How do you stay positive even when you’re in a negative environment? The IFAJ Master Class and Boot Camp class attendees heard multiple ways from motivational speaker Declan Coyle, Andec Communications. Declan’s presentation was sponsored by Alltech. I heard him first earlier this year at the Alltech Symposium.
Declan uses a strategy based on what he calls the green platform. Think of your thoughts and actions as if you’re looking at a traffic light. Red stops you but green makes you go. So when you think negatively you’re on the red platform. When you think positively you’re on the green platform. Of course this is where you want to be. Declan provided many anecdotes from his own personal life as well others from various studies and individuals who have lived a life that provided a good example of his points. I recorded one of those stories for you.
I have started a photo album for the 2011 IFAJ Congress. It will contain photos from the pre-Congress classes I’m attending, the Outdoor Farm Show and the full Congress: 2011 IFAJ Congress Photo Album
It’s time for the 2011 IFAJ games to begin. Kim Waalderbos, freelance writer, is checking us in this afternoon at my hotel. I’ve already run into several of my IFAJ friends that I haven’t seen in a couple of years.
Tonight we have a welcoming reception for participants in the pre-Congress Master Class/BootCamp. I thought I’d take advantage of some lobby wireless while my room is getting ready.
This program will get started with sessions tomorrow morning. I’m sharing duties for one of them in the afternoon. I’m looking forward to working with a diverse group of ag journalists!
Good morning from the agriblogging highway. My Mojo (mobile journalism kit) is getting lighter. This is my new Macbook Air. Came in yesterday afternoon and I am hoping I’ve got it all set up. I’ll find out this week in Canada while attending the 2011 International Federation of Agricultural Journalists Congress.
First impressions of the Macbook Air are very positive. I have a 13″, i7 processor w/256GB SSD. It’s fast and thin and light and so far so good. With this new laptop I did not do a Time Machine restore from my other Macbook Pro backup. I started clean and had to install all programs and transfer only the files I want. I’m going to use an external drive even more to keep this hard drive as clean as possible.
Entrepreneurship is alive and well at Iowa State University. I visited with Michael Koenig at the Farm Progress Show about it. ScoutPro, a business started by 3 College of Agriculture and Life Sciences students at Iowa State University will be launching their first products: ScoutPro Lite™ Soybean and ScoutPro Lite™ Corn at the 2011 Farm Progress Show on Aug 30-31 and Sept. 1, in Decatur, IL.
Seniors Michael Koenig, Holden Nyhus and junior Stuart McCulloh founded the new venture, ScoutPro, a software applications development company, following their involvement in an entrepreneurship in agriculture course taught by Kevin Kimle, director of the Agricultural Entrepreneurship Initiative at Iowa State University.
The company has developed a crop scouting app which eliminates the guess work in crop scouting, while increasing producer’s efficiency and profitability. Through systematic questions, the app narrows down pests to ensure a correct identification. Additionally, the app creates field specific crop scouting reports to help producers make better management decisions. The ScoutPro Lite™ apps are compatible on all smartphones, iPads or other tablet devices.
In addition to the app, producers will also be able to manage all scouting reports and gain access to aggregated pest data through their own private, secure website.
Pioneer Hi-Bred’s big announcement at the 2011 Farm Progress Show was a new program focused on evaluating innovative production practices on a local basis through a national network of agronomy trial managers (ATMs).
“The focus is really local,” says Curt Clausen, Pioneer agronomy sciences director. “It’s really about local crop management, innovation and knowledge.”
Pioneer is doubling the number of ATMs currently in the field to over 40 in the next three years. “This is the next level of service to our customers,” Curt said during the Pioneer press conference at FPS.
Listen to Curt’s press comments, introduced by Pioneer’s Jerry Harrington, here. Curt Clausen of Pioneer
One of the real live Pioneer ATMs out in the field is Jake Vossenkemper from the Decatur area, who says growers have hundreds of agronomy questions that they want answered. “They want to do the best job they can just like everyone else and our job is to step in and help them answer those questions,” Jake says.
