Just in time for the 2012 National Farm Machinery Show, our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “How do you think farm equipment sales will do this year compared to last?” Things are looking bright for exhibitors here since 48% said Higher. However, 34% said Lower and 18% said Same. I think that’s a positive outlook. What do you think?
Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “What’s the next “big” thing in ag comm/social media?” I posed this question last week and got quite a few responses. Here’s your chance to weigh in on the subject. If you have a different choice please feel free to leave a comment.
ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.
In our latest ZimmPoll we asked the question, “What do you think about the proposed Egg Products Inspection legislation?”. I was surprised to find that although 59% said Dangerous precedent for livestock production, 41% said Necessary to save egg farming industry. Kind of a divided reaction. Does this surprise you?
Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “How do you think farm equipment sales will do this year compared to last?” Let us know what you think. Will there be more new equipment sales this year? Is it time to replace a worn out piece of equipment?
ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.
In our latest ZimmPoll we asked the question, “Do you agree with President Obama’s call for more clean (renewable) energy?” Overwhelmingly, the answer was Yes at 74%, however, there were 24% saying no. Feel free to comment on the reason for your choice.
Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “What do you think about the proposed Egg Products Inspection legislation?” Let us know what you think. You can find the currently proposed House Bill here.
ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.
Our latest ZimmPoll asked a very timely question since it’s on a topic that is the subject of a cover story on USA Today. We asked, “How will proposed changes to child labor in agriculture regulations affect farms?” Seventy percent said Negatively, seventeen percent said No Effect and only thirteen percent said Positively.
You may know that last fall the Department of Labor proposed changes that many believe could have major impacts on family farms and farm life (proposed rule – pdf). This is just another example of unnecessary government intrusion in private business and lives in my opinion. We don’t need it but . . . as if the government knows better. Riiight. You can find out more from this DOL early news release.
Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “Do you agree with President Obama’s call for more clean (renewable) energy?” Let us know what you think. He definitely issued a call during his State of the Union speech last night. Here’s an excerpt:
We have subsidized oil companies for a century. That’s long enough. It’s time to end the taxpayer giveaways to an industry that’s rarely been more profitable, and double-down on a clean energy industry that’s never been more promising. Pass clean energy tax credits and create these jobs.
ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.
In our latest ZimmPoll we asked the question “Do you think there is currently an “Ag Bubble?” It looks like most think so since 66% said Yes and 34% said No. That’s kind of a pessimistic outlook don’t you think? If you think we’re in a bubble please feel free to comment on why. We’d love to hear your thoughts.
Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “How will proposed changes to child labor in agriculture regulations affect farms?” Last fall the Department of Labor proposed changes that many believe could have major impacts on family farms and farm life (proposed rule – pdf). At best it seems like there are some good intentions without careful consideration of the consequences and then there’s always that “how does the Dept. of Labor interpret the rules thing.” A public comment period ended on December 1, 2011.
Here’s some language about the proposed changes from an early news release:
The proposal would strengthen current child labor regulations prohibiting agricultural work with animals and in pesticide handling, timber operations, manure pits and storage bins. It would prohibit farmworkers under age 16 from participating in the cultivation, harvesting and curing of tobacco. And it would prohibit youth in both agricultural and nonagricultural employment from using electronic, including communication, devices while operating power-driven equipment.
The department also is proposing to create a new nonagricultural hazardous occupations order that would prevent children under 18 from being employed in the storing, marketing and transporting of farm product raw materials. Prohibited places of employment would include country grain elevators, grain bins, silos, feed lots, stockyards, livestock exchanges and livestock auctions.
ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.
In our latest ZimmPoll we asked the question, “What do you think of the LightSquared broadband internet proposal?” This controversial issue has pitted GPS services and hardware manufacturers against those who want better broadband internet service in their area and agriculture is only one of the industries that could be impacted. Interestingly, our poll results were mostly against the proposal until one afternoon when almost all of the “positive” results were posted. That suggests that there was a concerted effort to impact the results. So here they are. We had 73% say that the proposal would be Good for ag/rural America and 23% say it would be Bad for ag/rural America. What do you think about that?
Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “Do you think there’s currently an “Ag Bubble”?” Let us know what you think.
Post Update: After getting a text message asking me what an ag bubble is, I offer the following definition from Wikipedia that might help him understand.
An economic bubble (sometimes referred to as a speculative bubble, a market bubble, a price bubble, a financial bubble, a speculative mania or a balloon) is “trade in high volumes at prices that are considerably at variance with intrinsic values”. It could also be described as a trade in products or assets with inflated values.
ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.
