Winning Hearts and Minds, One at a Time

John Davis

One of the issues folks in the pork industry know they have is that too many in the public don’t understand what they do. And if they don’t understand, they’re liable not to support hog farmers’ efforts. While an event like World Pork Expo here in Des Moines is important to educate producers and industry folks, there’s also great value in educating people who might never make it to an event like this. That’s why our friends at Boehringer Ingelheim sponsored a seminar this afternoon, entitled, “Creating a Positive Public Image of Today’s Pork Industry.”

Malcolm DeKryger, Vice President for DeMotte, IN-based, Belstra Milling, talked to the group gathered about his company’s efforts, showing and not just telling people how they operate.

“We have put one of our [hog] farms through a remodel process that put in windows so that people can go to almost any barn on the farm and look inside to see what’s going on.”

DeKryger says when groups come out to his Iroquois Valley Swine Breeders operation, they have what he calls the “Oh, WOW!” moment, when they see for themselves how well cared the pigs really are. In addition, they’ve installed two live webcams at www.RealPigFarm.com, where anyone can watch 24 hours a day what goes on. He says his folks are proud of how they handle the animals and want to share what they do day-to-day.

In addition, DeKryger meets with key lawmakers to make his point that animal feeding operations are necessary to feed the large populations, especially in cities such as Chicago. He says they’re winning hearts and minds, one at a time.

“Between a tour like that, where we make contact person-to-person and with the [donations to the local food banks], I really do believe there’s an affirmation as I visit with key decision makers.”

DeKryger says they take all the proper biosecurity measures and make sure that no one from outside the farm (besides the vet) makes contacts with the pigs. He believes that more companies could and should make efforts like this for the overall good of the pork industry.

“We need to have a unified voice to let people know that this is good stuff that happens out on these farms.”

Check out our World Pork Expo 2010 Photo Album.

AgWired coverage of the World Pork Expo 2010 is sponsored by:
Novus and boehringer-ingelheim.

Audio, Boehringer Ingelheim, Novus International, Pork, Swine, World Pork Expo

Unveiling New John Deere Gator XUV’s

Chuck Zimmerman

John Deere is about to unveil its new line of Gator XUV utility vehicles for the media in Charlotte, NC. I’ll post a photo after the unveiling and a video clip later this evening.

In the meantime, just look at the veil and drool!

John Deere recently unleashed its most performance-driven Gator utility vehicles yet. Targeted toward the true outdoor adventurist, the 2011 lineup of Crossover Utility Vehicles (XUV) is packed with advanced features that deliver an unparalleled balance between work and recreation.

Yes, I’ll have more later. Just a teaser.

John Deere

American Agriculture’s Strategic National Asset

Chuck Zimmerman

CUTCThe Corn Utilization and Technology Conference concluded today with a final general session on water usage. Opening the session was Rick Tolman, CEO, National Corn Growers Association. I met with Rick before heading back to the agriblogging highway and we talked about his message of agvocating. That of course is advocating for agriculture.

Rick says we have such a great story to tell that he calls us “agriculture’s strategic national asset.” The agribusiness sector is so productive and has many success stories but unfortunately some of the discussion going on at the national level is very negative. So he says it’s up to us to change the conversation around. That’s why NCGA has worked at not only creating its own social media information channels but has scheduled workshops for growers to learn how to use today’s new communications technologies to make their voice heard in the online conversation. If you know me then you know how much I agree with the approach NCGA is taking! Rick says that it’s very important for farmers to make their voice heard because research shows that consumers are more trusting of information about food when it comes from the farmer than many other sources.

You can listen to my interview with Rick below.

Don’t forget to check out the CUTC Photo Album

Ag Groups, Audio, Corn, CUTC, NCGA, Social Networking

World Pork Expo Attendees Entertained by Local Marching Band

Joanna Schroeder

In an earlier post, John wrote about the National Pork Board’s (NPB) celebration of its Pork Quality Assurance Plus program and the milestone of having nearly 60 percent of all hogs in the U.S. and nearly 50,000 producers certified. This announcement was made during a morning press conference, as part of the World Pork Expo in Des Moines, IA.

