of them during a discussion. The NAFB Executive Director is Mark Vail, pictured center.
I spoke with Mark to get a short update on how things are going. It looks like attendance is going to be strong judging by pre-registrations.
You can listen to my interview with Mark here: Mark Vail Interview
The NAFB board of directors held their meeting during the day today.
They concluded early though so I hope that means everything is going smoothly. I’ll be interviewing some of them over the next couple days to get their individual thoughts and perspectives.
NAFB Convention Photo Album
It’s a little quiet right now in the news room at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting convention. That’s probably because it’s still being set up and I’m just early. Thanks to Megan Fairchild Anderson, Padilla Speer Beardsley, for taking the photo. She’s helping Sandi Wilson, BASF, who are the sponsors once again of the news room. Thank you BASF!
I’ve got a photo album already started which Cindy and I will be adding to throughout this week’s convention. You can find it here: NAFB Convention Photo Album
With just two weeks before the comment period deadline remaining, the National Pork Producers Council is calling on consumers to join with meat producers in opposing the proposed Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) rule and they have come up with seven reasons why they should:
No. 1 It’s a solution in search of a problem.
The rule is based on the assumption that today’s livestock markets don’t function properly. In fact, current markets operate well for producers, packers and consumers alike. USDA’s own, peer-reviewed research confirms this. Neither a 1996 study on concentration in meat packing nor a 2007 meat marketing study found evidence of undue buyer or seller power in livestock markets. Meanwhile, food expenditures as a percentage of disposable income in this country are the lowest in the developed world – and have been declining steadily for decades.
No. 2 It’s a federal regulation on steroids – an unneeded bureaucratic overreach that does an end-run around Congress and caters to those who can’t compete.
GIPSA says the rule simply fulfills a mandate under the 2008 Farm Bill. In fact, it goes way beyond the specific requirements in the Farm Bill. Ironically, it adopts through regulation what a small band of disgruntled producers couldn’t achieve through legislation. Several of the provisions were either specifically rejected by Congress or are counter to federal court rulings. Why should we remake the system to suit a tiny fraction of producers who can’t compete in today’s markets?
No. 3 It will raise consumer meat prices.
Massive new regulatory requirements will translate into higher costs, which ultimately will be paid for by consumers in the form of higher retail meat prices.
The ZimmCast series of interviews with agricultural marketing agency leadership continues with the co-founder of Woodruff Sweitzer, Terry Woodruff.
Terry and his partner Steve Sweitzer both grew up in rural Mexico, Missouri which is just down the road a piece from Columbia where one of their several offices is located. Others are in Kansas City and Calgery, Alberta. The two started the agency in 1992 and today Terry says they are experiencing great growth.
“For the past three years, we’ve been very fortunate to grow 20-25 percent,” he said. They have moved both Missouri offices to larger locations and the Calgary office will also be moving. “We continue to grow, we’re looking to fill positions in all areas within interactive strategies,” and he wants Agwired readers to know that they have job openings.
Woodruff Sweitzer’s client base includes a number of agriculture and animal health companies, including Bayer Animal Health and the National Pork Board, and Terry says they are a true North American agency. “We were one of the first, if not the first, to have cross border offices, and I think the insights that we share back and forth in both markets is extremely valuable.”
Please enjoy this week’s program and learn more about Woodruff Sweitzer: ZimmCast 281 - Interview with Terry Woodruff
This week’s program ends with some fun music from Music Alley in tribute to Chuck’s annual deer hunting event. It’s called “Hunting in Suburbia” by Jukebox Sinners.
Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsors, Novus International, and Leica Geosytems for their support.
The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired. Subscribe so you can listen when and where you want. Just go to our a Subscribe page
It seems like my grandpa knows a little bit about a lot of things. Jack of all trades, master of none is how some people put it. I like to think he’s a walking dictionary, encyclopedia and history book, and I enjoy his stories. The other day, I asked him to pull something out of his treasure trailer that he thought would make for a good story. At first, when I heard what these were, I thought, “How vain. Fixing purebred cattle horns just so they look good.” Shows you how much I knew about these cast iron horn weights.
Back in the day, these were tightened, using a set screw, to the end of purebred Hereford bull horns to train them to the correct curvature. Breeders knew what the proper curve was in order to meet the requirements necessary to be purebred stock.
As I read more about this so-called horn training, I found out that there are fewer problems with horned cattle maneuvering down an alleyway or going through a chute by using a newer technique called sloping.
Want to know more? Read this 2009 article from HerefordWorld.org that talks about horn curvature and also highlights pain prevention and dehorning techniques. That was my history lesson for the day, and a story that helped me get over feeling like horn weights were just for a bull’s good looks.
