Here’s the Quiz Bowl Champions from this year’s Cattlemen’s Foundation collegiate competition. They’re from Colorado State University and pictured are: L-R: Scott Howard, Dominic DiSanti, Josh Docheff, Shannon Case and Travis Hoffman, Advisor. The competition was held in Reno at the Cattle Industry Convention.
In addition to Colorado State, regional championship teams from Ohio State University, Penn State University, and the University of Tennessee competed. Teams earned the privilege of competing in the finals by winning their American Society of Animal Science section’s competition of the Academic Quadrathlon.
During the competition, students answer a series of questions about all aspects of beef cattle and the beef industry. The range of questions can include physiology, nutrition, reproduction, meat science, basic production information and current events affecting the beef industry. The competition is head-to-head and double elimination. The Collegiate Quiz Bowl continues to develop future leaders by engaging them in competition and presenting the contestants with the opportunity to be a part of the Cattle Industry Annual Convention. The National Collegiate Quiz Bowl is a joint program of the National Cattlemen’s Foundation and the American Society of Animal Science.
Merial sponsored the media room once again at this year’s Cattle Industry Convention. Thanks to Wendy Mayo, Bader Rutter, for helping make us comfortable and setting me up with an interview with Kevin DeHaan, igenity.
In case you’ve wondered about igenity then you can hear Kevin explain it. I’ve always found it to sound complicated but I think in this interview we got it distilled down in some pretty simple terms. Basically if a producer wants to use igenity then he has to have samples taken from the animal(s) to be checked. Those are sent in to the lab where they analyze the animal’s dna for specific performance markers. Then the producer receives back a report via email and hard copy. That report can be used in a marketing plan for both seed stock producers as well as cow/calf.
If you need help Kevin says they’ve got 6 sales representatives in the field as well as a couple of technical advisers.
You can listen to my interview with Kevin here:
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At the Cattle Industry Convention Caterpillar and NCBA held a press conference to announce that the Cat Skid Steer Loader and Cat Wheel Loader are official products of the NCBA.
“Caterpillar has a rich heritage of engineering and manufacturing high quality equipment that delivers the performance and reliability farmers and ranchers demand,” said Andy Groseta, 2008 NCBA President. “This partnership means a lot to the leadership and membership of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.”
“Caterpillar and the Cat dealer network are looking forward to kicking off this relationship with NCBA. Cattle producers demand high quality products, superior performance, and local service that is second to none. We believe that Caterpillar is best positioned to deliver on all of those key elements, “ added Mike Bruch, industry manager for Caterpillar’s North American Commercial Division.
NCBA members will benefit directly through discounts on select lines of equipment. To learn more about the full line of Cat Skid Steer Loaders and Wheel Loaders, visit your local Caterpillar dealer or www.cat.com. For more information on NCBA’s Caterpillar Member Benefit Program, visit www.beefusa.org or call 1-866-BEEFUSA.
You can Mike’s remarks from the press conference here:
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The annual Beef Backer awards were presented at this year’s convention by then Vice Chairman, Dave Bateman (now The Chairman) along with representatives of the various state beef councils that nominated them. The Beef Backer Award recognizes chain and independent restaurant operators who excel in menuing and marketing beef.
The Checkoff also announced the winners of the first annual national Retail Beef Backer Awards program. Retail Beef Backer Award winners are selected based on their excellent merchandising of beef at the meat case. A third-party judging panel also took into consideration the retailers’ tie-ins with beef checkoff-funded programs such as Easy Fresh Cooking labels, Beef Training Camp, Summer Grilling promotions, the Beef Value Cuts program and on-pack nutrition labeling. Applicants are also judged on retailer-originated beef promotions that focus on increasing beef demand among their customers. Such programs include outstanding beef promotions, co-marketing promotions and customer education programs.
The first Beef Backer award presented went to Cherry Valley Country Club, a non-commercial establishment. They won the “Independent of the Year” award by offering their patrons quality beef in a variety of applications across all menu day parts. Their exceptional commitment to serving “the best” has kept club members happy. Michael Giletto, executive chef of Cherry Valley Country Club, says, “As chefs, we look for the best ingredients to create the menus we design. I’ve found the best quality beef allows me to satisfy any diverse palate.”
Giletto’s commitment this year was not only to continue to put beef on the menu, but to promote beef to the general public, purveyors, club patrons and fellow chefs. Giletto participated in a television show called, “The Digital Cookbook,” demonstrating how to prepare exceptional beef recipes in realistic time. He also shared cooking videos with a children’s TV show to help spark kids’ interest in cooking with beef.
