Fungicides Explained In BASF Podcast

Posted on March 12, 2010 by Chuck

The chemical company, BASF, produces a podcast called The Chemical Reporter. In the latest episode you can learn about fungicides.

Just like animals and human beings, plants can get sick. In many cases, the cause is a fungus. Not a mushroom like you see poking up out of the ground in the woods, but a network of branching, filamentary cells that botanists call ‘hyphae’. In entertaining episodes our Chemical Reporter answers questions of our Podcast listeners on Chemistry in our everyday life.

You can listen to the latest episode here:

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Off The Cob With Cathyrn Wojcicki Dixson

Posted on March 3, 2010 by Chuck

Joining the ranks of the Farm Podcasters is Cathryn Wojcicki Dixson, NCGA Communications Manager. I met Cathryn here at Commodity Classic and talked with her about her job and the new audio program she’s producing for NCGA.

The program is called “Off The Cob.”

Welcome to “Off the Cob”, an original podcast series produced by the National Corn Growers Association. This series features interviews with grower-leaders on hot topics in agriculture and will expand media options for those wishing to further their knowledge of the industry.

Cathryn works on NCGA editorial content like their publications and now the podcast series. It’s her first time for creating an audio podcast series which will be produced once a week. She says it’s one element of their social media emphasis to communicate which really ties in to their organizational grass roots culture.

You can listen to my interview with Cathryn below.

AgWired coverage of the 2010 Commodity Classic
is sponsored by: and

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Social Media Use In Business Up Significantly

Posted on December 31, 2009 by Chuck

For the third year in a row the Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth has conducted an in-depth and statistically significant study on the usage of social media in fast-growing corporations. The study is titled, “Social Media in the 2009 Inc. 500: New Tools & New Trends.” I’m guessing agribusiness companies will follow this trend and it is a real trend since they now have good comparative data over several years. Here’s an excerpt from their report:

Social networking continues to lead the way. The technology that continues to be the most familiar to the Inc. 500 is social networking with 75% of respondents in 2009 claiming to be “very familiar with it” (compared to 57% in 2008). Another noteworthy statistic around familiarity is Twitter’s amazing “share of mind” with sixty-two percent of executives reported being familiar with the new microblogging and social networking platform.

The adoption curves for different social media technologies are not all the same.
Interestingly, while social networking and blogging have enjoyed growth in actual adoption, the use of message boards, online video, wikis and podcasting has leveled off or declined. The addition of Twitter (considered by respondents to be both a microblogging site and a social networking site) in the latest study shows that an amazing 52% of the Inc. 500 companies are already using this tool for their business.

Regardless of the particular technology, social media matters and is here to stay.
Forty-three percent of the 2009 Inc. 500 reported social media was “very important” to their business/marketing strategy. And an incredible 91% of the Inc. 500 is using at least one social media tool in 2009 (up from 77% in 2008). In addition, as they ramp up their usage, the Inc. 500 companies are also seeking to protect themselves legally, with 36% having implemented a formal policy concerning blogging by their employees.

Thanks to Podcasting News for the heads up.

Off The Cob Podcast

Posted on December 19, 2009 by Chuck

ncga-cob The National Corn Growers Association has just started a new podcast series.

Welcome to “Off the Cob”, an original podcast series produced by the National Corn Growers Association. This series features interviews with grower-leaders on hot topics in agriculture and will expand media options for those wishing to further their knowledge of the industry.

The first piece looks at the history and future of the maize genome sequencing project with former Research and Business Development Action Team Chair Pam Johnson, a grower from Floyd, Iowa. Johnson shares the unique perspective that she gained on the project while working tirelessly to help NCGA find the funding necessary to complete the monumental collaborative effort.

You can listen to the first episode here.

The Horse Radio Network

Posted on November 2, 2009 by Chuck

ZimmCast 237 - Horse Radio Network Podcasting for the equine industry is alive and well in the form of the Horse Radio Network. This morning’s program is coming to you from the world famous Coffee Zone in Jefferson City, MO and features an interview with HRN founder and “chief bottle washer” Glenn Hebert.

