BASF is Big on Farming

Cindy Zimmerman

basf-farming“Farming, the Biggest Job on Earth” is the tag line of a campaign for agriculture by BASF Corporation which is hitting the United States now on Facebook and YouTube with the new video “Growing Today for Tomorrow.” The Facebook campaign urges people to watch the three minute video to learn more about how farmers are growing more with less land – and enter to win a $250 gift card!

basf-germany-markus“We feel that farmers are doing a great job,” said BASF Crop Protection President Markus Heldt in an interview at last week’s BASF Global Press Conference in Germany. “But we as society have not recognized that contribution. So we decided to launch a global campaign as part of our long term strategy to make sure we raise our voice and talk about the importance of farming.”

“We are passionate about farming and we believe there is a very bright and exciting future in farming,” Markus said. “We just have to make sure that some of our critics better understand why we’re here.”

Markus is pictured here during this interview with me and Cyndi Young-Puyear of Brownfield. Interview with BASF Crop Protection president Markus Heldt

2013 BASF Germany Photos

Agribusiness, Audio, BASF, Farming, Video

Biking to Canadian Hazelnut

Chuck Zimmerman

CFWF Bike TourThe farm bikers at the 2013 Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation Conference went off road through a hazelnut orchard before arriving at the largest organic hazelnut farm in Canada – Canadian Hazelnut. We were met by Shelley Krahn who talked to us about the farm and answered questions. You can watch in the video below.

There are eight thousand trees on the farm and apparently they’re dying from a disease and will all have to be cut down and replaced. Fortunately the wood is excellent for firewood and smoking chips for the grill! The only other pest problem they’ve had until this tree disease is a bear that loves hazelnuts.

2013 Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation Photo Album

Farming, International, Video

FMC Builds Platform for Biological Crop Protection

Jamie Johansen

fmcFMC Corporation announced the creation of a world-class platform to serve the fast-growing biological crop protection market through two strategic transactions.

The first transaction is an agreement with Chr.Hansen, a biosciences company specializing in cultures, enzymes and fermentation, to develop and commercialize biological crop protection products. They also announced the acquisition of the Center for Agricultural and Environmental Biosolutions (CAEB), a division of North Carolina based RTI International, specializing in sustainable agriculture research.

“FMC is poised to become a leader in biological crop protection,” said Mark A. Douglas, president, FMC Agricultural Solutions. “We now have a world-class library of microorganisms, deep expertise in biological discovery, and an exclusive strategic alliance with one of the world’s foremost authorities on microbial research and fermentation. Combine these new elements with FMC’s global market access and historic strengths in formulation, product development, and market innovation and we have a powerful platform from which we can launch a range of new products.”

FMC has broadened its portfolio of crop protection products delivering more value to farmers around the world. They recently added several patented fungicides and now the company is building on its success in synthetic chemistries to offer a range of biological insecticides, herbicides and fungicides.

For more information on FMC’s biological crop protection platform you can find the complete press release here.

Agribusiness, Crop Protection, FMC

USDA Confirms No Reports on Friday

Cindy Zimmerman

usda-downThe USDA website is down, no Twitter or Facebook, so the only official word that the big reports due out this week comes by email to those who ask.

“USDA will not issue a WASDE report this week due to the lapse in federal funding,” said agency media contact Courtney Rowe by email in response to an email asking for official confirmation. With the website down, no notice is posted, and no email blasts are forthcoming with an official press statement.

Southeast AgNet reports that the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Division of Marketing and Development, sent out an e-mail Monday on behalf of the Florida Agricultural Statistics Service (FASS) that there “will be no citrus forecast released on Friday, October 11.” That’s a big one for the citrus industry and requires at least a full week of preparation by the statisticians and an overnight lockdown before it is released.

The reports will not be released Friday even if Congress compromises on a continuing resolution before then. No word on when – or if – they will be released once the impasse is resolved.

USDA

Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation Awards

Chuck Zimmerman

CFWF Award WinnersThe concluding banquet at the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation Conference included the annual Writers and Broadcasters Awards. There are fourteen categories with Gold/Silver/Bronze winners in each. The categories ranged from Television and Radio Reporting to News Release, Website and Feature and News Photographs.

Here is the group of winners or those who were accepting for a winner not attending the conference. Congratulations to all of them! Besides the plaques, the prizes included $500 for Gold, $200 for Silver and $100 for Bronze.

