Revitalizing the REAL® Seal in Social Media

Melissa Sandfort

REALIn celebration of June Dairy Month, efforts by the National Milk Producers Federation to revitalize the REAL® Seal are taking a big leap forward this month. A new campaign is being launched that allows consumers to learn more about the benefits of real, American-made dairy products and foods made with them, using a new Facebook page, blogger outreach and digital advertising.

The REAL Seal Facebook page creates a new voice and visual feel to engage target audiences, especially moms and heads of households, encouraging them to buy dairy products and foods containing dairy products. The page’s content includes interactive updates, multimedia presentations, contests, polls, and quizzes. One of the elements of the launch later in the month will be a “Name the Character” contest for a new, animated REAL Seal cartoon character. It can be viewed on the REAL Seal website.

Reaching out to bloggers writing about the mom/parenting, food/cooking, health/wellness, and lifestyle topic areas will generate online conversation and awareness surrounding the REAL® Seal campaign and lead consumers to official REAL Seal web pages. In July, a special Buyer’s Guide section will be added to the REAL Seal website, where consumers will be able to go to find dairy products and foods made with dairy products that are using the REAL Seal, as well as restaurants that serve only REAL dairy products. REAL Seal users will have the option of providing links to their company’s website as well.

Agribusiness, Dairy, Social Media

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  • The American Soybean Association (ASA) and DuPont Pioneer are seeking applicants for the 2014 Young Leader Program.
  • The Hall of Fame Committee is asking for nominations for present, past or deceased NAFB Broadcast Council members that have made a significant contribution to farm broadcasting.
  • NAMA will be hosting a hospitality event in Buffalo, New York on August 5, 9:00 p.m. – midnight.
  • The Mosaic Company has released another digital tool for farmers to gather important information that can help increase efficiency and generate higher yields.
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NPPC President Opens World Pork Expo

Cindy Zimmerman

wpx13-spronkNational Pork Producers Council president Randy Spronk of Minnesota welcomed the media to the 25th anniversary of World Pork Expo on Wednesday morning in Des Moines with an update on what is new at the show.

“We expect to have around 25,000 attend the expo over the next three days,” Spronk said. “One of the neatest things is we have nearly 900 entrants with 2500 hogs in the World Pork Expo Junior National hog show. Three years ago, we just had 300.”

Spronk also commented on some of the trade, environmental and legislative issues impacting hog farmers, including the farm bill and the latest on the EPA.

Spronk’s comments here: Opening comments from NPPC president Randy Spronk

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, NPPC, Swine, World Pork Expo

Brooks Hired at Certified Hereford Beef LLC

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AndrewBrooksAndrew Brooks has been named Certified Hereford Beef (CHB) LLC vice president of marketing. A native of Elmendorf, Texas, Andrew is a graduate of Texas A&M University with a degree in agricultural economics. He also earned a master’s degree in business administration from Texas A&M University-San Antonio in 2011.

Before joining the CHB LLC team, Andrew gained valuable industry experience while working for Cargill Animal Nutrition in Sioux City, Iowa. For the past five years, he has honed his craft as a promotion and education coordinator for the Texas Beef Council.

In that position, he developed industry partnerships with manufactures, processors, purveyors, retail chains, restaurants and producers including some of the leading retail supermarkets and food service distributors in the region. Through retail and foodservice promotions and educational seminars, Andrew worked to promote beef and to educate merchandisers, buyers and consumers regarding the preparation and positioning of beef as well as its palatability qualities and nutritional value.

Agribusiness, Beef

25th World Pork Expo Kicks Off With a Bang

Joanna Schroeder

WPX13 Kick OffThis year marks the 25th year of the World Pork Expo and the event is sure to be a success. More than 20,000 pork producers and industry representatives from 39 countries will be on hand for the opening today presented by the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC). According to the Expo’s new General Manager, Alicia Irlbeck, the event is the world’s largest pork-specific trade show with more than 400 commercial exhibits.

Irlbeck said the Iowa State Fairgrounds will be the place to be this week, whether your a pork producer, member of the industry, pork enthusiast or child – there is something for everyone. In fact, the World Pork Expo Junior National has set another record this year, with 856 junior exhibitors from throughout the U.S. entering more than 2,500 pigs. This is a 25 percent increase from last year which also was a record breaking year.

In addition to eating some of the best pork on the planet, there are also free business seminar luncheons featuring experts discussing economic and weather outlooks (such as how the delay in corn planting will affect hog operations and prices of pork in 2014). In addition, there is the PORK Academy along with other educational seminars.

And if you have never been to the pig races, or even if you have, this is a tradition not to be missed.

To learn more about the 25th World Pork Expo and some of the cool things to see and do this year, listen to my interview with Alicia: Interview with World Pork Expo GM Alicia Irlbeck

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, World Pork Expo

Entomology Fellowship Recipients

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FMCFMC Agricultural Products has partnered with the Entomological Foundation to recognize and encourage teachers to bring knowledge and hands-on experience from the lab back to the classroom through the FMC Educator Fellowship Program. FMC announces Timothy Anderson and Richard Shevalier, III., as recipients of this year’s fellowship.

Timothy Anderson and Shevalier will team up with FMC scientists at the FMC Agricultural Products Global Innovations Center in Ewing, N.J. Throughout the summer, they will be involved in entomological research with their mentor at FMC and be provided with an opportunity to develop new teaching strategies with long-term scholarly collaborations.

Fellows will attend the Entomological Society of America’s annual meeting in Austin, Texas, where they will present a recap of their fellowship with FMC and learn from other scientists.

