Even though the word “crisis” is being used liberally here at the World Food Prize Norman Borlaug Symposium, there is a great deal of focus on solutions to feeding a growing global population. The “Global Agricultural Crisis of the 21st Century” was the topic of the keynote speaker for the symposium kickoff, Sir Gordon Conway, who is chief scientific adviser …
Charging Ahead in a Transitioning Bioeconomy
How we develop rural jobs as the country moves to a bioeconomy was the latest subject tackled today at the Farm Foundation’s Transition to a Bioeconomy: Environmental and Rural Impacts Conference in St. Louis. One of the key speakers during this session was USDA’s Under Secretary for Rural Development Thomas Dorr, who talked about how we need to move forward …
New T4000 Orchard Tractors From New Holland
Peach and blueberry growers just got a new tractor option from New Holland. I met with Andy Reinert, Mid-Range Tractor Marketing Manager, and learned all about it. He says the Sunbelt Ag Expo is the first place they’ve displayed the new tractor in the U. S. It’s got more power (comes in 62 to 82HP) and he says growers will …
Tyron Spearman is Sunbelt Media Mogul
When you come to the Sunbelt Ag Expo media room you experience Tyronny. At least that’s what I’m calling it when Tyron Spearman is in charge. I’ve known Tyron for a long time but hadn’t seen him in years since I haven’t been in the southeast much. He’s been involved with every Sunbelt Ag Expo (31 years). When I spoke …
Flame Your Pests Away
One of the companies exhibiting products in the Georgia Propane Gas Association building here at Sunbelt Ag Expo is Flame Engineering. They’ve got a full line of Red Dragon agricultural products. Red Dragon Agricultural Flamers kill unwanted weeds and grasses, break down old growth to make room for new, destroy insect habitat and provide safe & effective control without the …
Ag Cash Income At All Time High
One of our distinguished guests at today’s Sunbelt Ag Expo Southeast Farmer of the Year luncheon was Mark E. Keenum, USDA Under Secretary, Farm and Foreign Agricultural Service. If you’re interested in hearing about the economics of what’s going on in agriculture then you may want to listen to him. His full comments are only about 12 minutes. However, I’m …
Brian Kirksey is Southeast Farmer of the Year
The big news of the day here at Sunbelt Ag Expo is the announcement of the Southeast Farmer of the Year. After a number of speeches and suspense it was announced that Brian Kirksey, Arkansas, was chosen as this year’s winner. He receives a check for $14,000 and is seen here on stage with his wife, Nan. Brian got to …
Advice On Reaching The Ruralpolitans
In this week’s ZimmCast you’ll hear the viewpoints of two industry leading experts on the rural lifestyle market. It seems like this is all anyone wants to talk about in the agrimarketing world these days. Keep your eye on AgWired if you’d like to learn more about it. The Marketing Director for John Deere Commercial and Consumer Equipment is Dennis …
Year of the Utility Tractor
We’ve heard from John Deere that this is the “Year of the Utility Tractor.” That means they’re showing their commitment to the rural lifestyle market. In this week’s ZimmCast I’ll have some very interesting interviews about how John Deere is targeting this market. Before I left the Drive Green media event I spoke with Barry Nelson, Public Relations Manager. He …
Drive Green Utility Tractor Road Show
Shortly after the first of the year this mammoth John Deere truck will hit the road visiting select dealers from Texas to Georgia with the Drive Green Utility Tractor Road Show. I’ll be joining the tour and The dealers we’ll be visiting will be offering the new utility tractors to their customers and customers will have a chance to ride …