The New Holland Field Smart Blog

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Chuck

ZimmCast 350 New Holland has a new blog called Field Smart. It’s part of the New Holland Field Smart campaign.

At New Holland we’re dedicated to continuing this tradition, and we’ve launched our Field Smart campaign to celebrate not only our approach to delivering new innovations to the marketplace, but the farmers that put this technology to use.

To learn more about the project, Cindy interviewed John Elliott, New Holland, Director, Marketing NAR. That’s the feature of this week’s program. ZimmComm is providing content creation assistance to New Holland for this project.

Listen to this week’s ZimmCast here: The New Holland Field Smart Blog

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.

AgRacer Leading The Race

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Chuck

ZimmCast 349 Just over 100,000 downloads! That’s a big number and that’s how many iTunes downloads there are in under three months for AgRacer by Fastline, the first ag game app for mobile devices. I got the update this morning from Tim Hess, Fastline President. That number will continue to grow now that the app is fully available for Android devices as well. Tim says the pace of daily downloads has been pretty consistent since the app was introduced during the National Farm Machinery Show. So, when it comes to creating a new communications tool in today’s world in the ag sector it looks like Fastline has set the bar.

Tim says the app has surpassed their expectations and has met their initial goals which include introducing Fastline to a younger age demographic. He says feedback has been great and includes from users in countries outside the United States. So they’re reaching a global audience! There are also some creative sponsor opportunities like product placement within the app available according to Tim, some of which are already in the works. He says AgRacer will soon have new upgrades and updates, including two additional vehicles and a new track. By the way, AgRacer is free to download!

Listen to this week’s ZimmCast here: An AgRacer Update

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.

Becoming Authentically Agriculture

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Chuck

ZimmCast 348 Let’s talk “Authentically Agriculture” with Michele Payn-Knoper, Cause Matters and founder of the weekly AgChat Twitter conversation. Michele was a presenter at the 2012 Animal Agriculture Alliance Stakeholders Summit. Michele says her presentation title means “that agriculture really needs to do a better job of connecting on a human level.” She spoke about the values, validation and voice that’s needed for agriculture and challenged the group to think about these ideas. Even though you may be a farmer you’re still a human being first and to start at that level to connect with other human beings is the basic first step. Sounds like good advice to me.

We also talked about AgChat and the AgChat Foundation which both Michele and I serve on the board of. It is amazing that the weekly Twitter conversation has been going for over 3 years and Michele says there has been participation from over 15,000 people from 15 countries. She says the outcomes from the conversation are fascinating. I’ll also use this chance to promote this year’s AgChat Foundation Agvocacy 2.0 Conference which will take place August 23-24 in Kansas City. Submit your application here.

Listen to this week’s ZimmCast here: Authentically Agriculture with Michele Payn-Knoper

Thanks to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and United Soybean Board for their sponsorship of our coverage of this year’s Summit.

Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsors, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong and Monsanto, 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.

2012 Agri-Marketing Conference Excerpts

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Chuck

ZimmCast 347 In this week’s program you’re going to hear why the Agri-Marketing Conference is such an important program to have on your schedule each year.

I’ve taken some excerpts from two of our keynote speakers, Peter Sheahan and Ross Shafer as well as an interview with one of our Conference Planning Committee members, Scott McClure, and put them into a program. Let’s get started in show order with Peter Sheahan. Peter talked about “Making it Happen: How To Turn Good Ideas Into Great Results.” Peter talks about how you take good ideas and then execute. It’s in the execution that you take those ideas and innovate!

Next we’ll move along to Ross Shafer who spoke on “Are You Still Relevant?” Of course we’d all like to think we’re relevant. One of the first things Ross says that sticks with me is the idea of “quit going to ag meetings.” He highly suggests going to meetings for other industries. He says that you’ll hear ideas in those meetings you’ll never hear in an ag meeting. That might be just what you need to stay relevant!

