American National Cattlewomen Working at Summer Conference

Chuck Zimmerman

This afternoon as I was leaving one of the committee meetings at the Cattle Industry Summer Conference I ran in to two people I had hoped to find and interview. How coincidental is that and convenient too! So I spoke with Sarah Bohnenkamp (left) Program Manager, American National Cattlewomen (ANCW) and Tammi Didlot, President-Elect, ANCW.

I spoke first with Tammi. She says that ANCW holds meetings here like the other organizations to do planning for the future and conduct educational sessions for members. They set goals for committees and then look at how those committees are performing. She says they’re looking at new ways to educate youth and get collegiate cattlewomen involved.

You can listen to my interview with Tammi here. Tammi Didlot Interview

Sarah is managing the Beef Ambassador program as well as the Telling the Beef Story program. ZimmComm sponsors the Beef Ambassador Blog and this was my first chance to meet Sarah in person. She says the ambassadors have been out at very large consumer events connecting with people who are curious about things they’ve read and heard about beef, a lot of which is from very uninformed sources. Sarah says that just like other Beef Checkoff funded programs, she has authorization requests in for committee review here at the Summer Conference. We wish her well with her presentation tomorrow.

You can listen to my interview with Sarah here. Sarah Bohnenkamp Interview

2011 Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album

Ag Groups, Audio, Beef, Cattle Industry Conference

NCBA Offers Cattle Producers Drought Resources

Joanna Schroeder

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) offers many services to its members (such as the newly launched www.beefusa.org website) including producer education. During the Cattle Industry Summer Conference today, I was able to spend some time with To Field, NCBA’s executive director of field eduction to learn more about some of the myriad of resources available.

Field said they do a number of things under the purvey of producer education but one that they are especially proud of is their work in the Stockmanship & Stewardship Tour where they feature a number of their clinicians including Ron Gill from Texas and Curt Pate from Montana. Within this program, producers are reminded of the time honored art of stockmanship and low stress cattle handling, which does a couple of things.

“One, we improve productivity of cattle when we handle cattle correctly, and secondly, we improve our image as an industry,” said Field.

Another key issue for NCBA’s members is the hemorrhaging of research and development at land grant universities and NCBA is working on developing solutions for this trend. In addition economic turmoil along with long-term drought have been, and continue to be critical issues in the South. Field said this, along with unfavorable policy is causing some ranchers to liquidate their businesses.

“The reality is that drought has been an ever present risk on our business. We’re a land dependent, weather affected industry and have been since the first cattle came to this country,” said Field. “Drought on a wide spread scale does two things. One, it limits the opportunity for producers to have choices in how they manage cattle. Secondly, at some point in time it creates a cost structure to where break evens aren’t even possible in this historic high markets and so liquidation becomes the option.”

Despite the current challenges, Field does think producers will come back when conditions improve.

Listen to my interview with Tom Field here: Tom Field Interview

Photos from the conference will be posted to this photo album: 2011 Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album. Check it often as we add to it over the next several days.

Ag Groups, Audio, Beef, Cattle Industry Conference, NCBA

Farm Credit Sponsors America’s Heartland

Chuck Zimmerman

During the Ag Media Summit I met Michael Sanford, head of production at KVIE Public Television which produces America’s Heartland, the tv show about agriculture that airs on PBS stations and RFDTv.

Michael says the show is going into its seventh season. He says that Farm Credit, the InfoExpo booth in the photo, has come on board as a primary sponsor. He says they’ll be traveling to all fifty states producing stories and they will have some new features that include Ask a Farmer, Off the Shelf and others.

You can listen to my conversation with Michael here: Michael Sanford Interview

2011 Ag Media Summit Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the Ag Media Summit is sponsored by BASF and AgHaven
Ag Media Summit, Agribusiness, Audio, Media

Merial Sponsors News Center and Introduces New Products

Chuck Zimmerman

The sponsor for the news center at the Cattle Industry Summer Conference is Merial. We really appreciate their support of the ag media who cover the conference. Here are some of the things you’ll find new from the company.

Merial is putting the spotlight on parasite control through a bold new program called “EPRINEX Kills It.” Because economic losses from parasite infections of cattle can be significant,1 effective parasite control is vital to the health of a herd and the profitability of an operation. In fact, of all the animal health practices used to increase production, treating beef cows for parasites gives the greatest economic return – up to $201 per head.

To set its parasite control messaging apart and emphasize product performance, Merial put a humorous twist on the features of its IVOMEC EPRINEX product.

