Alltech Opens Iowa Office

Cindy Zimmerman April 21, 2011

Alltech moved into the heartland of America this week with the opening of the animal health and nutrition company’s newest location in Ames, Iowa.

From left to right, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey, Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds, Alltech Director of North America Dr. Mark Lyons, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad and Alltech President and Founder Dr. Pearse Lyons did the ribbon cutting honors to open the company’s 16th office in North America on Wednesday.

Governor Branstad said he was pleased to welcome Alltech to Iowa. “Alltech has consistently demonstrated a commitment to quality in all facets of their business and I believe they will thrive in Iowa where they will have access to a superior workforce and provide valuable resources to Iowa’s agriculture and livestock industry.”

The new Alltech facility will support sales in Iowa, offer a local support site for its growing customer base and help the company to develop a closer partnership with Iowa State University.

Alltech

The Watering Hole

Melissa Sandfort April 21, 2011

I took a pottery class once in college. I think I made a coffee mug or an ash tray with the help of one of my artistic friends. That piece of clay wouldn’t mold if I willed it to.

But this piece of artwork was made to be both beautiful and functional. It’s a vintage whiskey jug or water jug. They’d hand-pump the cold water from the well into this jug, soak a burlap cloth in water and wrap it around to keep it cool, and take it out to the threshers in the field on a hot afternoon.

It’s from the Macomb Pottery company, incorporated in 1880, which eventually became Plant Number Three of Western Stoneware Co in 1906. The most recognizable stoneware they produced was the Cardinal brand of redware along with other specialty lines of stoneware and pottery. Facilities were sold in 1956.

I bet this jug has seen a lot of whiskey and water.

Until we walk again … ]

Uncategorized

Missouri Farmers Rally to Support Changes To Prop B

Chuck Zimmerman April 20, 2011

Here’s to hoping Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon will sign SB 113 into law to try to bring a little common sense to the misguided Prop B that the wackos at HSUS conned voters into supporting. This afternoon a rally was held on the Capitol steps and organized and promoted by Missouri farm groups. You can find out more at Missouri Farmers Care.

Rally to support Missouri Farmers! Using Prop B as a Trojan Horse, radical animal rights groups launched an attack on Missouri agriculture. Now, with Governor Nixon’s help, Missouri Farmers and animal welfare advocates have joined together to create a Missouri solution, but groups like HSUS are none too happy and are planning to protest. We need to send a strong message that Missouri will always Stand Up For Farmers!

I think they did!

Animal Activists

AgHaven Survey Says Farmers Spending More Time Online

Chuck Zimmerman April 20, 2011

Farmers may be spending more time online but according to a survey by AgHaven, they are frustrated by the results. This frustration is one of the main reasons why AgHaven was created according to AgHaven President, Srik Soogoor. I spoke with him at the NAMA conference to learn more.

The farmers and ranchers surveyed who spent more than 30 minutes each day on the Internet jumped from 31 percent five years ago to 75 percent today, according to a new survey conducted by AgHaven. And while 12 percent say they did not use the Internet five years ago, that number has decreased to just 3 percent today.

AgHaven surveyed more than 100 farmers and ranchers to find out their online habits. The results uncovered that more than 80 percent of those surveyed use Google for their ag-related searches, but that nearly half of those surveyed were frustrated when search results were not relevant and there were too many options and answers.

Listen in to my chat with Srik during the Agri-Marketing Conference Connection Point: Interview with Srik Soogoor

2011 Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the 2011 Agri-Marketing Conference is sponsored by

Audio, NAMA

Paulsen Thought Paper On Rural Lifestyle Buying Decisions

Chuck Zimmerman April 20, 2011

During the Agri-Marketing Conference I spoke with Alicia DeGeest (right) and Sara Steever, Paulsen Marketing about their latest thought paper titled, “Rural Lifestylers are Changing the Way They Research and Buy Products.” This ought to catch some attention out there in the AgWired community since this has been discussed a lot over the last couple years. The goal of this project was to learn how online communities, brand advocates and customer reviews are influencing purchase decisions. The study included in person and emailed surveys.

