Coming up for air

Melissa Sandfort

I have a fairly short list when it comes to things I’m afraid of. And I don’t mean squeamish, I mean scared. Topping the list is any critter that buzzes – horse flies, wasps, sweat bees, bumblebees, hornets. (I guess if you add those all up, that’s quite a start to the list.) If it’s buzzing, I’m running.

And let me tell you, the joy that comes from me learning about the way agriculture “used to be” from my grandpa has numerous benefits. I get to know my grandfather better, learn how times and technologies have changed and yet some things in life remain unchanged, and every once-in-a-while, I get to hear stories about events from his childhood that make me feel a bit better about some of the charades I used to pull when I was younger.

This particular story has to do with a couple of teenage boys, bees and a livestock tank. And it’s a scenario I’d never find myself in.

Listen to my interview with grandpa here. Listen to the story

Disclaimer: I do hope you are enjoying the audio and art of storytelling.

Until we walk again …

Uncategorized

Ag Secretary Vilsack & IA Gov. Branstad Press Conf.

Chuck Zimmerman

Today at 3pm, CDT, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Iowa Governor Terry Branstad will hold a joint press conference to clarify facts surrounding Beef Products Inc.’s lean finely textured beef. We sure need some facts to get out into the consuming public on this. You can watch it live in the player window below. The press conference will be held in the Governor’s Large Conference Room, State Capitol, Des Moines, IA

Post Update: In case you missed the press conference you can listen to it here. I edited out the blips in the live stream feed. Total length is about 14.5 minutes.

Sec. Vilsack & Gov. Branstad Press Conference

Here are some notes from the press conference: Both Gov. Branstad and Sec. Vilsack strongly affirmed the safety of lean finely textured beef. Sec. Vilsack said,”Let me reiterate what we have said literally hundreds of times. This product is safe. No question about it.” He compared the inaccurate term “pink slime” to calling H1N1 “swine flu.” Branstad said their responsibility is to “correct smear campaign” re: lean finely textured beef with correct information. He said that Midwest governors will be taking media on tour of meat plants tomorrow where they will eat some LFTB! He called media coverage of this story “poisonous.” Sec. Vilsack applauds efforts like the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance to communicate better information about food production to consuming public. Gov. Branstad said he talked with representatives of Hy-Vee who have changed their decision not to carry LFTB products and will be giving their customers the choice to purchase the product.

Audio, Beef, Food

BASF Sends Ohio Grower to Daytona 500

Cindy Zimmerman

kixor daytonaThanks to BASF Crop Protection, Ohio farmer Jason Davis and three of his guests got to see one of the most memorable Daytona 500 races in history as the winner of the Kixor® herbicide technology Road to DAYTONA® sweepstakes.

A corn and soybean farmer from Hillsboro, Ohio, Jason says he uses Sharpen® herbicide, powered by Kixor, to help control his tough weeds. “We have heavy marestail pressure on our farm, so I used a fair amount of Sharpen last spring,” he said. “It’s a good product and always works well.”

kixor daytonaJason, pictured here in the red shirt with his guests at the race, not only received tickets to the 54th annual DAYTONA 500®, they also got an expenses-paid three-day, two-night trip to Daytona Beach. That race, you might remember, was one for the history books – rain-delayed for the first time ever, the first under the lights race in prime time, and a sensational fire-ball crash into a jet dryer truck. After all that, Jason says they had “a real nice trip, and it was a real fine race.”

The Kixor® Road to DAYTONA® sweepstakes was open to all growers 18 years or older with an operation of 250 acres or more. Ten other winners received $100 gift cards.

BASF, NASCAR

GROWMARK Media Day Tour

Cindy Zimmerman

It was a beautiful day for a media tour in Illinois on Tuesday. About a dozen journalists joined representatives from GROWMARK to tour some of the unique facilities of South Central FS around Casey and Effingham.

Chuck and I both got to attend the event this year and we’ll be bringing you some of the highlights of our trip, including some interviews with GROWMARK and FS representatives and our visits to the Total Grain Marketing elevator at Casey, the newly-constructed GROWMARK fertilizer facility at Casey, and the FAST STOP General Store in Effingham. Thanks to GROWMARK’s Karen Jones for organizing the tour and being such a great host!

Check out the photos here – GROWMARK 2012 Media Tour

GROWMARK

2012 Agvocacy 2.0 Conference Announced

Chuck Zimmerman

The third annual AgChat Foundation Agvocacy 2.0 event is scheduled for August 23-34 in Kansas City, MO. This is where farmers and ranchers from across the nation will convene to learn how to better support agriculture and engage with non-farm consumers. Will you be there?

Agvocacy 2.0 is hosted by the AgChat Foundation, a primarily volunteer organization that aims to empower farmers and ranchers to “agvocate” by connecting consumers with accurate information about farming and food production using social media.