Here’s one of the videos that Merial produced for the campaign.

Merial has also just introduced a new product – ZACTRAN®.

ZACTRAN® (gamithromycin), a new antimicrobial from Merial, provides producers with a rapid-response weapon in the battle against BRD.1 It can be used for control of BRD in high-risk cattle or as a first-pull treatment of sick cattle.

“BRD causes between $800 to $900 million annually in economic losses from death, reduced feed efficiency and treatment costs.3 Given the significant impact of BRD, producers need cattle to respond quickly to treatment,” says Bruce Nosky, DVM, Manager, Merial’s Large Animal Veterinary Services. “In field studies, cattle treated with ZACTRAN showed a rapid improvement in BRD clinical signs.1 More than three- quarters of the cattle with a fever had a significant decrease in temperature within 24 hours.4 And the majority of those cattle treated with ZACTRAN remained healthy throughout the 10-day study.”

2011 Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album

Agribusiness, Audio, Cattle Industry Conference

Beef Board Leadership Kicks Off Summer Work

Chuck Zimmerman

The leadership for the Cattlemen’s Beef Board kicked off their meetings with the Executive Committee this morning. Leading the way is Acting Chairman Wesley Grau (center). I spoke to him before things got started. He says they’ll be working on industry solutions and “settling some of the dust that’s been stirred up the last few years and we’re basically changing our attitude and getting on with the job of promoting beef.” He says the “Checkoff is as good as its ever been.” However, if you adjust the Checkoff dollar for inflation and other factors you’re only using about 23% as much money to promote beef as in 1985!

You can listen to my interview with Wesley here. Wesley Grau Interview

The Beef Board Interim CEO is Polly Ruhland (left). I asked her about the type of activities the Beef Board will be involved in here at the summer meeting. Polly says the Beef Board meets with the joint committees and reviews all of the authorization requests for proposed work that the Operating Committee will then review in September. It’s grass roots in action as cattle producers meet here in all these committees. It’s a very important meeting for the Beef Checkoff.

Polly also told me that she has spoken with quite a few board members recently and of course the staff. She says they’re all excited to move forward and have the stuff that has been happening behind them. She calls it a renewed relationship with NCBA and the Federation of State Beef Councils.

Polly also describes the “dashboard” that has been created to monitor the progress being made on the new industry long range plan. This includes a regular check on the objectives which will be done here at this meeting.

You can listen to my interview with Polly here. Polly Ruhland Interview

2011 Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album

Ag Groups, Audio, Cattle Industry Conference

Shining Boots at Cattle Industry Summer Conference

Chuck Zimmerman

A cattle industry conference of any kind is a great place for a shoeshine expert to find work. Lisa Crawford, Solefully Yours, loves her cowboys and has been shining shoes and boots for 30 years! Lisa took care of my shoes earlier this morning. I think the last time I saw Lisa was at a Missouri Cattlemen’s convention. She does get around.

Lisa started working for a company before starting her own later in her career. When she had a chance to work at a trade show she moved into that niche and has been doing it ever since. Usually she is working at a convention for a sponsor. Here at the Cattle Industry Summer Conference her sponsor is Roto-Mix. You can find her set up in the lobby in front of registration.

You can listen to my interview with Lisa here. Lisa Crawford Interview

2011 Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album

Audio, Cattle Industry Conference, NCBA

Excellent Turnout for AgCareers HR Roundtable

Cindy Zimmerman

More agribusiness employers than ever are represented this week at the AgCareers.com 2011 North American Ag HR Roundtable at Purdue University.

AgCareers president Eric Spell says they had over 145 attendees on Monday and today about 190 are at the 9th annual event to discuss recruitment and retention of talent in the agribusiness industry. “Some companies are sending 3, 4 or even 5 attendees,” Eric says. “We do have 90 employers represented, which is by far the most we’ve ever had.”

While higher education for agribusiness executive positions is always important, Eric says there is a bigger focus on careers in skilled labor jobs. “Skilled labor is custom applicators in the agronomy sector, service technicians in the farm equipment industry, GPS positions in the equipment industry,” Eric says. “They’re skilled trade positions, they’re valued, and sometimes they even pay more than a four year degree.” He notes that about a third of the 2300 jobs listed on AgCareers.com right now are skilled labor positions.

