Vilsack Defends GIPSA on AgriTalk

Cindy Zimmerman

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack defended the proposed Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) rule during a segment on Agri-Talk yesterday, after an economic study was released showing that implementing the rule as proposed would cost 104,000 jobs and $14 billion to the economy.

Vilsack says it is “unfair and inaccurate” for livestock and meat groups to say that no economic analysis has been done by USDA regarding the rule. “We are required … to assess the potential costs and benefits of regulatory action,” said Vilsack. “We looked at the impact of this proposal on small entities, we analyzed effective alternatives that minimize the impact and we made this analysis available for public comment.”

Vilsack says the analysis is available on pages 35345-35349 of the Federal Register where the rule was first published on June 22, 2010. If you check it out, you will find that it says “a summary cost-benefit analysis is presented.” However, not being well versed in the language of bureaucrats, I couldn’t figure out exactly what it says. It does refer to some of the costs that producers and suppliers might have to incur under the rule, but I think the difference here is that the Dunham study focuses more broadly on the costs to the economy as a whole in terms of employment and GDP. There does not seem to be any such broad economic analysis in the Federal Register.

Vilsack was on Agri-Talk yesterday to discuss his renewable fuels initiatives announcement, so the GIPSA comments were secondary. It seems to be the most the secretary has said in regard to the rule since it was released. Listen to it here. Vilsack Discusses GIPSA on AgriTalk

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association president Steve Foglesong will be on AgriTalk Monday to discuss the proposed rule, which NCBA fears will have unintended consequences and result in harming cattle producers. Public comment is being accepted on the rule through November 22.

GIPSA, USDA

Hoosier Ag Today Awards 4H Scholarship

Cindy Zimmerman

Hoosier Ag Today (HAT) is encouraging young people to get into the communications field for agriculture.

For the second year, HAT has sponsored the 4H Communications Scholarship award in Indiana. This year’s winner is Katherine Gambill from Vigo County, Indiana. HAT founder and longtime NAFB farm broadcaster Gary Truitt says they chose to sponsor the scholarship program because agriculture needs good communicators to help tell the story of modern food production and of the value of our rural communities.

Hoosier Ag Today was founded in 2006 for the specific purpose of serving the informational needs of the Hoosier agricultural community. HAT currently has 42 radio stations broadcasting its programs.

This week, Gary and his staff are busy with wall-to-wall coverage of the 83rd Annual FFA Convention being held in Indianapolis. Check out full coverage on the HAT CHAT blog!

Media, NAFB

New Study Shows GIPSA Rule Would Cost Jobs

Cindy Zimmerman

An economic impact study conducted by John Dunham and Associates concludes that the administration’s proposed rule on livestock marketing could leave approximately 104,000 Americans without jobs and a resulting $14 billion reduction in the National Gross Domestic Product (GDP). USDA’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) proposed the rule on June 21, 2010 and it is currently in the comment period, which will end on November 22.

“As an economist who makes his living studying and modeling the economic impact of government regulations on businesses and industries, I have seen firsthand the unintended consequences of misguided policy proposals like the one proposed by USDA,” noted John Dunham, president of John Dunham and Associates, who conducted the study. “It is noteworthy that USDA says this proposal will revitalize rural America, yet my analysis shows it will actually cause substantial job losses.”

Listen to John Dunham explain the study and results here: John Dunham on GIPSA Rule Economic Study

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association President (NCBA) Steve Foglesong said they believe the rule goes beyond the intent of Congress and serves as another example of government overreach into private business. He says the report shows the economic devastation that will likely result from implementing this regulation.

“I am tired of hearing this Administration talk about job creation when their efforts seem to be more focused on job destruction,” said Foglesong. “Enough is enough. Congress did not direct USDA to write a rule that would take away the rights of cattle producers to be innovative and creative by embarking on contract agreements for premium, consumer-demanded beef. The goal of cattle producers is to provide the very best and safest product possible, while sustaining our family owned operations for future generations. I wish the administration would help us accomplish these goals and not throw them down the drain along with 104,000 jobs.”

