Novus Hosts St. Louis Agribusiness Club

Chuck Zimmerman

The St. Louis Agribusiness Club held its lunch meeting today at Novus International headquarters. It has been a while since I’ve had a chance to attend one of these meetings but a “bye” week from the agriblogging highway made it work out.

Our speaker was Thad Simons, Novus International President/CEO. Thad talked about the challenges of feeding a growing world population before giving our group a current overview of Novus and its products.

After lunch the attendees were able to take a tour of the Novus headquarters and learn more about what the company is doing.

I got to add to my Thad Simons interview collection by visiting with him briefly after his remarks. Thad says he wanted our group to realize that we not only have a real need to feed a growing world population but that since the population is increasingly urbanized it is even more challenging. Besides having to produce more food we have to figure out how to get it to the people who need it.

When it comes to Novus, Thad says the company is still celebrating its 20th birthday with the next celebration being held in Spain. I attended the activities held earlier this year at Novus headquarters. Thad is now on his way to Des Moines, IA for the World Food Prize activities.

You can listen to my interview with Thad here: Thad Simons Interview

Agribusiness, Audio, Novus International

AFBF Elects Potts as Executive Vice President

Cindy Zimmerman

Julie Anna Potts is the new executive vice president of the American Farm Bureau Federation.

The AFBF board of directors elected Potts last week to succeeds Dick Newpher who retired after 19 years of service with AFBF, the last seven as executive vice president. Newpher previously worked 19 years with the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau in various capacities.

In her new role, Potts will lead the AFBF staff in its implementation of all programs and activities for the organization, as well as for the coordination between AFBF and its affiliated companies. She will also serve as treasurer of AFBF and its affiliates.

Since March of this year, Potts served as AFBF senior executive director for operations and development, overseeing strategic development and the operations of AFBF’s Organization, Accounting and Administrative Services departments, as well as coordination of the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture and American Farm Bureau, Inc.

Potts first joined AFBF in 2004, serving as general counsel until 2009. In late 2009 she was named chief counsel of the Senate Agriculture Committee, serving under then-Chairman Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas. She rejoined AFBF earlier this year.

AFBF

Mark Ramsey To Talk Intersection of Broadcasting/Digital At NAFB

Chuck Zimmerman

Hopefully you’ve got your registration completed for the November National Association of Farm Broadcasting convention and especially for your hotel room. Want a preview of one of the speakers? Check out Mark Ramsey, Mark Ramsey Media, in the video below. The photo has NAFB President Tom Steever and board member Mark Oppold doing an earlier video promo to get you to register early.

Mark Ramsey Media is one of the best-known research and strategy providers to media companies in America, and company president Mark Ramsey will be at the NAFB Annual Convention to share with attendees the trends and opportunities on the audio media landscape.

NAFB

Sunbelt Know On The Go App

Chuck Zimmerman

Joining the ranks of farm shows with an app is the Sunbelt Ag Expo. It’s the Know On The Go app for all your mobile device types. It’s on my iPhone already because I’ll be there next week thanks to the support of the New Holland Boomer 555 Contest!

“Know on the Go” is the official mobile app for the 2011 Sunbelt Ag Expo, to be held Oct. 18-20 at Spence Field in Moultrie, Ga. The Sunbelt Expo is a must-attend event for anyone in agriculture, featuring hundreds of exhibits, a working farm, equipment demonstrations and driving ranges, and various educational opportunities.

“Know on the Go,” provided for the first time by Farm Press Publications and Penton Media Inc., will allow those attending the Sunbelt Expo this year to use their iPhone, IPod Touch, iPad, Blackberry, Android and other web-enabled phones to receive up-to-the-minute news alerts and other breaking information during the three-day show.

“The Sunbelt Expo: Know on the Go mobile app was developed by Penton Custom Media and has been used at some of the largest trade shows in the nation,” says Greg Frey, vice president at Penton Media and publisher of Farm Press. “We believe this new technology will greatly enhance participants’ experience at this year’s Sunbelt Ag Expo.”

Apps, Farm Shows, Sunbelt Ag Expo

Charleston|Orwig A Year Later

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCast 323It was just a year ago that Cindy interviewed Mark Gale, Charleston|Orwig, while attending World Dairy Expo. That started a series of ZimmCasts with the leadership of advertising and public relations agencies. Now we’ve come full circle.

At this year’s World Dairy Expo I visited with Brittany Unterweger, Account Supervisor for the agency. The agency was having a very busy week since they work with about ten different clients that are involved with World Dairy Expo. Brittany says the agency focus goes beyond the dairy industry though, into overall food systems, “from farm to plate, from producer to consumer.” She says there has been an internal shift within the agency to move beyond just agriculture. Interactive has also grown tremendously and that includes app building and the further development of their blog, Field Assignment.

