Pam Fretwell Joins Conklin Company

Chuck Zimmerman

Pam FretwellI guess there’s an opportunity for a farm broadcaster at WTAD in Quincy, IL. Pam Fretwell, Past President of the NAFB is going to work for the Conklin Company as the corporate spokesperson for its agriculture division. She’s pictured here at last year’s NAFB convention.

Ms. Fretwell will lead public relations and media development training. Given her love for farm broadcasting she plans to continue to do some weekly on-air programming and maintain her NAFB connections.

Ms. Fretwell joins Conklin’s Kansas City corporate staff from her nine-year position as the Farm Services Director for STARadio Corporation. Often recognized in her broadcasting career, Pam’s distinctions include the award for Missouri Corn Growers Farm Broadcaster of the Year Award and the Outstanding Service to Agriculture Award from the Missouri Farm Bureau.

According to Charles W. Herbster, CEO and owner of the Conklin Company, “Pam’s impressive reputation in farm broadcasting and experience in public relations make her the ideal person to help Conklin reach thousands of independent American farmers who can increase their profitability with our crop and livestock management systems.”

Agribusiness, Media

America’s Egg Producers Help Feed Hungry

Laura McNamara

The American Egg BoardThe American Egg Board is giving food banks across the nation more than 12 million eggs. America’s Second Harvest will distribute the protein-rich eggs just in time for the Easter holiday.

The donation will provide food-insecure Americans with much needed high-quality protein, which helps kids and adults build muscle strength, helps older adults prevent muscle loss, and may also promote weight management.

Second HarvestEgg producers from across the country, through commitments made to United Egg Producers, will participate in the donation, with most of the eggs being delivered to America’s Second Harvest in the two to three weeks prior to Easter. “Egg demand is highest during the Easter holiday,” said Joanne Ivy, president and CEO of the American Egg Board. “A donation of this size during the Easter season is a true indication of egg producers’ dedication to providing American families with the important nutrients they need to stay nourished and energized throughout the day.”

In addition to providing American families with a natural, unprocessed source of high-quality protein, eggs and their nutrients offer a host of benefits: Eggs are all natural and have 13 essential vitamins and minerals, high-quality protein, healthy unsaturated fats and antioxidants, for only 70 calories each; egg yolks are an excellent source of choline, an essential nutrient that contributes to fetal brain development and helps prevent birth defects; choline also helps maintain the structure of brain cell membranes and is a key component of the neurotransmitter that helps relay messages from the brain through nerves to the muscles; lutein and zeaxanthin, two antioxidants found in egg yolks, help prevent macular degeneration, a leading cause of age-related blindness, studies show that eggs provide energy without causing a spike in blood glucose or insulin levels, thereby helping people feel full longer and more energized.

Ag Groups, Farming, Food

Closing Out 25x’25 Renewable Energy Summit

Chuck Zimmerman

Allen RiderHello from Nebraska. I’ve been attending some of the 25x’25 Renewable Energy Summit and about to head over the the Nebraska Ethanol Board’s “Ethanol 2008:Emerging Issues Forum.” In between I’ve had some meetings here as well. You can find more information on what’s going on over on our Domestic Fuel site. However, I thought you might enjoy this since some of you probably know Allen Rider, past president of New Holland North America and a member of the 25x’25 National Steering Committee.

Allen’s job here was to summarize what we’ve learned at the Summit. To start with he says that he’s heard a real affirmation of the goal of 25x’25 and that it’s the right goal. He learned a lot about the economic benefit of realizing that goal in terms of what it will mean for revitalizing rural America. Finally, he says the environmental impact is huge and ties right in with the other two.

He left everyone with the 3 A’s – Alliance, Advocacy and Administration. He says the strength of the organization comes from the alliances and grass roots efforts. He says there’s such a big need to advocate and get the facts out to the public. Everyone in the room raised their hand when he asked if they had seen a story in the media in the last week about renewable energy that had fact errors. And finally, he said they will need to educate and assist the new administration in Washington, DC.

