Ryan Goodman Receives Inaugural Comm Award

Chuck Zimmerman

He’s Agriculture Proud. He’s Ryan Goodman, Manager of Communications for the Montana Stockgrowers Association. The photo is from when Ryan was teaching a blogging class at the 2011 Agvocacy 2.0 Conference. The Montana Stockgrowers Association is proud to announce that Ryan Goodman, MSGA Manager of Communications, is the inaugural recipient of the 2013 Communicator of the Year award, presented by …

Ag Groups, Farming, Social Media, Social Networking, Video

GROWMARK Becomes NAMA Sustaining Sponsor

Chuck Zimmerman

We welcome GROWMARK as a fellow Sustaining Partner of the National Agri-Marketing Association! “GROWMARK is one of the cooperatives in agri-marketing,” said Jenny Pickett, NAMA Executive Vice President/CEO, in announcing the partnership. “Their support is not only an endorsement of the industry and the Association today, but also a pledge to help us, and our members, continue to be at …

Ag Groups, Agribusiness, GROWMARK, NAMA

Happy World Soil Day

Chuck Zimmerman

Got soil? Go outside and dig your fingers in it. It’s World Soil Day! Here’s a message from USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service on how important healthy soil is and how using conservation practices like no-till can help farmers take better care of their land. When soil is heavily tilled, the stalks from the previous crop are chopped, and the …

Ag Groups, Conservation, Farming, International, Soil, Video

Research, Promotion & Education at Pork Board

Jamie Johansen

The National Pork Board is the entity that conducts research, provides education and promotes the product. They were at the recent NAFB Convention and I caught up with them during the always busy, yet fun and exciting Trade Talk. Dale Norton, Vice President of the National Pork Board, farms with his brother in Michigan and has been a part of …

Ag Groups, Audio, NAFB, Pork

Biotech Crops Alliance Names Secretariat

Cindy Zimmerman

An alliance of organizations supporting biotech crops has named a leader to help “spearhead collaborative efforts to improve the environment for technology innovation and the market for U.S. crops produced through modern biotechnology.” Dr. Michael J. Phillips has been selected as the first secretariat for the U.S. Biotech Crops Alliance (USBCA), which was established by several organizations under a memorandum …

AFBF, Ag Groups, ASTA, Biotech, NCGA

What’s Hot in 2014 Culinary Forecast

Chuck Zimmerman

This forecast of What’s Hot in 2014 looks way too healthy to me. Or maybe I should say it just looks kind of difficult to believe that when you hanker for some BBQ you’re really going to be worrying about where the meat came from. I don’t know. How about you? Each year the National Restaurant Association (NRA) prepares its …

Ag Groups, Food

Bison – The Fastest Growing Meat Industry

Jamie Johansen

The fastest-growing sector of the meat industry may not be what you think. The National Bison Association is the answer and they were present at NAFB’s recent Trade Talk to show that they are dedicated to maintaining their position as a niche in the marketplace. I spoke with Dave Carter, Executive Director of the organization and he talked about their …

Ag Groups, Audio, Meat, NAFB

Update From NCBA at NAFB

Jamie Johansen

The National Association of Farm Broadcasting’s Trade Talk gave us the opportunity to chat with leaders of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA). President Elect for NCBA, Bob McCan, is from Victoria, TX and he operates a 5th generation purebred commercial herd of Brafords. I spoke with him during the event and he shed some light on trade, immigration and …

Ag Groups, Audio, Beef, NAFB, NCBA

Giving Thanks for Affordable Food

Cindy Zimmerman

When we sit down this week to tables heaping with delicious food, we should all take a moment to reflect upon how blessed we are to live in a land of abundant and affordable food. We have seen stories this year about food costs being higher, often blaming last year’s drought and ethanol production, but in fact our Thanksgiving meal …

AFBF, Ag Groups, Food

Looking Ahead to ASFMRA Agronomics Vision 2015

Chuck Zimmerman

With the conclusion of the Agronomics Vision 2014 conference and American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers annual meeting, it is time to look forward to next year. To do that I sat down with Fred Hepler, President-Elect, AFM, AAC of Cottonwood Management in Edmond, Oklahoma. Next year it will be Fred’s meeting and he’s excited about it already. …

Ag Groups, Audio, Video