It’s All About Shoes

Melissa Sandfort

I have a number of idiosyncrasies. One is cleaning up while I cook. When mom and I were in the kitchen together, she’d turn to me and ask, “Where is that spoon I was using?”, and the answer was always, “In the dishwasher.” (Where else would it be – it was dirty!)

Another might be hanging up shirts in the closet a certain direction. That one I get from my husband.

Another habit of mine is keeping shoes long past their expiration date. When we moved to a new house in Denver, I counted pairs of shoes as I stashed them in trash bags and it was somewhere around 76, not counting flip flops (those aren’t really shoes in my book). Some of them had loose soles or were worn down so low if I would’ve stepped on a nail I would’ve been making a trip to the doc for another tetanus shot.

I resigned myself to the fact that they weren’t even donation material and threw them out. It was heart-breaking.

I quickly recovered with a few sessions on Zappos.

This is an antique cast iron shoe last, used by cobblers for fixing and re-soling shoes. Hey, if I would’ve had this, maybe I could’ve gotten another two years out of those shoes!

Until we walk again …

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Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Illinois agriculture organizations announced a new, collaborative program to promote, implement and track the rate of adoption of enhanced nutrient stewardship practices by Illinois agricultural producers.
  • POET is now selling certified antibiotic-free dried distillers grains with soluble.
  • CAST is announcing its release of a paper detailing concerns about livestock production and air issues.
  • John Deere Horicon Works, Horicon, Wisc., is celebrating its 100th year of manufacturing for the company.
    Zimfo Bytes

    Illinois Keep it for the Crop 2025 Program Announced

    Chuck Zimmerman

    The Illinois Corn Growers tent was the location for a press announcement for the “Keep it for the Crop by 2025” program.

    Illinois agriculture organizations announced today a new, collaborative program to promote, implement and track the rate of adoption of enhanced nutrient stewardship practices by Illinois agricultural producers. “Keep it for the Crop by 2025” will focus on the 4R’s of Nutrient Stewardship: Right Source, Right Rate, Right Time, Right Place.

    The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) has identified six priority watersheds for nutrient reductions including Lake Bloomington, Lake Vermilion, Lake Decatur, Vermilion River (Illinois Basin), Salt Fork Vermilion River (Wabash Basin) and Lake Mauvaisse Terra. Marcia Wilhite, IEPA’s Bureau of Water Chief, said “The lakes and rivers in these watersheds have water quality problems due to too much nitrogen or phosphorus, or both. Illinois EPA strongly endorses efforts to promote voluntary action by producers to adopt nutrient stewardship practices in their watersheds.

    Start-up funding for the program is being provided by the Illinois Corn Marketing Board, the Illinois Soybean Association and IFCA fertilizer manufacturer members Agrium, CF Industries, Koch Fertilizer, The Mosaic Company and Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan.

    You can listen to or download the press conference here: Illinois KIC Press Conference

    2011 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

    AgWired Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by New Holland GROWMARK Trellis Growing Systems
    Ag Groups, Audio, Farm Progress Show

    FFA Update At Farm Progress Show

    Chuck Zimmerman

    I ran into DeLoss Jahnke, FFA Marketing/Communication Specialist (center), at the Farm Progress Show. I had not seen DeLoss since shortly after I left the Brownfield Network once upon a time. At that time he was our Indiana reporter. With him was Geoffrey Miller who works with him in communications at FFA.

    The guys were out at the show to find and talk with former FFA members. They didn’t have to go far to look! In the photo they’re interviewing one former member who was attending the show. The FFA convention was a topic of discussion so I got a look ahead from them. It’s going to be October 19-22. There’s an expanded area in the Indianapolis Convention Center so the National FFA Expo will be bigger than ever. Blake Shelton will be performing too. DeLoss says that this year there will be a Native American Heritage Celebration so they’ll be highlighting contributions from native Americans to FFA. They also previewed the new FFA Ag Career Network that is coming soon.

    You can listen to my interview with DeLoss and Geoffrey here: Update From FFA

    2011 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

    AgWired Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by New Holland GROWMARK Trellis Growing Systems
    Ag Groups, Audio, Farm Progress Show, FFA

    Blackberries as Alternative Midwest Crop

    Chuck Zimmerman

    During the Farm Progress Show I sat down and visited with Richard Barnes, Trellis Growing Systems, to talk about how and why he got started growing blackberries and a whole system now for other farmers. He says he started growing blackberries about eleven years ago on the family farm. Like a lot of growers, he had problems with his trellis system. So he applied for a USDA grant and got it. That kicked off the business and he started in 2007 doing mostly research until 2009 when the company started commercial operations. The feedback he’s been getting talking with farmers at the Farm Progress Show has been overwhelming. He says a lot of farmers are looking for alternative crops to enhance their existing operation. Blackberries are well suited to using land that might not be good for corn or soybeans for example. The system they’ve developed make the crop suitable for the cold weather season in the midwest. You can hear him explain all that in our video interview. Thank you to my human tripod and we did get a little breeze come through but I think it came out okay.

