Media Ready for 2013 Farm Progress Show

Chuck Zimmerman

Farm Progress Show Ag MediaIt’s almost time to kick off the 2013 Farm Progress Show in Decatur, IL. The ZimmComm team is traveling that way today and looking forward to working out of the BASF Media Tent. Thank you to BASF for being the new sponsor and for providing an air conditioned tent. This will be much needed this week looking at the forecast.

In the photo a number of ag media are getting a presentation in the new tent from show manager Matt Jungemann. The media got a preview look last week which included a tour of the show property. We’ll all be there this week.

If you can’t make the show, or even if you can, keep your eye on us as we bring you all the information we can find. You can also watch what’s going on from the webcams or follow along on the Twitter hashtag, #FPS13.

Coverage of the 2013 Farm Progress show is sponsored by Bayer CropScience, Growmark and New Holland
Farm Progress Show

New Sprayers from John Deere

Cindy Zimmerman

jd-intro-sprayerTo meet evolving application needs of customers and Final Tier 4 emissions requirements, John Deere is introducing the new, completely redesigned John Deere 4 Series Sprayers.

jd-intro-breaAccording to product line manager Brea Harms, the R4030 and R4038 Self-Propelled Sprayers offer greater productivity, more uptime, and reduced cost of operation while delivering faster, easier and more precise product application.
“We’ve added the Solution Command System for push-button automated loading and a new front-fill option that makes loading easier and faster with 3-inch Quick Fill couplings at the front of the machine,” Brea says. She also explained during a classroom session how the new sprayers can help farmers deal with herbicide resistance. John Deere's Brea Harms

We learned quite a bit about these new sprayers during the media introduction in Columbus, Ohio. Check out the video below narrated by product manager Laura Robson and look forward to seeing them in person at Farm Progress Show.

John Deere Product Intro photo album

Agribusiness, Audio, Farm Machinery, John Deere, Video

Zimfo Bytes

Talia Goes

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Christine (Christy) Bradshaw was hired as the new education and information services coordinator for the American Hereford Association (AHA).
  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service is offering online courses for youth and teachers through its teachers and students webpage.
  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture is requesting comments on proposed revisions to three standards: U.S. Standards for Grades of Creole Onions, U.S. Standards for Grades of Bermuda-Granex-Grano Type Onions, and U.S. Standards for Grades of Onions (Other Than Bermuda-Granex-Grano and Creole Type).
  • Cargill announced it will suspend the purchase of beef cattle fed Merck Animal Health’s beta agonist feed additive Zilmax (zilpaterol), after a transition period to clear its current supply chain.
Zimfo Bytes

New CEO for Calcium Products Inc.

Cindy Zimmerman

CalciumProducts4Calcium Products, Inc. has a new CEO.

Mike Hogan has been named to succeed founder Larry Moore, who grew the business into one of the largest producers of pelletized limestone and gypsum in the world. Moore plans to stay on with the company in a consulting capacity.

CPI_MPH_photo-1Hogan joins Calcium Products following a 24 year career with John Deere, where he was most recently the business director and factory manager for one of Deere’s tractor divisions in Augusta, Georgia. Previously he was the general manager for Deere’s sprayer business in the Netherlands and also managed certain tractor operations for Deere in Waterloo, Iowa. Hogan is an Iowa native and attended Iowa State University with a degree in mechanical engineering. He also has an MBA from the University of Chicago.

“Larry Moore has done an outstanding job of building a strong team and establishing Calcium Products as the market leader in pelletized limestone and gypsum,” Hogan said. “These innovative products improve crop yield and I’m excited to have the opportunity to lead the company into the future.”

Calcium Products recently opened a second plant in Fort Dodge, Iowa to meet increasing customer demand. The new plant complements the company’s existing operations in Fort Dodge as well as its pelletized limestone plant in Gilmore City, IA.

Agribusiness, Fertilizer

Agvocates On Way Home

Chuck Zimmerman

National Agvocacy 2.0 ConferenceThe 2013 National Agvocacy 2.0 Conference has come to a close and another group of passionate, trained agvocates are on their way home for some needed rest before continuing to tell stories from their farms.

I’ve attended several of these conferences and they keep getting bigger and better. Last night we had some great social activity during the “traditional” swap meet where attendees exchanged various products and information from their home areas. Thanks to Alltech we also had some fine Kentucky Ale to wind down with too!

Keep this conference on your radar for 2014 to attend or perhaps consider sponsoring.

2013 National Agvocacy 2.0 Conference Photos

Ag Groups, Social Networking

McChrystal to Keynote AFBF Annual Convention

Talia Goes

am_headerGen. Stan McChrystal, a retired four-star general and former commander of U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan, will deliver the keynote address at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 2014 Annual Convention, Jan. 12-15, 2014, in San Antonio, Texas.

More than 7,000 Farm Bureau members from across the nation are expected to gather in San Antonio for the 95th Annual Convention to hear from distinguished leaders and participate in a grassroots policy-setting process that will guide AFBF through 2014.

