Off to Chicagoland

Laura McNamara

Team Ethanol IndyCar Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay Those of you who’ve been keeping up to speed with the Indy Racing League know that the league is rounding out its 2007 season at the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, IL this weekend. I’m here at the track covering the close of a landmark year for Team Ethanol and the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council. All IndyCars have been running on 100% ethanol fuel throughout the season. It’ll be interesting to see how the league, Epic and the IndyCar drivers finish up the the first fully-powered ethanol season.

If you want to keep track of my coverage you can find it on energy.agwired.com.

Thursday EPIC held another ethanol pump promotion to educate consumers about E10 and E85 ethanol fuel blends. Team Ethanol’s new IndyCar Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay greeted consumers at Gas City in Joliet and doled out autographs and even a couple of race day tickets.

You can listen to my interview with Ryan here:
Hunter-Reay_Ryan.mp3

Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 Photo Album

Audio, Ethanol

Husker Harvest Days Turns 30

Chuck Zimmerman

Husker Harvest DaysI’ve been asked by several people if I’ll be attending Husker Harvest Days. Wish I could but I’ll be conducting a new media training class for ag communications grad students at the University of Guelph. This will be the big 3-0 for the show.

Husker Harvest Days has a special memory for me because I attended on September 11 in 2001. I remember driving there from Omaha, NE with Kim Lang who was my boss at the time when I worked for DTN. We had the radio on kind of low in the car that morning and weren’t really paying any attention. When we got to the show and walked in one of the first places I walked up to was a booth that had a tv and a growing crowd around it. I walked up wondering what was going on and like everyone else I was horrified and glued to the screen from that moment on. I think it was an Army recruitment booth if I remember correctly. By late in the day I think most of the booths there had acquired a tv to follow the events.

We drove back to Omaha the same day that President Bush landed there at the Air Force base. I think he had left by the time we got back. I then drove home to Missouri and kept looking at the skies, especially when I passed Kansas City International airport. It was eerie not to see planes flying.

So, I’ll miss the show this year but I’ll be flying to Toronto next Tuesday. I feel very safe doing so by the way.

Farm Shows

Zimfo Bites

Melissa Sandfort

  • DEKALB has announced the launch of DEKALB WingWear, a clothing line featuring custom-designed graphic apparel and accessories for young men and women ages 15 to 24. A portion of all DEKALB WingWear proceeds will be donated to help fund a new DEKALB Ag Youth Scholarship for high school and collegiate students pursuing agriculture-related degrees. Ten students will be awarded a $2,500 DEKALB Ag Youth Scholarship; all scholarship dollars will be administered via the National FFA.
  • Pioneer introduces 21 new High Total Fermentable (HTF) ethanol hybrids for 2008 planting for growers looking for more bushels per acre and more ethanol per bushel. These hybrids deliver higher levels of fermentable starch, resulting in higher ethanol output. Currently, Pioneer has more than 180 HTF-designated hybrids available across a wide range of maturities. In addition, many Pioneer HTF ethanol hybrids contain the Herculex I or Herculex XTRA insect protection traits which reduce insect damage to grain and prevent molds and mycotoxins. This helps maximize grain yields and ensures a more consistent supply of high-quality grain.
  • Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns reappointed one member and appointed one member and two alternates to serve on the National Peanut Board. The terms for all of the appointees will run from Jan. 1, 2008 to Dec. 31, 2010. More information on USDA Research and Promotion Programs, can be found here. Secretary Johanns also announced 33 appointments and three alternate appointments to the United Soybean Board. All appointees will serve three-year terms, beginning December 2007. Click here for a complete list of appointees.
Uncategorized

FAZD Provides FMD Information

Chuck Zimmerman

FAZD WebsiteIn case you don’t know much about foot and mouth disease there’s a new website with all the information. It’s produced by the National Center for Foreign Animal and Zoonotic Disease at Texas A&M University.