    2011 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

    AgWired Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by New Holland GROWMARK Trellis Growing Systems
    Farm Progress Show, Video

    Equine Agvocate

    Chuck Zimmerman

    When I noticed the Gator on Valentina’s Macbook Pro during my Agvocacy 2.0 breakout I had to meet a fellow Florida Gator. She is from Florida and attended the University of Florida to study animal science, specifically equine industry. Valentina is getting her MBA and plans to be in farming in the future. She came to Agvocacy 2.0 to learn more about using social media for networking with other people. She says social media provides her with a mechanism to spread the word about agriculture so consumers better understand where their food comes from and how it gets in the supermarket.

    You can listen to my interview with Valentina here: Interview with Valentina

    2011 AgChat Agvocacy 2.0 Conference Photo Album

    AgChat Agvocacy 2.0 coverage is sponsored by The New Holland Boomer 555 Contest.
    Audio

    Liking Ag Leader Technology On Facebook

    Chuck Zimmerman

    If you want more friends on Facebook all you’ve got to do is ask. That’s what Ag Leader Technology (Precision Pays sponsor) was doing in their new permanent Farm Progress Show building this week. Here’s Lori Costello (left) and Katie Beeler with the t-shirts that are part of the I like Ag Leader Technology promotion.

    I talked with Katie about how things were going with this idea. Katie says they share a lot of information via their Facebook page and they wanted to get the word out to people and ask them to like their page. So how this works is, you go to their page, like them and then fill out a short survey telling a little about yourself so they know who they’re talking to and you can get one of the t-shirts you can see in the photo. Katie says the goal is 1,000 followers by the end of the year. I think we can help them beat that don’t you? Like Ag Leader Technology here.

    You can listen to my interview with Katie here: Interview with Katie Beeler

    2011 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

    AgWired Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by New Holland GROWMARK Trellis Growing Systems
    Ag Leader, Audio, Farm Progress Show

    Farm Progress Show Progress

    Chuck Zimmerman

    I have to confess that working in air conditioning beats the 102 degrees in the media tent around noon yesterday! It may have been a cooker out there but this year’s Farm Progress Show was great in a lot of ways. Attendance seems fantastic and with the great weather all of the demonstrations were able to run as scheduled. This is a shot from the final morning when I got a little exercise climbing a Brock grain bin.

    To find out how the show was going I caught up with Farm Progress Show manager, Matt Jungemann. Matt says that Tuesday was a record attendance and speculated that Wednesday was too. We chatted about one of the big sponsors of the show (and AgWired), GROWMARK. GROWMARK has been one of the foundation partners since the beginning of the dedicated Decatur show site. They support the host farmers in a number of ways that include the alfalfa in the parking lots, seed/fertilizer/inputs for demonstration fields and demo plots. As Matt points out, there is a lot of work on planning things like alfalfa field rotations.

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

    Cindy and I did a little summary this morning to figure out just what we’ve done regarding Farm Progress Show this year. So here’s what we came up with: 889 total photos, 46 interviews/press conferences, 4 videos, 19 posts on AgWired so far and 7 on Precision Pays. That doesn’t count content produced for other client sites. We’ve got lots more to come!

    2011 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

    AgWired Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by New Holland GROWMARK Trellis Growing Systems
    Audio, Farm Progress Show, GROWMARK

    Zimfo Bytes

    Melissa Sandfort

      Zimfo Bytes

    • Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. is pleased to announce Dr. Albrecht Kissel as its new president and CEO.
    • Pfizer Animal Genetics will donate $10 from the proceeds of each High-Density 50K test purchased this fall through Angus Genetics, Inc. to participating state Angus Associations.
    • GROWMARK, Inc. announced the results of director elections, held in conjunction with the regional cooperative’s annual meeting.
    • Matt Elkins joins Kemin as a sales manager responsible for livestock and poultry throughout the United States.
    Zimfo Bytes

    Corn and Ethanol Catch up at FPS

    Cindy Zimmerman

    farm progress show 2011The media tent is always a great place for people in the industry to catch up with each other – like Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen and National Corn Growers Association incoming president Garry Niemeyer of Auburn, Illinois.

    I talked with both of them about challenges in Washington, ethanol policies, and the ability of corn growers to meet all demands even in the toughest weather years.

    Bob is frustrated with the climate in Washington and the inability of Congress to get anything done, but he is always amazed by the ability of the nation’s farmers to do their job. “The fact of the matter is, the American farmer is the most productive and efficient in the world,” Bob says. “We will get through this and there will be enough supply to meet the needs for grain that exist.”

    Listen to or download my interview with Bob here. RFA CEO Bob Dinneen

    Garry says he expects his corn crop this year to be just about average and he notes that the latest USDA forecast still expects the corn crop to be the third largest in history. “Can you imagine what it would be like if we had 1980 hybrids during this type of a weather situation? We probably would be looking at a disaster,” Garry said. “That’s the importance of this show. We’re here looking at the technology in seed, machinery, guidance systems … we have the tools to do it but Mother Nature could help out a little better!”

    Listen to or download my interview with Garry here. NCGA 1st VP Garry Niemeyer

    2011 Farm Progress Show Photo Album

    AgWired Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by New Holland GROWMARK Trellis Growing Systems
    Audio, Corn, Ethanol, Farm Progress Show, NCGA, RFA