UnCork Your York

Laura McNamara

UnCork Your YorkMarch is the month to pop open a bottle of wine and relax if you’re passing through Pennsylvania. York County Convention & Visitor’s Bureau is promoting its UnCork Your York Tour de Tanks, a tour sampling the secrets of local vinters.

Local vintners take the guesswork out of finding the perfect vintage to suit your palate. The award-winning wineries of the UnCork York Wine Trail invite visitors into their cellars for Pennsylvania’s ultimate wine tasting straight from the barrels during the third annual Tour de Tanks event every Saturday and Sunday in March.

Celebrate local craftsmanship and please your palate while enjoying 11 family-owned wineries of the UnCork York Wine Trail, nestled in the center of Pennsylvania’s number one tourist region. Oenophiles and those just becoming interested in the fruit of the vine will value the opportunity to speak with the wine makers, learn more about the passion they put into each bottle.

Tickets for this event are $15 with one ticket good at all participating wineries for all five weekends.

York County is located in the heart of the Pennsylvania Dutch Country Roads Region, just a short drive to other popular destinations including Lancaster, Gettysburg, and Hershey, making York the convenient central location for a getaway to the region.

Ag Groups, Food

Popcorn Board Appointments

Melissa Sandfort

20070406_bruni_sub.jpgAgriculture Secretary Ed Schafer announced the reappointment of one member and the appointment of two new members to serve on the Popcorn Board.

William D. Kennebeck of Trenton, Mo., has been reappointed. Frank C. Morrison, Clearwater, Neb., and Pamela Garnick, Ord, Neb., have been appointed. Each member will serve three-year terms beginning Jan. 1, 2008 and ending on Dec. 31, 2010.

The nine-member Popcorn Board is composed of eligible popcorn processors who normally process and distribute more than 4 million pounds of popcorn annually. The nominees were appointed from nominations submitted by the industry.

The board, authorized by the Popcorn Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act, conducts promotion, research and consumer information activities to maintain and expand the popcorn market. The program is funded by assessments paid by persons who process more than 4 million pounds of popcorn annually. USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service monitors the operations of the Popcorn Board.

Uncategorized

Join NAMA For Chance at iPod Nano

Chuck Zimmerman

Pink iPod NanoYou can have a chance to win an iPod Nano. All you have to do is join NAMA or sign someone up to join prior to this year’s convention. Yes, once again the National Agri-Marketing Association is helping you get with the new media world. Once you win then you can carry your farm podcasts around with you to listen to on the road.

New members who join NAMA between January 1 and April 7, 2008, will be entered into a drawing for a 8GB iPod NANO.

In addition, existing NAMA members who recruit these new members will also be entered into the drawing. Just make sure when you recruit a member that they put your name in the “referred by” space on the membership application.

The drawing for the iPod will take place at the Connection Point Closing Reception on Thursday, April 17 at the 2008 Agri-Marketing Conference, but you need not be present to win.

Start recruiting members today and take home your new iPod after the conference!

I’ll be the NAMA blogger again this year and ZimmComm New Media will exhibit for our 4th year in a row. Make sure you stop and see us because I guarantee there will be a contest in our booth you will want to participate in too.

NAMA

New York Giant Checks Out New Holland T-5000

Chuck Zimmerman

Tom LanoAt the National Farm Machinery Show New Holland introduced a new line of tractors. Pictured behind Tom Lano and me is one of their T-5000 Series tractors. I spoke to Tom who says they’ve received real good feedback on these tractors which have increased horsepower.

You can listen to my interview with Tom here: nfms-08-lano.mp3

New Holland’s beefy new 70- to 96 PTO-hp T5000 Series utility tractors are built for long life and enduring productivity with high-strength frames, axles and components. They have the power and strength to perform heavy-duty loader work and handle larger, heavier implements, and to excel in tough hay conditions and demanding roadside mowing applications.

Madison HedgecockPowerful yet quiet four-cylinder engines provide the power and torque required for heavy-duty loader work and for operating hay tools, bat-wing mowers, feed wagons and mixers. The engines are turbocharged and intercooled for maximum fuel efficiency. Compared to previous models, the T5000 engine block is even thicker and heavier for reduced noise and vibration. The maximum engine speed has also been reduced from 2500 RPM to 2300 RPM to further reduce noise and prolong engine life. And, they are approved for use with B100 biodiesel fuel meeting ASTM 6751 standards.

While I was in the New Holland booth I got to meet Madison Hedgecock (pictured above), starting fullback for the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants. He’s a Carolina farm boy who was out with his Dad to see the new machinery. I wonder if he made a deal to take one of these home.

Agribusiness, Audio, National Farm Machinery Show, New Holland

Robert Reeves Director of Public Affairs For Qualisoy

Chuck Zimmerman

Robert ReevesRobert Reeves has been named Director of Public Affairs for Qualisoy beginning March 1st. He has served on the board in the past.

The QUALISOY Board announced at a Board meeting on Friday the addition of a Director of Public Affairs during the 2008 fiscal year, beginning March 1. Robert Reeves, former president of the Institute of Shortening and Edible Oils (ISEO), has accepted this role and will begin his formal appointment March 1. QUALISOY adds this position to aid in developing coalitions to support QUALISOY initiatives and objectives.

“Robert’s knowledge and industry credibility will be a great asset to the QUALISOY Board,” said Greg Anderson, QUALISOY Chairman. “This new role will help build relationships with key industry associations, something QUALISOY relies on for continued support.”

Serving on the QUALISOY Board of Directors from 2004-2007, Reeves brings to the group an extensive knowledge of the edible oils industry. Focusing on accelerating the development of enhanced trait soybeans and promoting the introduction of enhanced edible soybean oils, QUALISOY will benefit from Reeves’ experience and reputation.

