Discussion dinners on a variety of topics were held last night at the Alltech International Symposium. I attended the Communications dinner which had a focus on social media. Pictured are our discussion moderators (l-r) Damien O’Reilly and Billy Frey. I will be sharing an interview with Billy in next week’s ZimmCast.
Our dinner discussion provided an interesting insight into what people in agribusiness know, or think they know, about social media. Most of those in the room were either personally involved or professionally in their business. Some comments that caught my attention included:
A European participant said that not many farmers are involved in social media. I don’t know what the environment is across the pond but here in America I would disagree with that to a certain extent. So many farm companies and member organizations have been conducting training programs and encouraging farmers to get involved in the online discussion that I believe we have “a lot” of farmers involved in social media.
Another participant wanted to know how you “control” what people are saying about your company or products. Control is a red flag word to me. You have no control! No matter what your desire is, you can’t control what people are saying. However, Billy made a good point about how you can “manage” the conversation by being involved and engaging people even if they write something negative about you or your company. I always say that they’re going to talk about you whether you join the conversation or not.
A student participant startled everyone by telling us to “get off Facebook.” She said there’s no way you can believe anything you read on it and she didn’t like the idea that a company would check up on an applicant by looking at their Facebook page. Sorry, young lady. Facebook along with other social media channels are open to everyone and I highly encourage you to be careful about what you post anywhere. On the point of believing what you read, I agree to a certain extent. You need to be careful about what you read and that includes product reviews. One participant was sure that his competition was paying people to write negative comments about his products online. He didn’t have proof though. But I certainly believe it does happen. I’m just not sure how much.
It was a very good discussion but showed me that there is a long way to go when it comes to companies integrating social media into their marketing communications mix. One other comment that I appreciated was on the subject of ROI for social media expenses. He asked why it is that companies don’t have a clue what the return is on their advertising expenses for traditional media and yet want to know exactly how many widgets they sold by investing some dollars in social media. Good question. It’s kind of like a double standard. Several participants said that their use of social media had positive returns for their business.
Follow the action on the Alltech Innovations Blog, including photos, interviews and there will be live streaming of certain sessions.
Well there is certainly a healthy dose of skepticism shown in our latest ZimmPoll in answer to the question, “Will USDA forecast for record 13.5 billion bushels of corn come true?” An overwhelming majority (61 percent) say NO. Only 30 percent say yes and 9 percent say maybe. In light of the weather we’ve had so far this year I don’t find this surprising at all. Do you?
Our new ZimmPoll is now live. We’re asking the question, “What is your opinion about the Farm Bill?” The political rhetoric is already heating up. Chime in with your thoughts.
And if you have any questions you want to suggest for future ZimmPolls please let us know.
ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.
Alltech held their first ever Farming Film Festival this year with their Symposium theme of Game Changers. They invited people to tell their “game changing” story of an innovation that helped them on their farm. The first and second place winners were picked by a panel that included myself as well as Dale Miller of National Hog Farmer and Hoard’s Dairyman’s Lucas Sjostrom. Third place was determined by the highest number of online votes.
First place was awarded to Adam Dotson who submitted Good Shepherd Cheese, which told the story of a sheep farm in Kentucky. You can watch it below. Second place went to the video Cow Comfort, entered by Jonathan Klingenfus who explained how his family farm turned a crisis into an opportunity. Third place was awarded to Lauren Chase’s Telling The Montana Family Ranching Story.
I spoke with Allie Hembree, North American Public Relations Coordinator, Alltech, about the Farming Film Festival and other new technological features of this year’s Symposium. She says participation in the festival was great and they plan to do it again next year. Listen to my interview with her to hear what else is new from Alltech at this year’s event. Allie Hembree Interview
Follow the action on the Alltech Innovations Blog, including photos, interviews and there will be live streaming of certain sessions.
The Great Debate has become a feature of the Alltech International Symposium. This year it is being called The Game Changers Debate. The goal is to “identify the game changers that will allow agribusiness to respond to relentless commoditization and innovate for a greener future.”
Pictured (l-r) are moderator Aidan Connolly, Alltech, Tom Standage, Bus. Editor, The Economist, Hans Johr, Corporate Head of Agricutlure, Nestle and Ben Self, Founder, Blue State Digital. I will update this post after the debate with some audio from the session. Aidan is posing questions to the participants. The first one is “What are the game changers as we move to feed over nine billion people.”
