Farm Bureau Honors Agriscience Innovation

Cindy Zimmerman

Eight agriscience innovators are getting some monetary recognition for their efforts, courtesy of American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF).

afbfAFBF, in partership with the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation, presented the awards and research funding to scientists, teachers and high-school students for exemplary innovation in the field of agricultural science.

“The winning candidates from each category have demonstrated a hunger for forward-thinking scientific knowledge,” said AFBF President Bob Stallman. “The fruits of their work will be seen as America continues to leads the way in agricultural science innovation.”

The winners included Oregon State University professor Patricia Kennedy and USDA researcher Thomas Jackson who each received the CCFF Agricultural Science Distinguished Scientist Award and $25,000 in research funding. CCFF Agricultural Science Educator Awards were presented to Crystal Retzlaff, an agriculture educator at Oconto Falls High School in Oconto Falls, Wis., Lisa Konkel, an agriscience educator at Big Foot Union High School in Walworth, Wis., and Byron Ernest with the Lebanon Community School Corporation in Lebanon, Ind. Three high school students received CCFF Agricultural Science Student Awards and $5,000 – Rosemary Chapple, a senior at Waterloo High School in Waterloo, Ill., Stephanie Hoskins, a senior at Lincoln Park Academy High School in Fort Pierce, Fla., and Jake Carlson, a junior at Elk Grove High School in Elk Grove, Calif.

AFBF

The Dorm Room Diner

Chuck Zimmerman

The Dorm Room Diner just sounds like it would be a great gift for your college student. I found a link via one of my Twitter followers. So I checked it out and the first thing that caught my eye was “beef” and I love beef (all other types of meat too). Here’s what Dulce Taylor says on her cookbook website about dorm room cooking and starting the project.

I felt a little like Julia Childs and made everything from Beef Stroganoff to Chicken and Dumplings.

I was the envy of the dorm. I started eating better, had lots more energy and looked great (no freshman fifteen here)! By the end of spring semester, I had a whole pile of delicious recipes that my friends kept begging me to make!

Everyone was begging for my recipes!

When I came home for the summer, I realized that a lot of other college students (you included) could benefit from the easy, simple recipes I had used that year. So, my mom helped me put this cookbook together…and “The Dorm Room Diner” was born.

Food

Welcome To Beltway Beef

Chuck Zimmerman

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association has just started its first official blog, Beltway Beef. Here’s the first post from blogger Mike Deering.

It is a pleasure to welcome you to the the first-ever blog of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. We are excited to engage in this new initiative and sincerely hope you are just as thrilled to have this blog as another resource at your disposal.

NCBA is stepping up its efforts to not only keep you informed, but also engaged. “Beltway Beef” affords you the opportunity to learn and express your views. You can rest assured we’ll be listening. This blog is intended to serve as a sounding board for the U.S. cattle industry. We will be covering mainly policy issues that impact U.S. cattle producers and rural communities. However, we may stray away from strictly policy-related issues from time to time. We also hope to provide a little entertainment now and then!

As we start this new project, feel free to offer any suggestions!

Ag Groups, Beef, NCBA

New US Wheat Associates Board Officers

Melissa Sandfort

The U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) Board of Directors installed new officers at its annual meeting July 12, 2010, in Bozeman, Mont. Don Schieber of Ponca City, Okla., was installed as Chairman, while Randy Suess of Colfax, Wash., became Vice Chairman, and Darrell Davis, of Ipswich, S.D., began his term as Secretary-Treasurer. Janice Mattson of Chester, Mont., moves to Past Chair and will chair the USW Budget Committee. These USW officers were elected to their one-year positions at a January 2010 Board of Directors meeting.

USW’s next Board meeting will be held jointly with NAWG, in Minneapolis, Minn., Oct. 22 to 25, 2010.

Uncategorized

Golden ARC’s To Be Presented At Ag Media Summit

Chuck Zimmerman

Here’s just one more reason to want to attend this year’s Agricultural Media Summit.

The re-birth of ARC continues with the re-introduction of the 2010 Golden ARC awards presentation set for July 27 at the Ag Media Summit in St. Paul. The awards will be given out as part of the Tuesday PR block workshop, from 10:15 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.

First, attendees at the PR Workshop “Characteristics of a winning public relations program” will be treated to a dissection of one of the campaign winners from the 2010 contest. Following that seminar, the winners and merit selectees from about 20 categories will be announced by Contest Manager Amy McDonald of McDonald Marketing Communications and ARC Board President Deron Johnson of Rhea + Kaiser Marketing Communications.

