Voting delegates of the American Soybean Association (ASA) set policy regarding a comprehensive long-term farm bill, as well as additional critical soybean industry priorities, such as exports and trade, transportation and biotechnology, during its annual meeting at the 2013 Commodity Classic last week. “The resolutions process is a great reminder that ASA’s policies come directly from the ground up,” said …
Commodity Classic Media Man
I don’t know what the final, final totals are but before it ended the 2013 Commodity Classic broke records that include 6,180 attendees, 3,024 of which are growers and 1,024 first time attendees. The high number of first time attendees was especially pleasing to Ken Colombini, Communications Director for the National Corn Growers Association. I sat down with him during …
Commodity Classic Presidents Speak Out
A highlight of the general session of Commodity Classic is the visit with the Presidents. Here are our four commodity group presidents. Moderator Mark Mayfield is seated on the left. To the right of him are Terry Swanson, National Sorghum Producers; Erik Younggren, National Association of Wheat Growers; Pam Johnson, National Corn Growers Association and Danny Murphy, American Soybean Association. …
Unconfusing the Confused Consumer
Recent information shows that the meat industry in this country has a lot of work to do with the American consumer. At the recent 2013 Annual Meat Conference in Nashville Michael Uetz with Midan Marketing, spoke during one of the sessions titled, “Demystifying the Meat Case for Today’s Confused Consumer.” “We were shocked when we went in and talked with …
King Richard Talks Smithfield at Meat Conference
One of the greatest race car drivers of all time, “King” Richard Petty was at the 2013 Annual Meat Conference in Nashville, talking up one of the sponsors of his NASCAR team, Smithfield Foods. “This is first time I’ve ever been to a show like this, but it looks pretty interesting,” he said during an interview, jokingly adding that he …
Commodity Classic Trade Show Open
It’s official. The Commodity Classic trade show is now open. The ribbon has been cut. There are over 1,000 exhibitors this year for the show. Wish we could stop and visit with all of them. We can’t but we’ll be sharing interviews with as many as we have time to. 2013 Commodity Classic Photo Album
Commodity Classic Breaking Records
The numbers are suggesting that this year’s Commodity Classic will be another record buster. I visited with Patrick Delaney, Communications Director, American Soybean Association, in the media room to get an early look at how things are shaping up for this year’s combined annual meetings of the ASA, National Corn Growers Association, National Association of Wheat Growers and National Sorghum …
Welcome to 2013 Commodity Classic
Welcome to the 2013 Commodity Classic. The ZimmComm Team is here. Actually, Cindy is off on an adventure with our sponsor, BASF, while I got things started here in the Commodity Classic Media Room. Jamie Johansen will be joining us late this evening. So expect lots of stories from the trade show, the general sessions, participating organizations, press conferences. We’ll …
Farm Foundation to Talk About Sustainable Practices
How the world’s farmers meet the demands of a growing population in a sustainable way is the subject of the next Farm Foundation Forum on Wednesday, March 6, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The forum will also be broadcast on the web for free. Attendees will discuss a new report from Solutions From the Land (SFL), a …
Economic Outlook in Meat Industry
Our morning two general session featured several economists including Steve Meyer, President, Paragon Economics. I talked with him afterward to get a few of his thoughts on how things are looking for the meat industry. The number one item is weather. Of course Steve says that’s harder to predict than the markets! Steve says we’re on such a tight supply …