Glenn says he started HRN after having produced an equine podcast for a client of his. In the past year they’ve grown the network of programming to 5 regular podcasts.

The Stable Scoop Radio Show
The 2010 Radio Show (WEG)
The Eventing Radio Show
The Dressage Radio Show
A new horse tip every day

Glenn says they have regular advertisers supporting them and of course they’d like to have a few more. A major piece of advice that he offers is to make a commitment to your podcast. You have to produce it regularly to build an audience and it doesn’t happen overnight. I can’t agree more.

Learn more about HRN and podcasting by listening to this week’s program.

I’d like to thank AgWired Sponsor, Fluidigm, for their support of the ZimmCast.

The program ends with some music from Music Alley. It’s a song titled, “Coffee Man” by Calvin Owens. I hope you enjoy it and thanks for listening.

You can listen to this week’s ZimmCast below.

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

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Horse Radio Network

Posted on October 31, 2009 by Chuck

At the recent BlogWorld and New Media Expo I met Glenn, Chief Geek, for the Horse Radio Network. It looks like they’ve really got the podcasting thing down pat. I’m betting they’re even making a living at it. Must be something to it (he said tongue in cheek).

The Horse Radio Network is your home for equine related online horse radio. Over the next couple of months we will be providing you some fantastic shows and content all about horses.

From the serious to the sublime, from Arabs to Welsh Ponies, from 9 handers to 19 handers we will cover it all. There is no prejudice here, its just about horses. Sure there will be some shows that emphasis one breed or another, but we will do our best to cover it all.

The key to the Horse Radio Network is fun! We believe that people own horses for fun and entertainment. Why else would you put up with the early morning feedings, stall cleaning, vet bills, long trips to shows, empty bank accounts and everything else that goes with being a horse owner.

You can follow them on Twitter too – @horseradio.

NASA Podcasts About Agriculture

Posted on September 23, 2009 by Chuck

NASA Podcast on Agriculture What does NASA think of agricultural production? You can find out in a podcast series they’ve produced that “spotlights scientific advances in monitoring agricultural production and landscape changes that affect the sustainability of the world’s food supply. The videos also examine the partnerships between NASA and other government agencies concerned with the availability of food.”

Beginning September 23, a new episode in the series “Science for a Hungry World” will be posted online each Wednesday through October 28. Podcasts will cover: land use and land cover change; sustainability of food availability and access; the essential interplay of water and agriculture; the future of the world’s food system; and joint agriculture projects between NASA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

The podcasts are part of a summer-long series of news stories, image features, videos, and other multimedia exploring how NASA’s unique vantage point from space provides benefits to agriculture in the U.S. and abroad.

You can see the first program using this link.

Grains Council Starts Council Cast Podcast

Posted on September 5, 2009 by Chuck

USGC Council Cast Add another farm podcast to your list. The U. S. Grains Council has introduced Council Cast.

A team of Egyptian nutritionists traveled to the United States this week for a short course at the International Grains Program at Kansas State University, designed to educate the participants on the inclusion of U.S. sorghum in feed rations. Chris Corry, U.S. Grains Council senior director of international operations, gives an overview of U.S. sorghum, the Council’s success with sorghum initiatives around the world, and its first-ever introduction to the Egyptian market. Mike Deering, USGC director of communications, spoke with Corry about this initiative funded by Council member United Sorghum Checkoff Program.

You can listen to the program with this link. Now doesn’t that Mike Deering have a “radio” voice?

Video For The Farm Podcaster

Posted on August 20, 2009 by Chuck

Kodak Z18 I have to agree with James Lewin, Podcasting News, that it’s about time a cheap camcorder comes with an external audio/mic input. The biggest weakness of the Flip camera is the fact that you can’t plug in an external microphone or other audio input.

Well Kodak has changed all that with the introduction of their Z18 pocket video camera. In addition to the external audio input (stereo) here are a few more features.