As a Department of Homeland Security National Center of Excellence, the National Center for Foreign Animal and Zoonotic Disease Defense is focused upon the development and application of integrated transcending methods and capabilities that specifically address priority areas set by the Department of Homeland Security. It is a key and active participant in the evolution of the national network of collaborating and cooperating universities, national and federal assets, and private sector partners.

You’ll find some good Q&A on the topic among other things. I’m not sure what “transcending methods and capabilities” are but I’m sure they do them well.

University

Dave Mehlhaff at American Hereford Association

Chuck Zimmerman

Dave MehlhaffMy main man Dave Mehlhaff is back to his livestock communications roots. He’s the Director of Communications for the American Hereford Association.

In this position, Mehlhaff will manage and direct the organization’s strategic positioning of the Hereford brand and the attributes that convey value advantages of the breed and the organization. He will also create communication strategies that put an innovative and positive face on the Hereford breed within the seedstock, commercial cow-calf, feeding and food sectors of the beef industry. Mehlhaff will work with both the AHA and Certified Hereford Beef (CHB) LLC communication efforts and will serve as the communication link between the AHA, CHB LLC and the news media.

Ag Groups

Country Living Olympics

Chuck Zimmerman

Country Living AssociationI’m not sure what you do at a Country Living Olympics but I’d sure like to find out. It must have something to do with animals though since it’s going to happen during the American Royal Livestock and Trade Show. Besides country living sports the Country Living Association is planning a full day of speakers and panel discussions to help us better understand this growing marketplace. Make your plans to attend now by registering online.

More and more Americans are buying the farm – literally. Whether looking to get away from the city, enjoying the outdoors and their animals, or seeking the privacy and safety of the rural setting, country living consumers are becoming a growing and important market segment.

Individuals and businesses looking for ways to develop strategies to reach out to this growing rural lifestyle market are invited to attend two upcoming events sponsored by the Country Living Association (CLA): The Country Living Outlook Conference and the CLA National Event and Country Living Olympics.

“As the country living segment revives small towns across America, it is becoming an increasingly prominent buying segment,” says Courtney Yuskis, director of Country Living Association. “The Country Living Outlook Conference will help businesses and other entrepreneurs appeal to this burgeoning group and its unique needs and priorities. The National Event and Olympics is for families and individuals interested in the rural lifestyle, whether currently living in a rural area or considering a move to the country. It’s an opportunity to meet others, share information and have fun.”
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Ag Groups

Zimfo Bites

Laura McNamara

  • Railroad Commission of Texas, will test an innovative power generation system on a Texas dairy farm. “The Railroad Commission of Texas is honored to receive funding both from PERC and NRCS,” said PERC Agriculture Advisory Committee member Dr. Steve Jaeger.” The support of both organizations proves we are on the right track to find environmentally friendly technologies for the U.S. agriculture industry.” NRCS provides grants to organizations that will develop or utilize innovative technologies to provide solutions to environmental issues affecting the agriculture industry. PERC also supported the project with a grant. The Railroad Commission of Texas’s Alternative Fuels Research and Education Division (AFRED) will manage the project to monitor the efficiency of a combined heat and power (CHP) system in generating electrical power and supplying hot water to the dairy. The CHP system will utilize three propane-fueled micro-cogenerators to produce the electricity.
  • Farm Aid, The New School and Food Systems Network NYC gathered community food and farm activists, local and state policy makers and policy analysts Wednesday to identify strategies for strengthening family farm agriculture, advancing food security and helping connect more people with family-farm identified foods. The New York Food Policy Forum: Fresh Ideas on Farms and Food emphasized the importance of strengthening family-farm agriculture through New York and federal policy changes. “The New York Food Policy Forum is a vibrant example of this legacy of encouraging cooperative action among activists, advocates and political figures. Together, we’re building a good food future for New York City and the nation,” said Farm Aid executive director Carolyn Mugar.
  • Dow AgroSciences LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, and Exelixis Plant Sciences, a wholly owned subsidiary of Exelixis, Inc., has announced that the companies have signed a major research collaboration agreement which includes the purchase of selected assets by Dow AgroSciences’ affiliate Agrigenetics Inc. The agreement is focused on the development of new tools for gene discovery and validation of novel crop traits. The asset purchase by Dow AgroSciences includes certain intellectual property and physical assets used for crop trait discovery.“This asset purchase and collaboration will accelerate our gene discovery and validation efforts as we work to bring revolutionary solutions for our customers,” said Daniel R. Kittle, Ph.D., vice president of Research and Development for Dow AgroSciences.
Zimfo Bytes