Listen to my interview with Eric here: AgCareers president Eric Spell Interview

2011 AgCareers Ag HR Roundtable photo album.

AgCareers, Audio, Education

NCBA Launches New Website

Joanna Schroeder

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) has a new look – they have launched a new website that was unveiled during the kickoff of the Cattle Industry Summer Conference 2011 in Kissimmee, Florida. NCBA Director of Communications Mike Deering said the new site incorporates traditional and new media resources for their members and visitors to quickly find news and information about the U.S. cattle industry.

“Our intention was to develop a site that would serve as a valuable resource to a very diverse audience. First and foremost, we wanted a site that would equip cattlemen with the tools needed to be as informed and vocal as possible,” said Deering. “Secondly, we wanted a place where the uniformed could quickly become informed. The new site is a one stop shop for anyone wanting the latest information about NCBA and the cattle industry.”

According to Seo Tapia, NCBA’s Executive Director of IT, the website was designed as a support mechanism for the association members and hosts a range of interactive and informative features for not only cattlemen and consumers but media as well. He also said the website makes all of the services offered at NCBA easy to find and understand. For example, the “Issues” section offers scores of information about policy issues by category affecting cattlemen, as well as women, the environment and cattle marketing.

While many in the industry are already savvy with the new wave of social media technologies that are integrated into the site, don’t worry if you’re just getting introduced. The NCBA is ready to guide users of all levels on how best to use the site to meet their needs.

Listen to my interview with Mike Deering and Seo Tapia here: Mike Deering & Seo Tapia Interview

Photos from the conference will be posted to this photo album: 2011 Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album. Check it often as we add to it over the next several days.

Ag Groups, Audio, Cattle Industry Conference, NCBA

Agribusiness Employers Look to the Future

Cindy Zimmerman

What do agribusiness employers see as the most important challenges for recruiting and keeping the best talent in the future?

At the opening of the AgCareers.com North American Ag HR Roundtable on Monday, Dr. Allan Gray, director of the Center for Food and Agricultural Business at Purdue, presented some new findings from a survey of agribusiness company CEOs on what they consider the most important internal and external factors impacting human resources in the industry, as well as what leadership competencies they expect to need in the future.

“From an external perspective, not a lot of surprises,” Gray says. “The economic environment we’re in and the uncertainty associated with that and what’s happening with farmers” were most important. On the internal side, Gray says he was surprised by the importance the CEOs placed on marketing functions. “I suspect that’s a reflection of the changing nature of their customer base as farmers are becoming more differentiated, larger and more sophisticated.”

Under leadership competency, the clear front runner is people leadership, but Gray was interested to see that the CEOs ranked thought leadership – strategic and innovation thinking – lowest. “It was a bit surprising to me because we think that thought leadership is going to be critically important in an environment with so much uncertainty and so much change taking place,” he said.

So far, Gray says 59 agribusiness CEOs have responded to the survey and they expect more yet. The purpose of the survey is to “measure the gaps between what we need in the industry” and what our current levels of leadership competency are, and then develop educational programs to fill that gap.

He also talked about the importance of partnerships between educational institutions and corporations, such as LEAP, an Executive Agribusiness Program at Purdue sponsored by Land O’ Lakes.

Find out more in my interview with Dr. Gray here: Dr. Allan Gray Interview

2011 AgCareers Ag HR Roundtable photo album.

AgCareers, Audio, Education, University

Roundtable Focuses on Ag Human Resourses

Cindy Zimmerman

When we talk about having the resources to feed the world in the future, most of the time we’re thinking land and water, but having adequate human resources is equally, if not more, important.

That’s really what the 2011 AgCareers.com North American Ag HR Roundtable is all about. To kick off the 9th annual event, being held this year at Purdue University, we were welcomed Monday afternoon by the Dean of Agriculture for the university Dr. Jay Akridge.

“Really the long term prospects for this industry are so bright, dealing with a growing population and increased need for food,” Dean Akridge said. “At the same time, it’s an industry that’s buffeted by tremendous change. So, this idea of how we manage for today, yet keep our eyes on tomorrow is really a fundamental issue as we prepare talent for the next generation.”

Dr. Akridge says Purdue was pleased to host the Ag HR Roundtable. “This is what we do, we’re an educational institution, we develop human capital,” he said. In addition, the event has become a great way to bring educators and employers together to work in partnership for the future of the industry.

Listen to or download my interview with Dr. Akridge here: Purdue Dean of Agriculture Interview

The Ag HR Roundtable continues through Wednesday – twitter hashtag is #AgRT if you want to follow along. Check out photos from the event in the 2011 AgCareers Ag HR Roundtable photo album.

AgCareers, Audio, Education