America’s Favorite Farmers Markets Announced

John Davis

The American Farmland Trust has announced the winners in its 2010 America’s Favorite Farmers Markets contest. More than 50,000 people across the country cast their votes, and these are the top ones selected in each category:

Boutique Markets – King George Farmers Market, King George, VA
Small Markets – Champaign County Farmers Market, Urbana, OH
Medium Markets – Falls Church Farmers Market, Falls Church, VA
Large Markets – City of Rochester Public Market (Rochester, NY), Rochester, NY

Each and every one of the 1200+ farmers markets that enrolled in the contest helps ensure that our communities have farms growing and raising the delicious fresh food we all crave. By providing us with a place to purchase regional foods, farmers markets help keep farmers on the land so that they can continue to provide fresh food for our tables as well as community economic benefits and a wonderful place for us to gather.

We want to thank each and every one of the farmers market managers and customers who made the contest happen though their participation. Throughout the campaign thousands of people, along with bloggers and the media were talking about the contest helping to promote farmers markets on both the local and national level! We certainly went a long way toward reaching our goal of making a national splash about farmers markets and the farms they support!

The complete list of the top 20 in each category is available here.

Uncategorized

Touch A Bloggie

Chuck Zimmerman

Actually it’s a Sony Bloggie Touch and it looks like a good addition to your gadget bag of stuff. Think: Good for field demonstration videos at harvest time!

Just pull the Bloggie™ Touch camera out of your pocket and you’re ready to capture Full HD video and 12.8-megapixel still shots at a moment’s notice. You’ll notice the elegant simplicity of a single record button and a large touch screen for showcasing your shots. All the fun is stored on built-in memory, and you can easily upload your movies to your favorite social networking sites like Youtube™ and Facebook™.

Weighing a mere 4.5 ounces and sporting a svelte profile, this compact video camera is made to move. And there are no messy cables. Just swing out the built-in USB arm and connect directly to your compatible computer.

Equipment

Former UN Sec’y General Awarded World Food Prize Medallion

John Davis

Former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has picked up the World Food Prize Foundation’s Norman E. Borlaug Medallion, recognizing world leaders whose actions have benefited mankind but who would not normally be eligible for the World Food Prize.

This World Food Prize Foundation press release says Annan was befittingly awarded the medallion during the first-ever African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) in his home country of Ghana:

The award is in recognition of Annan’s international leadership as Secretary-General of the United Nations and as chairman of the board for the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa. In both roles, Annan has brought significant attention to the issue of global food security, most notably in establishing the UN Millennium Development Goals during his time at the United Nations.

“Over the past decade, no one has done more than Kofi Annan to bring attention to the critical issue of global food security around the world nor in fulfilling Norman Borlaug’s dream of bringing the Green Revolution to Africa,” said Ambassador Kenneth M. Quinn, president of the World Food Prize Foundation. The World Food Prize Foundation was founded by the late Dr. Norman Borlaug, a Nobel Peace Prize Winner who has been called the “father of the Green Revolution” for his breakthroughs in wheat production that helped save over a billion lives, and who had a passion for ending hunger in Africa.

“It is a great honor to receive this award in my home country Ghana. We are making great strides in putting farmers and agriculture at the center of our development,” said Annan, who received a standing ovation from over 600 people in the audience. “Public and private partners are working closely together to transform Africa’s agriculture to benefit smallholder farmers and increase food security and nutrition in Ghana and across the continent.”

“We have left farmers to sink or swim without help for far too long,” Annan said. “After decades of neglect, agriculture has returned to the development agenda. Now it is time to bring together the many players – from farmers to CEOs – to achieve rapid, large-scale results that will put an end to hunger and poverty.”

Annan, who was recognized in 2001 with a Nobel Peace Prize in part for his work to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, now serves as chairman of the board for AGRA … a group that works for a food-secure and prosperous Africa through the promotion of rapid, sustainable agricultural growth based on smallholder farmers.

Don’t forget, this year’s World Food Prize’s annual international symposium will be held in Des Moines, Iowa, Oct. 12-16 and focuses on “Taking it to the Farmer: Reaching the World’s Smallholders.” David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, and Jo Luck, president of Heifer International are honorees at this year’s event.

International, World Food Prize

Whoa, Nelly, Big Bud is Big

Joanna Schroeder

Whoa Nelly AgWired peeps. Have you seen how BIG Big Bud is?

