Rural Interests Concerned About Losing Local TV

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Cindy

“Water, sunlight, and soil are essential ingredients to agricultural businesses and the communities that rely on them. So too is spectrum, and the free, local news and information broadcasted on it.”

That’s the first line of a letter sent to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) this week from agricultural interests regarding concerns about television translator service and low
power television (LPTV).

Several organizations representing agriculture, conservation and cooperatives signed letters to the FCC and Congressional committee members urging them to research the impact that impending spectrum incentive auctions could have on television translator service and low power television service in rural areas. Last year Congress authorized the FCC to conduct voluntary spectrum incentive auctions allowing television broadcasters to sell their channels to wireless companies for a portion of the auction proceeds. Low-power television stations and TV translators are not guaranteed a channel location and will not be compensated for their moves, which may result in viewers losing current channels and limiting access to local news and information.

Dennis Wharton with the National Association of Broadcasters explains the issue: NAB Executive Vice President, Communications, Dennis Wharton

Organizations that signed letters sent to the FCC and Congress this week included, American Agri-Women, Association of Range Consultants, National Association of Conservation Districts, National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, National Farmers Union, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, United States Cattlemen’s Association and Women Involved in Farm Economics.

NAFB Watching Washington

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Chuck

It’s time for National Association of Farm Broadcasting members to gather in Washington, DC for their annual Washington Watch program. It has been a few years since I’ve attended but thanks go out to GROWMARK for making it possible this year!

We’ll kick off activities this afternoon with the Issues Forum. It’s kind of like a mini Trade Talk with representatives of many different organizations attending and available for interviews. I’ll do as many as the time allows and be sharing them with you. The Issues Forum session is sponsored by the Renewable Fuels Association. You can find a list of all sponsors here (pdf).

I’m going to miss the evening’s Press Club dinner with a representative of the World Wildlife Fund. Don’t think I’ll be missing much with that.

Tomorrow morning we meet up at USDA and will be speaking with a number of department heads including the Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack. It looks like Wednesday morning will be all about the Farm Bill as we hear from different members of the Senate and House where their versions of the new legislation are going through mark ups.

So that’s where in the world of agriculture I’ll be this week. See you from there.

Invitation to Ag Media Summit

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Chuck

If you haven’t registered for the 2013 Agricultural Media Summit then now is the time. To learn what’s being planned I got an update from Steering Committee Chairman, Greg Horstmeier, past AAEA President. We did this during the recent Agri-Marketing Conference. There was no script used. We decided to Just Wing It.

Meet Our First Agri-Blogger Intern

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Cindy

We are so pleased with the response to our new agri-blogging internship program. It was tough to choose just one for the summer semester, but we finally decided on Maggie Seiler – a sophomore at Kansas State University dual majoring in agricultural communications and journalism and animal sciences and industry.

Maggie grew up on a dairy operation outside of Wichita and has worked for the Kansas Dairy Association and the Kansas Center for Sustainable Agriculture and Alternative Crops, as well as serving as an Agricultural Ambassador and an officer for the Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow. She is very interested in the agriculture use of social media.

“Blogging and the use of social media platforms is becoming an increasingly important part of journalism and the agricultural industry,” Maggie said in her application. “I really appreciate the ability of online platforms and blogs to provide the vital information from agriculture industry meeting to members of the community that cannot physically travel to events. ZimmComm is a company that stays on the cutting-edge of industry developments sharing them with producers. I would really like to be a part of this movement and especially focus on increasing my knowledge of using online platforms to reach out to agriculturists.”

We are not wasting any time getting Maggie on the agri-blogging highway. She will be joining Chuck next week for the 2013 Alltech Symposium in Lexington, Kentucky and you can expect to meet her at other events this summer.

Welcome, Maggie!

Farm Credit Idea Share

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Chuck

It’s time to discuss some ideas at the 2013 Farm Credit Idea Share in New Orleans. I’m headed that way today and will be participating on this panel tomorrow morning. Let me know if you’ve got some ideas to share on this topic and I’ll include them in my presentation.

Meet the New Media
Panelists: KayDee Gilkey, Northwest Ag Information Network |Dan Looker, Successful Farming | Chuck Zimmerman, AgriBlogger | Emily Zweber, AgChat Foundation

Moderator: Becca Yaklich, AgriBank

From newsrooms to newsfeeds, the way people consume the news has changed. A panel of ag media influencers will share their perspective on how today’s landscape impacts story development, how news outlets are using social media, how they like to work with PR professionals and what you can do to help tell your organization’s story.

There are a lot of questions being posed to initiate discussion at the event. Here are some of them.

What do you think the world needs to know about American agriculture? What does Farm Credit and American agriculture look like to you? What does Farm Credit mean to you and to the generations of American farmers and ranchers we’ve served for almost 100 years? What are your aspirations for Farm Credit in the future? Next week at Idea Share, we will ask you to consider these questions and answer them in a way you never have before. Write it on your body.