This afternoon, NPB made a public presentation and kicked off the celebration with the Earlham High School marching band. The group marched down Grand Avenue and through dozens of exhibitor tents and ended their journey in front of NPC’s “We Care” trailer. During the brief presentation, a success ‘o meter was unveiled and after the conclusion of the presentation, the celebration was rounded out with free maple bacon ice cream.

Follow more of our coverage from World Pork Expo at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines here on Agwired.com and on our Twitter accounts @jdavisreporter, @jmschroeder, and later this week, @farmpodcaster … hashtag #WPX10. You can also check out the event in our World Pork Expo 2010 Photo Album.

AgWired coverage of the World Pork Expo 2010 is sponsored by:
Novus and boehringer-ingelheim.

Novus International, Pork, Swine, Video, World Pork Expo

Pork Quality Assurance Plus: Good for Consumers & Producers

John Davis

One of the highlights from this year’s World Pork Expo at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines is the celebration of the Pork Quality Assurance Plus program and the milestone of having about 60 percent of all hogs in the U.S. and nearly 50,000 producers certified under the program’s guidelines.

Chris Novak, Chief Executive Officer of the National Pork Board says while consumers trust farmers, they don’t always understand what producers do. He says, even in areas, where hogs operations are more common, such as Iowa, too many people don’t know what they’re getting with a quality piece of pork and too many times overcook it, ruining its natural, juicy flavor and texture. And Novak says that message is even more important to audiences in Los Angeles and New York, who might be even more removed from the farm environment.

“We’re going to make certain the messages we put out are just as relevant to a housewife or husband [anywhere] who is preparing the family meals [that pork] is healthy, convenient and fun as well. And we know we can offer that with pork.” Novak adds that they hope their efforts will increase per capita spending on pork by 10 percent.

And from the other end of the line, the National Pork Board wants to emphasize to producers how easy it really is to become certified under the Pork Quality Assurance program.

“Most producers are already doing probably 90 percent of [the requirements under the program],” says Tim Bierman, National Pork Board president and a pork producer from Larrabee, Iowa. He adds that while there are a few things a farmer might have to do a little differently, they should jump right in and get rolling to get their operations certified.

“If there’s something [producers] need to change, there’s no penalties or anything like that. It’s just another set of eyes, and it could help them be more efficient.”

Listen to more of my conversations with Chris and Tim in the players below.

Follow more of our coverage from World Pork Expo at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines here on Agwired.com and on our Twitter accounts @jdavisreporter, @jmschroeder, and later this week, @farmpodcaster … hashtag #WPX10. You can also check out the event in our World Pork Expo 2010 Photo Album.

You can download (mp3) and listen to Chris’ remarks here: wpx10-novak.mp3

You can download (mp3) and listen to Tim’s remarks here: wpx10-bierman.mp3

AgWired coverage of the World Pork Expo 2010 is sponsored by:
Novus International

Audio, Novus International, Pork, Swine, World Pork Expo

Novus International Welcomes Pork Producers to World Pork Expo

Joanna Schroeder

I’ve been hanging out in the Novus International tent this morning during World Pork Expo and the place is busy with activity. Two areas that have been highly discussed around the tables are American legislation to ban the use of certain antibiotics in livestock and poultry. This has already been done in Europe and with the global marketplace for food, other countries are looking at adopting similar European policies. A second topic of interest has been the importance of feed quality and the problems that pork producers have been having over the past 12-18 months dealing with micotoxins.

Since these issues are so important, I sat down with Helen Stebbens, Ph.D. in Pig Nutrition for Novus Europe to discuss organic acids, an alternative to antibiotics that have been used with much success overseas. In addition, I spoke with Scott Moore, Regional Sales Director for Novus about the importance of feed quality and some products that producers can use to combat issues such as micotoxins. Check back later today for both of these stories and audio interviews.

And don’t forget to check out our World Pork Expo 2010 Photo Album.

