Agvocacy 2.0 Conference Registration Deadline Nearing

Chuck Zimmerman

Don’t forget to register by June 24 for the AgChat Foundation Agvocacy 2.0 Conference which will be held August 22-23 in Nashville, TN. If you are passionate about agriculture and want to learn more about how you can use social media to “tell your story” then this conference is for you. The conference is open to 75 people (production ag, hobby farming, agribusiness, Extension, commodity organizations, academia or another sector of the industry). You have a chance to win a full or partial scholarship or other prize if you enter your ag photo in the AgChat Foundation 2012 Calendar contest by posting to the AgChat Foundation Facebook page.

Are you alumni of the first Agvocacy 2.0 Training? You can apply too! We will be accepting up to 25 returning attendees who provide names of first-time applicants they “endorse”. We think this is a great way to get a mixture of “pros” and “newbies” together to learn from each other, while also identifying those who are just starting out in their social media ventures.

This year’s conference will include an extra half-day of training, beginning at 9 a.m. on Monday and concluding at noon on Tuesday. Registration is $365 and will include a free t-shirt. You can apply to attend the conference at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/agvocacy-2dot0-conference. The application process will run from June 1 to June 24 and those selected will be notified in mid-July. Those chosen to attend are encouraged to seek sponsorships from local businesses and organizations to help cover conference and travel costs.

More details about the Agvocacy 2.0 Conference will be posted here, as well as on Facebook and Twitter, over the coming months and make sure to check follow the hashtag #ACFC11 on Twitter for the most up-to-date information!

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Give Chatterbarn Feedback and Sign Up

Chuck Zimmerman

Are you ready to Chatter? If so, then Chatterbarn is looking for some feedback during their beta test before going fully “live.” So go ahead and register for your launch day invitation. Feel free to post your comments and thoughts here too and we’ll pass them along. What do you think about the idea and need for this type of social networking kind of environment for agriculture? Is one needed? Would you use it? You know. All those kinds of questions.

Chatterbarn is the destination point for rural living and everything agriculture. The ChatterBoard connects you locally, to your neighbors and community. It connects you around the world to your customers, vendors and business associates. Teams are your own personal groups that can be created to invite those that you interact with the most for quick access to discussion, knowledge sharing, and interaction. Hubs are public information centers sponsored by businesses in the agricultural industry. These information centers provide product information, training webinars, video conferences, and other critical information from companies around the world that impact your life the most.

The Chatterbarn Exchange is a powerful real- time marketplace that not only allows for sellers to post items for sale, but is unique in the fact that it can be buyer-controlled as well. This means that if you need something specific, even in a certain amount of time, you can submit a request with a price range that you are willing to pay, and Chatterbarn will match your request with someone that has what you are looking for and notify you immediately by email and/or text. The Chatterbarn Exchange not only facilitates the exchange of products, but also the exchange of information.

The third component of the Chatterbarn Exchange allows you to submit questions into the network, which can be responded to by others, to facilitate the sharing of knowledge, best practices, and information throughout the industry. You will use the Chatter Button throughout the site to make things happen. It will help you post your comments to the Chatterboard and submit your items to the Chatterbarn Exchange. So, are you ready to Chatter?

Subscribe to the Chatterblog, find ’em on Facebook and follow on Twitter.

Agribusiness, Internet, Social Networking

NAFB Makes Interim Leadership Decisions

Cindy Zimmerman

The board of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting has made some decisions regarding the currently unfilled positions in the organization of president and executive director.

Tom Steever, Brownfield Network, sent out the following update:

As a result of Lindsay’s tragic death, with Board approval, I’ll serve out the year as President-Elect and also assume the responsibilities of NAFB President. Then at the start of 2012, I’ll assume the office of President as I normally would have. That will also allow for candidates to surface for the office of NAFB National Vice President to be elected at the annual convention in November when current Vice President Mark Oppold will be considered at that time for President Elect.

