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

Kruse Receives AFBF Distinguished Service Award

Cindy Zimmerman

afbf annual hawaiiThe American Farm Bureau Federation Monday presented its highest honor, the Distinguished Service to Agriculture Award, to former Missouri Farm Bureau President Charles Kruse.

“This is a tremendous honor to receive this award,” Kruse said, accepting the award from AFBF president Bob Stallman on stage at the 93rd annual meeting with his wife Pam and current Missouri Farm Bureau president Blake Hurst. “In Farm Bureau, it’s not only about what we do, it’s about who we are. That’s what makes Farm Bureau the great organization that it is. And that’s what makes me so very proud to accept this award that I will treasure for the rest of my life.”

A fourth-generation farmer, Kruse has dedicated more than 40 years to agriculture, including service on numerous local, state and national committees, among them the Lower Mississippi Delta Development Commission, the Governor’s Advisory Council on Agriculture and President George H.W. Bush’s Council on Rural America.

For 18 years, until his retirement at the end of 2010, Kruse served as president of the Missouri Farm Bureau. Prior to that, Kruse was the director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture, from 1985-1991.

Listen to or download Charlie Kruse’s comments accepting the AFBF Distinguished Service Award: AFBF Distinguished Service Award Winner Charlie Kruse

AFBF 93rd Annual Meeting Photos

Audio

Vilsack Announces USDA Streamlining at AFBF Meeting

Cindy Zimmerman

afbf annual hawaiiAgriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack revealed a plan for streamlining operations and cutting costs at USDA during an address to the American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting on Monday.

“The USDA, like families and businesses across the country, cannot continue to operate like we did 50 years ago,” said Vilsack. “We must innovate, modernize, and be better stewards of the taxpayers’ dollars. We must build on the record accomplishments of farm communities in 2011 with a stronger, more effective USDA in 2012 and beyond.”

Part of the plan includes closing 259 domestic offices, facilities and labs across the country, as well as seven foreign offices and consolidating over 130 county Farm Service Agency offices in 32 states. “Of the 131 offices on the list, 35 currently have no employees,” Vilsack said. “Let that sink in for a second.”

A map and list of impacted offices can be found here.

The Secretary outlined other budget cutting measures for USDA, such as consolidating more than 700 cell phone plans into about ten.

Listen to or download Vilsack’s entire comments to AFBF annual meeting here: Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack at AFBF annual meeting

Listen to or download Vilsack’s press conference at AFBF here: Vilsack Press Conference

AFBF 93rd Annual Meeting Photos

AFBF, Audio, USDA

Aloha from NAFB President

Cindy Zimmerman

Aloha from yet another president at the 93rd American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting – the president of the National Association of Farm Broadcasters (NAFB). Tom Steever of Brownfield Ag News gave the traditional NAFB president greeting at the start of the closing general session Monday – and was darn near as funny as keynote speaker and Pulitzer Prize winning humorist Dave Barry.

Watch NAFB’s fearless leader Tom Steever here:

AFBF, NAFB, Video

Aloha from Hawaii Farm Bureau President

Cindy Zimmerman

On the American Farm Bureau annual meeting blog is a nice video interview that Janice Person (@JPLovesCotton) did with Hawaii Farm Bureau president Dean Okimoto, a farmer on Oahu who mainly grows baby greens, herbs and specialty vegetables for restaurants in Oahu or to sell through farmers’ markets.

Dean talks with Janice about agriculture in Hawaii, which mainly features small farms compared to the mainland but with year-round productivity. Dean also discusses the importance of the ag community in Aloha State.

Enjoy, and be sure to check out the AFBF meeting blog for the perspectives of guest bloggers from around the country who are contributing.

AFBF, Video