Hey, if Charlie can have some then I guess Steve Taylor can too.
Actually these were some of Steve’s helpers at last night’s World Championship Appaloosa Sale. They were responsible for getting the paperwork to the winning buyers in the auction.
And we wondered why Steve left Missouri for Idaho.
If you need your boots shined at the World Show then “Storming” Norman Miller is your man.
I got mine done earlier today and had a little chat with the shine king. He says he’s been doing this for the ApHC for at least 15 years and about 53 years all together locally. I asked him how many shines he’s done. He says that there’s 5,280 ft. in a mile and he’s shined a lot of miles! He handled my interview with him like the professional he is.
You can listen to my interview with Storming here: awcs-07-miller.mp3
It looks like the World Show will be in Ft. Worth for some time to come. Today the Appaloosa Horse Club signed a new 5 year contract with the city of Ft. Worth. Looking on just after the signing are ApHC representatives Steve Taylor, CEO and Eric Beené, President along with Ft. Worth City Councilmen.
I attended the signing and recorded their comments which you can listen to here: awcs-07-facility.mp3
After the signing there was the traditional exchange of gifts. The ApHC guys got some very nice leather bound note pads.
Steve Taylor brought along an Idaho (ApHC Headquarters state) favorite, Huckleberry Mead. The way the Ft. Worth City Councilmen were eyeing the bottles of mead I know which gift will last longer than the other!
Cottonseed Oil is greasing up the highways during its ‘Comeback Tour.’ New uses for cottonseed oil are popping up across the U.S. and the National Cottonseed Products Association is making sure consumers can track where and how the oil is being used, even if they can’t make a cross-country trek. Cottonseedoiltour.com takes visitors zigzagging across a web-browser sized U.S. to learn about the latest success stories of cottonseed oil. Paul Fraser, proprietor and chief operator of Cork’s Old-Fashioned Donuts in Albany, Oregon says cottonseed oil is the special ingredient in his healthier and better tasting donuts. The site traces the history of “America’s first vegetable oil.”
You never know who you’re going to run into when you’re out doing some agriblogging. For example, I got to sit down with actor Barry Corbin yesterday at the World Championship Appaloosa Show. He recently completed an award winning short film titled, “Trail End.” The movie stars a great Appaloosa horse. On the left is Tony Nix, owner of the horse in the middle, Chippen Gold (“Chip”). On the right is Barry Corbin. Barry’s starred or guest-starred in too many movies and tv series to list.
I spoke to both of them after yesterday’s screening of the movie here at the World Show. Barry says the horse was the star and he only played a supporting role. He says about Chip, “He supported me but I supported him. It was kind of like a partnership.” In my interview you’ll hear Barry describe the movie and talk about his other experiences in the acting world. I asked him for some behind the scenes stories from making Trail End but all he could really say is that he had a good time and that it was, “Like a week and a couple days of a trail ride.”
You can listen to my interview with Barry here: awcs-07-corbin.mp3
When I spoke to Tony he says that he got involved after someone at the ApHC made a connection to him when the movie company called seeking a horse in Kansas. He says that Chip was great and showed that an Appaloosa (even an 18 yr. old one) can star in a movie. He also thinks it might be pretty cool if someone would need him to star in a movie too.
You can listen to my interview with Tony here: awcs-07-nix.mp3
It’s been an interesting afternoon here at the 2007 World Championship Appaloosa Show. As you can see one of the rings is busy. They’re just about to wrap up the last show in time for tonight’s World Show Sale.
I spoke with Appaloosa Horse Club board member Chuck McWhirter about the sale since he’s one of the main organizers. He says that they’ve got some great horses lined up and now all they need is some buyers. That would be nice if you want a successful sale.
It is Halloween and the good thing is that I’ve found candy everywhere so I’ve got my chocolate fix.
You can listen to my interview with Chuck here: awcs-07-mcwhirter.mp3
Farmers and ranchers can tune into a brand new show that’s devoted solely to farm machinery beginning tomorrow. Successful Farming is launching it’s Farm Machinery Show on both RFD-TV and high-definition RFD-HD.
