Beltwide Kicks Off 2012 Ag Conference Season

Chuck Zimmerman

This image greets you as you take the escalator down to the meeting room and registration floor for the Beltwide Cotton Conferences at the Orlando World Center Marriott.

I got in too late to register but will get that taken care of early in the morning. While wandering around to get my bearings I did find the general session of the Consultants Conference going on. It looks like a big group is already here and hard at it.

This conference is really multiple conferences going on at the same time and location. In fact, there’s a lot of sessions and seminars to choose from. I’m interested to sit in on “SOCIAL MEDIA IN PRODUCTION AGRICULTURE.” It takes place tomorrow morning. Some of the segments include, New vs Old Information Sources to Clientele, Mississippi Crop Situation-A Team Blog, Blogging From a County Agent Perspective and Accountability- Tracking Your Progress.

I guess you could say that social media has become “mainstream” in production agriculture today, eh? Who’d a thought?

AgWired coverage of 2012 Beltwide Cotton Conference is sponsored by
Beltwide Cotton

Golden ARC Awards Deadline Extended

Cindy Zimmerman

For those folks just getting back into the office this week after the holidays and playing the game of catch-up, the Agricultural Relations Council has some good news. The deadline for the 2011 Golden ARC awards has been extended to on or before Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012 at 5 p.m.

The annual competition will include nearly 40 categories for agricultural public relations activities conducted in full or partially in the year 2011. Re-instituted in 2009, the Golden ARC awards program began in 1990. The contest recognizes the stellar work created by professionals in the agricultural industry.

The format and requirements for the Golden ARC awards are similar to other leading PR awards programs, based on best practices for public relations and public affairs campaigns and tactics.

Categories fall into two divisions – Campaigns and Tactics. A student category is also available. The 36 categories reflect the broad scope of public relations and public affairs activities today, including campaigns and a range of tactics, from traditional media releases to social media.

The contest is open to both ARC and non-ARC members.

The entry fee for the first entry for non-ARC members is $300 (includes a membership fee). Additional entries are $125 each. More information is available at www.GoldenARCawards.com or at the ARC website, www.agrelationscouncil.org.

ARC, Public Relations

National Cattlemen Ready to Tackle 2012

Cindy Zimmerman

The staff of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) in Washington DC is ready to tackle top priority issues in 2012 – and number one on the list is estate tax reform.

According to NCBA Manager of Legislative Affairs Kent Bacus, the estate tax, commonly referred to as the death tax, is one of the leading causes of the breakup of multi-generation family farms and ranches. In December 2010, Congress passed temporary estate tax relief effective through Dec. 31, 2012. For now, estates worth more than $5 million per individual or $10 million per couple are taxed at a 35 percent rate.

NCBA supports the Death Tax Permanency Repeal Act, introduced by Congressman Kevin Brady (R-Texas). Bacus says if a full repeal is not possible, the next best option is to make the 2010 package permanent.

Listen to Kent talk about it with NCBA’s Mike Deering in the latest issue of Beltway Beef audio news.

Beef, NCBA

Mid-Atlantic Farmers Feed US Reaches Out to Capitol Consumers

Cindy Zimmerman

Farmers Feed US has come to the nation’s capitol.

Farmers Feed UsA coalition of agricultural commodity groups and farmers from Maryland, Pennsylvania and Delaware are reaching out to consumers in Washington DC by launching the Mid-Atlantic Farmers Feed US.

“The Mid-Atlantic Farmers Feed US program is a tremendous opportunity to introduce the region’s consumers to the hard-working men and women who raise healthy, nutritious and affordable food,” said Charlie Arnot, CEO of the Center for Food Integrity. “We need to show that even though our systems have changed and our use of technology has increased, the farmer’s commitment to do what’s right has never been stronger.”

Open to residents of those three states and Washington, D.C., the program will offer consumers the chance to win one of four “Free Groceries for a Year” sweepstakes prizes, while introducing them to 10 of the region’s farmers. The diverse group of farmers includes producers of livestock, poultry and eggs, grains, vegetables, watermelons and even mushrooms.

