Woodruff Sweitzer Acquires Paradowski Creative

Melissa Sandfort July 3, 2012

Woodruff Sweitzer has acquired Paradowski Creative, an independent agency based in St. Louis, Mo. The acquisition took effect July 2. Each agency will retain its individual agency name.

Woodruff Sweitzer has realized tremendous growth over the past few years, adding clients in agribusiness, packaged goods and animal health. The agency had been searching for a like-minded independent agency that shares a creative and entrepreneurial-spirited culture and will bring expanded expertise, including digital offerings to its clients. Paradowski Creative fit the bill.

Current organizational structure and staff, outside of Alex Paradowski’s (who founded the agency 35 years ago) departure, will remain for both agencies. Woodruff Sweitzer currently has 63 employees and Paradowski Creative employs 24 staff members.

Agencies

GROWMARK Supports ASTA

Chuck Zimmerman July 3, 2012

Matt Hynes, Manager, Agronomy Marketing, for GROWMARK is on the board of the American Seed Trade Association as a Regional Vice President. I spoke with him to learn more about ASTA and why GROWMARK is supportive of the organization.

To start with Matt says that the seed business is part of what GROWMARK does. “To be part of an organization like the American Seed Trade Association is important to GROWMARK and the things we do not only because we have our own seed line but because of our agricultural industry.” He says GROWMARK has a large footprint in the United States and Canada and there are a lot of issues going on that they can’t necessarily keep up on. “That’s a huge part of what ASTA can bring to an organization like GROWMARK and those that are a part of it.”

As the representative of the central region of ASTA Matt says he made a lot of calls on members recently to find out their needs. This was part of the board’s work on the ASTA strategic plan to make sure they’re serving the needs of all member companies, small or large.

Learn more about the work ASTA does from Matt in my interview with him as well as what’s new in the agronomy area at GROWMARK: Interview with Matt Hynes

2012 ASTA Convention Photo Album

Agribusiness, ASTA, Audio, Cooperatives, GROWMARK

Dallas Clark Teams With America Needs Farmers

Chuck Zimmerman July 3, 2012

Here’s what we need. Another respected sports figure to help bring positive attention to farming today. He’s Dallas Clark, an NFL tight end, now teamed up with America Needs Farmers.

Dallas Clark, a small-town Iowa boy who’s made it big in the National Football League, is teaming up with the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF) and the University of Iowa (UI) to promote the America Needs Farmers (ANF) campaign.

“I really respect and have a lot of pride in the values that farmers have, and the values of Iowa and the values of community, and that’s what Farm Bureau represents,” said Clark, a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this season. “I’m thrilled to be part of this initiative and believe in the importance of farming and the effects it has on our communities and the world.”

Clark joins an impressive list of former Hawkeye players who support ANF, a campaign launched by legendary Hawkeye coach Hayden Fry in 1985 during the Farm Crisis. The ANF emblem is displayed on Hawkeye football players’ helmets today.

ANF merchandise is for sale at www.bravosportsmarketing.com. Farm Bureau members can take advantage of special discounts throughout the year at www.iowafarmbureau.com.

Ag Groups

Wisconsin Branded Tag Program Unveiled

Melissa Sandfort July 3, 2012

The Wisconsin Livestock Identification Consortium (WLIC) is pleased to announce the launch of the Identifying Wisconsin branded tag program.

The voluntary Identifying Wisconsin branded Official ID program is the first of its kind and has been developed with support from Wisconsin livestock producers, industry and the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP).

The Identifying Wisconsin initiative is an independent, industry-funded program dedicated to accurate animal identification and highlights the consumer value and quality of Wisconsin livestock. The program was developed by producers, for producers and consumers.

Under the Identifying Wisconsin program, Wisconsin producers with a premises ID can purchase approved AIN (840) and Premises ID tags. All tags approved for the program will carry the “Wisconsin Origin” seal that is printed by tag manufacturers and only distributed to farms in the state of Wisconsin through select distributors.

