With an alert from the Quarry Integrated Communications Twitter feed I was pointed to their blog: Idea Exchange. It contains “a series of articles examining ways to thrive, not just survive, in 2009.” Here’s an example. You all know the deal. During periods of economic instability, your organization will focus with laser-like precision on the bottom line, allocating dollars to …
AdFarm Fargo Assists With Flooding
I know that the flooding in North Dakota may have subsided but I’m sure the results are going to be felt for some time to come. I have been meaning to post this but hadn’t really had a chance to until this morning. The folks at AdFarm’s office in Fargo were certainly in the thick of it. For example, the …
Layoffs At Des Moines Deere
I hope this isn’t a trend we’ll be seeing in the industry. It’s a very short announcement sent out today by Deere & Company: Deere & Company said today that 160 employees of the John Deere Des Moines Works will be placed on indefinite layoff later this month due to reduced market demand for the factory’s products. Deere said the …
#agchat Session on Twitter
I participated in a very cool use of Twitter tonight. Let’s call it #agchat. That’s the hashtag we used for our tweets to post into the conversation and to reply to each other. As of this post we have 248 tweets posted. Post Update: by ending time we have 331 tweets. The idea is to do this on Tuesday evenings …
The Derry Brownfield Show
I had a very enjoyable lunch today with my good friend Derry Brownfield. I know a lot of you know of Derry. He’s that farm broadcaster who is rude, crude, obnoxious, politically incorrect . . . (self description). I worked with Derry for almost 10 years and we covered a lot of miles together. Derry is still hosting his daily …
Earth Day Beef Rap
Nothing fuels an Earth Day dinner better than beef. I think that’s what Beef Ambassador Allison Grainger and friends are telling us in this Earth Day Beef Rap video. Let me know what you think. I’m sure Allison will be watching.
Rabobank Farm & Ranch Confidence Survey
Rabobank has released results of its 2009 Farm & Ranch Survey. A couple of highlight include: * More farmers are using risk management tools * 1/3 of farmers expect crop input costs to decrease * More farmers looking to buy used equipment Rabobank recently launched a survey to gauge farmers’ confidence, and found that, while farmers’ outlook on the economy …
Farmer Tweets
Just in case you’re wondering if your company should be involved in social media, let me give you another example. This comes from Iowa Farm Bureau. It’s all about a farmer who’s on Twitter to help promote agriculture. I’m really glad to see how Farm Bureau is getting into the online conversation. In fact, I’ll be speaking to their gathering …
Indiana Family Farms Debuts
Gary Truitt, Hoosier Ag Today, has unveiled a new ZimmComm-designed website called Indiana Family Farms. Consumers today are interested in knowing more about how their food is produced. Environmental, safety, and welfare issues are figuring more and more in consumer buying decisions. Yet, most Americans know very little about how their food is produced or the men and women who …
Virgil Smail Executive Director of USCP
Virgil Smail has been named the Executive Director of the United Sorghum Checkoff Program. With a strong history of industry and commodity association management, Smail will bring great experience and leadership to the USCP. As President and CEO of the American Institute of Baking, Smail was responsible for drastically expanding institute programs and worked with a Board of Directors representing …