On June 21-21 four counties in South Carolina will host the 2014 Catawba Regional Ag + Art Tour. It’s the largest free farm tour in the nation with 48 sites along the tour. It’s a self-guided tour of farms featuring local artisans at each stop, and it’s the only farm tour in South Carolina that features artisans. “Participants on the …
High Standards Required for Food Marketing
Recent Food Dialogues panelist Clarke Caywood (left), Professor, Integrated Marketing Communications Dept., Northwestern University, has some interesting perspectives when it comes to the topic of “Integrity in Food Marketing. I visited with Clarke prior to the start of last week’s program and asked him what that subject means to him. He says it has a lot of legal as well …
FuSE Celebrates 10 Years of Training Young Seed Execs
During the 131st American Seed Trade Association’s Annual Convention in Indianapolis, IN. the Future Seed Executives (FuSE) held a joint FuSE/Management Skills committee meeting focused on the Power of Inclusive Leadership. I spoke with FuSE founder and Vice President, Business Development for Gro Alliance, Jim Schweigert, and he shared what lead him to start this group for young professionals in …
CUTC Student Poster Competition Winners
During the 2014 Corn Utilization and Technology Conference the winners of the Gary Lamie Graduate Student Poster Competition were announced. The program is sponsored by the Indiana Corn Marketing Council. Pictured are National Corn Growers Association President Martin Barbre (left) and NCGA Research and Development Action Team Chair Tom Mueller (right) with the top three poster winners. I visited with …
Farmers Dialoguing About Food
Two farmers got to discuss food on the panel for the USFRA Food Dialogues in Chicago this week. I visited with them and am sharing my conversations in this week’s ZimmCast. First up is Chuck Wirtz, a pork producer from Iowa. With the topic being “Integrity in Food Marketing” I wondered what that meant to the panelists so I asked …
Elizabeth Leamy Moderates Food Dialogues
The moderator for today’s Food Dialogues in Chicago is Elizabeth Leamy, a journalist currently working as a correspondent for the Dr. Oz Show. At the conclusion of this morning’s live webcast panel discussion I got to talk with her about the experience. The topic of the discussion was Integrity in Food Marketing and my first question was what that means …
National Festival Highlights Wheat
Wheat weavers, farmers, bakers, millers and educators will greet visitors to the United States Botanic Garden (USBG) on Saturday, June 14 as part of the Amber Waves of Grain Family Festival. The Festival runs from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and highlights the USBG’s summer exhibit on the history and beauty of wheat. The festival includes hands-on activities for children, …
NCGA Thanks President for Signing WRRDA
The National Corn Growers Association thanked President Obama for signing the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014. This final reauthorization bill, which will improve the reliability and efficiency of the U.S. inland waterways system, was passed by the House on May 20 and the Senate on May 22. “This legislation provides an important step toward the infrastructure improvements …
Integrity in Food Marketing
The U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance Food Dialogues is taking place live as of this post in Chicago. The topic is “Integrity in Food Marketing 2014.” I’ve already interviewed several of our panelists and will do more when today’s discussion concludes. The program is live now and will be archived on the Food Dialogues website. We’ve got some very interesting …
DOT Grants Livestock Haulers Exemption
On Friday, the U.S. Department of Transportation granted a one-year exemption for truck drivers hauling livestock and poultry from an hours-of-service rule that took effect last July 1. The regulation requires truck drivers to take a 30-minute rest break after eight hours of service, which for drivers transporting livestock and poultry includes the hours of service loading and unloading animals. …