2026 Agri-Marketing Conference Preview
The 2026 Agri-Marketing Conference is coming up next week. For a preview I talked with conference chair, David Jones, Bader Rutter. We run through a variety of questions about the theme for the conference, keynote speakers, best of NAMA, Connection Point, breakouts, awards and student competition. As the theme says, people are Hungry For More.
Of course you can still register if you haven’t yet. You just have to go this link on the NAMA website. David said it this way.
“Nama.org is the place to go for registration or for more information, and yes, sir, we will absolutely take those last-minute registrations, no problem at all. If you’re on the fence, go ahead and jump in there and register. You do not want to miss this one.”
You can listen to my interview with David here:
Agri-Marketing Conference Preview (10:00)
ZimmCast 758 – All About ZimmComm
Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast. I’m Chuck Zimmerman.
In this episode the tables have been turned. We thought it would be fun for Laura McNamara, one of our very early freelancers, to interview Cindy and me, about the how, what and why we created ZimmComm and all its elements. We’ve had people ask about this over the years, but as you will hear, from the start it has continued to develop and pivot when needed.
As many know, Cindy and I took a big step to stop traveling this year. We’re really happy to be working with Laura as some of the events we’ve worked on for years still want to use good photography and interviews to make content with a target audience of ag journalists. So, this step toward retirement for most people is as easy as just walking away and going fishing. But when you’ve built a business over 20-plus years it’s a little more difficult. We’re still working at the ZimmComm World Headquarters so stay tuned.
Listen to the episode here:
ZimmCast 758 - About ZimmComm (42:04)
That’s the ZimmCast for now. If you have some exciting news in the agrimarketing world, feel free to contact me for the next episode. Just email Chuck at chuck@zimmcomm.biz.
We hope you enjoyed it and thank you for listening.
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Early Season Weed Control Remains Critical
With planting underway across the Midwest, Syngenta agronomist Matt Geiger is reminding growers not to cut corners on early-season weed management—even in a challenging farm economy.
“Starting clean is step one,” Geiger said during an interview at the 2026 Commodity Classic in San Antonio. He noted that modern tillage equipment often fails to eliminate emerged waterhemp and Palmer amaranth, creating “tillage escapes” that damage the plant’s vascular system and become much harder to control later. Geiger recommends an early burndown with residual herbicide or spraying right ahead of tillage passes in both crops. “Herbicides aren’t a beauty contest—they’re about preventing weed competition so you can maximize yield while staying easy on the crop,” said Geiger.
Geiger highlighted Storen herbicide, launched in 2025, for corn. Field results show up to three weeks longer residual on pigweeds, stronger activity on large-seeded broadleaves, improved grass control and far greater consistency: more than 90 percent of the time Storen delivered over 95 percent weed control in one-pass programs.
Learn more in this interview:
Matt Geiger, agronomic service representative – Early-season weed control
Classic26 - Matt Geiger, Syngenta (5:06)
Animal Ag News 4/8
Industry Ag News 4/2
Precision Ag News 4/1
NAMA 2026 Next Gen Awards Winners
The National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) is proud to announce the recipients of the Next Gen Awards, recognizing emerging leaders who are shaping the future of agricultural marketing.
The Next Gen NAMA Award was created to celebrate rising professionals who demonstrate excellence, innovation, and leadership within their organizations and across the industry. Honorees are nominated by their companies or through chapter and national leadership. The awards will be presented at the 2026 Agri-Marketing Conference, April 15-17 in St. Louis.
Ann Horack
Marketing Communications Lead, Cargill Animal Nutrition & Health
Ann Horack has built a dynamic career spanning agency, cooperative, and corporate roles within agriculture. With deep roots in farming and expertise across both row crop and dairy sectors, she brings a strategic, insight-driven approach to marketing. She led the launch of Cargill’s dairy consulting brand campaign, “The Originals,” a research-based initiative that has already earned Regional Best of NAMA recognition. Known for her collaborative leadership, Ann aligns cross-functional teams across the U.S. and Canada while mentoring emerging professionals and contributing actively to NAMA initiatives.
Andrew Levenson
Vice President & Managing Director, Root+Beta
Andrew Levenson has played a pivotal role in Root+Beta’s growth, rising quickly to lead a team of nearly 40 employees. His entrepreneurial mindset and strategic leadership have driven a 100% client retention rate and expanded the agency’s capabilities through innovations such as CRM platforms, marketing automation, and advanced digital tools. A strong advocate for collaboration, Andrew fosters team development and industry engagement, serving on the MidSouth NAMA board and helping grow membership and participation.
Ryan Siegel
Marketing Communications Manager, Missouri Soybean
Ryan Siegel has demonstrated exceptional leadership and innovation during his tenure with Missouri Soybeans, earning two promotions in four years. He transformed the Missouri Soybean Farmer magazine into a leading communications platform and drove a 300% increase in social media engagement. Ryan has also modernized digital communications through CRM integration and data-driven strategies. A dependable leader, he mentors team members and actively contributes to NAMA as an awards judge and collegiate competition supporter.
Animal Ag News 3/30
White House Celebrates Farmers and Ranchers
Hundreds of farmers and ranchers representing various regions and commodities joined President Donald Trump on the south lawn of the White House Friday to hear him make several announcements related to agriculture, including addressing Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) system complaints, and finalizing historically high Renewable Fuel Standard volume obligations.
With a gold tractor on one side and a red, white and blue tractor on the other, Trump announced EPA was removing the DEF sensor requirement for all diesel equipment. “We had a ridiculous Washington restriction called the diesel exhaust fluid requirement… It was a basic disaster,” said Trump. “Today, we’re announcing new guidelines drastically limiting these ridiculous DEF rules, saving farmers and consumers billions and billions of dollars.”
EPA’s new guidance, which removes DEF sensors, will provide immediate relief and save billions of dollars in repairs and lost productivity. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), this guidance will save farmers $4.4 billion a year and this action will provide $13.79 billion a year of savings to Americans.
“I’m also announcing a dramatic update to the Renewable fuel standards for 2026 and 2027,” said President Trump. “We will now be requiring the highest volumes of renewable fuels in history. These new standards will generate over $10 billion of rural economic benefit, create an estimated 100,000 new jobs, and massively increase our nation’s energy supply. It’ll come right out of the farms.”
EPA is also finalizing a 70 percent partial reallocation of the 2023–2025 exempted Renewable Volume Obligations for the 2026 and 2027 compliance years. This approach will balance a number of factors that come into play when considering volume requirements and the impacts of SREs, including protecting biofuel demand while maintaining a stable and functioning credit market.
EPA is announcing that starting in 2028, foreign fuels and feedstocks will receive half the RFS compliance value compared to American-made products, providing American biofuel producers with time to prepare for the change while ensuring that American farmers benefit from the RFS program and American energy independence.
Listen to all of Trump’s comments to farmers and ranchers here:
President Trump speaks to farmers at White House 35:47



