Do We Need GMO-Labeled Food?

Melissa Sandfort

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “How important will rural vote be in election?”

Our poll results: Sixty-five percent say very important and thirty-five percent said not important. It appears as though the majority of folks believe farmers and ranchers need to cast their vote. So remember, Election Day is Tuesday, November 6, 2012. Less than a week away!

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “Should foods containing GMO crops be labeled?” A great example of this is Prop 37 in California. It is estimated that 70 percent of our food contains GMOs. And with already rising food costs, will this added labeling requirement just increase what consumers pay for food? What do you think? Would it make a difference in the food you purchase?

ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.

ZimmPoll

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Daryl Oldvader, FCS Financial Chief Executive Officer, has announced his retirement effective Dec. 31, 2012.
  • Advanta US is pleased to announce Brannon Byers has been named global crop supply chain manager for sorghum for parent company Advanta.
  • USDA, AMS, Cotton & Tobacco Programs is seeking nominations for 24 vacancies on the Advisory Committee on Universal Cotton Standards.
  • Syngenta announced a major expansion at its Woodland, Calif., research and development and seed production facility.
Zimfo Bytes

Social Media Use in Czech Republic

Chuck Zimmerman

I thought this information from ACDC (Agricultural Communications Documentation Center) was interesting and wanted to share. Social media usage in the Czech Republic (pdf). Would you have thought this to be the case? Looks like companies are slow to adopt but their customers are not. This is from two years ago so I would assume there has been more of a move toward using social media now.

During 2010, researchers at the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague carried out the first survey of social networks in the agrarian sector (companies, cooperatives, and farmers) of the Republic. A research paper we have added to the ACDC collection revealed findings such as these:

About 95 percent had internet connections at their disposal.
Respondents were active on social networks, with Facebook by far the most used.
Company presentation is only used to a relatively small extent. Social media were especially used for personal communications, gathering information, and for company communications.

Another interesting nugget from the study:

Advertisement, newspapers and leaflets are not so trustworthy or in other words so popular with the new generation and modern users.

International, Media, Social Networking, University

Chevy or Ford Man?

Melissa Sandfort

Our son “politely” tells all owners of red combines or tractors that they’re going to break down and that he likes green ones. He also has to ask every pickup owner if it has 4-wheel drive because “daddy’s does”. To a 4-year-old, life is one big competition.

He’s also a Chevy man.

This past weekend, my husband went to a farm sale with our son. I knew he’d come home with something – I assumed an old tractor – but I just didn’t know what. He bought an old cream can (for me), a rickety old hay wagon (for himself) and a 1927 Ford Model T (for the family).

Can’t you just imagine a little brown haired, blue-eyed boy with a top hat opening the door to this on prom night?

We went for an afternoon drive and I must say, other than the musty smell, it rides quite nice and there’s ample leg room in the back seat. This one might be a keeper, even though it IS a Ford. Especially considering in May 1927, production of the Model T ceased, as preparations were being made for the first really “new” Ford in nearly two decades: the Model A.

Until we walk again …

Uncategorized

Commodity Classic Caps Off with Classic Rock

Melissa Sandfort

What’s a better way to conclude Commodity Classic than with some classic rock? The Monsanto Evening of Entertainment at the 2013 Commodity Classic will feature World Classic Rockers, a group of standout performers from legendary rock bands. Commodity Classic is the nation’s largest farmer-led, farmer-focused conference and trade show, presented annually by the National Corn Growers Association, American Soybean Association, National Association of Wheat Growers and National Sorghum Producers.

World Classic Rockers bring together some great names in Rock music from the ‘70s and ‘80s. Nick St. Nicholas started on the road to rock and roll history when he drove his band The Sparrow from Toronto to the Sunset Strip in search of a record deal. Once in Hollywood, the Sparrow changed their name to Steppenwolf and recorded the biker anthem “Born To Be Wild” for the film Easy Rider. Decades later, Nick set out to form the ultimate classic rock band. The result is the World Classic Rockers.

Former Steppenwolf lead guitarist Michael Monarch brings WCR the same driving guitar licks that he performed for Steppenwolf hits such as “Magic Carpet Ride.” Randall Hall toured seven years with Lynyrd Skynyrd’s comeback band and now furnishes the band with guitar and vocals. Drums are manned by Aynsley Dunbar, whose beats were recorded on mega-hits “Wheel in the Sky” by Journey, “Jane” by Jefferson Starship and “Is This Love” by Whitesnake. Songwriter and vocalist Greg Walker provides a soulful sound that he perfected with the band Santana and is heard on their recordings of “She’s Not There” and “Stormy.” WCR’s vocals are rounded out by Boston’s former lead singer Fran Cosmo who recorded band hits “I Need Your Love” and “Higher Power.” Rounding out the band’s roster of musicians is lead guitarist David Coyle and Mark Hoyt on keyboards.

Agribusiness, ASA, Commodity Classic, NAWG, NCGA

Prima Tech Has Your Yellow Boots

Chuck Zimmerman

Yellow boots? Yes. And they’re not rubber! They’re polyurethane. Why? Because they last 3-4 times longer.

Now that’s important not only for today’s dairy farmer but anyone who could use some comfortable boots in messy situations. These are Prima Tech boots and they were on display at World Dairy Expo. Besides being longer lasting they are insulated, lighter and very slip resistant. I got my pair and put them on for the first time today. At World Dairy Expo I met Cindy Woodward, Global Marketing Manager, and talked with her about this new product. You can listen to that interview below.

