BCS Communications Strategy For Growth

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCast 285I found out what’s new at BCS Communications at their recent holiday open house party. This is an episode in my series with the leadership of agricultural marketing and communications agencies.

Pictured are the principals, (l-r) Kelly Schwalbe, Leigh Ann Cleaver and Illinois Blaisdel. It was hard to drag them away from friends and clients but we found a place. Part of their story is the fact that they’ve expanded their office space significantly this year as well as their staff. As Illinois says it, it has been a year of finding the “right people” to add to the staff. He says they “hire on character.” (Which explains why they just hired our good friend Sally Behringer – she is definitely a character!) Also important to the interview and for those who attended the party you’ll know what I mean, they have a much larger new snow globe. You can ask them personally what that means exactly.

In our interview you’ll hear how they describe their agency and what they think sets them apart from others. ZimmCast 285 - BCS Communications

This week’s program ends with some music from Music Alley. It’s called “My Baby Likes To Eat” by Alec Berlin.

Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsors, Novus International, and Leica Geosytems for their support.

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

Agencies, Audio, ZimmCast

FMC Appoints Swanson Russell Agency of Record For Crop Business

Chuck Zimmerman

FMC Corporation has just announced that Swanson Russell will be their communications agency of record for their North American crop business.

Effective immediately, Swanson Russell will work with FMC to provide public relations, strategic marketing, media planning, interactive and advertising support for FMC herbicide, insecticide and fungicide crop protection products.

FMC recently added Swanson Russell as an advertising agency to provide additional support for its growing communications needs in 2011 in addition to supporting its Authority® portfolio of residual products. After further evaluating its product portfolios and projected growth, FMC made the decision to reassign all North American Crop business to Swanson Russell.

Agencies, Agribusiness

Are Those Crop Circles?

Melissa Sandfort

On a plane back to Denver, I was listening to the conversation taking place in the row immediately behind me. I heard a gentleman ask of his seat-mate, “Are those crop circles down there?” To which the other man responded, “No, that’s the edge of the field where the water doesn’t reach.” Also knowing the answer, I was about to chime in with: “Alex, what is center-pivot irrigation?”

But, when I was a kid, my dad used pipe irrigation. I remember trudging out through the mud and getting the 4-wheeler stuck, just to switch socks on the pipes and flip which row the water was running down. From the time my brother was 8, he dreaded “laying pipe.” Those long metal (and later PVC) pipes had to be placed at the end of the field rows, by hand, and it was a tedious, time-consuming task. Not to mention, the pipes weren’t lightweight!

The invention of the center pivot has impacted agriculture in a positive way by decreasing the amount of hand labor, increasing efficiencies (uniform application of water and inputs), and enabling irrigation to be done on land that had not been able to support crops in the past. It can also be done on all types of terrain, flat or hilly (ever tried to get water to run uphill?).

And, in doing a little research for this story, I came across an obituary for Robert Daugherty, “A Nebraska manufacturer who reshaped the landscape of rural America by pioneering the use of mechanized center-pivot irrigation systems that watered fields in a circular pattern, died Nov. 24, 2010.Mr. Daugherty began his career in the 1940s as part owner of a machine shop that built farm implements in a simple steel shed. By the time he retired as chairman in 1996, his company, now called Valmont Industries, was doing more than $550 million in business a year.”
And you just thought this was a close-up picture quiz.

Until we walk again…

Uncategorized

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Telvent announced that its agriculture brand, DTN/The Progressive Farmer, released the agriculture industry’s first complete content application (app) specifically designed for the Apple iPad.
  • Syngenta Seeds announced that it will out-license its soybean germplasm to independent seed companies through GreenLeaf Genetics LLC to make its high-performing soybean genetic pipeline more widely available to growers.
  • Hoosier Ag Today will again offer a free daily seminar at the Indiana/Illinois Farm Equipment Show, Dec. 14-16 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.
  • Merial announced the launch of its “Best in Class” initiative, a campaign focused on providing dairies access to valuable information and educational tools to help ensure healthy cows, the highest standard of milk and profitable operations.
    Zimfo Bytes

    New House Ag Committee Chair on GIPSA

    Cindy Zimmerman

    The incoming Republican chairman of the House Agriculture Committee is very unhappy with the proposed Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) rule that he says will likely result in a “tremendously devastating” impact on the livestock sector.

    During the special live 200th episode of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s Cattlemen to Cattlemen program last week, Congressman Frank Lucas (R-OK) said the proposed rule includes language that was defeated in the three previous farm bills.

    “Congress wouldn’t give them authority. It’s a set of rules that they tried to go through the courts to force implementation and a half a dozen court cases rules against them. So, if you can’t get the elected officials to do it, and you can’t get the courts to implement it, then you use the rulemaking process and that’s where we are right now,” said Rep. Lucas. “We had a hearing back in July in the livestock subcommittee where, in a very bipartisan way, we attempted to get the administration and USDA’s attention: Don’t do this. They’ve gone forward anyway and they are continuing that process.” Lucas says the GIPSA rule is “contrary to the will of Congress, contrary to the opinion of the courts in past cases, and I just don’t think it’s good for us.”

    Rep. Lucas also talks about the death tax proposal and plans for writing the 2012 Farm Bill.

    Watch the episode here.

    GIPSA, NCBA

    PRRS Area Regional Control Updates

    Cindy Zimmerman

    The number of PRRS Area Regional Control and Elimination (ARC&E) projects continues to grow in hog producing areas of North America.

