ARC Elects New Officers

Chuck Zimmerman

The Agricultural Relations Council held its business meeting this morning. New officers were elected that include:

Mace Thornton, President, Mike Opperman, First vice President, Janice Person, Second Vice President, Rebecca Colnar, Secretary/Treasurer, Deron Johnson, Immediate Past President, Erik Ness, Director, Amy Keith McDonald, Director, Daren R. Williams, Director, Keri Geffert English, Director.

Congratulations to all of them.

The organization is nearing 100 members as it continues to rebuild. If you have not become a member, please take time to fill out the membership form and send it in. The focus is agricultural public relations and I know a lot of you work in that area. Your participation and support would be greatly appreciated!

Next year’s ARC Annual Meeting will be in Austin, TX at about this same time of the year. More on that later as plans get made.

2012 ARC Annual Meeting Photo Album

ARC

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Wyffels Hybrids rolled out 27 new products, including 12 new base genetics, for 2013.
  • Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc., announces the three recipients of its annual Advancement in PRRS Research Awards.
  • Thousands of FFA members from 856 FFA chapters in 12 states have finished a huge effort to connect with local farmers, and many of those members dedicated to agricultural education are celebrating this week.
  • The prices being paid for farmland across Illinois continue their upward spiral with the tops being in the $10,000 to $13,000 per acre range across the state.
Zimfo Bytes

Then vs. Now — Cultivation

Melissa Sandfort

I thought I’d take advantage of some of the technology sitting on my desk and change it up a little this week. I have the pleasure of listening to stories from my grandfather and thought maybe you all would like to hear them too, so I put grandpa on the spot and recorded snippits of our interview.

Today we’re going to get a lesson in field cultivation, a farming practice not many growers use because of successful weed control by applying herbicides to row crops.

So in my grandfather’s own voice he explains his lucky day. Listen to Grandpa explain

It’s history coming alive.

Until we walk again …

Audio

Communicating The Illinois Farm Family Message

Chuck Zimmerman

One of the members of our first panel discussion at the 2012 Agricultural Relations Council annual meeting is Carla Mudd, Illinois Farm Bureau. She is Manager of Consumer Communication with the task of educating non-farm folks about Illinois family farmers. One of the ways she’s doing that is through Illinois Farm Families, a coalition of several Illinois farm groups.

Carla says that two very successful parts of this program are Field Moms and a Mom’s Meetup. In both of these there is a real interaction with moms who have not grown up on the farm and are willing to learn more and share their experiences which might include visiting a farm.

Listen to my interview with Carla here: Interview with Carla Mudd

2012 ARC Annual Meeting Photo Album

Ag Groups, ARC, Audio

2012 ARC Annual Meeting Underway

Chuck Zimmerman

The 2012 Agricultural Relations Council is underway and it is one of the largest in many years. Welcoming us today is Mace Thornton, AFBF, who is serving as President of ARC this year.

We’re inside this afternoon for presentations before going on a farm tour tomorrow that includes a visit to the Clemson Research Center. Annual Golden ARC awards are tomorrow night before the meeting concludes.

2012 ARC Annual Meeting Photo Album

ARC, Media

Precision Laboratories Announces Mix Tank 2.0

Chuck Zimmerman

Today Precision Laboratories released Mix Tank 2.0, the new version of their Mix Tank App released a year ago. The new version in now available for Android in addition to the Apple iOS (iPhone/iPad). According to this morning’s announcement it should show up in both stores by later today. The company just held a webinar for media that included comments from Rick Wohlner, President, Precision Laboratories, Jim Reiss, VP of Agricultural Chemistries, Dan Ori, Marketing Specialist and it was moderated by Lynn Balinas, Hondo Group.

What’s new in Mix Tank 2.0 besides Android availability are the ability to create spray logs, add your location data, receive alerts and integrate weather. The purpose is to make more data more available and even faster. If you already have the Mix Tank App on your smartphone you will just upgrade to the new app the next time you sync your device.

If you would like to hear all about today’s announcement you can listen to the media presentation here: Mix Tank 2.0 Media Event

Agribusiness, Apps, Audio, Precision Agriculture

ARC Board Meeting

Chuck Zimmerman

Hello from the 2012 Agricultural Relations Council Annual Meeting. The ARC board is hard at it this morning in advance of our midday welcome and first educational session. That session will be on “Building Bridges: Farm Organizations/Consumer Outreach Panel.”

I’ll be taking some photos and doing some interviews which will be posted here on AgWired so don’t despair if you couldn’t make it.

The first photos are online and I’ll be adding to them here: 2012 ARC Annual Meeting Photo Album

ARC

Organic Not Healthier than Conventional Food

Chuck Zimmerman

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “Is “Organic” food healthier than “Conventional” food?” The majority of respondents said No at 60 percent with only 40 percent saying Yes. Most of the people I know don’t think organic means healthier and although they like I will eat something that is certified organic we just don’t want to pay more for it. Do these results surprise you?

Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “What do you think is a fair “death tax” rate?” Permanent estate tax relief and reform is extremely important not only to farmers but everyone regardless of what business you own or work for. Seriously, why should the government tax your estate just because you died? Didn’t you pay taxes all your life building that estate including real estate taxes, income taxes, etc? Here’s to hoping we get some reasonable long term resolution to this issue.

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

ZimmPoll

Rep. Sam Graves on Beltway Beef

Cindy Zimmerman

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s latest “Beltway Beef” podcast features comments from Congressman Sam Graves (R-MO), who is also a farmer from Northwest Missouri, about a couple of important issues for agriculture – farm bill, the “death tax,” and government regulation.

“It’s not really a farm bill, it’s a food policy bill,” said Rep. Graves. “It’s about the safest, most abundant, most affordable food supply in the world. We can take our food supply for granted in the United States, which makes us a great country.”

Graves says, like everyone else in agriculture and small business, permanent estate tax relief is a priority for him in 2012. “Death shouldn’t be a taxable event,” he says. “We work very hard to maintain and build that farm and pass it on to our children. To say that the federal government is owed something just because someone has passed on and you have to sell have the farm or half the business is just wrong.”

Great stuff from Sam – and great job of NCBA’s Mary Geiger getting the interview and Mike Deering doing the report. Have a listen or download here or, better yet, go to Beltway Beef and get it!

Beltway Beef with Rep. Sam Graves
Audio, NCBA

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

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