Since July 2009, Farmers Feed US has been connecting farmers and consumers in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Minnesota and Illinois. During that time, those programs have accounted for more than 1.35 million consumer sweepstakes registrations, with each one introducing consumers to farmers from their state. Additionally, the program has built a consumer “opt-in” list of more than 85,000 consumers in participating states, who have requested on-going communication on farming and food, as well as social media platforms on Facebook and Twitter with more than 20,000 likers and followers.

Farming

GROWMARK Launches History Website

Cindy Zimmerman

GROWMARK is honoring 85 years of growth with a new history section on their website.

The Our History site is designed to be as easy to use for people who want a little information as for those who want to dig deeply into the rich history of the System. Users will find seven “eras,” chosen by significant events which impacted the cooperative as it grew from humble beginnings in the 1920s into today’s strong cooperative system. Each era includes a written narrative and a timeline. Video interviews with former chairmen of the board and chief executive officers are also included in relation to important events.

growmark“A company’s future is rooted in its history. And for the GROWMARK System, 85 years of history communicate a clear mission for improving members’ profitability, working together with a strong sense of integrity, and always positioning this network of cooperatives for long-term success,” said Ann Kafer, GROWMARK director of corporate communications and marketing services. “Honoring that rich history with this website is fitting. I’m certain past, present and future employees, directors, and farm customers will learn much and come away proud of the legacy that’s been created by the GROWMARK System.”

The site is designed for the future, with the ability to add eras and events as needed. More videos and photographs will continue to be added in the coming months. The site can be found by clicking on the “Our History” tab on www.growmark.com

GROWMARK

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Moving into the new year, farmers are slightly more positive about the health of their operations than they were going into the harvest, according to the latest DTN/The Progressive Farmer Agriculture Confidence Index.
  • Beck’s Hybrids is pleased to announce the Hayden family from Lake County, Ind., as the 2012 Indiana Farm Family of the Year.
  • Shawn Etheridge has joined Vance Publishing Corp. as vice president and publishing director.
  • The Scientist magazine announced the winners of the “Top 10 Innovations of 2011.”
Zimfo Bytes

That Thing is Not a Toy!

Melissa Sandfort

I remember some of my first dolls: my home-made Cabbage Patch doll that grandma made, my Barbie with long blonde hair and a doll head that you could put makeup on and do her hair. I graduated up to store-bought Cabbage Patch dolls and Pound Puppies, got a pool for Barbie, and ended up cutting the hair on my doll head which got me into a heap of trouble.

But the hours I spent playing with those dolls.

This was my grandmother’s first doll. It’s made of rubber and stands only about 3 inches tall. I’m not sure how she played with this as a young girl – the arms didn’t move positions, you can’t put clothes on her and she definitely can’t go swimming.

I guess it taught grandma to really have an imagination.

Until we walk again …

Uncategorized

Meet New Director-General of the FAO

Chuck Zimmerman

FAO WebcastWant to meet the new Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations? Yeah. Can’t say I’m really excited to but . . . His name is José Graziano da Silva and he’ll be holding a press conference which will be webcast tomorrow.

The Brazilian agronomist and economist will discuss urgent food security issues and answer journalists’ questions on related themes.

Who: José Graziano da Silva, incoming FAO Director-General
What: First press conference as Director-General
When: Tuesday, 3 January 2012 at 12:00h
Where: FAO Headquarters, Iran Room (Building B), Rome, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla (Métro Circo Massimo)

The event will also be webcast live at: www.fao.org/webcast/

Post Update: I tried to watch the webcast but my browsers all said they were missing a plugin so I couldn’t. However, here’s an excerpt of the press release they just sent out and links to audio files from the press conference.

Two days after taking over, FAO’s new Director-General José Graziano da Silva told his inaugural press conference that the total elimination of hunger and undernourishment from the world will be his top priority.

