During the morning session here at the IFAJ Congress we were presented with the results of an online survey conducted for IFAJ by OEKonsult, Communication & Consulting. One of the presenters was Kristin Allwinger, Business Development. She says they had very good participation from IFAJ members and the goal was to find out how important various topics are to them. …
IFAJ Congress President Franz Fischler
The President of the IFAJ Congress 2008 is Franz Fischler, former Commissioner of Agriculture for the EU. Last year in Japan at the IFAJ Congress he promised us some fine Austrian wines. Tonight he made good on that with a toast at our dinner. Prior to the dinner I spoke to him and he said that attendance exceeded their expectations. …
IFAJ Congress Welcome
It’s the first day of IFAJ Congress 2008 activities and the good news is, our luggage arrived! This morning the Executive Committee is meeting and after lunch we’ll have an IFAJ delegates business meeting. I’m going to try to cover that. In the meantime, the welcome committee is greeting attendees in the lobby of our hotel. I spoke with one …
Ready To Call It An AgNite
Cindy and I were so impressed with AgNite that we just had to talk about it on this week’s ZimmCast. Let’s face it. Get over 5,000 people together and have the whole thing hosted by ag companies and organizations that don’t always see eye to eye and I’d say you’ve accomplished something! This week’s program includes an AgNite wrap-up with …
MOSES is Organic
MOSES is the Midwest Organic & Sustainable Education Service. At the Farm Progress Show, their outreach coordinator, Harriet Behar, visited the media tent. One of the first things I asked her was just what “organic” means. She says it’s a sustainable method of farming that uses on-farm produced inputs. “Only products that have met the organic regulations are allowed to …
John Deere Announces New Marketing/Sales Center
John Deere was a sponsor of this week’s AgNite event in Minneapolis and there was green equipment on display. It’s a busy week for the company. Not only were they involved in a big event that was held in conjunction with the RNC but today they announced plans to build a new marketing and sales center in Olathe, KS. We …
AgNite Wrap-up
I’m not sure how I got in touch with Daryn McBeth, Minnesota Agri-Growth Council today but I’m glad I did. I think he and his staff have earned some time off this week after putting on one incredible event Tuesday evening – AgNite. I got some wrap-up comments from him starting with attendance. Daryn says that they counted over 5,000 …
New Holland Says Size Matters
At last week’s Farm Progress Show (yes, I know, but I’m getting caught up) I met Jim Moellenberndt, New Holland Business Manager, Cash Crops. He was proudly displaying the “largest combine in North America” because “Size Matters.” He’s standing next to a 9080 CR Combine. He says, “It’s the largest combine in North America, 523 Max HP. It’s just a …
Ethanol at AgNite
One of the very cool things about the AgNite event in Minnesota this week was the way it united all aspects of the agriculture industry. The 50 sponsors included agribusinesses, corn growers, food processors, livestock, dairy and poultry producers, and the ethanol industry. Some of these groups have been at odds with each other in recent months over the impact …
Feeding America
You may be familiar with an organization called Second Harvest. Now you need to know it by the name, Feeding America. The new name was announced September 1. George Braley (front left) is their Senior Vice President of Government Relations and Public Policy. He was one of the people on hand Tuesday at their regional network member, Second Harvest Heartland, …