In an earlier study they found that the adoption rate of new technologies like internet penetration between rural and urban people is nearly the same. In this study they wanted to see if rural lifestylers were making decisions outside the normal research processes. Here are some key findings:

1. The rural lifestyle consumers are adopting social media practices at the same rate as general consumers.
2. Like general consumers, rural lifestyle consumers rely on two different types of influencers to help them form brand perceptions and make purchase decisions: micro influencers and macro influencers.
3. The sales process has been altered to reflect a continuous feedback loop between current customers and prospective customers.

Get the full scoop on what Paulsen learned: Interview with Paulsen Marketing

Thanks to Denny Eilers for taking the photo.

2011 Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the 2011 Agri-Marketing Conference is sponsored by

Agencies, Audio, NAMA

Moore Reasons To Attend Brownfield Party

Chuck Zimmerman April 20, 2011

Here’s Jeff Moore, Account Executive, Brownfield Ag News, with some “moore” reasons you should attend a Thursday night Brownfield Party at the NAMA convention. Jeff has been to eight of these events. He says it’s all about taking some time to enjoy fellowship with clients and friends.

I did not see him ride the bull at PBR Big Sky but he says he tried last year and got a time of about 5 seconds. I wonder who got the best time during the party.

Jeff says it’s important to develop personal relationships in business and the party allows that to happen: Interview with Jeff Moore

Follow Jeff on Twitter.

2011 Agri-Marketing Conference Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the 2011 Agri-Marketing Conference is sponsored by

Audio, NAMA

Do Vegetarians Have Smaller Brains?

Melissa Sandfort April 20, 2011

Scientists at the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, have discovered that going veggie could be bad for your brain – with those on a meat-free diet six times more likely to suffer brain shrinkage.

The study involved tests and brain scans on community-dwelling volunteers aged 61 to 87 years without cognitive impairment at enrolment, over a period of five years. When the volunteers were retested five years later the medics found those with the lowest levels of vitamin B12 were also the most likely to have brain shrinkage. It confirms earlier research showing a link between brain atrophy and low levels of B12.

Vegans are the most likely to be deficient because the best sources of the vitamin are meat, particularly liver, milk and fish.

This study confirms other findings which shows that overall human brain sizes have reduced by an average 11 percent since we adopted an agricultural diet based on cereal grains rather than the meat-based diet of our Palaeolithic ancestors.

Source: The Healthy Skeptic

Beef, Poultry

How Do uShip Ag Equipment or Livestock

Chuck Zimmerman April 20, 2011

If you’re shipping heavy ag equipment or livestock then uShip has some ideas they asked us to pass along. A big one is what to do with an empty truck or trailer after it makes a drop off. How about putting something in it for the return trip? It can not only save you money but helps the environment at the same time. You can learn more about Green Shipping on their website. Watch the video to learn how it works.

Since 2004, uShip has made transport and trucking more affordable and efficient. We’ve matched hundreds of thousands of customers’ shipments with the extra space in transporters’ trucks, reducing the number of empty miles on the road and saving people millions of dollars in lowered delivery costs.

But that’s only half of the equation. uShip also has a long-standing partnership with TerraPass, the award-winning carbon offset provider, to purchase credits to further neutralize the negative impact of carbon dioxide emissions created from transport jobs booked on uShip. Whether you’re a customer or a transporter, you can easily participate by purchasing TerraPass credits to make a difference.

Once you’ve created an account you can search to find people and businesses that have heavy haul ag equipment or livestock that they need shipped.

Agribusiness, Environment, Equipment, Video

Leading Ag Investment Meeting Offers Comp Passes To Investors

Chuck Zimmerman April 20, 2011

A little incentive has been given to investors with an “eye on agriculture.” According to FC Business Intelligence demand is high for the latest market insight on global ag opportunities.

This unique forum, taking place in Singapore (June 29-30), will bring together institutional and private investors with top Ag fund managers, to debate strategies for participating in agriculture and surrounding investments.

If you’re an institutional or private investor looking to allocate funds in agriculture and would like to be considered for a complimentary pass, please get in touch directly with George Kiley, Investment Director, FC Business Intelligence on gkiley@aginvestconference.com or + 44 (0)207 3757 545.

As well as timely discussions on private equity investment in the full agriculture supply chain, the challenges and benefits of investing internationally and capitalizing on farmland investment, time has been set aside specifically for one-on-one networking. Read More

International

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