And finally we’ll visit with Scott McClure, Brighton Agency, who was our Vice Chair of this year’s NAMA Conference Planning Committee. Scott says the success of this year’s Conference is a combination of the enthusiasm in our industry and the coming together of one of the largest gatherings of people we’ve had in a decade. Scott also says he worked on a great planning committee this year and gives them the credit for coming up with a really good program that included speakers like Peter and Ross.

Listen to this week’s ZimmCast here: 2012 Agri-Marketing Conference Program

Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsors, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong and Monsanto, 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.

National Ag Hall of Fame Season

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Chuck

ZimmCast 346 It’s actually called the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame which was “chartered by Congress to honor the American farmer.” According to NACHOF Executive Director, Cathi Hahner, their season kicks off on April 19.

“As spring approaches, we are ready for the new season of sharing about the importance of agriculture in daily life,” said Cathi Hahner, NACHOF director. “We invite everyone to learn more about where food comes from and experience our one-of-a-kind features such as historic machinery, farming related exhibits or exploring FarmTown USA.”

I spoke with Cathi about the 2012 season which she says offers, “a full line-up of events with seasonal favorites like spring Barnyard Babies for families and children, as well as the fall Linemans’ Rodeo featuring worldwide electric workers.”

Thousands of people visit the Center which sits on a 164 acre site next to Legends Outlet Mall and Kansas Speedway in Bonner Spring, Kan. The Center relies on dues, donations, facility rental and visitor fees since it doesn’t receive any state or federal money.

Listen to this week’s ZimmCast here: 2012 National Ag Hall of Fame Season

Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsors, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong and Monsanto, 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.

Domestic Wine and Sweet Tea Vodka

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Chuck

ZimmCast 345 Just wanting to get back to the land was a desire that led Ann and Jim Irvin to a piece of property near Charleston, SC that is now home to Irvin~House Vineyard and the Firefly Distillery. This was one of the tour stops for the Agricultural Relations Council annual meeting crew. We spent several enjoyable hours there doing some wine tasting as well as sampling some Firefly.

I visited with Ann Irvin to learn how they got this beautiful place started. Ann says she grew up on a farm and wanted to get back to that lifestyle. At first they were just interested in having a place to go and have a garden. But they found a larger piece of property and after a drive through central Florida where they stopped at a winery they got the idea to start their own winery. They grow their own grapes and have learned along the way.

Irvin~House Vineyards is the only domestic winery in Charleston, SC. We grow the grapes, harvest them, make the wine, and bottle our wines on the property.

There is nothing quite like a stroll through our vineyards and the surrounding property. A large pond stocked with fish. Walking trails. Abundant birds and wildlife scampering about. Old oak trees with Spanish Moss shading the property. This is the true character of South Carolina’s Lowcountry hertitage.

Even the grapes we grow have Southern roots. Our wines are hand-crafted from the humble muscadine grape . This sweet grape with a fruity aroma grows practically everywhere in the South. People tell us how the taste of muscadines transport them back to their childhood.

In addition to the winery, the Irvins also work with a local tea plantation to make the first ever hand-crafted sweet tea flavored vodka called Firefly.

The Firefly Distillery is located on Wadmalaw Island, South Carolina, 30 miles south of Charleston. We don’t have the bright lights of the big cities. The pace is a little slower down here. We have plantations, hundred-year-old oak trees and dirt roads. Everyone is your neighbor and folks enjoy relaxing on the front porch swing, on a lazy Sunday afternoon. It’s where you can hear the crickets chirping at night and you can still see the fireflies light up the sky. It was this wonderful environment and the special ingredients found right in our own backyard that inspired us to created handcrafted vodkas unlike those made anywhere else.

Listen to this week’s ZimmCast here: The Irvin~House Vineyard

Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsor, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong, 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.

An Interest in Pinterest For Kodak Gallery

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Chuck

Since I’ve been seeing more and more interest in Pinterest in the AgWired community lately, the release about the Kodak Gallery mobile app being able to share photos to the popular social media site caught my eye. I visited with Trent Gruenwald, Sr. Product Manager, Social & Mobile Products for Kodak Gallery to learn more about it.

