Charlie Harness passed away on April 25, 2025. He was very well known and a mentor to many people in ag communications. Charles later used his communication skills as the Media Relations Manager and spokesperson for Iowa Beef Processors (IBP) in Sioux City from 1976 until 1983. After a brief stint as President of an advertising agency in Sioux City, …
IFAJ Congress 2025
The IFAJ Congress 2025 registration is now open. It will take place October 15-18, in Nairobi, Kenya with the theme: Unlocking the Agricultural Potential in the Cradle of Mankind. Find all about it on the Congress website. The International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) is a globally respected organization committed to excellence in agricultural journalism. Since 1958, IFAJ has hosted …
2025 Agri-Marketing Conference
The 2025 Agri-Marketing Conference is underway. I have started some photo albums on the NAMA Flickr account. There’s one for student competition photos and one for the overall conference. 2025 Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album 2025 Agri-Marketing Conference – Student Photo Album Today we have meetings of the NAMA Board, Chapter Leaders, a workshop, and then the party begins. We’ll have …
Registration Open for 2025 Ag Media Summit
Registration opened today for the Agricultural Media Summit, July 27-30, 2025 in Rogers, AR. You can find it here. Got questions? Here are some FAQs for you. Stay at the Embassy Suite Northwest Arkansas Hotel, Spa & Convention Center. THE AGRICULTURAL MEDIA SUMMIT began in 1999, and is the largest gathering of the agriculture industry’s top writers, editors, photographers, publishers …
Passing of Gene Hemphill
Cindy and I are very sad about the passing of Gene Hemphill. He was a great man who smiled a lot and always wanted to help anyone. He was also a very good friend. I don’t know how many hours or days we worked together, especially some unique projects like a trip to Jay Leno’s garage where we ate pizza …
Ag and Biofuels Groups Seek Exemption to Shipping Rules
The United States Trade Representative‘s office is holding public hearings this week on proposed actions in the Section 301 investigation of China’s targeting of the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors for dominance that would result in new fees being imposed on Chinese vessels. The first hearing was held on Monday, March 24 and the second will be on Wednesday, March …
ZimmCast 744 – Agri-Pulse Summit & Ag Day
Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast. The first day of spring started the day after the annual Agri-Pulse Ag & Food Summit and National Ag Day Activities. We have published virtual newsrooms on our AgNewsWire website and story posts on AgWired. So, in this episode I’d like to share a few of the interviews and audio from the events. I’ll …
USDA Farm Production and Conservation Leaders Announced
Key presidential appointments to the USDA’s Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) mission area were announced today. Brooke Shupe Appleton is already serving as the Deputy Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation. Previously, she served as Vice President of Public Policy for the National Corn Growers Association. She spoke in place of Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins Tuesday during National …
Feeding the Economy Report
In conjunction with the National Ag Day celebrations this week, 36 food and agriculture groups released the ninth annual Feeding the Economy report, a farm-to-fork study of the entire agricultural supply chain that analyzes the economic contributions of one of America’s most essential industries to U.S. jobs, wages, economic output, and taxes. The 2025 report confirms the agriculture industry is …
Food and Ag Groups Express MAHA Concerns
Over 300 agricultural and food organizations have signed on to a letter calling for sound science and data to be used by the Make America Healthy Again Commission in upcoming evaluations for products essential to food and agriculture. The letter, sent to the heads of Health and Human Services, USDA, and EPA, specifically focuses on the importance of pesticides, biotechnology, …