Parting Comments from Ag HR Roundtable

Cindy Zimmerman

By any measure, the 9th AgCareers.com North American Ag HR Roundtable was a big success and next year will likely be even bigger and better.

I talked with Emily Gray with the University of Tennessee College of Ag Sciences and Natural Resources who has attended every one of the nine roundtables. “This is a very valuable event,” she told me. “It gives us as career service professionals from the universities a great opportunity to network with companies who hire our students. We’re always impressed year after year with the variety of companies who attend, the interest they have in our students and the number of companies we’re able to network with.”

Listen to my interview with Emily here: Emily Gray, University of Tennessee

There were 90 companies in attendance at the event this year, the most ever by far according to AgCareers.com, with a wide variety ranging from precision agriculture, to seed companies, biotechnology, and even artificial insemination.

Pioneer is one company that has supported the Roundtable from the beginning, hosting three of the nine events at company headquarters in Iowa, including the very first one. I didn’t get a chance to interview them – but here is a photo of a few of their representatives – Alan Roberts, Tom Drake who conducted one of the breakout sessions, and Human Resources Manager Cindy Heser.

Finally, I interviewed the sole international participant at the Roundtable, Mick Hay of the Australia-based Rimfire Resources – but I somehow didn’t get a photo of him. No matter, you’ll enjoy his Aussie accent in the interview!

Mick says Rimfire is a recruitment and consulting business specializing in agribusiness – kind of like a down under AgCareers. “Not as much an on-line model as AgCareers, but we’ve got a relationship where we took the AgCareers site and launched that in Australia,” Mick says. He was glad to be able to attend the Roundtable and get some new ideas to implement back home.

Listen to my interview with Mick here: Mick Hay, Rimfire Resources

2011 AgCareers Ag HR Roundtable photo album.

AgCareers, Audio, Pioneer, University

The Importance of Soft Skills to Employers

Cindy Zimmerman

Soft skills are as important in the job market as software is to a computer.

Soft skills include areas such as communications, leadership, problem-solving, self-management and professionalism – some of which must be developed over time rather than taught in a classroom – but the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) is taking a look at how their courses might be adjusted to do more to develop those skills.

To that end, they did a survey this year, which participants at the AgCareers.com 2011 North American Ag HR Roundtable last week got a preview of prior to it being officially unveiled at the APLU National Summit on Curricula Reform. Over 8,000 survey participants included students, faculty, alumni and employers from 31 universities and 282 companies.

APLU’s Associate Director for Food, Agriculture & Natural Resources Programs Wendy Fink says they found through the survey that the base of all the soft skills was communications. “If you can’t communicate, you really can’t do the others,” she told me. “That’s quickly followed by decision making and then self-management.” She says the biggest surprise in the study was that international experience was not valued as highly by employers as they expected.

The results of the study will be used by universities to evaluate their curricula going forward.

Listen to my interview with Wendy here: Wendy Fink with APLU

Attendees at the Ag HR Roundtable were able to participate in a live survey based on some of the questions in the soft skill survey. Watch a couple of the question and responses in this YouTube video:

2011 AgCareers Ag HR Roundtable photo album.

AgCareers, Audio, Video

Fishing In The Heat Wave

Chuck Zimmerman

After taking care of business at the Cattle Industry Summer Conference a few of us had to get a little R&R. So we followed Gary Cooper, Southeast AgNet, to his place at Cedar Island at Keaton Beach. Tagging along are Mike Deering, NCBA and Evan Slack, the Evan Slack Radio Network. Today’s Evan’s birthday so make sure you wish him a happy one.

We have had two days of scorching heat but we did get some fish to bite. Our cooler had more in it yesterday but for the dog days of summer we felt pretty good about it. This afternoon we’re switching gears and going out scalloping before calling it quits. If you’re interested we’ve got some photos online here.

If you’re ever over this way and need a good guide then call Captain Edward Thomas, T.G.I.F. Charters. Cappy knows where to go and when. We highly recommend him.

It’s nice to have a couple days away from the agriblogging highway. Tomorrow we’ll be homeward bound and then off to another adventure on Monday.

Uncategorized

AMR Management Services Acquires Drake & Company

Cindy Zimmerman

DrakeCo is now part of a bigger association management company.