Autofarm and Raven Industries Expand Collaboration

Chuck Zimmerman

AutofarmIt seems like the precision agriculture companies are doing a lot of collaborating these days. It makes sense when you consider how many different components have to work together from software to satellites to hardware. Here’s the latest announcement from Autofarm and Raven Industries.

AutoFarm and Raven Industries announce the expansion of a collaborative agreement for product development opportunities following the successful launch of the new Raven steering system, QuickTrax. The collaborative team is finishing development and test of a new system which will provide full-featured sub-inch accurate RTK automated steering designed by AutoFarm and state-of-the-art displays and controls such as Viper Pro and Envizio Pro by Raven Industries.

This expanded effort will take advantage of expertise and existing products from both companies: Raven, offering the displays plus sprayer and planter section control, boom height control and variable rate control for sprayers, spreaders and planters; AutoFarm, offering market leading technology in sub-inch accurate RTK steering systems.

“The system will be marketed mutually and will be available through the distribution channels of both Raven and AutoFarm by mid winter, which will expand the GPS steering market for both companies domestically and internationally,” says Justin Larouche, AutoFarm Director of Product Management.

Agribusiness, Precision Agriculture

Missouri Beef Industry Council Video PSA

Chuck Zimmerman

Tour of MissouriThe Missouri Beef Industry Council has been a client of ours since we started ZimmComm New Media going on four years ago. They called last week needing a video psa to use in the upcoming stage 4 event of the Tour of Missouri, a professional bicycle race across the state.

So with a little help from iMovie and iDVD it was easy to create some photos with the Beef Checkoff logo, use a Sam Elliott audio spot, add a tag and there you have it. Fast, easy and it works. The event in Columbia, MO will feature the video running on as a loop on a screen that’s managed by the Columbia Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. So whenever you make a video what do you do with it? That’s right class. Put in on YouTube.

If I were competing in the race I’d sure want a nice steak to give me power and energy. MBIC will be serving beef samples at the event.

Ag Groups, Audio, Beef, Video

I’ll Be Your Geek Marketer

Chuck Zimmerman

Many AgWired fans know I recommend Micro Persuasion written by Steve Rubel. The man has more insight into how new media can be used as corporate marketing tools than anyone else I’ve found. I have tried diligently to apply his ideas to the agricultural marketing world. He also writes a column for Advertising Age and his latest one is right on the money in my opinion.

He writes about a new career path that’s emerging on the advertising/PR agency and client sides called the Geek Marketer. “My thesis is this: it’s very difficult for anyone in marketing to keep up with all the twists the digital space because technology changes so darn fast. It’s like chasing a cheetah. Most marketers – be they clients or agency side – are heads-down running their business. Therefore, companies are creating a new role. They’re hiring people who act as translators between the ultra geeks and the marketers, if you will, and shepherd the development of pilot programs.”

He says about people like us, “They are marketers by trade, yet they also have a hard-core interest in technology and social anthropology. As curious individuals, they are constantly studying how digital advances are changing our culture and media. Armed with these insights, they regularly apply them in a marketing context by working closely with brand teams to codify new best practices.”

So, do you have a Geek Marketer on your staff? Are you willing to let that person try some new marketing programs that use technology you’re not familiar with or that you don’t use yourself? If Geek Marketer is not on your corporate flow chart then keep the Godfather of ag blogging in mind.

Advertising, Public Relations