Novus Introduces New Products

Cindy Zimmerman March 23, 2011

CIBENZA DP100 is a new dietary enzyme from Novus International allows poultry producers improved control over their feed rations.

“CIBENZA DP100 is a real game changer,” says Dr. Scott Carter, Global Poultry Market Manager for Novus. “This dietary enzyme is formulated to give poultry producers much more control over their protein ingredients. CIBENZA DP100 offers the flexibility to incorporate more cost-effective protein sources into diets with no sacrifice in performance, or maximize performance in birds that receive rations formulated with the highest quality protein ingredients.”

According to Novus, CIBENZA DP100 allows producers to enhance the digestibility of a broad range of vegetable and animal-based proteins, from highly digestible soybean meal to feather meal, which falls at the other end of the digestibility spectrum.

To complement CIBENZA DP100, Novus has also introduced IDEA™, the first assay of its kind that provides an “almost immediate understanding of the digestibility of various protein sources, which allows producers to quickly make changes that can result in significant feed-cost savings.”

Novus developed IDEA because there was a need for a rapid cost-effective assay technology that could allow producers to accurately evaluate and quantify protein and amino acid digestibility. The more accurate assessment of the actual quality of protein ingredients eliminates the need to over-formulate for either peace of mind, or insurance purposes. With the knowledge of the quality of their protein source in hand, poultry producers can then more effectively use CIBENZA DP100 to expand their protein options to maximize performance or enhance feed-cost savings.

Novus International, Poultry

March is Peanut Month

Cindy Zimmerman March 23, 2011

March is National Peanut Month and to celebrate it, the Georgia peanut industry brought peanuts to the state capitol last week.

In addition to providing plenty of grilled PB&J’s and boiled peanuts, the peanut industry put on a program about the importance of peanuts to the state.

“Peanuts are Georgia’s Official State Crop and the state boasts the largest share of peanut production in the U.S. at nearly fifty percent,” says Armond Morris, chairman of the Georgia Peanut Commission. “Georgia’s 4,500 peanut farmers contribute approximately $2 billion annually to the state and local economy.”

Coincidentally, March is National Nutrition Month – a great time to recognize the nutritional value of peanuts. One serving of peanuts is a good source of protein, Vitamin E, Niacin, Folate, Phosphorus and Magnesium. Peanuts are naturally cholesterol-free and low in saturated fat.

The sponsored program also included the latest in peanut research being done by University of Georgia Peanut Team and the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Peanut Research Lab in Dawson, Ga.

Peanuts

When Will Planting Start

Chuck Zimmerman March 23, 2011

Our latest ZimmPoll didn’t really generate a lot of responses. I thought that there would be a lot of excitement about planting. However, the results are in. So your answer to the question, “When will planting season start this year?” is as follows: 37 percent say later than average, 36 percent say at the five year average (late March) and 27 percent say sooner than average. I’m guessing that some of those “sooner” folks are already out in the field!

Our next ZimmPoll is now live and asks the question, “How will Japan disaster affect US agricultural exports?” Our hearts go out to the people in Japan by the way. It is a disaster of monumental proportions. There are many organizations providing assistance and we hope you’ll support them. Let us know what you think and thank you for participating.

ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.

ZimmPoll

USDA ERS Atlas of Rural and Small Town America

Chuck Zimmerman March 23, 2011

USDA’s Economic Research Service has created an online Atlas of Rural and Small Town America that you might find interesting. It’s an interactive map that allows you to select broad categories of data including people, jobs and agriculture. You can select specific counties to get information or areas like regions and states.

ERS promotes the well-being of rural America through research and analysis to better understand the economic, demographic, environmental, and social forces affecting rural regions and communities. In collaboration with other USDA agencies, ERS research helps provide rural residents and community and business leaders with the knowledge and skills to help their communities thrive in the global economy.
The objectives of the Atlas are:

* To provide a spatial interpretation of county-level, economic and social conditions along four dimensions: people, jobs, agriculture, and county classifications.
* To highlight the value of the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey as a new source of county data and to bring together data from several different Federal sources.
* To allow the use of socioeconomic indicators jointly with ERS county typologies to better understand the diverse opportunities and challenges facing rural regions and communities.

Thanks to @AFBFMace and @Cottonaggie for the heads up.

