Beef Evangelists

Chuck Zimmerman

We didn’t have an official National Beef Ambassadors Update on the Cattle Industry Summer Conference schedule although that might be an interesting session. However, I did meet with three of our team in the media room to find out what they’ve been up to and where they’re going next.

Pictured (l-r) are Becky Vraspir, Malorie Bankhead and Jackson Alexander. Each of these outstanding young evangelists for the beef industry have been very active speaking out at various meetings and conferences. Here at the conference they came in early to tour the NCBA and CBB offices where they got some additional training. It’s great to see them here since I’ve just got a feeling that you’ll be seeing a lot more of them in the future.

You can follow the National Beef Ambassadors on their website, blog, facebook page and Twitter. Beef Ambassadors Interview

2010 Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album

Ag Groups, Audio, Beef, Cattle Industry Conference

NCBA, CBB, QSBC Leaders Talk

Chuck Zimmerman

Prior to the end of the Cattle Industry Summer Convention I came across some of the leaders of the NCBA, CBB and Federation of State Beef Councils having a discussion. I am quite happy to see this effort and think it’s a good sign for the future. There have been some very tense and emotional moments here at the conference but hopefully some of the issues have been ironed out and this type of interaction will lead to greater understandings and cooperation in the future.

I’ll be heading back to ZimmComm World Headquarters today but have more coverage of the conference that I’ll try to get posted tomorrow before heading on the the next agventure.

2010 Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album

Ag Groups, Beef, Cattle Industry Conference, NCBA

Temple Grandin Presented NCBA Lifetime Achievement Award

Chuck Zimmerman

At the Cattle Industry Summer Conference second general session Temple Grandin was presented with a special Lifetime Achievement Award from NCBA. We heard some stories about the making of her HBO movie and she made a few remarks.

She said that back in the ’70’s there would be people that would help out a “quirky” kid and we need more of them today. She talked about the press conferences she has attended recently where the media had lots of questions about cattle stuff. She told them about slaughter plants, not harvest plants, and said they had no problem with that. She says it shows that consumers have questions and we have to do a better job of communicating with them. Temple Grandin Award Remarks

2010 Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album

Ag Groups, Audio, Cattle Industry Conference, NCBA

CBB Update Session Was Packed

Chuck Zimmerman

The CBB Update Session was standing room only today. It also went over on time but there were some serious issues being discussed. This session is an official meeting of the Beef Board at which they take action as needed on issues that come before them. There were several today.

I thought I would post some of the remarks made from the podium for you. First I’ve got the financial report that was presented by Secretary/Treasurer Robert Fountain, Jr. The board is facing reduced revenues. He reported that the 2011 budget has declined by 24 percent since 2007. CBB Financial Report

Next up is the management report by CBB CEO Tom Ramey. In light of the budget restrictions he told the board that they must monitor and safe guard funds and spend them as wisely and effectively as possible to achieve their goals. CBB Management Report

2010 Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album

Ag Groups, Audio, Beef, Cattle Industry Conference

Syngenta Seeds and John Deere Credit Team Up

Cindy Zimmerman

Syngenta SeedsSyngenta Seeds has teamed up with John Deere Credit to offer grower financing solutions through Farm PlanTM for the 2011 crop season. Qualified growers purchasing Garst®, Golden Harvest® and NK® brand seed products will be eligible to receive season-long financing, with attractive cash discounts, at competitive interest rates through Farm Plan.

jd creditChuck Lee, head of Syngenta Seeds corn and soybean marketing, says they look forward to making financing an option for their customers. “At Syngenta, we are always looking for ways to help growers build a successful and profitable business,” he said.

“Farm Plan is a great fit with Syngenta because we serve the same customer, ” said Scott Cline, vice president of marketing at John Deere Credit. “Our strategic relationship with Syngenta is helping us achieve our goal of providing dependable solutions that help qualified producers get what they need when they need it.”

Qualified growers will have access to financing through Farm Plan this coming fall.

John Deere, Syngenta

Introducing The Sustainable Beef Resource Center

Chuck Zimmerman

The Sustainable Beef Resource Center was announced during the Cattle Industry Summer Conference. It is actually a re-name of the Growth Enhancement Technology Team (GET IT).

