Zimfo Bytes

Talia Goes

United States Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced more than $1.5 million in funding to expand bio-control efforts to fight Huanglongbing (HLB), also known as citrus greening. Zoetis Inc. marked another milestone in the company’s launch as an independent public company, conducting its first-ever Annual Meeting of Shareholders. HighQuest Group announced that Jim Borel, executive vice president of DuPont, will deliver …

Zimfo Bytes

Ag Issues Discussed at Missouri State’s Ag Forum

Jamie Johansen

Each year Missouri State University’s Collegiate Farm Bureau hosts an Ag Forum to discuss hot topic agriculture issues. This year’s panel was formed by Senator Roy Blunt and Missouri Farm Bureau President Blake Hurst and moderated by Missouri State University’s William H. Darr School of Agriculture Department Head, Dr. Anson Elliott. After a dinner of steaks raised from the school’s …

Ag Groups, Audio

What is the Best Way to Market to Millennials

Jamie Johansen

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “Is climate change impacting agriculture?” Typically our ZimmPoll’s don’t have a landslide winner like this one. It is clear the majority of those who took this week’s poll believe that climate change has a strong impact on agriculture. To read more about the climate change assessment released by the White House last week, check …

ZimmPoll

NCGA CUTC 2014 Preregistration Ends Soon

Jamie Johansen

Pre-registration for the National Corn Growers Association’s Corn Utilization and Technology Conference (CUTC) ends May 25. The event takes place June 2-4 in Louisville, KY. CUTC will feature the cutting-edge technologies and new uses that continually improve and dynamically change the corn industry with a focus on wet and dry milling. “As the conference approaches, it is exciting to see …

Ag Groups, Corn, CUTC, NCGA

Soy-Biobased Products Compete in Solar Decathlon

Cindy Zimmerman

Students from Appalachian State University (ASU) are heading to France with a “reimagined” row house using soy-biobased products to compete against 20 global teams in the Solar Decathlon Europe 2014. According to the United Soybean Board, soy-based, formaldehyde-free plywood as well as durable floor matting are important features of Maison Reciprocity, ASU’s solar-powered row house developed with their partner school, …

Ag Groups, Soybean, USB

USDA Outlook Board Chair to Retire

Cindy Zimmerman

After 43 years with USDA and 20 years as chairman of the World Agricultural Outlook Board, Dr. Gerald Bange has decided it’s time to retire. USDA Chief Economist Joseph Glauber announced today that Bange will retire at the end of this month and Dr. Seth Meyer will become Acting Board Chair. Dr. Meyer is currently a Senior Economist in the …

USDA

Farmers Use of Electricity on the Rise

Joanna Schroeder

According to a recent Today in Energy, published by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), farmers make up a large share of electricity use in the industrial sector. A significant portion of a growers’ electricity needs is for farm irrigation systems, which are categorized by electric utilities as industrial load. For example, Nebraska is largely rural and agricultural, but it has …

Agribusiness, Energy, Irrigation

Panera Bread and Millennials

Chuck Zimmerman

How many of you remember the Panera EZChicken campaign? If so, you know that it sparked a social media response from the agriculture community due to the way farmers were portrayed who did not farm the way Panera wants their food ingredients farmed. Panera did issue an apology and you’ll hear another one in this week’s program.

Ag Groups, Animal Agriculture, Audio, Food, ZimmCast

Silent Auction Benefits Interns & Aggies

Chuck Zimmerman

It’s a familiar sight at a lot of conferences. The silent auction. This one is for the Animal Agriculture Alliance and took place at the Stakeholders Summit About $4,000 were raised this year. There were some great agnerd items like an iPad mini, Mophie phone charger and more. The funds are used to support the AAA summer intern program and …

Ag Groups, Animal Agriculture, Audio

KernelQuest for Your Smart Phone

Cindy Zimmerman

Look down on your smart phone! It’s a bird, it’s a plane – it’s Captain Cornelius! The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) just launched a new smartphone/tablet game featuring beloved character Captain Cornelius. “KernelQuest is a game of skill, maneuverability and all-around corniness. Join Captain Cornelius, our a-maize-ing superhero in green spandex, as he defies gravity and weaves his way …

Ag Groups, Corn, NCGA