Give Us Your Opinion – Get Chance to Win $250 Cash

Joanna Schroeder

Have you ever wished you could help mold the content of your favorite blog? Well, here is your chance. The bloggers of AgWired want to learn more about its readers, so we can provide you with more informational and insightful information. All you have to do is take our quick 1 minute survey. Once completed, you can enter to win $250 in cash.

As with any contest, there are a few rules. Each month, one winner will be drawn from the entries received for all ZimmComm news website surveys. Non-winners from each month will roll over to the next month, so please only take the survey once. Ready to get started? Then click here to begin.

Speaking of molding content I’m throwing out a poll question for the month. Do you think USDA’s program, Know Your Famer, Know Your Food, is closing the gap between consumers and farmers? You can sound off by posting a comment to this story, or sending your response to AgWiredPoll@hotmail.com. Select answers will be used in an upcoming story for the blog.

Thanks for reading AgWired and don’t forget to take our survey for a chance to win $250 in cash.

ZimmComm Announcement

A Very Good Year For Bader Rutter

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCast 280The ZimmCast series of interviews with agricultural marketing agency leadership continues with my conversation with Greg Nickerson, President, Bader Rutter. He says it is an exciting time for the agency with 2010 being a “very good year.”

By a very good year he means that they’re on track for double digit growth. The agency has 170 employees and has diversified from its agricultural client base. The things that differentiate them from other agencies he says include having a dedicated brand strategy group who do nothing else and they have built out a substantial digital offering to their clients by bringing in people who have digital experience.

Before I spoke with Greg he was in a meeting to discuss the proliferation of media channels. This is an area that the industry is having to come to grips with and Greg says there is a real premium to “understanding exactly what your brand means, coming up with very concise messaging and then delivering that very consistently across all of this spectrum of media.” When it comes to marketing Bader Rutter Greg says they’ve long had someone completely dedicated to business development. As he puts it, “If it’s everybody’s job, then it’s nobody’s job.” Social media and their website have also been very important. In fact, they have a client that came to them solely through their social media channels. But he says, business is still won and lost through relationships and trust!

Please enjoy this week’s program and learn what Greg’s outlook on the future holds: ZimmCast 280 - Interview with Greg Nickerson

Make sure you subscribe to Converge, the Bader Rutter blog.

This week’s program ends with some fun music from Music Alley. It’s a song titled, “Cadillac” by Sharp Tooth Benny. 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

2-way? 9-way? Which way?

Melissa Sandfort

Today, we have 2-way radios, 3-way light bulbs, 2-in-1 juicer/squeezer and 3-in-1 breakfast makers. They’re designed to make life easier, quicker and simpler. Now, out of the kitchen and into the shop…..if anyone has ever looked in my husband’s toolbox, you’d know that wrenches, nuts and bolts are anything but easy and simple. He has square-head, hex-head and 12-point wrenches. He says, “Go get me the 1/8 wrench, honey (emphasis on honey because he knows I have no idea which one he needs; and I know he’s going to get frustrated and have to go look for it himself anyway. So why did he ask me?).” I don’t think it’s simple.

However, in my Grandpa’s treasure chest, we came across this 9-way wrench. NINE-WAY! Made only for one shaped bolt, one shaped nut – with a square head. So instead of needing a whole tool chest full of wrenches, he carried one. Now that’s easy. And compact. And simple.

This leads me to believe that, though back in the 30s, work was more manual and probably physically harder, but some things were just “easier.” I sure can think of nine better ways to spend my time than to rummage through a toolbox for 15 minutes looking for a 1/8” hex-head wrench.

Until we walk again…

Uncategorized

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

Zimfo Bytes

The Road To The Alltech Global Dairy 500

Chuck Zimmerman

During most of Monday I’ll be on the agriblogging highway to Lexington, KY for the Alltech Global Dairy 500. The theme is “Sustainability in a Changing World.” The program has been so successful that this year they’ve added a “Global Beef 500” as well!

I’m looking forward to seeing my Alltech friends and enjoying a frosty Kentucky Ale! Most of my coverage will be on World Dairy Diary starting Monday evening. But I’m sure I’ll find something to share with you here on AgWired as well. For example, on Thursday, I’ll share the stage with Alltech’s Billy Frey to discuss social media. I’m really looking forward to that. I’ll also be assisting David Butler who will be managing the Alltech blog, Alltech Innovations.

So follow along here or on Twitter with the hashtag #Global500.

Alltech, Dairy

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Wyffels Hybrids added to its 2011 product lineup by releasing two new products: W5077 and W7147.
  • Deere & Company is introducing a new name – John Deere Financial – for its business unit that offers credit and other financial services.
  • John Deere has added three new lines of offset disks to its Frontier family of tillage products: the DH51 Series, the DH52 Series, and the DH53 Series.
  • Balchem Animal Nutrition and Health has selected the Hondo Group as its agency of record.
    Zimfo Bytes

    IFAJ Announces New Professional Development Initiatives

    Chuck Zimmerman

    IFAJTwo new professional development initiatives will take place in conjunction with the 2011 International Federation of Agricultural Journalists Congress in Canada.

    IFAJ-Pioneer Hi-bred International Master Class

    Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business, is supporting a pilot project called the IFAJ-Pioneer Hi-Bred Master Class. This program will bring a group of journalists from developing countries to a two-day journalism and leadership workshop prior to the congress.

    The workshop will focus on journalistic training, global agriculture and communications trends. Journalists will have a chance to share ideas with colleagues, and network with professionals from around the world. Master Class participants will be selected from Asia, Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe.

