Agri-Tour in Honduras

Laura McNamara

Business leaders in Honduras are boasting that their country is a country ripe for foreign investment, especially American investment. Honduras’ Foundation for Investment and Export Development is hosting an “agri-tour” of sorts, showcasing what the tropical, Central American country has to offer to U.S. agricultural investors. I’m fortunate enough to be ZimmComm’s representative on the trip. I’ll be getting a first-hand look at Honduras’ only brewery, a cocoa processing plant, a crocodile farm, a Tilapia fish farm and much more.

Honduras’ agricultural appeal was apparent even before we landed. During our descent into the country’s industrial capital, San Pedro Sula, I spied acres of cultivated farmland. I could positively identify the sugarcane from my aerial view. I’m looking forward to learning about all the other crops I caught a glimpse of from the air. So, look for more posts from Central America these next few days.

Agribusiness, Farming, International

Analyzing AMS

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCast-181 - Ag Media SummitI don’t know about all of you who attended last week’s Ag Media Summit but I’m still recovering. I’ve got one little project left to complete and then I’m almost caught up. Of course Cindy’s on the road today to Purdy, MO for a Kip Cullers field day and I’ll be heading north tomorrow for a Monsanto Technology Showcase event and Laura is on her way to learn about agriculture in Honduras!

In this week’s program I sat down with Cindy to get her impressions of her first Ag Media Summit. One of the main things that struck her was the engagement of college students. There were over 80 students attending since the Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow also hold their annual meeting at AMS. Cindy and think that really helps energize us “old timers.” It also gives us a chance to interact with the people we’ll hire in the future too.

Since Cindy and I have been to NAFB conventions since the early 1980’s it was natural to draw some comparisons. One of the things that also strikes me as a big difference in the two is the amount of professional development. AMS is all about that and we both think that farm broadcasters would benefit from and be interested in the types of sessions offered at AMS. There were a couple of farm broadcasters attending by the way.

I want to say a special thank you to BASF and Successful Farming for sponsoring our coverage of this year’s Ag Media Summit. I’d say it was one of the best I’ve been to but then I’ve been saying that every year.

The program this week ends with music from the Podsafe Music Network. Since we’re talking about media you get to listen to “The Theme of Audiomedia, Inc.” from meganesan. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

You can download and listen to the ZimmCast here: Listen To ZimmCastZimmCast 181 (19 min MP3)

Or listen to this week’s ZimmCast right now:Interview With Cindy Zimmerman about AMS - ZimmCast 181

The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired which you can subscribe to using the link in our sidebar. You can also subscribe in iTunes

Ag Media Summit, Audio

Online Faster and Older

Chuck Zimmerman

Welcome to a new week in the new media world. Let’s start it off with a couple of tidbits that should interest any agrimarketer. First of all, let’s look at broadband penetration. A report from Gartner shows that consumers with broadband is going to continue to grow and some are saying that will create a larger audience than traditional broadcast outlets.

Worldwide consumer broadband connections will grow from 323 million connections in 2007 to 499 million in 2012, according to Gartner, Inc. Worldwide consumer broadband connections penetrated 18 percent of households in 2007, and by 2012, households with a broadband connection will reach 25 percent.

The report says that 5 countries already exceed 60% penetration and by 2012, 17 countries will. The report says that broadband penetration in the United States is 54% as of 2007 and is projected to increase to 77% by 2012.

Since we’re projecting out, let’s also consider the age demographics of who is online. I keep hearing people who should know better tell me that all this “internet stuff” is just young people. Of course those of us 50+ know better. The facts speak for themselves and we’re looking at a Boomer generation that’s moving into senior status and as a report on eMarketer puts it, “They’ll be bringing their technology with them.”

Baby boomers may bristle at being called “seniors,” but the generation is huge in numbers and promises to be a rich audience for all sorts of online services—with evolving needs.

For online retailers, one way to please older consumers without boring younger ones is to create a niche site.

Increased broadband use and older people online. Now what should you be thinking of when you’re plotting communications strategies?

Internet

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • The MarketPoint resource, an online service from Pioneer Hi-Bred, that conveniently links grain sellers with buyers, is expanding into Iowa and all of Nebraska after completing a successful trial program in central Nebraska. It offers end users the opportunity to source better quality grain. The MarketPoint service is available here.
  • Agrisoma Biosciences Inc. and Dow AgroSciences LLC announced an extension of their collaboration agreement to research, develop and commercialize animal health products using Agrisoma’s patented Engineered Trait Loci technology for gene delivery and expression. Under the terms of the agreement, Agrisoma and Dow AgroSciences will focus on certain aspects of the technology to build upon the significant progress made to date.
  • Vermeer Corporation has been inducted into the National Environmental Performance Track program by the EPA. Performance Track is a voluntary partnership program that recognizes private and public facilities that demonstrate strong environmental performance beyond current requirements.
    Zimfo Bytes

    Mapping with GK Technology

    Laura McNamara

    If you want application maps for your fields, then you might want to consider GK Technology for Agriculture. Kelly Sharpe is an agronomist for GK and he says his company offers a full service GIS package to growers. What does that mean exactly? Kelly says GK is able to take yield data and convert them into application maps that can then be used to write prescriptions for pretty much any controller out in the market. The best part, Kelly says, is GK works extremely well with satellite images – something he says most of GK’s competitors, well, can’t.

