Category Archives: ZimmComm Announcement

Re-Locating ZimmComm World Headquarters

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This is a view to get used to. Pensacola Beach on a pretty weekend day.

In case you didn’t already know, the ZimmComm team selected this area to re-locate ZimmComm World Headquarters. We’ll actually be at a Cantonment address which is a north side burb of Pensacola. It’s just a short drive to this photo location though!

So, over the next two weeks the ZimmComm team will be very busy getting the move completed. Pardon our “dust” in the meantime although we’ll be online every day. We’re from the Sunshine State and love the Show Me State but it’s time to get back “home.” And in case you’re wondering, this doesn’t mean any changes to ZimmComm New Media as you know it. We’ll just be closer to the beach and to an airport!

Be AgWired Appy at NAMA

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be appyOur theme at the 2012 National Agri-Marketing Association conference is “Don’t Worry, Be Appy!”

Our AgWired app, sponsored by Raven Industries, is almost two years old now – available for both iPhone and Android users – yet we continue to get new downloads every day and people tell us they use it all the time. It’s a handy way to check the latest posts on all of our websites with just a few clicks. Even those folks who have Blackberries or some other type of phone often download the app to use on their iPad or iPod Touch.

afbf golden plowSo, in honor of our app, our giveaway this year is the cool “Digi-Clean” handy wipe for all types of screens – from cell phones to cameras to iPads and laptops. What is really cool about this tiny little screen cleaner is that it sticks to your device, then unsticks when you want to use it and re-sticks again! They come in several sizes from REALLY tiny to almost 3.5″ wide, but we went for the tablet size that is still small enough for the phone, but big enough to be used on a good sized laptop screen.

So come on by booth #412 this week at the NAMA conference in Kansas City and get yours. Chuck is already there for NAMA business stuff, but I will be heading that way tomorrow with our youngest lovely daughter Caitlin to help us out this year.

We’ll be “appy” to see you there!

ZimmComm Seeking Freelance Multi-Media Producer

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We’re looking for the right person (or people) to become a ZimmComm producer. We’ve been blessed to have a number of incredibly talented folks work with us over the years and are very proud of them and their accomplishments both professionally and personally. We stay in touch with each and every one of them. Now we’re looking for some new talent.

The right person would be very self-motivated and passionate about agriculture, as well as having most or all of the following skills (listed in order of importance):

  • 1. Computer savvy – Mac or PC
  • 2. Flexible work schedule for on-site assignments
  • 3. Digital photography – composing, shooting, editing
  • 4. Audio production – conducting interviews, editing
  • 5. Short format writing skills
  • 6. Social Networking experience – Blog, Flickr, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube
  • 7. Video production (web style) – shooting, editing
  • 8. WordPress experience

We would like to see examples of work that ideally will include social networking accounts.

A ZimmComm producer needs to be able to shoot photos on the go, conduct spur of the moment interviews, edit photos/audio/video quickly and upload and post to WordPress websites. This includes writing story posts to go with the posted media. The work will include periodic travel to ag related events of different kinds – probably not more than 10 days per calendar year. You will need to be equipped with notebook computer and camera to take hi-res photos. Personal digital audio/video recorder and/or iPhone a plus.

Payment will be negotiated depending on experience and ZimmComm will supply on-the-job training for the right candidate. So are you up to the challenge?

If so, please send me your interest including things like resume/work examples via email.

Best of Beef Awards

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Kyle Bauer, general manager of KFRM radio in Kansas was the emcee of the “Best of Beef 2012″ awards Thursday morning at the Cattle Industry Convention in Nashville.

Among the many awards presented were – National Retail Beef Backer, Foodservice Beef Backer, Beef Quality Assurance, Excellence in Communications, Trailblazer, National Stocker, NCBA Top Hand Club, the Max Deets Leadership and CME Group Beef Industry Scholarship awards, and Environmental Stewardship regional winners. Check out the 2012 CIC photo album to see pictures of pretty much all of the winners.

AgWired, with our parent company ZimmComm New Media, was proud to sponsor the NCBA Excellence in Communication awards for the second year of their existence. The awards recognize communications professionals from NCBA state affiliate organizations and cattle breed associations, as well as an agricultural journalist. The recipient of the 2011 Excellence in Communications and Public Relations for a state affiliate is Carmen Fenton, director of public affairs for the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) and for a breed affiliate is Angie Stump Denton, director of communications for the American Hereford Association (AHA).