You can follow along with what’s happening at Idea Share using the #IdeaShare2013 Twitter hashtag.

We All Care About the Drought

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Chuck

This evening I was proud to be the skeptic in an episode of HuffPost Live titled, “Who Cares About Drought?”

A drought of historic proportions continues to grip much of the U.S. We discuss the impact of drought and how innovative water supply solutions can create jobs and stimulate the economy.

I actually don’t think I was really a skeptic, at least when it comes to the fact that we had a major widespread drought in 2012 and that there are all kinds of innovative solutions being worked on to better manage our water supply. What I am skeptical about are the hysterical emotion-driven claims that were made last fall about exorbitant food prices and that climate change was the reason we had last year’s drought. I believe this is the link to the archive of the program if you’d like to watch.

I mentioned that innovative companies like Monsanto and Dupont Pioneer are developing new technologies like drought resistant crops to address this situation where it exists. That hit a nerve with a couple of my fellow panelists. Ideas they presented included water harvesting and local food movements which I see nothing wrong with and would encourage. Several tweets were displayed that included one about desalinization plants. That struck a personal nerve with me since my father-in-law designed those plants all over the world!

In the end the episode skeptic was not moved from what he believes in. But as I said earlier, I think we had more we agreed on than not.

Red River Farm Network App

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Chuck

There’s now an app to get your Red River Farm Network.

The RRFN app delivers the power of the Red River Farm Network agriculture journalism team to your fingertips. Farm news, weather, market analysis, agronomy information and the latest RRFN broadcast is now available anytime, anywhere.

“At the Red River Farm Network, we’re reporting agriculture’s business,” said Mike Hergert, president, RRFN, “Our new smartphone app complements the information available on our 17 radio partners.”

DuPont Pioneer is the title sponsor for this innovative tool. With a simple click, the resources of DuPont Pioneer are available to growers on the RRFN app.

The features of the RRFN app include the latest radio broadcast and news headlines. World Weather, Inc. ag meteorologist Drew Lerner, who provides agriculture forecasts on the Red River Farm Network, will be featured on this app. In addition, agronomic information and commentary from leading market analysts will be found on the RRFN app.

The Red River Farm Network app can be downloaded from the Apple Store or from Google Play.

Most Important Word in Social Media: Why

Posted on April 29, 2013 by John

“Everyone” has a Facebook page (or Twitter account or LinkedIn page, etc.), but is it the right social media decision? That’s the question Steve Hershberger, principal and co-founder of the social media company ComBlu, posed during one of the breakout sessions at the 2013 Agri-Marketing Conference recently in Kansas City.

“One of my favorite tools in my toolbox is the word ‘Why?’” Steve told Cindy during an interview at the meeting. “When people say, ‘We have to be on Facebook,’ my question is, ‘Why?’ ‘Well, because all of our competitors are on Facebook.’ ‘Well, why do you have to?” What you have to get them to is a defendable decision that they can back up using empirical data,” such as measurement of their customer sets and what Facebook delivers. And he adds that the right social media strategy will vary from company to company. “Never let the tactics drive the outcome.”

Steve’s company, ComBlu, has been around since 2003 and views the business as less about social and more about an enterprise, leaving behind what he calls “empty calorie” marketing. He said that after asking “Why?” companies need to consider social media as a tactic and look at how to create an overall social strategy over longer periods of time. He added that for those just starting in the social media and strategy realm, they need to eliminate fear and doubts by focusing on just a few things.

“When you’re focused on doing too many things, you move into the analysis-paralysis phase, because you don’t necessarily know what you’re doing. If you hone it down to just a few key items that you’re focused on, you tend to do them better.”

Listen to Cindy’s interview with Steve here: Interview with Steve Hershberger of ComBlu

2013 Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

What’s New on AgNewsWire

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Cindy

As we announced last week at NAMA, our AgNewsWire site is now THE place to go to get content you might have missed.

Since that announcement less than a week ago, here is what we have added:

Ag Workforce Coalition press conference on the Immigration Bill – audio
Fuels America press conference on sustainability from farm to fiber to fuel – audio
Becker Underwood and BASF media tour – interviews and photos
2013 Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference – interviews and photos
Chicken Media Summit – interviews and photos

All content is available for media use FREE of charge. If you want to give us credit, that’s fine, but not necessary. We just want to be your source for ag news content when you need it. Please consider subscribing to the RSS feed for AgNewsWire so you will be notified by email whenever new content is added.

Changes in Agricultural Marketing Agencies

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Chuck

We’re back in the swing of things at ZimmComm World Headquarters. Actually, make that in post-Agri-Marketing Conference recovery mode. Cindy and I have a number of interviews to share with you this week from the conference and I’ll get started in this week’s program.

