This is just too good not to share. The Midwest Dairy Association just published Feedin’ A Nation, a very entertaining music parody video.
Thank you to the more than 65 dairy farmers from age 1 to 81 for helping bring this video to life. All footage was filmed at dairy farm family homes in Iowa, Minnesota and South Dakota. Join us in “Feedin’ a Nation” by making a food bank donation to ensure the health of all generations! Learn more at http://www.DairyMakesSense.com.
USDA Announces New Conservation Collaboration
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced a new federal-private collaboration with DuPont to safeguard natural resources on private lands used to supply bio-based feedstocks for cellulosic ethanol production.
The joint agreement between USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service and DuPont aims to set voluntary standards for the sustainable harvesting of agricultural residues for renewable fuel, and supports rural job creation, additional income for farmers, bio-based energy development, and the safeguarding of natural resources and land productivity.
The announcement involves the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between NRCS and DuPont. USDA, through NRCS, will provide conservation planning assistance for farmers who supply bio-based feedstocks to biorefineries as the industry begins to commercialize. Conservation plan, written for individual operations, will ensure sustainable harvest of corn crop residues while promoting natural resource conservation and land productivity. A conservation plan is a voluntary document, written in cooperation with farmers, which helps them protect natural resources while promoting a farm’s economic sustainability.
Precision Pays iPad mini Winner Happy Farmer
Here’s our happy Precision Pays iPad mini Giveaway winner, Nick Leibold. Thanks to his wife, Kendra, for taking the photo. She says Nick will put it to good use on the farm.
Since Nick is standing in front of a John Deere tractor I wonder if he’ll have to get one of their new custom mobile device mounts for the cab! I’m sure we’ll see more and more of those popping up on the farm accessory list!
We thoroughly enjoyed our contest and want to thank everyone who entered once again. Hopefully we’ll get to do it again soon.
World Backup Day
Happy Easter which is falling on World Backup Day. Have you taken the pledge?
The World Backup Day Pledge
I solemnly swear to backup my important documents and precious memories on March 31st. I will also tell my friends and family about World Backup Day – friends don’t let friends go without a backup.
It is very important that you should not only do this today but very regularly. Your data may very well be “your business” quite literally. It is here at ZimmComm New Media. We archive the masters of all our photos, audio and video files. This is important to everyone including agencies, media, agribusiness and farmers.
I get asked about this quite a bit and have been meaning to write about it. World Backup Day reminded me to get it done.
Here’s our work flow for backing things up.
1. Local computer backups
Each of our computers has a local backup of all data. For our PC’s I have them automatically backup to our shared server. The server is a computer itself that resides on our office network system. We’re currently using an HP Home Server unit that has a capacity of about 4TB of data. Each computer is backed up weekly or in the case of a laptop, whenever it is connected to the network after being on a long road trip. The server has built in syncing software which allows us to create custom settings for each machine’s backup. You can use other software on your computer to sync straight to an external hard drive. I use a program called SyncBack for this.
For our Macs I use Time Machine, which is part of the Mac OSX operating system. Time Machine backs up to a small local hard drive. I have tried many of them and the most reliable seem to be Seagate external hard drives. I travel with one that holds up to 500GB of data. This small hard drive also serves as a great place to temporarily store photos/audio/video until I archive them which I’ll go into later.
Regardless which type of smart phone or tablet you’re using today, this local backup can play an important role with them, not just your computer itself. If you’re using an iPhone or iPad then make sure you sync with iTunes often to keep your device backed up. I can just about guarantee you’ll be glad you did. The same goes with your Android device or whatever you may be using.
2. Cloud computer backups
Besides this local backup we use BackBlaze to back up computer data regardless of being PC or Mac. It is less expensive than other options and very simple to use. Some of those other options include Apple’s iCloud, which I use for syncing all my Mac/iPhone/iPad data, Google Cloud Storage, Dropbox, which we use for sharing all kinds of files easily, and of course services like Carbonite. There are lots of choices for cloud backups today. Their benefits include the fact that your data can be available from anywhere, anytime, if you need it. Read More
Zimfo Bytes
- Chromatin, Inc., a leading provider of innovative crop breeding technology, sorghum seed products and feedstocks, announced that Robert B. Shapiro has joined its Board of Directors.
- Farmers and seed dealers from major U.S. crop production regions recently gathered in St. Louis and Peoria, Ill. for “Monsanto Ground Breakers Week.”
- Case IH announced that they donated two tractors to Milwaukee Public Schools’ Harold S. Vincent High School for their Urban Agriculture class.
- Organic Alliance, Inc. announced Frank Gomez as the Company’s Director Grower Relations to expand management depth and accommodate new growth opportunities.
Most Valuable Dealership, Brokaw Supply Company
Brokaw Supply Company, a single-store business in Fort Dodge, Iowa, sells and supports six different brands of precision equipment including Ag Leader Technology as one of their premier lines, and services a customer base that stretches into Minnesota and Wisconsin.
The dealership has been named Precision Farming Dealer’s 2013 Most Valuable Dealership. They boast 36 employees (4 precision ag specialists); 90 percent of their 2012 precision ag revenue was from hardware and their 2012 precision technician service billed 900 hours.
