FMC Stand Up and Be Heard Anthem Contest

Chuck Zimmerman

How would you like a chance to sing the National Anthem on national tv? It’s possible if you win the FMC “Stand Up and Be Heard Anthem Contest.”

We’re investing in farming’s future with our new Anthem™ herbicide (coming soon—EPA registration pending) and $25,000 in college scholarships as prizes in our Anthem Singing Contest.

Beginning soon, enter by submitting a video of you singing the National Anthem. Videos will be posted online for popular voting to determine four finalists. The four finalists will be interviewed and their performances recorded for airing on national TV. Online voting will determine the grand prize winner.

Students must be a member of a national ag-related student organization such as FFA, 4-H or student NAMA to enter.

At Commodity Classic I visited with Rick Ekins, Anthem Brand Manager, to learn more about the contest. Students should be able to submit entries “very soon” according to the contest web page. The entry deadline is Jun 15. Online voting will begin in July and run through August 17. Four finalists will be selected from a new round of online voting. The grand prize winner will be announced October 24. Finalists receive $5,000 and the grand prize winner receives $10,000.

Listen to my interview with Rick here and learn more about Anthem too: Interview with Rick Ekins

2012 Commodity Classic Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, Commodity Classic, FMC

Ag Groups Testify at Senate Farm Bill Hearing

Cindy Zimmerman

The Senate Agriculture Committee heard testimony from farmers and farm organizations Thursday on risk management priorities for the 2012 Farm Bill.

Among those who testified was National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) First Vice President Pam Johnson. “NCGA has invested time and resources to develop and analyze concepts for a new farm bill that would help farmers in times of need and be a good investment of taxpayer dollars,” said Johnson, a grower from Floyd, Iowa. “We learned that risk management is the number one priority and that federal crop insurance is the cornerstone of a sound farm safety net for the future.”

Johnson says corn growers support a transition away from the direct payments to a revenue-based risk management tool that complements crop insurance, such as the Aggregate Risk and Revenue Management program proposed by Senators Brown, Thune, Lugar and Durbin last fall. “NCGA appreciates the difficult task before your committee to write a comprehensive and balanced farm bill, especially under the current budget constraints,” said Johnson. “But, we urge Congress to pass a farm bill this year. We look forward to working with the Senate Agriculture Committee and other agriculture organizations to craft new farm legislation.”

American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) President Bob Stallman told the Senate panel that national farm policy must strike a balance between the need for a strong, effective safety net to protect farmers and ranchers against catastrophic revenue losses and fiscal soundness for the nation.

“Continuation of a multi-legged stool remains the best approach for providing a fair and effective safety net,” Stallman said. “This should consist of a strong crop insurance program, continuation of the current marketing loan provisions and a catastrophic revenue loss program.”

Stallman said AFBF supports a “deep loss” program that would “not provide producers with payments as often as other proposals contemplated, it would provide more coverage in times of catastrophic losses when assistance is most critical.”

In addition, “As a general farm organization, we place high priority on ensuring the new farm bill benefits all agricultural commodity sectors in a balanced, coordinated manner,” Stallman said. He urged coverage for five fruits and vegetables – apples, tomatoes, grapes, potatoes and sweet corn – in new national farm policy and he expressed Farm Bureau’s support for the concepts included in a bill introduced by Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) that would reform and improve the dairy program.

AFBF, Farm Bill, NCGA

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

    Farm Podcaster Tool

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Hey farm podcasters. Looking for a low cost (as in free) audio editing option? The Audacity developers just released Audacity 2.0. I have helped many people with their Audacity download and setup so for those of you using it, it’s time to upgrade.

    Here are some features of the new version:

    • Many effects significantly improved, especially Equalization, Noise Removal and Normalize. Vocal Remover now included plus GVerb on Windows and Mac. VAMP analysis plug-ins now supported.
    • Improved label tracks with Sync-Lock Tracks feature in the Tracks Menu.
    • Multiple clips per track. Tracks and selections can be fully manipulated using the keyboard. Many more keyboard shortcuts.
    • New Device Toolbar to manage inputs and outputs. Timer Record feature. New Mixer Board view with per-track VU meters.
    • Automatic Crash Recovery in the event of abnormal program termination.
    • Fast “On-Demand” import of WAV/AIFF files if read directly from source.
    • FLAC now fully supported. Added support for optional FFmpeg library for import/export of AC3/M4A/WMA and import of audio from video files.

