This week I’ll be attending the Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association annual meeting in Minneapolis. This will be my first experience with this group. I’m curious to find out who I’ll know there. Of course Den Gardner will be there. He also manages AAEA.
The Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association (TOCA) serves communicators in the Green Industry by fostering an open exchange of information regarding issues that affect how we communicate to our various audiences.
One of the things they’ve done which is very helpful to those of us who are doing presentations at the meeting is a survey of members. For example, I’ve got a pretty good idea how many of them have or contribute to a blog or podcast and subscribe to rss feeds. It’s a higher number than you might think. And the internet seems to be solidly in the lead as a news source.
Milk Producers With Issues
At the National Association of Farm Broadcasting Washington Watch program there is a session called the Issues Forum in which ag groups make representatives available for interviews. During this session I interviewed Sarah Olson, Communications Coordinator, National Milk Producers Federation. Sarah is relatively new to NMPF and says that as they look to the future, communications will change. For example, she says they’re taking a close look at social communications mechanisms like blogs.
Besides my interview with Sarah, this week’s program ends with music from the Podsafe Music Network. It’s called “Song Writers With No Issues” by The Dubois. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.
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ZimmCast 169 (13 min MP3)
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From the Indiana Fields…
One of the more popular features in Indiana AgriNews is From the Fields. Here farmers from around the state share their experiences with weather, crop conditions, weeds, insects, diseases, and farm management. Hoosier Ag Today (HAT) and AgriNews have partnered to bring From the Fields to the radio. Now these same growers can share their experiences in audio form on radio stations across the state. In addition, a special page on the Hoosier Ag Today Web site has been set up where unedited versions of these interviews can he heard.
This is farmers talking to farmers, said Gary Truitt of Hoosier Ag Today. This kind of thing can only be done by Indiana-based media organizations like HAT and AgriNews who are in touch with their audience and with what is happening on the farms of the state.
In addition, to the radio and print versions, From the Field reports will also be included in the Official Podcast of Indiana Agriculture, produced by Hoosier Ag Today, and a free daily e-mail newsletter. This podcast is available at both the Hoosier Ag Today and AgriNews Web sites. The newsletter can be obtained here.
Farmers involved in the program are from Pulaski, Tipton, Vigo, Rush, Dubois, and Washington counties.
Zimfo Bytes
- American Dairy, Inc., one of the leading producers and distributors of infant formula, milk powder and soybean and walnut products in China, announced that its flagship brand, “Feihe,” has been named the “Most Energetic Brand” in the “Top Ten Best Infant Formula” category at the Annual Baby and Infant Industry Ceremony, hosted recently by SINA Corporation.
- The American Meat Institute recently launched an updated Country-of-Origin Labeling Web site?. Updated information can be found here.
- The Biopesticide Industry Alliance (BPIA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Bill Stoneman as its new Executive Director. Originally with Minnesota Cooperative Extension and currently serving the biopesticide and organic industries through regulatory and product development consultation, Stoneman joins BPIA with more than 30 years of experience in agriculture and more than 15 years experience with biological control of crop pests.
American Farmland Trust Working on Farm Bill
Last week I had the pleasure to spend a couple of half day sessions doing some media production training with Jennifer Morrill at American Farmland Trust in Washington, DC. It worked out very well since I was attending the NAFB Washington Watch.
At the Washington Watch Issues Forum I also got to interview AFT President, Ralph Grossi. (Jennifer took the picture.) As you might guess, we talked about the farm bill. Ralph explained how AFT has been involved in the farm bill process for over 2 years. One of the things he says they’ve been able to do is bring people to the table to discuss the legislation who might not have otherwise.
You can listen to my interview with Ralph here: nafb-ww-grossi.mp3
Party Piggy & Ecophobia
It has been a beautiful weekend in Missouri. Time to get some herbs and vegetables planted and enjoy some relaxation. On Saturday this little piggy went to, not the market, but the party at Derry Brownfield’s cabin. Mmm, mmm, good. We had quite a crowd out there.
I thought you might enjoy an editorial in Hernando Today, a Tampa, FL area newspaper on “Ecophobia: Environmentalist on the New Environmental Disaster.” It was sent in by Heather, an alert AgWired reader. Here’s an excerpt:
I am an ecophobe: I imagine environmentalists creating catastrophes all the time all over the world. I see great floods, famine, disease and death and behind each is the same thing: A grinning environmentalist reveling in the mayhem as if it were magic.
It’s a good one and worth a moment to read.
USDA Census of Ag PSA
At NAFB’s Washington Watch we all received psa’s from NASS for the 2007 Census of Agriculture.