Ag Media Summit, ARC

Weber On The Grill iPad App

Chuck Zimmerman

Here’s an interesting looking app for your iPad. However, the $4.99 price tag makes me hesitate. Me, a carnivorous grill-a-holic. What do you think? Worth $4.99?

Almost one year after the launch of its successful Weber’s On the Grill recipe and grilling technique app for the iPhone and iPod touch, Weber-Stephen Products Co. has just released a new Weber’s On the Grill app for the iPad®.

Like its iPhone and iPod touch cousins, the Weber’s On the Grill app for the iPad has a colorful, clean and greatly intuitive interface connected to a wide variety of multi-media functions. At an affordable $4.99 from the iTunes store, this grilling app has more than 250 triple-tested recipes from cookbooks such as best-sellers Weber’s Way to Grill(TM), Weber’s Real Grilling(TM) and Weber’s Charcoal Grilling(TM)–all written by 2010 James Beard Award nominee Jamie Purviance. iPad users can tag favorite recipes; view videos; create and share master shopping lists from selected recipes to easily take to the grocery store; and browse by the app’s wide variety of recipe food categories (appetizers, red meat, pork, chicken, seafood, vegetables, fruits and yes, even desserts). Forty sauces, marinades and rubs are also part of the repertoire. Weber’s On the Grill app also features a handy grilling timer that sounds off when food is done.

Food

The Biology of Fungi

Chuck Zimmerman

Fungi like to move around and so does this conference where you can learn all about them.

The British Mycological Society, in association with Elsevier, the world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information, today announced the final programme for the 9th Mycological Congress IMC9: The Biology of Fungi. This congress takes place every 4 years at a different venue around the world.

Taking place at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, a comprehensive programme encompasses the latest research in all areas of fungal biology. More than 300 oral presentations are arranged within 45 thematic symposia and supplemented by over 1000 posters, optional special interest group meetings, field trips and an exhibition. A complementary public exhibition, entitled ‘From Another Kingdom’, will be hosted at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh during the Congress and later into Autumn 2010.

Fungal biology has never been as important in our everyday lives as it is today because of the commercial importance for biotechnology, medicine and the food industry. Fungi also provide a model for studying the eukaryotic mode of life. Further, fungi are crucial to the functioning of the ecosystems of our planet because of the role they play in decomposition and nutrient cycling. New areas of research will be reviewed within the following five main themes of the congress: Cell biology, biochemistry and physiology; Environment, ecology and interactions; Evolution, biodiversity and systematics; Fungal pathogenesis and disease control; Genomics, genetics and molecular biology.

International

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Darlington dairy producer, Jay Stauffacher, has been re-elected to a sixth term as chairman of the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. Connie Seefeldt, Coleman, was re-elected vice chairperson, and Ed Jasurda, Phillips, was re-elected Secretary.
  • David Macedo – city councilman, 2006 World Livestock Auctioneer Champion and veteran California marketman – is Livestock Marketing Association’s president for 2010-2012.
  • Pfizer Animal Health has launched a new online resource offering technical and actionable information on mastitis management and milk quality.
  • Massey Ferguson introduces the new RK Series rotary rake in three models, each designed to help hay producers optimize hay quality.
    Zimfo Bytes

    The Context Network Gets New Partners

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Mark and Mark have become Partners with The Context Network. Both Mark Nelson and Mark Holland were Senior Associates.

    Context Managing Partner, Blake Sieker said, “Context is very pleased to announce the advancement of Mark Holland and Mark Nelson to Partners. Their contributions and expertise as Senior Associates have proven their commitment to consulting excellence. The actionable solutions and solid, strategic results they provide have had a profound and indelible positive influence on our clients, our industry and on The Context Network. We are confident their contributions will bring continued growth and business success to our clients.”

    Agribusiness

    The Trials and Errors of Lab Work

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Zachary Larson, Borlaug Summer Intern, is on location at Nanjing Agricultural University and providing us with updates this summer of his trip. Here’s his latest. You can also find a photo album he’s got started here: Borlaug Summer Intern Photo Album. The internship is being sponsored by the Iowa State University Plant Sciences Institute.

    My lab work here in the wheat lab has been a bit of a trial and error experience, but I take this as an experience every person who wants to get involved in a research setting must undergo before they can actually conduct a research task proficiently.

    For the last few weeks I have been solely working on helping my friend Wang Jia do his lab work, and understand his research. He is trying to detect the genetic differences between a variety of wheat, and a species of grass that shows a serious resistance against a variety of wheat disease. To do this, he first has to run hundreds of PCRs and Page Gels in order to get enough data to find the genetic differences. Read More

    Education, International, University