Jake says Pioneer has been performing some specific experiments in certain regions, like an intensive soybean management experiment to look at factors that have been shown to consistently increase soybean yields. “Some of those factors include seed treatments, foliar applied pesticides and fungicides, as well as planting date,” he said.
The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, announced the U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards, a new program to recognize dairy farms, businesses and collaborative partnerships for efforts that deliver outstanding economic, environmental and/or social benefit.
The 2012 Potato Industry Leadership Institute will be held Feb. 23 to March 1, 2012. The Institute is an eight-day program designed to identify, develop and cultivate new leaders within the potato industry.
In this week’s program let’s get caught up with Dave Aeschliman, Growth Enterprises. If you don’t know David then you’re missing one of the original Advertising Rat Pack members who took this dude under their wing starting at NAMA meetings once upon a time. We got connected via my post last week about missing Gary McKenna, who was also one of the members of that infamous group.
David has just recently started a new business called Growth Enterprises. He works directly with companies to create a strategic growth plan that’s very comprehensive. He also works on a pay for performance basis. In our conversation he provides a phone number if you want to reach him. His business is so new the website isn’t ready for prime time yet. David says new communications technology have certainly changed the way you do marketing today. I think you’ll appreciate some of his comments.
Listen to my conversations with Dave in this week’s ZimmCast: Growth Enterprises
Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsor, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong, for their support.
This week’s program ends with with music from Music Alley. It’s “Oh Canada” by Danny Fong. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.
The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired. Subscribe so you can listen when and where you want. Just go to our Subscribe page.
I am a coffee snob. I admit it. And I know there are other coffee snobs out there. So when I find something good I like to share it. Most of you know that when I’m home it’s all about Coffee Zone. But when traveling it’s usually a Panera or a Starbucks.
That is unless I come across something like a Sturgis Coffee Company. I stopped in on my way out of Sturgis recently and I would go back. Well, only if I need to go to Sturgis. But you can order their coffee online! I brought back Bliss and we’re about out. Time to place an order. So what’s your favorite coffee or coffee place?
I just learned that the folks at Seametrics have named AgWired to their list of Top 20 Agriculture Blogs! They said this was based on “recommendations from other bloggers and because we think your blog provides awesome content for people interested in agriculture.”
Seametrics is a “water flow measurement company that helps farmers, manufacturers, and municipalities to reduce water use and save money.”
Thank you Seametrics. We’ll keep trying to earn it!
There are many reasons to support the National Agri-Marketing Association’s Agribusiness Educational Foundation. In this chapter of my series of interviews with ABEF operational committee members we’ll hear why Sheri Seger, DTN/The Progressive Farmer, is a big supporter. Sheri is national accounts manager for the company. I visited with her at a recent stop on the agriblogging highway.
Sheri says she is happy to be involved with the foundation because when she started her career she didn’t know what the opportunities were. The ABEF provides and supports ways for others getting started in their careers to find the opportunities that exist. Examples include the NAMA student marketing competition as well as scholarships, student training and internships. She encourages contributions to the foundation and there are many ways to do so. You can find out more online.
Some of the high yielding innovators in the 2010 Illinois Soybean Yield Challenge were at the 2011 Farm Progress Show to talk about the program and what they learned.
The Shipman Elevator Team, sponsored by BASF, took first place in District 6 last year and also won the Novel Practices Award in the challenge funded by the Illinois soybean checkoff. Team member Dwayne Milner, pictured here with his BASF rep Kaleb Hellwig, says they are competing again this year to build on what they learned last season. “As a whole, we learned that we’ve got to manage soybeans, we’ve got to plant them early and we’ve got to manage more like corn,” Dwayne told me.
Teams of growers, working together in nine districts across Illinois, farm side-by-side plots using traditional techniques on one and innovative methods on the other. The common goals for all Challenge participants are to maximize soybean yields while producing valuable data that will benefit researchers and growers alike. The Shipman team averaged 85.3 bu/ac of the top five growers, which was the highest of all the district averages last year. “Everybody did a lot of different approaches, but our most common were seed treatments, planting early, fertility management, used Headline as our fungicide, used an insecticide on it and residual herbicides,” Dwayne says.
