USFRA Selects DrakeCo

Chuck Zimmerman

The U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) has selected Drake & Company to provide association management services. I missed this in my Twitter feeds and it was brought to my attention this evening during the Gateway NAMA holiday dinner by Brian Reuwee. So, way to go Steve Drake and Hugh Whaley and Brian and crew!

“USFRA established a transparent process to select a general contractor to guide us towards the enactment of our vision and the accomplishment of our goals,” said Bob Stallman, USFRA Board chairman and American Farm Bureau Federation president. “Of our three highly qualified finalists, Drake & Company was selected for their innate knowledge of our business focus, their staff experience and their record of helping volunteer-driven organizations achieve measurable results.”

DrakeCo, an AMC Institute-accredited association management firm, had been providing start-up and interim general contractor assistance to the organization since August.

“We are passionate about the Alliance’s cause and strongly believe in its vision and goals,” said Steve Drake, DrakeCo president. “We will continue to apply our experience working within the agricultural community, checkoff organizations and customer-facing communications to achieve USFRA’s goals.”

During the first quarter of 2011, USFRA will continue to develop and plan a national trust and image campaign to strengthen the image of agriculture to be launched in 2011. Veteran agricultural association executive Hugh Whaley will serve as general manager.

Ag Groups, Agencies, USFRA

Senate Passes Tax Package With Death Tax Relief

Cindy Zimmerman

By a vote of 81 to 19, the Senate has passed the $858 billion tax compromise worked out between President Obama and Senate Republicans that includes a key provision keeping the estate tax at levels acceptable to agricultural interests.

The measure reduces the top rate of the estate tax, more appropriately known as the “death tax,” to 35 percent, increases the exemption level to $5 million, index exemptions to inflation, and includes a stepped-up basis.

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) President Steve Foglesong, who is currently in Washington DC, was relieved to see this action taken by the Senate. “The Senate’s vote to extend the current tax rates and bring the estate tax down to more reasonable levels offers a great deal of relief to U.S. cattlemen and women right before the New Year,” said Foglesong in a statement.

Without the bill, the tax would have gone back to pre-2001 levels at 55 percent and an exemption level of $1 million on January 1, which would have a devastating impact on farmers and ranchers who wish to pass on family-owned operations after their death. The American Farm Bureau Federation calls estate tax relief the “single most important tax issue” for America’s farm and ranch families. The bill also includes an extension of the ethanol blenders tax credit, or VEETC, and a retroactive extension of the biodiesel tax credit which expired at the end of 2009. Both tax credits would now expire at the end of 2011.

The deal now goes to the House, where some Democrats have already indicated they will try to make changes in the estate tax which they consider giving too much to the wealthy. It is still expected to pass.

AFBF, NCBA

BRANDT to Sponsor NASCAR Driver

Cindy Zimmerman

An Illinois-based crop technology company is getting on track with NASCAR.

BRANDT is pleased to announce a partnership with Turner Motorsports and will serve as primary sponsor of the No. 31 Chevrolet Impala, driven by NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) championship contender, Justin Allgaier during the 2011 racing season. Allgaier, who finished the 2010 season fourth in the NNS championship points standings, joins Turner Motorsports in 2011 for his third full season of Nationwide Series competition.

BRANDT, located near Allgaier’s hometown in Illinois, was founded in 1953 to help Illinois farmers adopt new technologies for their operations. Today, the Springfield, Ill.-based company is a global enterprise consisting of three operating divisions: Specialty Formulations, Retail Agronomy and Dealer Support. This will mark BRANDT’s first endeavor as a primary sponsor with a NASCAR team.

BRANDT President and CEO Rick Brandt, says they are excited to team up with Justin and Turner Motorsports for the 2011 racing season. “Coming from the small town of Pleasant Plains, Illinois and having the opportunity to team with such a great driver from nearby Riverton, Illinois adds to the excitement of the collaboration,” he states in a company release. “Also, NASCAR’s upcoming transition to ethanol fuel embodies BRANDT’s leadership as a premier producer of environmentally sustainable products for agriculture. We look forward to representing American farmers on the track.”

Pictured is Rick Brandt (left) with Justin Allgaier who drives the No. 31 Chevrolet Impala.