AgWired coverage of the World Pork Expo 2010 is sponsored by:
Novus International

Novus International, Pork, Swine, World Pork Expo

BASF Introduces Sustainability Analysis Tool

Cindy Zimmerman

BASF ChicagoSustainability has become a challenge to the agriculture industry because everyone seems to have a different definition of the word and ways to objectively measure sustainability are seriously lacking.

BASF ChicagoBASF announced an Eco-Efficiency Analysis tool during the 2010 Ag Media Summit in Chicago today that examines the entire lifecycle of a crop to measure and manage sustainability. “When we look at all the inputs that go into producing, storing, transporting, applying and then disposing of a crop protection product, we have a more detailed approach of measuring inputs, outputs and benefits,” says Paul Rea, BASF vice president for crop protection in the U.S.

The real bottom line to better sustainability is really simply increasing yields, and Paul says that can be achieved in a variety of ways. “Such as the use of new technologies, new innovations that can actually help farmers achieve more with less,” he said. That includes plant health products like BASF Headline that increase yields, as well as biotech advancements in areas such as drought tolerance.

Listen to an interview with Paul in the player below.

BASF Ag Media Summit on Sustainability photo album

Audio, BASF, Sustainability, Uncategorized

Carney: More Upbeat at This Year’s World Pork Expo

John Davis

It’s a much more upbeat attitude at this year’s World Pork Expo in at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines.

National Pork Producers Council President Sam Carney, a pork producer from Adair, Iowa, welcomed members of the media this morning and says they are expecting much bigger crowds than they’ve seen in the last couple of years because of the economy and concerns over H1N1.

“We’re expecting about 15,000 people, we have over 400 exhibitors, 1700 pigs in the open show, and between 23-27 countries coming.”

Carney also had a couple of quick comments about the 2012 Farm Bill and the NPPC’s stand of just making sure nothing is in there that will hinder producers.

“We do not want our producers to be tied down. We want them to have the freedom to sell their pigs.”

Carney points out that over the last three years, the pork industry has gone through some of the worst times in its history, and NPPC wants to make sure the Farm Bill will help them recover.

You can hear Sam’s remarks in the player below.

Check out our World Pork Expo 2010 Photo Album.

AgWired coverage of the World Pork Expo 2010 is sponsored by:
Novus International

Audio, Novus International, Pork, Swine, World Pork Expo

China Perspective On CUTC

Chuck Zimmerman

Li BinThe Corn Utilization and Technology Conference has international participants. We have quite a few from China. I had an opportunity to speak with Li Bin, CEO, Xin Jiang Tianda Biotechnology Co., Ltd., pictured here with Linyi Li, Novozymes China, my interpreter. Thank you Linyi!

I asked him what stimulated his interest in participating. He says that corn utilization in China is one of the largest in the world and he wanted this chance to see what kind of products and technology we have. He is impressed with the organization and diversity of information provided here. He was very interested in how ethanol and production by-products like DDGs have developed here in the United States since they have not progressed to that point in China yet.

You can listen to my interview with Li Bin below.

Don’t forget to check out the CUTC Photo Album

I’ll be heading out from the CUTC today to see the newest utility vehicles being introduced by John Deere. So see you from there next.

Ag Groups, Audio, Corn, CUTC, International

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • According to the new Rabobank U.S. Farm & Ranch Survey, more than 70 percent of U.S. agricultural producers now report that they have taken a range of measures on sustainable ag practices – the highest level since the survey began in 2008.
  • The United Soybean Board/soybean checkoff will sponsor the National Tractor Pullers Association’s 2010 season and its newest competition division, the Light Pro Stock class. As part of this new program, all of the tractors competing in the Light Pro Stock class will run on biodiesel.
  • A newly-released International Food Information Council survey shows that an overwhelming percentage of consumers will choose foods that are produced through biotechnology based on environmental benefits and sustainable agricultural practices.
  • Biagro Western is now licensed to distribute Bluestim in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Bluestim is a natural, organically certified and environmentally safe product tested on a wide variety of open field vegetables and crops under commercial cultivation conditions.
    Zimfo Bytes