IFAJ Congress Review

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCast 320At the beginning of the 2011 IFAJ Congress we heard a preview from Owen Roberts, Co-Chair of the event. Now we’re going to get a look back from Lilian Schaer, the other Co-Chair.

In the photo both Lilian and Owen were thanked during our closing ceremonies and received gifts for all their hard work. Of course, they point to all the other people who volunteered to make this a great event. But it does take good leadership to help bring it all together.

Lilian says the Congress was fantastic on a number of levels, including the fact that there were 260 people from more than 30 countries. She also wanted to thank all the sponsors who made it possible. There were a lot of stand out moments for her. One of them was when the native dancers performed during the opening reception. Another was during the closing session when all the country flags from IFAJ member countries were displayed. Lilian also pointed out that this was the IFAJ Congress with the most amount of social media participation. You can still see tweets happening with the Congress hashtag.

Listen to my conversations with Lilian in this week’s ZimmCast: IFAJ Congress 2011 Review

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

This week’s program ends with with music from Music Alley. It’s “New World Blues” by Aeons Promise. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

2011 IFAJ Congress Photo Album

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.

Coverage of the IFAJ Congress is sponsored by PIONEER Hi-Bred
Audio, IFAJ, ZimmCast

BASF Helping Connect Farmers and Consumers

Chuck Zimmerman

As America gets ready for The Food Dialogues this week let’s hope that some of the excellent points made by BASF in this video come up in the discussion.

Have you ever thought about how your food is produced? How connected do you feel?

In the early days of human history everyone had to help find and prepare food for the community. People were intimately connected to the origins of their food.

Today on the one hand consumers have grown apart from the origins of food production and they do not have the time to keep up on this topic. On the other hand the farmers who produce the food face many challenges.

When we stay connected to our surroundings and our community – we have the chance to grow back together instead of further growing apart.

More information: www.agro.basf.com.

BASF, Food

Farm Podcaster Tool

Chuck Zimmerman

The range and choice of tools available to today’s farm podcaster is getting bigger. Here’s the latest from TASCAM. The DR-40 looks like a good choice if you’re looking for affordability and features.

The adjustable mics, four-track recording and extended battery life of the TASCAM DR-40 give you the flexibility you need to record tracks anywhere.

The DR-40 captures up to four tracks from built-in, high-quality condenser microphones, XLR mic or line inputs. The internal mics are adjustable from XY to AB position, helping you to tailor your recording to the sound of the room. A pair of great-sounding TASCAM microphone preamps welcome condenser microphones with phantom power, recording at up to 96kHz/24-bit resolution. It accommodates balanced XLR or 1/4″ line inputs using locking Neutrik Combo jacks. The DR-40 accepts SD or SDHC cards up to 32GB, and a 2GB card is included.

Once recorded, play back your takes with EQ and the optional Level Align feature to avoid volume jumps. A stereo reverb effect is also built-in, as well as a speaker and chromatic tuner. Transfer recordings to computer using the USB 2.0 jack. Other features include overdub mode, variable speed playback, limiting and low cut filter, and much more – all with TASCAM’s simple-to-use interface. No other recorder makes home or live recording as simple as the TASCAM DR-40.

You can get it for $199.99 right now from BSW.

Equipment

Canadian Cooperative Thriving With Dry Beans & Edible Soybeans

Chuck Zimmerman

Hensall District Co-operative welcomed IFAJ members last week. Here’s CEO, Earl Wagner, who gave us an overview of the various business units of the co-operative. Before we settled in for his presentation and a tour of the facilities in Hensall, ON, we were treated to a variety of foods made with their products. They are known for their dry beans and edible soybeans and almost all of the products they grow are GMO free which has been important to their customers in Japan. One of the products we sampled was carrot cake made with bean and corn flour. I ate way more than I should but it was incredibly good!

HDC is a diversified farmer-owned Ontario Agricultural Co-operative. Established in 1937, HDC is the largest independent agricultural co-operative in Ontario with 4000 members who elect 10 Board of Directors. HDC employs 300 staff members with annual sales of 328 million.

I interviewed Earl after his presentation. He told me they have a very diversified business. Besides dry beans and edible soybeans they also produce a lot of corn and wheat. Last year they had a record crop but this year is down significantly. However, this year’s lower yields were a lot higher than just a few years ago.

Interview with Earl Wagner

Here’s a short video clip showing the gravity separator that “cleans the edible beans” as part of the preparation for shipping. We toured through the whole facility and around a growing collection of storage bins. There are a number of pictures in the photo album.

2011 IFAJ Congress Photo Album

Coverage of the IFAJ Congress is sponsored by PIONEER Hi-Bred
Agribusiness, Audio, Cooperatives, IFAJ, Video

IFAJ Visits Claynook Farms

Chuck Zimmerman

IFAJ members learned about the dairy business in Canada this week right on the farm. In this case we were at Claynook Farms visiting with Wayne and Dennis Wagler.