You can listen to Giletto’s remarks here:
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The clues helped and the winner of this edition of “Guess Who’s Boots” is Cyndi Young, Brownfield. She beat out Dave Mehlhaff, American Hereford Association by 14 minutes!
They correctly guessed that these boots belong to Kristi Pettis, Northern Ag Network. She was proudly displaying them at the Cattle Industry Convention during Sec. of Ag Ed Schafer’s speech last Friday.
So Cyndi will get a ZimmComm logo speaker for her iPod.
Keep an eye here for more editions of “Guess Who’s Boots” in the future. I’m off to the National Farm Machinery Show and maybe a new set will catch my eye.
Why does this show have to start in icy weather by the way? Last year we had an ice storm the night before and from what I’ve seen the weather between here (St. Louis right now) and there is not great. Oh well.
I don’t know about you but I’ve wondered just what Angus Productions, Inc. does. When I got into the media room at the Cattle Industry Convention early last week I saw these little cards promoting www.4cattlemen.com and they said it’s producted by API. That raised even more questions in my mind after visiting the site.
So to learn more I interviewed Shauna Hermel, Editor, Angus Productions Inc. before the convention ended last week. Shauna says they publish Angus Journal and Angus Beef Bulletin. Additionally, they have a special services department and a newly created media department to help cattle producers promote their herd by providing things like custom writing services.
She says that www.4cattlemen.com is now in its 6th year and that they provide coverage of 4 major shows per year. Besides the Cattle Industry Convention they do the Beef Improvement Federation, National Angus Conference and Range Beef Cow Symposium and they’re thinking about adding more. She says they bring several staff members to the shows with some doing written summaries of the meetings and others doing video production which she says they’re doing more and more of.
This week’s program ends with music from the Podsafe Music Network. It’s called “Machinery” by the Might Could. I picked this song since I’ll be attending this week’s National Farm Machinery Show. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.
You can download and listen to the ZimmCast here: ZimmCast 158 (16 min MP3)
Or listen to this week’s ZimmCast right now:
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The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired which you can subscribe to using the link in our sidebar. You can also subscribe in iTunes
Okay. Maybe this is too hard. So, I guess I can provide some clues. Such as, “she” works in farm broadcasting.
So here’s how it works. The first person to correctly identify Whose Boots these are and post it in a comment here will win a ZimmComm Logo speaker for their iPod.
Post Update: The guesses are good but not correct so I’m adding more clues. She is a northern farm broadcaster.
The Cattle Industry Convention is about over. I’ve got some posts to do still but you can also find a lot of additional interviews over on the Checkoff website - Beef Board Meeting.com.
This morning the CBB welcomed a new chairman - Dave Bateman. Here’s Dave, hard at work at today’s annual meeting.
After the meeting I did a short interview with Dave.
He says he feels a mix of excitement and a little bit of anxiety because these are exciting times where there are a lot of programs and fewer dollars to work with. He’s going to focus on continuing to build beef demand while maintaining confidence and all of the things that are important to consumers.
He says they’ll continue to work diligently to improve the process of distilling what programs are most effective and can best use Checkoff dollars. Like many here Dave says that although there are some industry factors that don’t look too good right now the mood is very upbeat.
His administration will be one of collaboration using the collective wisdom of all the people who are involved. He also wants producers to know that they can contact any of the officers or board members anytime to offer their input.
You can listen to my interview with Dave here:
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The beef industry honored Paul Hitch today at the general session. His family joined him on stage and he was presented with a plaque and accolades for all the work he’s done on behalf of the industry over the years. Paul’s a producer from Oklahoma.
Paul was to be the next President of NCBA until illness struck which has prevented him from realizing that dream.
It was a very emotional moment as Paul made his way on stage and made a few comments in his booming voice.
You can listen to Paul’s comments here preceded by some from Terry Stokes, CEO of NCBA:
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The press got to meet with our new Ag Secretary, Ed Schafer, after his speech today.
Just so you can see what that’s like I shot a short video clip of a question asked by Brownfield’s Peter Shinn. He asks the secretary under what circumstances would he release some acres from CRP?