USDA

Pioneer Partners With NBC Learn

Chuck Zimmerman March 22, 2011

At the Commodity Classic Pioneer announced a “partnership with NBC Learn, the education arm of NBC News, to bring science to life for high school students in Iowa and Illinois. The program is focused on building students’ understanding and interest in agricultural science by providing innovative, video-based educational resources to schools at no cost.” I spoke with Todd Frazier about the program to learn more.

You can listen to my interview with Todd here: Interview with Todd Frazier
Through this partnership, Pioneer will fund subscriptions to the NBC Learn Science Collections for 40 schools in Iowa and Illinois for the 2011-2012 school year. The partnership was announced at Commodity Classic in Tampa, Fla.

Through the grant from Pioneer, NBC Learn will make available more than a thousand video clips from NBC News archives, plus current NBC News science coverage, to Iowa and Illinois teachers, students and schools to use as teaching tools.

“Meeting the challenge of doubling agricultural productivity by 2050 is dependent on the next generation of young talent with an interest and understanding of agriculture,” said Judd O’Connor, vice president – Pioneer Hi-Bred. “We are proud to support the expansion of the NBC Learn science curriculum across Iowa and Illinois to help engage young people in the opportunities available in this growing industry.”

“NBC Learn is proud to partner with Pioneer and DuPont to make compelling real-life stories of agricultural science available to students and teachers. Through this effort, NBC Learn hopes to inspire a new generation of students devoted to innovation in agriscience,” said Soraya Gage, executive producer – NBC Learn.

I joined the press conference late but you can listen in here (includes Q&A): Pioneer Press Conference

2011 Commodity Classic Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the 2011 Commodity Classic
is sponsored by: and

Agribusiness, Audio, Commodity Classic, Pioneer

ARC Announces Agricultural Public Relations Hall of Fame

Chuck Zimmerman March 22, 2011

The board of directors of the Agricultural Relations Council (ARC) has approved creation of the first agricultural hall of fame for public relations to recognize individuals for lifetime achievement. Our friends at Agri Marketing magazine are the founding sponsor of the ARC Agricultural Public Relations Hall of Fame. The first awards will be presented next year to one or more deserving ag public relations professionals.

“This new hall of fame will very simply and properly recognize legends in ag public relations,” said Deron Johnson, immediate past president of the ARC board of directors and creator of the concept. “As ARC marks its 58th anniversary in 2011, it’s a perfect time to launch a formal program that honors those who have made important contributions to the execution and advancement of agricultural public relations.”

Mace Thornton, president of the board, says ARC is the right organization to found and present this award each year. “Our mission is to serve the unique needs of public relations professionals in agriculture, food, fiber and other related industries,” Thornton says. “We are eager to recognize those who came before us and paved the way for what we accomplish today for the ag industry.”

During the organization’s annual meeting in Fort Myers, Fla., in February, the ARC board began considering a re-branded recognition program that would fold the current Founders Award into a revamped award to be presented annually by the national organization. Thus, the hall of fame concept was born.

“We are thrilled to be part of this new program,” said Lynn Henderson, Agri Marketing magazine publisher and founding sponsor of the ARC Agricultural Public Relations Hall of Fame program. “This new award is long overdue and we are excited to publicize and promote this program throughout the ag communications industry.

Thornton said a committee will be formed soon to develop criteria. This announcement is another in a series of developments over the past two years that has brought the ARC back to prominence. The ARC also recognizes creative work with the Golden ARC Award Program, also recently re-instituted by the organization.

If you’d like to serve on the committee please contact ARC President Mace Thorton or ARC Executive Director Den Gardner.

ARC

Alltech Restructures Marketing Team

Cindy Zimmerman March 22, 2011

Alltech recently announced the restructuring of its global headquarters marketing team based in Nicholasville, Kentucky.

“The Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games transformed Alltech,” said Dr. Pearse Lyons, president and founder of Alltech. “We are a stronger company internally as a result of the teamwork required to make the event a success, and our increased profile in the past few years has led to innumerable opportunities. With this in mind, we must ensure that we do not continue business as usual, but we are placing the right people in the right places to move Alltech forward. Our best days are ahead of us.”

“As our industry environment and our customers’ businesses evolve, so too must the Alltech team to ensure we continuously deliver value,” said Catherine Keogh, global marketing director for Alltech. “Our core mission – the ACE Principle through which we provide natural nutritional solutions that benefit the Animal, Consumer, and Environment – remains unchanged. Today this mission is more relevant than ever.”

Keogh has returned to the company’s headquarters in Nicholasville, Ky. to revamp Alltech’s marketing strategy for North America. A resident of France and a native of Ireland, she has led the company’s global marketing strategy for nearly 20 years.

