The U.S. Potato Board will have Don Ladhoff leading their retail efforts for their Domestic Marketing Program.
He will provide key input to strategy and guide the tactical execution of the program, with the goal of increasing demand for potatoes in the retail environment.
“I’m pleased Don has joined our team,” said Kathleen Triou, USPB’s Vice President, Domestic Marketing. “He brings considerable experience and enthusiasm to the position, and he’ll be ready to contribute from day one.”
Ladhoff was most recently the President of BrandForce, a full-service marketing agency he founded in 2008 that assisted clients including Butterball, Chiquita and T-Mobile. Prior to BrandForce, he was the Vice President of Client Solutions at Seismicom from 2006-2008, working with brands such as Nestle, Fresh Express and Challenge Dairy. From 2002 to 2006, Ladhoff was a Vice President of Account Services with MARS Advertising, developing shopper marketing programs for clients including Clorox, ConAgra Foods, Dr Pepper/Snapple and Procter & Gamble.
Dairy Management Inc. is conducting a webinar on social media for dairy producers in a couple weeks.
Dairy producers who use Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to stay connected with family and friends, and producers who want to learn about these tools, are encouraged to participate in a free 90-minute webinar on Thursday, April 15 to learn how these applications can be used to share positive dairy stories and communicate with consumers about modern dairy farming practices.
Dairy Management Inc.™ (DMI), which manages the national dairy checkoff program, launched the myDairy Social Media program in 2009 to help dairy producers and dairy enthusiasts use social media proactively to share their dairy stories and counter negative or misleading information about the dairy industry. The myDairy program currently mobilizes over 1,000 dairy enthusiasts from across the country to engage in social media networks, building a strong, positive online dairy presence to help counter misinformation and maintain public confidence in dairy foods and the people who produce them. The myDairy program provides tips to navigate and use popular social media sites, along with key messages to incorporate into dairy stories, and opportunities to connect with other dairy enthusiasts and the general public.
“Consumers want to hear about the dairy industry first hand from dairy producers and social media provides an opportunity to communicate effectively with a large audience via one platform,” said David Pelzer, senior vice president of strategic communications at DMI.
To register for the webinar and/or to become a myDairy advocate and learn more about the program, email myDairy@rosedmi.com.
One producer who is out in front on this is Will Gilmer, Gilmer Dairy Farms. Here’s his latest MooTube Minute:
The National Beef Ambassadors (sponsored in part by ZimmComm New Media) is starting a photo contest tomorrow.
Have you heard something in the media lately that has made you think more about the importance of YOUR agriculture story? The National Beef Ambassadors, funded in part by the beef checkoff, can help you spread your message. The “Farmers and Ranchers Care” Earth Day Photo Contest will help you share with consumers and fellow producers how you, as cattle ranchers and beef producers, care for the environment in your ranching practices! This contest will begin on Saturday, March 20th, National Agriculture Day. In order to share the importance of the beef industry’s positive involvement with the environment, you will have the chance to share your photos on the National Beef Ambassador Facebook page.
Step 1: Become a fan of the National Beef Ambassadors on Facebook.
Step 2: Upload your photo to the National Beef Ambassador Facebook page showcasing how you, as a beef producer, are involved in helping the environment.
Step 3: Help fellow producers in the contest and vote on your favorites.
International marketing was the focus of a press conference held by the United Soybean Board at Commodity Classic. First up on the podium was Phil Bradshaw, USB Chairman and a soybean farmer from Griggsville, IL.
He spoke about future efforts to increase soybean exports as conducted by the USB. A record 1.56 billion bushels of soybeans were exported in the most recent marketing year which is “every other row of soybeans produced in the United States.” He says the USB has just selected a new organization to represent soybean growers on the international level. That will be the newly re-organized U.S. Soybean Export Council.
You can listen to or download (mp3) Phil’s remarks here:
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The next person to speak was Jim Call, USB International Marketing Chair and a soybean farmer from Madison, MN.
Jim says the new model that USB has selected to increase soy exports will allow them to better coordinate on planning with exporters and customers. They expect to decrease the duplication of efforts and invest Checkoff dollars more wisely.
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Last to address the press conference was Ike Boudreaux, USSEC Chairman and a soybean farmer from Lebeau, LA.
Ike says the USSEC is proud to have been selected by the USB to execute the new international marketing model. The new efforts will begin October 1, 2010. He says that USSEC is updating its operational structure in order to earn the business. He describes some of the elements of the plan they will be putting in place which includes targeting six key markets.
