Pork Slogan Target of HSUS Lawsuit

Cindy Zimmerman

One of the most successful advertising slogans in the world of food is the target of a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture filed on Monday by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).

The lawsuit charges that the National Pork Board “struck an unlawful backroom deal with a D.C. lobbying organization for the purchase of the iconic ‘Pork: The Other White Meat’ slogan. The deal allows $60 million in pork producers’ money collected for marketing and promotion purposes to be diverted into industry lobbying efforts aimed at harming animal welfare and small farmers.”

The slogan was developed by the National Pork Producers Council in 1987, prior to the formation of the National Pork Board, and has been credited with helping to increase pork consumption in the United States as much as 20% by 1991. The Pork Board purchased all rights to the slogan from NPPC in 2006, to be paid over 20 years in annual installments of $3 million each. The Pork Board used the slogan with the tagline “Don’t be Blah” for its 2008 advertising campaign, but started using “Pork. Be inspired” last year.

NPPC CEO Neil Dierks responded to the lawsuit by calling it a “bullying tactic” on the part of HSUS. “NPPC is reviewing the HSUS complaint, but it appears there is no legal merit to this claim, and it is another desperate attempt by the radical activist group to severely curtail animal agriculture and take away consumer food choices,” said Dierks in a statement from NPPC. “This also is the latest bullying tactic by HSUS in its efforts to force NPPC to abandon its position on allowing farmers to choose production practices that are best for the welfare of their animals.”

Even NPR is able to see that. A post about the story on the NPR food blog notes, “remember, this all comes from the Humane Society, which would love nothing better than to bankrupt the National Pork Producers Council.”

HSUS also includes “an independent pig farmer and on behalf of its pig farmer members” as a plaintiff in the lawsuit and they are asking the court to “cancel the unlawful purchase and ensure that the remaining balance—tens of millions of dollars—will benefit the producers who fund the checkoff instead of NPPC’s anti-animal, anti-farmer lobbying agenda.”

Animal Activists, Animal Agriculture, Pork, Wackos

Passing of Two NAFB Veterans

Cindy Zimmerman

The National Association of Farm Broadcasting has lost two industry veterans who were long time members of the organizations – Gene Ragan of WTVY in Dothan, Alabama and Mike Carter of KMZU in Carrolton, Missouri.

Farmers lost a devoted friend September 21, 2012, when Gene Ragan, at age 88, left this world. He was called “Mr. Agriculture” by the many, many people who knew him. Funeral services were held Sunday, September 23, 2012, at First Baptist Church with Dr. Johnny Fain and Rev. Bob Gross officiating, with interment in the Blakely City Cemetery under the direction of Byrd Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to Landmark Park Agricultural Museum.

Gene was born March 22, 1924, in Early County, Georgia, on a farm to a poor but loving, wonderful family. At age seven, he moved to Albany, GA, where he grew up. Gene began exhibiting his champion cattle when he was only eleven years old. That turned him into a cattleman. Ragan launched a television program in 1958 and continued broadcasting through 1998. He was inducted into the NAFB Hall of Fame in 2006.

You may recall that Gene’s son Russ was also a farm broadcaster who worked for WTVY and Southeast AgNet. Russ was killed in a plane crash in 2007.

Michael L. Carter, 73, of Carrollton, passed away peacefully on Sunday, September 23, 2012, at his home. The family will be receiving friends at Gibson Funeral Home, 201 South Main, Carrollton, Missouri, on Sunday, September 30, from 3 to 4 p.m. A memorial service will be held at the funeral home on Sunday, September 30, at 4 p.m. with Reverend Williams officiating.

Mike was born in Lawrence, Kansas, graduated from Shawnee Mission High School and attended Kansas State University. He was an avid farmer with properties in Shawnee and Everest, Kansas. He enjoyed traveling with his wife of 54 years, Carol. But perhaps his true hobby was radio. He started his career in the 1960s at KIOA in Des Moines, Iowa. He was also employed at KMBZ in Kansas City. Mike and fellow KMBZ employee Bill Bilyeu then decided to form their own radio station in Hiawatha, Kansas. KNZA went on the air in August of 1977. He came to Carrollton in 1981 and purchased KAOL AM & FM in 1983. Four years later the FM was re-branded as KMZU “The Farm.” He bought and owned WHB in Kansas City from 1993 to 1999. Around that same time, KANZA Communications acquired KTRX-FM in Tarkio. In 1996, he formed a new station – KRLI-FM. He spent his retirement years compiling music to pass on to this, and future, generations.

Mike is survived by his wife and five children, including two who have been part of the NAFB family – Miles and Lynn.

NAFB is thankful for the role both these men played in the industry and honor their history in broadcasting. Our sincere condolences to all.

NAFB

AFBF Gets Candidate Answers on Ag Issues

Cindy Zimmerman

The American Farm Bureau Federation got answers from President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney in a questionnaire asking the candidates about their positions on energy, environmental regulations, farm labor and more.