Reeves’ responsibilities with ISEO included policy development on issues pertaining to technical matters, the environment, transportation, occupational health and safety, energy and government regulations. Prior to ISEO, Reeves was the Director of the Food and Drug Division of the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. He has a bachelor and master’s degree in food science from the University of Tennessee.

Ag Groups

Re-branding Story From Steve Rhea

Chuck Zimmerman

Rhea KaiserI just posted an announcement about Rhea + Kaiser’s new branding initiative and today I had the opportunity to speak with Steve Rhea about it. Steve says that they really wanted to build on their values of honesty, discipline and respect. It’s a complete brand makeover which includes a newly designed website, logo, stationary and everything you’d expect. He says that about 70 percent of their business remains tied to agriculture but they’re expanding outward to related fields in health care and food ingredients.

Take a couple minutes and feel free to listen to my interview with Steve here: rk-branding-rhea.mp3

Agencies, Audio

Cranberries Packed with Antioxidants

Laura McNamara

Cranberry Marketing CommitteeFoods high in antioxidants are always a top choice for the health-conscious. A new report from the USDA says cranberries are among your best bet for an antioxidant-rich diet.

The latest Agricultural Research Service Report from USDA, containing the results of the most comprehensive analysis of antioxidants in foods, shows cranberries score among the highest of all common fruits on the antioxidant scale.

The report includes antioxidant values for a wide variety of foods, which are measured by their Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity, or ORAC value. With 9584 ORAC units per 100 grams of fresh fruit, cranberries have the highest antioxidant capacity when compared to 19 common fruits.

Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) of Selected Foods – 2007 U.S. Department of Agriculture

FRUIT ORAC
USDA 2007
Cranberry 9584
Blueberry 6552
Plum 6259
Blackberry 5347
Raspberry 4882

The chart above shows cranberries score the highest of all common fruits on the antioxidant scale at 9584 ORAC units per 100 g as reported in the recently updated USDA ORAC report.Read More

Ag Groups, Food

Chili’s Burger Showdown

Laura McNamara

Chili’s Bar & Grill Burger ShowdownBack your favorite NFL player by picking your favorite Chili’s Smokehouse Bacon Burger. The restaurant chain is in the midst of its Burger Showdown. Who’s it going to be? Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees or Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook? You know, this burger showdown thing could catch on. How about a similar system for the elections? Eat a burger to cast your vote!

Chili’s Grill & Bar has drafted three of the NFL’s hottest players to help promote its new Smokehouse Bacon Burgers while raising funds for charity.

Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, and Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook will each represent one of three new Chili’s Smokehouse Bacon Burgers in the name of their favorite charity. Available now, guests are encouraged to visit their neighborhood Chili’s to taste these new burgers, because the player with the best-selling burger at the end of the 60-day promotional period will receive $10,000 from Chili’s to donate to their charity of choice.

Guests can visit the Chili’s Web Site to track the competition and register for prizes, including an all-expense-paid trip for two to any 2008 regular season pro or college football game and team helmets autographed by Peterson, Brees, and Westbrook.Read More

Advertising, Beef, Food

Marketing Farm Machinery

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCast-159 - Marketing Farm MachineryIf you’ve never attended the National Farm Machinery Show then you really owe it to yourself to wander around the largest indoor show of its kind in the world. I mean it’s big. I didn’t stay for the whole show this year but I think I covered some ground anyway.

While there I spoke with Dan Smaldone, Media Manager for the Kentucky Fair Board which is the organization that manages the facility. In our discussion he talks about how they market the show which includes the fact that 850 different companies and organizations are on display and they are all doing there best to get people there. He calls it a “must exhibit” show for companies in the farm machinery business. With over 300,000 people going through there during the show I understand what he means.

Farm MachineryAs I’ve mentioned before, this year Dan was able to set up a great media room with some of the fastest internet access I’ve found anywhere. Boy does that make our jobs easier. My coverage of the show was sponsored by John Deere and Precision Pays where you’ll find additional interviews than the ones posted on AgWired, some of them still to be posted later this week.

This week’s program ends with music from the Podsafe Music Network. It’s called “Little Bit of Sunshine” by the Dr. Mic and the Brain Ninjas. I picked this song since I’ll be in Florida later this week. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

You can download and listen to the ZimmCast here: Listen To ZimmCastZimmCast 159 (18 min MP3)

Or listen to this week’s ZimmCast right now:zimmcast159-2-18-08.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

National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album

Audio, Equipment, John Deere, National Farm Machinery Show, Precision Agriculture, ZimmCast

Colorado State Wins Cattlemen’s Foundation Quiz Bowl

Chuck Zimmerman

Quiz BowlHere’s the Quiz Bowl Champions from this year’s Cattlemen’s Foundation collegiate competition. They’re from Colorado State University and pictured are: L-R: Scott Howard, Dominic DiSanti, Josh Docheff, Shannon Case and Travis Hoffman, Advisor. The competition was held in Reno at the Cattle Industry Convention.

In addition to Colorado State, regional championship teams from Ohio State University, Penn State University, and the University of Tennessee competed. Teams earned the privilege of competing in the finals by winning their American Society of Animal Science section’s competition of the Academic Quadrathlon.

During the competition, students answer a series of questions about all aspects of beef cattle and the beef industry. The range of questions can include physiology, nutrition, reproduction, meat science, basic production information and current events affecting the beef industry. The competition is head-to-head and double elimination. The Collegiate Quiz Bowl continues to develop future leaders by engaging them in competition and presenting the contestants with the opportunity to be a part of the Cattle Industry Annual Convention. The National Collegiate Quiz Bowl is a joint program of the National Cattlemen’s Foundation and the American Society of Animal Science.

Ag Groups, University