I sat down with Lynn Henderson, AgriMarketing Magazine, toward the end of the conference and talked about changes we’ve seen in agricultural marketing agencies. You’ll hear some names you may remember and some you may not depending on how long you’ve been involved the industry. This conversation is part of an on-going series that we plan to do periodically on different subjects. Do you have a topic you’d like to see us cover? If so, please let us know or post in comments.

Besides looking at some of the trends in agricultural marketing agencies over the years we also review some of the winners of the Best of NAMA who let their “plume fill the room” last week. We also go over the list of student marketing competition winners.

Listen in on my conversation with Lynn in this week’s ZimmCast: Changes in Marketing Agencies

Don’t forget to check out our 2013 Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album.

Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsors, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong and Monsanto, Roundup Ready Plus, for their support.

The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired. Subscribe so you can listen when and where you want. Just go to our Subscribe page.

Embracing Transparency in the Poultry Industry

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Jamie

The second day of Chicken Media Summit was all about transparency. Members of the press were invited to tour a hatchery, grower barn, processing plant and waste water treatment facility. This allowed for them to see with their own eyes the complete life of a chicken from egg to plate. And most importantly, get all questions answered.

Sanderson Farms was the company that opened it’s doors to attendees of this year’s summit. This experience alone was an eye opener for many. They were able to truly understand the science, technology and safety behind the most popular white meat.

President and CEO of Sanderson Farms, Lampkin Butts, along with many other Sanderson Farms employees spent the entire event with guests and were honored to play host to the Chicken Media Summit tours. I had to opportunity to spend the day with Lampkin and chatted with him as he discussed meeting consumers needs, challenges in the industry and growing price of feed.

Listen to my interview will Lampkin here: Interivew with Lampkin Butts

Check out photos from the event here: 2013 Chicken Media Summit Photo Album

North American Agricultural Journalists Meeting

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Chuck

The North American Agricultural Journalists are holding their annual meeting in Washington, DC. It’s not all about work.

Thanks to Chris Clayton, DTN/Progressive Farmer, for sharing the photo. This is the Second Amendments playing for the group last night. I’ve seen the band several times and they do a great job. The band is led by House Agriculture Committee ranking member Collin Peterson, D-Minn. The band includes Peterson, lead singer and rhythm guitar; Rep. Stephen Fincher, R-Tenn., on bass and vocals; Former Rep. Kenny Hulshof, R-Mo., on drums and vocals; and Manning Feraci, a former Hulshof aide, as lead guitar player.

North American Agricultural Journalists is a professional, international group of agricultural editors and writers with a membership spanning the United States and Canada. Formerly the Newspaper Farm Editors of America, and then the National Association of Agricultural Journalists, it was organized in 1952 to promote the highest ideals of journalism and agricultural coverage.

I hope to get to attend this meeting in the future.

Penton to Announce New Ag Division

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Chuck

According to the the Association of Business Information and Media Companies, Penton will be unveiling its new ag division during the Agri-Marketing Conference.

The Agri Council Intelligence Report say that Penton “plans to relaunch its Farm Industry News with a focus on agriculture production technology. “Farm Industry News previously existed as a horizontal brand and with our new strategy we will make it a much more vertical brand,” says Bagan.

A mix of Penton and Farm Progress execs will oversee sales for the new group (Greg Frey from Penton and Don Tourte from Farm Progress) as well as editorial (Forrest Laws from Penton and Willie Voight from Farm Progress).”

The quote is from Dan Bagan, Penton senior vice president for Agriculture, Food and Restaurants.

We’ll Be Winging it in Buffalo

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Chuck

Full registration for the 2013 Ag Media Summit doesn’t open until May 1 but you can get your hotel reservation made now. Just got mine taken care of.

If you’re looking for the best place to promote your company or organization’s products and services, then you’ll want to be at the 15th Annual Ag Media Summit in Buffalo, New York, August 3-7, 2013. This annual get-together, the largest meeting in the United States of the ag industry’s top writers, editors, photographers, publishers and ag communicator specialists, begins with pre-meeting events on Saturday, August 3, followed by the AMS program August 4-7. We invite you to participate as a sponsor or an exhibitor at our InfoExpo or both, and be a part of this important agricultural media event.

Nuts & Bolts of Ag Communications

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Chuck

There’s an upcoming workshop put on by the American Agricultural Editors’ Association and Livestock Publications Council titled, “The Nuts and Bolts of Ag Communications.” It’s part of a continuing series.

The workshop will take place May 16-17 at the Hyatt Regency, Milwaukee. Sessions will include video, photography, ag issues and writing. Registration is $80 for members and $100 for non-members. The deadline for registration is May 7. You can do so by emailing Diane Johnson (put Register for Milwaukee Workshop in subject line). If you wait to pay on site the cost will be $135.