Trent says the app is available for both iPhone and Android. It allows you to upload photos from your smart phone, view all your Kodak Gallery photos, share your photos either individually, by photo album or group sharing. He says they are continuing to update the app based on feedback from users. Right now the new update is sharing to Pinterest which is only available for Android. It will be available for iPhone in the future. Trent says the Kodak Gallery app tries to combine all the different features you can find individually in other apps. One of the upcoming updates for the iPhone version will be the ability to print your photos.

AgWired fans know I’m a power user of Flickr and I don’t see that changing. However, I can see this app being very appealing to the agricultural community. For example, organizations running events might want to consider using it to create a shared photo gallery that allows attendees to add their photos.

Listen to this week’s ZimmCast here: An Interest in Pinterest

KODAK Gallery is the leading online destination for storing and transforming photo memories—at their most life-like best—into a more high-profile part of people’s everyday lives and environments. Anyone can express their creativity by making a wide variety of personalized gifts such as photo books, greeting cards, and wall décor for themselves and others to enjoy. It’s also easy to share creative projects with friends and family through direct access to social media including Facebook, Twitter and many others.

In June 2001, KODAK, the world’s greatest and most trusted photography company purchased the groundbreaking Berkeley-based company, Ofoto which was founded in 1999. KODAK’s legacy of quality goes into every item that KODAK Gallery produces. We provide the same outstanding service and quality that KODAK customers have come to know and trust.

KODAK Gallery is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eastman KODAK Company.

Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsor, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong, 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.

An ARC History Lesson With Don Lerch & Paul Weller

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Chuck

ZimmCast 343 At the 2012 Agricultural Relations Council Annual Meeting, the first two members of the newly established Agricultural Public Relations Hall of Fame were inducted. Pictured below are Lyle Orwig, Charleston Orwig, (left) and Don Lerch, retired, with their awards. Before the award ceremony I visited with Don Lerch, who was a founding member of ARC and Paul Weller, Agri/Washington, who was the ARC Executive Secretary once upon a time. I’ll share an interview with Lyle in a coming story post.

In my conversation with Paul and Don I learned that ARC was founded to combat the very negative publicity that agriculture was receiving after World War II. Sound familiar? Don says it was due to the impact of science and technology on farming and fear and a lack of understanding on the part of the consuming public. So ARC was formed to mount an effort to try and overcome this problem by getting positive and truthful information into the media. In fact, many of the original members were in the media.

I hope you enjoy this conversation since it will give you a really good perspective on not only the Agricultural Relations Council but where we’ve been in the fight to get a growing non-farm public to understand where their food comes from.

Listen to this week’s ZimmCast here: ARC History With Paul & Don

2012 ARC Annual Meeting Photo Album

Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsor, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong, 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.

Visiting With American Seed Trade Association

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Chuck

ZimmCast 341 It’s time to look forward to the 2012 National Agriculture Day activities in Washington, DC. Things kick off on Thursday morning and I’ll be there again this year courtesy of the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) and Agriculture Council of America.

In a look ahead to this week’s activities I visited with Julie Douglas, Communications Director, ASTA, during Commodity Classic last week. Julie says there is no other industry as important as agriculture and that ASTA is very happy to support and celebrate farmers and increase awareness of all the good things they do including being good stewards of the land.

Besides attending Ag Day Activities courtesy of ASTA I will also be attending their annual meeting this year which Julie says will be held in Washington, DC for the first time in years. She says it will be an opportunity to bring together all segments of the seed industry who will be able to visit with lawmakers and educate them about the industry and need for continued funding for agricultural research. The annual meeting will not only feature an agvocacy day on Capitol Hill but sessions on conservation and phytosanitary issues as well as individual industry organizational meetings.

The ASTA 129th Annual Convention will be held June 20 – 23 at the Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center at
National Harbor, MD.

Listen to this week’s ZimmCast here: Visiting with ASTA

2012 Commodity Classic Photo Album

Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsor, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong, 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.

