Summer Pork Campaign

Cindy Zimmerman

wpx13-npb-novakAt World Pork Expo this week, National Pork Board officials unveiled a new summer campaign for consumers to encourage them to save with pork cuts, grill them like steak, and learn some new names for pork cuts.

“The current consumer campaign, Pork. Be inspired®, is moving product at the retail meat case and in restaurants,” says Chris Novak, National Pork Board CEO. “In the first quarter of this year, total pounds of pork sold at retail were up 9.9 percent over first quarter last year and total dollars in sales were up 4.7 percent. Average retail price was down due to higher supplies, but the increased volume more than offset the decrease in average price.”

wpx13-npb-prezTo further bolster consumer demand, a new summer marketing campaign was launched this week to communicate the current relative value of pork, educate consumers on the new pork cut names and reinforce proper pork cooking by talking about the ideal range of doneness.

In April, the National Pork Board rolled out new names for some traditional cuts of pork as a way to address the lack of consumer understanding of pork cuts and how to prepare them.

Based on extensive consumer research, the new cut names were selected to enhance value in the meat cuts and new simplified labels were developed to better explain proper cooking techniques.

“This does mean we’ll have to say goodbye to names like ‘pork butt’,” says Karen Richter, National Pork Board president and pork producer from Montgomery, Minn. “But we believe consumers will feel more confident in their ability to choose and prepare pork that provides great flavor and versatility at a budget-friendly price.”

The new porterhouse pork chop, ribeye pork chop and New York pork chop are featured in the summer marketing campaign being promoted through national radio and online advertising, food media spokespersons and social media engagement. As a part of the campaign, consumers will be able to tap into online coupons that have proven effective in driving visitor traffic to pork-focused consumer websites.

Listen to comments from Richter and Novak here: Pork Board New Campaign

2013 World Pork Expo photo album.

AgWired coverage of the 2013 World Pork Expo is sponsored by NOVUSAgWired coverage of the 2013 World Pork Expo is sponsored by boehringer-ingelheim
Audio, Pork, World Pork Expo

EPA Private Data Release Peeves Pork Producers

Cindy Zimmerman

The Environmental Protection Agency is now being accused of giving preference to liberal groups over conservatives when it comes to freedom of information act requests, specifically groups like the Sierra Club which received the personal information of thousands of livestock producers earlier this year. That EPA information release was a topic of discussion at World Pork Expo this week and National Pork Producers Council environmental counsel Michael Formica says they are still unhappy with the way the agency handled that situation.

wpx13-nppc-formica“We’re very upset, we remain very upset,” he said in an interview. “Unfortunately, the data is already out there, it’s been released.”

That data includes all kinds of personal information on thousands of producers in 37 states, including names, addresses, phone numbers, family members, property transfers and much more. While the organizations supposedly have “returned” the data sets to EPA, it is very likely that the groups who received it still have it and it could get into the hands of even more radical animal rights organizations like HSUS and the Animal Liberation Front.

Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa proposed an amendment to the senate farm bill to prohibit EPA from releasing personal data – and Formica says that was one of a handful of amendments brought up Tuesday when work on the farm bill ground fell apart. Even as the Senate voted today to end debate on the farm bill, clearing way for passage next week, Senate Ag Committee chair Debbie Stabenow says more amendment votes are possible post-cloture.

Listen to Formica’s comments here: Interview with NPPC environmental counsel Michael Formica

Visit the 2013 World Pork Expo photo album.

AgWired coverage of the 2013 World Pork Expo is sponsored by NOVUSAgWired coverage of the 2013 World Pork Expo is sponsored by boehringer-ingelheim
Audio, NPPC, World Pork Expo

And This Little Piggy Went to World Pork Expo

Joanna Schroeder

Trudys Piggie NailsRemember the nursery rhyme “This little pig went to market. This little pig went home….”? Well, this little pig went to World Pork Expo and had a great time. The coolest and most creative “piggies” at the 25th anniversary of World Pork Expo were found on Trudy’s nails in the Boehringer Ingelheim tent. Her nails support the pork industry in a fun and fabulous way.

Stop by their tent or their booth and while you’re there, learn how “easy” it is to vaccinate your pigs.

Visit the 2013 World Pork Expo photo album.