Big Bud is the world’s largest tractor and one of the biggest draws at this year’s Farm Progress Show. He was built by hand (all the Big Bud’s manufactured were done one at a time, no assembly line was ever used) and topped out at 27 feet long, 20 feet wide, 14 feet tall and weighing 100,000 pounds. Big Bud is the baby of Ron Harmonn, birthed in 1977 in Montana. The inspiration was derived for the need for a better tractor to plant and grow cotton.

Until this week, Big Bud had been on display in a farm museum in Dyersville, Iowa (the home of the famous ball field from Field of Dreams). He was moved to Boone, Iowa by Crop Production Services (Agrium), a company that provides agricultural inputs to farmers around the country.

Steve Sopher, an area agronomist with Agrium told me that they brought Big Bud in to give growers a walk down memory lane, and that he did. Between 15,000 – 20,000 people came to see Big Bud in person over the three days. It is estimated that nearly 100,000 people were at Farm Progress from around the world, so you can bet that most spent some time checking out Big Bud – and they won’t forget his enormity any time soon.

For those of you who missed out on this amazing piece of history, Sopher said that he will be back at the 2011 Farm Progress Show. You can also watch this video.

And be sure to check out all the Big Bud views in our Farm Progress Photo Album.

AgWired coverage of the 2010 Farm Progress Show
is sponsored by: New Holland and

Cotton, Equipment, Farm Progress Show, Farm Shows, Tractor, Video

Farm Progress Show Wrap Up

Chuck Zimmerman

The 2010 Farm Progress Show is a wrap and even with some weather issues it was a good one. To wrap it all up I spoke with Show Manager, Matt Jungmann. He says that after 4 inches of rain on Tuesday night, what they accomplished on Wednesday was like a miracle. Since that overnight rain incident everything went very well. The Tuesday and Wednesday crowds topped the show when it was in Boone two years ago. Although we didn’t get to have field demos for the second two days Matt says Tuesday’s demos went great with corn harvesting at 150 bushels/acre. Matt says exhibitors are already talking about next year. I’m sure it will be a good one too!

You can listen to my interview with Matt here: Interview With Matt Jungmann

This doesn’t conclude our coverage of the Farm Progress Show. Joanna and I have a lot more stories to post for you.

Farm Progress Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the 2010 Farm Progress Show
is sponsored by: New Holland and

Audio, Farm Progress Show

I Scream for Ice Cream

Joanna Schroeder

You scream, I scream we all screamed for ice cream during this year’s Farm Progress Show. The weather may have been damp and somewhat dreary, but it didn’t stop the crowds from enjoying some homemade ice cream from Beekmans Homemade Ice Cream. They made vanilla, chocolate, peach, and raspberry delights right on site. All the ingredients came from local farmers in Boone and they even used solar power to charge the batteries.

Michelle Beekman, a Co-Owner, said that she has been with the company for six years, but it was started by her mother in 1998. She was also kind enough to let me watch her make a batch of ice cream and I caught the final moments on film. This particular batch was peach ice cream.

I however, have an infinity for raspberry so my perfect choice was raspberry swirled with vanilla and it was worth each and every calorie!

The Farm Progress Show might be over for this year, but you can still try out Beeckman’s ice cream at other Iowa events. Visit them at www.beekmanshomemadeicecream.com.

Farm Progress Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the 2010 Farm Progress Show
is sponsored by: New Holland and

Audio, Dairy, Farm Progress Show, Farm Shows, Video

American Soybean Association Update

Chuck Zimmerman

Commodity group leaders always make time to visit with the media at Farm Progress Show. One of them I spoke with yesterday was Rob Joslin, President, American Soybean Association. Rob is a soybean grower from Ohio. In the photo he’s on the left and speaking with Stu Ellis. I asked him about the issues that ASA is working on and the biodiesel tax extension is number one since with Congress allowing it to expire last year it has “virtually idled the vast majority of the domestic biodiesel industry” which he finds very disappointing.

You can listen to my interview with Rob here: Interview With Rob Joslin

Farm Progress Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the 2010 Farm Progress Show
is sponsored by: New Holland and

Ag Groups, ASA, Audio, Farm Progress Show, Soybean

PB&J Your Way Helps Feed the Hungry

Cindy Zimmerman

pbjAnyone who thinks a PB&J is boring or just for kids should try it with Bananas Foster or Chocolate Panini, or maybe strawberries and basil.