Pictured with me and NCBA Communications guru Mike Deering is the winner of the 2011 Excellence in Agricultural Journalism award – Pete Crow, publisher of the Western Livestock Journal (WLJ). Crow’s family has been publishing WLJ every week since 1922.

All of the communications award winners will also be recognized at the media reception this evening.

2012 Cattle Industry Convention Photo Album

The ZimmComm Ag Events Calendar

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zimmcomm calendarOne day I was thinking to myself, “I wish there was a calendar that had all the ag events for the year on it.” I had never seen such a thing, so I decided to make one.

This was not an easy task. It took me about a month to get it the way I wanted it, including photos from events throughout this past year and getting as many dates for the major ag events included. Not sure how it would actually look in person, we ordered a limited quantity to give as Christmas gifts to some of our clients.

We think they actually came out pretty sweet and now we are wondering if there is any interest among AgWired readers to get their very own copy.

You can order your calendar here: Order 2012 ZimmComm Ag Events Calendar.

The cost is $20 each plus $2 shipping/handling.

AgWired Makes It To Afghanistan

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It might be a first. An AgWired shirt proudly displayed over Kandahar Air Field in Afghanistan.

Showing off is John Davis, one of the long time editors who has posted mostly on our Domestic Fuel website but also on AgWired. He’s helping develop a radio journalism/production program and I’m sure we’ll get some updates from him from time to time. I saw John briefly in Washington, DC Reagan Airport. I was flying out and he was flying on. Glad to see he made it safe and sound.

AgWired App Now In Android Market

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The AgWired App is now available in the Android Market. You asked for it and you’ve got it. One of the new features we’re offering in this app (and soon to be added to the iPhone version) is the ability to share out stories via multiple mechanism like email, Twitter, etc. The first person to download the AgWired Android App to his phone was Deron Johnson, Rhea & Kaiser (AgWired sponsor), just prior to the student activities at the Agri-Marketing Conference.

Just like its iPhone predecessor, the app offers one-touch access to all the latest news and information in the agribusiness and agricultural marketing world posted on Agwired.com, including audio, photos and video, and connections to other ZimmComm news sites. The AgWired App features a news tab drop down menu to select ZimmComm News Network feeds as well as individual news on AgWired.com by category.

You can find the AgWired App in the Android Market with this link. The AgWired iPhone App has been downloaded onto almost 3,000 iPhones/iPod touches/iPads since we introduced it and is being opened for viewing between 3 to 5 times per day, showing a high level of use by those who have it.

I’ve been asked who we worked with to develop the AgWired App and will point you to rock solid mobile app developer WillowTree Apps.

App sponsors are being sought. Contact ZimmComm for more information, including rates. First time and early sponsor discounts available.

Introducing Meghan Grebner

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Probably should have done this before her first post, but AgWired is proud to introduce Meghan Grebner as our newest blogger.

Many of our readers probably already know Meghan, as she is an active member of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) and is currently serving as regional vice president for the organization. In 2009, she was honored with NAFB’s Horizon Award. She is a great agricultural reporter and photographer and we are grateful to the management of WMBD/WIRL in Peoria for allowing her to blog for us. She has served as agribusiness director for those radio stations since 2007 and is already well known in agricultural communications and marketing circles.

You can expect to hear from Meghan at least once a week with some of the enormous amount of coverage she generates for her stations, both on-air and on the website, CentralIllinoisAg.com. She will also be using her great agricultural background, reporting experience and photography skills to help us with event coverage.

You can also follow Megs on Twitter.com/@mkg81.

Welcome, Megs!

Visit ZimmComm and Enjoy Some Google Juice

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You are probably picturing your hand holding that iPod touch. Aren’t you? Well it is a possibility if you are selected in our drawing next week at the conclusion of the 2011 Agri-Marketing Conference Connection Point. You have to stop by booth #412 and get your entry in but don’t have to be present to win when we pull names. We’ll be awarding one to a professional member and one to a student member. These are 32GB models so there’s lots of room to store your music and apps.

