Cindy and I were so impressed with AgNite that we just had to talk about it on this week’s ZimmCast. Let’s face it. Get over 5,000 people together and have the whole thing hosted by ag companies and organizations that don’t always see eye to eye and I’d say you’ve accomplished something! This week’s program includes an AgNite wrap-up with …
MOSES is Organic
MOSES is the Midwest Organic & Sustainable Education Service. At the Farm Progress Show, their outreach coordinator, Harriet Behar, visited the media tent. One of the first things I asked her was just what “organic” means. She says it’s a sustainable method of farming that uses on-farm produced inputs. “Only products that have met the organic regulations are allowed to …
AgNite Got Cheesy
AgNite at the RNC was all about showcasing American food and agriculture. One of the most interesting displays included 3 large blocks of cheese. These were donated by Associated Milk Producers Incorporated. They’re not something you’d have room in your refrigerator for since each block weighs 690 pounds! The people working the display got a serious workout slicing off the …
Princess Kay of the Milky Way at AgNite
Helping educate the people attending AgNite was Princess Kay of the Milky Way. She’s Kristy Mussman, a 3rd generation dairy farm family member. She’s still pretty overwhelmed by her selection as the 55th Princess Kay. “It’s an unbelievable feeling, knowing that one day I was just a dairy farmer’s daughter and then going through all the processes for dairy princesses …
Chris Novak New Pork Board CEO
The National Pork Board has a new CEO. He’s Chris Novak from Indiana. He says it’s “like coming home for me.” Novak has served as executive director of the Indiana Soybean Alliance and Indiana’s corn organizations. He led the merger of two soybean organizations and helped build partnerships between Indiana’s soybean, corn and livestock commodity organizations. He also worked to …
FFA Helping Educate at AgNite
The primary purpose of AgNite was to showcase and educate attendees about agriculture. What better way than to have your state FFA officers on hand? One of them was Sydney Place who is Minnesota FFA State Reporter. Sydney had an exciting day because she not only attended AgNite but it was also her first day of college. She says, “It …
More Monsanto Sustainability
The potential for increasing yields exists everywhere if you ask Michael Doane. Michael is the Sustainability Team Lead for Monsanto. He spoke at the Monsanto discussion on sustainability on the 2008 Farm Progress Show last week. After his speech, I caught up with him and we spoke more about how he thinks the world will answer the global food demands …
Biotechnology Feeds Sustainability, Feeds the World
Thirty-three percent of the land’s surface is used for food production. That’s the figure that John Hoffman, Iowa farmer and President of the American Soybean Association puts out there. He says that 33 percent makes up 55 percent of the land that’s arable. So, we’re already using more than half the arable land out there to feed the world. Much …
Soybean Board Elects Members
Secretary of agriculture Ed Schafer recently announced 19 appointments to the United Soybean Board (USB). Twelve of these directors are returning to serve an additional term, with seven new members coming on board. Each of these appointees represents soybean farmers from their state or region. Returning members will use their experience and knowledge of the checkoff to better position the …
The Truth About Labor Day Food Prices
I’m not sure what Cindy and I will be eating today but we won’t be grilling. We’re going to be driving to Minneapolis for tomorrow’s AgNite, which will be covered right here. In the meantime, for those of you who are interested in your Labor Day meal, the folks at FoodPriceTruth.org have some interesting information about your cookout food prices …