AMR Management Services (AMR), a full-service association management company (AMC) serving national, regional and local client partners, is pleased to announce the acquisition of Drake & Company (DrakeCo), an accredited AMC based in Chesterfield, Mo.

“I have known Steve Drake for more than 15 years and have always admired his commitment and passion to our industry,” said John Ruffin, CAE, AMR President and CEO. “I am honored that he would trust me to continue his commitments to the DrakeCo clients and team members.”

“John’s offer came at an opportune time for me,” said Steve Drake, President of Drake & Company. “It allows me to start slowing down while continuing my passions of speaking about generational differences, social media and consulting with associations to develop strong boards.”

AMR will maintain the DrakeCo office in Chesterfield, Mo., in addition to its headquarters in Lexington, Ky. Steve will be staying on to serve as a consultant to AMR through the transition and will be available ongoing to serve AMR’s clients and others through speaking and consulting engagements. In addition, all the DrakeCo employees have joined the AMR team and will continue supporting existing DrakeCo clients. DrakeCo Vice Presidents Hugh Whaley and Brian Reuwee will be retained as vice presidents in the new organizational structure while Nick Ruffin will oversee the day-to-day activities of the combined company.

Agencies, Agribusiness

Agricultural Bio-based Careers are Booming

Cindy Zimmerman

Novozymes was one of the companies that participated in the AgCareers.com 2011 North American Ag HR Roundtable held this past week at Purdue University. Novozymes is a Danish-based international company which specializes in enzymes for bioag products, biofuels and bio-pharmaceuticals.

Novozymes Recruitment and Employer Branding Manager Darlene Godsey says the company’s workforce has increased tremendously just in the last five years. “With the growth of biofuels specifically in the U.S., we grew substantially, doubling the size of our R&D team and trying to support the growth of the biofuels industry was what drove a lot of it,” she said. Godsey spoke to the roundtable of more than 150 agribusiness employers, professional organizations and college career counselors about what Novozymes is doing to recruit new “Zymers,” the term they use to describe their employees.

Godsey says they worked with a marketing company to develop special tokens that current Zymers could hand out to prospective Zymers. The token sends them to a special website that serves to introduce them to the Novozymes culture and help determine if they would be a good fit. “We wanted the experience for the employees and candidates to be reflective of how we work, that we do things differently, we are innovative and we challenge conventions,” she said.

The Zymer token program was just introduced in March and Godsey says they have already hired six people from that data base. “I have a target of 20 percent of our hires coming from the referral data base in the future,” she said.

Listen to my interview with Darlene here: Interview with Darlene Godsey of Novozymes

2011 AgCareers Ag HR Roundtable photo album.

AgCareers, Audio, Biofuels, Biotech

Georgia Peanut Commission Celebration

Cindy Zimmerman

The Georgia Peanut Commission board of directors celebrated its 50th anniversary earlier this week by lifting a shovel and tossing a little dirt at the site for the new headquarters of the Commission in Tifton, Ga. The event held Monday, Aug. 1, brought more than 125 attendees to witness the groundbreaking and to celebrate the Commission’s 50 years of representing Georgia’s peanut farmers.

Georgia’s Commissioner of Agriculture Gary Black was on hand along with local dignitaries to celebrate with GPC. “This is a building of the future which shows the stewardship of American agriculture and a great marketplace to reach thousands that come by on a daily basis,” Commissioner Black says. “I know this is going to be a headquarters and destination for all of the peanut industry, but really a beacon for all of agriculture as this program moves forward.”

This project has been in the works for a number of years. The GPC board of directors has reviewed many options and potential locations for the new site before deciding on the location off of Interstate 75.

Watch a video of the ceremony here:

Peanuts, Video

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Senninger is proud to announce the launch of a newly designed website.
  • Marco Livoti has joined Vermeer Corporation as Forage Regional Manager for the Forage Solutions division in Latin America.
  • The U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance and John Deere announced the company is joining USFRA’s Premier Partner Advisory Group.
  • Syngenta announced that they have received import approval from Japan and Mexico for the Agrisure Viptera 3220 trait stack.
    Zimfo Bytes

    Novus’s MINTREX Gets New Feed Ingredient Category

    Cindy Zimmerman

    A new feed ingredient category has been created for MINTREX® chelated trace minerals from Novus International.

