What Producers Want

Jamie Johansen

A true highlight during the 2012 NAMA Boot Camp was the Producer Panel. Agri-marketers from across the country had the opportunity to learn how to effectively communicate with producers. After the panel I got to chat with Reggie Underwood, a Texas farmer involved in all facets of agriculture.

“I think the greatest thing these ag marketers can do is to have the folks that are in the field prepared. They need to have information that has good sound data on it. It needs to be easy for us to read and understand. The market research and data needs to share whats in it for me so I can make a decision right now on whether to go forward with that technology if it fits my operation.”

Listen to my interview with Reggie here: Interview with Reggie Underwood

You can find photos from the event here:2012 NAMA Boot Camp Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, NAMA

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

    Third Annual Agvocacy 2.0 Conference

    Chuck Zimmerman

    ZimmCast 363Three years of Agvocacy 2.0 training and counting. That’s what the AgChat Foundation just accomplished with the conclusion of their third annual event in Kansas City.

    I was there to conduct a presentation on story telling and media creation with the Peterson Farm Brothers. We had a great session in which I just had to bask in the shadow of their YouTube greatness! 🙂

    The Chair for the training committee that put this great event together is Kathy Swift, Cow Art and More, in the middle of the picture with the committee. They were glad the conference finally came to an end. Kathy is a full time large animal vet in Gainesville, FL too. She says that with two years of learning how to put on this type of conference, their goal was to put on the best conference ever. I think they did it. The goal was to provide attendees with basic social media training along with advanced training. A large part of the conference was focused on communicating “outside the choir.”

    Listen to this week’s ZimmCast here: Third Annual Agvocacy 2.0 Conference

    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.

    Ag Groups, Audio, Social Networking, ZimmCast

    “Ethanol Rocks” Video Contest at Farm Progress Show

    Joanna Schroeder

    The annual Farm Progress Show is heading back to Iowa this week and Boone, Iowa will be swarming with thousands of attendees checking out the latest and greatest in agricultural and energy technologies and products. One group who will be showcasing its work is the Iowa Corn Growers Association (ICGA), a state affiliate of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA). Organizational employees will be educating members about what they are doing to help Iowa corn growers just inside the gate at booth 26N.

    ICGA will also be promoting the “Ethanol Rocks” video contest open to high school and college students. Those students who attend the Farm Progress Show along with their coordinators can enter to win a Sony Handycam and NCGA backpack filled with just the right loot to get them started on their film career.

    “With school starting, NCGA is taking this opportunity to reach out to high school and college students, along with FFA and Ag Club coordinators to sign up for our “Ethanol Rocks” video contest,” said NCGA First Vice President Pam Johnson. “In addition to finding out more about this program, show attendees can stop by the Iowa Corn Growers Association booth, visit with corn growers and learn what NCGA and Iowa Corn are doing to promote our industry at the national and state levels.”

    The short videos should be two minutes or less and should highlight the benefits of ethanol fuel blends to the U.S. environment and economy. The first place winner will pocket $1,500 and the second place winner to take home $500. There will be winner for two categories: high school and college students. Videos must be received by 5:00 pm CDT, Monday, October 15, 2012.

    In addition to getting the low-down on 411 for the Ethanol Rocks video contest, Farm Progress attendees can also stop by the ICGA booth to sign a petition to keep the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) in place. There is also an opportunity to win free registration to the 2013 Commodity Classic and visitors can walk away with educational materials on programs, topics and policies affecting the corn industry.

    Each day during the show, at 2:00 pm, ICGA will host membership VIP educational sessions where speakers from the Iowa Corn Collegiate Advisory Team, CommonGround along with industry spokespersons will discuss how to involve the next generation in agriculture, discuss the economics of corn stover and learn about feed feasibility trials using corn stover.

    The ZimmComm team will be posting live this week from the Farm Progress Show so don’t miss out on the one-of-a-kind coverage only Chuck and Cindy can bring.

    Agribusiness, Biofuels, Corn, Ethanol, Farm Progress Show, NCGA

    Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Woodstock, ON is known as the Dairy Capital of Canada but is also home of Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show – the nation’s largest agricultural trade show. As Cindy and I gear up for a big one here in the USA it’s time to look ahead to the big show in Canada!

    From September 11 to 13, thousands of farmers flock to the show for its infamous demonstrations and 725 exhibitors. You can find a list of features for 2012 here.

    New for the dairy producer in 2012 are: FIVE robotic milking systems will be on display presenting the full scope of today’s options. The BriteSpan Dairy Innovation Centre, a fully operational barn, will showcase the DeLaval VMS Voluntary Milking System and Lely Astronaut A4 as they milk side-by-side. Farmers can also see the Astrea 20.20 robotic milking system from Ag-Co Products Ltd., MIone (Milking Intelligence) from GEA Farm Technologies and the MR-S1 Milking Robot from BouMaticRobotics Canada.

    Since 1994, this annual event has built a hefty reputation as the one-stop-shop for new farm equipment and technology. For dairy crowds and farmers of all types, it’s a must-see event.

    For more information, visit www.outdoorfarmshow.com or follow @outdoorfarmshow on Twitter.