Our Secretary of Agriculture, Ed Schafer, made his first major public policy speech today at the Cattle Industry Convention. Thanks to Andy Vance, Buckeye Ag Network, for snapping a picture for me. It was a pleasure for the ag media to get to meet Schafer. For many of us, it’s our first opportunity and I’m sure not our last.
I’m going to post his speech at this morning’s opening general session as well as his press conference. You can download and/or listen in.
I don’t think he made any major announcements. He made it very clear that he’s a “free trade guy” and fully supports the President on the farm bill that’s in conference. I was happy to hear him address renewable fuels and the RFS head on with this group. Basically, he said that with the growth of cellulosic ethanol production there should be an easing of feed price pressure within a short time as the technology and non-food stocks form of ethanol production continues to rapidly develop.
He did talk about the Humane Society mess over their video of animal handling atrocities at the Hallmark Meat Packing Co. I think USDA has handled this quite well and the plant was shut down. What I thought was interesting was the Secretary in the press conference making a very good point about how this whacko (my word) organization withheld the video for months so they could release it to the media in a sensational way instead of bringing it immediately to the proper legal authorities so that the situation could have been halted immediately. In effect, the Humane Society prolonged animal suffering and I think the people who support them ought to know that they really don’t care about animals, only their political agenda and raising money.
You can listen to Secretary Schafer’s speech here:
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Or you can download the speech by using this direct link to the mp3 file: Secretary Schafer Speech (24 min)
You can listen to Secretary Schafer’s press conference here:
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My online photo album is up to 179 photos and counting. Feel free to visit and use them if you’d like. There’s quite a few from this morning’s session including the awards as well as the Secretary.
The Beef Ambassadors sure do a good job of getting out and promoting beef. I know passion about the product is necessary to be chosen and Jennifer Rassler, Kempton, PA is one of them.
She decided to get involved since there are so many people in her area who are not educated about where their food comes from. She says they’ve already been on the road at several meetings interacting with consumers.
She says that the program is coordinated by the American National Cattle Women and funded by the Beef Checkoff. She wants consumers to know that the beef industry is here for them and that they’re here to provide a safe and nutritious product for their family to eat.
You can listen to a short interview I did with Jennifer here:
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While there I learned a lot about the art of shining boots from Mary Sawyers who is a professional and has been doing this for a number of years, 28 to be exact. As you’ll see she doesn’t need to go to the gym to work out.
She says the first step in shining boots is to clean them. If you don’t it’s kind of like waxing your car without washing it first.
This morning I got together with Dave Mehlhaff, American Hereford Association, and we took a tour of the NCBA Trade Show. Actually we didn’t make it very far but we found a few friends you may know as we made our way down the aisles.
You might want to follow along as we explore some of the booths starting out with Dave’s.
The Livestock Publications Council held their annual lunch today and the featured speaker was Andy Groseta, incoming NCBA President. Andy welcomed everyone and told the group how import their efforts were in delivering information vital to American cattlemen. The luncheon is actually still going on. I had to leave to attend a different one and am posting this in between.
I asked him if/how he uses the internet and he admits that it’s taken him some time to get used to it. He proudly pulled out a Blackberry and held it up and said that today it’s all about getting information quickly. He said that although the older folks may be hesitant to get too involved with computers the younger generation is having no problem with it.
You can listen to Andy’s remarks here:
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The NCBA Trade Show kicked off yesterday. There was some beef sampling going on. That was tough for this Catholic boy since it was Ash Wednesday. I could only enjoy the sites and smells. I thought it was interesting to hear from a Beef Board member who’s in the meat business say that it’s one of the most important days in the beef business, a day when millions of people abstain from eating meat. I never thought of it that way.
I’ve heard we’ve got a little under 5,000 people attending this year’s convention which is a strong showing. Not as big as last year in Nashville but I’m sure location has something to do with that.
I attended my first swearing-in ceremony today of the new Beef Board members. Representing the Sec. of Agriculture was Craig Morris, USDA Deputy Administrator of AMS’ Livestock and Seed Program.
Here you can see them taking the oath. I spoke with Craig prior to the swearing in and he says this is one of the highlights of his job. He says that USDA partners with the Board to make sure all the rules of the Act and the Order are followed properly. He sees a strong future for the beef industry.
You can listen to Craig administer the oath here:
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You can also listen to an interview I did with Craig today as well:
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I also shot a video clip of the new member introductions and oath taking if you’d like to watch:
I’m sure there are some people here at the Cattle Industry Convention who wish Matthew McConaughey was attending but he’s not. That doesn’t mean we didn’t get to hear from him though.