I’m starting a series of posts about the construction of our new shed/shop. My husband is building it and our son is playing little helper dude. You see, our house looks like a barn – shaped like a barn and is painted red and white. Some people thought we were building a church when the big wooden front doors were installed; then they guessed we were living in a barn. Well, I guess we are in a way.
The next big project is a shop out front for my husband. I “get” to use it for the mower and that’s about it. One side will be open so the horses can come in and out in the winter, and for hay storage. It’s going to be the exact opposite of our house – red roof, trim and wainscot with white walls.
The other night, my husband dug post holes and poured quick crete. He had to attach wood to all four sides of the bottom of the posts, and little helper dude was put to work. He’s a boy, so instead of taking the top piece off the pile, he was on his stomach, digging for the hardest piece to reach.
The unspoken deadline for completion is about three weeks from now. I’ll be glad to have things moved out of the garage and into the shed. And in the meantime, little helper dude is getting his first lesson in construction.
The scrapes on his knees and sliver in his hand were nothing compared to the satisfaction of being able to help daddy. It’s nothing a bath and a little Neosporin can’t fix.
It’s a challenge to get all the board members of the AgChat Foundation in one place. We’re going on two years old and it hasn’t happened yet. But we got a lot of us together at the recent Agvocacy 2.0 Conference. We get a lot done for a group of farmer led volunteers who are committed to agvocacy.
One of our newest board members is Zack Hunnicutt. Zach is a fifth-generation family farmer from Aurora, Nebraska, who farms with his dad, brother, and cousin raising irrigated corn, popcorn and soybeans. I visited with him during the conference. Zack says he started in social media about six years ago with Facebook. Then he got involved with Twitter and started getting connected to other farmers. Next he started participating in the weekly AgChat conversation. While watching the growth of social media use by farmers he thought the idea of conducting training sessions like this one was fascinating. He’s passionate about helping people get involved in social media and doing it right. Zack hopes the AgChat Foundation can conduct more training sessions throughout the year in the future and branch out to other audiences like college students.
The Mosaic Company announced that it recently received patent approval for Nexfos, a granulated feed-grade monodicalcium phosphate for use in animal and poultry feed.
During the New Holland press conference at last week’s Farm Progress Show we learned what’s new. Abe Hughes, New Holland Agriculture Sales & Marketing Vice President introduced three members of the team to talk about their market segments and products. We heard from Ed Barry, New Holland Cash Crop Marketing Manager; Mike Cornman, New Holland Hay and Forage Segment Marketing Manager and John Elliott, New Holland, Director, Marketing NAR. Some of the items they discussed include:
New SuperFlex draper head specifically designed to match the high capacity of New Holland CR Series Twin Rotor® and CX8000 Series Super-Conventional combines.
Special limited edition of New Holland’s FR9000 Series, which we’re producing in 2011 to celebrate the 50th anniversary New Holland’s first self-propelled forage harvester.
Tier 4A engines with the addition of five new CR Series Twin Rotor® combines and three new CX8000 Series Super Conventional combines equipped with ECOBlue™ Selective Catalytic Reduction engine technology.
Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “How many years before cellulosic ethanol matches corn ethanol production?” So what did you say? 42% said More than ten years; 23% said Five to ten years; 18% said Five years; 14% said Never and 3% said Next year. We’ve seen huge strides in the efficiency of corn ethanol production and research on the use of new feedstocks but we’re not quite there for mass quantity cellulosic production. Will we be? What do you think? Feel free to add your comments here.
Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “Which is more important to rural America: GPS Service or Broadband Internet?” We thought it would be interesting you get your thoughts on this in light of the Lightsquared rural broadband service that seems to pose some serious problems for GPS service. Your input and thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.
There were quite a few race cars mixed in with the tractors and combines this year at the 2011 Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Illinois.
