Sprucing up Springtime

Melissa Sandfort

My work is never done around the house. There’s always something to be cleaned or fixed or planted or watered. I told my mother this weekend that’s all I feel like I do is feed and water things around our house, whether it’s the horses, the black kitty, my family, or now our new trees.

They completely transform the front yard: eight pine trees and two maple trees –they’re beautiful. We still have landscaping to do, but that was secondary to getting a good stand of grass our first year in the new house. Now, year two is “prettying it up.”

The hose and I are getting to know each other well.

Sometime I’ll have to show you a photo of the raised garden beds my husband built. I’ve also recently gotten to know the shovel quite well.

Until we walk again …

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2012 NAMA Best of Show

Chuck Zimmerman

Thanks to a little help from the NAMA staff I can share photos of the Best of Show winners from the 2012 Best of NAMA competition.

Up first is Best of Show – Advertising

Client: South Dakota Corn Growers Association, Sioux Falls, SD – Teddi Mueller

Agency: Paulsen Marketing, Sioux Falls, SD – Mindy Dale

Message: Agriculture is a growing and innovative industry that is very important to the state. It is also important in our daily lives as corn and other agricultural products are used to make many items we use in our everyday lives from fuel for our vehicles to toothpaste and toothbrushes.

Audience: Youth and school children in urban and rural areas of South Dakota.

Next up is Best of Show – Public Relations

Client: Case IH, Racine, WI – Julie Rudnick

Agency: Morgan & Myers/Equity Creative/Thomaswerks, Waukesha, WI – Ellen LaRose

Message: To showcase the Case IH Steiger, Magnum and Puma tractors which were postitioned to deliver Efficient Power – a combination of the most available power with the lowest fuel consumption.

Audience: Farm owners/operators, farm managers, used equipment purchasers and part-time farmers.

Congratulations to all the Best of NAMA award winners. You can find the complete list in the current issue of AgriMarketing Magazine.

2012 Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

Ag Groups, Agencies, Agribusiness, NAMA

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Joining Becker Underwood is Sherman Hollins, named regional sales manager for the eastern and southern U.S.; and Dan Kuester, a marketing communications specialist in agricultural products which will include beneficial nematodes, inoculants and seed enhancements.
  • A slate of new officers and directors has been nominated to serve on the United Fresh Produce Association Board of Directors.
  • The Howard G. Buffett Foundation, Feeding America and Archer Daniels Midland Company established Invest An Acre, an innovative partnership that engages U.S. farmers in helping provide food to their neighbors.
  • Greg Thies joins Syngenta this month as senior director of Federal Government Relations, based in Washington, D.C.
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NAMA 2012 Marketer of the Year Award

Chuck Zimmerman

The NAMA Marketer of the Year Award is the organization’s highest honor for an active member and this year the recipient is Greg Guse, Paulsen Marketing. Pictured is Greg receiving his award from Rich Jefferson, AEM/AG CONNECT Expo, Professional Recognition Committee Chair (left) and NAMA President Beth Burgy, Broadhead.

You can listen to Greg’s remarks after receiving his award here: Greg Guse Award Remarks

2012 Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

Agencies, Audio, NAMA

NAMA 2012 Agribusiness Leader of the Year

Chuck Zimmerman

The NAMA Agribusiness Leader of the Year is the organization’s highest award. Receiving the 2012 award is John Becherer, United Soybean Board. Here’s John (right) on stage at the 2012 Agri-Marketing Conference receiving his award from Rich Jefferson, AEM/AG CONNECT Expo, Professional Recognition Committee Chair (left) and NAMA President Beth Burgy, Broadhead. John was introduced by Rich and I recorded the remarks we heard from them for you.

You can listen to John’s remarks after receiving his award here: John Becherer Award Remarks

2012 Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

Ag Groups, Audio, NAMA

Getting Our Photos Taken Together

Chuck Zimmerman

Just to prove people wrong . . . I kept hearing that “you and Cindy never get your pictures taken together.” Oh yes we do. But when you’re the photographers you’re mostly focused on other people.

But just to show that we do do get our pictures taken together we took pictures of each of us at the same time during the Brownfield Party. So there.

By the way, we’ve added all the photos we’re going to in the online photo album. Hope you enjoy them.

2012 Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

NAMA

The Brownfield Red Solo Cup Dancers

Chuck Zimmerman

This year at the 2012 Agri-Marketing Conference Brownfield Party we were treated to a performance by the Red Solo Cup Dancers. Here’s the dancing and singing troop before things got rowdy started. I wish I had all their names but I think they’re most well known as a team. So you can figure out who they are.

You may also be able to figure out who some other people are in the video performance I recorded at Thursday night’s Howl at the Moon event. There are also some photos in our online photo album since it has finally been updated.