Moving on to other matters, I want to personally welcome NAFB veteran and Hall of Fame inductee Gene Millard to the temporary position of NAFB interim executive director. Gene has agreed to work for us part time as a staff point person in the executive director search and also to assist in securing a new office location for NAFB. There are several factors that led us to a decision to move our headquarters to a new location actually less than a mile from our current one.

It has certainly been a difficult year for NAFB, so Tom and the rest of the board members and staff have had their hands full in dealing with a very unprecedented situation. We wish them the best of luck moving the office and continuing the search for a new executive director.

NAFB

Dupont Announces Support For USFRA

Chuck Zimmerman

The U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance got a boost from DuPont. The company has announced its support of USFRA by becoming one of the first members of the Premier Partners Advisory Group.

“DuPont is proud to support the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance as they bring together an unprecedented group that crosses all boundaries in modern agriculture with a single goal of building understanding about the dependable, abundant supply of food produced by today’s farmers and ranchers,” said DuPont Executive Vice President James C. Borel. “There is an increased need to reinforce the importance of agricultural contributions and its value to society, and promoting the merits of a career in agriculture also are essential to recruiting tomorrow’s farmers and innovators.”

DuPont“We appreciate the support of DuPont as we build the foundation for an alliance that will tell the great story of America’s farmers and ranchers, and the healthy and sustainable food supply that they produce,” said Bob Stallman, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation and chairman of USFRA. “Agriculture continues to be attacked by a number of groups, and it is critical that we work together to enhance public trust and maintain the freedom of U.S. farmers and ranchers to operate in a responsible manner.”

DuPont is one of the first members of the USFRA’s Premier Partners Advisory Group (PPAG) that will support the efforts of the independent farmers and ranchers in the Alliance. PPAG members will be able to participate in USFRA board meetings as non-voting participants and will be able to serve on committees and task groups. The members of PPAG will elect a representative to serve as an ex-officio member of the USFRA Executive Committee.

Ag Groups, Agribusiness, USFRA

Good Morning Sunshine

Chuck Zimmerman

Good morning agrimarketing world. I hope you’re having a sunny start to the week. Ours is a little stormy here in mid Missouri but the sun was trying to pop out.

I just thought I’d take a moment to go geek on you. If you’re in the market for a good quality digital camera that fits in your pocket consider the Canon Powershot S95. They’re hard to get right now but if you can find one, you’ll like it. I used it for this photo while stopped at a red light this morning. What I’m liking about this camera includes the fact that I can manually adjust things like shutter speed, exposure and ISO. It also has low light settings and a better lens than you’ll find in most small point and shoots. Of course you can go fully automatic too. It also shoots video and saves as .mov files which are much more user friendly than the .avi files of my previous one.

Some of you are probably thinking, “Chuck usually has a big Nikon hanging off of him.” That’s true. But this one fits in my pocket and I plan to use it as much as I can. Between it and my iPhone I always have a camera on me. It’s hard to get a photo of something if you don’t have a camera, if you know what I mean.

Equipment

Living in a Glass House

Melissa Sandfort

When we got married, my mother thought it was odd that I wasn’t putting china and crystal glassware on our registry. Gone are the days of formal dining rooms, china hutches, “good” dishes and expensive glassware. At least at my house anyway.

If you peer inside our kitchen cabinets, you’ll instead see plastic cups with lids, plastic plates and refillable cups from a gas station. Yes, we have ceramic place-settings and glass drinkware, but since we have an almost 3-year-old, the dinner table is usually adorned with non-breakable items.

This is a cut-glass condiment set, made for vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper. I can picture this as the centerpiece on a beautiful table with a hand-made lace tablecloth, where the silver has been polished, the butter is neatly placed on its own silver platter, and the girls wear dresses to dinner.

Definitely not the dinner scene at my house.