Premiering November 1, 2007, The Successful Farming Machinery Show the Successful Farming® Machinery Show will deliver all the best-read favorites from the magazine, and for the first time ever brings together these favorites in a full length television program. The show features will include: new product reviews with Successful Farming magazine’s new products editor – Laurie Potter, highlights from farmer submitted ideas in All Around the Farm®, winning shop designs and features from Top Shops®, industry leading coverage from The Ultimate ATV/UV Test, machinery auction news with Greg “Machinery Pete” Peterson and stories from Roger Welsch, the Tractor Whisperer.
New programs will air weekly – starting Thursdays at 7:30pm Central on RFD-TV. Hosted by Successful Farming machinery editor, Dave Mowitz – the show will air four times a week for 18 weeks on RFD-TV and on RFD-HD. These informative programs airing each week will provide farmers with all the information they need to know about machinery to make their farm or ranch more successful. The show is sponsored in part by John Deere and Firestone Farm Tires.
President Bush made a surprise nomination for Secretary of Agriculture Wednesday afternoon – a little-known former governor from North Dakota, Ed Schafer.
In making the announcement, Bush said, “Ed Schafer is the right choice to fill this post. He was a leader on agricultural issues during his eight years as the governor of North Dakota. He worked to open new markets for North Dakota farmers and ranchers by expanding trade with China. He oversaw the development of the state’s agricultural biofuels industry. He helped families recover from natural disasters — including drought, fires and floods. And he pioneered innovative programs to increase economic opportunity in rural communities.”
There had been little speculation about who Bush might nominate to serve out the remaining months as agriculture secretary in his administration since many believed Acting Secretary Chuck Conner would get the job considering the importance of the current farm bill negotiations.
The first-ever Morningstar Farms Veggie Creations Contest is being touted as a success. The contest urged vegetable enthusiasts to showcase their creative veggie creations.
Melissa Pantel-Ku of Chagrin Falls, Ohio created the winning photo/video entry entitled, “The Unicorn: An a-MAIZE-ing beast.” Selected by veggie sculptor and founder of Veggy Art, James Parker, Melissa has won a trip for two to Bunol, Spain for La Tomatina Festival. This festival boasts the world’s largest tomato fight, which takes place during a week-long celebration of art and culture.
Renowned vegetarian chef and produce expert, Curtis Aikens, selected “Island Fresh Tostadas with Pineapple-Avocado Salsa” as the contest’s winning recipe. Its creator, Karen Gulkin of Simpsonville, S.C. will now have the opportunity to sharpen her veggie creativity skills with a class in veggie sculpting. As the winner of the recipe portion of the Veggie Creations Contest, Karen has earned a trip for two to Virginia for a hands-on veggie- sculpting class from James Parker.
The Veggie Creations Contest received over 100 submissions between the photo/video and recipe categories. Judge James Parker was especially impressed by The Unicorn: An A-MAIZE-ing Beast because its creator was able to take a single vegetable, corn on the cob, and see it from so many different perspectives. The subject of the winning photo was fashioned completely from corn on the cob, using fresh and dried kernels, a dried cob, the husks, the stems and the corn silk, as well as a piece of baby corn for the horn.
Energy and fuels aren’t the only commodities America is becoming more environmentally conscious about. World-class chef and restaurateur Mario Batali is encouraging consumers to become eco-friendly with their food. Mario is working with the Earthlab Foundation in a campaign to promote environmentally friendly food options. The online segment at Earthlab.com features tips and insight into to making better food related choices for the environment, such as choosing locally grown products and fresh produce. The site also offers information about cooking and Italian cuisine.
Batali is continuing his green journey by joining the EarthLab community and creating his personal Earth Conservation Plan (ECP), which he can save and track over time to help lessen his impact on the earth. His ECP score is 269 and he outputs 9.1 tons of carbon per year, compared to the national averages of 349 ECP and 15 carbon tons.
Batali pledges to reduce his impact by 10 percent by the end of 2008 and he encourages others to calculate their score with EarthLab.
“EarthLab shares my passion and motivation for the environment and I am looking forward to working closely with the EarthLab Foundation and community to share my experiences and expertise, while also reducing my own impact,” said Batali. “I have been implementing earth-friendly changes in my restaurants, such as not using bottled water, but there is still a long way to go. Eating is something that we all do every day and there are small choices about what we eat, how we shop for food and cook that can help the environment.”
The Food & Mario Batali section of the website provides new resources such as recipe and wine selection, Mario’s favorite links, a featured region in Italy and more.