    The project will be based on a workshop with developing-country journalists initiated at the 2010 Belgium Congress, which was managed by AgriTerra, a Dutch-based agri-development agency. AgriTerra will help coordinate the master class program in Canada, owing to its experience in networking with journalists from underdeveloped countries.

    IFAJ-Alltech Young Leaders in Agricultural Journalism Expansion

    Alltech will expand its sponsorship of the successful IFAJ-Alltech Young Leaders in Agricultural Journalism award to include a Boot Camp workshop. This activity will provide select young journalists with expert training and feedback through on-site writing or broadcasting assignments and further develop their leadership skills through formal in-class training.

    As a part of their learning experience, award winners will write or record spot news three times during the duration of the congress. Their stories will be made available to the general media and posted on the IFAJ website. Mentors will be assigned to the young leaders to work with them throughout the congress and guide them through their program, which was developed with stimulus and input from IFAJ member Branko Vrabec of Slovenia.

    Conceived at the IFAJ 2005 meeting in Switzerland by Alltech and federation officials, the young leaders award has brought budding journalists to Japan, Austria and the US.

    IFAJ

    Farm Podcaster Tool

    Chuck Zimmerman

    The iPhone 4 really shoots good video but can be very hard to hold steady. Now there’s a new solution with a cool name, OWLE Bubo. It’s a holder for the iPhone that provides not only better stabilization but tripod mount, forward facing microphone and best of all IMO, a wide angle lens. This thing is strange looking but extremely functional. It’s on the pricey side though. I’d only buy if you know you’re going to use it. Learn more in the review video below.

    Equipment

    Vilsack Visits Georgia Peanut and Ethanol Producers

    Cindy Zimmerman

    vilsackAgriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was in the Peach State earlier this week talking with peanut growers and visiting an ethanol plant.

    Ethanol plants in the southeast are pretty rare – in fact, First United Ethanol, LLC (FUEL) is really the only one to speak of that is operating at any capacity. FUEL is a 100 million gallon per year corn-based ethanol plant with 860 mostly rural investors from the local Georgia-Florida area. “Most of the ethanol plants in the Midwest are ‘rubber in and rail out’ and we’re sort of ‘rail in and rubber out,'” says FUEL CEO Murray Campbell. While most of their corn comes in by rail from the Midwest, they are starting to buy more local corn as farmers in the agricultural area surrounding the plant are starting to put more corn back in their crop rotation with peanuts and cotton.

    Murray is pictured here (right) giving Vilsack and Congressman Sanford Bishop (D-GA) a tour of the plant on Monday.

    I interviewed Murray about the timeliness of Vilsack’s visit, coming right on the heels of the biofuels initiatives announced by USDA last week, and the importance of having ethanol production in all areas of the country. Listen to or download my interview with Murray here: Murray Campbell Interview

    vilsackVilsack also visited with Georgia’s peanut growers on Monday at the American Peanut Shellers Association office in Albany at a meeting hosted by Congressman Sanford. During the meeting, the secretary heard from representatives of the Georgia Peanut Commission about their concerns that peanuts were excluded from a recent disaster assistance package, even though other commodities like rice, soybeans, cotton and sweet potatoes were included. Vilsack was also encouraged by the peanut industry to increase peanut butter purchases for federal nutrition and food aid programs, and to continue offering storage and handling in the next farm bill.

    The secretary is pictured here with Tyron Spearman, who is known as “Mr. Peanut” in the southeast. Among the many hats he wears is official peanut reporter for Southeast Agnet and you can listen to his report about the peanut growers meeting with the secretary here. You can also read more about it from the Georgia Peanut Commission. Thanks to Joy Carter for the photo!

    Audio, Ethanol, Peanuts, USDA

    DC Media Question Motives of GIPSA Boss

    Cindy Zimmerman

    The head of USDA’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) has been the subject of two recent articles by Washington DC watchdog reporters who are questioning his objectivity when it comes to writing new rules for the livestock industry.

    J. Dudley Butler, a Mississippi trial lawyer, was appointed by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in May of 2009 to serve as Administrator of GIPSA and immediately charged with coming up with a new rule to protect livestock producers against “unfair, fraudulent or retaliatory practices” as required by the 2008 Farm Bill and through existing authority under the Packers and Stockyards Act. That rule was announced in June 2010.

    Last week, Big Government’s Capitol Confidential did a piece about Butler entitled “Fox Guarding the Hen House” which focuses on how the GIPSA head could profit from the rule he proposed once he returns to private practice as a trial attorney. The article notes a comment Butler made in a speech to the Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM), an organization that he helped to found, in August 2009 – after he was appointed to the USDA position. Here’s the quote, in context from Beef Magazine, highlighting the significant phrase. “When you have a term like ‘unfair, unreasonable or undue prejudice,’ that’s a plaintiff lawyer’s dream,” Butler says in the clip. “We can get in front of a jury with that. We won’t get thrown out on what we call summary judgment because that’s a jury question.”

    The Hill picked up on the story this week, saying that some things don’t mix well, like “trial lawyers and regulation of the cattle industry.” The article notes that cattle producers have a reason to be concerned about Butler – “a regulatory boss with a background in suing the very industry he now regulates, and one can readily understand the apprehension among many cattlemen and beef producers.”

    Both articles note that congressional leaders have already called Butler’s actions into question, but that the Obama administration appears to be unconcerned. It does seem to be a clear conflict of interest and one has to wonder why Butler was appointed to do this job in the first place.

    Livestock, Media, USDA