NAFB Foundation 2011 Scholarship Winners

Chuck Zimmerman

The National Association of Farm Broadcasting Foundation is once again awarding scholarships and just announced their 2011 recipients. Here they are.

Selected for the Glenn Kummerow Memorial Scholarship of $5,000 is Carah Hart of the University of Missouri-Columbia. Carah is a junior, majoring in Agricultural Journalism, and has been patiently awaiting the year when she could apply for the scholarship—as she’s dreamed for some time of becoming
a Farm Director for a Midwest station or network.

Columbia University Graduate Student, Nathan Vickers, is a recipient of one of two $4,000 scholarships. Nathan plans to graduate from Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism in New York in June of 2012. He received his undergraduate degree in Communications/Journalism from Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri.

Nathan’s family farm roots run deep in Southwest Missouri and he is excited about the prospect of applying his hard-work ethic toward his goal of becoming an ag journalist on the national stage.

The Foundation’s second $4,000 awardee is Texas Tech Junior Lauren Bogel. Lauren, who is majoring in Agricultural Communications, grew up on her family crop farm and cattle and horse ranch in New Mexico.

When she is home she works with the family company to manage and maintain farm equipment, and also has her own detailing business. During her time at Texas Tech, she has worked with Ramar Communications and Ag Talk 950 in Lubbock, getting experience in reporting, writing, sales, editing, scheduling and research.

You can read more about these scholarship recipients in the NAFB Foundation newsletter (pdf).

Education, NAFB

4th of July Grilling

Chuck Zimmerman

Grilling. It’s what will be done this weekend at ZimmComm. This is a photo of a recent grilled meal of mine.

With the 4th of July weekend upon us and I’m guessing many of you are already on vacation, it’s time to think about what you’re going to grill. If you are looking for ideas I thought I’d share some links where you can find lots of them:

If you need some pointers on grilling then just go to the second largest search engine, YouTube, where you you’ll find great videos like this one from BBQ Pit Boys Old-Time Barbecue and Grilling Food Show. Feel free to share your grilling ideas in comments.

Food

GIPSA Debate on AgWired

Cindy Zimmerman

A story about comments Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) made this week regarding USDA’s proposed GIPSA livestock marketing regulations has generated a flood of comments, thanks to an organized campaign by R-CALF USA.

The Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America, better known as R-CALF, took exception to the senator’s remarks during a Senate Agriculture Committee Hearing on the State of U.S. Livestock and sent out a communique to members encouraging them to make comments on the post, calling it a “rare opportunity to defend the GIPSA rule against packer lackeys.”

R-CALF CEO Bill Bullard says Sen. Roberts made “a personal attack against GIPSA Administrator Dudley Butler in an attempt to kill the GIPSA rule” so he returned fire with his own personal attack on the senator:

“Senator Pat Roberts made the most dishonorable and repulsive opening statement that anyone could possibly make at a congressional hearing. Whether you support USDA’s proposed GIPSA rule or not, every American should be appalled at Senator Robert’s theatrics. He lied. He outright lied. Senator Roberts knows, and all his staff knows, that GIPSA Administrator Dudley Butler NEVER said that the proposed GIPSA rule is a lawyer’s dream.”

There have been ethical concerns raised about Butler being in charge of livestock regulations, since he is a trial lawyer who has sued meat and poultry companies and the referenced quote is from a speech Butler made in August 2009 to the Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM), where he said “When you have a term like ‘unfair, unreasonable or undue prejudice,’ that’s a plaintiff lawyer’s dream.”

The proposed GIPSA rule, which would have a significant impact on the marketing and production of livestock and poultry, is obviously a contentious and divisive topic for the industry but it would help if there were more constructive dialogue and less name calling.

GIPSA, Livestock

Iowa Corn Farmers Love IndyCar Promotion

Chuck Zimmerman

Iowa corn farmers who attended the Iowa Corn Indy 250 got an exciting race, a sold out crowd and a nationally televised platform to showcase the performance value of ethanol. Over 2,500 growers were expected to be in attendance. I didn’t speak to all of them but I did speak with several.

These are the people who are investing their hard earned dollars in educational and promotional campaigns like the one with the IRL and Iowa Speedway and it’s good to know what they think. Here’s a basically random selection of quotes from some of the farmers I spoke with at the event. : Iowa Corn Farmers Speak Out

2011 Iowa Corn Indy 250 Photo Album

Ag Groups, Audio, Corn, Ethanol, Indy Racing

Iowa’s Bill Northey Back From China Trip

Chuck Zimmerman

Iowa’s Secretary of Agriculture, Bill Northey, was one of the corn growers attending the Iowa Corn Indy 250. Here he is in the photo being interviewed by Ken Root. I took my turn with him afterward.

Bill spent two weeks in Korea and China visiting customers of U.S. farm products. He says they discussed and argued a little bit about pork imports but they certainly will keep buying soybeans and even talked “under their breath” about buying some corn. He says “we’d still love to see more pork and beef going in to china.” On the subject of flooding there are some very devastated areas but the state still has a huge crop in the ground. When it comes to the Iowa Corn Indy 250 he can’t say enough about the exposure the industry receives from the race.