Until we walk again…
Novus International employees from around the world joined with the community of Montgomery County, Missouri and the agriculture industry statewide to celebrate the opening of their new research facility Green Acres Farm.
“It was really important for us to find a welcoming community,” said Novus CEO Thad Simons at the ribbon cutting ceremony on Saturday. With him were Missouri Director of Agriculture Dr. Jon Hagler and newly elected State Representative Bart Korman of Montgomery County; as well as other company, state and local representatives.
Dr. Hagler was joined by his new wife State Rep. Linda Black of southeast Missouri. “Just to tell you how important Novus is to me, we stopped here on our way to the honeymoon,” Hagler said as he introduced his wife.
Listen to or download remarks from Rep. Korman, Jon Hagler and Thad Simons here: Novus Green Acres
See photos from the event in our Flickr photo album.
Here’s a little video tour of Green Acres Farm, led by Novus manager of product research Skip Hampton.
It’s a beautiful morning in Mid Missouri. It’s NAFB convention week. It’s also fall deer hunting time! Opening day for me is this Saturday. In fact, I’m forcing myself to spend today and part of tomorrow getting the camp set up. Then it’s on to KC, MO for NAFB.
Remember that you can follow all the action as the farm broadcasters get together with the Twitter hashtag, #NAFB.
The National Peanut Board has entered the iPhone app world.
“Peanuts: Energy for the Good Life®” iPhone app offers recipes, snack suggestions and a five-minute mindfulness meditation exercise with Stephan Bodian, author of Meditation for Dummies® ― tools to help you care for your body and mind throughout every part of every day.
The app features more than 30 dietitian selected recipes and allows you to set reminders to have a snack or take a break. Snacks supply energy throughout the day when hunger strikes, and help to prevent overeating during meals. With more protein than any nut, USA-grown peanuts and peanut products are great snacks that provide the energy needed to “trump the slump” and get through the day.
Don’t forget to get the AgWired iPhone App!
Fresh out of college agrimarketing professionals whether they are new to the National Agri-Marketing Association or not and under age 25 will now receive a discount on their membership. The organization has created a Young Professionals Membership after a lot of discussion on committees and with members.
In response to these discussions, we’ve created the Young Professionals Membership. This membership category offers a discounted membership to recent graduates and new hires under the age of 25, who are already engaged in an agri-marketing business – agency, media, company, etc.
Dues for these Young Professionals would be half the amount paid by regular members until they reach the age of 25 – this is half of national dues as well as half of chapter dues. Once they reach 25, they will pay the full membership dues. Watch your email for more information coming soon on the Young Professionals membership.
Many businesses pay dues for their more seasoned employees. This will provide a cost-effective means for businesses to provide development and networking opportunities to their entry level employees. The development and networking opportunities would naturally help the younger employees become a bigger asset to their employers.
Quarry Integrated Communications and Syngenta Crop Protection Cananda have agreed to a new, multi-year marketing partnership.
According to Patrick Crampton, Head of Marketing for Syngenta Canada, Quarry’s deep knowledge of the agriculture industry, combined with its ability to service all of Syngenta Crop Protection’s marketing communications needs in an integrated manner was the impetus for the partnership. “Syngenta Canada is excited to join forces with a team of highly skilled, marketing communication professionals who will be working on our behalf to share our vision of delivering outstanding crop protection solutions to Canadian producers.”
“As the agriculture industry undergoes a state of transformation, Quarry looks forward to working with Syngenta Canada to navigate this rapidly changing environment,” stated Ken Whyte, President of Quarry Integrated Communications Inc. “We are thrilled to support Syngenta Crop Protection – an already highly regarded and respected brand – going forward. For Quarry, the partnership feels like an ideal match.”
The basic problem with the proposed Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) rule as far as Montana cow-calf producer Bill Donald is concerned is that it is just too vague.
“We can have intelligent people that read it and come up with a very different analysis of what it will or won’t do,” Bill says. “It’s so hard to make a comment about what the rule may or may not do because it doesn’t define some things very well.”
He does believe the proposed rule has the potential to have a severe adverse impact on value-based marketing programs that producers currently utilize and because it is so vague he fears that it will lead to apprehension on the part of both buyers and sellers going into a year with one of the smallest cattle herds in history. “The market has always responded negatively to apprehension,” he says. “If people don’t know the playing field, if they don’t know what the premium is going to be for a given product or commodity, they tend to pull back and – at least in the short term – that makes for lower prices.”
Bill, who is the president-elect of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, says the most important thing for producers to do right now is to make comments on the proposed rule before the November 22 deadline. “It is going to impact every producer in the cattle industry,” Bill said. “Every time the government comes up with a rule like this, it’s incredibly important for the people who are going to be impacted to let the governing agency know how it will impact them.”
Producers can submit comments directly on-line and more information about the rule and comment period is available on the NCBA website.
