It’s back to the real world after a great stay in California. I got home around 10pm. Had a midterm at 9 the next morning and my first article do by Noon. Ahh the life of a busy college student. I hope everyone enjoyed the coverage on the Commodity Classic. I know I really enjoyed it and got a lot out of the whole experience. A big thank you to Tami Schilling, Mica DeLong, and everyone at Monsanto for sponsoring my trip. Also, thanks to Chuck Zimmerman for allowing me to blog on AgWired. I had a great time doing it. To everyone I met during Commodity Classic, thank you. You made my experience all the better for knowing you. I hope everyone has a safe and productive spring. Goodbye!
Yesterday afternoon Tami, Rodney, and I all went to the beach. We were heading toward Venice Beach but we ended up first at Santa Monica Beach. It was beautiful! There was a pier with a Ferris Wheel and a Roller Coaster. There were vendors that sold chinese name writing, clay faces, and cotton candy. Then we went the one mile down the beach to Venice Beach. It was, to put it mildly, very 
interesting. The type of people at Venice Beach were not exactly the kind you would see in rural Illinois. None the less, the afternoon was great and I am so glad I was able to see the ocean. We toped that off with the Lorrie Morgan concert and headed for bed. Well, today is Sunday which means it’s time to head home. The Commodity Classic was amazing and I encourage all of you to go if you ever get a chance. Be looking for a follow up blog tonight or tomorrow. Until then, I’m off to the airport.
What a way to conclude the classic. Lorrie Morgan dazzled us all tonight in a performance put on by Monsanto. She sang a few of her older hits such as “Watch Me Walk Away”, “Something 
in Red”, and “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength.” She even brought out some new ones that will be on her upcoming new CD. My favorite of the evening is a poignant song called Mirror, Mirror. She continued the energy throughout the night and had everyone clapping and dancing in their seat. It was a great night for everyone.
Wow!! I was dazzled this morning by Howard Helmer, the World’s Fastest Omelet Maker. His secret? Two eggs and two tbl. of water. Here is his technique: Beat the eggs and water (salt and pepper if desired). In 10in. non-stick omelet pan over medium -high heat, heat butter until just hot enough to sizzle a drop of water. Pour in egg mixture. It should immediately start to sizzle. With an inverted pancake turner, push cooked portions from the edge of the pan so the uncooked portions can spill onto the hot pan surface. (Dig a hole, fill it up! Dig a hole fill it up!). Fill half of the omelet with desired ingredients and fold omelet in half. Flip over onto plate and serve! Mmm good!
He even did special omelets. One he put Ranch dressing in for more flavor. One he added wine, and one he caught on fire with wiskey. It was really neat to watch.
Well I’m really hungry now but luckily it is lunchtime so I get to eat. I am leaving right now to go to the beach!! This will be my first west coast experience and only third time seeing the ocean at all. I know, I know, I should get out more. Well I’m off for some fun in the sun but I will be back tonight to report on the Lorrie Morgan Concert that is happening at 8:30pm. Bye!
It’s sunny again in California. What a gorgeous last day for the 2006 Commodity Classic! Margy pretty much summed up everything that happened yesterday in her last blog so I won’t go into too much more detail. I will say however that this experience has been amazing and Margy helped make that happen for me so thanks Margy for being a great “fellowshiper”. I hope everyone that returned home today had safe travels. I, however, are still in the great state of California and I have to attribute my good mood to the beautiful sunshine. Its around 60 degrees right now, which is a little chilly for California standards but warm for this Illinois girl in March.
This morning I attended a learning session on the upcoming 2007 Farm Bill. I know that a lot of you are extremely interested and even concerned about the changes that will come from this bill. Well, I wish I could tell you something you didn’t already know but unfortunately I can’t. The panel was formed with minority staff director Mark Halverson from Iowa, and a majority staff director named Steve, who, I am so sorry, but I forgot to get his last name. He wasn’t in the program either, but I guess that’s not an excuse. At any rate they talked about the upcoming farm bill and it seemed to me they talked a lot for not having anything to say.