You can listen to Allen’s closing remarks here: ne-ethanol-08-rider.mp3

Ag Groups, Audio

DuPont Gets “Fast” With Nitrogen

Laura McNamara

DuPontArcadia Biosciences is teaming up with Dupont to improve nitrogen use efficiency in corn. DuPont’s Pioneer Hi-Bred will use Arcadia technology to deliver a technology that DuPont Crop Genetics Research and Development VP William S. Niebur says “will help farmers increase the productivity, profitability and sustainability of global corn production.”

ArcadiaFarmers around the world depend on a combination of nitrogen fertilizer and advanced genetics and technology to increase productivity. According to the International Fertilizer Association and the Food and Agriculture Organization, more than 12.5 million metric tons of nitrogen fertilizer are applied globally each year to corn. Nitrogen fertilizer prices, which are closely tied to natural gas prices, continue to rise, making efficient use of nitrogen fertilizer an increasingly important issue in grower profitability.

Corn is a key focus for the application of nitrogen use efficiency technology because it is one of the most important global food crops and an intensive user of nitrogen fertilizer. ArcadiaLike most crops, corn only absorbs some of the nitrogen that is applied to it, resulting in economic inefficiencies for farmers. Although farmers have taken great strides to reduce runoff, a portion of the unabsorbed nitrogen can enter waterways or volatize into the air as a greenhouse gas.

Pioneer is aggressively pursuing enhanced efficiency in nitrogen use – applying both transgenic and traditional research methods for future hybrid improvement. The collaboration with Arcadia builds on nitrogen use efficiency work already under way at Pioneer.

Ag Groups, Agribusiness, Corn, Farming, Food, Technology

Get Ready For National Ag Day

Chuck Zimmerman

National Agriculture DayWe’re just over a week away from National Ag Day. Here’s a few faq’s you can use when talking to your urban friends about it. These come from the Ag Day website.

What Is Ag Day?

It’s a day to recognize and celebrate the abundance provided by agriculture. Every year, producers, agricultural associations, corporations, universities, government agencies and countless other across America join together to recognize the contributions of agriculture.

When Is Ag Day?

Ag Day is celebrated on March 20, 2008 – the first day of spring. National Ag Day falls during National Ag Week, March 16-22, 2008.

Who Hosts Ag Day?

The Agriculture Council of America hosts the campaign on a national level. However, the awareness efforts in communities across America are as influential – if not more – than the broad-scale effort. Again this year, the Ag Day Planning Guide has been created to help communities and organizations more effectively host Ag Day events.

What Is Ag Day All About?

Ag Day is about recognizing – and celebrating – the contribution of agriculture in our everyday lives. The National Ag Day program encourages every American to:

* Understand how food and fiber products are produced.
* Value the essential role of agriculture in maintaining a strong economy.
* Appreciate the role agriculture plays in providing safe, abundant and affordable products.

Ag Groups

Trimble Makes Precision Ag EZ

Chuck Zimmerman

Matt HesseThere was certainly a lot of precision agriculture equipment and software on display at this year’s Commodity Classic as well as at the National Farm Machinery Show. Here’s Matt Hesse, Auto Pilot Segment Manager for Trimble at Classic. We asked Stewart Doan to find out what’s new from Trimble in ’08.

Matt says they’ve got a number of new products out this year including a new EZ-Guide light bar, EZ-Office software package to manage collected data and a Trimble Agriculture Manager system that helps you save time managing all your precision assets. He says that precision starts with guidance and the returns are easy to see. Guidance pays for itself and with good commodity prices now is a great time to have new products to sell.

You can listen to Stewart’s interview with Matt here: cc-08-hess.mp3

Agribusiness, Audio, Commodity Classic, Precision Agriculture

Win An IFAJ Star

Chuck Zimmerman

IFAJ Star PrizeThe International Federation of Agricultural Journalists now has entries open for their annual Star Prize for Agricultural Photography.

