100 Percent Ethanol Fueling Indy Again

Chuck Zimmerman

Homestead Indy 300Team Ethanol is off to its best start of the Indy Car Series yet, finishing 7th in Saturday’s opening race in Homestead. I couldn’t be there this year but I’m planning on covering the Indy 500 as well as the Iowa and Mid-Ohio races so I’ll still get to feel the roar of these high performance engines as well as a Le Mans race in Ohio. Photo credit – Jim Haines, Indy Racing League

Cindy and I did watch the race though on ESPN. Here’s her description: Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay ran a great race and stayed in the top ten with all the big name drivers for the majority of the race. The 2007 Rookie of the Year was hoping for a better finish for the start of his first full season with the Indy Car Series, but he got passed up by two drivers in the final restart of the race after Tony Kanaan got knocked out of first place. Before the restart, the #17 Ethanol car was holding on to fifth place. The Homestead 300 trophy ultimately went to Scott Dixon.

This is the second year the Indy Car Series is running on 100 percent fuel grade ethanol and Hunter-Reay is a big believer in the alternative fuel. “Basically, it’s an American product that’s creating American jobs,” he says. “Every drop of ethanol you put in your car is one less oil tanker out there.”

Ethanol

Hot Dogs the Iron Man of Stadium Snacks

Chuck Zimmerman

National Hot Dog & Sausage CouncilWith baseball season here the hot dog is once again moving to the forefront of the sports gourmet list. The National Hot Dog & Sausage Council is making sure that we get the facts.

While the starting lineups of many Major League baseball teams may have changed since the celebratory champagne was corked last season, one thing that remains steady is the unwavering popularity of hot dogs in our nation’s ballparks.

The quintessential “Iron Man” of stadium snacks, the hot dog hit a home run in the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council’s annual survey of Major League stadiums again this year, with the NHDSC forecasting that ballparks around the country will consume more than 30 million hot dogs this season — an impressive feat and enough to round the bases 41,776 times.

When it comes to individual stadiums, Shea Stadium, home of the New York Mets, topped the survey again this year for largest projected hot dog consumption in 2008. According to the survey, Mets fans will consume more than 2.7 million hot dogs this year. Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox is the runner up, with fans projected to consume more than 1.7 million hot dogs. Third place goes to Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, with approximately 1.5 million hot dogs expected to be consumed.

Food

Novus Is Gold Sponsor of U.S. – Africa Agribusiness Forum

Chuck Zimmerman

U.S.-Africa Agribusiness ForumThis June you’ve got an opportunity to learn more about Africa and investing in agribusiness opportunities there at the Corporate Council on Africa’s 2008 U.S.-Africa Agribusiness Forum. I’ll be there courtesy of our good friends at Novus International which is a gold sponsor company of the Forum. The Forum takes place in Chicago, IL June 25 – 27.

The Forum will bring together the U.S. and African public and private sectors to discuss the minimization of investment risk and identify projects and mechanisms to expand their investment portfolio through agribusiness.

Highlights of the Forum will include industry-specific sessions, panels to address cross-cutting issues, such as finance product innovation, pharmaceutical and biofuel industry growth, carbon trading, production technology, and certification; as well as networking opportunities. Industry experts will share best practices and the latest trends in the field.

Novus InternationalAs an event sponsor, Novus International will host the “Education and Knowledge Building in Agriculture Production” workshop.

“We are pleased to welcome Novus International as a sponsor and supporter of the 2008 U.S.-Africa Agribusiness Forum,” said CCA President Stephen Hayes. “As an industry leader, Novus serves customers across the globe and understands the importance of investing in people and production systems for commercially sustainable growth. Their participation will add tremendous value to the Forum.”

Agribusiness, International

Geileon.com/PowerHour

Chuck Zimmerman

Geile/Leon Power HourEveryone’s bragging about their “greenness” today it seems like. “We’re now carbon neutral,” “We’ve gone green,” etc. Here at ZimmComm I think we’re making a very tiny carbon dent in the universe. We don’t print anything on a regular basis. We’re mainly sending out bytes of data in various ways. We are breathing however and I don’t intend to quit doing that any time soon. I get tired of it. It just doesn’t impress me.