Agribusiness, Ethanol

Working The Booth At NAAA

Chuck Zimmerman

At the NAAA convention, BASF held a drawing for some custom airplane nose art. The winner is Terry Harchenko of Salem, OR. Hey, Terry, send us a photo of your plane with the new artwork if you get a chance.

Sometimes the unsung heroes of a trade show booth are the company sales representatives who work in shifts and answer questions for hours and hours each day. I spoke with two of them during the NAAA convention starting with Tony Goede, seen in the photo making sure aerial applicators got their drawing entries done right. Tony is the aerial manager for BASF. He says BASF has formed a very strong relationship with NAAA over several years. Most recently that has grown to include new scholarships. Tony says that since the industry is mature it’s really important to bring new people into the business.

You can listen to my interview with Tony here: Tony Goede Interview

Another one of the hard working BASF reps is Chris Wharam. About the only shot I got of him was this one as he was interacting with customers. Chris is a technical services representative from North Dakota. He thought the 20 degree weather we were having in Savannah was warm compared with home!

Chris says that BASF made another commemorative NAAA convention patch for the applicators that they could pick up at the booth in addition to entering their drawing for custom nose art for their airplane. He says that the NAAA folks are very “energized” and I would echo that.

You can listen to my interview with Chris here: Chris Wharam Interview

2010 NAAA Convention Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the NAAA Convention is sponsored by BASF.

Agribusiness, Audio, BASF, NAAA

First ZimmPoll Results

Chuck Zimmerman

The results of the first ZimmPoll are in. The question was “How do you think agricultural interests will fare in the new Farm Bill?” We thought we’d give you an easy one to start. The results were pretty well mixed with “Too early to tell” getting the most votes. You can add your comments about the question or the results using the comment feature here at the bottom of the post. Feel free to let us know what you think.

Our first poll had participation from 5 countries including 25 states in the U.S. The top ten states with participants were IL, CA, VA, IN, NJ, TX, KS, MO, NY and SD. Thanks to all of you.

The new poll is now live and the question is, “Do you participate in social media?” Social media consists of Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, blogs, podcasts and a whole variety of other services. Let us know by taking the poll and next week we’ll post the results and you can add your comments add feedback at that time. Feel free to suggest questions for our poll anytime too.

ZimmPoll is sponsored by Rhea+Kaiser, a full-service advertising/public relations agency.

ZimmPoll

BASF News From ASTA Expo

Cindy Zimmerman

At the same time Chuck was in Savannah covering the National Agricultural Aviation Association meeting on behalf of BASF Crop Protection last week, the company was making news at the 40th annual American Seed Trade Association’s (ASTA) 2010 Seed Expo in Chicago.

In several updates provided to seed partners, BASF announced a label expansion for Stamina® F3 HL. The fungicide seed treatment is now available for use on corn, sorghum, rye, oats and triticale, in addition to wheat and barley, which were previously approved.

Also at the expo, the Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) announced that BASF grower teams placed first in all four 2010 Yield Challenge districts they competed in during the American Seed Trade Association meeting in Chicago.

Each first-place team used a combination of BASF products, such as Headline® fungicide, Respect® insecticide and Kixor® herbicide technology, to intensively manage their acres and achieve winning yields. The BASF District 6 team, led by BASF Sales Representative Brad White, was also awarded the Novel Practices Award for earning the largest yield difference between traditional and high-yield practices in the entire state.

Read more about the ISA yield challenge results here.

BASF, Soybean

Change is Necessary to Fight PRRS

Cindy Zimmerman

Since Porcine Respiratory and Reproductive Syndrome (PRRS) has been a problem in the U.S. hog industry for more than 20 years and is costing producers nearly $600 million per year, Boehringer Ingelheim (BIVI) is working with the industry to find and implement changes that will help control and even eliminate it.

Dr. Dale Polson, a member of the BIVI Area Solutions Team for PRRS which leads the company’s Area Regional Control and Elimination (ARC&E) efforts, says their concept is a game changing strategy of producers, veterinarians and industry working together. “We’ve got to do things differently to make progress because we’ve been dealing with PRRS for so many years,” he says. “So we just have to fundamentally change the way we approach it and that’s where change the game comes in.”