Wild weather was the winner for the biggest ag story of 2011 according to our latest ZimmPoll. We asked the question, “What do you think is biggest ag story of 2011?” Wild weather got 40% or the response followed by Record farm land value – 17%; New free trade agreements – 16%; High commodity prices – 16%; Super committee “no”- farm bill – 11% and Record U.S. farm exports at a big fat 0%. Weather, it’s always on the top of a farmer’s mind and with good reason.
Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “What do you think of the LightSquared broadband internet proposal?” This is certainly a hotly debated topic with GPS companies and users very concerned over the implications. If you need more information about it you can find lots of resources online here, here and here.
ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.
This is the first full year of our ZimmPoll so I thought it would be interesting to take a look back and share some statistics with you. I am frequently asked how many people responded and what their demographics are. The number of respondents is easy but knowing who they are and details about their life is not since there’s no registration process. But here are a few numbers I can share with you.
To start with, the average number of responses is 110. I’m not sure about you but I think that’s a pretty good number. The total varies widely each week and I think that has a lot to do with the question itself and the particular week and activities that might draw attention elsewhere. So the swing in number of responses goes from highest for the question, “What do you think of USDA’s proposed GIPSA rule?” at 446 to lowest for the question, “With net farm income up this year, how is your income?” at 32. I’ve also noticed that the number of responses varies to some extent by how aggressively we promote it via social media channels like Twitter and Facebook.
Some other questions that generated a higher level response include: “Which biofuel feedstock do you think has best future?”; “Do you believe in man made climate change?”; “What’s Your Favorite Meat?”; “What mid-term grade would you give Ag Sec. Tom Vilsack?”; “Will higher cost (13%) of Thanksgiving dinner affect your meal?” and “Which Republican Candidate for President is best for Ag?.”
So with question choice being very important I’d like to ask what questions you’d like to see us ask. Please post your ideas in comments. Is there something you’d like to ask the agricultural marketing community? What would it be? Thank you and I look forward to another year of checking the “pulse” of the community.
ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.
It looks like beef wins in our latest ZimmPoll. We asked the question, “What is your Christmas/Holiday dinner entree?” Beef got 34% of the vote followed by Pork – Ham/Other cut at 27%, then Turkey at 24%, then Lobster and Wild game each got 7% and Fish at 1%. I guess you normally only have one at a time but I like them all!
Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “What do you think is biggest ag story of 2011?” There were a lot of big ag stories so we had to pick a few that stood out for us. Let us know what you think.
ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.
A significant majority believe that ethanol production is a good thing. In answer to our question, “Is Ethanol production good for ALL of Agriculture?” 64% said yes and 36% said no. That still shows a large group who aren’t on board the ethanol bandwagon. If you’re in the “no” group let us know why by posting a comment.
Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “What is your Christmas/Holiday entree?” The holidays are almost here and I’ll be you’ve got plans made already. We sure hope you have a happy holiday time with family and friends.
ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.
Gadgets – 28%, are tops on the Christmas gift list according to our latest ZimmPoll, followed closely by Paying Bills – 25%. Those choices were followed by Clothes, 19%; Other, 14%; Farm Equipment, 9% and Tools, 5%. I find it very interesting that no one chose Food! Wow. Food makes a great gift don’t you think? Maybe we’re all so well fed that our focus has turned to other things? What do you think?
Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “Is Ethanol production good for ALL of Agriculture?” There’s a huge amount of on-going rhetoric about this subject and it seems to be a very divisive issue within the ag community. Let’s put it this way, the most heated arguments/debates I’ve heard or participated in this year were on this subject! What do you think?
ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.
The slices on this ZimmPoll pie are almost the same size! In our latest ZimmPoll we asked the question, “With net farm income up this year, how is your income?” The idea for the question came from the recent USDA Economic Research Service Net Farm Income Forecast that showed a 28% increase over 2010. The responses to our question were Higher – 34.4%; Lower – 31.2% and Same – 34.4%.
Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “What’s tops on your Christmas gift list?” If your income is the same or higher than last year perhaps you have a little more in the disposable category for holiday shopping. What categories are tops for you this year?
ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.
It looks like Facebook is still the big dog with this community. In our latest ZimmPoll we asked the question, “Do you use Facebook or Google+?” 50% of you said Facebook while only 7% said Google+. However, 20% said Both while 23% said Neither. Interesting. Looks like Google+ has a ways to go.
Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “With net farm income up this year, how is your income?” USDA’s Economic Research Service released it’s Net Farm Income Forecast update yesterday showing a 28% increase over 2010. The report also states, “Net cash income, at $109.8 billion, is forecast up $17.5 billion (18.9 percent) from 2010, and $34.2 billion above its 10-year average (2001-2010) of $75.6 billion.” Wow. How about you? How’s your income doing this year compared to last?
ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.
The ZimmPoll is one year old! And you can re-visit all of them since they are all archived right here on AgWired. Thank you Rhea + Kaiser for your sponsorship and support.
In our latest ZimmPoll we asked the question, “Will higher cost (13%) of Thanksgiving dinner affect your meal?” Apparently it won’t for most of our respondents. 64% said, No, same as usual; 22% said Yes, Fewer items on table; 9% said Yes, Planning smaller portions and 5% said No, Bigger dinner this year. A story in yesterday’s USA Today seems to reflect this response. It says that some will be cutting back.
Some are holding potluck dinners instead of springing for the entire feast. Others are staying home rather than flying. And a few are skipping the turkey altogether.
Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “Do you use Facebook or Google+?” Google+ now allows company pages but so far they don’t seem to have attracted the kind of audience found by companies using Facebook. Which “house” do you live in? Feel free to chime in. We appreciate it.
ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.
It looks like there are a lot of Ron Paul supporters out there. In our latest ZimmPoll we asked the question, “Which Republican candidate for President is best for ag?” The big leader was Ron Paul at 41% followed by Newt Gingrich, 16%; Herman Cain, 13%; Rick Perry, 8%; Rick Perry, 8%; Mitt Romney, 7%; Jon Huntsman, 6%; Michele Bachmann, 5%; Gary Johnson, 3% and Rick Santorum, 2%. Does this surprise you?
Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “Will higher cost (13%) of Thanksgiving dinner affect your meal?” The increased cost of a traditional Thanksgiving meal comes from an announcement by the American Farm Bureau Federation last week.
AFBF’s 26th annual informal price survey of classic items found on the Thanksgiving Day dinner table indicates the average cost of this year’s feast for 10 is $49.20, a $5.73 price increase from last year’s average of $43.47.
You can find the announcement here.
ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.
Our latest ZimmPoll seems to have hit a nerve judging by the number of responses. We asked, “What is the cause of obesity?” Eighty six percent said Bad eating/exercise habits! Only 8% said Over processed food, 4% said Genetics, 2% said Fast food restaurants and no one chose Lack of food regulation. Eating really is a personal choice as well as a necessity. Seems like personal responsibility trumps all else here. What do you think?
Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “Which Republican Candidate for President is best for Ag?” There are a lot of them and we’ve listed the main contenders of the moment. What do you think? Feel free to add a comment here.
ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.
Our latest ZimmPoll didn’t excite too many people judging by the response. Thanks to all of you who did take the poll though. We asked the question, “How do you view the new free trade agreements for U.S. ag?” The majority view the agreements as Positive at 54%, while 28% view them as Negative and 18% as Neutral. I guess we’ll see what happens. You know that time will tell!
Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “What is the cause of obesity?” It seems like we read about this “crisis” all the time. Is this something we should look to the government to fix? Or is this something that people need to take personal responsibility for? Do we blame someone else or look in the mirror? Are efforts like the USDA’s Choose My Plate having any affect on obesity? What do you think? Let us know and thank you.
ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.
Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “Are Farm Show Smartphone Apps Helpful?” Although 55% said they had Never used one, 27% said Yes and only 18% said no. I think these results reflect the fact that these apps are new. I used several during the course of the year and some are more helpful than others. One of the features I like most is being able to open a show map to find where I am currently located and where I want to go to find a particular exhibitor. Have you used any of these apps? What did you like or wish was different about the ones you used?
Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “How do you view the new free trade agreements for U.S. ag?” President Obama signed legislation last Friday implementing free trade agreements with Korea, Colombia and Panama. These agreements were supported by most agricultural member organizations. What do you think? Take our poll and feel free to comment. Thank you.
ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.
Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “Should the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) be changed?” A majority at 53% said, No, it’s working as intended; 32% said Get rid of it entirely and 15% said Yes, change to adapt to corn stocks.
Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “Are Farm Show Smartphone Apps Useful?” What do you think? Take our poll and feel free to comment. Thank you.
ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.
Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “How do you feel about the corn supply/demand status?” Sounds like there’s a little worry out there according to the results. 42% answered, Worried – there’s not enough; 34% said No worries – there’s plenty; 13% said, Don’t care and 11% said It will be better next year. If you’re worried, why?
Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “Should the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) be changed?” What do you think? Take our poll and feel free to comment. Thank you.
ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.
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In this week's program you can listen in to my conversation with Bill Howard, Fastline, about their new mobile game app, AgRacer.
