European Network Of Agricultural Journalists Formed

Chuck Zimmerman

It looks like you have to be a member to log in to the new website but the EU has a new ag journalist organization.

The European network of Agricultural Journalists (ENAJ), a new organisation representing agricultural journalists from the EU was officially launched today in Brussels. The Commissioner for Agriculture Dacian Ciolos was presented with the working charter for the ENAJ at a function attended by 140 journalists from the EU 27. The new journalist run organisation will be initially led by Belgian journalist Jef Verhaeran who explained at the launch how the idea came about following consultation between journalists and the EU Commission earlier this year. Leaders of agricultural journalist associations from member states came together to explore the possibility of establishing a new organisation and the idea received the backing of these member guilds and associations. A “project team” of eight journalists will now go about establishing and growing the network over the next twelve months.

The main objectives of the network is to help agricultural journalists throughout the EU communicate easily with each other while also providing members with better access to issues of importance including the CAP debate from DG Agri.

International, Media

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Melissa Sandfort

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  • Bayer CropScience has created the Young Farmer Sustainability Award to acknowledge farmers under the age of 40 who are demonstrating sustainability in their operations.
  • U.S. soybean farmers can now apply for the United Soybean Board’s free See for Yourself program, which will enable 10 U.S. soybean farmers this year to witness for themselves how the soybeans they grow are used in animal feed at home and abroad.
  • BPA Worldwide announced the launch of its new free online tool for audited site traffic.
  • Deere & Company officials recently broke ground on the company’s second tractor factory in India, announcing the facility will be constructed in Dewas, which is located northeast of Indore, the largest city in the state of Madhya Pradesh.
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BASF Invests in Cellulosic Sugar Company

Cindy Zimmerman

BASFGlobal chemical giant BASF has invested $30 million in a Pennsylvania-based company that has developed a process to produce cellulosic sugars for renewable chemicals and biofuels.

BASF, through subsidiary BASF Biorenewable Beteiligungs GmbH & Co. KG led a $50 million financing round in the technology firm Renmatix Inc.

BASFRenmatix has developed the patented Plantrose™ platform whereby industrial sugar can be produced from lignocellulosic biomass (wood, cane trash or straw). In the Plantrose technology, biomass is split into cellulose and sugar in supercritical water at high temperature and pressure in a two-step process.

Industrial sugars are important renewable resources for the chemical industry and can be used, for example, to produce biofuels or basic chemical products and intermediates by fermentative processes. The availability of industrial sugars in sufficient quantities and at favorable cost is therefore important for the competitiveness of the products.

BASF, Biofuels

TOCA Offers Time Management Webinar

Chuck Zimmerman

The Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association is offering a time management webinar to members and non-members. It will be held on January 26 at 2pm eastern time.

As a non TOCA member, if you are interested in participating, please send us a $25 check payable to TOCA and send to: TOCA, 120 Main St. West, New Prague, MN 56071. Please contact the TOCA office if you have questions at 952-758-6340 or email us. Thanks to GIE Media for coordinating this webinar as a member service.

Time Management for Creative Types
Find out how to get the most out of your workday. Spend an hour and learn how to:
· Identify time killers
· Email smarter
· Use software to improve your workflow

Presenter: Mike Prokopeak, Vice President and Editorial Director, MediaTec Publishing

Register here.

Uncategorized

National Farm Machinery Show App

Chuck Zimmerman

Going to the National Farm Machinery Show? We are and we’ll have the new NFMS App on our iPhones!

The first-ever mobile app, called “NFMS ’12,” for the National Farm Machinery Show is now available for free on smartphones (iPhone, Android and Blackberry) and features an interactive exhibitor map and listings, seminars and speakers, Championship Tractor Pull schedules, and Louisville area information to plan your trip to the largest indoor farm show in America.

The mobile app will include frequent updates right up to the opening day of the show. “NFMS ’12” also will provide digital information from exhibitors, text alerts, product updates and instant connectivity, all in the palm of your hand. Text alerts and mobile updates on what’s happening during the show are also features.

“In addition to the product-packed NFMS Show Guide, the mobile app will contain all the information needed to plan your visit and also help make your days at the National Farm Machinery Show very full and productive,” says Allen Barkve, general manager of Farm Industry News.

Social media will also be incorporated into the app to connect attendees (hashtag: #nfms12). To find additional information about the show, connect with National Farm Machinery Show by following it on Facebook and on Twitter @nfmslouisville.