Coverage of the 2012 Commodity Classic Show is sponsored by BASF and New Holland

Ready For Record Commodity Classic

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Chuck

ZimmCast 340 I’d like to thank New Holland for sponsoring the media room at Commodity Classic once again this year. And I’d especially like to thank them for being one of our sponsors for AgWired coverage of the event again this year. New Holland was one of the first companies to support our unique brand of “live” event blogging. This is the 7th year the company has been our sponsor for Commodity Classic. Thank you to Gene Hemphill and to Abe Hughes. I’m looking forward to seeing Abe this afternoon in the New Holland exhibit at the trade show. Now back to our program.

Here are (l-r) Patrick Delaney, Communications Director, American Soybean Association and Ken Colombini, Communications Director, National Corn Growers Association. These two organizations coordinate the media room that we have the privilege to work out of. Cindy caught up with both of them yesterday to find out how attendance at this year’s Classic is looking as well as what some of the important issues are facing each farm group.

Listen to this week’s ZimmCast here: A Look At 2012 Commodity Classic

Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsor, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong, 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.

Coverage of the 2012 Commodity Classic Show is sponsored by BASF and New Holland

AgRacer From Fastline Off To A Fast Start

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Chuck

ZimmCast 338 This week’s program is coming to you from the agriblogging highway. I’m on my way to the 2012 National Ethanol Conference while Cindy is on her way to the GROWMARK Dieselex Gold event. It’s a beautiful morning here at the St. Louis airport.

In this week’s program you can listen in on my conversation with Bill Howard, Fastline. The company was one of our sponsors for coverage of last week’s National Farm Machinery Show. At the show they introduced AgRacer, the mobile farm racing app.

I visited with Bill during their annual customer appreciation dinner. In the photo Bill is awarding door prizes to the crowd of nearly 650 attendees. He says that’s a lot more than the first dinner they held at the show. As he puts it, “It’s a great time to be in ag.” I couldn’t agree more. However, Bill says that Fastline realizes the changing demographics of the farming community. That’s why they’ve launched Jill’s Junction and AgRacer to reach out to women and youngsters who are not only involved in the farm but are also the future of the farm.

Listen to this week’s ZimmCast here: Going To The Races With AgRacer

Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsor, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong, 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.

2012 National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album

Coverage of the National Farm Machinery Show is sponsored by Fastline AgRacer FMC New Holland

Getting Social with NCGA and GROWMARK

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Cindy

ZimmCast 337 In this week’s ZimmCast you can hear about how GROWMARK is using social media to create a buzz and how the National Corn Growers Association is using social media for membership recruiting and grower services.

At the NCGA biennial Membership Symposium last week in Florida, Chuck talked with Director of Development Tim Brackman and Nebraska Corn Growers Association chairman Brandon Hunnicutt about the symposium program that featured a variety of topics, including use of social media. Brandon is pictured here on the left with Tim on the right.

Meanwhile, at the at the Pursuit of Maximum Yields event last week in Iowa, I interviewed GROWMARK Electronic Communications Specialist Heather (Miller) Thompson about how the GROWMARK system is using social media and smartphone tools, like Facebook, Twitter and QR codes. They are also promoting CropNAtion, a social site for agriculture introduced last year. “That’s still really in it’s infancy,” Heather said. “We’re trying to get word spread about it to get a base and also waiting for an iPhone and Android app that should be out any day now.”

Listen to this week’s ZimmCast here: ZimmCast with NCGA and GROWMARK

Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsor, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong, 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.

AgriTalking With Mike Adams

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Chuck

ZimmCast 337 Sometimes the host becomes the guest. In this week’s program that’s what happens when I chat with Mike Adams, host of AgriTalk. Cindy and I have really enjoyed the fact that Mike and producer John “follow” us around to events all over the country . I’ve actually been on AgriTalk before! I think that between us we cover more miles than most in the ag media world.

So I finally decided to sit down with Mike and talk about the conference we’re currently attending which is the National Biodiesel Conference and how things have changed in the media world we live in. Certainly technology is a key part of that as you’ll hear us reminisce about taking handsets apart on public telephones to connect our tape recorders for feeding audio back to the studio. Really, we’re not that old. I think it’s our active lifestyle and meeting some of the most wonderful people in the world that keeps us young!

