Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast. In this week’s program we’ll learn more about the newly announced Rural Radio channel on Sirius XM. I visited with Randy Bernard, CEO, Rural Media Group, who says that a full time satellite channel of rural news and information has been a dream of Patrick Gottsch, Founder of Rural Media Group, Inc, for years. …
John Block Reports
One of my all time favorite U.S. Secretaries of Agriculture is John Block. Here he is speaking on a panel at last fall’s NAFB convention. John is currently Senior Policy Advisor in the law firm of Olsson Frank Weeda Terman Matz PC and serves on numerous boards. He also produces a long running commentary, John Block Reports from Washington. His …
Sing a Song of Hot Dogs
It’s summer hot dog time and National Hot Dog Month is almost here. According to the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council, Americans are expected to eat 150 million hot dogs over the July 4th holiday alone, part of the 7 billion hot dogs eaten over the summer season from Memorial Day to Labor Day. That’s a lot of dogs! …
IFAJ Has Two Positions Open
The International Federation of Agricultural Journalists is looking for a couple of good people. It’s to support the IFAJ Strategy 2020 program. you can read all about that here (pdf). There are two part time positions open to help administer the expanding day-to-day affairs of the organization. Here are short descriptions of the positions. You can find out more online. …
Rural Radio a New Channel on Sirius XM
In case you didn’t know, both the current National Association of Farm Broadcasting President, Mark Oppold and incoming President, Janet Atkinson, will be anchoring shows on the newly announced Rural Radio, a 24/7 channel on Sirius XM. I think that’s the first time in NAFB history both have worked for the same company! The new channel (80) will launch on …
Conservation in Action Tour Almost Full
My next stop on the agriblogging highway will be the 2013 Conservation in Action Tour in Illinois. There are only a few seats left. I’ve been attending Conservation Technology Information Center tours for years now and they are loaded with information. This tour is July 9-10 in Livingston, IL. A pre-tour seminar on July 9 has also been added. Learn …
NMPF Creates REAL Cartoon Character
The National Milk Producers Federation is getting REAL serious about the REAL Seal. Well, maybe not so much serious as having some fun. This is the cartoon character that has been created to help “revitalize and build awareness of the dairy industry’s iconic REAL® Seal.” There is already a “cartoon” with the character on YouTube. What would you name it? …
Join #TeamAgChat
It’s team building time for the AgChat Foundation. Have you joined the team yet? If you’re active on Twitter then follow or use #TeamAgChat to help the organization reach it’s goal this week of raising $10,000. The #TeamAgChat event is live and will conclude on June 28. I got my donation taken care of and hope you will too. If …
Food Dialogues Transparency
Yesterday’s Food Dialogues topic was, “TRANSPARENCY AND FOOD: OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO TODAY’S CONSUMER.” This was part two of the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance panel discussion in Chicago on the topic. The event took place at Kendall College School of Cullinary Arts. Panelists included Ellie Krieger, moderator, RD, host of Food Network’s Healthy Appetite, and New …
NAMA Executive Committee Looking to Future
The Executive Committee of the National Agri-Marketing Association has been doing strategizing and planning at its quarterly meeting in Missouri. We had a beautiful setting for it at NAMA President Paul Redhage’s house! We want to encourage all of you to put the 2014 Agri-Marketing Conference on your calendar. It will be in Jacksonville, FL next year before returning to …