    “It actually grows like every month,” says Dr. Laura Batista, a member of the Boehringer Ingelheim (BIVI) PRRS Area Solutions Team, who organized the recent ARC&E workshop and update in Chicago. “Last year I think we were supporting five and now we’re about 14 projects.” Some of the newer projects include Iowa County, IA and north central Illinois, just outside of Chicago.

    Laura says they expect the number of projects to continue growing. “Because some of the projects are not in densely populated areas, we consider some of them pilot projects,” she said. “We need to separate those areas in little clusters. So I think we are going to go to projects where there is more pig population.”

    BIVI embraced the concept of ARC&E for PRRS (Porcine Respiratory and Reproductive Syndrome) about three years ago and created the Area Solutions Team to help coordinate research and support the efforts of ARC&E working groups.

    Listen to my interview with Laura here here: Laura Batista

    2010 BIVI PRRS Area Regional Control Workshop photos

    Audio, Boehringer Ingelheim, Swine

    Free Range Internet Via Ayrstone AyrMesh

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Here’s a company that I did not get to talk with at the recent NAFB convention Trade Talk session. However, the Ayrstone AyrMesh seemed very interesting and I thought I’d bring it to your attention. It sounds good and maybe ZimmComm World Headquarters could use it to improve our wifi experience! If you’ve used one please leave a comment about your experience.

    Now you and your Internet have the run of the place.

    New for people living and working in open spaces: the Ayrstone AyrMeshTM Wi-Fi system. This long-range Wi-Fi provides Internet to your entire farm, homestead or open space by broadcasting your broadband Internet connection. Use your farm Wi-Fi to save time inside, outside and all around your place:

    * Follow your tractor maintenance manual from your laptop instead of wasting time printing it out
    * Key-in data about your farm animals from the barn instead of taking notes in a notebook
    * Furnish Internet access to visitors, employees, contract workers
    * Provide all your kids Internet access at homework time instead of the lineup next to the computer
    * Take your home office out to the porch or under your favorite tree instead of staying cooped-up in the house

    The AyrMesh network extends your home network to your open spaces including workshops, stables, garages, outbuildings and even pasture, without the chore digging in cables. Each AyrMesh Hub provides up to a half-mile of Wi-Fi coverage. Extend your coverage up to 2 miles by linking AyrMesh Hubs through Wi-Fi. Ready to purchase the Ayrstone AyrMesh system?

    Equipment, Internet

    Hoping For His Own Aerial Applicators Business

    Chuck Zimmerman

    The sponsor for one of the National Agricultural Aviation Association/BASF Scholarship winners this year is Waylon Woods, Wood’s Aviation. He’s pictured here (right) with scholarship recipient Matt Kollars. I visited with them during the NAAA convention to find out why Waylon sponsored Matt and what Matt plans to do with his scholarship.

    Waylon says that he worked with Matt during the summer and was impressed with his work ethic. He appreciated his work and his help. He wasn’t surprised when he won and he knows the scholarship will help him a lot. With BASF as my sponsor for NAAA convention coverage I had to ask Waylon what he thought about their products and he says that this year he was “100 percent BASF.” I don’t think it gets any better than that.

    You can listen to my interview with Waylon here: Waylon Woods Interview

    Matt is planning to use the scholarship to continue his flight instruction since he can use the funds to not only get finished but in a more timely manner than he would have been able to otherwise. He says it “means a ton to me.” Matt says it has been a dream of his to fly and ag is a very exciting part of the industry. He hopes to one day have his own business.

    You can listen to my interview with Matt here: Matthew Kollars Interview

    2010 NAAA Convention Photo Album

    AgWired coverage of the NAAA Convention is sponsored by BASF.

    Ag Groups, Agribusiness, Audio, BASF, Education, NAAA

    Grocers Join Opposition Against Farmers

    Joanna Schroeder

    Earlier this week I had the opportunity to interview retired farmer Merle Anderson for my Between the Lines blog (Three Pieces of Advice From the Father of Ethanol). For those who truly know, love and respect Merle, he is none other than the “Father of Ethanol”. Thirty four years ago, Merle got a group of farmers together in Minnesota (he was a farmer in Climax, MN) to see how they could find a home for their surplus crops and their answer: ethanol. For the next 30 years or so, corn happened to be the only crop for ethanol that took off, but if Merle is right, other crops will have their day in the sun too.

    Yet despite the successes of the of corn ethanol industry, there is something that is really bugging him and that is the lack of support from the food industry whom he feels should be supporters of a product that helps the food industry, not hurts, them.

    Below is a letter to the editor from Merle that we have received permission to reprint. After you read it, you will definitely be looking at groceries in your cart a bit differently – even though you grew the food.

    When I walk through the big doors of the Modern Grocery Store it seems like I’m walking through the pearly gates of Food Heaven.

    Then I stop and ask myself if farmers produce most of the basic food items in these places, why does the Grocery Industry Lobby join in a lawsuit against farmers and renewable fuels?

    The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) has lobbied against farmers by blaming ethanol for the high cost of food. Not true! The cost of food is up because of three plus dollars a gallon for fuel prices. Cost of processing, wrapping, boxing, and transportation is where your increased costs are.

    The GMA has recently joined with Big Oil and others opposing groups in a lawsuit against the EPA because E15 was partially approved in our cars and pickups.

    So as I wander through Food Heaven it causes me to ask these questions:Read More

    Agribusiness, Corn, Ethanol