BTW. I’m wondering if Mike has just a touch of Golden ZimmComm Microphone envy. What do you think? And thanks to John Herath, AgriTalk Producer Extraordinaire, for the photo.

Listen in on my conversation with Mike in this week’s program: AgriTalking with Mike Adams

Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsor, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong, 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.

Get The AgFax

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Chuck

ZimmCast 334 During the Beltwide Cotton Conferences I got to visit with and get to know AgFax with husband/wife partners Debra Ferguson and Owen Taylor. Owen conducted a conference session titled, “New vs. Old Information Sources to Clientele,” as part of the segment on social media in production agriculture. As a new media company, we can relate to that!

AgFax is “Where Ag Goes For Information” and their mission statement is “Make it as easy as possible for our community of readers to find and/or receive needed information.” Owen says they started publishing a cotton newsletter in California 21 years ago. After realizing everyone had a fax machine they started using the mechanism to distribute a growing number of newsletters and information. Then came a website and then came social media. Sound familiar? They work with a number of universities and have developed AgFax.com into a clearinghouse for ag information. And you may not be surprised to learn that they no longer send faxes!

To learn more about AgFax listen in to this week’s program: Getting The AgFax

Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsor, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong, 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.

2012 Beltwide Cotton Conferences Photo Album

AgWired coverage of 2012 Beltwide Cotton Conference is sponsored by

A Look At This Year’s Beltwide Cotton Conferences

Posted on January 6, 2012 by Chuck

ZimmCast 333 This year’s Beltwide Cotton Conferences attracted about the same size crowd as last year according to National Cotton Council Vice President of Producer Affairs, Craig Brown. I sat down with Craig to find out how he thought things were going and to talk about upcoming format changes for the annual event.

Craig says this is the second year they have shortened the production conference and added more seminars and educational sessions. There are a lot of them! Workshops were very well attended and in fact Craig says they had to add chairs to some of them. He mentioned the social media sessions which is a first. As Craig puts it, “everyone here’s got something strapped to their hip,” referring to all the smartphones in use. It sounds like the Cotton Council is getting ready to go more “social!”

We also discussed the major changes coming to Beltwide after next year’s event. Starting in 2014 Beltwide will only be a 1 1/2 day event without the production conference and trade show. It’ll focus in on technical sessions. This decision has come after a lot of study and thought during the last couple years.

To learn more about the changes coming to the Beltwide listen in to this week’s program: Beltwide Cotton Conferences

Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsor, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong, 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.

2012 Beltwide Cotton Conferences Photo Album

AgWired coverage of 2012 Beltwide Cotton Conference is sponsored by

Rhea + Kaiser A Year Later

Posted on December 26, 2011 by Chuck

ZimmCast 332 It was just over a year ago that I started doing a series of interviews with the leadership at agricultural agencies. I started out with Diane Martin, President/CEO, Rhea + Kaiser and thought it very appropriate to talk with her again to see how things have been going at the agency.

To start off, Diane says that things are going well with the celebration this year of a couple of milestones with various clients like GROWMARK – 30 years and Bayer at 26 years. Another development is the agency diversification into different industries like construction equipment and higher education. Diane says they’ve also been going through a cultural revolution internally. One example is a renewed effort to liven up client presentations so they become more enjoyable and educational.

There are a number of additional changes that have taken place at the agency during the last year. To learn more about them listen in on my conversation with Diane: Rhea + Kaiser a Year Later

Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsor, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong, 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.

Sled Driver Inspires Ag Aviators

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Cindy

ZimmCast 329 Last week I attended the National Agricultural Aviation Association (NAAA) convention in Las Vegas. It was the third time we have had the opportunity to find out more about these “unsung heroes of agriculture,” thanks to our friends with BASF.

naaa Among the many ways BASF supports NAAA is by sponsoring the convention kick off breakfast, which always features a speaker with an aviation theme. This year, that speaker was Brian Shul, pilot and author of the coffee table book Sled Driver – Flying the World’s Fastest Jet, which is a compilation of the best photos that he took over many years flying the SR-71 Blackbird. It would make a great Christmas gift for anyone on your list who appreciates military aircraft and/or breathtaking photography! You can order yours at SledDriver.com.

