NO Snack!

Chuck Zimmerman

Well it is currently 10:00p.m. here in California which means to me it is midnight back in Illinois. I am exhausted after a day full of traveling but super excited that I am finally in California! The first comment I have to make is I am extremely disappointed that they have discontinued the snack on the airplane

Commodity Classic

US Wheat Tariff Comes Off

Chuck Zimmerman

Canada Western Red Spring wheat can once again enter the United States, duty free. A U.S. tariff that stopped imports of Canada’s largest crop since 2003 has been fully dismantled, cementing a major NAFTA victory for western Canadian farmers. On February 24, the U.S. Customs notified all American ports of entry that imports of Canadian hard red spring wheat are …

International

Lost and Lonely Farm Broadcaster

Chuck Zimmerman

Dave SchumacherSitting here in my Dallas/Ft. Worth airport office (gate a-34) I look up and see lonely lost farm broadcaster. He’s Dave Schumacher, KTRS, St. Louis and now he’s getting a blogging lesson on our way to Anaheim.

Commodity Classic, Media

New Media is New to Me

Chuck Zimmerman

Hello! My name is Margy Fischer, I’m a senior at the University of Missouri – Columbia studying Agricultural Journalism, and I’ll be blogging on this site during the 2006 Commodity Classic thanks to a student fellowship with Monsanto. It was almost three weeks ago that I learned of this opportunity from Bill Allen and am very grateful for this trip.

Blogging is completely new to me. The closest I may have ever come to posting a blog would be the weekly e-mail updates I would send my friends this past summer while interning in Washington DC. If those e-mails can serve as any precedent, then my posts will be full of anecdotes and observations of my surroundings. But my lack of experience with “new media” could be interesting enough that you’ll want to stay tuned.

Commodity Classic

The Journey Begins

Chuck Zimmerman

Hello, My name is Mary Irelan and I am a student at the University of Illinois. I am currently a sophomore and I am majoring in Ag Communications. I would like to start off by thanking my sponsor, Monsanto, and specifically Tami Craig Schilling and Mica DeLong for allowing me to take part in this amazing experience.

Commodity Classic

Dont Expect CWB Changes Anytime Soon

Chuck Zimmerman

Harry SiemensIt looks like Canada’s new Ag Minister is retreating from making changes to the Canadian Wheat Board, at least not quickly. In meeting with CWB officials, Manitoba’s Ag Minister Rosann Wowchuk, and reporters after the meeting, Strahl said, “What I said to the wheat board’s board of directors is the same thing that I’ve been saying publicly . . . that our campaign promise was to move toward dual marketing.”

International

It Feels Like Spring Today

Chuck Zimmerman

Missouri RiverI sometimes get asked how you can find something to write about everyday, much less multiple times a day. I’ve been blogging over a year and haven’t run into that problem yet. There’s inspiration everywhere, like alongside the Missouri River today. Since it was so warm here in Missouri I took a break for some biking on the Katy Trail. All I had was my Treo phone camera.

Uncategorized

Student Bloggers Sponsor Interview

Chuck Zimmerman

MonsantoKicking off our coverage of Commodity Classic 2006 is an interview with Tami Craig Schilling, Monsanto Public Affairs Director, about their Future Ag Journalist Fellowship program which is sponsoring our student bloggers, Mary Irelan and Margy Fischer. Tami explains how the program came about, why they picked Mary and Margy and what the objectives of the program are. She said that if this works well it might be something they’ll do again. If so, AgWired is ready, willing and able to do our part to help.

Agribusiness, Commodity Classic