Can you define sustainability? Neither can I. But that was the first task of the panel discussion of commodity group leaders this morning at Commodity Classic. Moderated by Mark Mayfield, the panel discussed what sustainability means to them. Panelists included: Darrin Ihnen, President, NCGA, Rob Joslin, President, ASA, Karl Scronce, President, NAWG and Gerald Simonsen, Chairman, NSP.
You’ll hear the panel says what sustainability isn’t and provide some good reasons why farmers are very much involved with this issue.
You can listen to the commodity group leaders with Mark below.
Exports and trade was the first subject to come up in the interview. Karl says exports are vitally important and the U.S. is the biggest exporter in the world. He says trade has been very sporadic depending on the time and country you’re talking about. There are a number of trade agreements in the works that could be very important in the future.
In the general session at Commodity Classic we heard from the President of the American Soybean Association, Rob Joslin. Rob was interviewed by session moderator Mark Mayfield.
Rob says one of his goals has been to visit as many of the ASA state affiliates as he can and he’s over half way there. He thinks it’s important to know what the states are thinking. He says they really need the biodiesel tax credit back in place immediately. He says that’s in a jobs bill in the Senate right now.
South Dakota Corn Grower, Darrin Ihnen, President of the National Corn Growers Association, took the general session stage this morning with session moderator Mark Mayfield.
Mark had a list of questions for each of the commodity group leaders. With Darrin he started out talking about ethanol. Darrin talked about what the corn growers are doing in this area including pushing for higher blends in the fuel supply. All indications are that this is progressing in a positive way with the science looking good. He says they’re hoping for action by the end of this summer.
One of the friendly faces you’ll meet when you check in to the media room at Commodity Classic is Cassandra Schlef, Communications Coordinator for ASA. She helps with press releases, their weekly Leader Letter and website updates that include Twitter and Facebook.
Cassandra says the media room this year has been expanded to include more work tables and internet access that includes wireless. They’ve also expanded the hours the room is open too. She says it should make it easier for us to do our jobs and I agree.
Cassandra thinks the pre-registered number of media is about 130 but they expect more to walk in and I’m sure that will happen.
Joining the ranks of the Farm Podcasters is Cathryn Wojcicki Dixson, NCGA Communications Manager. I met Cathryn here at Commodity Classic and talked with her about her job and the new audio program she’s producing for NCGA.
The program is called “Off The Cob.”
Welcome to “Off the Cob”, an original podcast series produced by the National Corn Growers Association. This series features interviews with grower-leaders on hot topics in agriculture and will expand media options for those wishing to further their knowledge of the industry.
Cathryn works on NCGA editorial content like their publications and now the podcast series. It’s her first time for creating an audio podcast series which will be produced once a week. She says it’s one element of their social media emphasis to communicate which really ties in to their organizational grass roots culture.
You can listen to my interview with Cathryn below.
AgWired coverage of the 2010 Commodity Classic
is sponsored by: and
Today was the first day I’ve worn my WTF shirt. That is Where’s The Food, Without The Farmer? of course. It was fun seeing the reaction from people in the airport, on the plane and in the hotel today traveling to Commodity Classic. I can’t tell you how many people have said, “I saw that on Twitter today.” Thank you to all who re-tweeted me!
We love farmers. They feed our soul. Together we are working to help our generation understand the importance of knowing where our food comes from and who produced it.
We’re not your typical “who cares” kind of young people from the Millennial Generation. Sure, we all have cell phones and we text like crazy. We have iPods and spend way too much time on Facebook and MySpace, but we care about our planet. We care about our country. We care about the American family farmer.
Few of our friends know how their food is produced. We think that is sad. And, really it is kind of scary. If we are not careful, we will become dependent on other countries to provide our food. That is not good. Who knows what goes on in other countries when it comes to growing our food? We have an idea, and it too is not good.
A new coalition has been formed to protect the rights of animal owners in Missouri. It’s called Missourians for Animal Care. Here are representatives of some of the organizations that support the coalition who were meeting today in the Missouri State Capitol. The group is supporting a bill titled HCS/HJR 86 that would protect the right to raise animals in Missouri. Why? Because there are animal rights extremist groups like the Humane Society of the United States trying to get a ballot initiative going on that would put severe limitations on the ability of anyone to own and raise animals.
It’s great to see a diverse group of agricultural groups coming together on an issue but this is one that would affect all of them. It’s also sad that they have to fight a completely unnecessary ballot initiative. Dog breeders in Missouri are licensed and regulated and are great caretakers for their animals but wacko groups like HSUS are using a very derogatory and emotional term to try to gain support which would supply them with money and a foothold for future legislative actions. Their initiative is called The Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act and you need to be aware of it.