2012 Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

Media, NAMA, Video

Corporate Social Media How “Not To”

Chuck Zimmerman

Hello AgWired fans. I’ve been getting a lot of questions about why our coverage of this year’s 2012 Agri-Marketing Conference has been so “skimpy.” The simple answer has been two words, internet access. The Sheraton here has apparently had major problems with their internet access. So I will be uploading hundreds of great photos that Cindy and I have taken including from last night’s infamous Brownfield Party and R+K Pancake After Party. I’ve got some wonderful content to share with you so you can expect it over the next several days.

Now, getting back to the Sheraton and their internet access. After realizing the hotel lobby wireless was about the same quality as rural dialup I tried my hotel room wireless (which I am not being charged for at this point). It worked even worse and the in-room ethernet port did not work at all. So after talking more than once with hotel customer service we had an ethernet cable dropped off that actually had broken connectors on the ends! Not sure why they dropped it off. However, on a follow up phone call I was assured that a technician would show up. He never did even though I waited an extra almost half hour for him. So, being the social guy I am I posted about this on the Sheraton corporate Facebook page. Here’s the exchange:

Chuck Zimmerman
Guest room wireless not worth paying for at Crown Plaza in KC, MO. Only getting .47Mbps down, .21Mbps up right now. Ethernet cable connection doesn’t work at all. Already had one tech look at it. Terrible. Lobby wireless almost non existent too.
20 hours ago · Like

Sheraton Hotels & Resorts Hello Chuck,
Can you please clarify which hotel you are staying at. We have The Sheraton Suites Country Club Plaza, Sheraton Kansas City Hotel at Crown Center and The Westin Kansas City at Crown Center. Once we have this information we will contact the hotel to further address.
Thank you
20 hours ago · Like

Chuck Zimmerman
The Sheraton KC, MO Crown Center. Used to be a Hyatt. Last time I called customer service he promised a technician within 30 minutes. After 45 min I had to leave. No one showed up. Earlier in the day a technician dropped off an Ethernet cable with broken end connectors. It didn’t work. We’ve tried on both PC and Mac.
17 hours ago via mobile · Like

Sheraton Hotels & Resorts
Thank you for this information. A manager will be reaching out to you to further assist. If you would like to discuss this matter further with us please feel free to email us at smassistance@starwoodhotels.com.
16 hours ago · Like

So, at this point it has been 16 hours since that last written promise of contact. Nothing. I at first thought that this was cool. They were responding on a corporate level even though local management wasn’t doing a good job. However, a social media response is not worth much if there is no follow through. It makes for a good lesson in how a company can use social media, or should I say, not use it correctly?

Post Update:

Here’s the rest of the FB thread to this point. And, no, no one left me a message on my room vm. That’s not true.

Chuck Zimmerman No one reached out to me at this point. Never had this kind of service at this hotel. I’m guessing your takeover and management changes are still a work in progress. Oh well. Thanks anyway.
Yesterday at 8:49am · Like

Sheraton Hotels & Resorts Hello Chuck Zimmerman, We understand a manager left a voice mail for you in your guest room yesterday. If you have already checked out and are unable to speak to a manager, please email us at the above address so we can have someone follow up with you directly.
Yesterday at 10:40am · Like

Agri-Marketing Conference Twitter hashtag – #NAMA12.

2012 Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

NAMA

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • The Farm to School Grant Program is part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which authorized and funded USDA to assist eligible entities, through grants and technical assistance, in implementing farm to school programs that improve access to local foods in eligible schools.
  • Elanco Animal Health is sponsoring a free mobile app for the dairy industry: Dairy Source.
  • Deyu Agriculture Corp. announced that it will begin offering a new product line under the Deyu brand name featuring a variety of noodle products.
  • Valmont Irrigation is pleased to announce the recent addition of Aaron Schapper as Vice President and General Manager of International Irrigation.
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Wild Weather Weekend

Melissa Sandfort

This past Saturday night was an eventful one. The weather turned bad at about 4 p.m. so I lit the grill and threw on the steaks. At about 5 p.m., our lights started to flicker so I quickly warmed up the extras in the microwave; 10 minutes into our supper, we lost electricity.

Thirty minutes later, my mom called with a frantic voice: “Are you okay?”
I responded, “Of course, why?”

As we were bragging about how good our steak and bacon was from the grill, a tornado touched down just a half mile west of our house. Our neighbors lost a shed door and metal shingles, my brother’s pivot was a bit crunched, and our friends’ trampoline was in the creek and half of their grill is still missing. This is just part of the tornado path up the hill from us. And the wind blew 70 mph the remainder of the night and all through the next day.

We’d looked out the window and saw rain coming from two different directions but never did hear a thing, even with the silence of having no electricity!

So we hopped in the truck and drove around (and we met half the county doing the same) to take a look at the damage and make sure our neighbors and my grandparents were okay. Luckily, the shed was the worst of it…and I say luckily because of what happened in Oklahoma, Kansas and Iowa that same night.

I’m a little gun-shy for what’s to come with the rest of the summer and our crazy weather. I wanted to get my son and his sleeping bag and sleep in our safe room – regardless of the fact it has a cold, tile floor!

Until we walk again …

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