The tags offered under this program can be used to satisfy traceability needs for marketing, state and national animal health programs and on-farm management. Data about the farm of origin is housed in a producer and industry managed database located in Madison, Wis.

As consumers, processors and export markets require more traceability of the product sold back to the farm of origin and the lingering concern of what would happen in the event of a catastrophic disease outbreak; the Identifying Wisconsin program has allowed Wisconsin to take a leadership position in this effort and position itself to meet the needs of consumers both domestically and internationally.

Agribusiness, Livestock

Data Collection Focus of Farm Foundation Webinar

John Davis July 2, 2012

Having good information is critical to agricultural operations, but increasing budget concerns are limiting the U.S. government’s ability to provide the information farmers want and need. Our friends at the Farm Foundation recently held a webinar organized by the Council on Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics (C-FARE), in partnership with the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA), and Montana State University to address those issues brought on by what could become an information bottleneck.

“The importance of data is a really critical matter for us today,” said Farm Foundation President Neil Conklin, who served as moderator for the event. “Data remains as important as ever to public and private decision makers and to the smooth functioning of markets.”

Conklin was joined by Joseph J. Prusacki, Director, Statistics Division, USDA National Agricultural Statisics Service (NASS), who provided an overview of data uses, user groups and the impacts of budget cuts; Jim Robb of the Livestock Marketing Information Center, who talked about the challenges USDA faces in data collection; Paul Hughes of Nestle Purina PetCare, who provided a private sector perspective on data collection issues; and Mark Seetin of the U.S. Apple Association, who addressed producer groups’ concerns on the issue.

It’s some excellent information, and over the next few days, I’ll be giving you a closer look at what each one had to say. In the meantime, I’ll let you hear the entire hour-long webinar here:
Farm Foundation Webinar on Data Collection

Audio, Farm Foundation, USDA

Remote Display Access From John Deere

Chuck Zimmerman July 2, 2012

During the John Deere FarmSight Technology Summit in Des Moines we saw a live demonstration of Remote Display Access. During the event we broke up into groups like this one to rotate display stations for different products being announced. In the video below you can watch the demo and hear our presenters talk about the benefits of this new technology. To use Remote Display Access from a remote computer, tablet or smartphone, users can log in to JDLink.com or MyJohnDeere.com and navigate to the Remote Display Access link that connects to the display in the cab of the equipment they select. The actual live operator’s view of the display data is sent via wireless cellular data connection from the MTG to the John Deere communications network, which the remote user can access from their device.

As farmers integrate more precision technology into their equipment and operations, the ability to remotely supervise and support those field operations becomes even more important to both farmers and dealers. To provide that support, John Deere introduces Remote Display Access, which allows users to view the operator’s display screen on their John Deere equipment.

By using an Internet-connected device, users with Remote Display Access can view the operator’s GreenStar™3 2630 Display screen, which helps them to identify any problems, assist the operator in navigating the steps needed to resolve an issue or ensure correct settings and machine operation.

To operate Remote Display Access requires the GreenStar™ 3 2630 Display; JDLink Modular Telematics Gateway (MTG) hardware with the latest updates; JDLink subscription with Remote Display Access; and an ethernet cable to connect the display to the MTG.

Displays from multiple machines can be viewed at the same time, and multiple remote users can view the same operator’s display if a remote desktop sharing program is used. Remote Display Access is compatible with most web browsers, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0, Google Chrome and Apple Safari 5.0.

John Deere FarmSight Tech Summit Photo Album

Agribusiness, Equipment, John Deere, Technology, Video

Monsanto Genuity RIB Complete Recipe Challenge

Chuck Zimmerman July 2, 2012

Just in time for the 4th of July holiday week, a great time for grilling, Monsanto announces the GENUITY® RIB COMPLETE® RECIPE CHALLENGE. Top recipes will win a Big Green Egg® Grill with accessories and Genuity RIB Complete Corn Blend.

