Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

Zimfo Bytes

A Look Ahead at NAMA 2013

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCast 367The gavel has been passed and on January 1 Paul Redhage, FMC Agricultural Products, will be the new President of the National Agri-Marketing Association. During the NAMA Fall Conference I got to visit with Paul.

Paul is looking forward to having fun in 2013 and says that the whole networking aspect of NAMA will mean we’ll all learn a lot from each other. There is a lot of room for growth in the membership of NAMA so one of Paul’s major focuses is to build on the work of the membership committee to continue to create awareness of the organization and what it offers.

Paul says the executive committee will continue to work on the strategic plan by taking a new look at it and put in place some ways to measure how we’re doing. He says there are many other things to work on and that includes professional development. Listen in on our conversation to hear what Paul sees ahead in 2013.

Listen to this week’s ZimmCast here: A NAMA Look Ahead

2012 NAMA Fall Conference Photo Album

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

The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired. Subscribe so you can listen when and where you want. Just go to our Subscribe page.

Agribusiness, Audio, FMC, NAMA

Get 2013 Agri-Marketing Conference on Your Calendar

Chuck Zimmerman

Here’s a heads up for the 2013 Agri-Marketing Conference. It will be held once again in Kansas City, MO. We’re going to be “Forging New Frontiers” from April 17 to April 19 at the Sheraton Crown Center.

To get a little bit of a preview of what the committee is doing I visited with Scott McClure, Brighton Agency, during the NAMA Fall Conference. Scott is Chair of the conference committee and says they’ve been working on the program identifying key speakers, etc. The surveys from this year’s conference are being used to make sure attendee feedback is taken into consideration. He says the challenge is to build on the excellent conference this year.

You can listen to my interview with Scott here: Interview with Scott McClure

2012 NAMA Fall Conference Photo Album

Agencies, Audio, NAMA

What Future Agriculture Leaders Need

Chuck Zimmerman

Breakfast in China, afternoon presentation in Minneapolis at the NAMA Fall Conference. That was the schedule on Wednesday for Alltech’s Aidan Connolly!

Aidan was the closing keynote speaker for the conference with a presentation called, “Through the Lens of a Leader.” His task was to look at what agriculture is facing today and what lies ahead. You get a clue of what one of those things is when you consider his travel schedule. Agribusiness is a worldwide business now and that means dealing with different languages and cultures. Aidan says “agriculture has never been so key to the world” and “food is a conversation that everyone wants to have.” He says that future leaders in agriculture need to be ready to travel, understand what’s going on in China, Brazil and India, have a sense of curiosity and a willingness to use new technology.

You can listen to my interview with Aidan here: Interview with Aidan Connolly

2012 NAMA Fall Conference Photo Album

Agribusiness, Alltech, Audio, NAMA

NAFB Convention Invite

Chuck Zimmerman

Have you registered for the 69th National Association of Farm Broadcasting Convention? Here’s your invitation to join Cindy and me for this year’s event in Kansas City, celebrating Our Rich Heritage–A Bridge to the Future.

Media, NAFB

Ready For Some Pensacola Seafood

Chuck Zimmerman

One of the many reasons that Cindy and I re-located ZimmComm World Headquarters to Pensacola, FL is seafood. We love fish farmers! Today we’re going to be sampling at the Fiesta of Five Flags Pensacola Seafood Festival. I think everyone loves festivals. We’ve gone to more than I can even remember. Some stand outs for me have been the Catfish Festival, Swamp Cabbage Festival, Strawberry Festival, Testicle Festival, Sweet Corn Festival and Watermelon Festival. Mmm, mmm! Today should be a foodie delight.

Today we’ll visit a new one that has a lot of promise. Here’s what we’ll be doing.

The festival is one of the largest arts and crafts fairs in northwest Florida with more than 160 artisans and craftsmen who travel from around the country to participate in this three day festival. Vendors will be displaying their unique wares, and many items are reflective of the area’s Gulf Coast lifestyle. Arts and crafts vendors will be located in Pensacola News Journal Pelican Park (Seville Square).

