Here’s a new app for your phone. The Hoosier Ag Today app was just announced. I’ve got it on my HTC Thunderbolt.
This free application provides farmers with up-to-the-minute market prices, time-sensitive news, and an exclusive Indiana agricultural weather forecast. But what makes the HAT app unique is that farmers can listen to exclusive audio content on their wireless devices. “This is in-depth information that is too long for today’s commercial radio formats but the kind of detail that today’s farmers crave,” said Gary Truitt, president of Hoosier Ag Today. The HAT app is currently available on the Android platform with an iPhone version ready for release in a few weeks.
The app was developed in collaboration with LoadOut Technologies at the Purdue University Research Park. A development team with experience in app creation and agriculture worked to create an application that meets the unique informational needs of the agricultural industry. This is a prototype of an app that will be developed for other farm media organizations across the Midwest. The app takes advantage of the time-sensitive and localized information that statewide farm broadcast organizations can provide, while delivery that information directly to farmers while they are in the field or on the go. (more…)
It’s time to plan some healthy Friday food with eggs. That’s because October 14 is World Egg Day!
Novus International is all about World Egg Day. They’ve got a great online resource about eggs at EggTruth.com. So if you need some recipe ideas you can find some here.
“Eggs are an affordable, nutrient-dense food,” said Scott Carter, Ph.D., Poultry Market Manager for Novus International Inc. “In only 70 calories, one large egg provides an impressive six grams of high-quality protein and at least 13 essential vitamins and minerals.”
Many nutritionists believe eggs are a critical source of protein for a rapidly growing population, which is why the International Egg Commission has proclaimed Oct. 14, 2011 as World Egg Day. In addition to local activities, Novus is celebrating World Egg Day with events worldwide. Among those efforts are media outreach in Brazil, educational events in 10 African countries and education outreach efforts in the United States, Taiwan, across Europe and Mexico.
“We know that working to educate consumers about where their food comes from and the people producing it, helps them make more informed choices for their families,” notes Dr. Carter.
In the photo an elementary school kid is coloring eggs during an educational event conducted by Novus in St. Louis. In the video below you can hear Jared Hux, Novus Product Manager talk about the reasons for World Egg Day.
Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “How do you feel about the corn supply/demand status?” Sounds like there’s a little worry out there according to the results. 42% answered, Worried – there’s not enough; 34% said No worries – there’s plenty; 13% said, Don’t care and 11% said It will be better next year. If you’re worried, why?
Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “Should the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) be changed?” What do you think? Take our poll and feel free to comment. Thank you.
ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.
Osborn & Barr’s Cultivate Practice Group continues to expand with new hires. Maria Bingaman, Jonathon Butler, Ann Patton and Rebecca Stephen join the team to support the United Soybean Board account.
AFIA has unveiled the redesigned website Feedsearch.com, one of the association’s most valuable resources. Feedsearch serves as a prospective guide for industry buyers.
Have you struggled with winter annual weeds getting in the way of spring planting? Applying a herbicide now may help you save time next spring.
The St. Louis Agribusiness Club held its lunch meeting today at Novus International headquarters. It has been a while since I’ve had a chance to attend one of these meetings but a “bye” week from the agriblogging highway made it work out.
Our speaker was Thad Simons, Novus International President/CEO. Thad talked about the challenges of feeding a growing world population before giving our group a current overview of Novus and its products.
After lunch the attendees were able to take a tour of the Novus headquarters and learn more about what the company is doing.
I got to add to my Thad Simons interview collection by visiting with him briefly after his remarks. Thad says he wanted our group to realize that we not only have a real need to feed a growing world population but that since the population is increasingly urbanized it is even more challenging. Besides having to produce more food we have to figure out how to get it to the people who need it.
When it comes to Novus, Thad says the company is still celebrating its 20th birthday with the next celebration being held in Spain. I attended the activities held earlier this year at Novus headquarters. Thad is now on his way to Des Moines, IA for the World Food Prize activities.
The AFBF board of directors elected Potts last week to succeeds Dick Newpher who retired after 19 years of service with AFBF, the last seven as executive vice president. Newpher previously worked 19 years with the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau in various capacities.