The Genuity® RIB Complete® Recipe Challenge has officially kicked off, and farmers are invited to submit their tastiest recipe for barbecue ribs. Entries can be submitted online, at www.Genuity.com/RecipeChallenge, from July 2 through Aug. 3, 2012.

The contest is sponsored by Monsanto through its Genuity RIB Complete refuge-in-a-bag products and will be judged in cooperation with the National Barbecue Association. Judging will consist of two phases:

Judges will read all recipes and then select three regional finalists in each of five regions (for a total of 15 regional finalists) based on originality, expected ease of preparation, how the ingredients complement each other, and expected taste, appearance and tenderness.

Those 15 finalist recipes will then be prepared and one regional winner for each region will be selected based on actual taste, appearance and tenderness. One of the five regional winners will be selected as the national winner using these same criteria.

All five regional winners will receive a Big Green Egg® large grill with stand, rib rack, 3-piece barbecue tool set and other accessories valued at approximately $1,320. The national winner will also receive a $5,000 seed credit for Genuity® SmartStax® RIB Complete™ corn blend or Genuity® VT Double PRO® RIB Complete™ corn blend for the 2013 growing season. The other four regional winners will receive a $1,000 seed credit redeemable for the same corn blend(s). Read More

Agribusiness

NAMA Announces Fall Conference Theme

Chuck Zimmerman July 2, 2012

“Fertile Ground, Forward Thinking” is the theme for the new National Agri-Marketing Association Fall Conference. The event will be held at the Graves 601 Hotel in Minneapolis, MN, September 25-26.

To learn more about the new NAMA Fall Conference I visited with NAMA President, Beth Burgy, Broadhead. She says the conference will be new and different this year with a sub-theme of “Celebrating Leadership.” The conference will be targeted to the mid level agrimarketing professional looking to take the next step in their career. At the same time NAMA will recognize the 200 plus volunteers who devote time and resources into making the organization work.

A farm tour is also being planned for the fall conference to take place the day before the conference kicks off. Programming is in the planning process right now but current and potential NAMA members are encouraged to block the dates on their calendar now and watch for the announcement of the opening of registration soon.

Listen to this week’s ZimmCast here: 2012 NAMA Fall 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, NAMA, ZimmCast

Rural Benefits to Defense Biofuels Investments

Cindy Zimmerman July 2, 2012

The Obama administration today announced new investments in the biofuels industry as part of the Defense Production Act (DPA).

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Navy and Department of Energy jointly announced $30 million in federal funding to match private investments in commercial-scale advanced drop-in biofuels. The Energy Department is also announcing a total of $32 million in new investments for earlier stage research that will continue to drive technological breakthroughs and additional cost reductions in the industry.

“This is an important next step in the President’s direction to Navy, Agriculture and Energy to work together to support the commercialization of ready-to-use, drop-in, advanced biofuel substitutes for diesel fuel and jet fuel,” said U.S. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus. “This funding opportunity will enhance our national security and support the creation and commercial-viability of a defense-critical industry – domestic biofuels.”

“This is a matter of national security, energy security and also good for rural America,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “It opens up great promise for the development of non-food feedstocks as a potential cash crop for farmers throughout the United States. The refineries that will be converting this biomass into fuel will likely be located in rural areas, helping to create jobs.”

DPA is an authority that dates back to 1950 and has been used to boost industries such as steel, aluminum, titanium, semiconductors, beryllium, and radiation-hardened electronics.

The Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) made possible through the DPA, will be carried out in two-phases, with government and industry sharing in the cost. In Phase 1, applicants will submit a design package and comprehensive business plan for a commercial-scale biorefinery, identify and secure project sites and take additional required steps spelled out in the announcement. Awardees selected to continue into Phase 2 will submit additional information for the construction or retrofit of a biorefinery.

Listen to a portion of this morning’s press announcement with Mabus and Vilsack:
Administration Press Conference

Audio, Biofuels, USDA

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