Get Some New Media Attention

Chuck Zimmerman

In case you’re wondering about how you can get noticed in the new media world you might want to get yesterday’s Wall Street Journal. I’m sure this is archived online too if you’re a subscriber. It’s called, “How to get attention in a New-Media World.”

According to my man Mays, “That’s the headline on a story in today’s Wall Street Journal. I won’t bother posting any of the many nuggets in this piece. You can read them yourself. And if you spend anytime online, you know a lot of this already.

Here’s what I want to know: How can any intelligent, semi-educated, reasonably well informed, man or woman entrusted with running a business (or some division or department of that business) not have at least heard about the things referenced in this story (blogs, podcasts, RSS, etc etc)?”

He goes on to answer his own question.

Media

6,000 Podcasts At K-State

Chuck Zimmerman

TegrityI’m going to make an assumption that ag classes at Kansas State University are included in the 6,000 classes that will soon be available to students as podcasts. You heard it right, 6,000 of them. K-State has been having a company called Tegrity record classes for a while now and they’re converting them to podcasts. Very cool idea and something that can apply to anything your business is doing that lends itself to training or demonstration.

K-State plans to have all 6,000 class podcasts available to its students this year, making it by far the education realm’s largest podcasting implementation worldwide. “We’re excited to be partnering with Tegrity to drive podcasting in education to a new level,” said Beth Unger, Vice Provost for Academic Services of Kansas State University. “When developing a podcasting program, there are two essential components – the technology and the content. Tegrity has made reaching our goal of creating quality content for podcasting possible.”

Sounds like Tegrity has a happy client.

Podcasts, University

Eller New USDA DUS for MRP

Chuck Zimmerman

Burton EllerBurton Eller has been appointed USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs. Whew that’s a title and I’m sure a challenging job.

“Burton has spent his career working as an advocate for agriculture producers and related industries,” said Conner. “His knowledge of agricultural issues and dedication to farmers and ranchers is exceptional. Burton’s vast experience and knowledge will be a tremendous asset to USDA as we move forward on many important marketing and regulatory issues.”

Eller will assist Under Secretary Bruce Knight and work with Deputy Under Secretary Dr. Chuck Lambert to oversee the management of USDA’s MRP mission area. MRP agencies are active participants in setting national and international agricultural standards. USDA agencies that make up the MRP mission area include the Agricultural Marketing Service; Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service; and Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration.

USDA

MO Ethanol Run By Missourians

Chuck Zimmerman

Robin VennThe General Manager of Missouri Ethanol is Robin Venn. He’s currently in the process of getting his house sold in Kansas City so he can move to the Laddonia area.

I interviewed Robin after the grand opening festivities were winding down. He says that all the employees of the ethanol plant are from Missouri which he thinks is unusual but shows that central Missouri has the technical talent for a plant like his and that the plant is keeping those people near home.

Listen to our interview: Listen To MP3 Robin Venn Interview (3 min MP3)

Audio, Ethanol

Trufflecasting

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCast86 - Truffle Media NetworksI want to welcome Truffle Media Networks to the new media world of agribusiness. The company just announced itself and to learn more about them I interviewed one of the founders, Ned Arthur.

I’m sure we’re going to see lots of creative work done by this company. They have started out with a couple of regular podcasts, Swinecast and Poultrycast. Both are currently sponsored by Elanco Animal Health.

I guess you’d have to say that farm podcasting is coming along. Ned discusses how his company is helping clients and sponsors reach very targeted audiences using tools like podcasting. As a fellow farm podcaster I’m happy to welcome TMN to the fold and we’ve already discussed several ways our two companies can assist each other and our clients.

Listen to this week’s program: Listen To ZimmCastZimmCast 86 (27 min 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.

Audio, Media, Podcasts, ZimmCast

The Agrisure Online Media Kit

Chuck Zimmerman

Agrisure Online Media KitSyngenta has created an online media kit for reporters who want information about Agrisure corn traits. Great idea. Well done and I sure wish more companies would do this. If you just don’t have the resources to create one or don’t know where to start, then consider giving little old ZimmComm a call.

Now, having said that an online media kit is a wonderful thing let me add a challenge to companies like Syngenta. Don’t stop there. If you’ve had audio, video, and documents created put them to further use with the new media tools that let you package it for your CUSTOMER. Don’t forget them. Target them directly and you’ll be getting more bang for your buck. In this fractionalized new media world you can’t depend on the old channels exclusively (doesn’t mean you don’t need them). You need to think creatively and invest in some alternative ways to reach your farmer customer today.

Agribusiness, Media

Ice Cream for a Dairy Blog

Chuck Zimmerman

Mayfield Dairy BlogScottie Mayfield at Mayfield Dairy Farms would love to hear from his customers so what did the company do? Start a blog.

You can visit The Dairy Blog to learn “about Mayfield Dairy Farms, the dairy industry and our extended Mayfield family.” And Scottie adds, “We welcome you to join our discussions.”

That’s blogging in the corporate world. I congratulate them and hope it’s a success.

Dairy

Lamb Board Grants

Chuck Zimmerman

American Lamb Board LogoIt’s time to get your matching grant app in to the American Lamb Board.

The American Lamb Board (ALB) has approved $40,000 for their Matching Grant Program in FY 2007. ALB has made minor changes to the Matching Grant Program including extending the time between the grant announcement date and application deadline to a 60-day time frame and changing the grant program from a single cycle to 2 cycles per year. The first Matching Grant cycle will be solicited on October 1, 2006 and the second round will be solicited on March 1, 2007. The new application is available at www.americanlamb.com or by calling Rae at (866) 327-5262. A total of $20,000 is budgeted for the first round of FY 2007 grant funding. An additional $20,000 will be available for the second cycle of grants.

The grants require a 1-to-1 cash match from the grant recipient. In-kind contributions are not considered for the matching requirement. Industry organizations are invited to submit proposals that expand or strengthen the market for American Lamb. Creative marketing projects which include a collaborative effort amongst industry organizations and industry sectors are encouraged.

Ag Groups