There are some new categories this year including: best portrait, best landscape or nature photo and best production photo. Entries close May 1.

The contest is sponsored by DeLaval and you can find out more on the IFAJ website or by contacting Katharina Seuser.

IFAJ

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • The annual Downes-O’Neill/eDairy Outlook Conference, which is intended for dairy producers, processors, and end users, will be held June 18-19 in Chicago.
  • Soybean checkoff farmer-leaders announced the winners of the USB Outstanding Achievement Award and USB Excellence Award at Commodity Classic in Nashville, Tenn. The checkoff’s highest honor, the USB Outstanding Achievement Award, was awarded to Dr. Richard Wilson, retired national program leader for oilseeds and bioscience research at the USDA-ARS. USB’s Excellence Award, focused on production research, was awarded to Dr. Randy Shoemaker of USDA-ARS.
  • At the end of 33 months, the Pork Checkoff’s The Other White Meat.® Don’t be blah™ brand campaign provided positive results. The overall evaluation of the Don’t be blah program started with a consumer brand-tracking study that found that awareness of The Other White Meat’s advertising has increased significantly since the start of the campaign. In addition, there has been an increase in upbeat descriptions of pork. For every $1 producers invested in the program, producers received a return of $2.23.
  • Tom Nicholson, Director of Marketing, Ivy Animal Health, announces the introduction of the Component EZ Gun, a new, more durable, easier-to-use implant device for use with Component® with Tylan® implant products, except Component TE 200 with Tylan. According to Nicholson, this new direct drive implant device has been designed to be user-friendly, even for first time users.
Zimfo Bytes

Hushon Joins Filament Marketing

Chuck Zimmerman

Josh HushonJosh Hushon has joined Filament Marketing as a marketing executive. He’ll be working on strategic marketing plan implementation.

Hushon most recently spent four and a half years at Hoard’s Dairyman as associate editor. In this role, he coordinated coverage of manure handling, environmental regulations, cow comfort, buildings and equipment, animal welfare and content for the Young Dairymen page. He also led development of the magazine’s annual World Dairy Expo supplement.

Prior to his editor role, Hushon completed internships with Monsanto Dairy Business and ABS Global, and he has worked as a freelance writer for Farmshine Newspaper. Hushon serves the dairy industry as a member of the National Advisory Committee of Dairyfarmingtoday.org and the National 4-H Dairy Conference Planning Committee. He continues to be involved with Brothers Three Brown Swiss, his family’s cattle operation in Quarryville, Pa., which has bred or developed multiple All Americans and National Bell Ringers.

Agencies

New Viewer Software From AutoFarm

Chuck Zimmerman

AutoFarm Viewer Screen ShotAnother company I just didn’t have time to visit with at Commodity Classic is AutoFarm. They’ve got some new products out including software that displays data on precision displays. This is a screen shot of what it looks like.

AutoFarm® announces the upcoming release of AF-Viewer™ II software. Developed by Farm Works Software exclusively for AutoFarm, AF-Viewer II will offer AutoFarm GPS steering customers easy collection and field-to-office transfer of GPS-generated farm management data.

AF-Viewer II software is compatible with virtually all AutoFarm GPS steering systems currently in use: A5 RTK AutoSteer™, DGPS AutoSteer™, RighTrac™, OnTrac™, and ATC, as well as the new FarmPRO™ GPS Steering & Application Control System.

Justin Larouche, AutoFarm Director of Product Management says, “It is AutoFarm’s intent to make our new AF-Viewer II software available to our existing customers at no charge, as long as they register their AutoFarm steering systems with a product serial number. This adds great additional value for our existing customers.”

Another recent announcement was for their new FarmPRO GPS Steering & Application Control System.Read More

Agribusiness, Precision Agriculture