AFBF President Pleased With Policy Direction

Cindy Zimmerman

afbf annual hawaiiBob Stallman of Texas was re-elected to serve another two year term as president of the American Farm Bureau Federation after a long voting delegate session to set policy direction for 2012 as the organization’s 93rd annual meeting wrapped up on Tuesday in Honolulu.

The business session of the AFBF meeting lasted all day Tuesday covering a wide variety of policy issues, most important being farm bill recommendations. “I think we kept a very forward looking policy in place,” Stallman says. “When the question came up about supporting direct payments, that was soundly rejected.”

Stallman says the basic principles of the proposed Systemic Risk Reduction Program (SRRP) for farm policy were kept, but the name of the concept was rejected. “Maybe we’ll come up with something better,” he said.

Stallman summarizes the day in his final remarks to the media here: AFBF president Bob Stallman

Be sure to check out the AFBF 93rd Annual Meeting Photo Album as well as all audio and video from the annual meeting here on AgWired and feel free to download and use whatever you wish.

Aloha!

AFBF, Audio

AFBF YF&R Winners

Cindy Zimmerman

afbf annual hawaiiWinners of the Young Farmers & Ranchers Achievement Award, Discussion Meet and Excellence in Agriculture competitions were announced Monday at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 93rd Annual Meeting. Young farmers and ranchers from around the country competed for the awards by demonstrating knowledge of and achievement in agriculture, as well as commitment to promoting the agriculture industry.

Ben and Jennifer Moore of Tennessee won the Achievement Award, which recognizes young farmers and ranchers who have excelled in their farming or ranching operations and exhibited superior leadership abilities.

Heather Barnes of North Carolina won the Discussion Meet, where participants are evaluated on their ability to exchange ideas and information on a predetermined topic.

Andy and Ellie Holt of Tennessee won the Excellence in Agriculture Award, which recognizes young farmers and ranchers who do not derive the majority of their income from an agricultural operation.

All the winners receive their choice of either a 2012 Chevrolet Silverado or 2012 GMC Sierra, courtesy of GM and paid registration to attend the 2012 AFBF YF&R Leadership Conference in Grand Rapids, Mich., in February.

Photo courtesy of AFBF.

AFBF 93rd Annual Meeting Photos

AFBF, Farming

AFBF Voting Delegates in Session

Cindy Zimmerman

afbf annual hawaiiThe important business of the American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting has been underway today as voting delegates have been considering hundreds of resolutions for the organization’s policy priorities in 2012.

Most of the morning session was taken up with resolutions ranging from opposition to the Renewable Fuels Standard (which was defeated) to strongly urging Congress to balance the budget, which was approved. The afternoon session is considering the meatier issues of farm bill policy proposals.

AFBF president Bob Stallman will meet with the media after it’s all over to report on just what the delegates decided for the 2012 marching orders of the nation’s largest general farm organization.


AFBF 93rd Annual Meeting Photos

AFBF

Mike Miller Named Senior VP for NCBA

Melissa Sandfort

Mike Miller has been appointed senior vice president of Global Marketing and Research at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA). Most recently Miller was chief operating officer of Cattle Fax.

In his new role Miller will be responsible for staff leadership of NCBA departments focused on developing and executing the plan of work funded with beef checkoff dollars. Those departments include Planning and Evaluation; Market Research; Research, Education and Innovation; Issues Management; Consumer Marketing; and Channel Marketing. Miller will take over his new responsibilities Jan. 30.

Miller has been COO of Cattle Fax since 2007, analyzing company operations to meet Cattle Fax objectives, and directing and coordinating the organization’s financial and budget activities. He also served as Cattle Fax director of research and business development from 1996 to 2006. He was a marketing consultant for Elanco Animal Health in 2006-07, and served as a sales associate for Rhone Poulenc Ag Company from 1990-96. Miller received his B.S. degree in agriculture business from Colorado State University.

Beef, NCBA

NAMA Executive Committee Meets

Chuck Zimmerman

The National Agri-Marketing Association Executive Committee is hard at in Jacksonville, FL this week. This regularly scheduled meeting is at the Hyatt Riverfront which will be the site of the 2014 Agri-Marketing Conference. It’s a beautiful location and we hope to see a big crowd.

The committee will be meeting again tomorrow before finishing up and heading home. I’m really glad to have the opportunity to assist the organization that has meant so much to my career and looking forward to this year’s conference in April. Hope you’ve got it on your calendar!

NAMA

Passing of Van Kaiser

Chuck Zimmerman

I just received some sad news from Rhea + Kaiser. Agency co-founder, Van Kaiser, has passed away. We echo the sentiments expressed in this statement from the agency.