Speaking of apps, these iPod will be pre-loaded with the AgWired App. That’s just to make it easier for you to have one of the first and coolest ag apps on your device. Of course it’s not hard to get and it is free anyway. If you’ve got an iPhone/iPad/touch all you have to do is click on this link or got to the iTunes Store to search for it. Once you have the app on your device you’ll find that you can select any of our ZimmComm News Network websites to read the latest news and of course that includes AgWired. There’s more there too. Feel free to stop by our booth if you need help or have questions. And for you Android folks, don’t worry. The Android Market should have a new app in it by next week!

We’ll have some other cool items at our booth besides these beauties. Please stop and visit the ZimmComm Team and learn about Google Juice.

Proud to be Biofools Nominees

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Friends of the Earth (FOE) has paid us a great compliment. We – both me and Chuck – have been nominated for the prestigious “Biofool of the Year” award!

The award was established by FOE “to recognize leaders that promote dirty biofuels” – especially corn ethanol – and was won last year by then House Agriculture Committee chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN). The first year it was Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant. In addition to us, this year’s nominees include Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), General Wesley Clark, and Secretary Tom Vilsack.

Here is what they have to say about us:

This dynamic duo are a pair of bloggers who lead the group ZimmComm New Media and provide a big platform for the ethanol industry’s talking points. Each day, on a series of blogs – hosted by the Zimmermans (DomesticFuel, AgWired ) or by the corn ethanol industry itself (CornCommentary) – Cindy and Chuck critique anyone who may disagree with the ethanol industry’s line while practically cutting and pasting press releases from industry lobby groups. The Zimmermans are unabashedly pro-industry, with clients such as Growth Energy, the Renewable Fuels Association, the National Biodiesel Board and Syngenta. What’s more, many of their employees are previous employees of the biofuels industry lobby groups like Growth Energy. Now — Friends of the Earth has nothing against a pro-industry website (in principle), but the problem with the Zimmermans is that on the surface they pretend to be “reporters,” when in fact they act as industry hacks.

I have never been so proud! But I would like to clarify a couple of things. First, we have no employees. We have freelance writers who contribute to our websites and other freelancers who do other work for us. One of our freelancers did work for Growth Energy, she now works for Protec Fuel and while she continues to do work for us in other areas, she does very little posting at this time. Another freelancer, Joanna, worked for EPIC when we got to know her, but she now has her own company and does work for a variety of clients, including us. And, we are really reporters. We even have degrees from the University of Florida College of Journalism in broadcasting. Our area of expertise just happens to be agriculture and we are proud supporters of this industry.

We sincerely support and believe in the use of biofuels for our country, as well as other forms of alternative energy – and even utilizing more of our country’s own oil reserves. We are diametrically opposed to organizations and individuals who criticize and attack the people who produce this nation’s food, fiber, AND fuel. If that makes us biofools, then we are proud to be! If you agree, vote for us at biofools.com!

Meet our Intern

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John BrownZimmComm New Media is proud to announce and welcome John Brown as our intern this semester.

John brings over 5 years of marketing experience as well as a healthy knowledge of 21st Century communications strategies. He comes to us from Columbia College, where he is in his final year of pursuing a degree in Business Administration with a double major in Public Relations and Advertising.

“I am excited to work with ZimmComm New Media and learn more about social media and marketing,” said John, “Chuck and Cindy are very knowledgeable and fun to work with, I couldn’t ask for a better fit.”

John has been working with us for a couple of months now, mainly on promotional activities, including the upcoming NAMA annual meeting. That is where you will get a chance to meet him as he will be at the booth with Chuck during the last hours of the trade show.

John is our first ever real intern and we are happy to be able to work with him and show him a little bit of what we do and how we do it. John is also (coincidentally!) the boyfriend of our youngest daughter Caitlin, who is also attending Columbia College and about to finish her degree in marketing.

Last Survey Winner Announced

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The final ZimmComm publication survey winner has been drawn and the lucky one is Rita Ruud, a nutritionist with North Dakota State University and World Dairy Diary reader. She will be receiving a check in the mail for $250 for taking just about two minutes of her time to fill out our survey and help us do a better job of serving the folks who read this on-line publication.