In her new role, Potts will lead the AFBF staff in its implementation of all programs and activities for the organization, as well as for the coordination between AFBF and its affiliated companies. She will also serve as treasurer of AFBF and its affiliates.
Since March of this year, Potts served as AFBF senior executive director for operations and development, overseeing strategic development and the operations of AFBF’s Organization, Accounting and Administrative Services departments, as well as coordination of the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture and American Farm Bureau, Inc.
Potts first joined AFBF in 2004, serving as general counsel until 2009. In late 2009 she was named chief counsel of the Senate Agriculture Committee, serving under then-Chairman Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas. She rejoined AFBF earlier this year.
Hopefully you’ve got your registration completed for the November National Association of Farm Broadcasting convention and especially for your hotel room. Want a preview of one of the speakers? Check out Mark Ramsey, Mark Ramsey Media, in the video below. The photo has NAFB President Tom Steever and board member Mark Oppold doing an earlier video promo to get you to register early.
Mark Ramsey Media is one of the best-known research and strategy providers to media companies in America, and company president Mark Ramsey will be at the NAFB Annual Convention to share with attendees the trends and opportunities on the audio media landscape.
Joining the ranks of farm shows with an app is the Sunbelt Ag Expo. It’s the Know On The Go app for all your mobile device types. It’s on my iPhone already because I’ll be there next week thanks to the support of the New Holland Boomer 555 Contest!
“Know on the Go” is the official mobile app for the 2011 Sunbelt Ag Expo, to be held Oct. 18-20 at Spence Field in Moultrie, Ga. The Sunbelt Expo is a must-attend event for anyone in agriculture, featuring hundreds of exhibits, a working farm, equipment demonstrations and driving ranges, and various educational opportunities.
“Know on the Go,” provided for the first time by Farm Press Publications and Penton Media Inc., will allow those attending the Sunbelt Expo this year to use their iPhone, IPod Touch, iPad, Blackberry, Android and other web-enabled phones to receive up-to-the-minute news alerts and other breaking information during the three-day show.
“The Sunbelt Expo: Know on the Go mobile app was developed by Penton Custom Media and has been used at some of the largest trade shows in the nation,” says Greg Frey, vice president at Penton Media and publisher of Farm Press. “We believe this new technology will greatly enhance participants’ experience at this year’s Sunbelt Ag Expo.”
It was just a year ago that Cindy interviewed Mark Gale, Charleston|Orwig, while attending World Dairy Expo. That started a series of ZimmCasts with the leadership of advertising and public relations agencies. Now we’ve come full circle.
At this year’s World Dairy Expo I visited with Brittany Unterweger, Account Supervisor for the agency. The agency was having a very busy week since they work with about ten different clients that are involved with World Dairy Expo. Brittany says the agency focus goes beyond the dairy industry though, into overall food systems, “from farm to plate, from producer to consumer.” She says there has been an internal shift within the agency to move beyond just agriculture. Interactive has also grown tremendously and that includes app building and the further development of their blog, Field Assignment.
Brittany says that she’s excited to have a more holistic approach with the food systems concept so they can helpt their clients see the big picture. She says their client list has been growing and that it’s an exciting time at Charleston|Orwig.
In a rare moment, my Aunt was able to catch this stunning photograph of a hummingbird moth eating nectar from her moonflower. It’s rare because: 1) it’s gorgeous, 2) hummingbird moths are often mistaken for a hummingbird because of its coloration and how it moves, and 3) moonflowers bloom in the evening and hummingbird moths can be seen on clear, sunny days.
That trip out to the garage resulted in capturing nature’s beauty at its finest! (And thank you to my Aunt for the picture!)
This awesome flower has white flowers on a twining vine and much like a hibiscus, the flowers open in the evening and last only until touched by the next day’s sun.
We refer to my Aunt as the plant doctor because she can take any half-dead plant and bring it back to a vibrant, brilliant life. She has friends who bring her the most dreadful, sad-looking plants in hopes of refreshing them, and when she does (every time), the original owner has usually lost interest and her greenhouse only grows larger.
I used to claim I had a green thumb until my Aunt started sharing stories.
Croplife America has released a new video on modern ag production practices.
Titan Tire Corporation donated approximately $160,000 worth of agricultural tires to the Illinois and Indiana Future Farmers of America Organizations during their auction at the Farm Progress Show.