Take stunning full HD 1080p videos
Less blur with built-in image stabilization
Record up to 10 hours of video—up to 32 GB* worth
No cables needed—just swing out the USB arm
Take amazing 5 MP 16:9 widescreen HD still pictures
Easy upload to Facebook™ and YouTube™ social networking sites

Novus Growing to Help Pork Producers

Posted on June 3, 2009 by Cindy

Bruce King Sustainability is the buzz word in the livestock industry and Novus International is talking with producers at World Pork Expo about helping them make even more progress in that area.

“Those are the type of producers that we can really help with antibiotic-free solutions and products that help toward sustainable, natural production and at the end of the day it helps them capture more margin at the farm level,” says Bruce King, Director of Biologic Markets at Novus.

Bruce started with Novus in February and he says he is excited about the way the company is growing to serve the needs of all livestock producers and solve the problems that they are facing.

You can listen to my interview with Bruce here:

Download the audio here: Bruce King with Novus International

World Pork Expo 09 Photo Album

AgWired coverage of World Pork Expo made possible by Novus International

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The Podcast Consumer Revealed

Posted on May 23, 2009 by Chuck

Edison ADM Podcast Slide I missed the Association for Downloadable Media’s webcast titled, “The Podcast Consumer Revealed.” The session was conducted by Tom Webster, Edison Research. The audience for podcasting just keeps growing. The main reasons people watch or listen to podcasts is so they can do so whenever and wherever they want. Here are some key points from the session.

* 1 in 5 Americans (22%) have listened to a podcast.
* 59% men 41% women, 18-44 demo = 60% of podcast users.
* Most downloadable media is consumed via desktop, mobile growing.
* Podcast users are very active on social networks – mainly Myspace and Facebook
* 24% of podcast consumers feel “emotional connection” with their favorite podcasts.
* Podcast consumers are more receptive to advertisers heard in podcast vs heard via internet radio.
* Producers need to do a better job of selling the portable aspects.

If you’d like to know more then feel free to watch the recorded presentation here.

Podcasting Audience Grows

Posted on April 20, 2009 by Chuck

Podcast Research Edison Abritron Edison Research and Arbitron have produced some very interesting new data (pdf) on media usage. Some tidbits that stood out for me include:

43% of Americans are aware of podcasts and 20% have listened to them
Internet access from any location is now approaching 9 in 10 Americans
Dial-up is down to less than 1 in 6 homes with internet access
Growth of iPod/portable MP3 players continues in 35-64 age demo
Digital radio audience continues to listen to AM/FM radio

Americans are increasingly enhancing their use of traditional media with new ways to control how, when and where they consume information and entertainment

Use of online radio, online video, podcasting, and iPod/MP3 players are on the rise

Consumers say flexibility, control and variety drive their use of online and portable media options

Farm Podcaster Tool

Posted on April 4, 2009 by Chuck

Tascam DR 100 The farm podcaster who is all about quality may want to look into the Tascam DR-100. This bad boy looks pretty sweet to me. I like the fact that it has built-in XLR inputs. It’s a little larger than a Marantz PMD 620 (still on sale for $100 off!) but still small form factor. Records on an SD card.

The rugged TASCAM DR-100 offers high-end recording features to musicians and engineers who demand more from their portable recorder. It features four built-in microphones, two cardioid and two omnidirectional, with analog limiting and filtering for great-sounding recordings. A pair of XLR microphone inputs with phantom power welcomes pro-grade condenser microphones, and line in and out connectors are also provided.

The DR-100 includes a rechargeable Lithium-ion battery, but can also be powered by AA batteries or an optional AC adapter. A built-in speaker allows for instant playback, and the metal enclosure includes a tripod mounting hole for recording flexibility. A wireless remote control is also included for remotely starting the recording.

New Media Soybeans

Posted on April 3, 2009 by Chuck

I just found out about the United Soybean Board’s podcast called, BeanCast. I had heard they were planning to produce one but I guess I missed it somehow since it looks like it started last December. It came up in conversation today. I’m glad to see another ag group taking advantage of this new media option.

