In agriculture, we see a lot of pushback from consumers who are more and more removed from the farm. If you’ve not put yourself out there as an agricultural advocate, it might seem intimidating. What do you say about growth hormones or GMOs or pesticides? How do you get started? To address this challenge, USFRA and Beck Ag collaborated to …
AEM Confident Despite Farm Equipment Sales Drop
Farm equipment sales are down significantly this year, but the head of the Association of Equipment Manufacturer‘s Ag Sector remains optimistic about the industry. “We’re in the business of feeding and harvesting food and you need equipment to do that,” says Charlie O’Brien, AEM Senior Vice President and Ag Sector Lead. “Even though the numbers for this year are down, …
Using CAFOweb on Your Dairy Operation
Dairy farmers in New Mexico are using a great new tool called CAFOweb. The online data management tool allows dairy farmers to better manage nitrogen. As Tara Vander Dussen and Jay Lazarus explained, nitrogen from manure solids and/or effluent can leach into the ground water is not applied at agronomic rates. In other words, said Lazarus, most dairies were not …
Farm to School & Cooperative Efforts
In celebration of the United Nations’ 2014 International Year of Family Farming, this month National Farmers Union (NFU) is highlighting the importance of family farmers and local communities, as well as some of the tools available to help family farmers increase their economic footprint and clout. A great deal of emphasis is placed this month on cooperatives and farm to …
Talking Advanced Biofuels in Minneapolis
Hello from Minneapolis and the National Advanced Biofuels Conference & Expo. This is the first of two stops for me this week before heading back to ZimmComm World Headquarters. The first panel of the conference is moderated by Tim Portz, VP of Content, BBI International. This panel, talking about “Assessing the Health of Federal Biofuels Policy and Its Long Term …
Support Your Local Student NAMA Chapter
Hopefully all you members of the National Agri-Marketing Association are finding ways to support your student chapter. Here’s an example of how Florida NAMA just got involved at an event to support our students, Gator NAMA. Gator NAMA is tied in with the UF College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Ag Econ Club. They set up a promotional booth during …
Cheese, Cheese & More Cheese
A gourmet breakfast was prepared for us during the media talk event at the 2014 World Dairy Expo by the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board’s executive chef, John Esser. The meal was of course full Wisconsin cheeses. Chef Esser also prepared an omelet full of morel and leek jack cheese and a pancake packed with foenegreek gouda cheese and bacon. Another …
Innovation Will Meet Needs of America
Dave Pesiri is the director of the Feynman Center for Innovation. He defines innovation as taking a new technology of idea into a new market. Los Alamos National Laboratory is a place where a lot of new technologies emerge, and the Center dedicates much of its time to working with others to deploy the technology from the pages of a …
Are You Ready for MyFarmRadio?
Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “What is your favorite type of cheese?” It is obvious we all have different tastes when it comes to cheese. It is such a staple in many meals nationwide and there are an endless amount of varieties. Cheddar seems to rise to the top slightly. However, like myself, many like them all. Here are …
USDA Forecasts More Corn and Soybeans
The harvest may be running a little slow right now, but USDA expects a bit more corn and beans in the bins than they did a month ago, adding to the already record forecasts. Corn production is now forecast at 14.5 billion bushels, up almost one percent from the previous forecast and four percent more than last year. Corn yields …