Wrap-up of #ARA2015 by President/CEO

Chuck Zimmerman

Palm Desert, CA is a place you really have to want to go to. It is beautiful but can take some effort to travel to. But apparently a lot of Agricultural Retailers Association members really wanted to attend their annual conference. According to Daren Coppock, ARA President/CEO, attendance was strong. Much stronger than they even hoped for. In my last …

Ag Groups, ARA, Audio, ZimmCast

WTO Announces $1.01 Billion in COOL Retaliation

Jamie Johansen

We anticipated this and now it’s here. The World Trade Organization (WTO) announced $1.01 billion retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods authorized in the country-of-origin labeling (COOL) with Canada and Mexico. The WTO has upheld multiple times our neighboring country’s claim that the label creates an unfair advantage to U.S. products. U.S. Senator Pat Roberts, R-Kan., Chairman of the Senate Committee …

AFBF, Ag Groups, Beef, NCBA, NPPC, Pork, Trade

Soil Health Institute Launched To Benefit Soil

Taylor Truckey

The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, in partnership with the Farm Foundation, announced the launch of the Soil Health Institute today. For years, the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation and Farm Foundation have been providing education and insight into the importance of agriculture and proper land stewardship. In 2013, they launched the Soil Renaissance. The movement brought together growers and organizations across …

Ag Groups, Farm Foundation, Soil

California FB President Addresses ARA

Cindy Zimmerman

The president of the California Farm Bureau Federation welcomed members of the Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) to his state this week for their annual meeting. Wenger talked about the importance of the agricultural industry in the United States and his home state. “As we see that today (farmers) are less than two percent of the population and in California farmers …

Ag Groups, Agribusiness, ARA, Audio

Farm & Food Partnerships – A New Paradigm

Chuck Zimmerman

The topic was “The New Paradigm: Farm + Food Partnerships to Meet New Consumer Demand.” Our opening keynote speaker at the Agricultural Retailers Association Conference & Expo was Steve Peterson, Retired Director of Sourcing and Sustainability, General Mills. Steve actually just recently retired and is now farming full time on his farm in Minnesota. Steve told us that he has …

Ag Groups, ARA, Audio, Sustainability

Agricultural Retailers Gather in California

Chuck Zimmerman

The 2015 ARA Conference & Expo is underway in Palm Desert, CA. Opening the general session this morning is Steve Peterson, Retired Director of Sourcing & Sustainability, General Mills. I’ll share an interview with him later. We have a big crowd attending again this year. The theme is Performance. Precision. Passion. and the conference programs reflect those concepts. After a …

Ag Groups, ARA

FFA Joins #GivingTuesday Movement

Kelly Marshall

The National FFA Organization and the National FFA Foundation are encouraging the use of #GivingTuesday.  Held on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, the day is designed to encourage generosity after the shopping events of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.  The FFA hopes to inspire others to give back and support causes they in which they believe. “Donations to the National FFA Foundation …

Ag Groups, FFA

ARA Performance. Precision. Passion. Preview.

Chuck Zimmerman

It’s time to get back on the agriblogging highway with a trip to the 2015 Agricultural Retailers Association Conference & Expo. The theme is Performance. Precision. Passion. We’re going to discover how performance, precision and passion shapes success through presentations, networking and exhibits at this event for ag retailers and suppliers. You can still attend if you would like and …

Ag Groups, ARA, Audio, ZimmCast

Happy Thanksgiving from the American Doorstop Project

Kelly Marshall

Before 1863 each state scheduled its own day of thanksgiving at different times, generally states in New England.  But on Oct. 3 of that year President Abraham Lincoln gave a proclamation setting a National Day of Thanksgiving. “The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, …

Ag Groups

AMSA Launches TheMeatWeEat.com

Jamie Johansen

The American Meat Science Association (AMSA) has debuted their new website, TheMeatWeEat.com. The consumer focused site provides accurate, fact-based information from U.S. meat scientists to help consumers make informed decisions regarding the meat their families enjoy. “TheMeatWeEat.com is the perfect avenue to relay the research of countless meat scientists into digestible information our consumers are looking for. Targeting our audience …

Ag Groups, Food, Meat