The business of the National Agri-Marketing Association continues in Kansas City this morning in advance of the Trends in Agriculture conference.
Here’s the board of directors meeting. Presiding is outgoing President, Vicki Henrickson. One of the first items of interest I’ve learned is that NAMA membership is at its highest level since 2001. Now that’s a positive message. I’ll get a board update from Vicki later this morning to share with you.
If you’re a Roper/Stetson fan and having trouble finding the cash to buy some new boots or a hat then becoming a member of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) might be just the ticket (or coupon). Here in my hot little hand is a 50 percent off, one time only coupon for an online order at the Renton Western Wear (Roper/Stetson) website. This new membership benefit announcement was made yesterday.
NCBA is excited to offer its members an outstanding new opportunity through an exclusive partnership with Roper and Stetson. Under the partnership, new and existing NCBA members will receive significant discounts on Roper and Stetson apparel and footwear.
Anyone who joins NCBA will receive a 50 percent off coupon for Roper and Stetson apparel and current members will receive quarterly 25 percent off coupons through the National Cattlemen publication. Additionally, participants who pay a full registration at the 2012 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show will receive a Roper and Stetson coupon to use at the trade show. NCBA Vice President of Membership and Association Marketing Marvin Kokes said the partnership showcases the organization’s outstanding reputation and commitment to its membership.
“Our most important partner in the development of our association is our members,” Kokes said. “The partnership with Roper and Stetson allows our members to benefit from their commitment to our association and entices new members to get involved with NCBA.”
I love the tweet I just saw from the Herman Cain Campaign announcing their new YouTube ad for Iowa which says that it “even features smoking tractors!” Now that is funny right there.
In the video you’ll see Dean Kleckner, Chairman, Truth About Trade & Technology, explain why he endorses Herman Cain for President.
The National Agri-Marketing Association Trends in Agriculture conference provides an opportunity for the organization’s board to meet. Prior to the board meeting, the NAMA Executive Committee meets. Hey, it takes a lot of work to run this organization! Here’s the group getting things done today.
The program for Trends in Agriculture kicks off at 2pm tomorrow afternoon. The NAMA board will be meeting prior to that in the morning.
Heading over to the NAMA Exec. Committee meeting I have already run in to members of the U.S Farmers & Ranchers Alliance which is meeting today and tomorrow. I hope to get an update on their activities to share later today.
This is going to be a fun week of agricultural marketing and communications.
With her stir fry recipe, Vegetable-Mango Beef Stir Fry, amateur home cook Sheryl Little of Sherwood, Ark., won the checkoff-funded 29th National Beef Cook-Off® $25,000 “Best of Beef” grand prize, topping recipes from 19 other finalists around the country. Sheryl was announced as the grand prize winner at the Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show in Washington D.C. Her winning recipe, along with other finalist recipes, will be demonstrated on the show floor by top chef’s and food experts, Mary Beth Albright, Food Network Star finalist, season seven; Susan Holt, chef and instructor at CulinAeire; and Aviva Goldfarb, founder and author of The Six O’Clock Scramble.
This year’s contest encouraged all home cooks and entertaining enthusiasts to submit their delicious recipes demonstrating the convenience, nutritional and versatility benefits of cooking with beef. The winning Vegetable-Mango Beef Stir Fry recipe featured boneless beef top sirloin steaks, fresh sugar snap peas, red bell peppers and fresh mango tossed with garlic and low sodium soy sauce and served over brown or white rice. In addition, the dish is an excellent source of fiber, protein, niacin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, iron, selenium, zinc and choline.
The judges raved about Little’s recipe because of its unique combination of fresh fruit and vegetables and grain ingredients and her use of one of the 29 Lean Beef Cuts.
The ZimmComm team is gearing up for a busy week in Kansas City. There’s a lot going on. First up will be the annual meeting of the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance followed by the NAMA Trends in Agriculture conference. Then it’s on to the NAFB convention. We’ll have full coverage on AgWired. To make it easy to see our coverage any time you want, get the AgWired smartphone app (iPhone and Android)!
Also, if you are attending the NAFB convention and want to know more about using your smartphone for broadcasting purposes, plan to sit in on Chuck’s session on Wednesday at 3:15pm.
At three years old and above average on the height scale, our son still has trouble reaching the pedals on his plastic tricycles. He can reach on one because the seat was adjustable but he can’t quite figure out how to push and keep his shoes on the pedals at the same time.
His Diego trike is decked out with stickers, a seat that opens for storage (you know, for worms and nails and other treasures), and an ignition key. That’s a little different than the tricycle I learned to ride on.
This metal beauty put on a few miles back in the day…through mud puddles, over hills, through my mom’s garden and under the pear tree in the back yard. I’d grab my Cabbage Patch doll and off we’d go on an adventure.