William Shurtleff, cofounder of the SoyInfo Center, invites members of the American Soybean Association to learn about the history of the soybean industry in a new book titled, “William J. Morse – History of His Work with Soybeans and Soyfoods”.
Don’t throw out those old blue jeans – they could be used to insulate someone’s house.
“Cotton. From Blue to Green®” is a Cotton Incorporated initiative started in 2006 that gives donated denim a second life by converting it into UltraTouch™ Denim Insulation. To date, the program has received over half a million pieces of denim which has produced approximately 1.5 million square feet of UltraTouch™ Denim Insulation to assist with building efforts for communities in need.
The program has partnered with many organizations, including Habitat for Humanity affiliates, to install home insulation for victims of disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, and for those needing help to finish their homes. They also offer grants to improve community buildings and partner with college and university campuses to host denim collection drives.
It is the final day of World Dairy Expo 2011. The ZimmComm team had to return to headquarters but that doesn’t mean we won’t have more stories on World Dairy Diary.
Cindy and I have quite a few interviews to share during the next week so keep your eye on our sister site as we bring you more from this year’s show.
In the meantime, feel free to check out our photos. The colorful fall leaves made a beautiful scene outside between buildings this year and the weather stay just about perfect too.
Badger NAMA, the local chapter of the Nation Agri-Marketing Association, held its annual reception/meeting during the 2011 World Dairy Expo. Here’s chapter president, Travis Maier, Morgan & Myers. I spoke with him about how the chapter is doing. He says chapter membership steady at over 120 and has actually been growing. This meeting is one of their main ones during the year. I think attendance at the meeting was really good. I don’t know how many were there but it was a large meeting. Students were a big part of the meeting too with a program just for them.
MANA Crop Protection announced the introduction of a new state of the art Parallel Plus formulation, offering a powerful, more convenient combination of metolachlor and atrazine for use on corn and grain sorghum.
Koch Agronomic Services announced that it has completed an asset acquisition of AGROTAIN International.
The Nobel Foundation announced Dan Shechtman of Iowa State University, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory and Israel’s Technion has won the 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Behind the theme of “Two Decades Of No-Till Know-How,” the 2012 National No-Tillage Conference in St. Louis, Mo., from Jan. 11-14, 2012, promises to deliver the four most highly valuable days of learning experiences for cutting-edge farmers seeking to improve their no-till practices.
I have to take time to add my voice to all the folks who are talking about the passing of Steve Jobs. This is not an attempt to chronicle his life or achievements. It’s more to say how much I appreciate them. The iPod, followed by podcasting was a huge driver for our business. We affectionately call it farm podcasting. For that I am very grateful. I’m sure he never thought that his devices would be used to deliver farm news and information. At least I don’t think he did.
I never studied Steve’s life but I’ve been fascinated by his business and the products it produces. I have an iPhone/iPad/Macbook Air/iMac. I use them every day and they just plain work. As many of us Mac addicts like to say, “You can do everything on a PC that you can do on a Mac. It’s just more fun on a Mac!” I’m sure it’s more fun because Steve took risks and put his customer first, deciding to make something they want, not what he thought they wanted. That’s a lesson for all of us. So, that’s it I guess. We’ll miss you Steve but I’ve got a feeling that Apple will live on and continue your legacy.
Corn growers and cattle producers are at odds over new legislation introduced in the House that would change the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2).
The bill, sponsored by Reps. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and Jim Costa (D-CA), would allow Congress to reduce the RFS requirement for ethanol whenever corn stocks are tight.
Speaking on behalf of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) during a press conference announcing the legislation, California beef cattle producer Kevin Kester said it would provide relief from tight corn supplies.
“Cattlemen are not opposed to ethanol and we’re not looking for cheap corn. We simply want the federal government to get out of the marketplace and allow the market to work,” Kester said.
Officials with the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) say the measure would significantly weaken the RFS. “The U.S. ethanol industry is an integral part of job creation and economic opportunity throughout rural America,” said NCGA President Garry Niemeyer of Illinois. “This legislation would put progress made by the ethanol industry in jeopardy.”
