USDA Website Shuts Down with Government

Cindy Zimmerman

usda-downOkay, so the government is shut down because Congress is unable to play nice together and find compromise – but why would that shut the USDA website down?

I checked out a few other government sites – including EPA, Energy, FDA, the White House and Congress – and none of them are shut down. I can understand not updating, but shutting down? I know a little bit about websites and I’m pretty sure they that keeping the website up is more cost effective than actually shutting it down for however long it takes Congress to get its act together. Someone actually had to go to the trouble of not only shutting it down, but creating a new landing page for usda.gov to redirect – http://www.usda.gov/fundinglapse.htm.

Really? That’s just silly.

USDA

Al Gustin’s Farm Byline

Chuck Zimmerman

Al Gustin Farm BylineLike North Dakota agriculture? Then you might like a “Al Gustin’s Farm Byline: Reflections on North Dakota Agriculture 1974-2013.”

Widely considered the “Voice of North Dakota Agriculture,” Al Gustin spent 45 years as a television and radio agricultural broadcast journalist and is in his 40th year as a magazine columnist.

In this, his first book, Gustin has compiled a collection of 162 of his columns that were published in North Dakota Living magazine, formerly the North Dakota REC Magazine. The topics touch on the many issues of interest to farmers and farm families, such as crop prices, conservation, markets, changes in the dairy industry, cattle and bull merchandising, barns, drought stress, farm machinery, country neighbors, rural isolation, food security, holiday traditions, the role of government and world agriculture.

The beginning of each chapter contains a sketch by Morton County artist Scott Nelson.

You can order the book on DakotaBookNet.com.

Media

National FFA Organization Membership Explodes

Talia Goes

ffa emblemAnalysts forecast that the world’s population will grow to 9 billion people by 2050. With global needs today to fight hunger and prepare for the expected population explosion, the agriculture industry needs educated, skilled and passionate people dedicated to sustainability.

Students are answering that call, evidenced by an explosion in FFA membership throughout the U.S, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands in the past year.

Membership in FFA today stands at 579,678 students in grades seven through 12. More than 22,300 new students joined FFA during the 2012-13 school year. The number of new, local FFA chapters throughout the country has grew to 7,570.

Founded in 1928, the National FFA Organization’s mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.

Agribusiness, FFA

Willkommen to BASF Germany

Cindy Zimmerman

basf-germany-13-1Gutan Tag from BASF headquarters in Ludwigshafen, Germany!

BASF rotates media events for agricultural journalists between the United States and Germany – with the odd years being for European media with a small group from the U.S.

Organized by the incomparable Pat Morrow, the event is always first class and often includes a visit to the equally incomparable BASF Weinkeller (wine cellar). This wine connoisseur’s heaven features four floors with a MILLION bottles – some true collectors items that are even older than the cellar itself, which was founded by BASF in 1901. While the wine cellar includes over 1,000 vintages from all over the world, they are most proud of those from Germany.

Sommelier Bernhard Wolff was the guide for our tour, which began with a locally produced “best sparkling Pinot Noir of Planet Earth,” and concluded with a 1933 Chateau Mosse Rivesaltes from France. Enjoy some of Bernhard’s welcome in the video below and check out the photos in the 2013 BASF Germany album.

Agribusiness, BASF, Video

Zimfo Bytes

Talia Goes

    Zimfo Bytes

  • During its 80th Annual Meeting at the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, WV, CropLife America (CLA) announced annual election results. The new board of directors and officers assumed their positions on Sept. 22.
  • Nearly 75 percent of food pantries have reported an increase in demand for their services in recent years, according to Feeding America.
  • The Boards of USPOULTRY and the USPOULTRY Foundation announce the creation of a new research program to address current issues facing the poultry industry.
  • Recently the PLANTS website crossed a milestone with the uploading of its 50,000th image.
Zimfo Bytes

New National Beef Ambassadors

Chuck Zimmerman

New Beef AmbassadorsWe have a new team of National Beef Ambassadors and here they are. This weekend the competition in Arkansas took place and I had the honor to be a judge once again even though it was from home. I’ll update this post when I get the names of these new beef agvocates.

I was a judge of the essay writing which was an issue response exercise. Juniors had to write a letter to the editor regarding this Meatless Mondays effort and Seniors on this lunacy on eating meat leading to climate change. The essays were fun to read and I can tell you we’ve got some great young representatives of the beef business!

ZimmComm is a sponsor of the National Beef Ambassador program via their blog and I encourage you to show your support if you can.