The Chairman of the SBRC is Paul Parker, Pfizer Animal Health. He’s pictured here being interviewed by Evan Slack and his light blue bumpered new iPhone. I interviewed Paul with mine!

Paul says the name was changed to better reflect their mission while not raising alarms with consumers. The mission is to provide information to fill the gap in information about technologies to enhance the production of beef. Paul Parker Interview

2010 Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album

Ag Groups, Agribusiness, Audio, Beef, Cattle Industry Conference

Cattle Industry Conference Media Reception

Chuck Zimmerman

Thank you once again to Merial for not only sponsoring the media room at the Cattle Industry Summer Conference but also our media reception. It’s a very nice opportunity to meet in a relaxed social atmosphere without having to “work.”

Pictured is Daren Williams, NCBA, welcoming us and thanking our sponsor. We have a great group of ag media folks here at the conference and you can find photos of them hard at work in the photo album.

2010 Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album

Cattle Industry Conference

Issues Facing Cattle Industry

Chuck Zimmerman

The NCBA President Elect is Bill Donald from Montana. He’s pictured here speaking with CBB Vice Chairman, Tom Jones. I talked with Bill about the issues facing cattle producers.

Bill says there are several issues. They include the death tax, the GIPSA rules and the decline of the U.S. cattle herd. Some of these are more time sensitive than others and he says NCBA is hard at work on them. When it comes to the decline in the cow herd he says one ramification is losing infrastructure which would be devastating to the future of the industry. Bill Donald Interview

2010 Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album

Ag Groups, Audio, Beef, Cattle Industry Conference, NCBA

BASF Survey Identifies Grower Concerns

Cindy Zimmerman

What causes farmers the most headaches? That’s what BASF Crop Protection set out to determine in a survey they recently completed and released at the Ag Media Summit in St. Paul earlier this week.

basfMore than 600 corn, hay, soybean and wheat growers from 44 states participated in the survey, which questioned them about their concerns about the future and specific challenges they face with regard to crop production.

According to BASF Technical Services Regional Manager Dr. Gary Fellows (pictured center) says the survey asked farmers their major concerns looking ahead in the next five years. “Two of those, which occupied them 52 percent of the time, was controlling input costs and maximizing yield,” Gary says. Three other concerns the farmers mentioned were the future of their farm, land issues, and whether they want to expand.

The rest of the survey asked growers about the challenges they face, and they identified three major areas – stress tolerance of crops, unpredictable weather, and residual control of weeds. Fifty-four percent of growers indicated that disease pressure is a major concern and 75 percent of growers indicated that stress tolerance of crops is a difficult issue to manage.

Gary says that BASF already offers products, like Headline and Kixor, that can help growers meet the challenges they face. But they survey helped them to make sure they are looking for the right products down the road. “And we’re pretty excited, because in the next four years we have 28 new products we should be launching, with nine brand new active ingredients,” said Gary.

Listen to or download Chuck’s interview with Gary Fellows from AMS here:
Gary Fellows Interview

Ag Media Summit, Audio, BASF

AGROTAIN Participates in CTIC Tour

Cindy Zimmerman

cticChuck gets back from 11 days on the road Saturday and has one day to unpack and repack before heading out to learn more about how agriculture protects water quality and improves soil health at the Conservation Technology Information Center, Conservation In Action Tour, August 2-3.

The tour will visit farm operations in east central Virginia that embody “Conservation in Action.” The final stop of the tour will also feature a Nutrient Use Efficiency Expo of tools, technology and equipment that make nutrient use more efficient, more profitable and more effective. Companies making this event possible include Syngenta, Pioneer, The Fertilizer Institute, John Deere, Mosaic, and AGROTAIN International.

agrotainI talked with AGROTAIN’s Tim Healey about their participation in the event and the importance of communicating with farmers about the efficient use of nutrients. Listen to or download that interview here:
Tim Healey Interview

Because the tour size was limited, CTIC and AGROTAIN are both sponsoring coverage of the event here on Agwired to bring the educational information offered there to farmers who are unable to attend. Start watching for CTIC Conservation in Action coverage here starting on Monday.

Audio, Conservation, CTIC, Farming