BIVI introduced the idea of ARC&E about three years ago and Dale says it is slowly gaining momentum. “Success builds on itself,” he says. “What we’ve seen is that people are starting to recognize that this is working better than what we were doing and could work even better if we have more areas involved.”

Listen to my interview with Dale here here: Dale Polson

2010 BIVI PRRS Area Regional Control Workshop photos

Audio, Boehringer Ingelheim, Swine

2011 Advocating For Agriculture Award Winners

Chuck Zimmerman

The winners of the AG CONNECT Expo 2011 “Advocating for Agriculture” award have been announced. These awards recognize those who support “in a compelling way the work of farmers and ranchers to provide abundant and affordable food and fiber.” Online voting by the Ag community helped select the winners, and more than 12,500 votes were cast for the nine finalists.

The “Advocating for Agriculture” award winners are:

Ag Woman of the Year — Beverly Hall from Baxter, Tennessee
Community Advocate Award — Ray Bowman from Frankfurt, Kentucky
Next Generation of Ag Award — Elliott Marsh from Statesboro, Georgia

The “Advocating for Agriculture” awards seek to create a wider public understanding and appreciation of the industry’s role and the significant contribution that production agriculture makes to our quality of life. The achievements and significant contributions of the award winners also serve as an inspiration for future industry leaders.

Grand prize winners receive a round-trip for two to AG CONNECT Expo 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia and will be honored at AG CONNECT Expo during the “Celebration of Agriculture” reception on Preview Day, January 7.

You can see more about the winners here including their video entries. You can watch Beverly’s below.

AEM, Video

Poking Fun At Canadian Wheat Board

Chuck Zimmerman

After seeing a retweet this morning from FarmerNation I found this video posted that is a very tongue in cheek criticism of the Canadian Wheat Board. It’s on YouTube and the FarmerNation site and comments can be left and have been. I have no position on this but have to say that this video is hilarious regardless of which side you fall on. At least I hope the CWB can laugh (and comment). My favorite line from the CWB character is “You’re speaking eskimo.” Thanks FarmerNation and TheSaskFarmer for a good laugh.

International, Wheat

Regional Best of NAMA Events

Chuck Zimmerman

It’s time for NAMA Regions and Chapters to present their Best of NAMA Awards. These will be done at a variety of events. Look to NAMA for full and final details as we get closer. However, here’s some info for your calendar.

January 13, 2011 – Region II (Gateway, Great Plains, Midlands, Missouri-Kansas, Rocky Mountain, and Southwest Chapters) at Boulevard Brewing Company, 2501 Southwest Boulevard, Kansas City, MO 64108, starting at 6:00 pm. For more details, visit http://www.nama.org/amc/bon/region2.htm. You can also register online at http://www.nama.org/ConferenceRegistration/Default.aspx?confid=29.

January 20, 2011 – Region IV (Badger, Chicago, Heartland, and Mid-America Chapters) at the Chicago Marriott Northwest, 4800 Hoffman Boulevard, Hoffman Estates, IL, starting at 6:00 pm. For more details, visit http://www.nama.org/amc/bon/region4.htm. Registration will be available soon.

January 27, 2011 – Region III (Cornbelt, Iowa, North Central, and Northern Prairie Chapters) at the State Historical Society of Iowa, 600 E. Locust St., Des Moines, IA 50319, starting at 5:30. The day will begin with a “Welcome to Iowa” tour, which includes a continental breakfast and lunch. Registration for the tour will be available soon For more details, visit http://www.nama.org/amc/bon/region3.htm. Online registration for the banquet is available at http://www.nama.org/ConferenceRegistration/Default.aspx?confid=30.

January 27, 2011 – Carolinas/Virginia Chapter at Junior League of Raleigh Center for Community Leadership, 711 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh, NC 27603, starting at 5:30 pm. Registration will be available soon.

February 8, 2011 – Region I (Desert Southwest and Western Pacific Chapters) in the VIP tent at the World Ag Expo, Tulare, CA, with a reception/mixer tentatively scheduled to start at 12:30 pm.

A Midsouth Chapter event will be planned and further details will be forthcoming.

NAMA