That’s just a few of the ten winning recipes in the Southern Peanut Growers “PB&J My Way” contest. The contest kicked off during March Peanut Month, pledging to donate one jar of peanut butter to Feeding America for each recipe submitted. They are donating 3,000 jars to the charity – that amounts to a whole bunch of creative PB&J recipe ideas!

pbj“Not only did this contest inspire imagination among peanut butter lovers,” said Leslie Wagner, executive director, Southern Peanut Growers, “it also gave participants a unique opportunity to make a difference by providing nutritious food to the people who need it most.”

SPG narrowed the recipe entries down to the top ten creative sandwiches. Rules were simple: include peanut butter, and offer a fresh perspective on the traditional treat. Below are SPG’s top three picks:

The Bangkok Peanut Butter Sandwich, submitted by Michael C. of California, with ingredients including Serrano pepper, soy sauce, coconut and mint leaves. The spread is layered over sliced bread and topped with cucumber slices and a hint of orange marmalade.

Peanut Butter, Strawberries and Basil Sandwich, submitted by Merry G. of California, simply peanut butter-covered baguette slices topped with freshly sliced strawberries and finished with a sprinkle of fresh, chopped basil.

Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sandwich, submitted by Dyan C. of Virginia, which is two dark chocolate cookies, smothered with peanut butter and vanilla ice cream to resemble a moon pie.

Check out all of the winners here.

Peanuts

New Holland NH2 Helping Achieve The Independent Energy Farm

Chuck Zimmerman

One of the coolest examples of new technology on display at the Farm Progress Show is the New Holland NH2 hydrogen powered tractor. Paul Trella, New Holland, told me all about it on video this morning. He says the tractor is part of their effort to help create the energy independent farm. The tractor is not in commercial production but it has been demonstrated on a short course. Paul says they’re hoping to have it run through some actual production work soon and that a model will become available in the near future. Here’s some information about it.

The basis:

A current T6000 tractor.

What is inside:

* A Hydrogen tank
* Fuel Cells System perfectly integrated into production tractor, with standard components
* Electric motor n° 1 – Power to traction
* Electric motor n° 2 – Power to PTO and auxiliaries

What is not:

* No diesel tank
* No combustion engine
* No exhaust pipe
* No gear box

Farm Progress Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the 2010 Farm Progress Show
is sponsored by: New Holland and

Agribusiness, Audio, Farm Progress Show, New Holland, Tractor

Success of Ethanol Important for Corn Farmers

Joanna Schroeder

“We need ethanol to be able to use up the excess corn,” began Iowa Ag Secretary Bill Northey during a press conference at the Farm Progress Show hosted by Growth Energy. “That’s what started ethanol in the 1980s. Farmers said we’re tired of $1.50, $1.30 corn prices and we’re going to build an industry to use of some of the surpluses.”

And build an industry they did.

Northey explained that the ethanol industry is vital to corn farmers who are producing more and more each year. He used Iowa as an example and said in 2001, when the state conducted an Ag Census, ag sales from all farms in Iowa were $12 billion, half in crops and half in livestock. In 2007, sales were $20 billion with the biggest change being the amount that went to ethanol.

It worked and now our country has a robust industry whose future is uncertain due to questions over major policies that support the growth of the ethanol industry. The ethanol tax credit is under fire and opponents to ethanol are also trying to eliminate the ethanol tariff. In addition, the industry needs more access to markets and passing the E15 waiver would help to increase market access.

“Certainly we need some of those incentives to continue. We need more than three months predictability with those incentives going off this December. We need a long-term vision of what can happen out there,” said Northey.

Growth Energy CEO, Tom Buis, seconded Northey’s call for more effective, long-term policy and said that Senator Reid (D-NV) has already called for a lame duck session on November 15th to address the future of energy policy in America.

On several occasions Northey stressed, “We need more access to markets. We also need predictability, and policies we understand around for several years.”

He concluded that farmers are doing the right thing, and the ethanol industry is doing the right thing, now we need the politicians to do the right thing.

You can listen to the Growth Energy press conference here. Growth Energy Press Conference During Farm Progress Show

Farm Progress Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the 2010 Farm Progress Show
is sponsored by: New Holland and

Audio, Corn, Ethanol, Farm Progress Show, Farm Shows