A couple of things hit me though when I looked at it. It’s not clear that I can subscribe to the podcast. It says I can subscribe to the blog though. I wonder if people will understand that the blog rss feed is okay to use in iTunes for example. The BeanCast is being produced by well known farm broadcaster David Russell but the site doesn’t say who David is. David works for Brownfield of course but I’m not sure everyone knows that. Might be good to disclose that information since he doesn’t work for the United Soybean Board.

I like the fact that they are posting each episode onto a blog. There are a lot of good reasons to do this starting with search engine optimization and online archiving. They’re also posting it as both a click to download option or play in a flash player. This provides choices to the visitor and I’ve found that to be much appreciated, especially if you hope someone else will “pass it along.”

I tried to find the BeanCast in the iTunes podcast library and instead found a trademarked “The Beancast: A Marketing Podcast” by Cool Bean Productions. There’s also a Beancaster.com podcast which is about financial information. No BeanCast for USB though. The iTunes directory is a good place to be found for people who are key word searching for podcasts since it’s probably the biggest online directory of podcasts that I know of anyway.

Soybean Premiums.org Connects Companies & Suppliers

Posted on March 19, 2009 by Chuck

Soybean Premiums.org There’s a new website to help connect soyfoods companies with soybean suppliers.

The Soyfoods Association of North America (SANA) is committed to helping soyfoods companies connect with soybean suppliers. Soybeans are used to provide a wide range of products including edamame, soymilk, soy-based meat alternatives, tofu, tempeh, miso, shoyu, natto, soy yogurt, non-dairy frozen desserts, nutrition bars, chips, and cereals. Soyfood manufacturers in America welcome a supply of high quality soybeans that meet their diverse needs. The web site, www.soybeanpremiums.org, developed by the Illinois Soybean Association and sponsored by the Iowa Soybean Association and the Indiana Soybean Alliance, easily connects soyfood companies with growers of a wide variety of premium soybeans.

Portcasting and Platform Independent Media Consumption

Posted on March 9, 2009 by Chuck

Thanks to a heads up from the Association for Downloadable Media I read a great article by Jim Meskauskas, iMedia Connection. He writes about media planning and buying and this one is titled, “Your outdated planning process and how to fix it.” He gets right to the point in the subtitle:

The way audiences use media has changed, but agencies’ planning processes have not. Here’s how marketers need to adapt for the platform-independent future of media consumption.

Platform independent media consumption. Interesting term we’re hearing more of lately. The old platforms are not working so well. Look at what’s happening with newspapers. So what does he think of today’s media buyers and planners?

Today, media planners and buyers still focus on determining the right platform for carrying messages, the currency for placing that message and the metrics for determining the success or failure of that platform. The audiences that planners and buyers wish to reach, however, do not think of their media consumption this way. Thus, much of the planning landscape is being neglected by the discipline’s practitioners. They end up measuring the potential of a platform rather than the content associated with an ad message. In short, planners and buyers are measuring forests without knowing anything about the trees that are in them.

He also has an interesting new way to define what we have been calling podcasting.

Portcasting

“Portcasting” is the term I use for what in the past would have been called podcasting. Because the near-future of media usage is based on its portability, “port” is the operative descriptor for the media being “cast.”

It’s a good read and I appreciate your thoughts on it. If you’re in the agency business consider this last excerpt:

If they hope to maintain relevance in the coming years, agencies must find a way to address the meaning of platform-independent content and the need for real cumulative media effectiveness measures across platforms.

I think some of this will be included in my social media breakout session at the upcoming NAMA conference.

Podcast Audience Growing

Posted on March 4, 2009 by Chuck

emarketer graphic It looks like the podcast keeps on growing. This is a great new article from eMarketer.

The podcast audience has grown, too, and eMarketer projects that growth will continue at least through 2013, when there will be 37.6 million people downloading podcasts on a monthly basis, more than double the 2008 figure of 17.4 million.

