We’ve heard a lot about consumer attitudes about and consumption of meats like beef and pork but how about seafood? Well the Seafood Industry Research Fund sponsored a research study to do just that. Working with Virginia Tech’s Department of Food Science and Technology the research was used in the development of educational videos that address gaps in consumer knowledge …
Reaction to Court COOL Decision
A U.S. district court judge today denied a request for a preliminary injunction blocking a final USDA regulation mandating country-of-origin labels (COOL) on meat sold in retail stores until a lawsuit filed July 8 is concluded. That decision made COOL supporters happy but disappointed the plaintiffs, which include U.S. and Canadian meat packer and livestock organizations. “We disagree strongly with …
NFU Fly-In Features Big Names
The National Farmers Union held a star-studded press conference on the first day of its Legislative Fly-In in Washington to highlight two important issues for agriculture – passing a farm bill this year, and maintaining the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Rock star of the event was Grammy-winning artist Neil Young, pictured here with NFU President Roger Johnson. Young, who was …
Preview of Argentina IFAJ Congress
The 2013 International Federation of Agricultural Journalists Congress is underway in Buenos Aires. Our host for the first ever Congress in South America is the Círculo Argentino de Periodistas Agrarios (CAPA) and Adalberto Rossi is their President. He and I sat down to talk about this year’s Congress program. First up is this afternoon’s first ever Latin American Conference with …
Agvocating with Youtility
The AgChat Foundation has a new President after the board meeting held during the 2013 National Agvocacy Conference. He’s Jeff VanderWerff, Michigan farmer. I spoke to him during the conference and with our keynote speaker. Jeff told me that the organization is in great shape as it continues its mission of “Empowering farmers and ranchers to connect communities through social …
Agvocates On Way Home
The 2013 National Agvocacy 2.0 Conference has come to a close and another group of passionate, trained agvocates are on their way home for some needed rest before continuing to tell stories from their farms. I’ve attended several of these conferences and they keep getting bigger and better. Last night we had some great social activity during the “traditional” swap …
Consumer & Food Research Update
Once again this year the attendees at the National Agvocacy 2.0 Conference had a presentation from the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance. Jenn Dahm gave us an update on research on consumers and food the organization has conducted. A key takeaway from her presentation is that transparency with consumers is not as difficult as we might think it is and …
AgChat Foundation Training New Agvocates
The 2013 National Agvocacy 2.0 Conference is underway in Charlotte, NC. We’ve got a new crop of agvocates in training mode today and tomorrow, over 100 of them! Our program is just underway with keynote speaker Jay Baer, author of Youtility, Why Smart Marketing is about Help not Hype. We’re going to explore conversations beyond the choir, look at some …
National Agvocacy 2.0 Conference
This week I’ll be attending the 2013 National Agvocacy 2.0 Conference in Charlotte, NC. It has been fun to see the excitement build for the farmers and everyone who will be attending. For many it will be there first event of this kind. My ticket is printed and so are my boarding passes! On Friday I will be sharing a …
Pork Summer Advertising Success
The National Pork Board has just recently concluded a summer domestic marketing advertising campaign and the results seem to be very successful when looking at supplies and demand. The United States Department of Agriculture has announced that June 2013 frozen pork supplies are down 14 percent from the previous month, and down nearly 5 percent on a year-over-year basis, reflecting …