According to the folks at Husch Blackwell we’re seeing a growing phenomenon of animal health companies pursuing IPOs. I visited with Jim Ash and Stan Baker last week about this largely unnoticed trend. Husch Blackwell is a national legal firm with a Food & Agribusiness team. They even have a D.V.M. on the staff – Stan Baker! According to these …
Legislative Issues for Agriculture
Congress back in session this week after the 4th of July holiday, but with all the recesses and holidays coming up before the November elections, there is little time left for them to actually do any work. Board members for GROWMARK recently visited Capitol Hill to talk with their congressional representatives about issues important to them. Our guest on the …
Ethanol for Energy Independence
As we prepare to celebrate our nation’s Independence Day, many of us will be out on the roads driving to see family, friends and fireworks. But, thanks to upheaval in a little country halfway across the world, gas prices are up again so we are going to be paying more at the pump, a stark reminder that we are not …
Wearable Technology for Agriculture – Google Glass
It’s time to get a ZimmGlass update. Actually, this is more of a wearable technology update that includes Google Glass. My guest this week is Bruce Rasa, TekWear, LLC. You might have met Bruce at our booth during the Agri-Marketing Conference or on a program somewhere demonstrating Google Glass. Bruce has been using Glass longer than I have and in …
NAMA Happenings and Update
The Executive Committee of the National Agri-Marketing Association met yesterday and even though I could not make it thanks to plane problems and weather I got all caught up with President Kenna Rathai this morning. So this week’s program is our conversation in which Kenna talks about what the committee discussed or did during the quarterly meeting. First up is …
The New AgWired and New AgWired App
You have probably noticed that AgWired looks “different.” It is. Very different. The ZimmComm team has completely re-built AgWired with hard work from our webmaster. This project was undertaken to consolidate our news network under the AgWired brand and provide a growth platform for the future. We still have some tweaks to do as we get comfortable with a new …
Alltech Founder Dr. Pearse Lyons Reminsces
In this week’s program I’m sharing a conversation with one of my favorite entrepreneurs, Dr. Pearse Lyons, Alltech, at the company’s annual Symposium. Since I’ve had the opportunity to attend the annual Alltech Symposiums I’ve told many people that it is the best conference I’ve ever attended that’s put on by a single company. That is still true this year. …
Panera Bread and Millennials
How many of you remember the Panera EZChicken campaign? If so, you know that it sparked a social media response from the agriculture community due to the way farmers were portrayed who did not farm the way Panera wants their food ingredients farmed. Panera did issue an apology and you’ll hear another one in this week’s program.
ZimmCast with Paulsen’s Sara Steever
We are so pleased to offer our sincere congratulations to a good friend and professional colleague Sara Steever, who was just named president of Paulsen Marketing! Sara is only the fourth president in the 63-year history of the Sioux Falls-based agency that specializes in ag and rural lifestyle clients. She succeeds Greg Guse, who has been Paulsen’s president for the …
More on IFAJ and the FAO Agreement
As announced earlier this week, the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists has signed an agreement with the FAO. Signing for IFAJ was current President, Marcus Rediger. This morning I spoke with Marcus via Skype and we talked about the agreement and what it means to IFAJ members (AAEA members here in the U.S.). Information from the FAO will be featured …