Okay folks, it’s the last day to take our annual survey and be entered in a drawing for a new iPod Nano AgWired Survey. If you’ve been putting it off then please get your entry in by the end of today since we’ll be doing a drawing and announcing the winner early next week.
Thank you.
No it’s not political pork. It’s fat, juicy farm-raised pork. Celebrity Cook Paula Deen and her husband Michael Groover are escorting Smithfield Foods’ Helping Hungry Homes tour to L.A.’s poor.
Harvesters: The Community Food Network has received more than 25,000 pounds of meat to help feed local families, thanks to Smithfield Foods’ 10-city Helping Hungry Homes(TM) Across America tour, a hunger relief initiative led by celebrity cook Paula Deen.
The tour’s goal is to provide one million servings of meat to the nation’s hungry families, including those in the metropolitan Kansas City area, where 43 percent of people receiving emergency food assistance are children and 48 percent of individuals come from a household with at least one working adult, according to Hunger in America statistics.
Paula Deen’s sons Jamie and Bobby, who regularly appear on her Food Network shows and have authored their own cookbook, were on hand today to help Harvesters’ staff unload a Farmland Foods truck carrying more than 25,000 pounds of Farmland products, including ham, bacon, breakfast sausage, hot dogs and lunch meat. Farmland Foods, Inc. is an independent operating company of Smithfield Foods and is headquartered in Kansas City.
The Smithfield Foods Helping Hungry Homes tour began in Deen’s hometown, Savannah, on January 14, and has now reached Philadelphia, New York City, Atlanta and Los Angeles. Additional scheduled stops include Kansas City, Chicago, New Orleans and Washington, D.C., before concluding in Detroit. Donations are being distributed through local members of America’s Second Harvest, the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization.
Harry Siemens – Concern is the word from agricultural organizations in Manitoba over proposed changes that will expand
the scope of the province’s Employment Standards Code to cover most agricultural employees. The Employment Standards Code outlines the minimum standards employers and employees not covered by collective agreements must meet in their working relationship. It covers most employees under provincial jurisdiction. Read More
Thanks to the folks at BASF you can hear Craig Lindholm talk about the new registration of their Stamina fungicide seed treatment.
Listen to Craig here: craig-lindholm.mp3
The recent registration by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of a new BASF seed treatment, to be marketed for corn seed under the name Stamina® fungicide, gives growers their best chance yet to get plants off to the right start.
“Stamina fungicide seed treatment helps control key seed and seedling diseases and improve stress tolerance,” said Craig Lindholm, marketing manager, seed treatments at BASF U.S. Crop Protection Products. “This delivers healthy plants right out of the ground as corn seedlings have a stronger start, resulting in increased yield potential.”
Field trials conducted throughout the U.S. during the 2006 and 2007 seasons confirm stand and yield improvements with Stamina. Seed and seedlings are better protected by Stamina from key diseases, such as Rhizoctonia. This is particularly important as earlier planting and increased use of no-till production systems may lead to slower emergence of seedlings due to cool, wet soils.
It isn’t focused on farm journalists but AngryJournalists.com would allow them to post their rant. I’ve been seeing references to this site in a number of my news feeds so I finally took a look. If you’re an ag journalist you will probably relate to some of the things you’ll find there.
If you’re an angry farm journalist feel free to post a comment here about what’s making you mad. C’mon, let it out. You’ll feel better.
The Pioneer GrowingPoint is growing and will now include a MarketPoint
DuPont business Pioneer Hi-Bred today introduced MarketPoint resource, a new online market service that links corn growers with end users to provide producers with enhanced profit opportunities, greater product differentiation and more convenience. It offers end users, such as ethanol plants and livestock feeders, the opportunity to source better quality grain.
“Pioneer MarketPoint resource is a powerful tool that brings together producers of high-quality grain with those who need it to make their business run more effectively,” said Paul Schickler, Pioneer president and DuPont vice president and general manager. “There has never been a tool like this that brings these two groups together so easily.”