January was the third and final month for the ZimmComm publication survey since we have now received enough responses to make it statistically significant. We would sincerely thank everyone who took the time to help us out.

Here’s a few interesting things we learned from the survey about Agwired readers:

By far, the largest percentage of our readers are in Advertising/Marketing/Sales or Communications/Public Relations – making up 20% in each category for a total of 4 out of 10 of our readers. Another 13% are with agribusiness associations or organizations and 7% are media. Over 20% are in crop or livestock production – including crop and livestock producers, dairy farmers, crop consultants, etc. There were some categories that applied to production agriculture but several also checked the “other” category.

We had responses from 21 states, three countries, and the District of Columbia, with the Midwest significantly leading the pack. Most responses came from Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Thanks again to everyone who filled out the survey!

Happy New Year Survey Winner

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The new year is starting off a little greener for the latest winner in our ZimmComm publication survey drawing.

The winner for December is Michelle Stahlhut, an Agwired reader and crop farmer from Indiana. Michelle actually filled out her survey in November and since we put all the entries back in the pot for the next month, she was the lucky pick today and will be receiving a check for $250 from us.

Among the topics that Michelle says she would like see covered by us in 2011 are sustainability, beginning farmer programs, organic industry, small farm policy, meat processing.

Sustainability is definitely the topic that most people who have responded to the survey so far would like to see more coverage about. Many of those who responded to that question said they appreciate the wide variety of topics we cover here on Agwired, especially new technology.

Here are a few interesting notes about our Agwired readers that we have learned so far:

Occupation -
22% Advertising/Marketing/Sales
19% Communications/PR
19% Production Agriculture (livestock or crop)

43% follow Agwired on Twitter

Topics of most interest – Agribusiness 80%; Policy 54%; Farming 53%

The survey continues through January, so please fill it out before the end of the month, if you haven’t done so yet. All entries received so far will be entered to win in the last drawing for $250, which will be held on February 1.

Agwired survey link

The Best of 2010 on Agwired

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2010 was a very busy year on Agwired, but no different than normal! We spent a total of 172 days on the road covering more than 60 different events from coast to coast, as well as Mexico and the Netherlands.

Traffic was up 17% on Agwired this year to a grand total of more than 185,000 unique visitors. We had a total of 1580 posts this year, including more than 530 with audio. We posted nearly 16,000 photos on Flickr and 103 videos on YouTube.

The most popular YouTube video of the year was the unveiling of the Chip Foose designed John Deere tractor at Commodity Classic, which has been viewed nearly 13,000 times. Videos from the John Deere XUV media event were viewed over 5,000 times. Other top videos of the year including the unveiling of the New Holland T8 & T9 Tractors, Opening Day at National Farm Machinery Show, AG CONNECT Expo Preview, General Motors Exec at the National Ethanol Conference, President Obama at the POET plant, AgLeader at AG CONNECT, Kip Cullers New Record, and the fly-by at the National Agricultural Aviation Association meeting.

Most popular ZimmCasts of the year were BASF and One Hungry Planet and Exposing HSUS with David Martosko.

According to page views, the most popular stories of the year on Agwired were:
Cost of Thanksgiving Dinner
New John Deere Gator XUV
iPad Review part one and Part Two
Chip Foose 4020 Unveiled
Record Phone Calls on iPhone
Missourians for Animal Care Launch
William Shatner at Alltech FEI Games
New Holland Unveils T8 & T9 Tractors

Thanks to our readers, our sponsors and clients, our freelancers and other friends for making 2010 great! Best wishes to all for a healthy, happy, prosperous and blessed new year!

Last Chance to Win in 2010

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Today is the last day of 2010 and the last chance to enter and win $250 in the ZimmComm web pub survey contest this month.

If you read Agwired and want to have a voice in what we cover here in 2011, fill out our survey today. At the end of the day, we will be taking the names of everyone who has filled out an on-line survey in the past two months and putting them all in the hat to draw one winner for the month of December. Everyone, that is, except our lucky winner from last month Jamie Wilson with the Corn Marketing Program of Michigan. She already got her $250.

Right now you have about a 1-500 chance of winning – not bad odds at all. Start out the new year right – with an extra $250 in your pocket – or at least the satisfaction of helping to make Agwired the best darn agribusiness news source it can be!

