Ag Aviators All in the Family

Cindy Zimmerman

naaaAt this year’s National Agricultural Aviation Association (NAAA) convention, I had the pleasure of meeting a wonderful family that is dedicated to the business of aerial crop protection in North Dakota.

Left to right, they are Jayse Wharam, his mother and father Vernie and Glen, and brother Chris. Glen is the owner of Valley Sprayers in Park River, ND and a member of the NAAA board of directors and Jayce is a pilot with the company. Chris is a tech services rep with BASF in North Dakota, and Verni is the glue that keeps them all together.

Glen purchased Valley Sprayers in 1995 because flying was in his blood. “I remember flying with my dad since I was about three years old,” he said. “Fortunately for me, my two sons have stayed close to that industry as well.”

Jayce and Chris were involved with the business from a very young age. “Some of the earliest memories I have are being at the airport, my dad had a repair shop and worked on small engines back then,” Jayce said, noting that he just finished his 16th season as a pilot with Valley Sprayers.

Chris took a different path and went to North Dakota State University to ultimately get a master’s degree in plant pathology so he could stay involved in the agriculture and ag aviation business on the crop protection products side. He’s been with BASF now for almost four years.

Meanwhile, Verni has been in a totally different industry for the past 40 plus years as a neonatal nurse while at the same time supporting the company at home. “I haul the meals to the airport or out to the field wherever they are. I’m kind of their go-fer,” Verni said, although the men in her life think of her more as a saint.

Listen to my interview with the Wharams here: Wharam Famiy

2011 NAAA Convention Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the 2011 NAAA Convention is sponsored by BASF
Audio, BASF, NAAA

Feeding The World With Soybeans

Chuck Zimmerman

Becker Underwood has a new video available addressing the need to feed our growing world population. It’s available on their sustainability website and YouTube. Follow along with them on their blog, The Comment.

It’s one of the most critical questions of our time – how are we going to feed the growing global population that is expected to reach 9 billion people by the year 2050? As we all know, agricultural productivity gains are vital to enable the global population to have access to healthy, nutritious and affordable food. Becker Underwood, technology-intensive developer of biologicals and specialty products for the ag sector, just released a video that addresses this need that would be of great interest to your readers, “Feeding the World Using Soybean BioStacked Sustainable Technologies.”

Agribusiness, Soybean, Video

Alltech Ag Network Live From Global 500

Chuck Zimmerman

The Alltech Ag Network is live again this morning from their Global 500. As we’ve reported before, the Alltech Ag Network is powered by iHigh.com and AgWired has just set up a channel with the intention of using it in the coming year when our clients want and need live streaming.

I’d love to know your thoughts on the Alltech Ag Network. Here’s a company that has taken a lead in utilizing new communication tools. They’ve been blogging and using social media for years. Now they have their own tv channel distributed via the internet and through mobile devices. Yes, you can watch this live on your smartphone! They have 600 people in the auditorium. How many do you think are watching all around the world?

Would your company want to provide more live streaming of your events? Got questions about how to make it happen? Give me a call and lets discuss it. For current and potential clients we would be happy to talk about how we can add this service to your plans.

Watch live here: Post Update: You can find the archived recording here.

Alltech

Looks Like Your Income Will Mostly Be Same or Higher

Chuck Zimmerman

The slices on this ZimmPoll pie are almost the same size! In our latest ZimmPoll we asked the question, “With net farm income up this year, how is your income?” The idea for the question came from the recent USDA Economic Research Service Net Farm Income Forecast that showed a 28% increase over 2010. The responses to our question were Higher – 34.4%; Lower – 31.2% and Same – 34.4%.

Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “What’s tops on your Christmas gift list?” If your income is the same or higher than last year perhaps you have a little more in the disposable category for holiday shopping. What categories are tops for you this year?

ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.

ZimmPoll

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • RFD-TV will honor Roy Rogers with a spectacular 75’ float entitled “Happy Trails” in the 2012 Tournament of Roses Parade.
  • The FDA has approved Pulmotil, an innovative Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD) treatment for groups of cattle in the early stages of a BRD outbreak that provides 14 days of sustained in-feed therapy.
  • CEV Multimedia has launched the new Meat Science & Food Safety PowerPoint, the approved resource for the National FFA Meats Evaluation and Technology CDE written exam.
  • Bayer CropScience has announced that growers who purchase HBK Seed soybean seed for 2012 plantings may qualify for grower financing options, an important addition to the Bayer Innovation Plus programs.
Zimfo Bytes

Hang Out With National Fisheries Institute

Chuck Zimmerman

Now why aren’t we seeing more of this? Hanging out on Google+. The National Fisheries Institute wants to hang out with you.

As the year comes to a close, the President of the National Fisheries Institute, John Connelly, plans to take a few minutes online to “Hangout” with trade media on the latest social networking site to hit the web, Google+.

“NFI is excited to be venturing into the latest social media platform and adding all of these new Google+ features to our online repertoire,” said Christina McGinley, NFI’s Communication Coordinator spearheading the Association’s social media efforts. “We will be continuing our focus on utilizing these new platforms to communicate with our members and the media in the New Year.”

