What is an AgCatalyst? In this week’s ZimmCast Roger Reierson, AdFarm, is going to tell us. AgCatalyst is a two day conference where marketing and communications professionals learn how to solve agribusiness challenges and create opportunities by using digital social communications tools and strategies. Presenters include agribusiness and food industry experts and some completely outside the industry. Roger says that …
Alison Van Eenennaam Wins CAST Award
Dr. Alison Van Eenennaam, faculty member and Cooperative Extension Specialist at the University of California-Davis was awarded the 2014 Borlaug CAST Communication Award by the Council for Agriculture Science and Technology (CAST). She received the honor during this year’s World Food Prize taking place in Des Moines, Iowa. This year’s award was sponsored by DuPont Pioneer who announced they will …
Drive with Caution During Harvest Season
It’s harvest season in Georgia and more farm equipment will be heading out across the state as farmers transport equipment and produce between fields and processing areas. Because farm equipment is designed to be used primarily in the field and not for typical highway speeds, motorists can be caught off guard when traveling rural roads this time of year. The …
For Whom the School Bell Tolls
Families seem to have themes. What I mean by that is some people relish in old barns, and pass that love along to the next generation. Some families are “born into” being a police officer, a fire fighter or a doctor. For my family, I’d say it’s teaching. As you may or may not know, my Aunt Jeanette taught 3rd …
Has RFS Uncertainty Hurt Your Community?
Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “Are you ready for MyFarmRadio on your mobile device?” Don’t worry if you are part of the majority and have never heard of MyFarmRadio. We won’t accuse you of living under a rock just yet, because it is still very new. On November 3rd the new platform MyFarmRadio will launch. The 24/7 digital mobile …
Talk About Digital Food Fights
The title for this morning’s AgCatalyst keynote sounds daunting, “Exploring Humanity’s Ag Communications History Spanning from Egyptian Emojis to Today’s Digital Food Fight.” How do you pack all that into one session? Well, Susan Beebe, Manager of Social Media & Online Communities, Tyson Foods, is doing just that. I visited with her earlier to get some take-aways from her presentation. …
Everglades Conservation in Action Tour Photos
Baby barn owls with a hearty appetite for rodents that destroy sugarcane were one of the highlights of the CTIC Conservation in Action tour this week in the Everglades Agricultural Area. We saw sugarcane being planted and harvested with precision, rich black soil, dozens of varieties of lettuce, a concrete post revealing six feet of soil subsidence in 84 years, …
The Sales Lion Prowls at AgCatalyst
Marcus Sheridan started out his career as a “pool guy.” But today he has a digital marketing agency, The Sales Lion. This guy has lots of energy which you’ll be able to hear in a snippet of his AgCatalyst presentation below. I also interviewed him to get a few take-aways to share with you. First, he says “We have to …
Farmers as AgCatalysts
Dave Frederickson, Minnesota Commissioner of Agriculture, greeted the attendees of the 2014 AgCatalyst event this afternoon. The theme of the event is “It’s All About the Content.” Dave says, “I believe the best way to drive good content is characters. What better way to tell the story about agriculture than through the eyes and actions of our farmers and ranchers …
AgCatalyst Off to the Races
The 2014 AgCatalyst, sponsored by AdFarm, is off to the races. I say that because our opening keynote is from Marcus Sheridan, The Sales Lion. He is a wild animal on the stage talking about how sales and marketing have changed. He’s letting us know what we “must” do about it. I hope to get him to sit down for …