FFA Convention Sets Record and Honors Advisor

Cindy Zimmerman

The 83rd National FFA Convention, which concluded over the weekend in Indianapolis, set an all-time event attendance record with a total crowd of 54,942 members, advisors, sponsors and guests.

The new slate of young leaders for the organization are pictured here, left to right: Riley Pagett of Oklahoma, president; Landan Schaffert of Colorado, secretary; Shannon Norris of New Mexico, western region VP; James Flatt of Tennessee, southern region VP; Tiffany Rogers of Michigan, eastern region VP; and Wyatt DeJong of South Dakota, central region VP.

The organization recognized the service of and bid farewell to its long-time national FFA advisor, Dr. Larry D. Case, who will retire on Jan. 1, 2011. “FFA members, you are the future and you make this Missouri farm boy proud,” Dr. Case said to the crowd at the convention. “I’m a thankful man. More than anything I’m thankful for the love of my family…thank you from the bottom of my heart for making it possible for me to be of service to others.”

To honor Dr. Case for his 26 years of service to the organization, the FFA instituted the Larry D. and Joy L. Case Endowment that will be used to benefit agricultural instructor training, student leader development and global agriculture career opportunities. As of Oct. 22, $63,500 has been raised for the Case Endowment principal. T-shirts with the national advisor’s face are being sold and “FFAowl” can be texted to 20222 by any cell phone and $10 will be donated to the endowment.

FFA

Pheasant Success

Chuck Zimmerman

This farmland in central South Dakota is just some of the best land to hunt pheasant. Once again this year my group got their limit each day.

With all the birds cleaned and in the freezer it’s time to relax and watch some more football. Feel free to share your favorite pheasant recipe if you’ve got one.

I’ll add mine to this post later but I can tell you it has a lot of cream and is wonderful.

Uncategorized

Corn Harvesting

Chuck Zimmerman

On the drive up to central South Dakota I saw a lot of this. These guys were working very close to my destination so I took a photo before driving around them on the gravel road.

This weekend I’m mostly off the grid due to no AT&T service and very little Verizon. Yeah. It’s kind of like withdrawal but it works enough to post a photo! Now if the rain would just stop we could go out and kill some pheasants. I actually got here early enough last night to get one so the weekend started off on a positive note. Photos will come later.

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Missouri Producer Wins Gator

Melissa Sandfort

In partnership with Sydenstricker Implements, the Missouri Corn Growers Association (MCGA) awarded one lucky corn grower a new all-terrain vehicle as part of a recent membership promotion. Winning the 2010 John Deere TS 4×2 Gator was Carl Landewee, a grain farmer from Chaffee, Mo.

The “Gator Give-A-Way” was part of MCGA’s summer membership drive designed to help raise awareness of the organization and its mission. Running from May 3 through Aug. 19, individuals who signed up for a new MCGA membership or renewed an existing membership were entered for a chance to win the John Deere off-road vehicle.

Uncategorized

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Farm Journal Television announces the launch of “Outdoors on the Farm,” a new, national 30-minute weekly program showcasing farmers and ranchers who utilize their land for more than crop and livestock production.
  • What started as a grassroots effort by a group of young people to support American family farmers and ranchers, has become an official non-profit organization. I Love Farmers…They Feed My Soul elected its first board of directors on Sept. 29 in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
  • Dal Grooms, a long-time communications professional in Iowa agriculture circles, has been hired by the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association as communications director.
  • U.S. Wheat Associates released its 2009-10 Annual Report covering worldwide marketing activities and developments from June 2009 through May 2010 for all six classes of U.S. wheat.
    Zimfo Bytes

    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