We are deeply saddened to announce that John V. (Van) Kaiser, co-founder of Rhea + Kaiser, passed away this week. He was 68. Van’s creative prowess and contagious humor grounded and inspired the agency and our people. The business is stable and running business as usual. Steve and Van have long had plans in place for an orderly transition. Our hearts go out to Van’s family and friends.

You can learn more about Van and the starting of the agency on their website.

Agencies

Preparing For 2012 Cotton Season With FMC

Chuck Zimmerman

During the Beltwide Cotton Conferences I visited with Gerald Simmons, FMC Southern Business Manager, about some best management practices and things to consider when preparing for this year’s crop. He says the business has changed, especially technology, but that growers should also consider some of those “old” options they have. FMC has a broad portfolio now for cotton that growers can look to.

Like me, Gerald observed how many young farmers were in attendance here at the event and found that gratifying. As he put it, “We need youth, we need some new people coming along to farm.”

Listen in to my interview with Gerald here: Interview with Gerald Simmons

2012 Beltwide Cotton Conferences Photo Album

AgWired coverage of 2012 Beltwide Cotton Conference is sponsored by
Agribusiness, Audio, Beltwide Cotton, Cotton, FMC

John Deere Cotton Harvest Module Identification

Chuck Zimmerman

John Deere talked up its latest application for cotton growers during this year’s Beltwide Cotton Conferences. Harvest Identification Cotton will continue to automate the production of a cotton module. This is tied into the 7760 cotton picker. The application will use the RFID tags that are embedded into the module wrap. These will be captured by an RFID reader on the cotton picker and then that information will be complied along with data from the John Deere Starfire receiver. That will generate a file that can be sent to the ginner and grower. Janae says it will be available soon.

Listen in to my interview with Janae here: Interview with Janae Althouse

2012 Beltwide Cotton Conferences Photo Album

AgWired coverage of 2012 Beltwide Cotton Conference is sponsored by
Agribusiness, Audio, Beltwide Cotton, Cotton, John Deere

Commodity Update Offering Rich Media Messaging

Chuck Zimmerman

Commodity UpdateCommodity Update has evolved to include Rich Media Messaging services in partnership with Farm Journal Media. This allows the company to deliver charts, graphics, audio, and richly designed commercial messages directly onto the phones of farmers who subscribe to the service. The company employs a proprietary technology to deliver these messages, under an agreement exclusive in the agri-marketing sector.

Mobile is the fastest growing segment of the marketing mix. But most communications to date – under SMS format – have been limited to 160 characters. Even within these constraints, CommodityUPDATE has built the largest and most powerful information system delivered to growers, and has fundamentally changed how farmers interact with information and agri-marketers engage with their customers. Now, with the addition of Rich Media Messaging capabilities, the company can deliver even higher levels of engagement and interactivity.

“Mobile marketing continues to advance rapidly in the Ag space,” says Joel Jaeger, Commodity Update Founder and CEO. “Our Rich Media Messaging platform expands the level and sophistication of content that can be delivered to end user farmers, and, like our text messaging service, does so through a channel that does not require a ‘Smartphone’. This makes it accessible to perhaps three times the audience that can be reached through Apps or Mobile Web-based campaigns.”

Commodity Update powers our AgWired Mobile service. To get AgWired updates via text just text “agwired” to 46786.

Media

Dave Barry Leaves Farmers Laughing at AFBF

Cindy Zimmerman

afbf annual hawaiiGrowing up in south Florida, I have been a fan of humorist Dave Barry from the time he was still just the humor columnist at the Miami Herald before he hit the big time, so it was a thrill for me to see him at the American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting. And while he was unknown to many of the farmers and ranchers in the crowd before today, he was really hilarious and they know him now.

Barry is a big city guy who admitted to knowing nothing about agriculture except for an attempt to grow zucchini, but he was quick to pick up on Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack’s announcement about closing many Farm Service Agency offices around the country. “I’m kinda ticked off because Secretary Vilsack took my entire speech,” Barry said when he took the stage. “So, I’m just going to give the zip codes of the FSA offices that are going to close and then I’m outta here.”

Here’s a couple more ag-related Barry funnies:

“Americans don’t understand agriculture. Way too many Americans believe that food comes from the supermarket. That’s so stupid. It comes from the trucks parked behind the supermarket. Even I know that.”

“You do something useful, something important, you feed the entire world. If you stopped doing what you did, people would starve to death. If I stopped doing what I did, there would be a tiny, incremental drop in the world’s supply of booger jokes.”

Dave Barry also mentioned that he is still running for president. “I don’t see why I shouldn’t, everybody else is. They’re all in New Hampshire, I’m here in Hawaii with you. That’s how much I care…. I will be a friend to the American farmer and rancher. You can just text me the Farm Bill, I’m good with it.”

Here’s a sample of Dave Barry’s keynote at AFBF: Dave Barry at AFBF

AFBF 93rd Annual Meeting Photos

AFBF, Audio