Anymore Frost in Sight?

Melissa Sandfort

For more than a month now, four kinds of tomatoes and four kinds of peppers in 20 labeled “ready-to-plant” potters have been sitting on our kitchen table and now in the garage. I’m waiting. Earlier this month we had two weeks of 85-degree days but then Monday morning of this week we had frost again.

And I don’t have enough empty milk jugs and wall-o-waters to cover all the plants. I believe the Farmer’s Almanac says to wait to plant May 1 this year and I think that’s a pretty reliable source.

Last year was my first attempt at a “real” home garden, with help and suggestions from my grandma. We put it in the wrong place – it didn’t get enough sun and when we went through a rainy spell, it was underwater. I didn’t thin my head lettuce. Or my onions. I’m calling it a practice year.

This year, my husband (because he’s handy with EVERYTHING) built me these five raised bed planters. Aren’t they great? And, we still have one black kitty to keep the rabbits away and fertilize.

I’m hoping for a better crop this year…happy planting to all who are doing a home garden!

Until we walk again …

Uncategorized

New Holland Mega Media Event

Cindy Zimmerman

New Holland wants everyone to know that they are rejuvenated and back in the game for agriculture.

Not that they ever left the game, they’ve just been flying a bit under the radar for awhile and now New Holland North American VP Abe Hughes says they really want to get out and show they industry what they’ve got. “We’ve been so successful at our turnaround and our rejuvenation these last two years that we thought it was high time that we invite the media over to hear our story and give you a little insight as to our future,” Abe said.

The media day started on Wednesday with a trip down memory lane to the original brick building in New Holland, Pennsylvania where the company was started in 1895 by Abram Zimmerman, a Mennonite blacksmith who invented the freeze proof engine. Not sure if we’re related, but I am not only married to a Zimmerman, my mother’s maiden name was Zimmerman, so you never know!

We traveled just a short distance down the road by Amish buggy to the modern New Holland North American headquarters, a nice transition from the past to the present. Abe gave us a good overview of the company history and where they are today, with a stable management team and strong earnings to show for it. “I’m happy to say that New Holland North America was part of the success of our earnings release today,” he said. “We made $1.11 a share, which is well above the period last year and also well above what the analysts were predicting. We’re definitely pulling our weight and there’s much more to come!”

And there’s also much more to come on the New Holland Mega Media Event, including some media equipment test drives! I’m excited!

Check out the photos in the New Holland Media Event album and listen to my interview with Abe below:
Abe Hughes Interview

Audio, Equipment, New Holland

Walter Bond Says Get Bigger, Stronger and Faster

Chuck Zimmerman

He’s America’s Accountability Leader. He’s Bond, Walter Bond. He was also our final speaker at the 2012 Agri-Marketing Conference with a session titled, “No One Can Stop You, But You.” Walter is a former NBA player.

I asked Walter what he wanted these agrimarketing professionals to take away from his presentation. He says the main message is, “I don’t want them to go back home and be the same professional when they left.” He says his background as a professional athlete taught him to get bigger, stronger and faster. He’s applied that same strategy to his post athletic career and suggests the same for NAMA members.

You can listen to my interview with Walter here: Walter Bond Interview

2012 Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

Ag Groups, Audio, NAMA

Farm Podcaster Tool

Chuck Zimmerman

Cindy and I have worn out our Flip and Kodak camcorders so I’ve been looking for a good replacement. My requirements are small, full HD quality, ideally external rechargeable battery and ability to connect external microphone/audio source. What I have found is this one. It’s a Sony Handycam, Model HDR-CX260V/W. It’s got plenty of good features including zoom lens, image stabilization and I like the hidden USB connector cable in the hand strap. The first video I shot was at the Agri-Marketing Conference last week. I just plug it into my Mac and use iMovie and it imports just fine. The format is AVCHD so you’ll need to import from the camera or make a camera archive folder on a hard drive for the same purpose.

Fall in love with the stunningly beautiful 1920x1080p Full HD videos you create and capture ultra-steady footage that rocks without the roll associated with camera shake thanks to Optical SteadyShot™ image stabilization with Active Mode. Back-illuminated Exmor® R CMOS sensor provides excellent low light capabilities while a wide angle G lens lets you fit even more in every shot.

Equipment, Media

NAMP and NMA Unveil Logo for New Association

Melissa Sandfort

The executive committees of the North American Meat Processors Association and the National Meat Association met last week in Washington, DC, for two days to continue working out the logistics of bringing together the two organizations under the banner of the North American Meat Association (NAMA).

They agreed everything is on track to complete the consolidation by the target date of July 1, 2012.

The map image emphasizes that its membership and scope of work is North American. The three-word tag line highlights what it offers members.

One of the first tangible results will be a new NAMA Membership Directory delivered to all members by the start date. There will be a strategic planning session during the summer months, and the combined committees from the two associations will continue working on critical issues for the industry and the new association.

The two executive committees also confirmed a first year of major events for the new association and other events popular with each group over the years.