You can listen to Sec. of Ag Schafer voice one of them here: usda-census-psa.mp3
I’m curious if any radio stations or networks use these. It was my experience before getting out of farm broadcasting on air that psa’s didn’t get used much. Is it worth taxpayer dollars to produce and distribute them anymore?
Cookbook Targets Nutrition for Children
The Wheat Food Council is celebrating its 35th anniversary and wants to use the milestone to help promote nutrition for children. That’s why the council is releasing a cookbook that’s meant to benefit a non-profit organization dedicated to influencing children’s eating habits through education.
In celebration of its 35th anniversary, the Wheat Foods Council today unveiled Food for Thought from Parents to Children, an educational cookbook featuring recipes from celebrity chef and mother of three, Chef Gale Gand, and parents across America. The cookbook showcases wheat-based recipes and addresses the importance of nutrition education for children, emphasizing a parent’s role in a child’s healthy diet.
A portion of cookbook proceeds benefits Spoons Across America, a not-for-profit organization that works to positively influence the eating habits of children through hands-on education. The cookbook is available for $3.50 and can be purchased online.
Food for Thought from Parents to Children features 30 recipes developed by parents throughout America and five exclusive creations from Chef Gand, award-winning pastry chef, cookbook author and Food Network personality. Nutritious, wheat-based recipes, in the categories of breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and desserts, are accompanied by educational facts about the featured foods including nutritional content, portion sizes and food origin. Also included is a guide that parents can use to ensure time spent in the kitchen with their kids is a fun, educational experience.
EPIC Says Scaling Back Renewable Fuels Won’t Help Food Prices
The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council has gathered data from multiple sources that debunk claims that America’s renewable fuels are a large player in soaring food prices. Toni Nuernberg, the Executive Director of EPIC wants to spread the word that changing the nation’s renewable fuels standard is not the answer to driving down global food costs.
Recent calls to reduce the renewable fuels standard (RFS) seem like an easy and immediate fix to world food shortages. However, the factors influencing global food prices and supplies are a result of converging global production and demand issues that go far beyond corn-based ethanol. Changing U.S. energy policy will not provide short-term relief on the food supply and decrease food prices as many expect. In fact, relaxing the renewable fuels standard mandate actually may escalate food prices now and in the future by driving fuel prices even higher.
Across the country, including 10 percent ethanol in gasoline has held the price per gallon down by $.15 to $.45 depending on the region of the country, as highlighted in recent studies in Missouri. Reducing ethanol requirements by 50 percent removes 4.5 billion gallons of ethanol from the fuel supply. This will reduce the total fuel supply, causing transportation, fertilizer, fuel, packaging and other food production costs to continue to increase, further inflating the price of food.
Long-term, repealing or suspending the 2007 Energy Policy Act is unnecessary, as technologies in use today and on the horizon will enable American farmers to increase productivity per acre to meet demands for food and this mandate, potentially with the same or fewer inputs than used today.
For many, it is easy to look past the primary factor wreaking havoc with the global economy — namely exorbitant oil prices which have increased from $35 in 2005 to more than $110 today — nearly 300 percent.
Globally, today’s energy prices are a disincentive to food production, as third world countries simply can’t afford to develop agriculture systems and, therefore, their ability to feed themselves.
Corn-based ethanol, while not a silver bullet, is the foundation upon which the next generation of “advanced biofuels” is being built.
The industry is fueling research into cellulosic ethanol produced from feedstocks such as switch grass and other non-edible renewable biomass. Corn-based ethanol is a solution that is here now, available in our current infrastructure and making a difference in the price of fuel.
New Got Milk.com Website
We love the commercials and now the website is more fun too.
GOT MILK?, known for its quirky, yet memorable TV commercials, has given its Web site a face lift, providing it with an online presence to match its onscreen reputation. The new www.gotmilk.com, produced by the California Milk Processor Board (CMPB), the creators of GOT MILK?, showcases an entertaining, integrated online health resource for consumers. The interactive Web site features eye-catching flash animations graphics and better navigational tools to make it easier for visitors to surf the site. Besides its visually captivating appeal, the site delivers the positive message of milk as a super drink: strengthening bones, muscles, hair, nails and teeth and even reducing some of the symptoms of PMS.
When visitors log on to www.gotmilk.com, they are welcomed by a “milk contraption” where a steady stream of the super drink flows. On the home page, consumers can navigate through a series of interactive games highlighting the health benefits of milk. These games feature a beaver, for example, who teaches visitors about milk’s teeth strengthening qualities, or an owl who informs consumers that drinking milk before sleep could help them get extra z’s at night. A drop down “related content” menu would also pop-out, giving consumers access to milk-related studies, articles and delicious low-fat recipes.
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