Brokaw’s General Manager Craig Harthoorn says the dealership had to break into the precision ag world.
Listen to Harthoorn explainHe also says they are a “niche marketer”.
Listen to Harthoorn explainOne way Brokaw is making the most of its independence and showing customers that its willing to find the best technology solution for their respective farm is through the development of its precision kits.
The company started putting together the kits — priced-out lists of precision parts for farm equipment — in 2009 to give customers a better understanding of what they were buying, and to provide salespeople with a handy tool.
MGEX Commentary on Plantings Report
A little more corn, a little less soybeans, more wheat and a lot less cotton – that summarizes the USDA 2013 Prospective Plantings report out today.
Corn growers intend to plant 97.3 million acres of corn for all purposes in 2013, up slightly from last year and 6 percent higher than in 2011. If realized, this will represent the highest planted acreage in the United States since 1936 when an estimated 102 million acres were planted.
Soybean acres are estimated at 77.1 million acres, down slightly from last year but the fourth highest on record. All wheat acreage is forecast at 56.4 million, up one percent, and cotton is expected to total 10 million acres, down 19 percent from last year.
The Minneapolis Grain Exchange held its usual crop conference call with reporters when the report was released today, with commentary by Brian Basting of Advance Trading.
Listen to the MGEX call here: MGEX Prospective Plantings call
Find ZimmComm at 2013 Agri-Marketing Conference
ZimmComm New Media will be forging new frontiers once again at the 2013 Agri-Marketing Conference. Here’s where you’ll find us in the Connection Point. We’ll be at booth 402. Yeah, booth numbers don’t always make it easy to find. Just follow the arrow. We’ll have an announcement out soon about a very cool booth giveaway and of course there will be something new from ZimmComm announced at this year’s show.
Isn’t it odd that we have no problem accepting we must upgrade software and replace old technology, but have such a hard time upgrading our thinking?
And all too often, we get too comfortable with “the way it’s always been done” rather than exploring new ways to find solutions and ideas.
Well, we’re going to change all that in April…The speakers we have lined up for the 2013 Agri-Marketing Conference are each pioneers in their respective fields. Prepare to have your eyes opened and your opinions challenged by internationally known thought leaders ready to share their groundbreaking ideas with you.
BeckAgConnects Over 10,000 Members
More than a big milestone. That’s what BeckAgConnects has reached. The online community for those working in the ag industry now has more than 10,000 members.
The community has grown steadily since it launched in 2011 while remaining a valuable resource for ag professionals looking for new ways to positively impact their business results and exchange ideas with their peers.
“The community and peer exchange are two of the best components of BeckAgConnects,” said Margaret Oldham, Director of Innovation and Opportunity for Beck Ag. “There are very few secure environments on- line for ag professionals to explore resources and share new ideas. Our goal with BeckAgConnects was to create a safe place for those connections to take place, while also offering relevant information that ag professionals can use to impact their business results.”
BeckAgConnects offers those in the ag industry the opportunity to join and interact with other members within various discussion groups on the site. There are currently 6 public discussion groups that are led and moderated by subject matter experts. These discussion groups feature topics such as farm policy and tips for managing ag employees, and provide timely information on the topics ag professionals care most about.
In a brochure about the online resource Beck Ag shares some farmer vs. general public comparison data on cell phone or smartphone usage from AgAdvisor. In August of 2011 94% of farmers had one of these devices vs. 83% for general public and 46% of farmers check email on their phone vs. 38%.
See It? Stop It! Animal Care Starts With You
The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), along with the Center for Food Integrity and the U.S. Pork Sector jointly launched “See It? Stop It! Animal Care Starts With You.” A campaign to give proactive demonstration of agriculture’s commitment to farm animal care. The initiative demands that if signs of animal abuse, neglect, mishandling or harm are seen, then we have an obligation to report it immediately.
Though these acts are uncommon, See It? Stop It! gives animal care providers resources to easily report what they witness.
Betsy Flores, NMPF’s Senior Director of Animal Health and Welfare, stated, “Care of animals could not be more important to farmers. Having a system in place to contact any of several authorities is imperative, and ‘See it? Stop it!’ provides that resource. This initiative combines well with the dairy industry’s National Dairy FARM Program: Farmers Assuring Responsible Management to ensure the well-being of animals in our care.”
“As the nation’s oldest animal protection organization, the American Humane Association (AHA) has a long history of involvement with programs that help assure proper animal care,” said Kathi Brock, National Director of the Farm Animal Program for AHA. “It is critical for farm management to set clear expectations for animal care and to have zero tolerance for animal mistreatment. We believe ‘See It? Stop It!’ provides the tools to help set those expectations and a mechanism for reporting abuse which supports the proper care of America’s farm animals.”
The U.S. pork and dairy industries have provided funding for the program and believe it is a great way to add to their already existing strong animal care programs.
“The Pork Quality Assurance® (PQA Plus®) program outlines best practices for proper animal care,” said Sherrie Niekamp, director of animal welfare for the National Pork Board. “The ‘See it? Stop It!’ initiative meshes well with the core principles of PQA Plus that pork producers have followed for more than 20 years.”
For more information about the program and an employer checklist, guidance for integrating the program into existing animal well-being programs, posters and employee training visit www.seeitstopit.org.