“Ending hunger requires the commitment of everyone: neither FAO nor any other agency or government will win this war alone”, said Graziano da Silva, adding that he wanted to work “in the most transparent and democratic way” with member countries, United Nations agencies the private sector, civil society and other stakeholders.

“We need to rebuild trust between the Secretariat and Member States to move forward, and I plan to do so by promoting a transparent and constructive relationship with Member States and FAO Governing Bodies”, he said.

1. Statement to the media

Duration: 10min52sec

2. Questions and answers Session English and Spanish

Duration: 46min18sec

Uncategorized

Best of 2011 on AgWired

Cindy Zimmerman

2011 is winding to a close and we are counting our blessings here on AgWired

Traffic was up nearly 8% on Agwired this year to a grand total of just about 198,000 unique visitors – we should break 200,000 pretty easily in 2012. We had a total of 1790 posts this year, including more than 600 with audio. We posted over 17,000 photos on Flickr and 121 videos on YouTube that were viewed over 111,000 times.

The most viewed photo album this year was Farm Progress Show at nearly 7200, followed by National Biodiesel Conference, Sturgis, NAMA, and AGCONNECT Expo which are all around 4-5,000.

The most popular YouTube video of the year was the unveiling of the John Deere Subcompact 1 Series at National Farm Machinery Show, which has been viewed nearly 39,000 times. Four videos from the John Deere new product launch were viewed collectively over 40,000 times and the unveiling of the New Holland skid steer at NFMS was viewed nearly 16,200 times so far. Other popular videos included the Mike Rowe press conference at the American Farm Bureau annual meeting, ethanol at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, and choppers opening the 2011 Farm Progress Show.

Most popular ZimmCasts of the year were Humane Farm Animal Care; Beltway Beef; Irish Agriculture Journalism, Precision Earth and Gibbs & Soell.

According to page views, the most popular stories of the year on AgWired were:
iPhone vs Android
Thanksgiving Dinner Still a Bargain
John Deere product launch
NAFB president killed
Becks Hybrid choppers
Ron Paul tops ZimmPoll
Remembering Derry Brownfield
New Holland Construction Introduction
GIPSA dominates Senate hearing

Our greatest blessings are too numerous to count – our readers, our sponsors and clients, our freelancers and other friends who make every day of the year wonderful! Best wishes to all for a healthy, happy, prosperous and blessed new year!

Uncategorized

MyWay RTK Grows in 2011

Cindy Zimmerman

2011 has been a phenomenal growth year for MyWay RTK.

myway rtkThe service was launched in the fall of 2010 to bring subscription-based Real Time Kinematic positioning and wireless Internet access to the state of Illinois. That has been more than accomplished with coverage throughout the entire state and base stations being added almost daily in other states from Iowa to Idaho and Kansas to Mississippi.

growmark sid parks“It would be fair to say the number of people that are participating has exceeded early expectations,” says GROWMARK precision agriculture manager Sid Parks, who recognized the benefits of the service early on for FS member cooperatives. “We deal with lots of different venders, different colors of equipment, different brands, different service providers and we had a need to be brand neutral,” he said.

MyWay RTK was the perfect solution to provide high quality, cellular modem based RTK differential correction service with accuracy to the one inch range, an improvement from perhaps 3-6 inches often used and with better year to year consistency. “The RTK quality signal is delivered through the internet and cell towers rather than FM radio signal,” Sid said. One important benefit to that is improved repeatability from one base station to the next. “Any place I have cell phone access, I have the potential to deliver that signal via modem.” In the future, it will also give the capability to share files and maps back and forth between the field vehicle and the office.

Sid is quick to point out that neither he nor GROWMARK has any ownership in MyWay RTK, they just knew a good thing when they saw it. “When I first found out about it, I went around with a company representative to our FS companies to show how they could participate – whether they chose to be a member or not, participate in the sales of subscriptions or as a user,” he added.

You can listen to my interview with Sid about MyWay RTK here: Sid Parks Interview

Audio, GROWMARK, Precision Agriculture