    Podcasts

    Georgia Peanut Referendum

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Georgia peanut producers are being asked to vote in a referendum to reaffirm support for the Georgia Peanut Commission (GPC).

    The vote is being held March 15 through April 15 under the state law mandates that a referendum be held every three years. Georgia peanut producers invest $2 per ton to fund the commission and its research, education, promotion and communication programs. The last referendum in 2009 passed with an 87.4 percent reaffirmation.

    Georgia’s peanut farmers have experienced record prices this past year and the industry has also witnessed record yields and consumption of peanut products the past several years. “I urge all peanut producers to vote in this referendum. Research, education, and promotion continue to be the core focus of the commission,” says Armond Morris, GPC chairman and Irwin County peanut farmer. “With continuing budget cuts at the federal and state level it is extremely important for growers to continue to focus their efforts on supporting research and promotional efforts through their checkoff dollars. One way for farmers to do that is by continuing their support of the Georgia Peanut Commission.”

    Among the many promotional efforts that GPC supports is the annual “Peanut Proud” event. Peanut Proud 2012 is set for March 24 in Blakely, Georgia, starting with a 5K & Fun Run, followed by the Peanut Proud Parade, and including lots of entertainment, activities, food and fun.

    Peanut Proud will also be hosting an educational symposium on the day before on March 23 in Blakely. That event will feature a variety of government officials and industry representatives who will be talking about the importance of peanuts and peanut butter as a nutritious and sustaining foodstuff for disaster situations, malnourished children, and hunger victims around the globe.

    Peanuts

    Rhea + Kaiser Promotes Two

    Chuck Zimmerman

    New promotions means new Vice Presidents at Rhea + Kaiser.

    Rhea + Kaiser has promoted Jeff Walter to Vice President, Group Account Director, and Kathy Sedlacek to Vice President, Director of Finance.

    “Jeff and Kathy embody what makes R+K successful – smart thinking, outstanding knowledge of our clients’ businesses and an unwavering commitment to delivering great work and results,” said Diane Martin, president and CEO of Rhea + Kaiser. “We’re thrilled they accepted these new opportunities.”

    Jeff joined R+K nearly 12 years ago working on the Bayer CropScience business and has led the Bayer CropScience business in its entirety since 2010 in his previous role as Group Account Director. Among other accomplishments, Jeff led teams that launched LibertyLink® soybeans and Balance® Flexx and Ignite® herbicides. Jeff has a bachelor’s degree in agricultural communications from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.

    Kathy, previously Controller, Accounting, joined R+K in 1988 and has been a member of the agency’s management team since June 2010. She will continue to manage all accounting functions and to guide R+K on the path of continued financial strength and growth. Kathy earned a B.A. in business, major accounting, from Governors State University in University Park, Ill.

    Agencies

    ZimmComm Seeking Freelance Multi-Media Producer

    Chuck Zimmerman

    We’re looking for the right person (or people) to become a ZimmComm producer. We’ve been blessed to have a number of incredibly talented folks work with us over the years and are very proud of them and their accomplishments both professionally and personally. We stay in touch with each and every one of them. Now we’re looking for some new talent.

    The right person would be very self-motivated and passionate about agriculture, as well as having most or all of the following skills (listed in order of importance):

    • 1. Computer savvy – Mac or PC
    • 2. Flexible work schedule for on-site assignments
    • 3. Digital photography – composing, shooting, editing
    • 4. Audio production – conducting interviews, editing
    • 5. Short format writing skills
    • 6. Social Networking experience – Blog, Flickr, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube
    • 7. Video production (web style) – shooting, editing
    • 8. WordPress experience

    We would like to see examples of work that ideally will include social networking accounts.

