As Chuck heads out of the country, I am heading out to Champaign, Illinois today to cover the inaugural AGMasters Conference at the University of Illinois. I will be providing coverage here on Agwired and other ZimmComm sites, as well as on the AGMasters Conference blog – with the help of several ag comm and crop science students from the …
Time to be Thankful
This is the time of year we take at least a moment to be thankful for the great abundance of food we have in this country. A recent report from USDA shows that over 85 percent of American households have enough – or more than enough – to eat. That means that as a nation, we are “food secure.” That …
Missouri Thanks Farmers and Ranchers
Today is officially Thank a Farmer day in Missouri. Missouri Director of Agriculture Dr. Jon Hagler (right) visited Forck Farms near Jefferson City to present the official proclamation to Kelly Forck, a diversified crop and livestock producer who is president of the Missouri Soybean Association. “It’s an appropriate tribute to the farmers and ranchers across Missouri and across this country …
Cruising to Commodity Classic
Registration is officially open for the 2010 Commodity Classic in Anaheim, California and you better register soon because it will fill up fast. This will be the 15th annual Commodity Classic for soybean, corn, wheat and sorghum growers and their families, to be held March 4-6 right next to Disneyland. The theme for 2010 is “Cruising to Success.” Growers who …
#ThankaFarmer Day
If you like to eat – thank a farmer on Twitter today. On Twitter, many agriculture advocates are taking part in tweeting the hashtag #thankafarmer, and are planning to tweet today from 10 am through 12 pm CST. Twitter users are beginning to express their gratitude with a #thankafarmer twibbon. Here you can see Chuck’s Twitter pic proudly displaying his …
Farm Bureau Pleased at Delay of Climate Bill
The American Farm Bureau Federation is pleased with a decision by Senate leadership last week to delay consideration of climate change legislation until the spring of 2010. I talked with AFBF president Bob Stallman about that legislation and a number of other issues affecting agriculture during the recent National Association of Farm Broadcasting annual meeting. Stallman says they opposed the …
Farm Foundation Focuses on Future
Farm Foundation is a 76 year old organization for agriculture that never stops looking ahead. Last month’s Farm Foundation “30-Year Policy Conference” drew agribusiness leaders, government officials, and other interested parties. “Because 30 years from now, we’re going to be looking at over 9 billion people on the planet and with rising incomes, people begin to eat more meat and …
Ag Secretary at NAFB
Somehow I neglected to do a post on Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack being at NAFB last week. He did a press conference and attended the NAFB Foundation luncheon where he spoke and helped to honor this year’s scholarship winners. Not a whole lot of newsy information out of the Secretary’s visit, but it was nice to have him there. He …
Record Breaking NAFB Foundation Auction
The traditional Thursday night auction to benefit the NAFB Foundation was a record breaker at the convention last week at $15,100. Orion Samuelson once again served as Master of Ceremonies while the legendary Cliff Mitchell did a cameo guest appearance as auctioneer. The almost-legendary Dave Schumacher of KTRS Radio was the main auctioneer for the event. Among the 56 treasures …
Novus Launches Podcast
Novus International has launched a new bi-weekly podcast series – “What’s New with Novus,” hosted by Novus public relations manager Jeremy Lutgen. The inaugural podcast, featuring Novus executive VP for marketing and sales Dr. Giovanni Gasperoni, went on line today and is available on iTunes, Zune and www.novusint.com/podcasts to subscribe, download or stream. Gasperoni discusses ALIMET® and Novus’s 30 year …