Ag Future Discussed At Alltech International Symposium

Chuck Zimmerman

There are a lot of good reasons to attend an Alltech Annual International Symposium. Here are a couple of them for journalists.

  • 1. Food matters to everyone: Symposium will focus on exploring new strategies for food production and examine how current agricultural practices will need to change to feed the growing world population. Sessions will also explore topics related to new insights into the relationships between nutrition, genetics and health.
  • 2. Symposium offers sessions ranging from broad-level topics to more specific scientific information, and with more than 150 presentations, there will be something to pique your interest and your audience’s.
  • 3. It is a unique opportunity to network and interact with people from all over the world and find great stories.
  • 4, Be among the first to hear news and announcements about what’s next for Alltech.
  • 5. The registration fee is waived for the media.

So, for these reasons and more I’m heading to Lexington, KY again to cover the 2012 Symposium and learn more about Alltech’s vision for the future. The challenge is going to be to cover all the great presentations, take lots of photos, do lots of interviews and still find time to network with friends I’ve made over the years who come from many different countries. Of course we can’t forget the Alltech team led by Dr. Pearse Lyons. I’m looking forward to it!

Agribusiness, Alltech

Communicating With MustangRED

Chuck Zimmerman

MustangRED Communications was announced just before the 2012 Agri-Marketing Conference. During the conference I had a chance to visit with founder and owner and good friend, Sally Behringer.

Sally says MustangRED works with a network of industry professionals to provide full service communications services. Sally has been in the business for a long time and really understands a wide variety of types of agricultural businesses, including government relations work. So, if you’re in need, give Sally a call!

Interview with Mustang Red Sally
Agencies, Audio, NAMA

Thank Domino’s Ag Pizza Party Weekend

Cindy Zimmerman

We know what’s for dinner tonight – Domino’s Pizza!

This weekend has officially been declared “Thank Domino’s Ag Pizza Party Weekend” by the agriculture social media community. It is our way of saying thanks to the pizza corporation for not caving into the demands of HSUS (Humane Society of the U.S.) Last month, Domino’s Pizza shareholders voted against a resolution that would have required pork suppliers to stop housing gestating sows in stalls. Domino’s made that decision after consulting industry experts about what is best for the animals. “We rely on established industry experts and the USDA to determine best practices in this area, and will continue to do so,” they said. Yes!!!

Thousands have joined “The Truth About Agriculture” movement called “Farmers Paying it Forward with Pizza” and are planning to purchase pizza from Domino’s this weekend to say thanks! They have even created a custom thank you note for people to print out and deliver to Domino’s.

When you get your pizza this weekend, make sure to take photos and share them on the Pizza Party FB page and tweet using the hash tag #agpizzaparty with handle @dominos.

Animal Activists, Farming, Food

Farm Wars! Podcast

Chuck Zimmerman

I love seeing new farm podcasts. This one just came to my attention in my email inbox. It’s the Protect The Harvest, Farm Wars! Podcast. This relatively new pro-agriculture advocacy group has jumped into some very important issues of concern for everyone involved in farming today.

Hosted by Wayne Yocum and co-hosted by Dan Kleinsorge, the operations manager of Missouri Farmers Care, the Farm Wars! Podcast is a bi-weekly look at the growing conflict between modern agriculture and extremists within the animal rights and environmental movements.

“Wayne and Dan provide a fresh, inviting and informative take on this very important issue,” explained Iowa State Representative Erik Helland, Protect The Harvest Board Member. “Too many Americans are unaware that their food supply is under attack from extremists who want to control their lifestyles and choices. Hopefully, the Farm Wars! Podcast will be an effective wake up call.”

Released every two weeks, the Farm Wars! Podcast includes in-depth interviews with news and policy makers along with news coverage and discussion segments like “This Week In Insanity” and “Warm Fuzzy/Cold Prickly.”

Take a listen to the latest episode here: Farm Wars! Podcast

Ag Groups, Audio, Podcasts

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • The U.S. Grains Council is pleased to present the first annual Corn Export Cargo Quality Report for the 2011/2012 corn marketing year as a service to foreign buyers and other interested parties.
  • Sand County Foundation is proud to name the Wineinger-Davis Ranch as the recipient of the 2012 Leopold Conservation Award in Colorado.
  • CustomWeather, Inc., has announced the availability of key weather data for Agribusiness to minimize risk and plan efficiently.
  • David Baum, D.V.M., Ph.D., has joined Harrisvaccines as vice president of sales and technical services.
    Zimfo Bytes

    LightSquared Implements Voluntary Chapter 11 Restructuring

    Melissa Sandfort

    LightSquared announced that it commenced voluntarily reorganization cases under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code to give it time to resolve regulatory issues that have prevented it from building its coast-to-coast integrated satellite 4G wireless network.

