Thanks once again to Gene Hemphill and New Holland for making it possible for me to cover the National Farm-City Week Luncheon and get to see one of my favorite performers, Michael Peterson.
Michael has a great message for anyone in our country and especially our young people. If you’ve never heard Michael then you can watch a short part of his keynote presentation. First you’ll have to put up with Mike Adams introduction (just joking Mike).
I think we’ll be hearing and seeing a lot more of Michael in the coming year as he kicks off a new venture in cities across the country. You can look forward to more about that as soon as the details are released.
The Farm-City Council is all about our youth and many of them were represented here at the National Farm-City Week Kickoff Luncheon. These FFA’ers are posing with Michael Peterson our keynote speaker. I’ve got some video of Michael I hope to post later when I get a chance to edit it. Besides hearing from Michael who spoke eloquently about the value of agriculture and those involved in it, a number of awards were presented:
“Our Farm-City Council partners at the state level play a critical role in helping non-farming consumers understand the vital importance of U.S. agriculture to our economy,” said National Farm-City Council Chair Al Pell. “We’re pleased to honor several state organizations today for their outstanding work in accomplishing the Farm-City mission.”
Pell presented the following organizations with national awards for outstanding accomplishment: Frederick County Farm Bureau Women, Maryland; Coffee County Farm-City Committee, Alabama; Chambers County Farm-City Committee, Alabama; Long Island Farm Bureau, New York; and Chautauqua County Farm Bureau, New York.
State awards for outstanding accomplishment were presented to Reno County Farm Bureau in Kansas and the following organizations in South Carolina: Greenville County Farm-City Committee, Lexington County Farm-City Week Committee, Richland County Farm-City Week Committee, Beaufort County Farm-City Week Committee, Saluda County Farm-City Week Committee and Darlington County Farm-City Week Committee.
At today’s National Farm-City Week Kickoff Luncheon Rolling Stones keyboardist, Chuck Leavell (left) received the first ever American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture, “Book of the Year” award. He received it for his book “The Tree Farmer.” Terry Gilbert, a Kentucky farmer and Foundation board member, presented the book award to Leavell.
“The Tree Farmer is a rare treasure among children’s books on agriculture,” Gilbert said. “It tells a story from a farmer’s perspective about his love of the land and his appreciation of the beauty of trees. The farmer’s love of the products trees provide and how they touch the souls of the people whose lives they grace shines through on every page,” she said.
The Tree Farmer was written for 6- to 14-year-olds and is one of 160 “Accurate Ag Books” recommended for children and adults by the Foundation.
“In our efforts to correct misconceptions about agriculture, we need to be careful not to just use facts and figures,” Gilbert said. “We need to refocus our efforts and start reaching people’s hearts as well as their minds when telling agriculture’s story. The Tree Farmer does just that.”
Prior to receiving the award I interviewed Chuck. In our interview he talks about his career in rock and roll and how he got started tree farming. That farming experience has lead him to a passion for conservation and helping the public understand the truth about forestry as a business that impacts every aspect of our lives.
You can listen to my interview with Chuck here:
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Here’s your on the road AgriTalk photo. This is Mike interviewing Rolling Stones keyboardist (formerly with the Allman Brothers), Chuck Leavell. We’re eating lunch at the National Farm-City Week Luncheon while we listen to Mike’s show.
Chuck is here to receive an award for a book that he wrote for kids about tree farming, something he does on his farm in Georgia. I interviewed Chuck myself and will be posting that here after lunch.
The Chairman of the National Farm-City Council this year is Al Pell, AgDay TV. He’s on the scene here in Washington, DC for the National Farm-City Week Luncheon and I caught up to him while our entertainer, Michael Peterson, was warming up. Al’s on the left by the way.
Al says the purpose of the luncheon is to draw attention in advance to National Farm-City Week which officially kicks off the Friday before Thanksgiving. Having this event in Washington, DC really helps create awareness. You can listen to Al explain this in an excerpt from an interview I did with him just a few minutes ago:
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I’ll post my full interview with Al in next week’s ZimmCast.
Al says that Michael Peterson will have a very inspirational message for us today and I’ll be recording it to post for you this afternoon. I know we’re going to hear some of Michael’s famous songs. At least that’s what he was doing during his sound check.
We’re also going to hear from AgriTalk’s Mike Adams today. In fact, the show will be live and we’re going to start the luncheon at halftime with Mike being our emcee.
National Farm-City Week doesn’t officially start until November 16 but we’re going to kick things off tomorrow in Washington, DC at the National Farm-City Week Luncheon. So that’s where I’m headed today.
In case you didn’t know it, the National Farm-City Council has materials available for schools to help educate children about agriculture. These Fun Facts bookmarks are an example. You can order them online.
Pretty soon it will be National Farm-City Week. It’s held the week before Thanksgiving. To kick it off I’ll be attending the National Farm-City Week Kickoff Luncheon in Washington, DC next week.
The luncheon will begin at 11:30 a.m., and the keynote speaker/entertainer is motivational speaker and country music artist Michael Peterson. The award-winning country music artist not only sings, but also speaks eloquently about the value of agriculture and those involved in it.
We all know Michael will do a great job since we’ve seen him perform before. I’m really looking forward to it. I also want to thank New Holland for sponsoring my coverage of this year’s event.
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.
Thanks once again to Gene Hemphill and New Holland for making it possible for me to cover the National Farm-City Week Luncheon and get to see one of my favorite performers, Michael Peterson.
The Farm-City Council is all about our youth and many of them were represented here at the National Farm-City Week Kickoff Luncheon. These FFA’ers are posing with Michael Peterson our keynote speaker. I’ve got some video of Michael I hope to post later when I get a chance to edit it. Besides hearing from Michael who spoke eloquently about the value of agriculture and those involved in it, a number of awards were presented:
At today’s National Farm-City Week Kickoff Luncheon Rolling Stones keyboardist, Chuck Leavell (left) received the first ever American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture, “Book of the Year” award. He received it for his book “The Tree Farmer.” Terry Gilbert, a Kentucky farmer and Foundation board member, presented the book award to Leavell.
Here’s your on the road AgriTalk photo. This is Mike interviewing Rolling Stones keyboardist (formerly with the Allman Brothers), Chuck Leavell. We’re eating lunch at the National Farm-City Week Luncheon while we listen to Mike’s show.
The Chairman of the 
I’ll post my full interview with Al in next week’s ZimmCast. 
National Farm-City Week doesn’t officially start until November 16 but we’re going to kick things off tomorrow in Washington, DC at the 
Pretty soon it will be National Farm-City Week. It’s held the week before Thanksgiving. To kick it off I’ll be attending the 
It's time to thank our farmers and ranchers for all their hard work to feed us.