In addition to the American Ethanol NASCAR Sprint Series car at the Growth Energy exhibit, over at the Illinois Corn Growers exhibit, the Illinois Family Farmers NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Kenny Wallace was signing autographs and doing interviews.
Kenny said he was “blown away” by the Farm Progress Show. “This is like our Daytona 500! I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said in an interview with Chuck.
Kenny visited with lots of farmers during the three day show who made him feel very happy to be the Family Farmer American Ethanol spokesperson. “Farmers make me feel good,” he said. “They say thank you so much for putting up for us and that really humbles me,” he added.
The next big races for Wallace and all of NASCAR are coming up Chicagoland on September 16-18. Speedway president Scott Paddock says that triple header NASCAR weekend is a the first race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup – the first of ten ‘playoff’ style NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races in pursuit of the 2011 championship. “NASCAR was looking for a major media market and a big platform to kick off their playoffs and they chose Chicagoland and we’re honored to have that designation,” he said.
Scott says Illinois’ corn farmers will have a major presence at the Chicagoland event. “They’re going to have some combines and harvesters out there,” he said. “We’ll have over 100,000 fans out there that weekend so it’s a great way to get their message out about the important role farmers play in society.”
The Fast Five 225 truck series will kick off the weekend on Friday, September 16. The Dollar General 300 Nationwide series, Kenny’s race, will be Saturday, Sept. 17 and the three day weekend will conclude on Sunday, Sept. 18 with the GEICO 400 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Trends in Agriculture 2011 returns to Kansas City in November just before the National Association of Farm Broadcasting convention and I’ll be there. Looking forward to a great program again this year.
Get the dates on your calendar now and save on registration when you take advantage of the special early bird rate.
Progress through Productivity is this year’s theme, and you’ll have the opportunity to examine it from every angle as it pertains to American agriculture.
Here’s an at-a-glance look at conference topics:
Find out about the new technologies and policies needed to meet the growing demands for increased export and trade.
Discover the latest trends in the development of plant-based fuels.
Get the real story on consumers’ perceptions of the use of technology in food production.
Learn tips you can use right away to increase your productivity.
Reconnect with colleagues and expand your network.
Go to nama.org/trends for more information and full speaker line-up.
See the funny looking black and white design in the picture? That’s a QR code. If your mobile device has a QR Code reader on it, just point it at that image and voila, you’ll be taken to the latest Boomer information on the web. It’s that simple. Got your device with you now? Give it a try. It even works right off your computer screen right now! I saw a lot of these around the Farm Progress Show last week.
You’ll notice that the picture also includes a New Holland Boomer. I can’t forget to mention the New Holland Boomer 555 Contest we’ve been helping promote. New Holland is giving away a five year lease on a new Boomer 30 with front end loader to eight regional winners. Here’s where you can enter. While at the Farm Progress Show I spoke with Abe Hughes, New Holland Agriculture Sales & Marketing Vice President about the contest.
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.
How do you stay positive even when you’re in a negative environment? The IFAJ Master Class and Boot Camp class attendees heard multiple ways from motivational speaker Declan Coyle, Andec Communications. Declan’s presentation was sponsored by Alltech. I heard him first earlier this year at the Alltech Symposium.
One of the real live Pioneer ATMs out in the field is Jake Vossenkemper from the Decatur area, who says growers have hundreds of agronomy questions that they want answered. “They want to do the best job they can just like everyone else and our job is to step in and help them answer those questions,” Jake says.
In this week’s program let’s get caught up with Dave Aeschliman, Growth Enterprises. If you don’t know David then you’re missing one of the original Advertising Rat Pack members who took this dude under their wing starting at NAMA meetings once upon a time. We got connected via my post last week about missing Gary McKenna, who was also one of the members of that infamous group.
Some of the high yielding innovators in the 2010 
There were quite a few race cars mixed in with the tractors and combines this year at the 
Kenny said he was “blown away” by the Farm Progress Show. “This is like our Daytona 500! I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said in an interview with Chuck. 
In this week's program Chuck talks with David Armano, Global Innovation and Integration.