To learn more about what’s going on I spoke with Karen Strange, President, Missouri Federation of Animal Owners. Her group has filed a lawsuit challenging the ballot initiative summary which they believed is inadequate to describe what is in the measure itself. They’re challenging the use of the term “puppy mill” which they do not use and is very prejudicial against anyone who breeds dogs. She says, “It’s very, very offensive to the good breeders of Missouri.” They have formed a PAC to raise funds to fight the ballot initiative.
Karen says they see this ballot initiative as just a “first step” to them coming after other agriculture interests. She says they want to help educate the public about this issue so they don’t unknowingly pass something they don’t understand the detrimental effects of. She says this is “nothing but a money making venture by an animal rights organization.” She says we need to just enforce the rules we already have.
If you’d like to have a good resource to use for good information about what the H$U$ is doing then I recommend HumaneWatch.org. You’ll find links to information about this issue there already.
Agricenter International is a self-sustaining, non profit that provides economic development by facilitating agricultural research, educational programs, environmental conservation, natural area preservation and recreational opportunities.
John’s presentation focused on their efforts to better inform and educate consumers on the importance of agribusiness to the U.S. economy and the impact of ag exports to the world. He also gave us an overview of the status of what is considered to be the world’s largest urban farm and research test facility.
His presentation will give you another idea of what you miss when you don’t attend an ARC meeting. Think about putting it on your calendar next year!
I probably would have overdosed on a healthy product if I’d attended Potato Expo 2010. It’s hard to say no to chips/dip or a nicely baked potato with the extras. It would be fun to blog. Maybe someday. Anyway, it sounds like the potato business is doing okay.
Nearly 1,200 people attended POTATO EXPO 2010, along with a trade show that was completely sold out. The second annual POTATO EXPO kicked off Monday, January 4, 2010 with an “Opening Luau Reception” on the tradeshow floor at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Studios in Orlando, FL. The record setting attendance included representatives from all across North America and from all sectors of the potato industry. Attendees from New Zealand, Germany, the United Kingdom, Norway, the Netherlands, Mexico, Korea, Japan and Ireland were also present.
One of the general session speakers was J.R. Simplot Company President and CEO Bill Whitacre who spoke on “The Future of the Potato.” He said:
“Over the next decade, our industry will continue to change, and that will mean the potato industry will have additional opportunities,” Whitacre said. “Many of these will come from technological advancements. We need to embrace these technologies and recognize the capabilities and possibilities these will bring to the future of food production.”
It’s okay to talk about Mark Bloom. I think he’s actually in Brazil right now with an Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation group. Mark is one of the staff members of IALF and he was exhibiting at the recent Chicago Farmers Farmland Investment Fair.
Mark says it’s a great time for IALF since they’ve got an overlap in last year’s leadership class with the international seminar group that is touring in Brazil and Argentina. He says it’s the second time they’ve been at the Farmland Investment Fair. He says it’s interesting that he’s found that other exhibitors are really good prospects for the IALF program.
Farmland values was a very important topic of discussion at the Farmland Investment Fair put on by the Chicago Farmers. One of the educational sessions on the topic was conducted by Mike Shane, First Farm Credit Services.
Mike told me they focused on what land values are now and what drives them. They can’t predict them of course. He says they’ve see a leveling off of values in recent years and decline in certain areas like the Dekalb, Kane and McHenry county areas around Chicago but if you go further south in the state they’re more flat or even higher. Land is still available and they’ve seen some land sell for as much as $8K in those areas. Interest rates were a question they got asked a lot and right now they’re about as low as they’re going to go.
The new U.S. Grains Council senior vice president of operations and industry relations is Keith Heffernan, pictured in the middle here. He was chief of staff for the Farm Credit Administration. Keith was also the first executive director for the Iowa Corn Growers Association; director of public affairs for the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation; assistant director for the Center of Agricultural and Rural Development at Iowa State University; and chief of staff for USDA’s Rural Development. In other words, he’s got a lot of qualifications to work in this new position.
I spoke with Keith here at the International Marketing Conference. He says participation is good and there’s a lot of excitement about exports. Looking forward he says there will be more attention and need for attention on exports.
Here at the U.S. Grains Council International Marketing Conference n this morning’s general session we had a panel discussion on trade with Mexico. In the discussion attendees were able to ask questions and answers. In fact, it was mostly a Q&A session. Allan Mustard, Minister Counselor, Office of Agricultural Affairs, US Embassy, Mexico City, introduced our panel.
Our panelists and their specialties included:
Enrique Dominguez (Director – pork producers confederation)
Discussion topic
-Excessive exports of pork into Mexico (why and what is causing in terms of jobs and capital loss)
-How long will that tendency last and what effects will result (everybody is asking this question)
-What can be done from a regional point of view (north America, NAFTA to correct this issue)
Ricardo Calderon (Executive Director APPAMEX – grain traders association)
Discussion topic
-Integration of the market MEX-USA, trends and role of different actors.