I doubt my son’s plastic bike will withstand the test of time like this red trike did. But, I’m thinking he’ll graduate up to a bike with training wheels in a couple of years and this one will be set aside for when friends come over and they can’t share one ride!
Cotton farmers in the Delta and Southeast will have more choices for managing weeds and earning financial incentives under the 2012 Roundup Ready PLUS® Weed Management Solutions platform, recently announced by Monsanto Company.
The Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service announced that it is offering a two-day training session titled “Fearless Farm Finances” for farmers interested in learning about farm financial management, December 9-10, in La Crosse, Wisc.
My digital edition of the new Successful Farming magazine just arrived today. I have not read it as of this post but the cover caught my eye. A story headline tease like “Smartphones put all the ag information you need in the palm of your hand” gets my attention, especially when the graphics above contain another phrase, “Hot new tool for your farm,” within iPhone icons!
I just scanned the story and it contains some good information including how farmers are using their smartphones with specific examples, recommended apps and more. Of course I would like to see the AgWired App in those recommendations but . . .
I use the Zinio app on my iPad to read digital magazines btw.
Swanson Russell has launched a newly designed website.
“We’re proud to unveil our new site, which is a result of involvement from employees in every department.” said Brian Boesche, partner and chief creative officer at Swanson Russell. “The new design and content represents who we are, what we do, what we’re passionate about and the caliber of work we produce. The site serves as a face to the agency and demonstrates what we’re all about.”
Emphasizing the agency’s Real Connection™ philosophy is a main focus of the website content and design. The new website explains Swanson Russell’s approach to doing business through forging genuine relationships with clients and their audiences.
The new Orange Dot blog features posts from employees on a wide range of topics. Blog categories from each area of focus educate readers on that specific industry, while the “Agency” category provides insight into Swanson Russell activities and general industry tips.
AgWired is helping spread the word about John Deere’s Project “Can Do.” You can do it too! Go to the John Deere Facebook page, click on the Project “Can Do” link and create your own virtual can. Here’s the AgWired Can Do of hunger whup-ass.
So let’s learn more about Project “Can Do.” I spoke with Nicole Schneider, Project Manager for John Deere. She’s one of the folks credited with the idea for the project. It’s interesting to hear how they had to strategically purchase cans of food of the appropriate size and colors needed in the sculpture. For example, Nicole says they had to have a certain number of cans of green beans and peas for the green and corn for the yellow, etc. She says that the Facebook page will be updated periodically with pictures of the sculpture being constructed and may even have a live feed of certain events.
You can listen to my interview with Nicole here: Interview with Nicole Schneider
To recognize the vital role that America’s farmers play in feeding the world this harvest season, John Deere is attempting a world-record at constructing a full-sized sculpture of its new S-Series combine from more than 300,000 cans of food at the John Deere Pavilion in downtown Moline, Illinois.
The more than 300,000 cans of food needed to complete the sculpture are donated by John Deere with delivery from Hy-Vee Food Stores. When completed, the sculpture will be 60 feet wide, 80 feet long and 16 feet tall and will weigh nearly 170 tons. The sculpture depicts John Deere’s new S-690 Combine, which is the world’s most powerful combine that can harvest more than 350 acres of grain a day.
After the public display is over in mid-December the sculpture will be taken down and the cans of food will be donated to the River Bend Foodbank.
I recently got to judge a part of the competition for the National Beef Ambassadors. Sure wish I could have been at the event in Ohio. We’ve got a great new crew that will be representing beef producers everywhere and I can’t wait to meet them.
Yesterday I got a great thank you from them (video below). Well, I say, thank you National Beef Ambassadors for stepping up to the plate on behalf of your industry! I can’t wait to see some new posts on the National Beef Ambassador blog.
If you love food and the farmers who grow and raise it and all the companies that bring it to your table then this is the time to show some #foodthanks. This social media campaign via Twitter is being coordinated by the AgChat Foundation again this year. Visit the website and see who is tweeting. Express your gratitude to those who prepare food.
This Thanksgiving season, we encourage you to use social media to show just how thankful you are for the food we all enjoy every day. In doing so, we will also be thanking those many people and industries who bring food to our tables. Tweet, blog…spread #FoodThanks!
Hey farmer and food lovers. Here’s a head’s up about a coordinated effort by college students to help do some agvocacy and reach out to other students to help them better understand food production and where it comes from.
Student volunteers from colleges and universities nationwide have joined the agricultural advocacy group, I Love Farmers…They Feed My Soul to promote the importance American agriculture, Thursday, November 10. Students will be on campuses asking the question, “WTF? Where’s The Food. Without The Farmer?”
Student volunteers at Texas A&M University, Oklahoma State University, University of Arkansas, Fresno State University, UC Santa Barbara, Cal Poly State University, Iowa State University, Kansas State University and Woodland College are also involved in advocating on the same day. Students will be using social media channels to share what is going on at the individual campuses. You can follow the activity on the Facebook page “NEW I Love Farmers They Feed My Soul” or on Twitter using the hashtag #WTFILF2011.
