Meet three of my amigos from the Ag Media Summit. This is the BASF team that greeted us, prepared to talk “what’s new.” They are (l-r) Nick Fassler, Dr. Scott Walker and Dr. Dan Westberg. I spoke to each of them and thank BASF for sponsoring my coverage of this year’s event. Let’s start with Nick Fassler, Technical Market Manager, …
Photographing The Apocalypse – Hurricane Katrina
I conducted quite a few interviews at the Ag Media Summit but none of them compare to this one for not only the topic but also who I interviewed. Ted Jackson, New Orleans Times-Picayune staff photographer was our luncheon speaker yesterday. His topic was “Who Will Photograph the Apocalypse?” That pretty well describes the devastation and trauma he faced each …
AAEA Presents Lifetime Achievement Awards
The American Agricultural Editors Association presented two Lifetime Achievement Awards during the Ag Media Summit awards banquet. Receiving one of the awards from the AAEA was John Harvey (pictured on right). These awards are just some of the many awards that are presented during the Ag Media Summit. I will try to find an electronic copy of them and provide …
AgHaven Continues To Develop
Do you have your AgHaven account created yet? If not, what are you waiting for? AgHaven is still seeking feedback as it works to improve and finalize different elements of this new agricultural “community.” AgHaven is a sponsor of my coverage of this year’s Ag Media Summit and they were giving a lot of tours to journalists here during InfoExpo. …
Koch Agronomic Services to Acquire AGROTAIN International
AGROTAIN International had some big news to talk about today at the Ag Media Summit Info Expo – the company has signed an agreement to sell its assets to Koch Agronomic Services, LLC, a subsidiary of Koch Fertilizer, LLC. AGROTAIN VP of Global Marketing Jeff Whetstine, pictured here with Dr. Harold Reetz of Reetz Agronomics, gave Chuck the lowdown in …
Ag Media Summit, Xbox 360 and BASF
The Ag Media Summit, Xbox 360 and BASF adds up to something fun for one lucky ag journalist attending this year’s event. BASF, our conference coverage sponsor, has a drawing in their InfoExpo booth. While you’re there you can also take their Innovation Quotient quiz to find out if you’re Techie, Wired or Traditional. If you’re Techie you get a …
Retail and Acquisitions Put the GROW in GROWMARK
Retail businesses and acquisitions really put the “Grow” in the GROWMARK system. Shelly Kruse is GROWMARK vice president of retail and acquisitions and I spoke with her earlier this year about her job. “I work a lot with our retail divisions, which are member cooperatives that have actually merged into GROWMARK,” Shelly said. Three of those retail divisions are located …
Ag Media Summit Update From USFRA
One of our sessions at the Ag Media Summit is titled, “Of course our food is safe,” says modern ag – But is anybody listening? The presentation was made by leadership members of the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance. The Chairman is Bob Stallman, American Farm Bureau Federation, seen at the podium. I visited with him before the session started. …
ACT Update
Since we met the new leadership of AAEA and LPC, how about saying hello to the leaders of the ACT? Here’s the leadership team for the Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow. I spoke with Jessica England, President and Lauren Greaves, First Vice President. I met them earlier this year during National Ag Day Activities. The ACT holds meetings in conjunction with …
Meet New AAEA and LPC Presidents
The ZimmCast is produced this week in the lobby/registration area at the Agricultural Media Summit. I’m posting as the first break is ending and now it’s time for more professional development sessions. My interviews were recorded on a new app I have for my iPhone. They didn’t come out sounding as good as I’d like but they are okay. In …