Virtual Agronomy Down Under

Chuck Zimmerman

BCGI think virtual agronomy is a great idea and term for using the internet for a virtual field day. That’s what the BCG (Birchip Cropping Group and Wimmera Farming Systems) is doing in Australia.

Virtual Agronomy allows the BCG to provide a more detailed, current and interactive service to its members without replacing any existing extension tools. It is user-friendly for members and allows for slow dial-up connections. Administration users (ie. BCG staff) can easily and rapidly enter trial details from any computer with internet access. This is a cost-effective way of instantly providing BCG members with information.

Virtual Agronomy has allowed BCG members to:

* follow the progress of current trials from sowing through to harvest,
* learn more about “Hot Topics” as they arise during the season (eg. disease outbreak) with text, images, and video or audio recordings from invited experts
* search through a database of historical BCG trial results from 1993 to the present
* contribute to different discussion forums or post a question to BCG staff or technical consultants,
* receive the full application on CD-Rom at the end of alternate years.

Read a summary here. Thanks to Jim Evans at the Agricultural Communications Documentation Center for the information.

International, Internet

Farms.com Professional Services NAMA Bound

Chuck Zimmerman

Farms.comHere’s another post in my series on what companies are doing at next week’s NAMA Convention. This time it’s Farms.com Professional Services.

Farms.com Professional Services will be at booth #112 during the NAMA Conference and we hope to see you there.

What?s in Your Web Strategy?

In 2007, of US farms with 250,000+ in sales, 80% had computer access and 75% had Internet access ? does your online marketing plan take this new reality into account?

If you need online solutions, we would welcome the opportunity to discuss your challenges with you to help you to find the solutions you need.

If you already have an online marketing strategy, but are having difficulty implementing the tactics, we can help.

Or, if you don?t have an online strategy, we can get you started.

Our team has the web expertise in agriculture and food you need to get the answers!

So stop by and see them and make sure to say hello at the ZimmComm Booth while you’re there!

NAMA

Green Wine

Laura McNamara

No, not the color green. Environmentally green. Parducci Wine Cellars says its the first winery to go carbon neutral. And, the winery is now operating on 100 percent solar and wind power.

Parducci effectively transferred all of its energy needs to non-polluting, renewable sources by supplementing its on-site solar power with Green-E(R) certified wind energy purchased from the Bonneville Environmental Foundation. The annual positive environmental impact of the winery’s 100% green power use is equivalent to:

— removing 172 cars from the road for a year, or
— planting 242 acres of trees, or
— not driving a passenger vehicle 2,171,450 miles.

The oldest family-owned winery in Northern California’s Mendocino County, Parducci Wine Cellars is committed to responsible land stewardship, sustainable viticulture and green business practices that yield superior wines while protecting the environment.

In 2007 Parducci received the Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award, California’s highest environmental honor, for the company’s efforts to combat climate change. In addition to buying grapes from local family farmers, Parducci uses sustainable farming practices including bio-diesel tractors in the vineyards and 100% green power as well as earth friendly packaging at the winery. Parducci’s respect for the land yields quality wines as evident by recent 90+ point scores in several national wine publications.

Ag Groups, Agribusiness, Energy, Environment, Food, Technology

Teens With Culinary Talent Compete Coast to Coast

Laura McNamara

The pursuit of the next Best Teen Chef is kicking off. The International Culinary Schools and The Art Institutes nationwide are hosting local cook-off competitions to find teens who can turn food into culinary masterpieces.

Who will be the Best Teen Chef 2008? Hundreds of high school seniors and budding chefs will get one step closer to learning the answer on Saturday, April 12 as they head to The Art Institutes Best Teen Chef 2008 Local Cook-off Competitions.

Coast-to-coast, Best Teen Chef Local Cook-off Competitions will be held at participating The International Culinary Schools at The Art Institutes locations across the U.S. and Canada.

Following the Local Cook-off Competitions, local winners will head to The Art Institute of Las Vegas for the Best Teen Chef Final Round Competition on May 17.

Top prize winners in the Competition can win a full-tuition scholarship toward an associate’s degree, certificate or diploma program to study Culinary Arts at one of the more than 30 participating Art Institutes locations.Read More

Food

Call for Entries: Markwart Horizon Award

Laura McNamara

AAEAMembers of the American Agricultural Economics Association, active or affiliate, who are 35 years of age or younger are eligible for this year’s Andy Markwart Horizon Award. And, interested applicants have a little extra time on their hands. The application deadline has been extended to May 15. So get those apps in!

Winner will be recognized at the 2008 Ag Media Summit, July 26-28, 2008, at Tampa, Florida, and awarded a $2,500 stipend to be used to attend a class, seminar or workshop to improve his or herself as an agricultural communicator. Examples include attending the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) annual congress, or the Ag Media Summit. Last year’s recipient, Progressive Farmer’s Jamie Cole, sought the stipend to attend a three-day, professional Web publishing course offered by Stanford University. The class/seminar/workshop must be approved by the AAEA Professional Improvement Foundation.

