Farmers Speaking Out On Social Media

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCast 298You should know by now that the AgChat Foundation has turned one year old this week and the weekly AgChat Twitter conversation is two years old. I’ll bet even Michele Payn-Knoper (founder) would not have predicted that! So the baby is growing up and there’s lots of interesting things going on as this farmer led organization continues to plough new ground in agricultural communications.

I spoke today with Jeff Fowle, President, AgChat Foundation and California farmer (that’s him under the hat probably tweeting away) to get an update on where we’re at and where we’re going. I also serve on the board of the Foundation and we had a very well attended and exciting board meeting by conference call last night.

Americans may have noticed a new social media trend this past year: more Facebook posts from the farm, more tweets from the tractor and more blogs from the back forty.

The timing of this social media “stampede” couldn’t be better, says Jeff Fowle, president of the AgChat Foundation. Celebrating its one-year anniversary this week, the AgChat Foundation is a 100-percent volunteer organization formed to empower farmers and ranchers to effectively tell their stories using social media. He says in one 2010 study conducted by the Hartman Group, 59 percent of consumers purchasing local said they wanted a “connection to the farmer.”

Bring yourself up to date on what’s going on with the AgChat Foundation by listening to this week’s program: ZimmCast 298 - AgChat Foundation Turns One

Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsor, Growmark, locally owned, globally strong, for their support.

The program ends this week with a song from Music Alley called “Chatshow Queen” by Stuart Willmott.

The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired. Subscribe so you can listen when and where you want. Just go to our Subscribe page

Ag Groups, Audio, Farming, Social Networking, ZimmCast

Have a Veggie Garden? Join the Home Farming Movement.

Melissa Sandfort

Home Farming Day is April 12th, and you can join the Home Farming movement by growing your own veggies and herbs at home. It’s easy. It all begins with a love of fresh, home-grown food…and a seed. From a pot on the windowsill of your apartment to a raised bed in your backyard, Home Farming has all you need for your home farm. Whether you’re a beginner or green-thumbed pro, there’s a place you can go to share and grow.

Here’s what the site can do:
– The Farm Plan tool can help you plan your plot.
– Keep track of your farm activity and share your successes with the community and your Facebook friends.
– Ask and answer questions to gain knowledge, help others, and get involved.

The season kicks off on April 12th with live “plantathons” in New York, L.A. and Tampa…and you could win $1,000 to create the ultimate home farm.

Sign on today and put your home farm on the map.

Farming

Introducing Meghan Grebner

Cindy Zimmerman

Probably should have done this before her first post, but AgWired is proud to introduce Meghan Grebner as our newest blogger.

Many of our readers probably already know Meghan, as she is an active member of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) and is currently serving as regional vice president for the organization. In 2009, she was honored with NAFB’s Horizon Award. She is a great agricultural reporter and photographer and we are grateful to the management of WMBD/WIRL in Peoria for allowing her to blog for us. She has served as agribusiness director for those radio stations since 2007 and is already well known in agricultural communications and marketing circles.

You can expect to hear from Meghan at least once a week with some of the enormous amount of coverage she generates for her stations, both on-air and on the website, CentralIllinoisAg.com. She will also be using her great agricultural background, reporting experience and photography skills to help us with event coverage.

You can also follow Megs on Twitter.com/@mkg81.

Welcome, Megs!

NAFB, ZimmComm Announcement

AgChat Foundation Gear

Chuck Zimmerman

Here’s a cool way to show your support for the AgChat Foundation. Get some gear on.

Show your support for the Agchat Foundation by purchasing branded merchandise! All the profits from the sale of these items go to support the Agchat Foundation’s mission to empower farmers and ranchers to connect communities through social media platforms.

In the store you’ll find shirts, bags, mugs and more.

Uncategorized

Come Boss

Melissa Sandfort

How do you call a cow? It’s not as simple as saying, “Here kitty kitty kitty,” and they come running. We always laugh because my father-in-law has his own little cattle call: Come Boss.

I did a little research to try to figure out where that came from, other than the fact that his father called them that way. I did find that the genus name for cattle (or bovine) is Bos Taurus. So I guess if you’re going back to the origination of the word, “Come Bos” or “Here Bos” makes complete sense.

Now I feel bad for laughing.