    Farm Shows, Farming, International

    Weed Resistance Warning from Arkansas

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Retired Arkansas weed scientist Ford Baldwin wants Midwest growers to learn from what happened in his state before it’s too late for them. “The story I try to tell in the Midwest is how we basically have lost the world’s greatest herbicide technology in the south in Roundup Ready,” Ford said at a Bayer CropScience Respect the Rotation field day in Collinsville, IL. “If the Midwest farmer gets proactive now, I think you guys still have a chance to save that technology.”

    Ford explained how glyphosate has failed in the south on driver weeds like Palmer pigweed, waterhemp, ragweed and mare’s tail. “And the driver weeds, if you don’t control them, nothing else matters,” he said, and the key to that is rotation. “The key is first being proactive. A weed doesn’t have a brain, surely we can be smarter than a weed.”

    Listen to my interview with Ford here: Ford Baldwin of Arkansas

    University of Arkansas weed scientist Jason Norsworthy also spoke at the Bayer event and also stressed the need to be proactive. “Rotate technologies, use other herbicide modes of action before you lose glyphosate,” he said. “A single escape within a field is going to rapidly result in complete failure and loss of a herbicide.”

    Jason says it was 2005 when they found their first glyphosate-resistant population of pigweed in Arkansas. “As of last year, we’re estimating that we’ve got in excess of 2.5 million acres of resistant Palmer amaranth,” he said. “Once you lose a herbicide, you’ve lost it for good.”

    Listen to my interview with Jason here: Univ of Ark weed scientist Jason Norsworthy

    Bayer CropScience Respect the Rotation photo album.

    Audio, Bayer, Farming, weed management

    Zimfo Bytes

    Melissa Sandfort

      Zimfo Bytes

    • SFP has expanded staff across its sales, research and product management departments to meet demands of growers and dealers.
    • Dr. James Adams has been promoted to Director of Product Development for Nichino America, Inc.
    • CoBank has once again been named to Global Finance magazine’s list of the safest banks in the world.
    • The United States Potato Board is pleased to announce the promotion of Alexandra Imhof to the position of USPB Industry Communications & Policy Manager.
      Zimfo Bytes

      Beef Bucks Holds Largest Golf Tourney Ever

      Melissa Sandfort

      More than 200 golfers turned out on behalf of the beef industry on the tenth anniversary of the Beef Bucks Golf Challenge—the largest number ever for the major fundraising event of Beef Bucks, the South Dakota-based volunteer-run beef promotion organization.

      Sporting 52 teams, this year’s Beef Bucks Golf Challenge on August 17 at the Brandon Municipal Golf Course brought together beef producers, beef industry reps, and beef- supporting businesses, consumers and organizations for a day of golf, ending with a grilled steak dinner and auction.

      Dollars raised through the golf tournament are used to fund scholarships for college or vocational school-bound young people with a background in the beef industry. Beef Bucks also promotes beef through a number of other promotional events throughout the year.

      This year, the top dollar-generating auction item was a Lincoln commemorative rifle donated by the Henry Rifle Company and purchased by Daniel Holt from Fayetteville, AK. Other auction items included a basketball autographed by South Dakota’s-own Mike Miller of the Miami Heat, and a limited edition Bert Blyleven-signed Hall of Fame Induction print from the Minnesota Twins.

      The first-place winning teams of the Beef Bucks Golf Challenge Championship Flight were: first place Pharmco Sod Busters; second place Yankton Livestock; and third place J & R Distributing.

      Agribusiness, Beef

      Buck-a-Liter Program Supports Wounded Warriors

      Melissa Sandfort

      Beef and dairy producers will have the opportunity to show wounded veterans their appreciation, simply by buying Cydectin® Pour-On from Sept. 1 to Nov. 30, 2012. For each liter of CYDECTIN (moxidectin) Pour-On purchased, Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. will donate $1.00 to Wounded Warrior Project™ (WWP). In 2011, Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. donated nearly $200,000 to support Wounded Warriors through the Buck-a-Liter program.

      The money raised through the CYDECTIN Pour-On Buck-a-Liter Program is used to help support WWP’s programs, which are uniquely structured to nurture the mind and body, and facilitate economic empowerment and engagement.

      Producers are encouraged to visit their local veterinary clinic or dealer store to purchase CYDECTIN Pour-On from Sept. 1 to Nov. 30 to support WWP.

      Agribusiness, Beef, Boehringer Ingelheim, Dairy

      Agvocacy 2.0 Conference Underway

      Chuck Zimmerman

      A passionate and powerful group of agvocates are doing their best to shut down the wifi connection at the Kansas City Crowne Plaza Hotel! It’s Agvocacy 2.0 Conference time. I just joined the conference this afternoon and have some photos in the process of uploading now. Jamie Johansen is also attending the conference and between us we’ll collect a lot of photos and some interesting interviews to share.

      Today the sessions have been focusing on telling our story beyond the choir. I know there has been some concern about farmers being able to reach out to non farmers with social media to tell their story. We have lots of good examples here from attendees to presenters who are showing how that is possible.

      I’ll add a link to our photo album from the conference as soon as I can.

      Post Update:

      Here’s where our photos can be found. More added all the time. 2012 Agvocacy 2.0 Conference Photo Album

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