As a percentage of Internet users, podcast downloaders will grow from 9% in 2008 to 17% in 2013.

I’m betting that there are still some of you out there who will look negatively at this. Those who do probably think that unless you reach a huge audience you’re not succeeding. However, that’s not what podcasting is all about. You’ve got to think, “niche” audiences. It really is about who is listening as much or more than gross numbers.

Even in this article from eMarketer they focus on how “mainstream” media is using the platform. I think they ought to also do some research on how large and small companies are using podcasting effectively. I think it’s a mistake to look at podcasting as just another way to distribute a broadcast. How about a platform that lets you reach and directly communicate with your customers and members? In fact, if the audience is growing, even if it’s being driven by mainstream content, doesn’t that help out all of us who create our own since more people are equipped and downloading?

Another Farm Podcaster Tool

Posted on February 17, 2009 by Chuck

Okay farm podcasters. There is yet a new tool over which you can drool. I have always been a Marantz fan and this one looks to be a great offering. I know I pointed it out before but now you can find it for sale at BSW right now.

The Marantz PMD661 is a versatile, professional handheld PCM/MP3 recorder based on the popular PMD660, offering a streamlined form factor, a superior feature set, and the use of SD flash media. Major new design innovations include a smaller footprint and an improved top facia layout with fewer buttons as well as more highly developed use of multi-functional operation. The PMD661′s compact size, combined with the improved control layout, ensures comprehensive single-handed operation.

No, Cindy, I’m not ordering one (not that I’m tempted or anything). BTW, BSW also has the Tascam DR07 on sale too.

Surviving The Digital Information Transition

Posted on February 17, 2009 by Chuck

I’ve just got to point you to Steve Rubel, Micro Persuasions, once again. He works for Edelman Digital and one of his fellow digerati (Dave Coustan) will be on my breakout session panel at the upcoming NAMA Conference. Steve just did a couple of posts that anyone in communications and marketing ought to read. I’m going to take the liberty of pointing you to a couple of his remarks. I’m also going to include a remark from a recent Jeff Jarvis, BuzzMachine, post that ought to give you pause as well.

In a post titled, “Five Digital Trends to Watch for 2009:”

The Power of Pull – Where push once ruled, it’s now equally important to create digital content that people discover through search

How hard is this for the traditionalist (public relations and journalism) to understand? Very! The objections include things like, “I can’t control it” and “The numbers are small.”

In a post titled “The Newspaper Reporter of the Future is Here Today,” Steve points to the work of Peter Abraham, who is covering the New York Yankees for a local newspaper. Abraham is blogging, including live with CoveritLive, podcasting, posting pictures. Here’s what Steve says about it:

Now imagine for a moment that Abraham wasn’t a Yankees beat writer but instead covering your company or industry for the business section. Or imagine she is the newspaper’s food columnist. This multi-platform method of engaging is right for all of them. If every reporter did this on staff they can build not only a more engaged audience, but also redefine local media since it’s all potentially global.

For PR professionals, this is a boon. More content creates more opportunities for us to tell our stories and to also engage journalists using these same channels. If we’re not there as individuals and companies then we won’t be top of mind.

What Abraham is doing represents not only the future of journalism but also what PR professionals themselves need to do to build connections in the years ahead.

Now, keeping in mind what Steve says above, read this comment from a recent post by Jeff Jarvis. His post is titled, “TV’s Next,” in which he writes about the demise of newspapers and explains why he believes broadcasting is next.

It’s a failure of distribution as a business model. Distribution is a scarcity business: ‘I control the tower/press/wire and you don’t and that’s what makes my business.’ Not long ago, they said that owning these channels was tantamount to owning a mint. No more. The same was said of content. But it’s relationships (read: links) that create value today.

The local TV and radio business, once a privilege to be part of, is next to fall. Timber.

How is your company or media outlet making sure you survive the digital information transition? Do you agree with Steve and Jeff or disagree? Do you still think you can control your customers or subscribers and force them into your “domain?”