Alltech Ag Network is iHigh

Chuck Zimmerman

The Alltech Ag Network is “the future of agriculture.” That’s according to Allie Hembree, pictured with Billy Frey during Trade Talk at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting convention.

Allie says the Network is a place where events can be live streamed and archived, using the services of iHigh. A recent example is the FFA Convention. You can find all the sessions in the archives. She says that they can help any company or organization set up there own page to do this for their events.

Listen to my interview with Allie here: Interview with Allie Hembree

2011 NAFB Convention Photo Album

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

Trends in Energy/Alternative Fuels

Chuck Zimmerman

During the National Agri-Marketing Association’s Trends in Agriculture Conference we had a session that focused on “Trends In Energy/Alternative Fuels” which featured Nathan Schock, POET & Matt Roberts, PhD. Pictured is Matt who is an Associate Professor of Ag Economics at Ohio State University.

Matt does a lot of work in biofuels. One of his take aways from the session is that even though we’re going to see a lot of ethanol policy changes in the market soon with the end of the VEETC/Tariff, “There’s not going to actually be that large of an impact right now when that goes away.” He says long term there may be some impact. The RFS is a different animal though. He believes it needs to be re-opened on the cellulosic side but seems to be working on the corn ethanol side. Changes, however, could have a real impact on the corn side.

He says that when you look at the big picture of ethanol and the biofuels industry there aren’t simple answers. He encourages the industry to take a step back and “think about the fundamental reasons that are out there and what’s driving it and start with the questions.” He says everyone seems to start with an answer looking for a problem to solve with it instead of asking a question first and then seeking the answer to that question.

You can find Matt online at MatthewCRoberts.com.

You can listen to my interview with Matt here: Interview with Roberts

2011 NAMA Trends in Agriculture Photo Album

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

John Deere Project “Can Do” Making Progress

Chuck Zimmerman

John Deere’s Project “Can Do” is making progress. There are photos of the food can combine on the project Facebook page. You can watch a live feed of the display build here.

One of the project creators is Richard Williamson. Richard is a Creative Director for the company. He’s currently working as Art Director/Project Manager for John Deere’s Harvesting and Seeding product lines. I spoke with him about the project. He says the “art” work will be revealed to the public tomorrow, November 17 and it will remain on display in the John Deere Pavilion until December 17. At that point it will be dismantled and the cans of food donated.

You can listen to Richard explain more about the project here: Interview with Richard Williamson

Agribusiness, Audio, John Deere

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