Post Update:
Here are answers to the first question from each of the participants:
Tom Standage Answer Hans Johr Answer Ben Self AnswerFollow the action on the Alltech Innovations Blog, including photos, interviews and there will be live streaming of certain sessions.
Since May is both World Trade Month and National Beef Month, it was appropriate for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) to host a news conference on Capitol Hill today urging the Obama administration to send pending free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea to Congress immediately.
NCBA was joined by the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), American Soybean Association (ASA), National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG), National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), and National Pork Producers Council (NPPC). NCBA President Bill Donald started it all off by saying that the pending trade agreements are long overdue and the unprecedented delay is putting U.S. agriculture at a competitive disadvantage.
“Members of Congress, prepare your yes votes and push all three of these agreements across the finish line,” Donald said. “This is a powerful stimulus package for the American people, a stimulus package that will not cost the American taxpayers one damn dime.”
To put in perspective how long the trade agreements have been sitting on the shelf, NAWG CEO Dana Peterson noted that Twitter was just a baby, and that babies born when they were signed are entering kindergarten.
Here are opening statements from the conference: Ag Trade Press Conference
If you’ve followed my coverage of the Alltech International Symposium (this is my 5th year!) then you’ll know it’s not all serious business. It’s also a great opportunity to have some fun and fellowship. This video that Alltech produced from last night’s Kentucky Night Dinner shows you one of those fun opportunities.
Follow the action on the Alltech Innovations Blog, including photos, interviews and there will be live streaming of certain sessions.
The author of “An Edible History of Humanity” is Tom Standage, Business Editor, The Economist. He’s actually still presenting on stage but I always say, why wait? Thanks to Aly Rowell again for providing me with an interview she did with Tom.
I have not read the book but perhaps I will after hearing Tom’s presentation. It’s very interesting to hear about the “game changers” in history and their relationship to food and farming. Here’s what the book is about:
This book looks at history in another way entirely: as a series of transformations caused, enabled or influenced by food. Throughout history, food has done more than simply provide sustenance. It has acted as a catalyst of social transformation, societal organisation, geopolitical competition, industrial development, military conflict and economic expansion. From prehistory to the present, the stories of these transformations form a narrative that encompasses the whole of human history.
Tom Standage Interview
Follow the action on the Alltech Innovations Blog, including photos, interviews and there will be live streaming of certain sessions.
During this afternoon’s general session Alltech announced the winners of their Young Scientist competition. There were 5,000 entries from all over the world.
The Undergraduate Winner is Yakov Cepilov – Novosibirsk State University, Russia. Yakov will receive a $5,000 scholarship as part of his award.
Listen to an interview with Wai-Fun: Yakov Cepilov Interview
Presenting the awards were Dr. Mark Lyons and Dr. Inge Russell.
The Graduate Winner is Wai-Fun Leong – Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia. She will receive a $10,000 scholarship.
Listen to an interview with Wai-Fun: Wai-Fun Leong Interview
The Alltech Young Scientist Award brings together the world’s brightest scientific thinkers from colleges and universities across the globe. To compete for the top prizes, undergraduate and graduate students are asked to register and submit a scientific paper on an agricultural topic such as veterinary science, animal feed technology, agricultural developments or agriculture management.
The 2012 competition will comprise of 10 regions. The 3 best regional winners on each category will then have the opportunity to compete in the Global Phase, which will take place in Lexington, Kentucky, USA at Alltech’s Annual International Animal Health and Nutrition Symposium in May 2012. Undergraduate and graduate students will compete separately at each phase.
Follow the action on the Alltech Innovations Blog, including photos, interviews and there will be live streaming of certain sessions.
As part of the game changing experience that 2,200 people are having here at the Alltech International Symposium Damien McLoughlin, National University of Ireland, spoke about transforming your company using five ideas from companies that have done so in a big way.
Damien says that the whole idea of game changing has been driven by marketing efforts in the technology sector. One of the key companies he points to is Apple computers. I can relate to that! He says it’s not a matter of trying to copy what Apple did to change its whole image but rather the idea of investing in management innovation. The one piece of advice he wants people to take away is, “You have to invest in having the right people around. You have to provide them with the time to think about these ideas. And then you have to have confidence that those idea might actually work out.”
Damien McLoughlin InterviewThe interview with Damien was conducted by Aly Rowell, Lloyd Bell Productions. Aly is conducting interviews for people like me who did not get their own interview. Thanks to her and Alltech for making this available. Great idea!
Follow the action on the Alltech Innovations Blog, including photos, interviews and there will be live streaming of certain sessions.
