Tricia Braid Terry (left), RFD Radio Network, will let you in on a very creative way to do a crop report. I don’t have any pictures of it yet but I’m hoping to get at least one. I’ll let her tell you about it. Let’s just say it was “thrilling.”

Leah Guffey, WFMB AM/FM, has news too. Here’s an excerpt from her email.

I wanted to take a minute and let you all know that as of September 19, 2008 I will no longer be reporting farm news for WFMB AM/FM. After the last 5 years I’ve decided to take a different route in life and work for the City of Springfield’s Convention and Visitors Bureau with Ag and Auto Show Sales so I’m not leaving the Ag world, but I am leaving radio after 16 years. It certainly wasn’t an easy choice but I’m thrilled to have this opportunity. I’ll be starting at SCVB on September 29. I’ll still be at the Farm Progress Show and I look forward to seeing many of you there.

We know where to find you online Leah, so you can count on us staying in touch.

AgWired coverage of the 2008 Farm Progress Show
is sponsored by: and

I asked him what his primary sources of information are for making buying decisions. He says that he’s very “local” minded. He buys all of his products locally and consistently from the same individuals and dealers. He says almost 100% is from personal contact. He’s a big supporter of the University Extension system and does admit to going out of state to the University of Kentucky for tobacco information.

When it comes to media here’s what he says. “I don’t use the internet whatsoever.” He says he reads the local morning paper but not for ag information. He gets plenty of farm magazines but says he reads them on an “as needed” basis and he doesn’t read all of them. He rarely ever looks at direct mail pieces.

When I asked him about his mobile phone he says that he gets an in-frequent market update.

You can listen to my interview with Hal here: Download audio file (nama-boot-camp-08-swaney.mp3)

Check out the NAMA Boot Camp Photo Album.

In this first one you can see Don Tourte, Farm Progress Companies, cutting the ribbon. He’s joined by a number of local leaders.

Those leaders and a number of visiting media then got a tour of the show by tram. I think Gene was at the front of this group to get this shot.

I’ll be heading to Boone, IA, along with Laura McNamara, on Monday. We’re hoping to get set up in the media room in the afternoon. Right now I’m planning on having AgWired Live TV going for as much of the show as I can. I’m going to try to webcast the press conferences from the media tent. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for good high speed internet.

AgWired coverage of the 2008 Farm Progress Show
is sponsored by: and

Throughout her yearlong reign as Princess Kay of the Milky Way, Mussman will make public appearances to educate consumers about dairy farmers’ commitment to providing wholesome milk and dairy product and caring for their animals and the land.

Soybeans are late pod to early fill. Some minor diseases were observed such as sudden death syndrome. Weather conditions could favor SDS advancement.

You can listen to his report using this link (mp3).

Midwest Crop Tour’s primary goal is to provide the industry with accurate late-season information about likely corn and soybean yields during the upcoming harvest season at the state and regional level.

Results from the Tour obviously have a big impact on Pro Farmer’s annual crop production estimate released at week’s end. But observations gathered during Tour can be just as important as the data itself – especially in a year like 2008 when the crop’s development is anything but normal.

AFJ’s primary goal is to encourage communication among food journalists. In addition, AFJ tries to increase members’ knowledge of food and to sharpen their writing, design and broadcast skills. The group also strives to foster professional standards among its members and other members of the media.

They’ve got a blog with the most overused name in the world, “Association of Food Journalists’ Food For Thought.” The blog hasn’t been getting fed much lately though since the most recent post is dated, May 14.

Anyway, the folks at Kellogg’s are pretty happy:

He’s already taken his place in history alongside the legends, but now Michael Phelps can add one more milestone to the list. After earning eight gold medals in the 2008 Olympic Games, Michael Phelps has earned a place of honor on the front of specially-marked Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes® and Kellogg’s Corn Flakes® cereal boxes.

“As an Official Sponsor of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team and a proud sponsor of Phelps, it is only fitting that Kellogg Company feature this world-class athlete on its iconic boxes of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes and Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes cereals,” said Marta Cyhan, Vice President, Global Promotions, Kellogg Company. “Michael embodies the values behind our Frosted Flakes Earn Your Stripes™ program. He knows that winning is not just about the glory that comes with gold medals, but about good sportsmanship, working hard and being your best.”

In 2008, she served on the board of the Agri-Business Council of Oregon and as president of the Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation.

Yes, we can help SEO you. Why/How? Because we link back to you. So anyone finding my posts about you then provide direct links back to you. That’s a big part of what this whole web thing is all about.

BTW. While searching I found out that Barry Engle is a Lancaster, PA native. Now isn’t that interesting. The home of New Holland (same county). Local boy makes good, returns home! I found that on his Ford company bio page.

Before becoming involved in the auto industry, the Lancaster, Pennsylvania native held finance and marketing positions in the consumer packaged goods business having worked for General Mills and later Nabisco brands.