The first person on the program at the Country Living Outlook Conference is Betsy Freese, Editor-in-Chief of Living The Country Life. Betsy talked about who these rural lifestyle people are and based her comments on research her company has done as well as her personal contact with her audience. Some quick facts she gave came from the magazine’s subscription cards …
Tom Slunecka Goes Cellulosic
As you know, the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council is a client of ZimmComm’s and sponsors our coverage of various industry related events throughout the year. At the Cellulosic Ethanol Summit I sat down with Executive Director, Tom Slunecka (pictured second from left with the leadership of KL Process Design Group). I’ve been waiting to do this since he announced …
Mike Wagner is BRFA’ing a New Baby
When I ran into Mike Wagner here at the Cellulosic Ethanol Summit I was with a group and got introduced to him. I said “I bought a water bed from you in 1983.” He blinked and said that I sure did. That’s been 24 years ago. At the time he was leaving Florida Farm Bureau Federation and I had just …
Meeting Acting Ag Secretary Conner
I got my first opportunity to meet our Acting Secretary of Agriculture Chuck Conner today. He was the luncheon keynote speaker at the Cellulosic Ethanol Summit which is underway in Washington, DC. He addressed the group on the subject of what agriculture’s role is in building a national cellulosic industry. I caught up to him outside as he was leaving …
A Country Living Conversation
I like living the country life. That’s why the ZimmComm office compound sits on a couple acres outside Jefferson City, MO. It’s nice to watch the birds, squirrels, deer, etc. and not have a neighbor’s house right on top of you. A lot of people feel the same way and that’s why there’s a Country Living Association. This week on …
ls Food a Right?
October 16 is World Food Day as coordinated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. This year’s theme is “The Right to Food.” I’m all for bringing attention to the fact that there are people starving and we should do all we can to feed them with our excess. However, if you listen to the following statement …
Dr. Franz Fischler Will Chair IFAJ Congress 2008
We may have just concluded one IFAJ Congress but it’s time to look forward to next year. The man in charge is former EU Commissioner of Agriculture Dr. Franz Fischler. He’s chairing IFAJ 2008 and I met him in Japan. I found Dr. Fischler to be very easy to speak with. He’s got me convinced that Cindy and I should …
International Forum for Women in Dairying
It’s the final day of World Dairy Expo and things are getting more relaxed for the agriblogger. It’s also a lot quieter here in the media room. We’re down to the die-hards I guess. During our media talk session Kathy LaScala wanted to talk about the International Forum for Women in Dairying. I asked her what this is all about. …
LPC Meets With Dairy Woman of the Year
The Livestock Publications Council met for breakfast with the Dairy Woman of the Year, Deborah Lee Reinhart, a producer from New Holstein, Wisconsin. She’s pictured third from the left in the front row Diane Johnson, LPC Executive Director gave us an update on some of the regional workshops as well as the Gala Banquet at the American Royal in a …
National Dairy Animal Well-Being Initiative Announced
This morning at World Dairy Expo a producer-led coalition of dairy groups and companies announced the National Dairy Animal Well-Being Initiative. They’re proposing dairy animal well-being guidelines and principles. The effort held a press conference with several speakers. One of the groups participating in the effort is the National Milk Producers Federation. I spoke with their Senior Vice President of …