The room was packed to the brim with farmers, and media, and anyone else who wanted to hear what they had to say. Everyone wants to know whats going to happen next year but I’m not sure anyone has the answer. I’ve heard many comments made that everyone wants to keep the 2002 farm bill the way it is and not change many things. Unfortunately, as they were saying in the session, change is coming whether we want it to or not. Change can be a good thing though and if there is a change with the conservation reserve program I think a lot of people would be happy to see the budget increase in that area. They also talked about how the World Trade Organization would effect the bill as well. The outcome of trade agreements could greatly effect the farm bill. I guess we will see what happens.
Here I am at the Trade show next to a Black Chevy Truck powered by Biodiesel. It is so important that we continue effort to make our cars more and more environmentally friendly. Not only that but it is necessary to create a larger market for our corn and soybeans. It is amazing the support that the ethanol and biodiesel industry has and it is definitely being shown here at the commodity classic. We mentioned earlier the Indy Car brought here by EPIC. I’m off now to head down to the trade show again. There is so much to see and do it definitely takes at least two days to cover it all.
Here is another update on what is going on at the General Session here at Commodity Classic. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns just spoke on his past year in office. He started off his speech by commenting that he was nervous about speaking to this audience so he asked his wife what he should do. She said “Mike, don’t try to be sophisticated or charming….just be yourself.”
Secretary Johanns emphasized the importance of continuing to find markets for corn and soybeans. He mentioned the free trade agreement between the United States and the Columbia that will give more opportunities for corn and soybean farmers to market their crop.
He noted that farm net income has increased $90 billion a year over the past three years. 27% of U.S. cash receipts come from trade. 1in 3 acres of U.S. land is planted for the export market. Because we are so productive we must look to the future. U.S. Ag activity is outpacing consumption. Population and consumption grows 1% a year.
Secretary Johanns also talked extensively on the upcoming Farmbill. He mentioned the 52 listening sessions that he held to hear from farmers on what they think.
“We need to live by the rules that we expect everyone else to live by.” Johanns commented.
One of the most important issues was the need for the United States to use their own natural resources, such as corn and soybeans for fuel. Johanns predicted that Ethanol will make up 22% of the corn production in 2010. Lets hope he’s right.
Chuck recorded the speech this morning and has most of it available here for you to listen to: 
Johanns Speech (21:59 MP3 File)
A message from Dr. Jay Lehr followed Secretary Johanns and a performance by Michael Peterson finished up the show. Peterson noted that he has started a new youth program and that the FFA are working with New Holland to sell his CD as a fundraiser at the tradeshow downstairs.
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Happy Friday! This morning Monsanto held a press conference to discuss soybean production in the United States. I had the chance to videotape the announcement this morning. They introduced their new product line VISTIVE™. VISTIVE is a brand name for Monsanto’s line of soybean oils that help reduce and/or eliminate trans fatty acids (trans fats). The first product, VISTIVE low-linolenic soybeans, was launched in 2005. This year, nearly 500,000 acres will be planted in multiple areas throughout the Midwest. Processors are currently paying farmers a premium of $0.25 to $0.45 a bushel for VISTIVE soybeans. 
U.S. farmers will be given preferred access to produce several soybean products that will result in new market prospects for soybean oil. This includes soy crops that can deliver vegetable oils enriched with omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids have been found to lower cholesterol and reduce blood pressure.
Monsanto’s second part of their announcement involved risk management for their customers. They are offering an incentive of $15 per bag in the event of soybean crop failure for those farmers who purchase Roundup Ready soybean seed, plant it in a double crop system and use Roundup herbicides. This will be tested this year in Arkansas, Missouri, and North Carolina. This is due the amount of double crop soybean acreage and the geographical range of these states.
Finally, Monsanto plans on strategic planning for the future of soybean production. They will support and provide resources for a comprehensive study looking at what the future holds for the soybean industry in the year 2020. It is called Soy 2020 and is coordinated by the United Soybean Board. This study will look at current trends, economic, political and competitive factors that will shape the next 15 years. It will also look at the ways the industry can meet the demands of customers overseas as well as other market segments such as animal agriculture, biodiesel and food manufacturing.
For more information on Monsanto, click on Monsanto.