Don’t get me wrong – we sit down and eat dinner as a family, we enforce table manners, and if I’m at home, the TV isn’t allowed to be on while we eat. We just have wooden salt and pepper shakers and the butter comes in a plastic tub.

This condiment set reminds me of a more formal time, where prim and proper were the foundational manners of every good girl. I guess if I preserve some of that mindset, it’s that we sit down as a family and have meaningful conversation. That’s what will stand the test of time in my mind, not the container the salt and pepper were in.

Until we walk again …

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Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

Zimfo Bytes

Novus Helping Pork Producers Achieve Profitability

Chuck Zimmerman

At World Pork Expo I visited with Stephanie Gable, pictured second from the right. Stephanie is now the global marketing manager for beef, dairy and pork for Novus International. She is also a past president of the National Agri-Marketing Association.

We talked about the new Novus Accelerating Finishing Profitability program that was announced during the show. Stephanie says this boils down to helping customers “take what they have and make it more profitable.” She says that Novus has created a step by step process that helps them figure out what their current needs are and how the products Novus offers can help them meet those needs. To get the help offered by Accelerating Finishing Profitability Stephanie recommends contacting a Novus representative, nutritionist or the Novus Pork website. Stephanie Gable Interview

2011 World Pork Expo Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the 2011 World Pork Expo is sponsored by NOVUSAgWired coverage of the 2011 World Pork Expo is sponsored by boehringer-ingelheim
Animal Health, Audio, Novus International, World Pork Expo

The Food Security Reader

Chuck Zimmerman

I just got my copy of The Food Security Reader. It is “The Best of Truth About Trade & Technology” with the foreword written by Dean Kleckner and edited by Mary Boote. I have only just skimmed it but if you like what you find at TATT then you will like reading through the stories told in this book. The TATT board has dedicated the book to Dr. Norman Borlaug.

From the start, Truth about Trade & Technology has spread its message of hope and growth. We began a weekly column, produced a weekly economic analysis, launched a website, spoke to journalists, appeared on radio and television, and attended meetings in the United States and abroad. More than a decade later, we can report many successes, such as the passage of new free-trade agreements and the growing acceptance of biotech crops. Yet plenty of tests await us: Agricultural trade remains badly distorted and biotechnology continues to face substantial resistance in Europe and many developing nations. As old battles end, new ones emerge–and our work remains as important and daunting as ever. The Food Security Reader is a chronicle of what we’ve done, a collection of our best columns on a wide range of subjects. Contributors include Michael Allen, Jeff Bidstrup, Mary Boote, Gilbert Arap Bor, Tim Burrack, Reg Clause, Maria Gabriela Cruz, Rosalie Ellasus, Bill Horan, Ken Kamiya, Carol Keiser-Long, Dean Kleckner, Cheryl Koompin, Rajesh Kumar, Darrell McAlexander, Jim McCarthy, Paul Rasgorshek, John Reifsteck, Tim Recker, John Rigolizzo, Jr., Ted Sheely, Al Skogen, and Terry Wanzek.

You can order the book on Amazon.

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In The Field

Meghan Grebner

The past four years of my life has been dedicated to agriculture in Central Illinois.  Every Tuesday during the planting, growing and harvest seasons we would catch up with agronomist from different parts of WMBD and WIRL’s listening area to see how things were looking as the growing season progressed.

I was able to develop a great relationship with area agronomists and value the copious amounts of knowledge gained from them.  One of my most cherished relationships is with Matt Montgomery.  Matt is the former County Director for the Mason County Extension (with the recent extension reorganization his title escapes me), but most importantly he’s always been my “bug man”.

I found it only fitting that Matt was my last in-studio interview this week.  We talked about crop conditions, concerns with this years crop – and of course some of the things that we need to look out for this year.

Matt In The Field

 

The theme this year for farmers Matt says – no matter where they are located – is going to be “SCOUT”.  You’ve got to be in there – rooting around – looking for problems and be able to utilize the many tools available to us in that always important tool belt.

Corn, Soybean