Cotton Board Media Roundtable

Chuck Zimmerman

Cotton Board Media RoundtableI sat in on the Cotton Board’s media roundtable this afternoon but couldn’t stay to interview the participants. However, it was fascinating.

The topic was “How Sustainability is Impacting Every Stop in Cotton’s Pipeline.” Doesn’t sound particularly exciting but one of the speakers was Peter McGrath, EVP of J.C. Penney Company. It was an eye opener to hear him talk about how the company is proactively taking becoming green very seriously. They’re such a huge retailer that they are dictating how their suppliers do their business. For example, he says they tell manufacturers of cotton shirts what kind of dyes they’re allowed to use. He even said that they’re working to enforce water quality laws. That’s what I thought government did.

It was very interesting. I’m still hoping to get an interview sometime if possible. I think it’s something growers need to hear and know. By the way, Peter sits on the Cotton Board.

AgWired coverage of the Beltwide Cotton Conferences
is made possible by: BASF


Beltwide Cotton Conference Photo Album

BASF, Beltwide Cotton, Cotton

Cottonseed Oil Comeback Tour

Chuck Zimmerman

Ben MorganBen Morgan is the Executive Vice President of the National Cottonseed Products Association. He’s here taking a break from the Cottonseed Oil Comeback Tour.

The Tour is really a virtual tour they’re doing with a website that includes a blog! In my interview Ben talks about what the organization does and this project.

Download my interview with Ben Morgan here: Ben Morgan Interview (6 min mp3)

You can also listen to the interview with Ben immediately here: beltwide-08-morgan.mp3

AgWired coverage of the Beltwide Cotton Conferences
is made possible by: BASF


Beltwide Cotton Conference Photo Album

Audio, BASF, Beltwide Cotton, Cotton

BASF Beltwide Booth

Chuck Zimmerman

BASF BoothIt seems like Headline has made headlines for BASF and that’s brought in a lot of growers to their booth here at the Beltwide trade show.

This isn’t all of the crew here but most of them right before the show got started today. I did a couple interviews in their booth including the following one with Tom McKemie, BASF eastern area representative. In it he talks about some of the field trials that have been done over the last couple of years.

Download my interview with Tom McKemie here: Tom Mckemie Interview (3 min mp3)

You can also listen to the interview with Tom immediately here: beltwide-08-mckemie.mp3

You can also watch the interview if you’d like as well:

AgWired coverage of the Beltwide Cotton Conferences
is made possible by: BASF


Beltwide Cotton Conference Photo Album

Audio, BASF, Beltwide Cotton, Cotton, Video

Beltwide Trade Show

Chuck Zimmerman

Beltwide Trade ShowThe trade show got started here at noon today at the Beltwide. To see what’s it’s like feel free to watch the video. It’s a walk through right as things were getting started.

This afternoon there have been a couple of press conferences. The pace here seems kind of slow and relaxed compared to many of the meetings I attend. I think that’s a good thing. That doesn’t mean I don’t have any content to post. I’m working on a few more video interviews and have several scheduled yet this afternoon.

AgWired coverage of the Beltwide Cotton Conferences
is made possible by: BASF


Beltwide Cotton Conference Photo Album

BASF, Beltwide Cotton, Cotton, Video

New Holland’s Booming finOvation

Chuck Zimmerman

New Holland T2410Another finOvation award has been announced. This one for New Holland.

Farm Industry News, a monthly magazine that provides high-income farmers with information about new products and technology for the farm, has presented a finOvation award to New Holland’s T2410 and T2420 Boomer™ tractors. The awards are presented to the best innovations of 2007 designed to help producers farm more efficiently and more profitably.

finOvation awards go to the most innovative products published in the Farm Industry News magazine or Web site in the past year based on reader responses and voting by a group of Team FIN farmers. The winners will be recognized at an awards ceremony at the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Ky.

The T2410 and T2420 tractors are the biggest Boomer™ compact tractors New Holland has ever offered. At 55 and 60 horsepower, they have the muscle to power through tough jobs. Both models have a convenient, maneuverable frame size, FWD axle, and ample power. These utility tractors can handle the long list of chores on any job site or farm fast and efficiently.

