Washington Post columnist and Cape Cod oyster farmer Tamar Haspel (@tamarhaspel) provided some good food for thought at the ASTA CSS 2015 and Seed Expo Thursday with a session that focused on science communications and influencing public opinion. In a lively discussion with attendees, Haspel stressed the need for the agriculture industry to be more effective when communicating about science …
New NAFB Officers
Congratulations to the new slate of National Association of Farm Broadcasting officers and board members elected during the convention last week. President: Brian Winnekins, WRDN Radio, Wisconsin President Elect: Tony St. James, KDDD and KFLP Radio, Texas Vice President: Tom Cassidy, Ag Radio Network, New York South Region VP: Lorrie Boyer, KSIR Radio, Colorado West Region VP: Sabrina Hill, AgNet …
The Elephant in the Cornfield
With the title, “The Elephant in the Cornfield,” Chris Clayton’s first book draws you in just to find out what it’s all about. Chris is the policy editor for DTN/The Progressive Farmer and an issue near and dear to his heart is climate change. I share that interest and was able to sit down with him at the NAFB convention …
Let’s Harvest Some Success with NAFB
The annual homecoming of farm broadcasting is about to kick off in KC, MO. ZimmComm team members are on the way armed with cameras and recorders. You can expect plenty of news from the event, especially after Thursday’s Trade Talk frenzy. Cindy, Jamie and Taylor will be doing the duties this week in the media room, sponsored again by our …
RFD-TV Lobbies for Media Merger
RFD-TV executives are lobbying government officials in Washington, D.C., to approve a merger that will see the network on more cable providers. In this news release, RFD-TV points out that Charter Communications, which has a pending merger with Time Warner and Brighthouse cable networks, has a proven track record of supporting rural, independent programming, and the rural network now enjoys …
IFAJ in Good Hands
Recently the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists retained the services of Qu’Anglo Communications & Consulting for global office management services. During the Canadian Farm Writers Federation Annual Meeting I spoke with Hugh Maynard, President, Qu’Anglo. Hugh talked about some of the activities of the IFAJ including the upcoming meeting in New Zealand where he says they will be amending their …
Alberta Farm Writers Get Together
This week’s program comes to you from Calgary, Alberta where I have been attending the 2015 Canadian Farm Writers Federation Annual Conference. Alberta is new territory for me and on Friday we started out with a day of farm tours. I’ve got videos from each of my tour stops to share this coming week. Things got down to business on …
Wrapping up Farm Progress Show
The 2015 Farm Progress Show concluded but the Farm Progress staff are now moving on to the next show and already planning for next year in Boone, IA. The ZimmComm Team has a lot more stories to share with you over the next couple weeks so keep checking back. Before we left Decatur, I sat down with Don Tourte, Vice …
#FarmProgressShow Preview
Hello and welcome to Day 1 of the 2015 Farm Progress Show. It’s a beautiful morning in Farm Progress City, Illinois. To get a preview I spoke with Show Manager Matt Jungemann. One of the things that’s very exciting this year are the field demos. That’s because the last two years have been cool and wet making the crops unavailable …
Farm Broadcaster Wins Ethanol Media Award
Tom Riter of WNAX in Yankton, SD was awarded this year’s American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) Excellence in Media award at last week’s annual meeting in Omaha. Riter is pictured here receiving the award from ACE Director of Communications Chuck Beck. Riter is a veteran farm broadcaster and a native of Rock Rapids, Iowa. He is a regular contributor to …