Initial iOS 5 Thoughts

Chuck Zimmerman

I’ve already been getting questions about Apple new mobile operating system, iOS 5. That’s what happens when you tweet that you’ve got it!

Like many people yesterday, I was frustrated getting the update on my iPhone 4. It took about 2 hours to get it downloaded and then I couldn’t get the update installed due to Apple server overload. So I waited until this morning and then had no problem.

Here are a couple of initial thoughts for you:

1. I really like the changes in the camera functions. Now you can crop, enhance and Tweet, all built in. The photo here is one I took and did all three functions while out jogging on the Katy Trail (I stopped for a few seconds :)) a while ago. Click on the photo for a larger version. When the phone is asleep you can just double click the home button, click the camera icon that now appears and you’re ready to shoot. No waking the phone up, finding and opening the camera app. The volume up control now lets you snap the shutter too which is a big help.

2. I was very confused about where my music went since there is no longer an iPod app. There is now one called Music instead. It only has your music. Videos have been moved to the Videos app. Makes sense and I breathed a sigh of relief. At first I thought it might have had something to do with the whole iCloud thing and music that you purchased through iTunes. The majority of music in on my computer came from CD’s that I own.

Other than that about all I can add right now is that there have been a lot of app updates. Getting those and updating them via iTunes took quite a while this morning. I know this isn’t a lot of information but those are just a few initial observations.

Tomorrow I am supposed to get my new iPhone 4S. After I get that set up I’ll share more.

Apps

Farm Bureau Says FCC Must Test Technical Fixes for GPS

Cindy Zimmerman

afbfThe American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) says the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and an independent technical company must complete comprehensive and rigorous testing on all proposed technical fixes to ensure there is no interference between broadband and GPS signals that could be created by a broadband network being developed by LightSquared.

“It is critical that costs for resolving this issue are not passed along to farmers and ranchers through higher GPS or equipment costs,” AFBF President Bob Stallman said during a House Small Business Committee hearing on Wednesday. “LightSquared should cover the expense of all technical fixes related to the interference issue to ensure the cost is not passed along to farmers and ranchers.”

Many farmers rely on GPS for precision agriculture. This includes using GPS for accurate mapping of field boundaries, roads and irrigation systems; for precision planting; and for targeting the application of fertilizer and chemicals that combat weeds and crop diseases. GPS also allows farmers to work in their fields despite low-visibility conditions such as rain, dust, fog and darkness.

“While the deployment of broadband services is important for economic development, better education and improved health services in rural America, the use of precision agriculture is vital to America’s farmers and ranchers as they continue to feed, fuel and clothe the world,” Stallman said.

AFBF submitted comments to the FCC in July urging the agency to ensure there is no interference with GPS receivers prior to granting LightSquared permission to operate its high-powered base stations.

AFBF, Precision Agriculture

Many Attend 25th Georgia Peanut Tour

Cindy Zimmerman

The 25th Georgia Peanut Tour this year hosted participants from 12 states and international attendees from Belgium, Canada and Argentina.

The event, held at the end of September in the Southwest area of Georgia, allowed many first time attendees to actually walk through a peanut field and see peanuts plowed up with a digger at harvest. The tour included stops in some of the top ten peanut producing counties in Georgia including Decatur, Seminole, Miller and Early counties.

The Georgia Peanut Tour brings the latest information on peanuts while giving a first-hand view of industry quality and infrastructure from production and handling to processing and utilization. The 2011 tour included farm visits, peanut harvest clinics, production research at the University of Georgia Attapulgus Research and Education Center, peanut handling and grading facilities and on-farm demonstrations. The tour also included a visit to LMC and American Peanut Growers Group in Donalsonville, Ga., Birdsong Peanuts, JLA and Olam Edible Nuts in Blakely, Ga.

The Georgia Peanut Tour is coordinated by the Georgia Peanut Commission, the University of Georgia Tifton and Griffin Campus, Southwest Georgia Research and Education Center in Plains, Attapulgus Research and Education Center and the USDA ARS National Peanut Research Laboratory in Dawson, Ga.

See photos from the tour by the Georgia Peanut Commission on Flickr and find out more on the Georgia Peanut tour blog.

Peanuts

Giving Walnuts a Black Eye

Melissa Sandfort

Some cookies and bars are just better with walnuts. English walnuts, that is. But each year, my grandparents spend countless hours collecting, sifting, shelling and selling black walnuts. This is also the time of year that, when Grandma sends cookies home with you, you inspect them first and if they pass the non-black-walnut smell test, they’re safe to eat.

I know I’m being biased about my particular taste preferences, but I compare it to black licorice, which I also don’t like.

We have five very large black walnut trees along the creek in our yard and one of these days, I’ll put my son to work helping me pick them up for Grandpa. Not that I want to contribute to the cookie fear factor, but Grandpa is 89 and I figure I’m more able to bend over for an hour picking the darn things up. (Boy how I wish I could turn those into English walnut trees.)

The things we do for our grandparents!

Until we walk again …

Uncategorized

Agriculture Groups Praise Passage of Trade Pacts

Cindy Zimmerman

Agricultural interests have been trying for nearly five years to get Washington to act on three free trade agreements and finally in just over a week they have been sent to Congress and passed by significant majorities.

The trade agreements with South Korea, Panama and Columbia were each voted on separately and passed in rapid succession Wednesday, first by the House and then by the Senate. The votes in the House were 278-151 for South Korea, 300-129 for Panama and 262-167 for Colombia. In the Senate, it was 83-15 for South Korea, 77-22 for Panama and 66-33 for Colombia. The president is expected to sign them.