On farm policy, Obama said he understands the need for a strong farm safety net. “That’s why I increased the availability of crop insurance and emergency disaster assistance to help over 590,000 farmers and ranchers keep their farms in business after natural disasters and crop loss,” he said. “My administration expanded farm credit to help more than 100,000 farmers struggling during the financial crisis…and as farmers continue to go through hard times because of this drought, we are expanding access to low-interest loans, encouraging insurance companies to extend payment deadlines and opening new lands for livestock farmers to graze their herds.”

Romney said he supports passage of a strong farm bill “that provides the appropriate risk management tools that will work for farmers and ranchers throughout the country.” He also pointed out that his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), voted for drought relief—a bill which the Senate never took up.

When asked why farmers should vote for them, Obama said he is committed to strengthening rural America through growing products that the world wants to buy and restoring middle class values of hard work and play. He further said, “I am the only candidate that is committed to strengthening the farm safety net, strengthening rural economic growth and supporting rural investments in clean energy.”

Romney said if he were elected, he would give farmers relief from hefty environmental regulations, as well as “a commonsense energy policy that develops our resources right here at home; a renewed focus on opening new markets; and a pro-growth tax policy that encourages investment and recognizes that death should not be a taxable event.”

Read all the AFBF questions and candidate responses.

AFBF, politics

iPhone 5 New Agriblogging Tool 1st Impressions

Chuck Zimmerman

Hey Apple fans. Here are some first impressions of the new iPhone 5. This is not a review. Just a quick post of some thoughts after working with the newest coolness from Apple.

When I got home yesterday I found that my iPhone 5 had landed a week earlier than AT&T thought it would! So I set it up immediately and starting using it. It is exactly as promised, thinner, faster, lighter. It fits even better in my hand than the 4S which is important for one hand texting. I have a Motorola Droid Razr and my biggest complaint about it is how wide the phone is. The iPhone 5 is a beautiful piece of technology. Everything transferred over by using my iTunes backup and I was in business with a quick call to AT&T to activate.

The screen is incredibly sharp, making looking at photos a pleasure. I’ve only taken one photo so far but the camera worked just fine. I’ll be using it some this week and will update here if I have more to add. The camera in the iPhones have all been the best of any phone I’ve used.

I’m going to be using this new agriblogging tool to not only take photos this week at the new NAMA Fall Conference but also do interviews and perhaps shoot some video too. Hopefully, Minneapolis has AT&T LTE. Atlanta does and I used it this morning. Opening websites in Safari was lightning fast on the phone as was email. I connected my Macbook Air via Hotspot and got the same response on my computer and iPad. Wish LTE was everywhere! So on first impressions, I’d say this is an Apple winner.

I don’t have a case for the new iPhone yet. However, they are becoming available according to emails I’ve already received from Miniot, Griffin and OtterBox. I like my OtterBox case for my Droid Razr but the Miniot iWood 5 looks very cool.

BTW. It has been interesting to see all the app updates going on with the new iOS 6 out now. The new iOS has some big improvements and the new Apple Maps app is one of them. Takes a little getting used to but I use this app a lot. The AgWired App, which you can see on the screen, works perfectly on the new iPhone. Hope you have this free app on your smart phone.

I also tried out the new Apple ear buds this morning on the plane. They are a big improvement over the old ones.

For starters, they fit my ear. The old ones just wouldn’t. They are not noise cancelling but music sounds much better with more base. They have a nice little case to wrap them up in too. I need to learn how to get them back in the case though. Probably just takes practice.

So, I’m very happy with the iPhone 5 and since Apple sold out of 5 million of them the first weekend I’m betting there are a lot of satisfied iPhone 5 owners out there!

Equipment

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • The Channel seed brand will introduce at least fourteen new Genuity VT Triple PRO RIB Complete blended seed corn products in the 85- to 118-day maturity range for 2013 planting.
  • Kinze Manufacturing, Inc. has continued its progress on Kinze Autonomy, refining the capabilities of its groundbreaking autonomous row-crop solution and undertaking release previews on three large Illinois farms this harvest season.
  • Monsanto’s Genuity VT Triple PRO RIB Complete has received registration from the U.S. EPA, completing federal regulatory authorization in the United States.
  • Syngenta announced the intention to launch, via its subsidiary Syngenta Crop Protection AG, a voluntary and conditional public takeover bid in cash for all shares and warrants issued by Devgen NV.
Zimfo Bytes

House Says No to Farm Bill Now

Cindy Zimmerman

No farm bill for now.

Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) told reporters last week before Congress called it quits that they would deal with a farm bill after the election because he did not believe there were 218 votes to pass either an extension or new legislation. “The current situation that we face is that we’ve got people who believe there’s not enough reform in the farm bill that came out of committee, and others who believe there’s too much reform in the bill that came out of committee,” Boehner said. “But when we get back, we will deal with the issue of the farm bill.”

The current bill expires at the end of this month, but that does not mean an immediate return to the crop support programs of the 1949 law because most farm programs can continue to operate through the end of the year. But, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says some programs will expire at the end of this month. “The Export Assistance programs, the CRP sign up, the MILC dairy program, some of the conservation programs, and there’s no disaster assistance,” said Vilsack.