    The company fully expects to continue normal operations throughout this process. All LightSquared distribution partners and customers, including public safety, emergency response, government and military users of LightSquared’s satellite-based communications services can continue to rely on LightSquared to provide them with mission critical communications services.

    LightSquared intends to work with all key constituents to conduct an orderly restructuring process to maximize its asset value and to exit Chapter 11 in the quickest and most efficient manner possible.

    Read a previous reaction from agricultural and farm equipment organizations as they urged the Federal Communications Commission to withdraw the conditional waiver granted to LightSquared in 2011 and modify the company’s satellite license to prohibit the building of a ground-based network.

    Agribusiness, Precision Agriculture

    Mixed Results on Controlling Resistant Weeds

    Chuck Zimmerman

    With all the talk about herbicide-resistant weeds this year, some farmers are still not concerned about the issue, according to our most recent BASF Production Poll.

    37.5% of respondents said they don’t have resistant weeds (at least not yet!). However, the same number said they would be using a mix of methods to control or prevent resistance – pre-emergence herbicide, additional sites of action, and working with a consultant on a plan. Another 25% said they would be using a pre-emerge application for control.

    With soybean planting running way ahead of schedule already – 46% planted, nearly twice the five year average – our new poll asks what farmers are doing to protect that crop this year. Let us know!




    See what BASF and university researchers found when they used comprehensive pest-management programs rather than common approaches.


    For more information on BASF Crop Protection products, visit http://agproducts.basf.us
    BASF, Crop Protection, Soybean

    Kansas Rancher is America’s Farmers Mom of the Year 2012

    Melissa Sandfort

    Debbie Lyons-Blythe, White City, Kansas, is Monsanto’s America’s Farmers Mom of the Year 2012.

    Lyons-Blythe was nominated by her children (Meghan, Allie, Trenton, Tyler and Eric), and also by her aunt, Mary Ferguson, who she describes as “more of a friend than an aunt.” Both nominations summarized in 300 words what makes Lyons-Blythe so special to her family, farm, community and the agricultural industry.

    Debbie and her family run Blythe Angus, near White City where her husband Duane’s family homesteaded in 1890. They raise 250 registered Angus cows and sell registered bulls, along with a commercial heifer development program. They also have a diversified cropping operation, including hay, for the cowherd. Although all five of her children help on the ranch, it is Debbie who provides the daily labor. Duane works in town and she said she is “blessed” to have a husband supportive of her passion for ranching. A graduate of Kansas State University, Debbie serves on the board of directors for the Kansas Livestock Association and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and is an active member of the American Angus Association. She authors an online blog, “Life on a Kansas Cattle Ranch,” with which she strives to give consumers a glimpse of life on a family farm.

    The other four regional winners were Danni Beer, Keldron, S.D., Sherri Lynn Kannmacher, Martinsville, Ill., Sarah Peterson, Niles, Mich., and Delores “Dee Dee” Clements Darden, Smithfield, Va.

    Beef

    Zimfo Bytes

    Melissa Sandfort

      Zimfo Bytes

    • CJ BIO America broke ground on their first U.S. construction project – a $320 million lysine production facility at the North Central Ag Industrial Park west of Fort Dodge, Iowa.
    • The American Society of Agricultural Consultants has launched a new website.
    • TradeMark Nitrogen Corporation has named Mike Barry to the company’s management team as General Manager.
    • Debbie Lyons-Blythe, White City, Kan., is Monsanto’s America’s Farmers Mom of the Year 2012.
      Zimfo Bytes

      Develop a Relationship With Your Local Reporters

      Chuck Zimmerman

      Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “When was the last time you talked to a journalist about agriculture?” The question was inspired by an AgChat Twitter conversation question that had been submitted by @BASFAgro! We’re supposed to stand up for our industry and livelihoods that are threatened by lots of misinformation that gets spread by the media. What are we doing about it? How are we speaking out? Are we willing to develop a relationship with the reporters at our local mainstream media outlets (newspaper/radio/tv/web)?

      Here are the results, 50% said Recently (I do frequently). Wow. Keep it up. But 22% said Never (Waste of time) and just over 9%/each said, Recently (I rarely do); Long time ago; Never (I will now though).

      Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “Who should be responsible for child nutrition?” This question was inspired by last night’s FoodChat Twitter conversation. I appreciate the school lunch program and what USDA thinks it is accomplishing by creating rules but somehow it doesn’t sit right with me. There would be no need for this if parents would take some personal responsibility for themselves and their children. More and more government control of our lives just won’t work in the long run. At least that’s my opinion. What’s yours?

      ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.

      Food, ZimmPoll