World Pork Expo officially kicked off in Des Moines this evening with a media reception. More than 100 registered media will be on hand to cover the Expo which is expected to be attended by thousands of people from all over the world. During the reception Tim Bierman, who lives in Larrabee, Iowa and is the President of National Pork …
Can the Local Food Movement Feed the World?
I think that one, living in California, and two, living on a ranch, is causing me to obsess about food. Or maybe it is because publishers keep sending me books about food to review (come back next week for one of those very reviews). Regardless of the reason, I was in Whole Foods last week and the last few times …
Why Is Everyone Hating on Meat?
Many of us still have the sting of “Michigan’s Meat Out Day” on our mind. Among the purported reasons for reducing (or eliminating) meat from your diet are to save the Earth from global warming, (cows fart you know), reduce chronic disease, save you money at the grocery story, cure and prevent cancer and prevent childhood obesity. While I will …
Seed Company Loyalty Drops According to New Seed Study
While most of the seed decisions have come and gone for the 2010 growing season, farmers are always thinking about the next year and marketers are always thinking about how to encourage farmers to buy their seed. This year, Successful Farming (SF) conducted a seed study, (and they also do a Farmer Insight Study each year) one that they have …
How Farmer Insights Can Improve Your Marketing
For those of you in the agriculture business, you probably have spent countless hours wondering what farmers are thinking and how best to reach them. Well, there is no need to wonder any longer, now you can just know. How? Through Successful Farming’s Farmer Insight research. Here is a quick fact: did you know that farmers under the age of …
Buy Triscuits, Grow Your Own Garden
I was in the grocery store last night and just happened to find myself in the cracker isle when a box caught my eye. It was the new branding for Triscuits. What struck me was that NabiscoWorld is now promoting “home gardening” on the box. When you look at the back of the box there are instructions on how to …
A Shout Out to My Alma Mater ISU!
As if you can’t tell already, I had a blast during the NAMA conference last week in Kansas City. I especially had fun spending time with the 31 student teams that competed in this year’s Student Marketing Competition. I did, however, have a special place in my heart for my Alma mater, Iowa State University. I had an opportunity to …
NAMA Students Take Home Some Cash Awards
“The check is in the mail” or so the student scholarship winners were told as their names were announced during the student luncheon that was held last week during the 2010 National NAMA conference. Fifteen students won scholarships that ranged from $500 to $4,000 and knowing how college students can be, Curt Blades, with Successful Farming, joked that the envelopes …
Meet the John Deere Signature Award Winners
Last week during the National Agricultural Marketing Association’s (NAMA) annual conference the students arrived in mass to compete in the Student Marketing Competition. But that is not all they engaged in while they were in Kansas City. They were also honored with dozens of awards and scholarships including five chapters who were honored with the John Deere Signature Awards that …
2nd Ag Connect Expo Set for Atlanta, Georgia
I recently spoke with Sara Truesdale-Mooney, the Show Director for the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM). This past January, AEM held its first agricultural trade show, the Ag Connect Expo. Sara told me that it was a great first show. “We are very pleased with the results and it really exceeded all of our expectations for a first-time event.” The …