McChrystal has been referred to as “one of America’s greatest warriors,” dedicating 34 years of military service to the U.S. He is a former leader of the Pentagon’s Joint Special Operations Command, which oversees the military’s most sensitive forces. His leadership of JSOC is recognized for the December 2003 capture of Saddam Hussein as well as Abu Mousab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, in June 2006.

McChrystal retired from the military in 2010. He currently teaches a leadership course at Yale University and is the co-founder of the McChrystal Group, which delivers innovative leadership solutions to organizations. He is also the author of the best-selling leadership book, “My Share of the Task: A Memoir.”

Farm Bureau members can register for the 95th AFBF Annual Convention through their state Farm Bureau. Learn more about convention events and related activities at http://annualconvention.fb.org/.

AFBF, Agribusiness, Events

CBB Chairman Moving Forward

Jamie Johansen

Weldon WynnOur Beef Board Chair, Weldon Wynn, spoke with Chuck during the committee meetings during the recent Cattle Industry Summer Conference. Weldon was enthusiastic about the new committee structure and gave a positive outlook into the 2014 budget approval.

Some committee rooms had standing room only and that can only mean that members are more excited than ever to not only simply produce beef but have a say in the structure of the industry. Dollars might be down, but Weldon said, “We are doing more with less.” And continues to say we are moving forward.

“At this particular conference what we are trying to accomplish is we come together and talk to our people all over the countryside. CBB does not represent one state. We represent all of them, about 730,000 producers out there. We come here and talk about the issues facing us, give them a chance to speak their minds and we try our hardest to work through some of these things with our committee structure we have in place.”

You can listen to my interview with Weldon here: Interview with Weldon Wynn
2013 Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album

Audio, Beef, NCBA

Consumer & Food Research Update

Chuck Zimmerman

Jenn DahmOnce again this year the attendees at the National Agvocacy 2.0 Conference had a presentation from the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance. Jenn Dahm gave us an update on research on consumers and food the organization has conducted. A key takeaway from her presentation is that transparency with consumers is not as difficult as we might think it is and that all segments of agriculture have a great story to tell.

In the survey USFRA conducted they found that the food nutrition label is not the only way consumers get information from food packaging. Other elements like stickers or QR codes are also important ways consumers are getting information.

I also spoke with Lisa Cassady about how USFRA is using this type of information. She says they’ve provided training to over 9,000 farmers about how to tell their story.

You can listen to my interview with Jenn and Lisa here: Interview with Jenn Dahm & Lisa Cassady

2013 National Agvocacy 2.0 Conference Photos

Ag Groups, Food, USFRA

Catch Ag Leader at Farm Progress Show!

Melissa Sandfort

Insights WeeklyThat’s right – the Farm Progress Show is just four short days away – are you ready? Amidst the hustle and bustle of trying to fit it all in a day or two, be sure to catch up with Ag Leader Technology at Booth 518.

Mike Olson, North America Sales Manager, says a team of about 20 Ag Leader experts (including tech support specialists) are heading out to the show on Sunday and will be on hand during the week to answer any questions growers might have about existing equipment or adding to their operation for the upcoming harvest season.

Listen to Olson explain

And of course, farm shows are a great way to learn about new product offerings. Olson says Ag Leader will be making some exciting product launch announcements from the show, but wouldn’t give us the specifics. Guess you’ll just have to stop by the booth and find out for yourself!

See you at the show.

Become a fan of Ag Leader on Facebook today, and get the latest precision ag videos on the YouTube channel. For more information about Ag Leader products and services, or to visit the blog site, go to www.agleader.com.

Ag Leader, Agribusiness

Club Blue Event Welcomes Cattle Producers

Jamie Johansen

cisc-13-loweryNew Holland hosted a Club Blue Welcome Reception during this year’s Cattle Industry Summer Conference. The event represented the new partnership between NCBA and New Holland.

Chuck spoke with Mark Lowery, Hay and Forage Specialist, during the event and Mark expressed how New Holland is excited to give support to NCBA members and share what their products can offer cattle producers across the country.

“New Holland is proud to partner with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association in 2013 as a gold level sponsor. We have been really engaged with getting to know the cattlemen and getting to know their business, because of the products we offer to help support what they do. We think we’ve got the right tools to help them out. Kind of the ways we’ve been engaged is we unveiled a great partnership when we were down in Tampa at their annual convention. We had a great equipment display with a lot of great resources for producers to come up and ask questions. We are really excited to announce a member benefit program for NCBA members on April 1st of this year that really gives great discounts across our full line of equipment.”

“We are also engaged with NCBA and their issues. We know they have a lot of great issues they are working on to protect and defend agriculture and the future for the cattle industry. Representatives of New Holland attended the BC Legislative Conference with them back in April. And continuing that engage throughout their summer conference with our Club Blue event to really say thanks to all the volunteers who are out here.”

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Mark here: Interview with Mark Lowery

Here are photos from the event:2013 Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album

Audio, Beef, NCBA, New Holland