Among the changes at Alltech, our good friend Billy Frey has been named Advertising and Digital Marketing Manager. Frey, an 11-year veteran at Alltech, has assumed leadership of Alltech’s in-house media studios and will be focused on driving the company’s message through global advertising and emerging media strategies. For the past six years, Frey was the North America PR manager.

Alltech

GROWMARK Names 2011 Essay Contest Winner

Chuck Zimmerman March 22, 2011

For the eighteenth year, GROWMARK held it’s Iowa Essay Contest. The winner in 2011 is Sarah Goode of Coggon, Iowa.

The theme of this year’s contest was “The Importance of Agriculture in Everyday Life.” In her contest entry, Goode said: “At the forefront of technology and innovative comprehension, agriculture provides for our basic needs and cravings, aiding our way of life to be physically and emotionally fulfilling.”

As the contest winner, Goode will receive a $500 scholarship from GROWMARK at the Iowa FFA State Leadership Conference, held in Des Moines during April. The North-Linn FFA chapter will also receive a $300 award in honor of her accomplishment to help future students.

Four state runners-up will each receive a $125 scholarship. The runners-up and their FFA chapters are, in alphabetical order: Katie Johnson, Okoboji FFA, Milford, Iowa; Dustin Konrad, Des Moines FFA, Des Moines, Iowa; Samuel Reilly, Midland FFA, Oxford Junction, Iowa; and Jordan Walker, Emmetsburg FFA, Emmetsburg, Iowa.

Education, GROWMARK

iPad 2 Review

Chuck Zimmerman March 22, 2011

I got the new iPad 2 yesterday and thought I’d share my first impressions. In fact I’m typing this on the new one with the WordPress app. The first comment is that thinner and lighter are an apt description. It just feels sleeker. And the first wasn’t bad. So for portability purposes this is a plus.

With iTunes, syncing all my stuff was a breeze. I had backed up my old iPad first of course. Then just plugged the sync cable in and that was that. It just doesn’t get any easier than that. I’m typing on the built in keyboard because I forgot my wireless one. But it is not as difficult as some people have made it out to be.

I have all my same apps. The ones I use the most are Mail, Twitter, The Weather Channel, Kindle, Netflix, iPod, Newspapers, USA Today, iBreviary, Maps, Safari, Google, Friendly, Contacts and Calendar but I have a lot more including 1Password, iDisk, DocsToGo, Dropbox. Apps are where it’s at!

The new iPad is a little easier to hold while sitting because it is lighter and I have to comment on the new smart cover. I’ve got a white iPad with the blue leather smart cover. This cover is cool! It attaches with magnets and knows where to fit them. It only covers the screen but that’s okay with me. I’m going to be putting this into a carry on bag or have it lying on a coffee table. I’m not worried about scratching the back. The cover turns it off when I close it automatically. Then the iPad turns on instantly when I open it! That doesn’t sound like much but its a nice user friendly feature. The cover is in panels that allow you to either swing it around to the back to read your book or fold into several configurations as a stand like I’m doing now to type. I recommend this cover!

Now let’s talk about some other improvements. Can you say cameras? Front and back and I’ve already used FaceTime with a friend. Works great. I haven’t used Skype on it yet but I’m sure that will work fine too. Having these cameras opens up a whole new world of opportunities!

Before I got it I was asked if it would have a USB port. It does not. But I had already gotten the camera kit which includes a USB adapter that worked fine on my original. That let’s me connect a Multi card reader for example to plug in compact flash cards.

I also bought the original adapter to let me plug this into a projector but still haven’t found this to be too useful. But then I really don’t use Keynote (PowerPoint) that much. I don’t use this to plug into a wide screen tv either. I have my Apple TV for that.

Finally, I have the wifi only version. I either use this where I have wifi or I have my iPhone 4 with a tethering account to create my own wifi. I saw no need to have an extra monthly bill! Does this replace my MacBook Pro? No way. Do I use it a lot? Yes. I have learned to love reading books and watching movies on it. It’s great for checking email, Twitter and Facebook. It’s a lot easier to pull out on the plane and use. I do wish they’d get rid of that rule to have all electronic devices turned off on takeoff and landing though!

So there you have it. It gets my highest recommendation. What did I do with my original? It has replaced Cindy’s Sony Reader. Now if Sony and Apple would just see eye to eye on their app . . .

Post Update: I added the photo after I got back from the coffee shop.

Apps, Equipment

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