Here’s the Prima Tech Promise:

Prima Tech promises to provide you — farmer, cattleman or hog producer — with durable, reliable, consistent animal health applicators. We have talked and worked directly with you, our customers. We have learned the lessons of the field and offer a line that withstands the daily punishment of farm use. We are dedicated to making the Prima Tech name and seal the quality mark of the animal health equipment industry. We will accept nothing less than to become the standard against which others are judged.

You can listen to my interview with Cindy here: Interview with Cindy Woodward

2012 World Dairy Expo Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, World Dairy Expo

What Advertising Works for Ag Retailers

Chuck Zimmerman

Want to have a successful ag retail advertising campaign? Let David Stanley, ConvergeMark, give you some ideas. David was one of the presenters at the O.H. Kruse Grain & Milling dealer appreciation day.

David says “You have to realize you can’t be all things to all people. Really figure out who you can serve best and then find out, What are their interests? What motivates them? What causes them to buy? and then when you understand that you can tailor your advertising message to reach what your customer cares about.” He says so many businesses advertise what he calls “chest thumping” ads that are about the business and not what the customer wants. The focus needs to be outward not inward.

Listen to my interview with David here and learn more from him about deciding what advertising options to use: Interview with David Stanley

O.H. Kruse Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, Feed, O.H. Kruse

Marketing Ag Retail Online

Chuck Zimmerman

If you’re in the retail ag business how do you stand out from the crowd, especially when we’re talking about online. Yep. The internet.

That question is one that Terrell Miller, Cattlesoft, Inc. founder, provided answers for during the O.H. Kruse Grain & Milling dealer appreciation day. Terrell conducted two presentations during the day on this subject. The big message is having a presence online and not just a one page website. You need to have information that’s timely and relevant to your customers. Terrell says he’s also been encouraging retailers to provide educational resources online too. We also talked about social media since that ties in to what a retailer is doing online.

Listen to my interview with Terrell here: Interview with Terrell Miller

O.H. Kruse Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, Feed, O.H. Kruse

Upcoming Blackberry Field Day

Melissa Sandfort

Growing blackberries in the Midwest has been productive and profitable. Richard Barnes, a produce grower and founder of Trellis Growing Systems (TGS), invites growers to see and hear firsthand how blackberries are being grown in Ohio and surrounding states with great success at a field day on Friday, Nov. 2nd at Rhoads Farms in Circleville, Ohio.

Field day participants will talk one-on-one with industry experts and learn about the production systems, marketing and overall profit potential of this crop. Speakers will include Richard Barnes, Trellis Growing Systems founder, Brett Rhoads, farmer/owner, Dr. Fumi Takeda, USDA Research Horticulturist, Stan Crafton, Giumarra, Larry Shafer, Agro-K and Doug Foster, TRICKL-EEZ Company.

The Trellis Growing Systems Field Day will be Friday, Nov. 2nd at Rhoads Farms, 1360 Kingston Pike, Circleville, Ohio. Sign-in will begin at 9 a.m. with the program starting at 9:30 a.m. The field day will conclude with a free lunch at noon.

Growers who have a serious interest in a multiple-acre blackberry growing operation and media are invited to register by Oct. 26 here.

Read more in a previous post about blackberries as an alternative crop in the Midwest.

Agribusiness, Events

Monsanto Vistive Gold Beans for Bio-based Products

Cindy Zimmerman

Turns out that high-oleic soybean oil may be as good for motors as it is for hearts.

A new collaboration announced today between Monsanto and Biosynthetic Technologies is expected to increase demand for high-oleic soybean oil and create new opportunities for Vistive® Gold soybean growers.

The collaboration creates an opportunity for use of Monsanto’s Vistive® Gold soybean oil in production of biosynthetic lubricant oils. Biosynthetic Technologies, in collaboration with USDA scientists, has developed an entirely new class of bio-based synthetic oils that match or exceed the performance characteristics of the highest quality petroleum-based oils currently used in the automotive and industrial lubricant sectors.

“We have tested numerous feed stocks as part of our ongoing research and discovered excellent results using high-oleic soybean oils, in particular Vistive® Gold,” said Allen Barbieri, chief executive officer of Biosynthetic Technologies. “This is an important collaboration as we move forward with our other global partners to launch their first lines of domestically-sourced, renewable biosynthetic lubricants. High-oleic soybean oils are a cost-competitive alternative to many of the feed stocks we’ve explored, and working with Monsanto is a natural fit, given our shared commitment to sustainability and the potential for this product.”

Barbieri noted that Biosynthetic Technologies offers two product lines: LubriGreen® Biosynthetic Oils used in the automotive and industrial lubricants sector, and Coco EstolideTM esters for products used in the personal care and cosmetics sectors. The company is in the final stages of successful fleet testing and certification of LubriGreen biosynthetic motor oils synthesized from high-oleic oils such as Vistive® Gold. These LubriGreen base oils are also being used by several major oil companies to formulate and commercialize the first bio-based, biosynthetic motor oils ever sold by these companies.

“I’m very excited about the industrial applications possible with high oleic soybean oil,” said John Motter, a Jenera, Ohio, soybean farmer and United Soybean Board Director. “Multiple uses of high oleic oil create greater demand for American soybean farmers and make our products more competitive in the world market. Seed companies are putting the high oleic trait into their best genetics, and these soybeans will yield right up there with anything else farmers are going to grow.”

Read more from Monsanto.

Soybean