Farm groups were quick to praise the long-awaited action that is expected to mean increased exports for a variety of agricultural commodities.

“The three free trade agreements with Korea, Colombia and Panama provide great opportunities for America’s farmers,” said National Corn Growers Association President Garry Niemeyer of Illinois, adding that U.S. farmers have been standing by watching other nations receive increased access to these markets as the FTAs waited in limbo.

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) President Bill Donald of Montana was pleased to see Congress put differences aside to pass the trade deals. “For too long, the trade agreements have been collecting dust,” he said, noting that cattlemen have a lot to gain when the agreements are fully implemented by reducing and eliminating import tariffs on U.S. beef imposed by Colombia (80 percent), Panama (30 percent) and South Korea (40 percent).

Pork producers also have much to gain under the agreements, according to National Pork Producers Council president Doug Wolf of Wisconsin who called passage of the FTAs “one of the greatest victories ever for the U.S. pork industry” since it is expected to add more than $11 to the price producers receive for each hog marketed.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says passage of the agreements means over $2.3 billion in additional exports for American agriculture as a whole. “Immediately upon implementation of these agreements, the majority of American products exported to Korea, Colombia and Panama will become duty-free,” said Vilsack. “With record agricultural exports supporting more than a million jobs here at home, passage of these deals will contribute to a positive U.S. trade balance, create jobs, and provide new income opportunities for our nation’s agricultural producers, small businesses, and rural communities.”

The only question is, what took so long?

NCBA, NCGA, NPPC, Trade

Soybean Harvesting

Chuck Zimmerman

It is very dry here in mid Missouri. At times you can’t even see a combine as it moves through a soybean field. I saw these guys hard at it while I was biking along the Katy Trail yesterday. So I shot a couple of video clips with my phone.

The interesting part was when I looked at the video I found that a hawk had flown in between me and one of the combines. And the hawk had what looks like a small rabbit in its talons. You can see it in the video about half way through.

Soybean, Video

Blog Action Day and World Food Day Coincide

Chuck Zimmerman

Let’s talk about food. Okay. We can do that. In fact, we love to talk about food and the farmers who produce it. Here in the USA we’re very blessed to have the the most abundant, safe and affordable food supply in the world. We also ship more of it in the form of food aid around the world than any other country. So if we’re going to talk about food let’s not forget the farmers who produce it!

Since Sunday, October 16 is World Food Day, the folks at Blog Action Day decided to make food their topic. AgWired is signed up. Maybe you should too.

For 2011, our Blog Action Day coincides with World Food Day, so our topic of discussion for this year will be food. Take the first step now and sign-up your blog to Blog Action Day and then look at our suggested topics for some food flavoured inspiration to discuss.



World Food Day, October 16th, is a worldwide event designed to increase awareness, understanding and informed, year-around action to alleviate hunger.

Food

Hoosier Ag Today App

Chuck Zimmerman

Here’s a new app for your phone. The Hoosier Ag Today app was just announced. I’ve got it on my HTC Thunderbolt.

This free application provides farmers with up-to-the-minute market prices, time-sensitive news, and an exclusive Indiana agricultural weather forecast. But what makes the HAT app unique is that farmers can listen to exclusive audio content on their wireless devices. “This is in-depth information that is too long for today’s commercial radio formats but the kind of detail that today’s farmers crave,” said Gary Truitt, president of Hoosier Ag Today. The HAT app is currently available on the Android platform with an iPhone version ready for release in a few weeks.

The app was developed in collaboration with LoadOut Technologies at the Purdue University Research Park. A development team with experience in app creation and agriculture worked to create an application that meets the unique informational needs of the agricultural industry. This is a prototype of an app that will be developed for other farm media organizations across the Midwest. The app takes advantage of the time-sensitive and localized information that statewide farm broadcast organizations can provide, while delivery that information directly to farmers while they are in the field or on the go. Read More

Apps, Media

Get The Truth On World Egg Day

Chuck Zimmerman

It’s time to plan some healthy Friday food with eggs. That’s because October 14 is World Egg Day!

Novus International is all about World Egg Day. They’ve got a great online resource about eggs at EggTruth.com. So if you need some recipe ideas you can find some here.

“Eggs are an affordable, nutrient-dense food,” said Scott Carter, Ph.D., Poultry Market Manager for Novus International Inc. “In only 70 calories, one large egg provides an impressive six grams of high-quality protein and at least 13 essential vitamins and minerals.”

Many nutritionists believe eggs are a critical source of protein for a rapidly growing population, which is why the International Egg Commission has proclaimed Oct. 14, 2011 as World Egg Day. In addition to local activities, Novus is celebrating World Egg Day with events worldwide. Among those efforts are media outreach in Brazil, educational events in 10 African countries and education outreach efforts in the United States, Taiwan, across Europe and Mexico.

“We know that working to educate consumers about where their food comes from and the people producing it, helps them make more informed choices for their families,” notes Dr. Carter.

In the photo an elementary school kid is coloring eggs during an educational event conducted by Novus in St. Louis. In the video below you can hear Jared Hux, Novus Product Manager talk about the reasons for World Egg Day.

Agribusiness, Food, Novus International

Worries About Corn Stocks

Chuck Zimmerman

Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “How do you feel about the corn supply/demand status?” Sounds like there’s a little worry out there according to the results. 42% answered, Worried – there’s not enough; 34% said No worries – there’s plenty; 13% said, Don’t care and 11% said It will be better next year. If you’re worried, why?

Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “Should the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) be changed?” What do you think? Take our poll and feel free to comment. Thank you.

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

ZimmPoll