The Pensacola Seafood Festival will feature seafood dishes and other delicious festival fare. Treat your taste buds to a variety of dishes from 17 carefully selected food vendors bordering the park along Government and Alcaniz Streets. Enjoy favorite foods such as grilled conch, seafood gumbo, oyster croquettes, soft shell crab, coconut shrimp, Caribbean crab cakes, and more.

You can follow the action on Twitter with the hashtag, #PcolaSeafood. BTW. Did you know that in 1559, Spanish Conquistador, Don Tristan de Luna, established Pensacola as the first European settlement in the United States?

Farming, Food

USDA Lowers Grain Stocks

Cindy Zimmerman

USDA’s Quarterly Grain Stocks report out this morning shows declines in stocks of corn, soybeans and wheat compared to this time last year.

The report shows corn stocks down 12% from September 2011, soybean stocks down 21% and all wheat stocks down 2%. Old crop corn stocks in all positions on September 1, 2012 totaled 988 million bushels, soybeans totaled 169 million bushels, and wheat totaled 2.10 billion bushels.

On the Minneapolis Grain Exchange crop conference call this morning to analyze the report, Brad Paulson of Northern Crops Marketing & Investment said the numbers wheat and corn were lower than expected, while the soybean number was higher. “We fed quite a bit of wheat and feed demand for corn is still quite strong,” he said. “(The soybean number) would suggest that they underestimated or raised the 2011 soybean crop.”

Listen to the MGEX crop call here: MGEX Grain Stocks crop call

Audio, Corn, Soybean, USDA, Wheat

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Mike Marshall from Clarion, Iowa, has been named the September winner of the “Gary Wergin Good Farm Neighbor Award.”
  • The American Meat Science Association in cooperation with the National Pork Board will host PORK 101 October 15-17 at Iowa State University.
  • Recently, 34 Pioneer brand soybean varieties passed final scrutiny from the Pioneer research and development, field sales and agronomy technology service teams and will be commercially available to producers for planting in 2013.
  • Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced the appointment of 16 members to the United Soybean Board.
    Zimfo Bytes

    Register for Borlaug Dialogue 2012

    Melissa Sandfort

    Register now for The World Food Prize – Borlaug Dialogue 2012, October 17-19, 2012, in Des Moines, Iowa. Themed “Transforming the Global Food Security Agenda”, this event will feature the expertise and diverse perspectives of governmental leaders, policymakers, CEOs and executives from agribusiness and NGOs, scientific and academic experts, development leaders and young leaders from around the world.

    The Secretary-General of the United Nations, H.E. Ban Ki-moon, will address the World Food Prize Laureate Award Ceremony at the Iowa State Capitol on the evening of October 18. In addition to the Secretary-General, two other high-ranking United Nations representatives will also participate in the Laureate Award Ceremony: Her Royal Highness Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, a UN Messenger of Peace; and Ambassador Ertharin Cousin, the Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme.

    NEW for 2012 — World Food Prize has gone mobile! Download the new app here.

    AgWired is pleased to announce that Elanco will be sponsoring our coverage of World Food Prize this year and we are looking forward to being there.

    Agribusiness, Elanco, Events, World Food Prize

    Farm Roads to Urban Intersections

    Chuck Zimmerman

    The Ag Institute of Florida is going social on their next luncheon workshop. It’s called “Farm Roads to Urban Intersections, a workshop exploring social media avenues from planning your trip to “are we there yet?” I know you’ll enjoy seeing Ryan speak, a great agvocate!

    Nationally recognized writer Ryan Goodman, known for his daily blog “Agriculture Proud,” will be the keynote speaker for the luncheon. Goodman, a young cattle rancher from Arkansas, will share his passion for agricultural advocacy and insights on blogging to bridge the gap between farmers and urban customers.

    “It’s not a matter of ‘if’ a company or organization is going to use social media as part of its public relations and marketing – it’s a matter of ‘how.’ This workshop brings together experts who can help with strategy and messaging to make sure you’re getting the results you want from your social media efforts,” said Lisa Lochridge, president of the Ag Institute and director of public affairs for the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association.

    This event includes the Agriculture Institute of Florida’s 2012 Annual Meeting and lunch. Registration is required.

    Ag Groups, Social Networking