Listen to or download my interview with Bill here: Bill Donald Interview
Our friends at Farm Foundation are offering another one of their free conversations on agricultural policy in this country … this time tackling the issue of the connection between obesity, food and the nation’s agricultural policy on Tuesday, November 9 from 9-11 am at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. :
What’s the Connection?
Presenters will be:
* Jon Doggett, Vice President of Public Policy for the National Corn Growers Association;
* Mary Muth, Director of the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Program at RTI International; and
* Michael Jacobson, Executive Director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
Each presenter will get 10-15 minutes to make their case, followed by a discussion moderated by former Texas Congressman Charlie Stenholm.
Make your reservation by noon Friday, November 5 at the Farm Foundation website.
Kip Cullers recently set yet another world soybean yield record with 160.6 bushels per acre on his 2010 test fields. The question other growers have is “How does he do it?”
Kip maintains that he has no big secrets and that any farmer can do what he does. He shares some of his techniques in two recent BASF Top Plots episodes, available on the BASF YouTube channel.
In addition to planting the right genetics, he credits the record to taking a proactive, total-systems approach to help his soybeans thrive. As part of that approach, Cullers makes a strong case for using Headline® fungicide for superior disease control and the Plant Health benefits that helped his soybeans get past stressful weather this summer and Kixor® herbicide technology for controlling glyphosate-resistant weeds. “Headline was a key to driving higher yields this season,” said Cullers. “It’s the foundation of our Plant Health program, and the reason we’re able to produce happy, healthy plants that produce more yield.”
BASF has created a page on Facebook to send congrats to Kip for not only setting another world record, but also for helping show other farmers how to increase their own yields. Send a message to Kip by going to the SuperSoy landing tab on the BASF Crop Protection Facebook page.
BASF Crop Protection is also offering some extra incentives for farmers who want to use Headline® fungicide for the 2011 growing season by saving money through the Headline Advantage and Farm Plan™ offers. Headline Advantage offers growers an opportunity to earn a $100 per gallon rebate on Headline purchases made by March 15, 2011 from authorized BASF retailers. BASF has also teamed up again with Farm Plan to allow growers to finance a purchase of two or more BASF crop protection products—such as Headline fungicide and Kixor® herbicide technology—through Farm Plan with zero percent interest and no payments for 180 days. Farmers can find out more from their local BASF rep.
At the beginning of the Alltech Global 500 I participated in a presentation on social media and I’ve been overhearing farmers talking about how to use it for their farm. During a discussion dinner last night I met a dairy farmer who has been using it to drive business on his farm. He’s a great example for all farmers. He’s Carl Chaney (left in photo) and you can find his farm online at Chaney’s Dairy Barn.
Carl has a great story which I recorded this morning. Basically, his family operation decided to take control of their own destiny and diversify into processing their own milk, making their own ice cream and creating an agri-tourism component of their farm. So over the last couple years they have been using a website and now Facebook and Twitter to promote their business and Carl says they have direct evidence of how it has helped. This use of social media has helped them stay in the dairy business after they were considering getting out.
Besides driving business Carl says they are also helping educate consumers about where their food comes from. Sounds like he could be on the board of the AgChat Foundation! The farm conducts tours with a growing number of area schools. You’ll hear the pride in his voice when he sees kids marvel over a new calf or seeing a milking parlor in action.
You can listen to my interview with Carl here: Interview with Carl Chaney
Strawberry lovers have a new website from the California Strawberry Commission.
The new website is chock full of some of the best recipes from professional chefs and top food bloggers, along with colorful and mouth-watering food photography. Recipes can be shared via social networks, voted on, and printed. Additionally, consumers and bloggers can submit their own recipes to be featured on the California Strawberries site.
“Strawberry fans across the country like sharing their love for strawberries. They are always looking for the latest recipes, events and information,” said Carolyn O’Donnell, Communications Director, California Strawberry Commission. “We strive to create that direct, two-way communication with strawberry lovers everywhere with the new site, integrated with other social networks.”
This year’s Alltech Global 500 includes a full program for beef producers. As we’ve said many times before, if you’re in the dairy business, you’re in the beef business. So, I spoke with one of the beef farmers here, Charles Miller. He’s a Kentucky cattleman so he didn’t have as far to go as many who are here from 29 different countries.
Charles says he’s an Alltech customer and he’s glad to see the company placing a greater emphasis on beef lately and here at this conference. He sees the interaction with international farmers as a great opportunity. He says that one of the most interesting things he has seen and learned so far is the importance and perspective on social media. He said, “As we go forward as an industry, if we fail to utilize that tool to our best advantage we’re going to be left behind.”
You can listen to my interview with Charles here: Interview With Charles Miller
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.