I love Michael Peterson! He is here at the 2006 Commodity Classic promoting his new CD “Down on the Farm”. He was gracious enough to give me his signature and take a picture with Margy and I and Chuck was kind enough to get us a signed copy of his new CD!!!
For those of you who may be confused, Michael Peterson is a country singer who sang the songs Drink, Swear, Steal, and Lie and From Here to Eternity, just to name a few. He is a wonderful artist. He is performing tomorrow at the general session.
He is doing a promotion with New Holland and you can only find his CD at your local New Holland dealer. He even has a picture of a New Holland tractor on the front of his CD. Whether you like New Holland or not should not stop you from buying his new CD.
It is a beautiful Thursday here in Anaheim. We started of the day by going to the National FFA Organization LifeKnowledge breakfast. This was a press conference that allowed the National FFA to announce their LifeKnowledge program that is being implemented into schools across the nation. This had special interest to me because I was a member of the Illinois FFA for five years and this past summer finished up my year of service as the Illinois FFA Section 5 President. LifeKnowledge is basically a program that incorporates leadership into the agriculture classroom. It is not just for FFA members but for everyone in agriculture. Not only that but the program is available for any teacher Ag related or not. It is a great way to teach America’s youth how to be good leaders, not only in the workforce but in their communities as well. LifeKnowledge helps develop the skills needed for the real world that aren’t always available to teach in the classroom until now.
I had a chance to talk with some of the FFA members that had come to the press conference with their advisor Kris Elliot of the Hanford FFA Chapter, Handford, California, to talk about how LifeKnowledge has effected them.
Michelle Spoelstra is a Junior at Hanford High School as is currently taking an Ag Leadership class. Here is what she had to say about LifeKnowledge: “I think LifeKnowledge is a good thing because it means your not listening to a monotone teacher for an hour. You get to interact with other students and share your thoughts. It makes students believe that they have the ability to be a leader.”
Her Ag advisor Kris Elliott talked about how he feels about LifeKnowledge: “These are like no lessons you will ever see before. It is so easy to incorporate LifeKnowledge into my lesson plans and the kids don’t even know what hit them. They are so enthusiastic after one of my LifeKnowledge lessons they ask when the next leadership lesson is going to be.”
If you want to learn more about this story be sure to watch for my article in the Illinois Agrinews in the next couple weeks.
The trade show here at the 2006 Commodity Classic is currently being set up and the booths look amazing. In this picture you see me with a huge John Deere 8530. Yes, I’m a green fan. We also visited the ethanol booth where they had an Indy Racing Car simulator run by the Ethanol Promotion and Information Counsel. Be looking for video clips and pictures of it from either Margy or I in the near future.
The first assignment I gave to my student bloggers was to cover this morning’s FFA Breakfast. The breakfast was FFA’s venue to launch their LifeKnowledge Center for Agricultural Education. This Center is going to be the focal point for FFA’s leadership initiative that not only supports FFA’s core principles but also has the goal of establishing 10,000 quality agricultural science programs by the year 2015.
Mary Irelan took the picture and Margy Fischer did the interview. Margy’s interview is with Michelle Spoelstra, a high school junior at Hanford High School, Hanford, CA. That interview is available here: Michelle Spoelstra Interview (2:12 MP3 File)
Well it is currently 10:00p.m. here in California which means to me it is midnight back in Illinois. I am exhausted after a day full of traveling but super excited that I am finally in California! The first comment I have to make is I am extremely disappointed that they have discontinued the snack on the airplane. I was sitting in O’Hare waiting for my flight to board and pondering whether or not to buy a snack for the plane. Well of course I didn’t because they give you the granola bar and/or peanuts during the flight, right? Wrong! Despite the lack of a snack I had a great flight and landed in sunny California this afternoon. It was my very first time seeing palm trees and they didn’t let me down. I took lots of pictures. I checked into my hotel room and waited for the rest of the crew to arrive. Everybody loves Raymond is a very good show by the way.