At the NFI Hangout entitled “2011 Seafood Year in Review,” Connelly will discuss the biggest moves in seafood over the past year, as well as preview what to expect at the upcoming Global Seafood Market Conference in January.

The Hangout begins at 1 pm on Tuesday, December 13. To join the discussion, add Eating Seafood to your circles on Google+ and you will receive a Hangout invitation just before we begin.

Ag Groups

North-Central Illinois PRRS Project Update

Chuck Zimmerman

During the Boehringer Ingelheim PRRS ARC&E Seminar participants heard reports from some of those area regional control & elimination projects. One of those was the North-Central Illinois Project. Our speaker was Dr. Noel Garbes, Bethany Animal Hospital Swine Services.

Noel says the PRRS (porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome) project has been going on for about two years and early on they were feeling pretty good about it. However, as many have noticed, the fall season presents challenges. He says the question being dealt with now is manure pumping at that time of year. As he puts it, “we’re chilling pigs and stressing them so maybe there’s something that happens there.” So they’re taking a look at that like other projects in other areas are also doing. He also mentions that participation in the area has to be one hundred percent which is a constant struggle. Looking ahead he says that using filters may be the way to go.

You can listen to my interview with Noel here: Dr. Noel Garbes Interview

2011 Boehringer Ingelheim PRRS ARC&E Seminar Photo Album

Animal Health, Audio, Boehringer Ingelheim, Swine

Raven Simplified

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCast 329It is hard to believe that the AgWired App has been out for over a year! And the company staking an immediate sponsorship claim was and still is Raven, Precision Simplified. In this week’s program we’re going to learn that Raven has just “Simplified” their website and sees social media as a great opportunity to engage with their customers.

I spoke with Paul Welbig, Director of Marketing and Slingshot Operations this morning. He says that as it relates to information, reaching customers and new technology, the sponsorship of our smartphone application fit right in with Raven’s strategy moving forward, “We thought it was a great avenue to communicate with customers through that venue because a lot of those customers using those types of tools are also going to be customers using Raven and the Slingshot solution in the future.” When it comes to social media Paul says Raven has ample evidence that it is helping them engage with their customers, “That’s what it’s all about is making those connections and really helping support those folks as well.” He says Raven actively watches their social media channels and responds quickly to their customers.

When it comes to the new Raven website Paul says they’ve included a brand new section that provides technical help which you can find at RavenHelp.com. The company is also running a promotion right now where farmers can enter to win a complete RTK system that includes: Cruizer II™ guidance with sub-inch RTK accuracy — delivered by Slingshot® via wireless networks. The company will be exhibiting at a majority of the winter farm shows if you need to see them in person. You can find their schedule here.

Listen to my conversation with Paul in this week’s ZimmCast and learn more about what’s going on with Raven: Raven Simplified

Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsor, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong, for their support.

This week’s program ends with a song called “Raven” by Mark Shepard from Music Alley. I hope you enjoy it and thanks for listening.

The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired. Subscribe so you can listen when and where you want. Just go to our Subscribe page.

Agribusiness, Audio, Precision Agriculture, ZimmCast

Ag Aviators are Unsung Farming Heroes

Cindy Zimmerman

naaaAerial applicators really don’t get the credit they deserve when it comes to helping to feed a growing population.

“I do think we’re the unsung heroes,” said National Agricultural Aviation Association president Rick Richter of Richter Aviation in Maxwell, CA. “We don’t get the credit but we don’t ask for it. We just want people to let us do our job to help feed the world. We get satisfaction from doing our job right.”

Rick has been in the business for 32 years and is proud to have his family very involved in his northern California ag aviation company where 95% of their work is rice-related. “My son is becoming an ag pilot,” Rick says. “I just enjoy and love what I do.”

Like all of agriculture, aerial applicators are struggling with government regulations that get tougher all the time, with the most recent issue they are dealing with being the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program. We’ll hear more about that in another interview.

Listen to my interview with Rick here: NAAA president Rick Richter

2011 NAAA Convention Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the 2011 NAAA Convention is sponsored by BASF
Audio, BASF, NAAA

Vegh Presented With Charles Eastin Award

Melissa Sandfort

Ferenc X. Vegh, Jr., Shelby County, Ky., has been awarded the first annual Charles Eastin Outstanding Service Award from the National Farm-City® Council. The award is presented to an outstanding individual who has contributed to Farm-City activities as an advocate for accurate communications between rural and urban audiences.

The award is in honor of Charles “Charlie” Eastin, DVM, who passed away earlier this year and played a fundamental role in Farm-City activities. A National Farm-City Council board member for many years, Charlie was especially active in planning and initiating Farm-City events in the Lexington, Ky., region.

Vegh, a Shelby County businessman, farmer and Kiwanis club member, was recognized for reviving the Shelby County Farm-City Banquet, one of the oldest such gatherings in the nation, and making it a major event that brings together urban/suburban and rural communities. Several years ago, the event was dying due to lack of leadership and interest. Vegh helped revive the banquet, and it now attracts 200 to 250 people each year to promote recognition of farming efforts among urban audiences.

Those interested in nominating candidates for the 2012 Charles Eastin Outstanding Service Award can do so by going to the National Farm-City Council for nomination rules and the application form.

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