New NCGA Staffer

Melissa Sandfort

NCGA welcomes Alaina Schultz as the new Corn Yield Contest Coordinator. Schultz, having already assisted NCGA through temporary positions supporting both the contest and membership matters, hits the ground running, crucial as the National Corn Yield Contest continues to grow and evolve.

Schultz officially joins NCGA’s St. Louis-based Production and Utilization Department, assisting with all areas of the contest, such as entry and harvest data, communications with participants and industry partners, rules development and implementation, award programs and other responsibilities. Additionally, Schultz will assist the Marketing Department working to process memberships.

Schultz comes into her new role as the contest continues to see explosive growth. Since 2007, participation in the contest has grown by 44 percent. Schultz, a Melvin, Ill., native, holds an Associate of Arts degree in Business and Hospitality Management.

NCGA

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Murray Wise Associates LLC has announced the addition of Matt Conlon to its Clarion, Iowa, office.
  • The University of Illinois is holding its 2011 Bioenergy Feedstocks Symposium on Jan. 11 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Jan. 12 from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at University of Illinois I Hotel and Conference Center in Champaign.
  • Ingersoll Tillage Group is set to launch its latest vertical tillage innovation at this year’s AG CONNECT Expo in Atlanta, Ga.
  • Farmers National Company is pleased to announce that Andy Hubert, Accredited Farm Manager of Geneva, Neb., has been named the company’s 2010 Farm Manager of the Year.
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    Get Educated at AG CONNECT

    Cindy Zimmerman

    The second AG CONNECT Expo is now just days away in Atlanta and if you are attending, make sure you check out all of the educational events on tap.

    There will be a lot more people at this second event than there were at the inaugural event in Orlando last year and there will be even more educational opportunities – including breakout sessions, the Progressive Farmer Innovations Theater, new Town Hall forums, and Farm Journal Media presents.

    Sustainability is the number one issue for agriculture and the first on the agenda for educational breakout sessions starting on Friday at 9:30 am. Business Management is on tap for Friday afternoon from 1:30-2:30 with two concurrent sessions, The Impacts of Risk on Supply Chain Management and Implementing an On-Farm Research Program for Your Farm.

    Saturday will have three different time frames with concurrent sessions – a total of 11 different sessions on all kinds of topics including land values, irrigation, precision technology, environmental issues, weather, markets, and even using smart phones on the farm. Sunday sessions in the morning and afternoon will focus on topics such as first aid, financial planning, on-farm wireless internet, no till and timber for biomass.

    Two final sessions on Monday morning will answer the questions How Does Your Farm Measure Up? and When Is the Best Time to Buy Your Fertilizer?

    There is so much more I can’t get it all in one post – check out the list of educational opportunities here or use the handy search function on the AG CONNECT website to create a customized agenda based on your own personal interests.

    Education

    Ayrmesh Now Powering ZimmComm Internet

    Chuck Zimmerman

    I have a working Ayrmesh hub now working at ZimmComm World Headquarters. As I posted recently this is a product that creates what is affectionately called “free range internet.” Made by Ayrstone Productivity, the Ayrmesh creates a strong, stable internet wifi cloud, which if placed properly can go a long distance. By adding additional hubs that range can be extended too.

    I learned more about the company and the product by talking with Bill Moffitt, a techno geek like me. He says the company was created to bring technology to rural areas to help farmers and others become more productive. One of the ways anyone in business today accomplishes this is by strategically using the internet. Bill says they are even working with Raven Industries on precision applications. Raven is building wifi into their products. This allows for an easier way to transfer data and without monthly cellular charges. There are a lot of other ways that the Ayrmesh can help farmers. One I can think of is becoming more active agvocates!

    Listen in to my conversation with Bill to learn all about how to get some free range internet on your farm. Interview with Bill Moffitt

    Audio, Equipment, Internet

    Zimfo Bytes

    Melissa Sandfort

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    A Matter of Geography

    Melissa Sandfort

    I woke up one morning last week with a crick in my neck, which reminded me of the crick right on the edge of Brock. To some of you, it might be a creek. The creek, instead, is about ¼ mile from where we live now. The crick is outside of Brock. See the difference? Maybe it’s all a matter of geography.

    Like sorghum. I did a stint working on some PR for a crop protection company. I’d say chemical company, but that has a negative connotation to some folks. They made a product for use on sorghum. You mean milo? Yeah, we used to raise milo.

    And ‘round here, we call it pop. I was “city-fied” for a while and said soda, but now it’s just plain ‘ol pop.