We just returned from a wonderful meal from The Catch, a restaurant a few blocks away. It was a great meal, but I was so tired I almost fell asleep in my food. I’m going to bed in a few minutes but let me first tell you what some of the plans are for tomorrow. At 7:30 a.m. I will be attending the FFA breakfast meeting/press conference. In the afternoon we will be going to the opening ceremony of the Commodity Classic Trade Show which includes a performance by Michael Martin Murphey. The day will be concluded with the DEKALB and ASGROW NCGA yield contest winner event. It should be a great day to start off the 2006 Commodity Classic. See you tomorrow!
Hello, My name is Mary Irelan and I am a student at the University of Illinois. I am currently a sophomore and I am majoring in Ag Communications. I would like to start off by thanking my sponsor, Monsanto, and specifically Tami Craig Schilling and Mica DeLong for allowing me to take part in this amazing experience. I would also like to thank Chuck Zimmerman for giving Margy and I the opportunity to blog for this website. I am extremely excited to participate in the Monsanto Future Ag Journalist Fellowship and I know I will learn a lot.
A little background on me: I am from a grain farm outside of Sparland, Illinois which is just north of Peoria. I live with my parents Dave and Jean and my sisters Elizabeth and Christine. I was extremely active in 4-H and FFA and even live at 4-H House at U of I.
I am currently packing my suitcase and getting more excited and, I must admit, nervous by the second. I have never been west of Nebraska so the prospect of visiting California is exciting in itself. This will be my first time attending Commodity Classic and I can’t wait to take it all in. I’m looking forward to meeting lots of people and learning about new technology about to be brought out into agriculture. The Lorrie Morgan Concert is going to be a plus as well. I’m eager to hear the major announcement Monsanto is making to the public and also one being made by FFA.
There is going to be lots to do and lots to see. I hope you continue to log on to read about Margy and I as we experience the 2006 Commodity Classic in Anaheim, California.
It’s Commodity Classic week here on AgWired. That means you must enter our contest to win a video iPod, which is being sponsored by New Holland and watch for event coverage that includes student bloggers Mary Irelan and Margy Fischer, sponsored by Monsanto. This week’s ZimmCast is a little different. No one on one interview. You can hear some of the music from Michael Peterson’s new CD, “Down on the Farm” and I interviewed both Mary and Margy to find out what they want to accomplish at Classic and what they think about blogging it.
You can listen to this week’s ZimmCast here: 
(13:11 MP3 File)
The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired which you can subscribe to using the link in our sidebar.
You can also now find the ZimmCast on CoolCast Radio or subscribe in iTunes.
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Meet Mary Irelan, University of Illinois student and about to become, AgWired blogger. Actually, she’ll just be blogging her experiences as a first time visitor to Commodity Classic next week. Her trip is being sponsored by Monsanto as part of it’s Future Ag Journalists Fellowship program. Monsanto wants to make sure the future agricultural communicators get some “new media” training.
Meet Margy Fischer, University of Missouri student and also blogging her Commodity Classic experience right here on AgWired. Both Mary and Margy will begin blogging their trip next Tuesday. All their posts will be categorized by their name so you can easily find them, since they’ll be mixed in with my coverage of the event. Additionally, they’ll also be helping me with my coverage. I was very happy to find out that they will be bringing a digital camera and notebook computer. That’s what the ag journalist of the future must be equipped with.
This is very cool and I can’t wait to see what our Monsanto Future Ag Journalists have to say. The same goes for Monsanto Public Affairs Manager Mica DeLong. She says the opportunity will provide the students with a unique real-world media experience. Monsanto has a long- standing commitment to promoting youth involvement in agriculture by supporting programs such as Future Farmers of America, 4-H, Agriculture Future of America, Ag in the Classroom and other notable agriculture youth and leader development organizations.
“These students will make some new contacts and learn more about the agricultural industry at one of the largest and most widely recognized ag events of the year,” says DeLong. “ZimmComm has offered a unique opportunity for both students to write for AgWired, which gives them exposure to one of the newest forms of communications and can really broaden their knowledge.”
I think Monsanto is one of the companies that’s “getting it.” They’re already video podcasting and now they’ve created an opportunity for students like Mary and Margy to create event coverage via a blog. Who would have imagined this a year ago when we got AgWired kick started?
Guess who ZimmComm will be looking for at graduation time.
It's time to thank our farmers and ranchers for all their hard work to feed us.