Secretary Vilsack is frustrated and disappointed that House leadership failed to allow a vote on the bill passed by the agriculture committee, and he thinks they have ulterior motives. “I don’t think it’s simply issues involving nutrition assistance,” he said. “I think the House leadership also has plans to significantly cut and reduce support for farm programs – conservation programs, commodity title, as well as the crop insurance title.”

Vilsack fears that Congress will not pass a new farm bill during the lame duck session, meaning the measure would have to wait until the new Congress, which means the already passed Senate bill would be dead and they would have to start from scratch. Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) vows to not let that happen. “I’m absolutely committed to doing everything humanly possible to complete the farm bill in November or December,” she said during a press conference last week.

Farm Bill, USDA

Swamp People

Chuck Zimmerman

It was time for a break so we took it. Cindy and I spent the weekend going back to our journalistic roots in Gainesville, FL. The University of Florida, College of Journalism and Communications, held a reunion weekend which included lunch with the faculty, tours of the college, a reception and a game day tailgate on the lawn outside the college. After getting a tour we walked around and saw our old dorms and visited the church where we were married 32 years ago!

We visited with two of our former teachers, one of whom is still active with a weekly radio show. We also saw a couple of people who attended the college at the same time we did. I took quite a few photos and put them into an online album to share.

Game day at The Swamp was very hot and we finished the game at the home of some friends we had not seen in years. The Gators rolled and so it was a great weekend of activities and getting to take a little time off from the busiest summer in ZimmComm history. But it’s back to business. I’ll be traveling to the new NAMA Fall Conference and you can count on AgWired coverage of this event in its new format.

Education, ZimmComm Announcement

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Syngenta announced that it has agreed to acquire Pasteuria Bioscience, Inc., a US-based biotechnology company.
  • Monsanto Company has pledged up to $3 million dollars to support academic research on corn rootworm.
  • Registration is now open for the 24th Annual Independent Professional Seed Association Conference.
  • Lessing-Flynn Advertising is pleased to welcome Kylee Willard to the team as a project manager.
Zimfo Bytes

Alltech’s Global 500 Is Right Around The Corner

Jamie Johansen

Ruminating on the future of beef and dairy farming will be the topic of discussion at Alltech’s 5th Annual Global 500. The event will feature industry experts who will address the changing future of the dairy and beef industries. Last year’s event was a success with 700 attendees and they are expecting over 1000 this December 4-6 in Lexington, Ky.

“Global 500 has gone from a powerful event to an astounding event,” said Dr. Pearse Lyons, president and founder of Alltech. “In a few short years we’ve managed to get some of the industry’s most successful producers to attend and get involved in discussions that are paving the way to a future of opportunity and profitability.”

Producers and industry leaders will have the opportunity to network, discuss and discover new opportunities and challenges for 2013. The program will feature presentations on branding, social media in agriculture and finding new opportunities in challenging times. In addition to an array of presentations, attendees will be invited to take part in discussion dinners, breakout sessions and a number of farm tours.

Dairy producers will explore topics including breakthroughs in nutrition, strategies to manage feed costs, and emerging markets.

Beef producers will delve into issues such as the future marketplace, consumer demands, meat quality, greenhouse gasses and feed yard management.

Registration for Global 500 is $325, but for all those early birds out there register by November 9 for only $200. This will include all sessions, organized functions, luncheons and dinners. Register today and use the invitation code G124.

Agribusiness, Alltech, Beef, Dairy, Events

Bayer and the Bees

Joanna Schroeder

When a honey bee lands on a flower, she is helping to feed the world. Didn’t really think about it like that did you? In fact, honey bees are vital to agriculture and our food supply, and many bee populations have been dwindling at an alarming rate. This is why Bayer CropScience has launched a program to save the bees. The Bee Ambassador Program is an awareness and educational campaign aimed at showcasing the importance of bees. The company has also unveiled several Bee Care Centers.

Bayer’s Bee Ambassador Program will integrate key topics related to honey bee management and health with issues facing agriculture. Ambassadors will engage at the local level with beekeepers, farmers, researchers, government officials, educators, non-government organizations (NGOs) and the general public about the value of honey bees and the challenges they face.

During the 2012 Farm Progress Show, Cindy Zimmerman had an opportunity to learn more about Bayer’s Bees from Robyn Kneen. She explained that bees pollinate more than one-third of our crops so they play a very, very important role in agriculture. Without bees 90 percent of the world’s food would not exist.

We’re looking at the various factors that affect bee health so we’re doing research to the different factors, particularly the Varroa mite. That is a big problem for beekeepers today,” said Kneen. “We’re also promoting best practices in terms of stewardship of use of best products to ensure crop protection and agriculture and bees all live in harmony together.”

Bayer strongly believes supporting bee health requires ongoing collaboration and engagement to build new relationships with stakeholders and the Ambassador Program will become an integral component of Bayer’s outreach efforts.

Bayer's Bees

2012 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, Bayer, Farm Progress Show