The Alltech Game Changers Debate

Chuck Zimmerman

Alltech Symposium Great DebateThe 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 Answer

Follow the action on the Alltech Innovations Blog, including photos, interviews and there will be live streaming of certain sessions.

2011 Alltech Symposium Photo Album

Alltech

Ag Groups Call For Trade Agreement Approval

Cindy Zimmerman

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

AFBF, Audio, NCBA, NCGA, Trade

Kentucky Night Dinner Fun

Chuck Zimmerman

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.

2011 Alltech Symposium Photo Album

Alltech, Video

Food & Farming Are Game Changers For Humanity

Chuck Zimmerman

Tom StandageThe 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.

2011 Alltech Symposium Photo Album

Alltech, Audio, Farming, Food

2011 Alltech Young Scientist Competition Winners

Chuck Zimmerman

Yakov CepilovDuring 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.

Wai-Fun LeongThe 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.

2011 Alltech Symposium Photo Album

Alltech, Education, University

Transforming Your Company is a Game Changer

Chuck Zimmerman

Damien McLoughlinAs 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 Interview

The 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.

2011 Alltech Symposium Photo Album

Agribusiness, Alltech, Audio

Troy Hadrick Agvocates For Alltech

Chuck Zimmerman

Troy HadrickAt this year’s Alltech International Symposium there is a new educational track called The New Ag Network. It is a series of presentations on how businesses can market themselves in the new media world we live in today as well as dealing with new regulations and more. One of the presenters is Troy Hadrick, farmer and social media speaker. You can find Troy at Advocates For Agriculture. His game changing experience happened when he posted his first YouTube video to express his displeasure with Yellow Tail wine for their support of HSUS. That support ended shortly afterward.

Troy’s presentation chronicled his personal experiences using social media to become what a lot of us call an “agvocate.” He helped show how relatively simple and powerful today’s new communications channels can be for farmers to speak out on their own and inform and engage consumers.

Troy Hadrick Interview

Follow the action on the Alltech Innovations Blog, including photos, interviews and there will be live streaming of certain sessions.

2011 Alltech Symposium Photo Album

Alltech, Audio, Farming

Rural Empowerment Initiative Announces Harvest Shares

Chuck Zimmerman

A Wisconsin charity has started a unique initiative to try to help starving people in West Africa. The Rural Empowerment Initiative just announced a new program called Harvest Shares Initiative. They want to raise $30K and are seeking it from household gardeners, community farmers, quilt makers and other volunteers.

Rural Empowerment Initiative (REI), a Wisconsin charitable organization, announces Harvest Shares Initiative (HSI), a program which engages local farmers, household gardeners and communities by asking them to share a portion of their agricultural harvest, or other form of involvement, to sustain families in need in West Africa.

REI’s Harvest Shares Initiatives allows individuals, community gardens, family farms and corporate harvesters to share the abundance from a portion of their crops to fund community farms in West Africa that will sustain life and provide hope for families in need.

Hopefully this program will include some effort to help people in West Africa become self sufficient and not just supply aid, although that is truly needed. What do you think of efforts like this?

Post Update:

REI pointed out to me that they do in fact work to help these people become self sufficient. Glad to hear it and sorry I overlooked that point.

“What’s unique about Harvest Shares is that donations from volunteer HSI projects provide long term sustainability for West African families and communities by teaching them to farm and harvest their own nourishment.”

Food, International

Alltech Symposium Kentucky Night Dinner

Chuck Zimmerman

Alltech Symposium Kentucky Night DinnerOne of the highlights of the Alltech International Symposium is the Kentucky Night Dinner. This year it was held again at the Kentucky Horse Park in the Alltech Arena. This was the site of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

So we ate well, enjoyed good fellowship and had a band and dancing. I’ve updated my photo album so you can see what you missed if you’re not here. We’ve got a record attendance of 2,200 here from 72 countries and 48 states in the USA!

Follow the action on the Alltech Innovations Blog, including photos, interviews and there will be live streaming of certain sessions.

2011 Alltech Symposium Photo Album

Alltech

Farm Bureau Estimates Flooded Farm Acres at Over 3.5 Million

Cindy Zimmerman

The American Farm Bureau Federation is estimating that nearly 3.6 million acres of farmland in the southern United States have been impacted by flooding, including about 40 percent of the rice crop.

AFBF received flood damage estimates from individual state Farm Bureaus in the affected areas.

Arkansas topped the list with a million acres affected, including 300,000 acres of rice and 120,000 acres of wheat. Illinois was estimated to have 500,000 acres of farmland under water, with Mississippi and Missouri coming in at 600,000 and 570,000 acres, respectively. Tennessee reported 650,000 acres and Louisiana was pegged at 280,000 acres.

“There is no doubt about it, the effect of the flooding on farmers and ranchers is being felt deeply across the south,” said AFBF Chief Economist Bob Young. “One is reminded of the ’93 or ’95 floods in terms of scale of affected area.”

But, said Young, it’s critical that the government acts quickly to rebuild the levees and allow producers to make plans for the future.

“In many of these areas, agriculture is the major economic driver for the region,” said Young. “While some may be able to get a crop in the ground this year, we need to also think about the long-term economic health of these farms and communities.”

Without the levees in place to protect homes and farms however, it may be hard to make those investments, added Young.

AFBF, Weather