    A ZimmComm producer needs to be able to shoot photos on the go, conduct spur of the moment interviews, edit photos/audio/video quickly and upload and post to WordPress websites. This includes writing story posts to go with the posted media. The work will include periodic travel to ag related events of different kinds – probably not more than 10 days per calendar year. You will need to be equipped with notebook computer and camera to take hi-res photos. Personal digital audio/video recorder and/or iPhone a plus.

    Payment will be negotiated depending on experience and ZimmComm will supply on-the-job training for the right candidate. So are you up to the challenge?

    If so, please send me your interest including things like resume/work examples via email.

    ZimmComm Announcement

    Ag Groups Want FCC to Pull LightSquared Waiver

    Cindy Zimmerman

    More than a dozen agricultural organizations are urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) 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.

    “We urge the FCC to adopt both proposals because of the overwhelming evidence that LightSquared’s proposed ground-based network would cause severe interference to virtually all uses of GPS,” the groups’ stated in a comment letter to the FCC. “High-precision GPS technology is vitally important to American agriculture, and would be gravely harmed by LightSquared’s plans.”

    The letter was signed by the American Farm Bureau Federation, American Soybean Association, American Sugar Cane League, Association of Equipment Manufacturers, National Association of Wheat Growers, National Barley Growers Association, National Corn Growers Association, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, National Potato Council, National Sunflower Association, US Canola Association, USA Dry Pea & Lentil Council, and the USA Rice Federation.

    Last month, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) determined this week that the LightSquared plan to build a nationwide 4G broadband network will indeed impact “both general/personal navigation and certified aviation GPS receivers.” As a result of that finding, the FCC was expected to revoked the conditional waiver which was granted last year.

    The groups added that they remain strong supporters of expanded broadband access in rural America. “However, expanded broadband access cannot come at the expense of degraded access to high precision GPS for U.S. farmers.”

    Uncategorized

    Pioneer FIT® Harvest Mapping System

    Chuck Zimmerman

    During Commodity Classic Pioneer Hi-Bred was talking about farmers getting FIT®. At first I thought this was a new exercise program but it is actually the Pioneer FIT® Harvest Mapping System. I got the full explanation from John Chism, Pioneer Senior Marketing Manager. He says FIT stands for Field Information Tool.

    As farmers look to 2012 planting John says the Pioneer FIT Studio software allows them to tie into their dedicated mapping center which provides high quality color maps on a rapid turn around basis. Here’s a description of how it works:

    Move your yield monitor and GPS receiver to your tractor before planting – your Pioneer sales representative can help you with this. After planting, your local sales rep submits your GPS enabled planting data to the Pioneer Mapping Center and within a few weeks will provide you with high quality planting maps. These maps provide a visual reference of what products and traits are present and can help you apply the right herbicides and insecticides on the right acre.

    In addition, you can easily identify the hybrids and varieties planted in each field and the date they were planted and at what planting rates, augmenting or replacing traditional handwritten planting notes.

    Listen to my interview with John to learn more here: Interview with John Chism

    2012 Commodity Classic Photo Album

    Coverage of the 2012 Commodity Classic Show is sponsored by BASF and New Holland
    Agribusiness, Audio, Commodity Classic, Pioneer, Precision Agriculture

    I Can’t Drive 55

    Melissa Sandfort

    This is the speed limit for the 8-mile stretch of highway that runs in front of our house. There are very few miles of road left in Nebraska with a 55 mph speed limit and unfortunately, there’s one out front of our house. I’d hate to count how many people have been pulled over for speeding in my grandparents’ driveway, me included.

    It’s just so hard to drive 55! And to top it off, the road is very hilly and even set on cruise control, as you’re coasting down the hill the car usually ends up over 60 mph. Explain that to the policeman. “I swear officer, I was just coasting.”

    The federal 55 mph limit for most highways in Nebraska was repealed in 1996 but our highway didn’t make the cut.

    I guess Sammy Hagar said it best.

    Until we walk again …

    Uncategorized