AgWired coverage of the 2013 World Pork Expo is sponsored by NOVUSAgWired coverage of the 2013 World Pork Expo is sponsored by boehringer-ingelheim
Boehringer Ingelheim, Pork, World Pork Expo

BIVI Shows What Easy Looks Like

Cindy Zimmerman

wpx13-bivi-easyEverywhere you look at World Pork Expo you see blue pig snouts touting Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica’s (BIVI) new “Easy” campaign telling hog producers just how simple it can be to protect their herds against countless problems.

“For oral vaccines there’s no needles, all they have to do is drink,” says BIVI brand manager Mike Steilen, adding that it also saves workers time and the discomfort of handling the pigs to give them the vaccines.

wpx13-bivi-steilenTalking with producers at expo, BIVI representatives are stressing the ease of the 3-step preparation and oral administration of the Enterisol Ileitis vaccine by using the Ivesco peristaltic pump technology for injecting vaccine into a water line. “It guarantees the vaccination over a six hour period, which is important…guaranteeing that (the pigs) are going to have a dose,” Mike said.

Producers at WPX can find out more at the BIVI tent on the midway or booth in the Varied Industries Building, and check out the pump at the Ivesco tent on the midway.

Interview with BIVI's Mike Steilen

Visit the 2013 World Pork Expo photo album.

AgWired coverage of the 2013 World Pork Expo is sponsored by NOVUSAgWired coverage of the 2013 World Pork Expo is sponsored by boehringer-ingelheim
Animal Health, Audio, Boehringer Ingelheim, Pork, Swine, World Pork Expo

The Wheels on the Pivot Go…..Upside-Down?

Melissa Sandfort

pivotHere is an update on “The Seasons of a Farmer.” I mentioned that we are in the transition between Planting and Irrigating here in south central Nebraska. Well, we had a significant weather event (now classified as an EF-2 tornado) here in Edgar, Neb., on Memorial Day evening that will most likely affect Irrigating.

As the tornado sirens were blowing in town, I was sitting in my sunroom watching a ‘tail’ dip out of some ominous looking clouds and wondering why my weather alert siren wasn’t sounding. As I was running for the basement steps, both my husband and the siren (finally!) were telling me to get there fast. I made myself comfortable and listened to the noises above me, feeling quite helpless, but knowing I was where I needed to be. My husband was working on a booster pump quite a distance from home, but texting still worked on our phones so we could remain in contact with each other.

After the storm passed and he got home, we went out to survey the damage. There were quite a lot of power poles and lines down. Water was running across the roads in many places. Broken tree limbs in the yard, a big door blown off a shed, the glass top of a deck table shattered – this was only the beginning. We lost our rain gauge in the storm but heard reports of anywhere from three to five inches of rain.

As the picture shows, we also lost two pivots and one corner system on another pivot. It could have been much worse. Reports from the area indicate approximately 200 pivots are “wheels up.” That will definitely affect Irrigating season.

Until we walk again …

Uncategorized

New Holland Ag/Construction Integration

Chuck Zimmerman

New Holland North America Marketing TeamThe integration of agriculture and construction equipment lines under one marketing team has been a big focus for New Holland this year. Here’s the North America marketing team: (l-r) Mark Hooper, Director of Marketing; Dan Valen, Manager, Pro Work Tools; Abe Hughes, Vice President, New Holland North America; Ken Snover, Brand Communications Manager and Paul Wade, Brand Marketing Manager. The team has brought in a group of media representatives from the construction industry along with a couple of ag media like myself to talk about all the products that New Holland has for the construction and landscape industry. It’s interesting how many of the products we’ll be talking about also have applications in the ag industry.

Later today we’ll be outside learning about New Holland tractor loaders, tractor loader backhoes, compact excavators, compact wheel loaders, compact track loaders, compact utility tractors and Rustlers. We will be doing some ride and drive and I hope to share some video and more following the event today.

To get an overview for why we’re here at New Holland headquarters in New Holland, PA I spoke with Mark Hooper. As you’ll hear Mark say, the integration of ag and construction really has been a focus for the company this year. He says, “We really want to put more focus and emphasis on our promotions and how we go to market and get close to our customer and a lot of these media represent those customer bases very well and we wanted to make sure we were highlighting our brand and our products.” He talked about how there are customers who use both ag and construction type equipment in addition to the traditional customer bases for each segment.

Listen to my interview with Mark here: Interview with Mark Hooper

I’ve got a lot of photos for you to enjoy and share from the event: New Holland Construction Equipment Media Event Photos

Agribusiness, Audio, New Holland

New Holland Donation to Fisher House Foundation

Chuck Zimmerman

New Holland Fisher House Foundation DonationNew Holland continues its support for the Fisher House Foundation by making a $68,500 donation. Here’s Abe Hughes, VP, New Holland North America (right) presenting the check to David Coker, Fisher House Foundation President. The money for this donation comes from the New Holland True Blue Salute program. The presentation occurred during a construction equipment media event I’m attending at New Holland headquarters in Pennsylvania. I’ll have more on that later.