Media Bias in Animal Ag Story

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Cindy

Fox News loves to point out media bias in mainstream reporting on politics in particular, but probably not when it comes to agriculture.

Fox carried an AP story over the weekend about state bills seeking to make it more difficult for animal rights activists to go undercover at agricultural operations to get video of abuse and sometimes hold it for weeks or months before alerting authorities. Reasonable enough, unless you are the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) which is vehemently opposed to such legislation.

The media bias in the story was clearly on the side of HSUS, quoting three different HSUS spokespersons and only one agricultural organization person. Two other quotes supporting such legislation were from a California assembly staffer and a spokesperson for the American Legislative Exchange Council, a state level public policy organization.

There was one interesting item in the story that raised a question in my mind about USDA’s plans to furlough meat inspectors under the sequester. According to the story, last year USDA created “24 new positions in the Food Safety Inspection Service were dedicated to humane handling.” Now, the quote was attributed to a “high-ranking food safety official not authorized to speak publicly” – which makes one question its accuracy – but if it is true, you have to wonder if the sequester will impact those positions as well. Just sayin’.

Farm Podcasting Tool

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Chuck

You know I’m flexible on my mobile platforms when I can share an Android app story. Here’s one worth noting. The iRig Recording app is now available for the Android platform. I’m not sure it will become my favorite recording app but I’ll be giving it a try on my Samsung Galaxy Note II.

iRig Recorder for Android is here, and it’s destined to become your favorite audio recording app on your phone or tablet. Designed for ease of use and packed with real-world useful features, iRig Recorder is a simple yet powerful recording and audio-processing app that works with Android compatible IK accessories like the iRig MIC, iRig MIC Cast and iRig PRE as well as other compatible input devices.

A Field Recorder Always in Your Pocket

Use iRig Recorder to capture interviews, performances, band rehearsals, lectures, podcasts, creative spurts of genius, viral audio snippets and more. Recording time is limited only by your device memory. Once you’ve made your recordings, iRig Recorder automatically stores them by date and automatically adds geolocation information so you can easily find them.

iRig Recorder isn’t just a “capture” app. It’s a complete audio production and polishing tool for creating broadcast quality audio. It allows you to quickly and easily trim and crop your recordings via the waveform editor, automatically adjust and normalize volume levels, remove background noise, add dynamics adjustment and polish, then share your brilliance with the world.

Early Registration Deadline for NAMA Conference

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Chuck

It’s time to get your registration completed for the 2013 Agri-Marketing Conference that takes place April 17-19 in Kansas City, MO. Save some $’s and do it now.

The ZimmComm team will be there with a Connection Point booth to share what’s new in our world. Hope you stop by and say hi. Share this message with your friends in the industry. Let’s make this the best conference ever!

Here are some of the Great Insights You’ll Find at the Agri-Marketing Conference!

Discover the three pillars of social engagement and how to measure their effectiveness.
Assess your organization’s web content and get strategic about your online presence.
Take a look at the new, more integrated role of PR, and hear what the future holds from experienced panelists.

Ag Editors Invite Farm Broadcasters to Join

Posted on February 22, 2013 by Cindy

It’s a crazy mixed-up world these days where broadcasters are taking pictures and writing commentaries while print journalists are doing podcasts and shooting video.

The American Agricultural Editors’ Association (AAEA) is inviting farm broadcasters at the upcoming Commodity Classic to find out more about becoming a member by attending a joint cocktail reception with NAMA on Friday, March 1 after the trade show closes.

AAEA was founded in 1921 by a small group of farm magazine editors and while the majority of active members are still primarily “print” journalists, a number of broadcasters have joined the organization in recent years including past NAFB presidents Mike Hergert, Pam Fretwell and Tom Brand. AAEA individual membership includes active, affiliate, student and freelance categories and dues are very reasonable. Members of AAEA automatically become members of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ).

“With the lines between print, television and radio journalism blurred by the internet, and journalists writing and producing content for a variety of media today, many farm broadcasters now qualify for membership in AAEA, and by extension in IFAJ,” say AAEA Membership co-chairs Betsy Freese with Successful Farming and Kelly Schwalbe of BCS Communications. “This includes access to a wide variety of continuing education programs and professional development program such as the annual IFAJ Congresses held in different locations around the world.”

Chuck and I have been members of AAEA and IFAJ for almost as long as we have had the company and really appreciate both the Ag Media Summit and the IFAJ Congress each year. AMS features a variety of photography, writing and social media workshops that are always useful in gaining and improving communications skills. And IFAJ has given us the opportunity to meet other ag journalists from all over the world. Really looking forward to this year’s trip to Argentina in early September.

Find out more about AAEA on-line and join us for a Commodity Classic reception with NAMA, March 1 from 4:30 to 6:00 pm at the Gaylord Palms.