The conversation with the dairy operators covered just about every topic you could imagine from genetics to marketing. I recorded part of a conversation with reporters in which I asked about their thoughts on the Canadian supply management system (more on that later). You can listen in on that Q&A here: Claynook Farms

I also recorded a video clip with part of the discussion too.

2011 IFAJ Congress Photo Album

Coverage of the IFAJ Congress is sponsored by PIONEER Hi-Bred
Audio, Dairy, Farming, IFAJ, Video

Biodiesel Adds Value to Minnesota Soybeans

Cindy Zimmerman

The Renewable Energy Group (REG) celebrated the official grand opening of REG Albert Lea biodiesel plant in Minnesota on Monday, with representatives of the state and local community and agriculture industry.

REG President and COO Dan Oh (right) says the plant was shut down in 2008 when economic woes hit the biodiesel industry, but REG felt it was a significant plant that needed to get back in operation. “Think of a gallon of biodiesel in roughly every bushel of soybeans, this is a 30 million gallon biodiesel facility, so that really adds value back to a bean bushel,” Dan told me.

Listen to or download my interview with Dan here. REG President Dan Oh

Pictured here with Dan is Jim Willers, a Minnesota farmer who is a director on the United Soybean Board and a member of the Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council. Jim says he’s proud of Minnesota’s support of biodiesel and how it in turn supports the local economy. “This plant’s put almost 25-30 people back to work, there’s usually 50 trucks that go through here and the spin off effect from this plant creates almost 2,000 jobs,” he said.

Listen to or download my interview with Jim here. Minnesota soybean farmer Jim Willers

Watch the ribbon cutting below and see photos in the REG Albert Lea biodiesel plant photo album

Audio, Biodiesel, Biofuels, Soybean, USB, Video

Scare Tactics

Melissa Sandfort

I like lists. Grocery lists, to-do lists, task lists. There’s something about checking things off my list that gives me a sense of satisfaction. So here’s my list of things I’m afraid of:

Spiders (literally, 7-year old girl screaming scared)
Bees (or any version of something that buzzes)

That’s a pretty short list, but the one on the top is as big as most people’s top 10 list. Much to my displeasure, as we were moving the horse fence in preparation to build our shed, this not-so-little visitor parked himself on one of the corner posts. I wasn’t about to go over and remove the fence wire from that post!

My first reaction was to put a boot in him. My husband stopped me from doing that and I guess he does have a point. They eat bugs. Okay, so what are a few more bugs around here and a few less spiders? I can live with that!

He has since moved his web between two of the wall posts on our shed and I try to keep our son from driving his tractor right through it. I don’t think the spider would do any damage to our son, but since he’s the size of my palm (the spider, not my son), I’m not taking any chances.

Until we walk again …

Uncategorized

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Vets Plus Inc., announces the addition of National Account Managers Bryan Kann and Don McKillip to the company’s sales team.
  • The USDA will conduct a referendum on proposed federal marketing order amendments regulating the handling of California, Arizona and New Mexico produced pistachios.
  • The Chilean Avocado Importers Association invites culinary students across the country to sharpen their knives, show off their skills and come up with their most creative avocado dish for a chance to win up to $1,000.
  • The Brazilian National Technical Commission on Biosafety approved the first GMO fully developed in Brazil, transgenic beans resistant to “golden mosaic” virus, which is transmitted by “whitefly.”
    Zimfo Bytes

    Minnesota Soybean Growers to Celebrate Biodiesel Plant Re-Opening

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Minnesota soybean growers will be in attendance Monday at the grand re-opening of a soy biodiesel plant in Albert Lea that was shut down in 2008.

    The Renewable Energy Group (REG) acquired the former SoyMor production facility earlier this year, which is now known as REG Albert Lea, LLC. The company will be celebrating the grand re-opening of the plant with members of the Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council, as well as state and local dignitaries, on Monday morning.

    Minnesota is a leader in the biodiesel industry, being the first state to require that all diesel fuel contain a two percent blend in 2005, and has since increased to a five percent blend. “Increasing the amount of biodiesel in our fuel allows us to take advantage of a renewable fuel made right here in Minnesota,” said Ed Hegland, former National Biodiesel Board Chairman and Minnesota farmer. “I’m proud to live in a state that is leading energy innovations and taking part in valuable solutions like biodiesel.”

    “With nationwide demand for biodiesel growing steadily through implementation of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) and Minnesota’s continued biodiesel consumption leadership, we expect to quickly ramp up production at REG Albert Lea, LLC,” said REG’s CEO Jeff Stroburg when the purchase of the plant was finalized. “With a foundation in agriculture and expertise in domestically-produced, renewable energy, REG is proud to bring green-collar jobs to this rural economy while supporting ag producers in Minnesota and across the Midwest.”

    REG was already the largest biodiesel producer in the United States and the acquisition of REG Albert Lea brings the REG owned/operated total to more than 210 million gallons per year. REG was the general contractor and manager for the 30 mmgy refined vegetable oil feedstock biodiesel plant which originally began production in April 2005. Distribution of biodiesel at the facility started late last month. REG filed for filed an initial public offering in July.

    Biodiesel, Soybean