The RFS came into effect in 2005 and was reauthorized and expanded in 2007 to require the use of 12.6 billion gallons of corn ethanol this year and 13.2 billion gallons in 2012, topping out at 15 billion gallons in 2015.
The Goodlatte-Costa bill would require a reduction in the RFS when the stocks-to-use ratio drops below 10 percent, up to a 50 percent reduction if the ratio falls below 5 percent. Under the current corn supply, the reduction would be 15-25 percent.
Here’s a definition of a Tweet Up: “A real world meeting between two or more people who know each other through the online Twitter service.”
Pretty simple. The official World Dairy Expo Tweet Up took place yesterday afternoon. Here are some of our participants. We actually had more show up.
So why a tweet up? Because it’s a good opportunity to meet someone face to face that you may only know via 140 character messages. I don’t know how many tweet ups I’ve been to at this point but I’ve always enjoyed the opportunity to meet people who I’ve gotten to “know” electronically. The tweet up is usually organized via tweets. Makes sense and shows the communication power of the channel. BTW. Adding free drink tickets and some munchies never hurts a tweet up!
Our front lawn now has more color. In addition to the forklift, skid steer, scissor lift, four F250s, two cars, two flat bed trailers, one enclosed trailer and a chevy, there’s also the new barn being erected which is the exact opposite of our house. People keep telling me we should’ve just added “horse’s quarters” to the front of our house, but that would only encourage more flies to come in.
I used to think that the garage was my husband’s retreat but now I know it’s going to be the barn/shed. And once the mower and hay bales are gone from the garage, I’m not sure what I’m going to do with all the space!
Here’s to hoping the red doesn’t fade. I never really wanted a pink shed.
You can always count on Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) to liven up any gathering and leave them laughing.
At the John Deere Olathe opening last Friday, Sen. Roberts did just that. “Anyone know a good copyright lawyer?” the senator asked as he took the podium after speeches by Deere’s John Lagemann and Dave Everitt and Kansas Governor Sam Brownback. “I’ve been giving the speech that Dave, and John and Sam just gave for the last six months.”
True to form, Roberts mixed his droll brand of humor in with serious comments about feeding the world, praise for John Deere, and political jabs against the current administration. “I don’t know why anybody would propose a budget that would interfere with what we have to do in terms of feeding this country and a troubled and hungry world,” Roberts said. “And I sure as heck don’t know why we are pouring out regulations left and right from every agency especially EPA, that would hinder the production of a wonderful company like this.”
I took the opportunity to interview Roberts, who is ranking member on the Senate Agriculture Committee, about what’s going on in Washington DC.
Roberts agrees that agriculture must do its part for deficit reduction but opposes the administration proposal to cut crop insurance. “That’s not going to fly, that’s dead on arrival.” He’s working with other agriculture committee leaders in both the Senate and the House to develop a proposal for the Super Committee. “If we do that, it is conceivable that we can do a farm bill at the same time.”
Regarding over-regulation, Roberts says he has proposed regulatory reform legislation for all major government agencies, including EPA or what he calls the “End of Production Agriculture” agency, and he is continuing to fight USDA’s controversial Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyard’s Administration (GIPSA) proposal. “Some of these agencies are out of control,” Roberts said. “This would be terribly counter productive to the livestock industry.”
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.
Here’s a new app for your phone. The Hoosier Ag Today app was just announced. I’ve got it on my HTC Thunderbolt.
The AFBF board of directors elected Potts last week to succeeds Dick Newpher who retired after 19 years of service with AFBF, the last seven as executive vice president. Newpher previously worked 19 years with the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau in various capacities. 
It was just a year ago that Cindy interviewed Mark Gale, 
Don’t throw out those old blue jeans – they could be used to insulate someone’s house. 
The program has partnered with many organizations, including Habitat for Humanity affiliates, to install home insulation for victims of disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, and for those needing help to finish their homes. They also offer grants to improve community buildings and partner with college and university campuses to host denim collection drives.
Speaking on behalf of the 
Officials with the 
You can always count on Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) to liven up any gathering and leave them laughing.
I took the opportunity to interview Roberts, who is ranking member on the Senate Agriculture Committee, about what’s going on in Washington DC.
In this week's program Chuck talks with David Armano, Global Innovation and Integration.