Agribusiness, New Holland, Publication, Tractor

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • The 20th annual Texas High Plains Grain Elevator Workshop is moving to the Ashmore Inn and Suites in Amarillo. Topics of discussion include: railcar fumigation, aeration, new 10,000-bushel storage bags, stored-corn protectants, stored-grain pests, using weather data for early prediction of beetles, weed control, and much more. Pre-registration is requested by Jan. 15. For more information, contact Greg Cronholm at 806-291-5274.
  • Donna James, an Allflex veteran of eight years, has been promoted to Commercial Services Manager. In her new role, James is responsible for marketing communications, customer service and sales support functions for North America. She previously served as Customer Service Manager. Melissa Delatorre, has been promoted to Customer Service Supervisor. She will oversee daily customer service responsibilities as well as support specific regional sales efforts.
  • H & R Ag Inc., a regional farm service center located in Pasco, Wash., has been acquired by the Simplot AgriBusiness Group, and will become part the company’s Simplot Grower Solutions business. The sale was completed on Jan. 7th, 2008.
  • WildBlue Communications, Inc., with Internet access speeds that are up to thirty times faster than dial-up, has signed an agreement with Google, Inc. to provide a suite of enhanced Web services to WildBlue business and residential customers. The result will be enhanced email functionality and reliability and a brand new, highly customizable WildBlue.net home page. These services will enable members to create a personalized home page as well as provide them with many of Google’s popular web services. The new WildBlue.net home page is slated to launch in the first quarter of 2008.
Zimfo Bytes

Cotton Helps The Media

Chuck Zimmerman

Cotton NelsonThe media here at Beltwide were treated to a great reception last night, sponsored by Monsanto/DP&L. A real treat on the menu was the sushi. Yes, sushi in Nashville. There’s actually a sushi bar in the Opryland Hotel. I don’t remember that from my last visit. This place is constantly changing.

Here’s the Cotton Council’s communications man greeting us. If you’re going to work in this business why not have the name. He’s Cotton Nelson and he works with our good friend Marjory Walker who’s been getting the media checked in here in the news room.

The program really kicks off in high gear today, including the trade show. I’ll have a lot more pictures and interviews over the next several days as we learn about what’s new in Cotton’s world.

AgWired coverage of the Beltwide Cotton Conferences
is made possible by: BASF


Beltwide Cotton Conference Photo Album

Ag Groups, BASF, Beltwide Cotton, Cotton

Explore Spanish Cuisine

Laura McNamara

Jose Made In Spain2008 is the Year of Spanish Cuisine for Chef Jose Andres. On a mission to celebrate foods influenced by the Spanish culture, Jose has set three goals: explore Spain, try something new with hotel dining in Los Angeles and load up on veggies.

From a new television show – Jose Made in Spain on public television – to a new project in Los Angeles – designing the food and beverage program for SBE’s “SLS at Beverly Hills” hotel – Jose takes Americans on an exploration into the flavor, innovation and character of Spanish cuisine and culture, redefining its role in the everyday lexicon of cooks and diners alike.

Plan your schedule accordingly or set your Tivo for a visit to some of Spain’s most fascinating and delicious locales with Jose on his new television program, Jose Made in Spain, premiering February 2 on public television (check local listings). Each episode visits a treasured Spanish location, where Jose travels to markets, farms, the ocean and other sites associated with Spanish cuisine to visit with food artisans, cooks and restaurateurs.

Jose is set to make hotel dining a true experience in 2008. For his new venture with SBE Hotel Group, SLS at Beverly Hills (opening this summer), Jose will present a spectacular range of innovative experiences created to change the way people think about hotel dining.

In Spanish kitchens, vegetables are given their due. Spaniards eagerly await the season for produce such as the famous white asparagus of Navarra, in addition to preparing dishes like escalivada where the focus is on the vegetable. On his show Jose Made in Spain and in the companion cookbook, Jose will show Americans how to make the most of fruits, vegetables, and healthful oils with delicious, easy-to-prepare Spanish recipes.

Food

Beltwide Personal Scheduler

Chuck Zimmerman

Beltwide Personal SchedulerOne of the cool things that my sponsor is doing here at Beltwide is making the electronic personal scheduler available. This is a very busy conference. It’s one of those ones where there’s way more to do than you have time to do it. So you have to plan your time.

To make it easier you can go to one of these terminals, create an account, create your schedule and print it out or make a file you can download to your pda or phone. Then you’ve got your very own Beltwide schedule.

AgWired coverage of the Beltwide Cotton Conferences
is made possible by: BASF


Beltwide Cotton Conference Photo Album

BASF, Beltwide Cotton, Cotton

Cotton Swag For Your Vehicle

Chuck Zimmerman

Cotton TagsIn Missouri you have to have a state license tag on both front and back of your vehicle. It’s a pain since I’d like to show my support with a logo tag for my favorite thing.

If you live in a state that doesn’t have this requirement then you can show your support for cotton with a Cotton Logo License Tag.

It’s just one of the many items on sale. We don’t even need to go to the mall. We can shop right here in the hotel at Beltwide.

I’ve got a photo album for the conference which you can find at this link or in Zimmages at the top of the page:
Beltwide Cotton Conference Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the Beltwide Cotton Conferences
is made possible by: BASF

BASF, Beltwide Cotton, Cotton