The study found that retail meat prices would go up 3.33 percent at a national level, which would result in a 1.68 percent decrease in consumer demand. Foglesong said family farms and ranchers would also witness a reduction in beef demand and profitability. He said it is unfortunate that this study was even conducted but USDA left no choice. USDA did not conduct a comprehensive economic analysis and has indicated to 115 members of Congress calling for an economic study that one will not be conducted.

The study, commissioned by the American Meat Institute, is available online in an interactive format that aggregates economic impact on national, state and congressional district levels. It can be found at MeatFuelsAmerica.com/GIPSA. More information on how the rule may affect cattle producers can be found on the NCBA website.

GIPSA, Livestock, NCBA

Alltech Improves Crops

Chuck Zimmerman

Most people think of animal health when they think of Alltech. But did you know that they are also involved in plant and crop health? I learned this at the recent Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games when VP, Aidan Connolly (pictured right), introduced me to Molly Dugan. Molly told me all about Improcrop, a subsidiary of Alltech.

She says that they offer alternative products to chemical pesticides and fertilizers. They are all natural products which increases nutrient uptake and moisture retention and fight disease in a natural way. Molly says that besides crops they have also moved into gardening by teaming up with Jon Carloftis Fine Gardens on a series of products like Bloom & Fruit and Soil & Root. You can listen to my interview with Molly: Molly Dugan Interview

Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games Photo Album

Alltech, Audio

Quarry Integrated Communications Has A Sharpened Focus

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCast 278Continuing my series of conversations with agrimarketing agency leaders this program features Bob Wilbur, Senior Vice President, Quarry Integrated Communications. Quarry was the sponsor of my coverage of the recent NAMA Trends In Ag conference for which I thank them very much.

Bob says they “see the world changing.” Those changes are changing what they do and how they do it. One of them is a transformation of their work space at the company headquarters in Canada. They also have a “sharpened focus” which he says is a description of what they do which is “to help our clients convert branding into buying.” It’s shaped by two drivers that include: clients that are marketers of highly engineered products that have to make very complex buying decisions and that take a high degree of risk with those decisions and a recognition that marketing has changed. He says they call it the “new buying economy” where the customer is in charge and marketers are not. This changes the way you engage with them and media is a perfect example according to Bob. This has required a shift in strategic priorities and the associated budget and resources that go with them.

In our conversation Bob talks about how they are marketing Quarry and looks to the future for the industry and the agency. Please enjoy this week’s program: ZimmCast 278 - Interview with Bob Wilbur

Make sure you subscribe to the Quarry Idea Exchange blog.

This week’s program ends with some fun music from Music Alley. It’s a song titled, “Farm Boy” by Spaghetti Cake. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

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

NAMA Leader Forum

Chuck Zimmerman

Hey members of the National Agri-Marketing Association, especially you in leadership at the chapter or national level or who want to be. NAMA now has the Leader Forum.

Created just for NAMA leadership, the Leader Forum is designed to help you share ideas and learn from others. Leaders like you from around the country are talking about membership, programming and more.

Join the NAMA Leader Forum and …

Find great program ideas for your chapter
Get ideas for attracting and holding onto new members
Meet other leaders who can give you new ideas

Don’t wait! Be a part of the conversation today. Simply click on “Register” to create your unique username and password, and you’ll be good to go!

NAMA

Celebrate Agriculture With Butterball

Chuck Zimmerman

Butterball wants kids to celebrate agriculture just in time for the big fall turkey dinner holiday!

Butterball, LLC has partnered with Weekly Reader to develop “Celebrate Agriculture” – a compelling set of classroom learning materials designed to educate children about the importance of responsible agriculture.

Butterball’s “Celebrate Agriculture” Weekly Reader program will provide educational materials to more than 200,000 teachers with a reach of 6 million students.

