An exhibitor at AG CONNECT Expo that you may not expect to see is Cabela’s. Handling the duties was Gene Catrambone, National Sales Manager. Gene says that a major portion of Cabela’s business comes from business to business sales, especially in the ag sector. They supply products directly to farmers but also to major agribusinesses. They offer tools for incentive …
Mike Rowe – Advocate for Agriculture
When asked if he would consider being a “spokesperson” for agriculture, Mike “Dirty Jobs” Rowe said, “I don’t think American agriculture needs a spokesman, I think they need an advocate. And the advocates I believe they need are people like me who have shown a long term addiction to chewing and swallowing.” Mike was kind enough to meet with the …
Secretary of Ag Vilsack Addresses AFBF Annual Meeting
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack addressed the 2011 American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Meeting this afternoon. He made a couple of comments that drew applause from the audience. One of those dealt with concerns over USDA’s pending decision on regulating GM alfalfa. He said, “We’re trying to figure out, as difficult as it might be, is there a way …
Wrapping Up AG CONNECT Expo
The chairman of the management committee for AG CONNECT Expo is Martin Richenhagen, AGCO President/CEO. I spoke with him about this year’s show which is now winding down to its last hour. Martin said that one of the differences for this show from last year was having a lot more visitors and he credits having other organizations holding their meetings …
Consumer Food Habits Study Presented at AG CONNECT Expo
What do consumers think about food? Betsy Freese, Living The Country Life, told AG CONNECT Expo attendees about the results of recent survey results from the Better Homes & Gardens magazine editors. They mainly focused on women readers and their food habits in the last two year. Betsy says that between 2008 to 2010 they found that the economy had …
Smartphone Technology Education at AG CONNECT Expo
One very well attended education session at AG CONNECT Expo was on “Smartphone Technology: Unleashing Agriculture.” The presenter was Neil Mylet, Loadout Technologies. He started his company right after graduating Purdue to develop intelligent smartphone technologies to allow phones to command and control and be part of industrial processes such as grain handling. Neil was encouraged by the turnout at …
AFBF President Meets the Press
American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) president Bob Stallman fielded questions from the press for 40 minutes on Sunday afternoon at the annual meeting in Atlanta, covering a wide variety of topics. Several questions centered on the legal action AFBF intends to take against EPA over the regulation of the Chesapeake Bay total maximum daily load (TMDL), a so-called “pollution diet” …
Going Mobile To Teach Children Where Food Comes From
Out on the AG CONNECT Expo floor in the AFBF trade show pavilion you’ll find the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau’s Mobile Ag Ed Science Lab. This is one of a number of mobile classrooms to teach children where their food comes from. The Lab is a project of the PA Friends of Ag Foundation. I visited with Tonya Wible, Program Director …
Kenny Wallace Supporting Family Farmers
Kenny Wallace, NASCAR driver, says, “Ethanol all the way in NASCAR!” That’s what he told me this afternoon in the American Farm Bureau Federation Pavilion on the floor of the AG CONNECT Expo. Thanks to Tricia Braid, Illinois Corn Growers, for setting up our interview and taking the photo. Kenny was signing autographs in the Nationwide Insurance exhibit. You won’t …
Korean Free Trade Optimism
Korea’s ambassador to the United States is optimistic that Congress will pass the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement when it is submitted by the president. Han Duk-soo spoke at a town hall forum sponsored by American Farm Bureau during the Ag Connect Expo on Saturday and then held a press conference, accompanied by AFBF’s Congressional Relations Director Chris Garza. “The momentum …