The great thing about using this cattle call is that the cows respond. It’s Pavlov’s Theory in action: cattle call = food. And, the use of the two cattle dogs, Jackie and Jeanie, enables my father-in-law to maintain an environment of low-stress cattle handling. There are no pokes, no prods, and the cows don’t get over-excited.

So the next time you’re visiting a cattle ranch and would like to get their attention, try, “Come Boss”. Sounds funny rolling off your tongue, but it works.

Until we walk again …

Uncategorized

A Little Intro… A Little Business

Meghan Grebner

This is my first post on AgWired and Cindy asked that I write a little about myself.

Here are some of the facts:  I’m the daughter of a fourth generation family farmer.  I think I have the greatest job in the world. I get to tell the story of American Agriculture.  Whether it is educating the consumer about the real facts of agriculture or talking to the farmer about new and exciting things related to their industry every day seems to be an adventure.  I am the Agri-Business Director for WMBD and WIRL located in the heart of corn country (Peoria, Ill.).  And the fun stuff… I like to think I’m eccentric.  A little artsy.  I like funky music, even funkier jewelry and creating art from behind the lens of camera. That’s me in the photo with my friend and fellow NAFBer Rick Coyle with Northern Ag Network.

One of the great things about my job – I constantly hear about “new and innovative things”.

While Farmer’s Markets may not be “new and innovative” they are certainly a “hot” topic all year long.  John Aikman became a statistic of the recession.  After Aikman lost his job he says his idle time and over active mind came up with the concept of “Home Grown Cow”.  So what is it?  He’s created a virtual meat market of sorts with a goal or pairing farmers with eaters (what a concept, huh?!) with  some networking along the way.

Often times when I hear ideas like this and it is aimed at promoting organic farming practices only.  What caught my attention with John’s site and business venture – it supports all types of farming practices.  Traditional or organic.  Beef, chicken or lamb. Bulk or cuts.  You decide.  Find a farmer that suits your eating needs.  Aikman says his goal is to make farmers the price makers instead of price takers.

Aikman’s vision will soon become a reality.  While they aren’t quite ready to take orders yet – they are signing up farmers and hope to be fully operational soon.

You can check them out at Home Grown Cow and listen to John’s story here: John's Story

Social Networking

American Ethanol Racing In Texas

Chuck Zimmerman

Another way farming will be showcased on the race track this weekend is when American Ethanol heads to Texas this weekend for the NASCAR Nationwide Series race, the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at the Texas Motor Speedway on April 8th beginning at 8:30 pm EST on ESPN2. While the ethanol logo is on all the race cars, keep your eye on the No. 9 Toyota Camry driven by Kenny Wallace, who is sponsored for the season by the ethanol industry in partnership with the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA).

“It is an honor to be chosen as an American Ethanol spokesperson,” said Wallace who drives for RAB Racing. “I am very passionate about this subject and excited to spread true knowledge about American Ethanol throughout the United States. I’m proud and excited to go to Texas with new sponsor American Ethanol, and most of all I’m looking forward to getting my 10th NASCAR Nationwide Series win.”

During the entire 2011 season, all three of NASCAR’s national touring series will be racing on Sunoco Green E15, a blend of 15 percent corn-based ethanol and 85 percent racing fuel.

NCGA President Bart Schott noted, “Having Wallace as the driver is a great benefit. The RAB Racing team is racing very competitively this season and they are proving to be great proponents for Sunoco Green E15. Kenny understands the important economic and environmental contributions of the nation’s ethanol producers and family corn farmers. As a passionate and media-savvy spokesman, he is helping us reach millions of driving consumers with a positive message about domestic ethanol.”

Ag Groups, Biofuels, Corn, Ethanol, NASCAR

Agriculture Excited About Colombia Free Trade News

Cindy Zimmerman

It’s taken over four years to get to this point, but some action is finally happening on the Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (TPA) and U.S. agriculture interests are thrilled.

President Obama announced today that an agreement has been reached on the deal that was signed by the U.S. Trade Representative and the Colombian trade minister on Nov. 22, 2006. The agreement will now be sent to Congress to ratify. It is estimated that the Colombia agreement could mean U.S. agricultural export gains of more than $815 million per year at full implementation.