Post Update: From left to right:

Rachael Wolters
Emma Morris
Tori Summey
Sierra Jepsen
Justana Von Tate

Ag Groups, Beef

View From a Tower Stand

Chuck Zimmerman

Crystal Pig Hunt ClubIt’s close to that time of year once again – deer season. Adrenaline levels in avid deer hunters are climbing. Speaking of climbing. We’re talking climber stands, tower stands, etc.

This week I got to spend a few days in the woods doing some preparation work on a new lease property with my hunt buddies that include three nephews. The youngest is 8 yrs. old and this will be his first deer hunt with Uncle Chuck. I’m hoping he is as successful as his brother who shot a monster buck on his first hunt at 8 yrs. old! I’ve been deer hunting with Gary Cooper, Southeast AgNet, and my youngest brother, Paul, for 21 yrs. It’s really hard to describe the experience and time together in the woods each year. Now we’ve got another generation becoming more and more involved in the hunt. I’m proud of these young men (Eli, Luke and Joe) who have tackled every challenge without complaining. It has been a joy watching them grow up and learn how to take care of themselves and the land they get to hunt on.

This is the view from one of the tower stands we put up this week on land that was recently clear cut for the timber by the owner. The new browse is making for excellent forage for deer and we saw plenty of sign. I’ve got a lot of miles to cover before getting back out on the land for the Crystal Pig Hunt Club deer hunt in November but you can bet it’s going to be on my mind a lot between now and then.

Hunting

SMS Basic/Advanced v13.0 and SMS Mobile v7.0 Released!

Melissa Sandfort

Insights WeeklyAg Leader is proud to announce the release of SMS Basic/Advanced v13.0 and SMS Mobile v7.0. Here are just a few items that are included in this update:
• Enhanced support for Ag Leader® Integra and Versa™ displays; as well as for ISO 11783 displays and displays from CNH®, John Deere™, and Precision Planting.
• Added support for Ag Leader Compass™ displays
• Added support for importing LIDAR elevation data
• Added option to show direction arrows for heading/degree based maps
• Added option to show surface contour lines
• Enhanced Water Management tools
• Enhanced 3D Terrain View and Terrain Analysis
• …and many more. To learn more about this update, you can find the release notes by clicking here.

Luke James, Ag Leader Software Sales Manager, explains the new features and updates in more detail for both the Basic and Advanced software.

Listen to James explain

James explains how growers can get the v13 update.

Listen to James explain

If you have any questions about the update process please contact Technical Support at (515)232-5363 or by email at SMSsupport@agleader.com.

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

What Rodeo Event Is Your Favorite?

Talia Goes

zp-nhOur latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “Planning to buy new iPhone or upgrade?”

Our poll results:
· Happy with my current iPhone 25%
· Still using a dumb phone 25%
· Not an iPhone fan 17%
· Upgrading to 5S 17%
· Buying 1st iPhone – either one 8%
· Other 8%
· Upgrading to 5C 0%

It looks like the majority of you are satisfied with what your current phone has to offer, or still using what you’re comfortable with. Leave the bells and whistles for someone else you say!

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “What is your favorite rodeo event?” What really gets your heart racing (besides the cowboys and cowgirls)? Do you show up early for the roping or stay late for the bull riding? Let us know!

ZimmPoll

FieldSync Your Data

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCast 413Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast. In this week’s program we’re going to learn about FieldSync from Jen Cochran. We visited yesterday to talk about their mobile, cloud-based, technology and applications for agriculture.

FieldSyncFieldSync™ builds software solutions for businesses that want to “lower costs, improve efficiency, increase revenue, and gain valuable oversight and visibility to their operations.” One of the key ag industry segments they offer support to is livestock.

FieldSync iPodTracking your livestock can be a tough job. FieldSync has the tools that you need to get the most out of your day and your operation. Entering critical data about your animals on a mobile device saves you time and money. Our customers are able to check in and check out livestock 50% faster. They’ve also tackled source verification, and are able to track treatments, pulls, and weight gains on an individual basis. Built in reports and alerts make it easy to react to critical and time sensitive situations.

Beyond livestock FieldSync also offers a lot to any farm operation including row crops with features like:

  • Keep accurate records of employee and contractor timecards and expenses
  • Agricultural equipment is the heart of success. Keep complete data on record showing equipment history, incidents, mileage/hours and maintenance
  • Use custom built forms (no tech staff required) to collect field and crop data such as treatments, field prep, planting, trials, production and post-production notes
  • Track details on farm and field assets such as tools and irrigation equipment, including location and chain-of-custody
  • Easily built reports based on your criteria

Listen to my conversation with Jen in this week’s ZimmCast to learn more about FieldSync here: FieldSync Your Data

Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsors, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong and Monsanto, Roundup Ready Plus, for their support.

Agribusiness, Apps, Audio, Precision Agriculture, ZimmCast