I interviewed Brian at the NAAA about the plane, the book, how he got such great shots, and his continuing love of photography – listen to that conversation in this week’s ZimmCast: Pilot and Author Brian Shul

See more photos from the NAAA convention here – 2011 NAAA Convention Photo Album

Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsor, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong, 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.

AgWired coverage of the 2011 NAAA Convention is sponsored by BASF

Raven Simplified

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Chuck

ZimmCast 329 It is hard to believe that the AgWired App has been out for over a year! And the company staking an immediate sponsorship claim was and still is Raven, Precision Simplified. In this week’s program we’re going to learn that Raven has just “Simplified” their website and sees social media as a great opportunity to engage with their customers.

I spoke with Paul Welbig, Director of Marketing and Slingshot Operations this morning. He says that as it relates to information, reaching customers and new technology, the sponsorship of our smartphone application fit right in with Raven’s strategy moving forward, “We thought it was a great avenue to communicate with customers through that venue because a lot of those customers using those types of tools are also going to be customers using Raven and the Slingshot solution in the future.” When it comes to social media Paul says Raven has ample evidence that it is helping them engage with their customers, “That’s what it’s all about is making those connections and really helping support those folks as well.” He says Raven actively watches their social media channels and responds quickly to their customers.

When it comes to the new Raven website Paul says they’ve included a brand new section that provides technical help which you can find at RavenHelp.com. The company is also running a promotion right now where farmers can enter to win a complete RTK system that includes: Cruizer II™ guidance with sub-inch RTK accuracy — delivered by Slingshot® via wireless networks. The company will be exhibiting at a majority of the winter farm shows if you need to see them in person. You can find their schedule here.

Listen to my conversation with Paul in this week’s ZimmCast and learn more about what’s going on with Raven: Raven Simplified

Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsor, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong, for their support.

This week’s program ends with a song called “Raven” by Mark Shepard from Music Alley. I hope you enjoy it and thanks for listening.

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.

Meet New NAFB President

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Chuck

ZimmCast 328 He looks very presidential in this photo doesn’t he? He’s Tom Steever, Brownfield and the new President of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting. Tom actually takes over officially on January 1, 2012. However, he has been serving as interim President following the tragic death of Lindsay Hill earlier this year. So that kind of makes Tom the “old” and “new” member leader of NAFB.

This morning I sat down with Tom to have a conversation about the state of NAFB, the convention just held in Kansas City and what he sees for the future of farm broadcasting. When it comes to the membership of NAFB Tom says things are in great shape. In fact, membership is up from a low point a couple years ago. He wants to “see the NAFB continue to be and increase in value to its members. I want people to look at their membership in the NAFB as essential to what they do.” One of the ways Tom says NAFB can accomplish this is to continue to develop professional improvement opportunities in addition to promotional ones since they both will add value to the member’s company bottom line. At this year’s convention I chaired the professional improvement committee and we held five sessions on professional improvement that included smartphone technology, streaming audio/video and video production/editing.

I also asked Tom if NAFB has considered becoming part of the Ag Media Summit since we are seeing so much convergence in all of media today. I know it has been discussed and according to Tom “We keep courting. We keep watching one another.” He says things are working well for the organizations involved both at the Ag Media Summit and for NAFB and its convention. That probably is making it difficult to decide that there should be some formal joining of forces. I like to think of NAFB joining the Ag Media Summit like when the Commodity Classic expanded with the addition of sorghum and wheat grower organizations. Maybe the time just isn’t right yet. What do you think?

Listen to my conversation with Tom in this week’s ZimmCast and learn more about what’s going on with NAFB: Tom Steever New NAFB President

Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsor, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong, 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.