    “We’re able to take data from just about any source available,” Kelly said.

    Kelly says GK’s GIS package allows farmers to practice site-specific agriculture. The company’s services are a key element, he says, in precision farming. Kelly adds that GK understands it’s “all about the money” for farmers. He says that’s why GK is committed to keeping precision farming as low cost for the farmer as possible.

    I spoke with Kelly about what GK Technology can do for growers. You can listen to my interview here:
    kelly-sharpe-preag-08.mp3

    Agribusiness, Audio, Farming, Technology

    AgWired Wordle Cloud

    Chuck Zimmerman

    AgWired WordleWhat do bored bloggers do? Find silly little websites like Wordle and create graphics like this that have just about no real purpose or value.

    I saw a post about it when I was reading my feeds and thought I’d give it a try. Basically Wordle creates a word cloud and allows you to do some basic editing.

    It did keep me occupied for a few minutes.

    The images you create with Wordle are yours to use in any way you choose. You may print T-Shirts, business cards, brochures, what have you. On the other hand, when you place an image in the gallery, anyone else can use it too! So if you want to keep it to yourself, print it out without saving it.

    But it’s more fun to share.

    Uncategorized

    Getting to Know an AGCO with Precision

    Laura McNamara

    If you ask Joe Tebis, AGCO is the company to go to if you’re looking for products that offer leading variable rate applications. Now, Joe is the product manager for precision ag products for AGCO, so he might be a little biased. He says he’s particularly proud of AGCO’s Terragator and RoGator product lines.

    These products are just some of the leading equipment that Joe says work seamlessly with precision agriculture. He adds that AGCO is committed to continually offering more products that evolve with precision technology, integrating the newest applications available on the market. Joe says that’s important because precision technology offers farmers more value. He says equipment that’s equipped with precision applications, such as auto steering, can save growers on fuel and fertilizer costs. The AGCO expert adds that his companies products are designed to fit the unique needs of farmers and can adjust to various farming strategies.

    “We create the tools to allow them to implement their expertise,” Joe said.

    I spoke with Joe about AGCO and the company’s role in precision farming. You can listen to my interview with Joe here: joe-tebis-preag-08.mp3

    Agribusiness, Audio, Equipment, Farming, Technology

    Manage Variability with SSToolbox

    Laura McNamara

    SST puts it quite succinctly: Manage data. Harvest Information. The global provider of Geographic Information System (GIS) software is offering what it calls the “Premier Desktop GIS for Agriculture.” The company boasts that its SSToolbox lets growers gather valuable information such as yield data and soil data and use it to determine the variability that exists within their fields and design specific practices to manage their unique field variability.

    I caught up with Duncan Maeer (pictured left), the International Accounts Manager for SST, and he gave me a more thorough explanation of what the SSToolbox can offer farmers. Things like valuable cost savings, for example. You can listen to my interview with Duncan here: duncan-maeer-preag-08.mp3

    Agribusiness, Audio, Equipment, Farming, Technology

    Farm Country Political Feelings From The Progressive Farmer

    Chuck Zimmerman

    DTN The Progressive FarmerWe’re not very focused on politics here but sometimes an interesting story comes along like this one. The Progressive Farmer has just conducted a Zogby International poll of rural American households (2,963 adults) to find out about the political leanings of farm country. The results are featured in the August issue of the magazine.

    Commissioned by The Progressive Farmer, the poll of nearly 3,000 rural adults measures preferences for the fall elections as well as reaction to hot-button issues in farm country such as skyrocketing crop input costs, the assault on landowner rights and ethanol.

    The most telling result of the survey, conducted in late may of 2008, is that 17 percent of respondents say they are switching parties from the one they voted for in 2004. This coupled with the fact that republicans are narrowly the party of choice for U.S. house and Senate races with 47 percent for republicans compared to 40 percent for Democratic candidates shows that rural america is shaping up to be a battleground for votes this fall, says The Progressive Farmer Editor Jack Odle.

    “Rural america is definitely in play this year and not in any one party’s pocket—votes, particularly in congressional races, are up for grabs,” emphasizes Odle.

    When asked about presidential preference, pollsters find Sen. John mcCain garners 50 percent compared to Sen. Barack Obama at 34 percent, with 11 percent of respondents saying they will not vote for either candidate.

    There’s also a mirror survey online where you can compare results with the poll results.

    Publication

    John Stevenson is Sales/Marketing VP for New Holland

    Chuck Zimmerman

    New HollandThere’s a new leader in sales and marketing for New Holland.

    John J. Stevenson has been named Vice President, Sales and Marketing, for New Holland Agriculture in North America, according to an announcement by Harold Boyanovsky, president and chief executive officer of CNH Global, N.V. The appointment will be effective August 1, 2008.

    Stevenson will maintain his office at New Holland Agriculture North American headquarters in New Holland, Pa. He will report directly to Boyanovsky, who also serves as President of New Holland Agriculture worldwide.

    Stevenson’s credentials include most recently serving as President and Chief Executive Officer of American LaFrance LLC, a U.S.-based manufacturer of fire, rescue and other emergency response vehicles. Prior to that, he served in senior management positions at Freightliner, Volvo Trucks North America, and Mack Trucks. His background also includes proficiencies in organizational management, manufacturing, distribution, purchasing, logistics, product marketing, service and sales. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa.

    Agribusiness, New Holland, Tractor