Available on the Pioneer GrowingPoint website, the MarketPoint resource allows growers to post their high-quality grain for sale to local buyers who make competitive bids based upon quality and quantity information posted to the site. In turn, end users will be able to source this higher value grain to help maximize efficiency, whether it is in their ethanol plants or feedlot operations.
A pilot program has been initiated for growers and ethanol plants in select areas of Nebraska. Pending the success of this program, Pioneer will expand the MarketPoint(SM) resource to other areas.
If you’ve got DIRECTV then now you’ve got AdDay and U. S. Farm Report.
Farm Journal Electronic Media (FJEM), the broadcast division of Farm Journal Media, announced today an agreement with DIRECTV to add satellite carriage of its national television programs. Beginning March 10, AgDay will be seen weekdays on DIRECTV Channel 225 from 8:00-8:30 a.m. EST, and U.S. Farm Report on Saturdays from 8:00-9:00 a.m. EST.
“In an effort to better serve our farm and rural audiences, we are thrilled to add nearly 17-million DIRECTV subscribers with great access to our programs,” says FJEM General Manager Brian Conrady. “More and more, our core ag viewers are making the switch to satellite, so the timing is perfect for a DIRECTV launch.”
AgDay and U.S. Farm Report are both targeted to commercial farmers, rural landowners, and consumers interested in the country way of life. As two of America’s longest-running syndicated shows, the programs are viewed weekly by more than 1.5 million households (Nielsen).
“This new platform also gives us a place where we can easily and quickly launch new programming,” says Jeff Pence, President of Farm Journal Digital Media. “Along with adding yet another convenient time and place for viewers, our advertising clients will have new and unique opportunities to reach this targeted audience with expanded messages – or even their own programs adjacent to ours. Farm Journal Media will leverage all of its multi-media channels and touch points across agriculture to let everyone know they can now find AgDay and U.S. Farm Report on DIRECTV Channel 225.”
It’s now official that the National Sorghum Producers will be joining with corn, soybeans and wheat at Commodity Classic in 2009. As if there wasn’t enough activity to keep the ag media busy there!
Commodity Classic, the tradeshow and convention of the U.S. corn, soybean and wheat producers, announces the National Sorghum Producers will be part of the premier annual event for agriculture when it meets in Grapevine, Texas in 2009. The 2009 Commodity Classic will be held Feb. 26-28 at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center on Lake Grapevine in Grapevine, Texas.
“We are very excited to take part in Commodity Classic in 2009,” said NSP President Dale Murden. “We recognize that farmers grow diverse crops and Commodity Classic gives producers the opportunity to network and learn about corn, soybeans, wheat, and now sorghum all at the same time.”
“The National Sorghum Producers will work in conjunction with the other commodities to offer joint programming as well as sorghum-specific education and networking. An NSP-only meeting will be held either directly before or after the Classic,” Murden added.
The United Soybean Board and the Soyfoods Association of North America want consumers to “see what’s on the horizon for food.” The organizations are co-hosting the 14th Soy Symposium, Soy: New Horizons, on April 17 and 18 at the Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza.
As global economies change, the food industry must transform. Keep up with emerging consumer trends, the future of supermarkets, international food markets, and innovations in packaging, flavors, and product designs by attending the 14th Soy Symposium, Soy: New Horizons. Phil Lempert, Columnist, Food Industry Expert and Editor of Supermarketguru.com, journeys into the supermarket of the future and reports findings from the recent Consumer Poll on why consumers are selecting soyfoods.
At the Soy Symposium, nutrition experts will update the audience on the latest research on soy’s role in reducing obesity, lowering cholesterol, improving brain power, and enhancing the immune system. A panel of experts describes how soy plays a critical role in human nutrition feeding programs around the world. Experts from Mintel present a survey of new products, including those with soy oil and soy protein. A panel of international authorities discusses strategies for assuring successful launches of new products and for obtaining critical soy ingredients in the broader global market. New soy products will appear in delectable meal offerings, by Chef Patricia Greenberg, at events where attendees can network and tour exhibits.