According to a USDA Fact Sheet, a variety of agricultural commodities would benefit from the Agreement, as more than half of current U.S. farm exports to Colombia will become duty-free immediately, and virtually all remaining tariffs will be eliminated within 15 years. “Colombia will immediately eliminate duties on wheat, barley, soybeans, soybean meal and flour, high-quality beef, bacon, almost all fruit and vegetable products, wheat, peanuts, whey, cotton, and the vast majority of processed products. The Agreement also provides duty free tariff rate quotas (TRQ) on standard beef, chicken leg quarters, dairy products, corn, sorghum, animal feeds, rice, and soybean oil.”

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) President Bill Donald said it’s essential for the U.S. to take aggressive measures to expand market access for agriculture to stimulate the economy and feed a growing global population. “The cattle industry can breathe a sigh of relief today as the Colombia agreement finally gets the long overdue attention it deserves,” said Donald. “This agreement has collected dust for well over four years while our trade competitors proactively sign, seal and deliver trade pacts.”

American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman says the development is just what a group of Farm Bureau leaders has been pushing for the last two weeks during a visit to Colombia and Panama. “After meetings this week and last with farmers, ranchers and agricultural leaders from Colombia, we know this is a development welcomed by all sides. Trade will help the United States build stronger bonds with our Latin American neighbors, and it makes sense given our advantage of proximity and history of cooperation.”

The National Corn Growers Association says the Colombia FTA would provide immediate access for U.S. corn growers to Colombia’s roughly 2.1 million metric ton market for corn at zero percent duty. “Colombia has traditionally been one of the Top 10 export markets for U.S. corn,” NCGA President Bart Schott said. “This is an important market for U.S. farmers and we do not want to watch this market slip away to our largest competitors.”

National Pork Producers Council President Doug Wolf says the agreement will increase U.S. pork exports to the South American country by $68.9 million and help create 919 U.S. pork industry jobs. “We must implement our pending FTAs to remain competitive,” Wolf said. “Pork producers also support the Korea and Panama FTAs and urge the administration to send them to Congress to be approved by this summer.”

AFBF, Beef, NCBA, NCGA, NPPC, Trade, USDA

Farm American Car On Track In Texas

Chuck Zimmerman

It looks like Furniture Row Racing will have the Farm American car on the track this weekend in Texas. The No. 78 NASCAR Chevrolet will showcase the Farm American colors for the first time in the Samsung Mobile 500 Sprint race.

Regan Smith’s car at the 1.5-mile Texas oval will be known as the No. 78 Farm American Chevrolet, presented by Furniture Row Companies and Agro-Culture Liquid Fertilizers.

“The Farm American program continues to gain momentum which gives farmers and ranchers a national stage to share their story and bridge the dialogue gap between the consumer and members of the agriculture industry,” said Joe Garone, general manager of Furniture Row Racing. “We are excited about Agro-Culture Liquid Fertilizers joining Furniture Row Companies as a partner and becoming our first agribusiness financial partner to join the Farm American program. We continue to seek additional partners and are encouraged by the interest we have received from the agriculture community and also from a wide range of non-agriculture businesses.”

NASCAR

The Sorghum Checkoff Continues

Chuck Zimmerman

It’s official. The Sorghum Checkoff (officially the Sorghum Promotion, Research and Information Order) will continue as announced by USDA today.

“We are pleased to announce that this Checkoff program will continue, and I am confident that this program will further its goal of strengthening the industry and expanding marketing opportunities for sorghum producers and importers,” said USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service Administrator Rayne Pegg.

The referendum took place from Feb. 1, 2011, through Feb. 28, 2011. Of the 1,204 valid ballots cast, 917 or 76.2 percent favored the program and 287 or 23.7 percent opposed continuing the program. For the program to continue, it must have been approved by at least a majority of those eligible persons voting for approval who were engaged in the production and sale of sorghum during the period July 1, 2008, through Dec. 31, 2010.

Here’s how the National Sorghum Producers reacted:

Gerald Simonsen, National Sorghum Producers chairman of the board and sorghum farmer from Ruskin, Neb., proclaimed the results as a huge win for the industry and sorghum farmers across the nation.

“The NSP board recognized a need three years ago for improvement in the sorghum industry in the areas of market development, research and education,” said Simonsen. “We developed a vision, worked with USDA to create the program and are proud of the results the Sorghum Checkoff has produced in its two short years of operation.”

Ag Groups, sorghum, USDA