Back From Hunting Camp

Chuck Zimmerman

I’m not sure if you’d rather see one of the deer we harvested or not. This is my deer hunting team as things started to wind down on the 2011 hunt yesterday. We had a great time and reduced the over population of deer in Missouri I can tell you. Fresh venison on the grill is a good thing!

So, I’m back at ZimmComm World Headquarters getting back into civilization and agriblogging mode. The woods are a wonderful and peaceful place to get away from it all. However, I’ve got numerous interviews to share with you from the NAMA Trends in Agriculture Conference as well as the NAFB Convention.

So there will be quite a bit of activity on AgWired prior to the Thanksgiving Day holiday.

Uncategorized

Ron Paul Top of Latest ZimmPoll

Chuck Zimmerman

It looks like there are a lot of Ron Paul supporters out there. In our latest ZimmPoll we asked the question, “Which Republican candidate for President is best for ag?” The big leader was Ron Paul at 41% followed by Newt Gingrich, 16%; Herman Cain, 13%; Rick Perry, 8%; Rick Perry, 8%; Mitt Romney, 7%; Jon Huntsman, 6%; Michele Bachmann, 5%; Gary Johnson, 3% and Rick Santorum, 2%. Does this surprise you?

Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “Will higher cost (13%) of Thanksgiving dinner affect your meal?” The increased cost of a traditional Thanksgiving meal comes from an announcement by the American Farm Bureau Federation last week.

AFBF’s 26th annual informal price survey of classic items found on the Thanksgiving Day dinner table indicates the average cost of this year’s feast for 10 is $49.20, a $5.73 price increase from last year’s average of $43.47.

You can find the announcement here.

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

ZimmPoll

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • CLAAS of America Inc., has achieved a world record harvest – 24,832 bushels of wheat in an 8-hour time frame.
  • Farm Journal Media announces a new database service: Reverse Email Append. This service matches on records where there is an email address, or incomplete or nonexistent contact and USPS address information, let alone demographic or behavioral data on the producer.
  • Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the USDA is investing in approximately 70 U.S. agricultural organizations to help expand commercial export markets for their goods.
  • Margaret Soulen Hinson told lawmakers if the USDA’s U.S. Forest Service’s proposed forest planning rule goes into effect, thousands of ranching families could be forced off the land.
Zimfo Bytes

Major Ag Companies to Keynote World Ag Congress

Cindy Zimmerman

worldagforum2Many of the world’s leading agriculture companies will be gathering in Brussels soon for the World Agricultural Forum 2011 Congress.

The congress will bring together key figures from industry, government and NGO’s to discuss the way forward for an industry with a central role to play in a number of global challenges – the economy, energy, climate change and hunger. “The focus on agriculture and food production is unprecedented,” said 2011 Congress Chairman, Jim Bolger. “Prices are rising, shortages are feared and the hungry are not getting any less hungry. And concurrently, the responsibilities placed on agriculture are increasing – as a source of energy, industrial raw materials and pharmaceuticals while all the while using less water and reducing its environmental impact.”

Among the agricultural company representatives who will be taking part in the Congress are Novus International president and CEO Thad Simons and Dr. Jürgen Oldeweme, Senior Vice President of BASF Agricultural Products Division in Germany. Other big company names with representatives on the program include Bayer Crop Science, Novozymes, Syngenta, and Monsanto.

Agribusiness

BASF Loves NAFB

Cindy Zimmerman

Our friends with BASF Crop Protection were very busy at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting Trade Talk last week and rightly so, since they had plenty of new information to share with farmers.

Pictured here, left to right, are Sandi Wilson, Dr. Dan Westberg and Pat Morrow – about half the team from BASF at NAFB. This was Pat’s sixth year at NAFB and she loves it more every time she attends. “I just really love the farm broadcasters, it’s a hug fest for me,” Pat says. That’s one reason why they are so pleased to be able to be major sponsors at the convention by supporting the broadcast center and providing internet access for broadcasters.

Listen to my interview with Pat here: Pat Morrow with BASF

The other reason is purely professional. Farm broadcasters are a great way for BASF to get information about new products and offerings out to growers. I talked with Dr. Dan the Man about two new herbicides for 2012 to help growers manage resistant weeds such as glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth and waterhemp – Zidua® and OpTill® PRO. “Zidua herbicide is a brand new active ingredient currently waiting EPA registration,” Dan said. “It is a unique chemistry that has very broad spectrum control of grasses and small seeded broadleaf weeds.” Dan says Zidua will provide the longest lasting residual control for Palmer amaranth and waterhemp in the market. Hence the name – Zidua, as in residual.

OpTill Pro herbicide was specifically developed for soybean growers to control a broad spectrum of grass and broadleaf weeds, including waterhemp. “We’ve taken our OpTill herbicide, powered by Kixor, and we’ve added Outlook® to it,” said Dan. “This makes OpTill Pro a premium residual option that provides burndown and residual control to help soybean growers start off clean and stay clean throughout the season.”

Both herbicides are expected to receive EPA approval in time for the 2012 growing season.

Listen to my interview with Dr. Dan here: Dr. Dan Westberg

2011 NAFB Convention Photo Album

Coverage of the NAMA Trends in Agriculture & NAFB Convention is sponsored by BASF
Audio, BASF, NAFB, Soybean

GROWMARK Essay Contest Underway

Cindy Zimmerman

Appropriately for the International Year of Cooperatives, the theme for the 2012 GROWMARK essay contest is “Cooperatives in a Global Environment.”

