To say that 2011 has been a rough year is an understatement, but the combines are rolling and the soybean harvest is underway. The first harvest figures for the season were reported by USDA this week and it is running behind schedule with just 5% complete so far. Nearly every state is behind both last year and the five year …
Canadian Wine Tasting
One of my tour stops during the 2011 IFAJ Congress was Jackson Triggs Vintners. We had an excellent lunch and wine tasting that included some of their icewine. One of the take-aways was that Canada produces more than just good ice wine. We had a nice red and white wine during our sampling. Following lunch we toured the wine making …
Social Media Can Be Used By Farmers To Reach Consumers
Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “Can farmers effectively reach out to consumers with social media?” The answer was overwhelmingly positive with 75% saying Yes. However, there are some skeptics out there, 25% that said No. What do you think? Can we do it? Are we doing it? Are we making an impact? Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re …
Farm Podcaster Tools
For you farm podcasters who want to turn your iPhone (or or other smartphone) into a work tool, here are a couple of products that can help. I conduct many interviews posted here using my iPhone and the Voice Memo app. The microphone on the iPhone is excellent. But, it does pick up a lot of room noise and you …
Broadhead Moves Into New Offices
Broadhead is celebrating ten years in business by moving into new office space in the Colwell Building in Minneapolis. It’s been said that the best minute you spend is the one you invest in people. Dean Broadhead knows this all too well, as evidenced by his commitment to invest in top-notch talent for the past decade. It’s just one of …
BASF Launches Kixor Road to Daytona 500 Sweepstakes
BASF will be sending some lucky farmer to the 2012 Daytona 500. BASF Crop Protection today announced the launch of the Kixor® herbicide technology Road to DAYTONA® sweepstakes, which celebrates the fast, complete burndown and residual control growers get with Kixor. BASF will award the sweepstakes winner a trip to the 54th annual DAYTONA 500®. BASF will also be awarding …
GROWMARK Names Scholarship Winners
GROWMARK is helping 35 college students from throughout the Midwest to continue their educations in agriculture and business. “GROWMARK invests more than $45,500 annually on scholarships. We’re investing today for a return tomorrow,” says Steve German, GROWMARK member employment manager, pictured here at the scholarship luncheon during the recent GROWMARK annual meeting. “There’s a need for agriculture businesses to support …
I Make America Virtual March On Washington
I Make America. Well, not me but the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) and their members do. It’s the first anniversary of the campaign and AEM is not only thanking supporters but holding a “virtual march” on Washington this week. To mark the occasion, I Make America is holding a Virtual March on Washington this week, and has called on …
Nutrition and You Survey Results Released
The American Dietetic Association has released the results of their “Nutrition and You: Trends 2011” survey. I’ve only skimmed some of the results so far. There’s a lot of information in there. One section of special interest focused on where consumers get nutrition information and what sources they view as credible. Pretty timely information to add to the “Food Dialogues” …
Meet New NAFB Executive Director
One of the major agricultural communications activities of the year is coming soon. It’s the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) convention taking place November 8-11 at the Westin Crown Center in Kansas City, MO. This will be the first convention for Tom Brand as new NAFB Executive Director. But it is far from his first convention since Tom has …