    According to Novus, the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) accepted this new feed ingredient definition July 31, during its 2011 Ingredient Definitions Committee Meeting in Austin, Texas.

    The Division of Animal Feeds within the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Veterinary Medicine accepted the chelated trace minerals category earlier this year and recommended that AAFCO accept this definition for inclusion in its official publication.

    “The formation of a new feed ingredient category for MINTREX is an extremely important step that gives us the opportunity to define a new class of trace minerals,” says Dr. Chris Knight, Vice President of Research and Development for Novus. “This announcement demonstrates to our customers in the animal health and nutrition industry that MINTREX is a next-generation trace mineral, truly defined as a chelate.”

    In scientific terms, chelation means the trace minerals in MINTREX are bound with a ligand. This creates a stable complex in the acidic pH of the upper gastrointestinal tract; reduces break-up, or dissociation, of the mineral; helps reduce losses caused by antagonisms; and protects the mineral for efficient delivery and uptake in the small intestine.

    MINTREX Cu, Zn and Mn supply the essential trace minerals copper, zinc and manganese. It can be added to feed for poultry; dairy and beef cattle; and hogs; as well as companion animal and equine diets, to provide for their mineral requirements and help animals perform to their full genetic potential. Because it is a highly bioavailable mineral source, MINTREX is absorbed and used by the animal to a much greater degree than comparable inorganic trace mineral supplements. This enables producers to maintain feeding efficiency with fewer minerals fed and excreted.

    Find out more here.

    Feed, Novus International

    USFRA Prepares for Public Launch of Ag Movement

    Joanna Schroeder

    There was a great panel discussion during the General Session of the Cattle Industry Summer Conference 2011 in Kissimmee, Florida that focused on the movement being developed by the US Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA). The ultimate goal of the USFRA is to educate people about where their food comes from.

    During a brief presentation by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s (NCBA) CEO Forrest Roberts, he updated the cattle producers on how the campaign is coming along. Roberts said that this is the largest agricultural communications effort of its kind and the goal is to speak with “one voice”. He said this is not a campaign, but a long-term movement that would foster a two-way dialogue with key influencers, policymakers and consumers.

    During the meeting, the first phase of the campaign was officially kicked off – farmer and rancher activation. He stressed that in order for this movement to be effective, ranchers and farmers across the country would need to speak out.

    Weldon Wynn, a rancher from Star City, Arkansas who is a member of the CBB Executive Committee, said there are 49 different organizations involved ranging from cattle ranchers to corn and soybean organizations to vegetable growers, and they have a budget of $10 million dollars. This has allowed them to kick off the initiative they are promoting during the conference and that is to get the consumer involved and the producer involved. Wynn said they need to learn about how safe their food is and grassroots efforts are the only way this is going to happen.

    Both Wynn and Roberts stressed the importance of getting farmers and ranchers involved, which you can do here. They asked that you fill out their survey here and also sign up to be one of the “voices of agriculture.”

    Listen to my interview with Weldon Wynn here: Weldon Wynn Discusses USFRA Efforts

    Listen to Forrest Robert’s comments regarding the initiatives of the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance here: Update on USFRA Beef Campaign

    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, Education, NCBA

    Agriculture Future of America at Ag HR Roundtable

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Agriculture Future of AmericaAn organization that helps prepare young people for careers in agriculture was very involved in the AgCareers.com 2011 North American Ag HR Roundtable.

    I spoke with Nancy Barcus, Director of Leader Development Programs for Agriculture Future of America. “AFA works with college men and women and young professionals just entering the work force to provide academic scholarship support, career and leader development training, and assist finding intern or other work experiences to help them get into full time employment,” Nancy told me.

    AgCareers.com is one of the industry partners that support AFA’s career development and scholarship program. “We’re really well aligned organizations,” Nancy says. “A lot of things that AgCareers is trying to do for the industry to understand what the needs are and bring colleges and universities to the table at a roundtable like this with employers are similar to what we do.”

    Listen to my interview with Nancy here: Nancy Barcus with AFA

    Nancy reminded me that Chuck interviewed her just recently at the NAMA where she was a hall monitor!

    2011 AgCareers Ag HR Roundtable photo album.

    AgCareers, Audio, Education