After the presentation of the new donation I spoke with David about the work the Fisher House Foundation does on behalf of American military families.

Fisher House Foundation is best known for the network of comfort homes built on the grounds of major military and VA medical centers nationwide and in Europe. Fisher Houses are beautiful homes, donated to the military and Department of Veterans Affairs. These homes enable family members to be close to a loved one at the most stressful time – during the hospitalization for a combat injury, illness or disease.

You can listen to my interview with David here to hear more about the latest work being done by this great organization: Interview with David Coker

Agribusiness, Audio, New Holland

Record Setting WPX Junior National Show

Cindy Zimmerman

wpx13-kidNothing at World Pork Expo compares with seeing a kid that might weigh all of 30 pounds working to control the movements of a hog that has 200 pounds on him. Precious!

Nearly 900 youngsters and 2500 hogs are signed up for the World Pork Expo Junior National Show this year – three times more than two years ago and a new record. The show kicked off on the first day of expo with the purebred barrow show. The open show, with almost 1,000 hogs entered by 493 exhibitors, will be held on Friday, June 7, with a sale on Saturday, June 8.

It’s a great youth event that really helps kids develop all kinds of skills and it is just so fun to watch!

Check out more fun photos in the 2013 World Pork Expo photo album.

AgWired coverage of the 2013 World Pork Expo is sponsored by NOVUSAgWired coverage of the 2013 World Pork Expo is sponsored by boehringer-ingelheim
Swine, World Pork Expo

Don’t get it right

Maggie Seiler

alltech-symposium-13-15Awestruck might be a good description for me following the opening evening activities at my first outing as the new ZimmComm intern. After arriving in Lexington, Kentucky for the Alltech International Symposium, I got dressed up and headed to the dinner that featured salmon, table company from Africa, and fabulous singers. It was a far cry from dinner at the dorm cafeteria. However, I only felt out of place for a few minutes. The gathering of nearly 2,500 seemed to shrink very quickly when I realized I had connections with some of the attendees. I ran into a few people from Kansas and a few people with connections to my interest area, the dairy industry. It was a lot of fun to meet people who I could relate to and who write articles and blogs that I read.

In addition to making some great connections, I had the opportunity to really jump in and get my hands dirty as far as writing and reporting goes. I had a lot of chances to conduct interviews, take pictures and tweet about the sessions at the symposium. Probably my favorite part of reporting was getting to listen to the sessions on the future of nutrition, marketing and scientific development that will shape agriculture in 2020. If you missed our reports on the symposium, you can find our coverage of the event here.

The people were great to meet, the science was intriguing, but the biggest take away for me was a message that Dr. Pearse Lyons delivered several times throughout the symposium, “Don’t get it right. Get it started.” Fitting I think that this was a point of emphasis at my first reporting assignment. So maybe I’m not doing it right, but at least I’ve started.

2013 Alltech International Symposium Photo Album

Agribusiness, Alltech

USDA’s Alonzo Updates WPX on Key Issues

Joanna Schroeder

wpx13-usda-alanzoAnne Alonzo is attending her first World Pork Expo since taking the helm as the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Administrator just over a month ago. During her comments this morning, she said that the USDA is very supportive of the efforts of the pork industry and will continue to work with them on key issues.

There were several items Alonzo said are currently on the radar and gave updates on mandatory price reporting, pork purchases and the Pork Checkoff. She was joined by Dr. Craig Morris, deputy administrator who also addressed compliance issues and said the AMS is very happy with the industry’s response to recent compliance requirements.

While in Iowa, Alonzo said she had the opportunity to visit her first hog operation and became taken with a day old baby pig. She said although she is new to the industry, she looks forward to working with the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) and others to ensure the success and growth of the pork industry.

Listen to Alozno’s remarks here: Remarks from USDA's AMS Administrator, Anne Alonzo

Visit the 2013 World Pork Expo photo album.

AgWired coverage of the 2013 World Pork Expo is sponsored by NOVUSAgWired coverage of the 2013 World Pork Expo is sponsored by boehringer-ingelheim
Audio, Boehringer Ingelheim, Novus International, Pork, USDA, World Pork Expo