Award Criteria: Award will be made to an AAEA member who embodies the youthful vigor, energy, passion, dedication and creativity shown by Andy Markwart in his volunteer work for AAEA for many years.Read More

ACN, Ag Groups, Education

Hart Offers New Hart Cart

Laura McNamara

Hart Marketing, Inc. released its first ever Hart Cart Utility Vehicle in 2006. But now, the Indiana-based UTV dealer has introduced a new model and says its product is as popular as ever with farmers.

Tom Applewood of Springfield IL says, “I’ve been farming for 30 years and this Hart Cart is one of the best tools I’ve ever bought.”

Howard McMenomy says, “I give Hart Marketing, Shawn Hart, and Dave Hapner a 5 Star Rating.” McMenomy is a dealer for Hart Marketing, Inc. based in Henderson, Texas.

Hart Marketing has sold thousands of these utility vehicles and are projecting sales to more than double for 2008. A side-by-side comparison between Hart Cart Utility Vehicles and the other name brand vehicles revealed the Hart Cart indeed comes with many “extras”. For instance, most utility vehicles come with fewer options and charge more for each added accessory. The Hart Cart comes standard with a roof, windshield, 2000 lb winch, turn signals, headlights, brake lights, and a hydraulic dump bed to name a few.

Agribusiness, Equipment, Farm Machinery, Farming

Ready to Rock at NAMA

Chuck Zimmerman

HawkThis little guy showed up outside my office window a few minutes ago. He held still just long enough for me to get one shot of him before he took off with a big screech.

I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of you at the NAMA Convention next week. Cindy, Laura and I are getting ready for a very busy week. I’ll get in on Tuesday and be there for the duration. Look for some exciting announcements from ZimmComm in your inbox next week.

Almost immediately after NAMA I’ll be off to the 24th Alltech International Animal Health and Nutrition Symposium in Lexington, KY. That will be a new media event coverage extravaganza as we unveil an Alltech Symposium Blog among other things.

NAMA

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) recently elected 16 companies to membership in the international trade group, which provides business-development resources for companies which manufacture and market agriculture and construction-related equipment, products and services.
  • Helping equipment marketers most effectively reach buyers of the future is the goal of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) 2008 marketing seminar. The event will be held May 18-20, 2008 at the Hilton Portland and Executive Tower in Portland, Oregon. Complete seminar information and registration details are posted online in the “education” section of the AEM Web site.
  • Tip of the week: A pedicure is key to good health – with your horses. Trimming and shoeing your horses’ hooves on a regular basis will ward off diseases like thrush and founder. A vet should also examine your animals, including their feet, once a year.
  • The American Agri-Women (AAW) met with Provider Pals founder Bruce Vincent, and made plans to work with him to help promote the Provider Pals’ Web site for children, a game called Provider World. This site provides children a safe environment in which to explore farming and other natural resource-based occupations, through exciting games and activities.
Zimfo Bytes

Writing and Podcasting in Iowa

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCast-166 - Writing and PodcastingThis week I attended a portion of the AAEA/LPC Regional Design & Writing Workshop in Johnston, IA. Some of you are probably thinking, “Why didn’t he stay since he so obviously needs help?” Yeah, but I had other places to be too.

So in this week’s program you’ll hear from LPC Executive Director Diane Johnson who talks about the workshop and the fun and games we did last night. The Workshop was held at Pioneer Hi-Bred’s Carver Center and I also spoke with Jerry Harrington about how he got involved in providing us with the auditorium where the Workshop was held. You can see pictures in the Workshop photo album.

Linda FunkAfter I left the Workshop I visited the Iowa Soybean Association office to conduct some precision ag interviews for Precision Pays. While I was there I got to meet Linda Funk, Executive Director of The Soyfoods Council. We talked about the Soyfoods Podcast project we’ve been working an and you can learn more about why they decided to use podcasting in the program.

This week’s program ends with music from the Podsafe Music Network. It’s called “Writings on a Page” by Jonathon Dewveall. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

You can download and listen to the ZimmCast here: Listen To ZimmCastZimmCast 166 (16 min MP3)

Or listen to this week’s ZimmCast right now:zimmcast166-4-10-08.mp3

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

ACN, Audio, LPC, Podcasts, Soybean, ZimmNews

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Iowa men and women with a commitment to the future of Iowa agriculture and an interest in developing their leadership potential are invited to apply for Class IV of the Iowa Leadership Enhancement And Development (I-LEAD) class, sponsored by the Iowa Corn Growers Association (ICGA) and the Iowa Corn Promotion Board (ICPB). I-LEAD application forms and details are available by calling Iowa Corn at 515-225-9242 or on the Iowa Corn Web site, (click on “For Farmers” and “Grower Education”). The deadline for applications is July 15.
  • CHS Inc. has acquired Legacy Foods LLC, Hutchinson, Kan. CHS will operate the business as part of its oilseed processing group, managed by Dennis Wendland, senior vice president of oilseed processing. The company employs approximately 80 people, all of whom will become CHS employees.
  • Diamond V® recently announced the addition of Ray Jordan to the sales team as Regional Sales Manager. In his new position Jordan will be responsible for working with Diamond V customers located in the southeastern United States. Jordan joins Diamond V after serving three years as president of Ag Solutions.
Zimfo Bytes