After being confirmed by the Senate yesterday, Brooke Rollins was immediately sworn in as the 33rd U.S. Secretary of Agriculture by Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Clarence Thomas in a private ceremony today at the Supreme Court building. “It is the honor of a lifetime to serve as the nation’s thirty-third Secretary of Agriculture — and a privilege …
Breedr Is New AgTech With Launch of Full Circle Beef ™
The CattleCon 2025 Industry News Center was sponsored by Breedr, the Austin-based global leader in precision livestock technology. I interviewed Founder and CEO, Ian Wheal. He talks about how and why he got the company started. Here’s the company’s mantra: “In God we trust; everyone else…bring data,” Full Circle Beef™ connects independent producers across the entire beef supply chain-from cow-calf …
Agri-Pulse Summit to Focus on Taxes, Trade and Technology
“Navigating Taxes, Trade and Technology: What’s Ahead for Food & Agriculture?” is the theme for the annual Agri-Pulse Ag & Food Policy Summit coming up next month on St. Patrick’s Day in Washington, D.C. This must-attend annual event will feature keynote speakers and panelists focused on these topics as well as provide time for networking with industry leaders. Agri-Pulse Founder …
ZimmCast 742 – Cattle and Crop Insurance
Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast. In this episode I’m going to share some interviews with last week’s CattleCon 2025 and CIRB Annual Mtg. I was in San Antonio while Cindy was in Bonita Springs, FL. This is definitely the busy time! So, let’s get started with CattleCon. I talked with Colin Woodall, CEO, NCBA who says they were going …
Meet the Tenth CIRB Emerging Leaders Program Class
There are 19 members in the Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau’s (CIRB) 2024-2025 class of the Emerging Leaders Program (ELP), which is designed to build the next generation of crop insurance and reinsurance leaders. Now in the tenth year, the program offers extensive educational programming, valuable networking opportunities, and active engagement in Washington, D.C., to provide each class with a …
Rabo AgriFinance Working to Support Cattle Producers
John Steeves, Head of Rural Business Economics, North America, Rabo AgriFinance, has moved into the U.S. from Canada to work more closely with producers for the company. He has already spent time meeting with cattle producers and feedlots in several regions of the country. So, spending time at CattleCon 2025 was a no-brainer. I met John in the media room …
Ranchbot Launches Trough Direct at #CattleCon25
At CattleCon 2025 Ranchbot launched Trough Direct, a stand-alone trough monitor with direct satellite connectivity enabling near real-time water levels and consumption data through the MyRanchbot app. The Trough Direct operates independently and can be easily installed with a side or top mount to accommodate a wide variety of trough types. To learn more about it I interviewed Andrew Coppin, …
World Without Cows Screening at #CattleCon25
During the CattleCon 2025 an open screening of the documentary, World Without Cows (Sponsored by Alltech), was on the big screen in the general session room. I was able to see the screening and highly recommend it. On the stage are Dr. Mark Lyons, CEO, Alltech and the filmmakers Michelle Michael and Brandon Whitworth. I talked with Dr. Lyons after …
CIRB Protecting the Crop Insurance Industry
With a new Congress and a new administration, there are lots of new people who need to be educated about the importance of crop insurance and CIRB has its work cut out for it this year. “Obviously we are hoping to get a farm bill again this year,” said Tara Smith, Deputy Executive Vice President of the Crop Insurance and …
NCBA Announces 2025 Policy Priorities
This week, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s (NCBA) Executive Committee approved the organization’s policy priorities at CattleCon 2025. This year the focus will be on engaging with the Trump Administration and Congress to expand opportunities for producer profitability. “Right now it’s all about the first 100 days of a new administration. That’s really the focus of everything in Washington right …