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

Remembering Gary McKenna

Chuck Zimmerman

I was very saddened to learn of the passing of Gary McKenna this week. There are a number of people who made a big impression on me when I was just getting into the agrimarketing world many years ago and one of them was Gary. I’ve only seen Gary very infrequently in recent years but he was one of the guys who sort of adopted me in my early NAMA meeting years. Other names in that group include Jim Yancey, Dave Schmid, J. Ben Rowe, Dave Aeschliman and certainly others I will always feel indebted to. Gary had a great sense of humor. My sides hurt just thinking about the sessions we would have at a NAMA meeting or some other industry event and the jokes would start flying. Gary was always open to listening to me and answering a million questions I would have. He was always patient with this impatient young dude (then, not now!) who was ready to take over the world but had no idea what he was doing.

Long time NAMA member and friend, Gary McKenna, 63 of Red Wing, Minnesota, died on August 30, 2011 at his residence.

He was born to Fred and Bonnie (Evans) McKenna on February 13, 1948 in Madison, WI. He graduated from Madison East High School in 1966 and served in the U.S. Air Force for 4 years as a photographer. Gary attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The majority of his career was focused on marketing and business. He married Jane Davis and they later divorced. Gary married Pat Kvols in 1993. After retirement they moved to Red Wing in 2004 where they owned and operated the Golden Lantern Inn Bed and Breakfast. Gary enjoyed gardening, cooking, sports and spending time with family and friends. A lot of people miss you Gary.

Gary is survived by his wife, Pat; 2 daughters, Erin (Cory) Larse of Somerset, WI, and Alison (J.R.) Klennert of Red Wing; 3 grandchildren, Kyron, Megan and Adam; his mother, Bonnie McKenna of Lodi, WI; 4 brothers, Mike, Bill, Jimi and Tim; 2 sisters, Audrey and Shelly; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Gary is preceded in death by his father, Fred; 1 brother, Dan; and 1 brother-in-law, Peter.

Celebration of Life will be 1 p.m. on Monday, September 12, 2011 at Easter Lutheran Church (on the hill), 4200 Pilot Knob Rd., Eagan, MN 55122, with Pastor Jim Borgschatz officiating. Memorials preferred to the American Cancer Society.

NAMA

Farm Progress Show Field Demo Hosts

Cindy Zimmerman

farm progress show 2011I was out watching the field demos in the hot sun yesterday and was pleased to meet the hosts of the demo plots Dawn and David Brix.

“We take care of about 225 acres that we use for combine and tillage tune up and then Tuesday and Wednesday during the shows we have demos out there,” David told me.

They partner with GROWMARK FS on the field plots. “They keep an eye on it all year, whether it’s crop scouting, fungicide treatments, genetics,” David said. “They take the worry out of our hands, we’re doing the labor but they’re doing all the stuff to make sure it’s the best crop it can be.”

It has been a challenging year for the corn crop. “We didn’t plant until maybe the 10th, then it got flooded out and then we didn’t have another drop of rain after that,” he said. “All things considered, to still have 110-115 bushels yields, that’s pretty good.”

Listen to or download my interview with David here. FPS Field Demo Host Farmer David Brix

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, Farming, GROWMARK

Noonish With Plenish

Chuck Zimmerman

Yesterday Cindy and I got to have a great noon lunch courtesy of Chef Charlie Baggs and Pioneer Hi-Bred. Chef Charlie was doing cooking demonstrations using Plenish, high oleic soybean oil which has “0g trans fat, less saturated fat and the highest amount of heart-healthy monounsaturated fat available in soy.” He cooked us some excellents brats with carmelized onions, peppers and a side salad with a very healthy dressing. In the video below you can see the whole process from start to finish. These will be cooked at ZimmComm World Headquarters!

By the way, Pioneer and ADM made a big announcement this week about the 2012 marketing of Plenish soybeans that growers will be very interested in.

Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business, and Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM), announced that ADM will contract for PlenishTM high oleic soybeans in 2012 with the intention of marketing the high oleic soybean oil for use by the food industry in 2013.

ADM is inviting soybean growers in the Frankfort, Ind., area to contract with ADM to produce PlenishTM high oleic soybean for the 2012 growing season. Farmers will receive a processor paid incentive for producing and delivering these soybeans, with an additional stewardship incentive available for this growing season.

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, Food, Video