At the opening general session we not only got to listen to the new radio ads but also hear a message from Matthew.
You can listen to Matthew’s message here:
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To find out a little anecdotal evidence of how well received his voice is on the beef radio spots check out this website. Here’s part of the post that caught my eye.
Well a commercial came on for “Beef — it’s what’s for dinner” — I could not concentrate on my book. I was in heaven… sexy voice talking to me about lean beef and how good and juicy it is for you.
The voice belonged to my Barbie-Dream-Date… Matthew McConaughey.
I think that’s the kind of feeling they’re trying to create!
Cindy attended the AEM AgExecutive Forum in St. Louis and captured it in photos.
Dairy Expo Talk
This week's program features a couple of interviews from World Dairy Expo.
First up is Stephanie Gable, who talks about her new job with Novus International, then it's Lindsay Hill, who talks about the new website and brand decisions at ABN Radio.
Here’s the Quiz Bowl Champions from this year’s Cattlemen’s Foundation collegiate competition. They’re from Colorado State University and pictured are: L-R: Scott Howard, Dominic DiSanti, Josh Docheff, Shannon Case and Travis Hoffman, Advisor. The competition was held in Reno at the Cattle Industry Convention.
Merial sponsored the media room once again at this year’s Cattle Industry Convention. Thanks to Wendy Mayo, 
At the Cattle Industry Convention 
The annual Beef Backer awards were presented at this year’s convention by then Vice Chairman, Dave Bateman (now The Chairman) along with representatives of the various state beef councils that nominated them. The Beef Backer Award recognizes chain and independent restaurant operators who excel in menuing and marketing beef. 
The clues helped and the winner of this edition of “Guess Who’s Boots” is Cyndi Young, 
I don’t know about you but I’ve wondered just what 
She says that www.4cattlemen.com is now in its 6th year and that they provide coverage of 4 major shows per year. Besides the Cattle Industry Convention they do the Beef Improvement Federation, National Angus Conference and Range Beef Cow Symposium and they’re thinking about adding more. She says they bring several staff members to the shows with some doing written summaries of the meetings and others doing video production which she says they’re doing more and more of.
The Cattle Industry Convention is about over. I’ve got some posts to do still but you can also find a lot of additional interviews over on the Checkoff website - 
The beef industry honored Paul Hitch today at the general session. His family joined him on stage and he was presented with a plaque and accolades for all the work he’s done on behalf of the industry over the years. Paul’s a producer from Oklahoma.
The press got to meet with our new Ag Secretary, Ed Schafer, after his speech today.
Our Secretary of Agriculture, Ed Schafer, made his first major public policy speech today at the Cattle Industry Convention. Thanks to Andy Vance, 
He did talk about the Humane Society mess over their video of animal handling atrocities at the Hallmark Meat Packing Co. I think USDA has handled this quite well and the plant was shut down. What I thought was interesting was the Secretary in the press conference making a very good point about how this whacko (my word) organization withheld the video for months so they could release it to the media in a sensational way instead of bringing it immediately to the proper legal authorities so that the situation could have been halted immediately. In effect, the Humane Society prolonged animal suffering and I think the people who support them ought to know that they really don’t care about animals, only their political agenda and raising money.
The Beef Ambassadors sure do a good job of getting out and promoting beef. I know passion about the product is necessary to be chosen and Jennifer Rassler, Kempton, PA is one of them.
Baxter Black has nothing to do with shining boots. He was just signing books at the booth next door while I got by boots shined.
This morning I got together with Dave Mehlhaff, 
The 
The NCBA Trade Show kicked off yesterday. There was some beef sampling going on. That was tough for this Catholic boy since it was Ash Wednesday. I could only enjoy the sites and smells. I thought it was interesting to hear from a Beef Board member who’s in the meat business say that it’s one of the most important days in the beef business, a day when millions of people abstain from eating meat. I never thought of it that way.
I couldn’t let this opportunity to promote 
I knew the news center was complete when Sheriff Rod Smith, Feedstuffs, walked in.
I attended my first swearing-in ceremony today of the new Beef Board members. Representing the Sec. of Agriculture was Craig Morris, USDA Deputy Administrator of 
I’m sure there are some people here at the Cattle Industry Convention who wish Matthew McConaughey was attending but he’s not. That doesn’t mean we didn’t get to hear from him though.
This week's program features a couple of interviews from World Dairy Expo.