2013 Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation Photo Album

Media

CFWF Senators Report

Chuck Zimmerman

John MorrissA tradition at the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation Conference is the Senators Report. The senators are the past presidents of CFWF who are in attendance. They gather on the final afternoon of the conference to discuss important and worldly things that are then reported during the awards banquet.

Giving the report this year was John Morriss, Farm Business Communications. I recorded it so you can listen in. You’ll hear that we were having quite a good time by this point in the program on Saturday evening. By the way, John was part of The GMO’s who played later that same evening.

Listen to the Senator’s Report here: Senators Report

2013 Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation Photo Album

Audio, Media

Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation in Growth Mode

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCast 413Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast. In this week’s program we’re going to learn about the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation from the past President and the new President.

Tamara LeighFirst up is Tamara Leigh, Shiny Bird Communications, who passed the gavel of leadership during last week’s Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation (CFWF) Conference. Tamara not only does agricultural communications work but also performed as a member of the band, The GMO’s, during the closing awards banquet.

One of the the things that Tamara finds most exciting about the CFWF is the community and the relationships that are built with communications professionals, “We bring together journalists and communicators from across the industry and that allows us to build the relationships that make telling the stories that much easier.” Tamara says that the organization has been going through a period of growth during her term. Two years ago the CFWF hosted the IFAJ Congress and that helped launch this new phase in several ways.

Lisa GuentherNext up in the program is Lisa Guenther, Grainews, who will now be President of CFWF for a two year term. Lisa is pictured with Sasquatch who paid us a visit just before our closing banquet.

Lisa says that the CFWF has drafted a communications plan and she will continue to work on implementing it. That includes internal communications and raising the profile with mainstream media and recruiting new members. She also mentions the new Legacy Fund which has been created from money the CFWF has accumulated over the years. They are looking at how to best spend and invest the funds for members.

Lisa also gets in a plug for the 2014 CFWF Conference which will be held in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Oct. 2-5.

Listen to this week’s program here: Old & New CFWF Presidents

Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsors, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong and Monsanto, Roundup Ready Plus, for their support.

2013 Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation Photo Album

Audio, Media

Zimfo Bytes

Talia Goes

    Zimfo Bytes

  • MGEX announced the results of its annual Board of Directors (Board) election, held October 3, 2013.
  • NCBA is hosting its first annual National Anthem Singing Contest to determine the singer of the Star Spangled Banner at the 2014 Opening General Session Tuesday, Feb. 4, and at the Grand Ole Opry House during the Cowboy’s Night at the Opry II.
  • The Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City’s 10 year anniversary will be October 16th at the luncheon meeting featuring speaker, Sam Graves.
  • Stason Animal Health is relocating its headquarters from Vancouver, Washington to Kansas City, Kansas where it will operate from the Biological & Technology Center on the University of Kansas Medical Center Campus.
Zimfo Bytes

Touring Farms on a Bike

Chuck Zimmerman

CFWF Bike TourI chose the Scenic Cycle Tour for my tour yesterday at the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation Conference. As a biker it sounded like a unique opportunity and it was. We had a beautiful sunny day and the farm visits were fantastic. I’ve got a lot of stories to share, most of which will need to wait until I get back to the States and have better internet access. We’re in a gorgeous resort but they’re not well equipped on the wifi front.

Hopefully by the end of today I’ll have most of my photos uploaded at least from yesterday and maybe part of today. We’ve got presentations and professional improvement sessions today followed by tonight’s awards banquet. So there is a lot more to come.

Post Update: Here’s a short video clip of the riders.

2013 Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation Photo Album

Media

Governor of International Marketing Group Announced

Jamie Johansen

imageCharleston|Orwig announces agency President Marcy Tessman has been elected to a 3-year term as Governor of TAAN Worldwide. TAAN is an international alliance of marketing communications agencies.

TAAN is one of the largest independent networks of advertising and communications agencies and has been around since 1936. Today they have 51 member companies operating in 32 countries and 67 cities.

“Marcy is a born leader with business experience that will prove invaluable as she works with other TAAN Worldwide governors from around the globe to guide the group forward,” said Mark Gale, CEO, Charleston|Orwig.

Gale added that they are routinely serving clients with global marketing and reputation management needs. “We’re seeing the food system becoming more of a global discussion by the day. Our participation in TAAN provides us the opportunity to engage with agency leaders from many other countries. It’s a great fit for Charleston|Orwig, as we continue to expand our base of multinational clients within the food system.”

Advertising, Agencies, Food