You can listen to my interview with Bill here: Bill Northey Interview

2011 Iowa Corn Indy 250 Photo Album

Ag Groups, Audio, Corn, Ethanol, Indy Racing

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Growth of Diamond V continues with the construction of a new worldwide headquarters and expansion of its second, recently constructed, manufacturing plant.
  • Syngenta announced that it has entered into an exclusive global technology partnership with Pasteuria Bioscience Inc., to develop innovative bio-nematicide products based on the naturally occurring soil bacteria Pasteuria spp.
  • DoMor Equipment Company unveiled its new generation skid-steer line of heavy-duty, road-grading attachments that mount on a Bobcat, skid steer, newer tractors or even backhoes, and grade forward or backward thanks to a unique patent-pending 4-blade design.
  • Schuler Manufacturing, a family-owned business specializing in feed mixer wagons in Griswold, is the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation’s Renew Rural Iowa Entrepreneur of the Month award winner.
Zimfo Bytes

Indy Racing League And Ethanol

Chuck Zimmerman

The CEO of the Indy Racing League is Randy Bernard, seen shaking hands with Iowa Corn Growers CEO, Craig Floss, during last weekend’s Iowa Corn Indy 250 activities. I spoke with Randy who says that the League has been working to create a lot more buzz and excitement this year. Judging by the sell out crowd for the Iowa race, things must be working.

I asked him to comment on the relationship with Pioneer and the Iowa Corn Growers. He said, “The fact that we’ve got a great title sponsor here with Iowa Corn Growers and that we run ethanol . . . this is the type of sponsor that we love to be working with because ethanol is a very important part of our business and next year we’re going to E85 to show pump relevancy.”

You can listen to my interview with Randy here: Randy Bernard Interview

2011 Iowa Corn Indy 250 Photo Album

Ag Groups, Audio, Corn, Indy Racing, Pioneer

NAMA Will Miss Iowa Farm Photographer

Cindy Zimmerman

We were shocked to hear this week of the passing of National Agri-Marketing Association friend Denny Eilers, the Iowa Photo Farm photographer. The news came from the NAMA e-Newsletter:

A Cornbelt NAMA member since 1990, Denny has been the photographer for many NAMA Agri-Marketing Conferences and will be greatly missed.

The Iowa Photo Farm was operated by Denny and Gwen Eilers. Denny served as chief photographer and Gwen was the business and production manager. They were located on a working farm in scenic northeast Iowa, raising corn, soybeans and a variety of locally grown vegetable crops.

Denny died Sunday, June 26, 2011, at Central Community Hospital, Elkader.

Services for Denny will be at 10:00 a.m. Friday, July 1, at St. Patrick Catholic Church, Monona, IA. Arrangements are being handled by Leonard Funeral Home of Dubuque.

If you do a search for Denny here on AgWired, you will find lots of his photos from the NAMA conventions. We had a great working relationship with him at those events and Chuck took the photo here of Denny at the 2011 NAMA. We will definitely miss him.

Grant him eternal rest, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.

NAMA

Growers Vote To Continue Cranberry Marketing Order

Chuck Zimmerman

Cranberry growers have voted to continue their federal marketing order program. Producers in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington and Long Island, N.Y., voted.

During the referendum, 512 eligible producers cast valid ballots. Of these producers, there were 390 (or 76.1 percent) representing more than 3.5 million barrels of cranberries (76.1 percent of total volume), who favored continuance of the order. Producers voting to discontinue the order totaled 122 (or 23.8 percent) and represented slightly more than 1.1 million barrels of cranberries (23.8 percent of total volume).

“Cranberries are an important specialty crop,” said Agricultural Marketing Service Administrator Rayne Pegg. “This continuance will provide opportunities to expand cranberry markets and help growers thrive.”

The marketing order requires that a continuance referendum be held every four years during the month of May. USDA would not consider terminating the order if continuance is favored by more than 50 percent of the growers voting in the referendum, provided that these growers represent more than 50 percent of the cranberry volume represented in the referendum.

Thank you America’s cranberry growers for all you do in producing safe, affordable food!

Ag Groups

Ethanol Industry Upbeat

Chuck Zimmerman

I just got back from the 27th International Fuel Ethanol Workshop. It was a good time visiting with my friends in the renewable fuels industry. The mood is certainly better that it was a couple of years ago. That sentiment was noted by Tom Bryan, VP of BBI International, as well. I spoke with him near the conclusion of the event yesterday.

Tom says the technical sessions were extremely well attended. In fact, chairs had to be added to some of them due to the attendance in them. He says there were over 2,000 in attendance this year. That may not be as high as several years ago but shows that the industry is resilient and upbeat for the future. Tom Bryan Interview

You can find more story posts from the 2011 FEW on our Domestic Fuel website.

2011 FEW Photo Album

Our coverage of the 2011 Fuel Ethanol Workshop is being made possible by the Renewable Fuels Association.

Audio, Ethanol