Western Farm Show Update

Chuck Zimmerman

Day two of the Western Farm Show is concluding. I spoke with Jeff Flora, CEO, Southwestern Association, about how the show’s going. He’s very happy with it. Although the weather could cooperate better.

Jeff says that the first night of the Championship Tractor Pull exceeded expectations for attendance and tonight should be even better. I can attest that the traffic was much higher today and as I’m writing this is still strong.

You can listen to my interview with Jeff here: Jeff Flora Interview

2011 Western Farm Show Photo Album

Audio, Western Farm Show

AgWired Gadget Grips

Chuck Zimmerman

One of the items Western Farm Show folks are collecting from the AgWired booth are “gadget grips” that you put on the back of your iPod or mobile phone to keep it from slipping off your dashboard or some inclined surface. They’re great and something we’ve received the most positive feedback over the last several years.

You’ll be able to find them at our booth at the April NAMA Convention just so you know.

2011 Western Farm Show Photo Album

Western Farm Show

Social Media Session At Western Farm Show

Chuck Zimmerman

This morning at the Western Farm Show I conducted a session on social media. The focus was on the “how-to” of social media for communications and marketing purposes. Yesterday my session with Kansas Farmer Darin Grimm, focused more on using social media to agvocate. Thanks to ZimmComm intern John Brown, Columbia College, Columbia, MO for taking the photo for me.

Some of the points that I tried to present using live examples included:

1. If just getting started, pick just one social networking application and use it, get comfortable with it and then expand. Ex. start with Twitter, then add Facebook and then YouTube, etc.

2. Go ahead and register your name or company name for social networking accounts even if you don’t use them right away. It’s a protection thing.

3. When you’re ready to start your blog or Twitter account make sure you post something at some level of frequency and then pay attention to your followers and people who leave comments. Engage them, don’t ignore them.

4. Think of social media as an electronic form of personal discussion. Kind of like participating in a discussion with some people at a cocktail party for example.

5. There are lots of metrics. Start looking at them right away and keep a record of them. They provide a benchmark for comparison over time. And you will need time to let your social networking begin to pay dividends!

We went over a lot more with some great Q&A. Thanks to everyone who attended! I hope to get to do it again soon.

2011 Western Farm Show Photo Album

Western Farm Show

Golden ARC Award Winners

Cindy Zimmerman

Winners of the Agricultural Relations Council (ARC) 2011 Golden ARC Awards Contest were announced at the association’s annual awards banquet in Ft. Myers on Friday night. A total of 24 Golden ARC winners and 19 Merit winners were recognized as the elite in agricultural public relations. The number of entries this year was twice what it was last year!

Agency Weber Shandwick led the prize winners with four Golden ARC Awards and three Merit awards for clients Syngenta Seeds and Dairy Management Inc. On the corporate side, Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health won three Golden ARC Awards and two Merit Awards.

Other organizations winning multiple awards included Osborn & Barr with three Golden ARC Awards and four Merit Awards; Syngenta Seeds with two Golden ARC Awards and three Merit Awards; CHS with two Golden ARC Awards and two Merit Awards; Charleston Orwig and Dairy Management Inc. with two Golden ARC Awards and one Merit; Egg Farmers of Ontario, David & Associates, Pfizer Animal Health and Bader Rutter & Associates each with two Golden ARC Awards; National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and Rhea + Kaiser (Bayer CropScience) with one Golden ARC Award and two Merit Awards each; and Arm & Hammer Animal Nutrition with one Golden ARC Award and one Merit Award.

The American Farm Bureau Federation won in the podcast category for their “FoodieCast Thanksgiving Special” and in the Blogs/Electronic Newsletters category, the winner was – ZimmComm New Media for the National Corn Growers Association Corn Commentary blog! Congrats to all!

Find out all the winners in all the categories here.

Here is my photo album from the event – 2011 ARC Meeting – not the best photos I have ever taken since I was just using my little “toy camera” (Canon Power Shot). We were getting our good cameras and lenses serviced and checked out for Commodity Classic next week. If any ARC members (like Janice or Amy who were using better cameras) would like to send me some, I will add them to the photo album.

ARC

Kentucky Corn Growers Ready To Plant

Chuck Zimmerman

Adam AndrewsAdam Andrews, Kentucky Corn Growers Association Director of Programs (right), says they were at the National Farm Machinery Show to talk to members and also to resolve issues with friends throughout the industry. The show provides them a good opportunity to interact with a lot of members. He says the American Ethanol show car opened a lot of eyes about the level of involvement they have in promoting the use of the renewable fuel. They had a drawing for tickets to an upcoming race in Kentucky.