Brittany says that she’s excited to have a more holistic approach with the food systems concept so they can helpt their clients see the big picture. She says their client list has been growing and that it’s an exciting time at Charleston|Orwig.

Listen to my conversation with Brittany in this week’s ZimmCast: Visiting With Brittany Unterweger

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

The program ends this week with music from Music Alley, called “Make You Happy” by The Milkmen. I hope you enjoy it and thank you 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.

2011 World Dairy Expo Photo Album

World Dairy Expo coverage sponsored by Charleston Orwig Dairy Business Association Alltech Hoard’s Dairyman Accelerated Genetics
Agencies, Audio, ZimmCast

The Moonflower and Hummingbird Moth

Melissa Sandfort

In a rare moment, my Aunt was able to catch this stunning photograph of a hummingbird moth eating nectar from her moonflower. It’s rare because: 1) it’s gorgeous, 2) hummingbird moths are often mistaken for a hummingbird because of its coloration and how it moves, and 3) moonflowers bloom in the evening and hummingbird moths can be seen on clear, sunny days.

That trip out to the garage resulted in capturing nature’s beauty at its finest! (And thank you to my Aunt for the picture!)

This awesome flower has white flowers on a twining vine and much like a hibiscus, the flowers open in the evening and last only until touched by the next day’s sun.

We refer to my Aunt as the plant doctor because she can take any half-dead plant and bring it back to a vibrant, brilliant life. She has friends who bring her the most dreadful, sad-looking plants in hopes of refreshing them, and when she does (every time), the original owner has usually lost interest and her greenhouse only grows larger.

I used to claim I had a green thumb until my Aunt started sharing stories.

Until we walk again …

Uncategorized

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Croplife America has released a new video on modern ag production practices.
  • Titan Tire Corporation donated approximately $160,000 worth of agricultural tires to the Illinois and Indiana Future Farmers of America Organizations during their auction at the Farm Progress Show.
  • The American Farm Bureau Federation board of directors elected Julie Anna Potts executive vice president of AFBF.
  • William Shurtleff, cofounder of the SoyInfo Center, invites members of the American Soybean Association to learn about the history of the soybean industry in a new book titled, “William J. Morse – History of His Work with Soybeans and Soyfoods”.
Zimfo Bytes

Blue Jeans Make Insulation Green

Cindy Zimmerman

Don’t throw out those old blue jeans – they could be used to insulate someone’s house.

“Cotton. From Blue to Green®” is a Cotton Incorporated initiative started in 2006 that gives donated denim a second life by converting it into UltraTouch™ Denim Insulation. To date, the program has received over half a million pieces of denim which has produced approximately 1.5 million square feet of UltraTouch™ Denim Insulation to assist with building efforts for communities in need.

The program has partnered with many organizations, including Habitat for Humanity affiliates, to install home insulation for victims of disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, and for those needing help to finish their homes. They also offer grants to improve community buildings and partner with college and university campuses to host denim collection drives.

Find out how you can donate and maybe even get discounts from participating retailers like American Eagle.

Cotton

Photos From World Dairy Expo

Chuck Zimmerman

It is the final day of World Dairy Expo 2011. The ZimmComm team had to return to headquarters but that doesn’t mean we won’t have more stories on World Dairy Diary.

Cindy and I have quite a few interviews to share during the next week so keep your eye on our sister site as we bring you more from this year’s show.

In the meantime, feel free to check out our photos. The colorful fall leaves made a beautiful scene outside between buildings this year and the weather stay just about perfect too.

2011 World Dairy Expo Photo Album

World Dairy Expo coverage sponsored by Charleston Orwig Dairy Business Association Alltech Hoard’s Dairyman Accelerated Genetics
World Dairy Expo

Badger NAMA Meets At World Dairy Expo

Chuck Zimmerman

Badger NAMA, the local chapter of the Nation Agri-Marketing Association, held its annual reception/meeting during the 2011 World Dairy Expo. Here’s chapter president, Travis Maier, Morgan & Myers. I spoke with him about how the chapter is doing. He says chapter membership steady at over 120 and has actually been growing. This meeting is one of their main ones during the year. I think attendance at the meeting was really good. I don’t know how many were there but it was a large meeting. Students were a big part of the meeting too with a program just for them.

You can listen to my interview with Travis here: Travis Maier Interview

2011 World Dairy Expo Photo Album

World Dairy Expo coverage sponsored by Charleston Orwig Dairy Business Association Alltech Hoard’s Dairyman Accelerated Genetics
Audio, NAMA, World Dairy Expo