Uncategorized

Farmers Willing To Share Their Harvest

Chuck Zimmerman

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “Would you be willing to donate the proceeds from one acre of your farm to help your local food bank?” Apparently we have some very generous farmers out there since 61% said Yes and 39% said No. Of course they may be many areas that don’t even have a local food bank too. I don’t know. But we sure appreciate everyone who participated!

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “With all of the discussion on projected corn acres this year, how many acres of corn do you expect to plant this year?” So how about it corn growers. I wonder how many will grow corn for the first time this year too. Should be interesting. Let your corn growing friends and neighbors to know we’d like to know what they plan and remember this is an anonymous poll! Use this link to share.

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

ZimmPoll

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Alamo Group Inc. and Alo jointly announced a major new manufacturing and distribution alliance for their tractor loader businesses in North America.
  • Nominations for the 2012 PrecisionAg Awards of Excellence are now being accepted. Recipients will be honored at the International Conference On Precision Agriculture in Indianapolis this July.
  • RFD-TV and Alltech have announced a partnership with iHigh.com which could reshape the way people around the world look at agriculture.
  • Incofin Investment Management, Fairtrade International and Grameen Foundation announced they are establishing the first fund to focus on the unmet demand of smallholder farmers for long-term loans. Starbucks Coffee Company joins as the Fund’s first anchor private investor with a$1.3m commitment.
Zimfo Bytes

USDA Confirms BSE Case

Cindy Zimmerman

The U.S. Department of Agriculture today confirmed the nation’s fourth case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in a dairy cow from central California.

“The carcass of the animal is being held under State authority at a rendering facility in California and will be destroyed. It was never presented for slaughter for human consumption, so at no time presented a risk to the food supply or human health. Additionally, milk does not transmit BSE,” said USDA Chief Veterinary Officer John Clifford. “Samples from the animal in question were tested at USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa. Confirmatory results using immunohistochemistry and western blot tests confirmed the animal was positive for atypical BSE, a very rare form of the disease not generally associated with an animal consuming infected feed.”

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Cattle Health and Well-being Committee Chairman Tom Talbot noted that BSE is fast approaching eradication worldwide. “According to USDA, there were only 29 cases of BSE worldwide in 2011, which is a 99 percent reduction since the peak in 1992 of more than 37,300 cases,” he said. “We commend USDA and animal health experts for effectively identifying and eliminating the potential risks associated with BSE.”

“American beef and dairy products are safe,” stressed American Farm Bureau Federation president Bob Stallman. “The safeguards our government has in place to detect any incidence of this disease are clearly working. The report of a cow with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, discovered during the pre-rendering process, is proof that our detection system works.”

USDA officials remain confident in the health of the national herd and the safety of beef and dairy products and will “continue to communicate findings in a timely and transparent manner.”

Animal Health, Beef, Dairy, USDA

The Passing of Judy Henderson

Chuck Zimmerman

Everyone involved in the agricultural marketing industry knows Lynn Henderson, Owner/Publisher, Agri Marketing Magazine. Many of you may not have known Lynn’s wife Judy who has been battling illness for some time. Judy passed early this morning. Here’s an excerpt from a note from Lynn:

Early this morning, my beloved wife Judy left this earth to be with our God. She passed away peacefully and had a smile on her face.

Thank you so much for all of your support during this journey our family has been on.

Best wishes,
Lynn

Judy met Lynn when she was a Art Director at Century Communications. They moved to St. Louis when Lynn became Pres/CEO of Doane Agricultural Services. She recently joined Henderson Communications on the editorial staff of its Agri Marketing magazine. A memorial service is being planned to celebrate her life. In lieu of flowers, contributions are suggested to the Windsor Crossing church and Mercy Medical Care Hospice.

Media

2012 Agri-Marketing Conference Excerpts

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCast 347In this week’s program you’re going to hear why the Agri-Marketing Conference is such an important program to have on your schedule each year.

I’ve taken some excerpts from two of our keynote speakers, Peter Sheahan and Ross Shafer as well as an interview with one of our Conference Planning Committee members, Scott McClure, and put them into a program. Let’s get started in show order with Peter Sheahan. Peter talked about “Making it Happen: How To Turn Good Ideas Into Great Results.” Peter talks about how you take good ideas and then execute. It’s in the execution that you take those ideas and innovate!

Next we’ll move along to Ross Shafer who spoke on “Are You Still Relevant?” Of course we’d all like to think we’re relevant. One of the first things Ross says that sticks with me is the idea of “quit going to ag meetings.” He highly suggests going to meetings for other industries. He says that you’ll hear ideas in those meetings you’ll never hear in an ag meeting. That might be just what you need to stay relevant!

And finally we’ll visit with Scott McClure, Brighton Agency, who was our Vice Chair of this year’s NAMA Conference Planning Committee. Scott says the success of this year’s Conference is a combination of the enthusiasm in our industry and the coming together of one of the largest gatherings of people we’ve had in a decade. Scott also says he worked on a great planning committee this year and gives them the credit for coming up with a really good program that included speakers like Peter and Ross.

Listen to this week’s ZimmCast here: 2012 Agri-Marketing Conference Program

Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsors, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong and Monsanto, 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, Agribusiness, Audio, NAMA, ZimmCast