Looking ahead he says growers are excited about the new season since they had an early harvest last year. That gave them time to get caught up on a lot of projects on the farm. He says that within in the next three weeks Kentucky growers will be planting.

You can listen to my interview with Adam here: Adam Andrews Interview

Follow them on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr or visit their blog.

2011 National Farm Machinery Show Photo Album

AgWired coverage at the National Farm Machinery Show is sponsored by:
New Holland

Ag Groups, Corn, National Farm Machinery Show

I Am Angus Makes Connections

Chuck Zimmerman

Beginning this week we’ll be posting a regular video from the American Angus Association. This week we’re featuring the following video that is part of a show, I Am Angus. The show will air this coming Monday. Here’s more information on it.

Monday evening’s “I Am Angus” episode — titled “Connections” — celebrates the relationship between America’s cattle ranchers and those who consume the quality Angus beef they raise. In this segment, Dr. Bernie Rollin discusses the ancient contract between animals and their human caretakers, and the implications of animal husbandry on the modern world. Watch the entire program on RFD-TV Monday evening at 7 p.m. CST or view all of the segments next week on www.angus.org. Also featured on the program are Dr. Temple Grandin; C.J. Hadley, publisher of Range magazine; and W.A. McHenry, Civil War veteran who produced what may be the greatest Angus bull ever.

Ag Groups, Video

Announcing Western Farm Show Tractor Pull

Chuck Zimmerman

The voice of the Championship Tractor Pull at the Western Farm Show is Dave Bennett. He was also one of the announcers last week at the National Farm Machinery Show Championship Tractor Pull. I was there and I can tell you he does a great job.

Dave stopped by the AgWired booth this morning to talk about the return of the tractor pull to the show. It has been many years (almost 30) since the events were held together. Dave started his tractor pull announcing even before then. He says that an indoor tractor pull isn’t new but that diesel engine tractors was more recent since they need smoke tubes and exhaust fans to handle the smoke. He says we’ll have nine classes and you won’t see the same equipment twice.

You can listen to my interview with Dave here: Dave Bennett Interview

2011 Western Farm Show Photo Album

Audio, Tractor, Western Farm Show

Precision Ag At Oklahoma State University

Chuck Zimmerman

My first interview at the Western Farm Show is fellow exhibitor Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology. I spoke with Steve Doede, Division Chair and Carlos Augusto, Faculty, Precision Ag Technology.

Here at the show they’re enticing students to attend their programs in precision ag and technician training. They’re offering in-state college tuition rates even for out of state students! That’s a big savings. This is being done in conjunction with the Southwestern Association Technician Program. If you’d like to take part then give them a call or stop by their booth here at the show for a tuition waiver note!

Carlos gave me a broad overview of their precision ag program starting with the Kubota utility vehicle in their booth that has been equipped with a sprayer and Trimble and Norac equipment. He says they have developed a curriculum that prepares students of all ages to move into the field prepared to work with any precision equipment. They’ve developed close relationships with all manufacturers and host them in each year to help guide them in terms of class offering.

You can listen to my interview with Steve and Carlos here: OSU Institute of Technology Interview

2011 Western Farm Show Photo Album

Audio, Education, Precision Agriculture, Western Farm Show

Opening of Western Farm Show

Chuck Zimmerman

The 50th Western Farm Show got started this morning with a proclamation from the City Council of Kansas City. On hand to present the proclamation was Cindy Circo, City Coucilwoman. Receiving the proclamation was Jeff Flora Western Farm Show, CEO.

You can listen to the Cindy read the proclamation and Jeff’s comments here: Western Farm Show Proclamation

Post Update: I’ve now got a photo album started which I’ll be adding to periodically (as usual): 2011 Western Farm Show Photo Album

Audio, Western Farm Show

ARC Meeting in Ft. Myers

Cindy Zimmerman

This happy group of agricultural PR professionals are meeting in Ft. Myers, where the weather is in the 80s and gorgeous, while the Midwest is back in the cold and snow. We feel bad (not!).

The Ag Relations Council annual meeting enjoyed a dinner cruise on the Gulf of Mexico with near perfect weather – okay, it was perfect. We even got treated to a couple of friendly dolphins playing around the dock and the boat.

Today we are out touring fruit, vegetable, citrus and cattle operations in southwest Florida, courtesy of Gary Cooper with Southeast Agnet. Hope to upload photos later but the upload speed at the hotel is really not good. I am doing this post from our first tour stop – Worden Farm. More to come….

ARC