Disruptive change sounds disturbing. However, perhaps it’s more of a challenge. Mandi McLeod, System Insights, Ltd., New Zealand, talked about it and its impact on the dairy industry during the Alltech International Symposium. She’s seen here being interviewed by Ireland’s RTE voice Damien O’Reilly. I spoke with Mandi after Damien to learn what is going on with dairy farming in …
Hunting The Wild Cicada
I don’t know about where you are but the cicadas have made their presence known here in Missouri. Hunting is not the right word. I just walked out in the front yard to take a picture of this bad boy. They really just started showing up. Nothing, then boom, they’re everywhere. I’ve passed white fences and walls that are covered …
Alltech Gets New Media
This week’s program features a conversation I had at last week’s Alltech International Symposium with Billy Frey, Digita Marketing Manager. Billy was on the program with a session titled, “Precision Marketing: Don’t “get what you pay for,” only pay for what you get. His session was part of a new educational track called the New Ag Network. This track was …
Alltech Cafe Citadelle
Alltech is a company that’s doing a lot of things. I’ve mentioned their Haiti aid project which includes Alltech Cafe Citadelle, 100% pure arabica shade-grown, hand-picked, Haitian Coffee. At this week’s Alltech Symposium I got an update on how that project is going from Chris Gayton, Project Development Manager. He says that Alltech wanted to do something that would have …
Crisis Management Coalition
Peter Kerr has worked with a lot of people in agriculture and he found that many are not prepared for a crisis and can’t afford to hire a public relations firm to help them deal with one when it happens. So what he’s doing is bringing together farmers and agribusinesses in a coalition to “help each other out.” He has …
Missouri Ag Helps Tornado Victims
Like so many others in this state, Missouri farmers, ranchers and agribusinesses are doing what they can to help the victims of the tornado in Joplin. In less than 24 hours yesterday, the Missouri Department of Agriculture collected more than $19,000 in donations for relief efforts. Staff members from the Missouri Department of Agriculture spearheaded a donation drive for the …
Alltech Has Winning Formula For Symposium
The Vice President of Corporate Accounts for Alltech is Aidan Connolly. He is just one of the team that I’ve had the pleasure to get to become friends with and always enjoy seeing. We joke about how often we run into each other at events around the country. This year Aidan moderated the Alltech Symposium Game Changers Debate once again. …
Alltech International Symposium Concludes
The 2011 Alltech International Animal Health & Nutrition Symposium has concluded and with a resounding message to dream the impossible dream. Dr. Pearse Lyons took the stage to summarize what we learned and to provide some takeaway ideas that included five things that should be on your business survival action list. 1. No fads, no fashions, just change 2. Don’t …
Ag Groups Call For Trade Agreement Approval
Since May is both World Trade Month and National Beef Month, it was appropriate for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) to host a news conference on Capitol Hill today urging the Obama administration to send pending free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea to Congress immediately. NCBA was joined by the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), American …
Food & Farming Are Game Changers For Humanity
The author of “An Edible History of Humanity” is Tom Standage, Business Editor, The Economist. He’s actually still presenting on stage but I always say, why wait? Thanks to Aly Rowell again for providing me with an interview she did with Tom. I have not read the book but perhaps I will after hearing Tom’s presentation. It’s very interesting to …