The free application can be downloaded by searching “NFMS ’12” in the Apple Store, Android Market and BlackBerry’s App World or by clicking here.

Apps, National Farm Machinery Show

Harvest is over

Melissa Sandfort

Harvest season is behind us yet last night as I looked out our front window, this harvest moon graced the night sky. I did a little research about it and once every four years, it occurs in October in the northern hemisphere. Currently, the latest possible harvest moon is on October 11.

So I guess what I saw wasn’t a harvest moon, but just a brightly lit yellowish full moon.

It took my husband and I about 20 minutes of researching camera settings to get this just right so it didn’t look like a ball of fire against a black canvas. Thanks to Google, we figured it out.

That’s one of the many joys of living in the country – I feel like the moon and stars are closer to Earth here, unclouded by city lights and smog.

Until we walk again …

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John Deere Can Combine Sets World Record

Cindy Zimmerman

The John Deere Can-Do combine has officially set a world record.

afbf annual hawaiiThe John Deere “Can Do” project in November 2011 created a full-sized combine made entirely from food – 308,448 cans of food and 11,268 bags of food to be exact. According to Guinness® World Records, Project “Can Do” is by far the largest sculpture ever built from canned food, more than doubling the number of cans used in the previous record set two years ago.

The combine can-food sculpture depicting John Deere’s new S-Series Combine harvesting corn measured 60 feet wide, 80 feet long and 16 feet tall and weighed approximately 170 tons. It was created by John Deere to recognize the vital role that America’s farmers play in feeding the world and showcase how new equipment and technologies are helping farmers perform that role more productively and efficiently than ever.

The world-record can-food sculpture was built November 12-17 by a team of 450 John Deere volunteers including employees, retirees, employee families and friends. The structure took more than 1800 hours to build and contains more than 15 different kinds of canned food. In addition to the cans of food, the sculpture contains 11,268 bags of popcorn, peas and beans.

The sculpture was on display at the John Deere Pavilion in Moline, Illinois, until December 12 when it was dismantled and all the food was donated to River Bend Foodbank. River Bend serves families in the Quad Cities and 22 counties in Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois.

John Deere

McCormick Company Opens Indy Office

Melissa Sandfort

McCormick Company, a fully integrated communications agency, has announced plans to open an office in the Indianapolis area to further enhance service to clients in Indiana and nearby states. Norm Cosand, a leader in the art and science of marketing strategy, has joined McCormick as a vice president/group director and will manage this new office. Cosand will continue to provide branding, database and digital marketing expertise to his current clients, while offering strategic counsel to McCormick clients.

Most recently, Cosand provided integrated-marketing counsel to a broad range of agriculture, financial services and healthcare organizations through his company, Cosand Strategic Marketing in Indianapolis. Before that, he was chief executive officer of The Jackson Group in Indianapolis, and was a vice president at both Price/McNabb, Charlotte, N.C., and Marketing Technology Inc., Philadelphia. Cosand also held senior manager positions at Crow’s Hybrid Corn Company, Milford, Ill., and Callahan Seeds, Westfield, Ind. A Purdue University graduate, Cosand has served on several non-profit boards and as a director for Central Restaurant Products, Indianapolis.

McCormick Company’s new office in Indianapolis is expected to be operational by the second quarter of 2012.

Agencies

Agri-Marketing Conference in Jacksonville in 2014

Chuck Zimmerman

The NAMA Executive Committee has been meeting in Jacksonville, FL at the Hyatt Riverfront, location for the 2014 Agri-Marketing Conference. This morning we got a tour of the facilities to see where everything from registration to the student competition rooms will be located. The hotel sits on the St. John River and is a beautiful location for the event.

After the committee meeting today I visited with NAMA President, Beth Burgy, Broadhead. We talked about the conference being in Florida in 2014 and the work that the executive committee is doing. This was my first meeting as a member of the committee and we cranked out a lot of work the last two days.

Listen in to my interview with Beth and learn more about what’s going on with NAMA: Interview With Beth Burgy

Audio, NAMA

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Melissa Sandfort

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  • Vitasoy-USA announced the appointment of Susan Rolnick as Vice President, Sales & Marketing.
  • Beck’s Hybrids is hosting 53 grower meetings across Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky and Michigan throughout January and February.
  • ANIMART announces the recent promotion of Ed Salettel to Operations Manager.
  • The American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture presented its fifth annual “Book of the Year” award to Chris Butterworth for “How Did That Get In My Lunchbox? The Story of Food.”
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