“Agvocacy 2.0 is all about giving farmers and ranchers tools they need to share their stories and the story of agriculture with consumers through tools like Facebook, Twitter and blogs,” says AgChat Foundation Executive Director Emily Zweber. “Only 2 percent of people in the United States are farmers, meaning 98 percent of our population is not actively involved in food production. This leaves a huge gap between the farm and the dinner plate. Farmers have the ability to fill this gap by sharing information about their farm and production methods.”

The two-day event will explore how to effectively share agriculture’s message through:
• Twitter Community Building
• Facebook Profiles, Pages and Groups
• High-Impact Video
• Blog Basics and Beyond
• Real-World Case Studies

For farmers interested in participating, applications will be available online in May at www.agchat.org. The event will be held at the Crowne Plaza in downtown Kansas City.

AgChat will celebrate the third anniversary of #AgChat weekly conversations and the second anniversary of the AgChat Foundation the week of April 2 − 8.

Ag Groups

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

    Let’s Get Rid of Death Tax

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “What do you think is a fair “death tax” rate?” It is no surprise that common sense and fair thinking respondents said Zero – 66%; 35% over $5 million – 0% under (current) – 21%; Other – 8 % and 55% over $1 million – 0% under (pre 2001) – 5%. This really is one of the most unfair taxes we’ve got and in my opinion there should not be any tax on a person’s estate after death. What are your thoughts?

    Our new ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “Should ABC News be Liable for Job Losses due to Lean Beef Trimmings Story?” This is one of the worst examples of supposed “news” reporting I’ve seen lately. It shows how a desperate for ratings news network will not just distort facts but publish erroneous information. They have no credibility. However, a gullible public has embraced their misinformation. The result? Job layoffs for people with families to feed who were making a very safe and nutritious product. That’s twisted. Do you think ABC News should be held liable? Should the media be held accountable for the financial impact inaccurate news stories have on jobs and businesses? Another likely outcome of this debacle will be higher beef prices. Nice, huh?

    If for some reason you don’t know what this is all about, here’s a link to the ABC News story and here’s where you can get the truth – BeefisBeef.com.

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

    ZimmPoll

    An ARC History Lesson With Don Lerch & Paul Weller

    Chuck Zimmerman

    ZimmCast 343At the 2012 Agricultural Relations Council Annual Meeting, the first two members of the newly established Agricultural Public Relations Hall of Fame were inducted. Pictured below are Lyle Orwig, Charleston Orwig, (left) and Don Lerch, retired, with their awards. Before the award ceremony I visited with Don Lerch, who was a founding member of ARC and Paul Weller, Agri/Washington, who was the ARC Executive Secretary once upon a time. I’ll share an interview with Lyle in a coming story post.

    In my conversation with Paul and Don I learned that ARC was founded to combat the very negative publicity that agriculture was receiving after World War II. Sound familiar? Don says it was due to the impact of science and technology on farming and fear and a lack of understanding on the part of the consuming public. So ARC was formed to mount an effort to try and overcome this problem by getting positive and truthful information into the media. In fact, many of the original members were in the media.

    I hope you enjoy this conversation since it will give you a really good perspective on not only the Agricultural Relations Council but where we’ve been in the fight to get a growing non-farm public to understand where their food comes from.

    Listen to this week’s ZimmCast here: ARC History With Paul & Don

    2012 ARC Annual Meeting Photo Album

    Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsor, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong, 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.

    ARC, Audio, ZimmCast

    McCormick Company Seeking New Opportunities

    Chuck Zimmerman

    I just spoke with Mark Perrin, President, McCormick Company, who says the agency is looking for a new opportunity. Post Update: The Pioneer account will be transitioning to the Ogilvy & Mather operating unit in Minneapolis, The Lacek Group LLC.

    Here’s why:

    McCormick Company announces that it will no longer be the agency of record for Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business. Instead, the agency will focus on new opportunities in the agriculture industry as well as other core practice areas.

    The move results from a DuPont corporate decision to shift the account to its agency of record. McCormick will continue to support Pioneer as needed to allow for a smooth transition.

    “McCormick is proud of its 43-year history with Pioneer,” said Mark Perrin, president of McCormick Company. “During that time, we’ve worked together to help deliver solid marketing campaigns that ultimately resulted in increased market share and growth for Pioneer. We are grateful for the opportunity to have worked so well together for so many years.”

    McCormick will continue to focus on its existing portfolio of clients, as well as new opportunities this change presents. New business always has been a hallmark of the agency, with McCormick posting 10 percent growth in 2011. Read More

    Agencies

    Then vs. Now — Planting

    Melissa Sandfort

    In this post comparing farming “then” to farming “now”, and in honor of the quickly approaching planting season, I interviewed my grandfather about his check-row planter that they used in the ‘30s. Back then, the typical farm size was 80-160 acres and they started planting corn around May 10th.

    Grandpa says, “We started planting corn when the hedge leaves were the size of squirrel ears.”

    Today we have technology to farm faster, more acres, more hours, and more yield potential through the use of guidance systems and 24, 36 or 48-row planters. And I doubt if anyone watches how big the leaves are on the hedge trees.

    Here’s my interview about planting with my grandpa. Listen to more here

    Until we walk again …

    Uncategorized