But, I seriously like the Geile/Leon Marketing Communications approach. They’re advocating an hour of darkness tomorrow by flipping off St. Louis. It’s the Geileon.com/powerhour. If you’re in St. Louis tomorrow then they want you to flip off your lights and head to J.Buck’s Restaurant from 7-10pm. They’ve even got a special drink prepared called the “Planetini.” It’s an earthy blend of apples and social activism.

Agencies

Milestone Mania

Chuck Zimmerman

CZ YoungSince Cindy took it upon herself to inform the agrimarketing world that I am no longer young (at least in one sense) I thought it only fair to voice how thankful I am for the incredible response. Well most of it anyway. There are some of you who have a mean streak.

I’ve now got a little over 50 bday wishes and the day is young. Some of my favorite lines so far include:

Beat me by 3 days.
You look so good to be soooooo old!
’58 was a vintage year, wouldn’t you agree?
What? 50? I thought you were around 40! Man, whatever you are doing keep doing it. Maybe the secret is good scotch??
50 is easy…wait ’til you hit 60!
You don’t look a day over 60….
But so you don’t get too big a head, Chuck, remember there are others who’ve paved that half-a-century highway for you.
Chuck: The bow tie. Dude
CZ OldYou’ve got five years on me, which means I’ve got five years before I hit the 5-0 mark…and believe me, 50 is going to be a piece of baclava.
Have a great next 1/2 century.
. . . today’s 50 is the new 30.
Here’s hoping you mark the date appropriately, then punctuate it with a damn good cigar.
Chuck, I don’t know if you understand Dutch, van harte gefeliciteerd. Proficiat. Een mijlpaal. Nog 50 nieuwe jaren
Take comfort in knowing you have to be 55 to get even your “junior” senior citizen credentials.
I’ll buy you one to celebrate the 5-0 at NAMA!
Just wanted to Congratulate someone older than me!!!!!!! (I turn 50 in Dec….)

I’m just wondering how we’ll be communicating 50 years from now since my earliest recollection is of a very large radio and small b&w tv that I could watch Roy Rogers on.

Uncategorized

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Diamond V® recently announced the hiring of Darin Henry, D.V.M., as Western Region Manager. In his new position, Henry will supervise the field staff in the Western U.S. Prior to Diamond V, Henry worked for Monsanto Dairy Business.
  • AGCO Corporation celebrates as the 20,000th Challenger® track tractor, model MT835B, rolls off the line. The tractor was built at the AGCO manufacturing facility in Jackson, Minn., and also marks a milestone for Challenger track tractors since being introduced in 1987. AGCO acquired the Challenger line from Caterpillar® in 2002.
  • Collaboration between the National Institute for Animal Agriculture and BeefCast®, DairyCast®, PoultryCast® and SwineCast® will make available news and highlights from the organization’s annual meeting scheduled for April 1-3 in Indianapolis. The podcasts will provide audio access to seminars and forums with industry experts from the NIAA conference. Speaker’s presentations will be available for download as well.
  • Makhteshim Agan of North America, Inc. (MANA), announces the addition of Robin Malm to its national sales team as an area business manager. Malm will serve customers in Northern California from the state’s northern border to Stanislaus County providing channel partners, retailers and growers with information and support regarding MANA’s expansive portfolio of crop protection products.
Zimfo Bytes

The Return of the NAMA Bombers

Chuck Zimmerman

NAMA BombersYou can now find the NAMA Bombers online. They’ve got a guess who going too but you’ll have to visit the site to participate. If you’re up for a beautiful ride then you might want to join them prior to the NAMA Convention.

The NAMA Bombers Motorcycle Club will be hosting a ride on April 15th prior to the 2008 Agri-Marketing Conference in Kansas City. All NAMA members with a valid motorcycle license are invited to attend.

“There is no entry fee for the ride, but all participants are encouraged to make a contribution to the Agri-Business Educational Foundation. We want this to be another opportunity for NAMA members to have some fun for a good cause,” says ‘Iron Mike’ Gustafson, NAMA Bombers President.

The April 15th ride will be a 180 mile adventure into the scenic paradise of central Missouri. Motorcycle rentals are available through Blue Springs Harley-Davidson. E-mail Jeremy Povenmire at the NAFB for more information.

NAMA

Plant Precisely and With Confidence

Chuck Zimmerman

Precision PlantingIf you’re going to do some precise planting then you should do so with confidence and Farm Journal Electronic Media and Precision Planting want to help growers do that.