“Weekly Reader has been a trusted educational resource for teachers for more than 100 years,” said Keith Shoemaker, CEO, Butterball, LLC. “We are excited to work with such a well-known and credible organization to educate students on how socially responsible agricultural processes lead to animal health and healthy food for consumers.”

“Celebrate Agriculture,” designed for students in grades three through six, will include math, nutrition and science activities for students, as well as a teacher’s guide with step-by-step instructions for incorporating the activities into their lesson plans.

Education, Farming, Food

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • The 2010 Minnesota Agri-Growth Council Annual Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 4 at the Minneapolis Convention Center.
  • Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced that USDA plans to open a centralized data collection and processing center near St. Louis, Mo. as part of the agency’s efforts to streamline operations and better serve the statistical needs of agriculture and rural America.
  • The National Corn Growers Association and chemical company BASF Corporation will again award five $1,000 scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students pursuing a degree in the 2011-12 school year in an agriculture-related field.
  • The U.S. Grains Council announces the hiring of Tom Sleight as the new vice president of administrations and membership.
Zimfo Bytes

NASS Using iPads in 2011 To Collect Data

Chuck Zimmerman

Straight from the USDA Blog we find out that the National Agricultural Statistics Service will begin using iPads to collect data in 2011. Now how cool is that? There are benefits as you’ll read in the post. It looks like they’re already employing them since in the photo you can see Don Phillips, NASS interviewer, using an iPad for data collection for the September Agricultural Survey.

The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), will take a technological leap forward in 2011 by using Apple’s new iPad as the data entry device to collect survey responses. This is an exciting step forward from the old pencil to paper method, still in use today. The iPad, coupled with NASS’s unique approach to computer assisted personal interviewing (CAPI), will revolutionize the NASS survey process and will open the door for future innovative opportunities.

To improve response rates and increase accuracy of survey results, NASS contracts field enumerators to make personal contact with selected survey participants. Historically, face to face interviews were conducted using paper questionnaires, but the diminishing cost of personal enumeration devices and the increased capabilities of broadband technology enabled NASS to explore data collection using iPads and personal Wi-Fi devices.

The iPad contributes significant benefits to the process. The size of the screen, the ability to select landscape or portrait mode and the fonts resizing option allow enumerators to control how much of a survey page they see at one time. The portability of the device is also an important asset. Producers are extremely busy and mobile and the iPad, weighing only 1.5 pounds, can be easily carried and used in corn fields, feedlots and back roads. The producer doesn’t even have to leave the tractor to answer the survey.

The iPad’s unique operating system allows NASS to maintain a high level of security on the device. Through the use of cloud computing technology, no data are stored on the device. If the device is broken, lost or stolen, data are not compromised.

Technology, USDA

Time For An International AgChat Foundation?

Chuck Zimmerman

The emcee for the Global Farmer to Farmer Roundtable conducted by Truth About Trade & Technology was Bob Thomson once again. He says the participating farmers were looking at what it’s going to take to thrive in the next several years. High on their list is modern technology. He says they realize that to feed the projected population equivalent of two more countries the size of China in the next forty years it will take very high productivity agriculture. The alternative will be massive destruction of forests and that will lead to a lot of undesirable results.

A real concern and frustration expressed, especially by European participants, was the extent that some activist organizations have dominated the debate and how little their governments are doing to help them. It’s hard to be competitive when you’re overburdened by regulations. Participants from countries like India said that biotechnology products will be critical for them. They weren’t so much interested in subsidies as being on a level playing field. A need to communicate their stories was also expressed. Of course, I hope they’ll look to social media and networking to help that. Maybe it’s time for an International AgChat Foundation!

You can listen to my interview with Bob here: Bob Thompson Interview

Thanks again to the National Corn Growers Association for making my participation possible.

TATT Global Farmer To Farmer Roundtable Photo Album

Ag Groups, Audio, Biotech, International, Sustainability, Technology