This is the 19th year for the program, sponsored by the GROWMARK System and FS member cooperatives, in conjunction with state FFA leaders, to help young people develop their writing skills, learn about current issues impacting agriculture, and understand the unique role of cooperatives. This year, students will focus on three questions: What benefits do co-ops provide their member-owners? How do co-ops improve the quality of life in their communities? How do co-ops contribute to economic growth throughout the world?

The contest is open to all high school FFA members in Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin. Essays should be approximately 500 words, typed and double-spaced. The postmarked entry deadline for Iowa FFA members is February 15. The postmarked entry deadline for Illinois and Wisconsin FFA members is March 15. Additional program details have been sent to agriculture teachers and are online at www.growmark.com.

Education, FFA, GROWMARK

Rhea+Kaiser Amps Up Account Services

Cindy Zimmerman

Rhea + Kaiser has AMPed up its account services department.

The renaming of the Rhea + Kaiser Account Management and Planning—or AMP—department, formerly known as Account Services, reflects the team’s role as comprehensive account leaders who provide smart, strategic counsel and cultivate big ideas.

“Our work has always been much more than servicing day-to-day account details,” said Cheryl Muzinic, director of the Account Management and Planning department at Rhea + Kaiser. “We needed a contemporary department name to communicate the full scope of our capabilities and responsibilities both to clients and internal teams.”

The 12-member AMP team unveiled its new name during an agency-wide celebration late last week, and AMP leadership is informing clients this week. The announcement follows a thorough review process that included determining the new department moniker, contemporizing individual titles, and updating the department’s mission, philosophy and vision statements.

“Our clients should expect the same outstanding brand planning and account management they’ve become accustomed to with R+K,” said Diane Martin, president and CEO of Rhea + Kaiser. “The new name AMP simply underscores our ongoing commitment to lead and advocate for creative solutions that drive business results and build meaningful partnerships with our clients.”

The R+K AMP team includes Kimberly Bergmooser, Kim Berns, Laura Boynton, Jodi Carreon, Paul Durham, Julie Dykstra, Jim Haist, Neil Johnson, Sarah Lenkaitis, Cheryl Muzinic, Jeff Walter and Claudia Zellmann.

Agencies

Lindsay Hill Honored by NAFB

Cindy Zimmerman

The family of Lindsay Hill were honored Friday night as the NAFB president who died in a car accident halfway into her term this year was inducted into the Hall of Fame during what would have been her outgoing president’s banquet.

Lindsay’s father and mother – Lowell and Donna – her brother Lance and his wife Nikki were there to see her honored by her peers in a night of “laughter through our tears.” A number of NAFB past presidents paid tribute to Lindsay, and new president Tom Steever wrote a poem that reflected Lindsay’s words to live by on her Facebook page. Here’s some of his tribute.

On the phone she said to me,
I’ll explain this if I can,
I place my trust in God, you see,
and I know He has a plan.

I’ll tell you; those who never lose
are those who place no bets.
But life, my friend, is much too short
to wake up with regrets.

For those who love, and treat you right,
love them as you live.
That’s not the case with everyone,
so for those who don’t, forgive.

Ecclesiastes tells us that for each there is a season.
You must believe that everything happens for a reason.

Some things, she said, may change your life
and if it does, just let it.
For those resistant to life’s change,
I’d say they just don’t get it.

You may not know life’s gem until the day that you unearth it.
Easy? No. But please hear this; I promise you, it’s worth it.

I’ll view this so much differently while emotions now unravel;
My weight made light by angels’ wings as I accept this gavel.

We’ll overcome this sadness that’s defied imagination;
Let Lindsay’s memory instead be our source of inspiration.

So as we leave this banquet, let us not be blue,
Because Lindsay, this toast is given especially for you.

2011 NAFB Convention Photo Album

Coverage of the NAMA Trends in Agriculture & NAFB Convention is sponsored by BASF
NAFB

The Popper

Melissa Sandfort

Our son is hooked on microwave popcorn. Or any kind of popcorn for that matter since we have an air popper, too. He knows when it’s movie night, it’s popcorn night. A 1:45 ‘bout in the microwave and he’s happy as can be.

This is a photo of an old-time popcorn popper. They used to put the kernels in with a little oil and pop it on a wood-fired kitchen stove. As you can see, this popper didn’t hold as much as a bag of popcorn does now-a-days, and it probably took longer than 1:45. If you really wanted popcorn, you had to work for it.

Being from Nebraska, I have to give a “shout out” because Nebraska can hang its hat on knowing that the state ranks first in acres of popcorn planted and total popcorn production with Indiana as a close second (which is a little-known agricultural fact about Nebraska).

I feel better knowing that by eating popcorn, I’m supporting Nebraska producers who grow it. Thank you!

Until we walk again …

Uncategorized

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • According to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers’ monthly “Flash Report,” the sales of all tractors in the U.S. for October 2011 were up 7.5% compared to the same month last year.
  • The American Farm Bureau Federation believes that Russia’s successful accession into the World Trade Organization will lead to increased trade between our two nations.
  • Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack made the following statement after USDA released its final tally for agricultural exports in fiscal year 2011: “Thanks to the productivity of America’s farmers, ranchers and producers, the American brand of agriculture is surging in popularity worldwide. Farm exports in fiscal year 2011 reached a record high of $137.4 billion-exceeding past highs by $22.5 billion-and supported 1.15 million jobs here at home.
  • Monsanto Company announced it is taking steps to ensure best management practices are implemented for fields that were planted with the company’s single-mode-of-action corn hybrids that contain western corn rootworm protection and that were affected by significant corn rootworm pressure during the 2011 season.
Zimfo Bytes