Agribusiness, Education, Research

4-H Canada 100th Anniversary Gala

Melissa Sandfort

4H Canada Museum in RolandDr. Roberta Bondar was the guest speaker at the 4-H Canada 100th Anniversary Gala held on May 30. As an astronaut, physician, scientist, photographer, author and, as she proudly proclaimed, an Aggie, Dr. Bondar presented photos from her 1992 travels on the NASA space shuttle Discovery. Her view from space emphasized the importance of agricultural research and technology in being able to feed a growing planet with ever decreasing arable land.

Dr. Bondar’s remarks were in keeping with all of the things that make 4-H one of the largest and longest lasting youth organizations in Canada. Currently there are approximately 26,000 members and 8,000 leaders in every province across the country, upholding the commitment to “Learn to Do by Doing.”

And as part of the 100th celebration, the official Museum of 4-H in Canada was proclaimed in Roland, Manitoba. In proclaiming Roland as home to the official museum of 4-H in Canada, each provincial 4-H organization in attendance donated one item to the special Centennial Display Case. The museum is housed in the former Roland Royal Bank Building, originally erected in 1902 for the Bank of Hamilton, a forerunner of the RBC. In 1990, the building was taken over to promote Roland as the birthplace of 4-H in Canada, housing a handful of artifacts and memorabilia.

Now that it has been proclaimed as the official museum of 4-H in Canada, the Canadian 4-H Council will add further historical collections and artifacts, currently held in Ottawa, to the Roland 4-H Museum. This expanded collection will make the museum in Roland a destination for anyone wanting to wade into the past of 4-H in Canada.

Agribusiness

New Holland & NASCAR Salute American Military

Chuck Zimmerman

New Holland NASCARNew Holland is partnering with NASCAR in an “American Salute” to recognize the courage, service and sacrifice of our military and their families.

The picture is Champ, the New Holland tractor hood, autographed by NASCAR 2012 Sprint Cup champions. It is being auctioned off by the NASCAR Foundation in support of veterans and their families. Proceeds are being donated to the Fisher House Foundation.

To learn more about the program I visited with Dan Valen, Segment Marketing Manager, Pro Work Tools, for New Holland about the project which he says has a very personal meaning to him: Interview with Dan Valen

Here’s more on the program.

Visitors to New Holland’s True Blue Salute website are invited to show their appreciation to our military heroes by writing a “thank you” letter to a member of the Armed Forces. For each ‘thank you” letter sent, New Holland will donate $1, up to $10,000, to the Fisher House Foundation. The non-profit Fisher House Foundation provides a “home away from home” for military families to be close to a loved one during hospitalization for an illness or injury.

The Fisher House Foundation will also receive proceeds from the auction of a New Holland compact tractor hood, autographed by the winning drivers of sixteen memorable 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. Bearing the signatures by many of NASCAR’s top drivers, the hood, nicknamed “Champ”, crisscrossed the country from race to race to be autographed in Victory Lane by 2012 Sprint Cup race winners. Autographs include those of Brad Keselowski, the 2012 Sprint Cup Series champion, and Matt Kenseth, winner of the history-making 2012 Daytona 500. Additional autographs include some of the sports’ best drivers, such as: Marcos Ambrose, Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman, and Tony Stewart. “Champ” will be auctioned on The NASCAR Foundation website at NASCAR.com/foundation.
“It is fitting that this tractor hood, signed by NASCAR champions, be auctioned in support of our nation’s champions, our Armed Forces members,” says Mark Hooper, Director of Marketing for New Holland in North America. “New Holland is honored to join with NASCAR in demonstrating our appreciation and support of our military and their families through the An American Salute program, and contributing to the outstanding work being done on behalf of our military through the Fisher House Foundation.” Read More

Agribusiness, New Holland, Tractor

AGree Likes Senate Immigration Bill for Ag

Cindy Zimmerman

agreeFood and agricultural policy organization AGree sent a letter to Senators Monday urging them to pass the immigration reform bill approved by the Judiciary Committee in order to provide a stable workforce for American agriculture.

The bill “presents a huge opportunity for foreign-born agricultural workers who want to build a better future for themselves and their families and for American farmers and ranchers struggling with serious labor shortages,” reads the letter signed by the organization co-chairs. “A stable, legal workforce is critical to the capacities of American farmers and ranchers to produce nutritious and affordable foods, especially those perishable, labor-intensive fruits, vegetables, meat and milk products that are so important for healthy diets.”

glickmanOne of AGree’s co-chairs, former Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman, says there is strong support for the ag provisions in the bill. “When you have the employers, farm workers, farm labor advocates, a lot of municipalities, local governments who are supportive of this – and then you have the food industry which needs a predictable support of food – then these provisions are less controversial than some of the others,” said Glickman in an interview.

Members of the so-called Gang of Eight Senators that crafted the bill are expecting it to go to the Senate floor on June 10 and they predict it will pass by a good margin.

Listen to or download interview with Glickman here: Interview with AGree Co-Chair Dan Glickman

Ag Groups, Audio, labor

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  • The U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance announced that Celebrity Chef and Nutritionist Ellie Krieger will moderate The Food Dialogues: Chicago.
  • The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the appointment of 15 nationally recognized experts to serve on the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee.
  • GROWMARK announced the appointment of Denny Worth, as Vice President, Member Services effective June 1, 2013.
  • IPPE continues to expand and has surpassed 350,000 net square feet of exhibit space, with more than 85% of the exhibit floor contracted.
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