Megan Silcott, the president of the non-profit I Love Farmers…The Feed My Soul organization says, “Our goal is to create conversations about American agriculture with college students and to disseminate materials that will lead them to credible sources of information about food and agriculture.”
I like this graphic for next week’s National Association of Farm Broadcasting convention pocket schedule (pdf). The smartphone in a farmer/broadcaster hand tells a story about how things have changed since I first got started in broadcasting way back when. This year’s convention features more professional improvement sessions than I can ever remember and I think this is a good thing. As head of the professional improvement committee again I hope those of you attending will take advantage of the sessions we’re offering. They will have application no matter what your NAFB member status is.
I’d like to invite any of you to email, post in comments here or DM me on Twitter, your questions about using smartphones for broadcast purposes. I’ll be conducting a session on this topic on Wednesday, November 9 at 3:15pm in the Roanoke Room at the Westin Crown Plaza. Other sessions include two presentations by Mark Ramsey, Using Photo & Video to Enhance Your Work and Gadgets and Streaming. You can find them on the schedule. Hope to see you there.
Hey farm podcasters. Here’s a tool for your iPhone 4 (I’m assuming compatibility w/iPhone 4S). Fostex has introduced the AR-4i. It’s an audio interface that includes a small handgrip for support in holding the device and phone. It also has tripod threaded mounts too. So it’s a great little device to help you shoot better video or have a more comfortable grip while recording audio interviews. It also allows for connecting either the included mics or other external mics or audio sources. I see it available for $142 on Amazon right now.
Exceptional audio quality – record/playback via Dock connector with built-in AD/DA converter
Equipped with 3 x stereo inputs (Line/Mic) for using 2 of the 3 simultaneously for vertical or horizontal use
2 x plug-in powered condenser cardioid type microphones with pop-shields supplied. Third-party microphones can also be used.
4-dot LED level meter for input monitoring
Thumb wheel input gain control
Setup App supplied free from App Store for setting Pan (L/C/R), Low Cut Filter, Limiter, etc.
Headphone output for recording & playback monitoring
Long operation time with 2 x AAA alkaline batteries for 8 to 10 hours
Supplied with a sturdy hand grip
2 x threaded tripod mounts on the bottom and side for use with tripod, camera rigs, etc.
Being in the business of agriculture public relations and communications, I get to attend numerous trade shows throughout the year and visit with producers across the country. It’s always gratifying to me to hear their stories, be able to share my story, and connect with those who raise the food my family eats.
My husband also likes it when I bring home new hats.
That said, I’ve seen every type of gimmick and give-away you can imagine…from key chains to coolers and koozies. But here’s one I’d never seen before – advertising marbles. Grandpa has jars full of Coke, Pepsi and John Deere marbles.
I’m not sure what purpose they serve other than to be a collectible. Maybe I should’ve been saving some of the trinkets I brought home from trade shows instead of letting my son play with them for a week or so and then tossing them in the trash. (Except the coolers and koozies, that is!)
It’s the last month of the New Holland Boomer 555 Contest, a social media driven promotion. Entries have poured in from all over the United States and Canada. Contest entries can be in the form of a written essay, uploaded photo or link to a YouTube video. All forms of entries have been received. I’ve posted a video entry below as an example. ZimmComm has had the pleasure to work with New Holland on this project which includes a blog and associated social networking accounts.
Many thanks to Lana Bell from Killarney, Manitoba for her entry into the contest. Lana came up with lots of things she would do with a new Boomer tractor. As you’ll see in the video, she plans to let her husband on the tractor in year five of the lease, “maybe.”
So it’s not too late to get your entry in and let New Holland know what you would do with a new Boomer tractor. Just fill out the entry form which you can find right here.
Let’s look ahead to the 2011 National Agri-Marketing Association’s Trends in Agriculture conference. It precedes the NAFB Convention and AgWired will be there covering all the action. Our sponsor for coverage of both meetings this year is BASF!
To get a preview I spoke with Trends committee chair, Gardner Hatch, Bader Rutter. Gardner gives us a review of program highlights and talks about the differences between this fall conference and the spring conference. It’s not too late to register. You can go to the NAMA website or register onsite at the Hyatt Regency at Crown Center in Kansas City, MO. See you from there. And don’t forget to use the official Twitter hashtag for the NAMA conference, #NAMATrends. The one for the NAFB convention is #NAFB.
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 business of the National Agri-Marketing Association continues in Kansas City this morning in advance of the Trends in Agriculture conference.
Let’s look ahead to the 2011 National Agri-Marketing Association’s 
In this week's program Chuck talks with David Armano, Global Innovation and Integration.