Farm Journal Electronic Media (FJEM), the broadcast division of Farm Journal Media, announced today an agreement with Precision Planting to air Planting with Confidence, an educational program focused on planting performance technologies. The thirty-minute program will air March 31st through April 5th on DIRECTV, Channel 225 immediately following regular airings of AgDay and U.S. Farm Report.

“Precision Planting will take its message of proper spacing and planter performance to the air waves to educate growers on the impact of planting performance,” says Dustin Blunier, Marketing Services Manager for Precision Planting. Blunier describes the program as a guide to help growers make their planter pass more precise, productive, and profitable.

“We are thrilled Precision Planting will be the first to take advantage of our new satellite platform,” says Brian Conrady, General Manager of FJEM. “The launch on DIRECTV has made it easier than ever for viewers to watch our programs, and we believe access to this audience will prove valuable to a growing list of agribusiness partners, beginning with Precision Planting.”

Media

Resisting the Changes in Media Today

Chuck Zimmerman

I’m sure you all know someone who wishes things were still like they were in the “good old days.” Especially the good old days of agricultural communications and marketing. I know quite a few of them actually. They’re the ones who keep hoping that people will finally get over this whole “internet thing” for example. You know, the ones who say it’s just a fad and can’t understand why anyone would read blogs or listen to podcasts or subscribe to their markets on their mobile phone.

Well those kind of people are also teaching in our colleges and universities as evidenced by Paul Conley’s latest post on his blog. Paul goes on a speaking tour at the journalism departments and schools around the country and he’s been writing about his latest one. He’s found some very interesting reaction to his speeches which I’m sure promote using those tools we have lumped in the category of new media. For example:

Journalism education has divided into two factions. There are those who see digital media and convergence as positive. And there are those who see recent developments in the press as a catastrophe. The first group wants to use the universities to spread the new forms of storytelling. The second group believes universities are the place to draw the line against change.

The gap between the two is broad and deep. Most upsetting, disagreements between the two sides are uncivil. And since most journalism programs have members of both camps on the faculty, the atmosphere in many schools is toxic

This might explain my experience at Cal-Poly recently. I conducted two sessions, one for students (very well attended and many great thank you letters) and one for faculty (no one showed up) except the enlightened professor who invited me (thank you Scott!). Actually the department head stopped by to say hello early and left. Now I don’t know if they were all just busy that day or what but . . . When you’ve got someone in as a special guest speaker and notices have been printed and posted everywhere inviting you, it would be reasonable to think that someone would show up.

I applaud the professors who are willing to expand their own professional skills and teach them to their students and are open and honest enough to invite in people like Paul Conley who are ahead of the curve. They’re doing their students and school a real favor. They’re preparing them for the real world where multi-media skills using the latest technology is becoming required for employment as the media world changes.

University

No-Till Farmer Doing Video

Chuck Zimmerman

No-Till FarmerNo-Till Farmer is now producing video. Another publication joins the multi-media producer ranks. It’s a great idea but you do have to fill out a registration form to see it. I know why that is but it does put up a barrier for farmers or anyone who wants to see the video. I’d recommend letting them be public guys. You’ll get a lot more eyeballs on the content that way. And if you’re going to be doing a lot of them then consider putting them into a podcast feed or using an online service like YouTube to host them.

The editors of No-Till Farmer announced today that they have launched their first informational video at No-tillfarmer.com. The video features a presentation from this past January’s National No-Tillage Conference with Vincennes, Ind., no-tiller Ray McCormick outlining his steps to success at no-tilling continuous corn.

“We think the information we’ll be able to provide through video will be of great interest to no-tillers,” says Darrell Bruggink, managing editor and publisher of No-Till Farmer. “Our readers like to share information and learn from each other, and this new tool will be an impactful way to do that.”

In addition to providing several more video presentations from the conference in the near future, Bruggink says editors see an opportunity to share information right out of the field, such as no-till equipment setup demonstrations or on-camera interviews with no-tillers talking about techniques they’ve used to improve their no-till management.

“This new video feature will enhance the value of our Web site to both our loyal readers and visitors seeking the latest no-till information,” says Frank Lessiter, editor of No-Till Farmer. “It’s a wonderful complement to our print publication and our annual conference.”

Publication