Agwired survey link

Hey Santa – How About Some Green For the Holidays?

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Oh, the weather outside is frightful,
But the fire is so delightful,
And since we’ve got no place to go,
Fill Out a Survey! Fill Out a Survey! Fill Out a Survey!

The snow doesn’t show signs of stopping,
And I’ve bought some corn for popping,
The lights are turned way down low,
Fill Out a Survey! Fill Out a Survey! Fill Out a Survey!

When I’ve completed the short questionnaire,
How I’ll hate going out in the storm!
So I’ll daydream about my online shopping spree,
Where I’ll buy a sweater to keep me warm.

I’ve clicked “register me to win,”
And, my dear, I may win $250.
All because it was snowing,
And I Filled Out a Survey! Filled Out a Survey! Filled Out a Survey!

I hope my rendition of “Let it Snow” hasn’t offended you too much to fill out our AgWired survey. If not, those who complete the survey will have a chance to win $250. Happy Holidays and may Santa bring you some extra green this year.

Survey Drawing Winner

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The Survey Monkey has spoken and the winner is …. drum roll, please….

Jamie Wilson with the Corn Marketing Program of Michigan

Jamie reads Domestic Fuel and says she is most interested in stories related to ethanol. We sincerely appreciate her taking the time to fill out the survey so we can learn more about our audiences on all the various ZimmComm on-line publications. All the survey entries for November were entered to win $250 and Jamie’s name was picked out of the hat this morning. All those who have already filled out the survey will remain in the running for the next drawing at the end of this month for another 250 bucks.

Some interesting results we have found so far from the first month of our survey:

Domestic Fuel got the most survey responses, which makes sense since it has the most traffic. The majority of respondents were either existing producers (12.5%) or in marketing/sales for biofuels (10%)

On World Dairy Diary, one quarter of respondents said they were actual dairy farmers and over 35 percent said they followed WDD on Twitter.

Over 30% of the respondents for Agwired are in advertising, marketing, communications or public relations. Almost 40% said they read Agwired 4-7 times a week and the same amount follow on Twitter.

One third of the respondents on Precision Pays are crop farmers and all of them grow corn and soybeans.

We have almost enough entries at this point to be statistically significant, which is great, but we intend to keep it going at least through the end of January. The more responses we get, the better we can know who is in our audience to serve you better. Yes, we have to ask for all the personal info like name and address, but we will not share that with anyone else. We just simply want to get a better handle on who you are and what you want to read about.

So, if you have not responded yet, take the survey now by clicking here for this website. Jamie – your check is in the mail and we hope you enjoy the extra holiday cash!

Scoop Up An Extra $250 In Holiday Cash

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Scoop up some extra cash for the holiday season by filling out the AgWired Survey. By participating in our fast, easy survey, you could win $250 to spend on yourself or to help spread the joy to your friends and family.

Here’s all you need to do. Click on this link to complete the survey that will help the blogging team bring you more stories that are of interest to you. Once you’ve answered all the questions, enter to win $250 in cash. Each month, one winner will be chosen from all of the survey’s entrants. Non winners will be put into the drawing for the next month so there is no need to fill out the survey multiple times.

Ready? Then click here to begin.

Give Us Your Opinion – Get Chance to Win $250 Cash

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Have you ever wished you could help mold the content of your favorite blog? Well, here is your chance. The bloggers of AgWired want to learn more about its readers, so we can provide you with more informational and insightful information. All you have to do is take our quick 1 minute survey. Once completed, you can enter to win $250 in cash.

As with any contest, there are a few rules. Each month, one winner will be drawn from the entries received for all ZimmComm news website surveys. Non-winners from each month will roll over to the next month, so please only take the survey once. Ready to get started? Then click here to begin.

Speaking of molding content I’m throwing out a poll question for the month. Do you think USDA’s program, Know Your Famer, Know Your Food, is closing the gap between consumers and farmers? You can sound off by posting a comment to this story, or sending your response to AgWiredPoll@hotmail.com. Select answers will be used in an upcoming story for the blog.

Thanks for reading AgWired and don’t forget to take our survey for a chance to win $250 in cash.