-Obstacles that can disrupt trade (which ones can be prevented)
-Future of grain trade MEX-USA
-How to keep free flow of feed grains
Carlos Lopez Coello (Scientist UNAM – National University of Mexico poultry specialist)
Discussion topic
There are 5 areas in developed countries where commercial poultry has received special attention, attributed in large part by consumer demand
1. Animal Welfare.
2. Environment Conservation.
3. Food Safety.
4. Traceability.
5. Animal and Human Health.
You can watch or listen to the Mexican trade panel. I recorded our live feed.
We’re going to be broadcasting the final general session from the U.S. Grains Council Marketing Conference.
Post Update We were live. Now we’re recorded.
The Chairman for the U.S. Grains Council is Rick Fruth. Rich took the stage today to speak to attendees of the International Marketing Conference and Membership Meeting. I have recorded his comments for you in video and audio. I also spoke with him during a break to see what he considers the challenges and opportunities for the U.S. Grains Council.
You can watch or listen to Rick’s comments here:
You can also download (mp3) and listen to Ricks’s remarks here:
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You can also download (mp3) and listen to an interview I conducted with Rick here:
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One of the founding members of the U.S. Grains Council is the National Corn Growers Association. Attending the USGC International Marketing Conference is NCGA CEO Rick Tolman, seen here addressing one of the meetings.
Rick, who worked for USGC for many years, says that NCGA considers the Grains Council their international trade partner. The two organizations have a very strong working relationship. He says one of the things he’s really happy to hear discussed here at this meeting is how well exports of DDGS have been due to the efforts of the Grains Council. That’s good news for corn growers for whom the production of ethanol is so important right now. He says that the Grains Council is looking at other value added products they can promote for export too.
Commodity Classic took place in Anaheim, CA. You'll find all of Chuck, Cindy and Joanna's photos here.
Happy Ag Week
It's time to thank our farmers and ranchers for all their hard work to feed us.
In this week's program I interview Linda Tank, CHS, Inc., who is Chair of the Agriculture Council of America, the group coordinating National Ag Day. Learn more about their activities, especially this week in Washington, DC.
The U.S. Potato Board will have Don Ladhoff leading their retail efforts for their Domestic Marketing Program.
International marketing was the focus of a press conference held by the 
The next person to speak was Jim Call, USB International Marketing Chair and a soybean farmer from Madison, MN.
Last to address the press conference was Ike Boudreaux, USSEC Chairman and a soybean farmer from Lebeau, LA.
and 
Can you define sustainability? Neither can I. But that was the first task of the panel discussion of commodity group leaders this morning at Commodity Classic. Moderated by Mark Mayfield, the panel discussed what sustainability means to them. Panelists included: Darrin Ihnen, President, NCGA, Rob Joslin, President, ASA, Karl Scronce, President, NAWG and Gerald Simonsen, Chairman, NSP.
In the general session at Commodity Classic we heard from the President of the 
South Dakota Corn Grower, Darrin Ihnen, President of the 
One of the friendly faces you’ll meet when you check in to the media room at Commodity Classic is Cassandra Schlef, Communications Coordinator for 
Joining the ranks of the Farm Podcasters is Cathryn Wojcicki Dixson, 
The first presentation at the 
It’s okay to talk about Mark Bloom. I think he’s actually in Brazil right now with an 
Farmland values was a very important topic of discussion at the Farmland Investment Fair put on by the Chicago Farmers. One of the educational sessions on the topic was conducted by Mike Shane, First Farm Credit Services. 
The new U.S. Grains Council senior vice president of operations and industry relations is Keith Heffernan, pictured in the middle here. He was chief of staff for the Farm Credit Administration. Keith was also the first executive director for the Iowa Corn Growers Association; director of public affairs for the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation; assistant director for the Center of Agricultural and Rural Development at Iowa State University; and chief of staff for USDA’s Rural Development. In other words, he’s got a lot of qualifications to work in this new position.
Here at the U.S. Grains Council International Marketing Conference n this morning’s general session we had a panel discussion on trade with Mexico. In the discussion attendees were able to ask questions and answers. In fact, it was mostly a Q&A session. Allan Mustard, Minister Counselor, Office of Agricultural Affairs, US Embassy, Mexico City, introduced our panel.
One of the founding members of the U.S. Grains Council is the National Corn Growers Association. Attending the USGC International Marketing Conference is NCGA CEO Rick Tolman, seen here addressing one of the meetings.
It's time to thank our farmers and ranchers for all their hard work to feed us.