    So, when I give you directions to go past the creek by our house, and the crick in Brock, you know exactly how to get there, right?

    Until we walk again …

    Uncategorized

    Register For Agvocate Training In Atlanta

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Here’s an update on the agvocate social media training session that will take place this Saturday, from 3-6pm in Atlanta in conjunction with AG CONNECT Expo. I’m currently early on the program with a session on “Tools & Technology for the Trade.” Other sessions include: 3 on using Twitter, 3 on using Facebook, Effective Blogging and small group training. If you haven’t registered to attend then please do so now.

    This agvocate training session is being conducted by the AgChat Foundation. If you’ve got questions please feel free to send an email to info@agchat.org.

    See you there.

    Uncategorized

    Zimfo Bytes

    Melissa Sandfort

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    • The Senninger UP3 received the most innovative new agricultural product of 2010 from the Irrigation Association at the IA annual international irrigation show.
    • DuPont announced it has acquired Seed Consultants, Inc., Washington C.H., Ohio, and Terral Seed, Lake Providence, La., as part of its Pioneer Hi-Bred PROaccess business strategy.
    • The preliminary findings of a months-long study that examines how wind turbines on farmlands interact with surrounding crops were presented at the annual fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union.
    • Farmland prices continue to defy economic forces that are pulling down other real estate values. A panel of Purdue University experts will discuss what factors are behind the steady rise in farmland values during a free webinar.
      Zimfo Bytes

      Happy New Year Survey Winner

      Cindy Zimmerman

      The new year is starting off a little greener for the latest winner in our ZimmComm publication survey drawing.

      The winner for December is Michelle Stahlhut, an Agwired reader and crop farmer from Indiana. Michelle actually filled out her survey in November and since we put all the entries back in the pot for the next month, she was the lucky pick today and will be receiving a check for $250 from us.

      Among the topics that Michelle says she would like see covered by us in 2011 are sustainability, beginning farmer programs, organic industry, small farm policy, meat processing.

      Sustainability is definitely the topic that most people who have responded to the survey so far would like to see more coverage about. Many of those who responded to that question said they appreciate the wide variety of topics we cover here on Agwired, especially new technology.

      Here are a few interesting notes about our Agwired readers that we have learned so far:

      Occupation –
      22% Advertising/Marketing/Sales
      19% Communications/PR
      19% Production Agriculture (livestock or crop)

      43% follow Agwired on Twitter

      Topics of most interest – Agribusiness 80%; Policy 54%; Farming 53%

      The survey continues through January, so please fill it out before the end of the month, if you haven’t done so yet. All entries received so far will be entered to win in the last drawing for $250, which will be held on February 1.

      Agwired survey link

      ZimmComm Announcement

      The Best of 2010 on Agwired

      Cindy Zimmerman

      2010 was a very busy year on Agwired, but no different than normal! We spent a total of 172 days on the road covering more than 60 different events from coast to coast, as well as Mexico and the Netherlands.

      Traffic was up 17% on Agwired this year to a grand total of more than 185,000 unique visitors. We had a total of 1580 posts this year, including more than 530 with audio. We posted nearly 16,000 photos on Flickr and 103 videos on YouTube.

      The most popular YouTube video of the year was the unveiling of the Chip Foose designed John Deere tractor at Commodity Classic, which has been viewed nearly 13,000 times. Videos from the John Deere XUV media event were viewed over 5,000 times. Other top videos of the year including the unveiling of the New Holland T8 & T9 Tractors, Opening Day at National Farm Machinery Show, AG CONNECT Expo Preview, General Motors Exec at the National Ethanol Conference, President Obama at the POET plant, AgLeader at AG CONNECT, Kip Cullers New Record, and the fly-by at the National Agricultural Aviation Association meeting.

      Most popular ZimmCasts of the year were BASF and One Hungry Planet and Exposing HSUS with David Martosko.

      According to page views, the most popular stories of the year on Agwired were:
      Cost of Thanksgiving Dinner
      New John Deere Gator XUV
      iPad Review part one and Part Two
      Chip Foose 4020 Unveiled
      Record Phone Calls on iPhone
      Missourians for Animal Care Launch
      William Shatner at Alltech FEI Games
      New Holland Unveils T8 & T9 Tractors

      Thanks to our readers, our sponsors and clients, our freelancers and other friends for making 2010 great! Best wishes to all for a healthy, happy, prosperous and blessed new year!

      ZimmComm Announcement