Multimedia Master For Agriculture.com

Chuck Zimmerman

Jason MeekerWhen it comes to multimedia content on the new Agriculture.com you will find lots of it. Talk about media convergence! Successful Farming magazine not only has an online home but in the latest issue of the printed publication you’ll find video content! Yes, it’s true and I got away without taking a photo of it to share. I’m pretty sure I can get one though. Okay, let’s get back to the website. Jason Meeker is the manager of multimedia content. He says they’re now able to feature video on all of the various sections and pages. In fact, visitors will be able to add their own videos very soon. Right now they can upload their own photos and share them.

Jason says the new Agriculture.com is all about sharing content within and without of the community. He says they’re continuing to produce regular feature content like Machinery Pete. I had to look in envy at Jason’s Mac Pro which he uses to edit a lot of their video content. Jason’s also very involved in the Successful Farming Machinery Show on RFD-TV. Jason Meeker Interview

Agriculture.com Public Launch Photo Album

Audio, Media

The Agriculture.com Community

Chuck Zimmerman

Jeff CaldwellContinuing my behind the scenes look at the new Agriculture.com let’s meet Jeff Caldwell, Jeff helps manage the “community” that makes up the online home of Successful Farming magazine. One of the interesting things he’s found about the members of the community are how they get involved. As you might imagine if you think about it as a group of people sharing common interests and ideas, some are very active and some aren’t. According to Jeff the very active members make up about one percent of the total with almost twenty percent willing to do posts and comments. That leaves almost eighty percent who “lurk” which means they’re reading, watching and listening. I think this is very common to most online communities and why I don’t recommend measuring success of your online efforts just on how many people may comment on a blog for example. Unless you realize that the percentage of people doing so is very small.

Within the new Agriculture.com there continues to be a number of topical forums like the award winning Farmers for the Future targeted to young farmers. Jeff is the “hall monitor” for these forums which is very important. Successful Farming doesn’t just set up a forum for discussion and then walk away. Jeff monitors the conversation, contributes and even encourages participants.

Another way Jeff utilizes the information posted by community participants is for his own editorial purposes. By seeing what they are talking about he learns what’s important to them and that is a big help in determining the type of editorial content he should be focusing on with his own writing. All in all, I think you’ll find that Jeff and his team are very in tune with their audience by being part of the online family. Jeff Caldwell Interview

Agriculture.com Public Launch Photo Album

Audio, Media

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Nutrients for Life Foundation and GATX Corporation unveiled a specially-designed railcar July 25 during a reception held in conjunction with the Southwestern Fertilizer Conference in San Antonio, Texas. The railcar, emblazoned with the Nutrients for Life logo, will travel across the country delivering potash and creating awareness about the Foundation and fertilizer.
  • Mahindra USA continues its commitment to provide hard-working, high value tractors in the United States with the launch of 13 new models for the 2011 season.
  • Wheat growers and state wheat organization representatives should register now to attend the 2010 Fall Wheat Conference, scheduled for Oct. 22 to 25 in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.
  • The Pfizer Animal Health business is pioneering the way animal health companies use social media. Stay connected to Pfizer on Facebook, or follow your species of choice on Twitter. Pork, Dairy or Beef.
    Zimfo Bytes

    Novus White Paper Touts Benefits of Methionine

    Cindy Zimmerman

    novusHaving enough high quality protein to feed a growing world population in the future could very well be dependent on an essential amino acid known as methionine.

    Now, essential amino acids may not be very sexy, unless you’re a molecular biologist – but they are just what they say they are – essential to life – and they serve the critically important function of being the building blocks of proteins. Hence, the importance in feeding the world. That is why Novus International executive vice president Giovanni Gasperoni recently wrote a white paper on the Global Outlook for Methionine in the Next Decade.

    novusMethionine is beneficial as a feed supplement across the spectrum of livestock production, but particularly in poultry, which is an important and inexpensive source of protein through both meat and eggs. “It cannot be synthesized by the animal, so it needs to be added to the diet since the animal needs more than they can receive from corn or soybean meal,” Giovanni says. Because poultry is such an important protein source, the demand for methionine is proportionate to the demand for protein, poultry in particular. Giovanni says because of growing populations and income, China, India and Africa can benefit most from increased use of methionine in poultry. “China is the fastest growing country for methionine,” he says, because industrialization of the poultry industry has already occurred there and the next step for them is to move more into processing of poultry meat.

    Because the corporate vision of Novus is “helping to feed the world affordable, wholesome food,” Giovanni hopes people read the paper to better recognize and appreciate the role of feed supplements like methionine in achieving that goal. “For people to understand that improving the efficiency of the animal is the way to go for a more sustainable world, a way to make the cost of food more affordable for everybody,” he says.

    Link to Novus white paper here.

    Listen to or download my interview with Giovanni Gasperoni on the importance of methionine here: Giovanni Gasperoni

    Audio, Novus International, Poultry

    Agriculture.com Looks Good on iPad

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Successful Farming iPadsIf you don’t have an iPad then just ask your Successful Farming and Agriculture.com representative to show you theirs. Here’s the team with their tablets all showing the new Agriculture.com.

    I’m going to continue my coverage of the public launch of Agriculture.com tomorrow with several more behind the scenes interviews talking about the community, multi-media tools, markets and the mobile version. It’s time to head back to ZimmComm World Headquarters for this agriblogger. See you from there tomorrow.

    Agriculture.com Public Launch Photo Album

    Media

    The Agriculture.com Philosopher

    Chuck Zimmerman

    John Walter is the Executive Editor of Agriculture.com but in reality he’s the philosopher for the home of Successful Farming online.

    John is showing off his new iPad which he used to show me some of the new features on the website. John says there are three legs to the the website, the farmer, the publisher and the agrimarketer and they all interact on an equal basis. He calls it the Co-Active Network as shown by the graphic.

    Anyone can create a “persona” on the site that then allows them to use the interactive tools for the purposes of activities like commenting or selling something via a classified ad. Farmers can even comment on the markets. I’m betting there will be some very interesting thoughts shared there! John Walter Interview

    Agriculture.com Public Launch Photo Album

    Audio, Media

    Background On New Agriculture.com

    Chuck Zimmerman

    The first office I visited here at Meredith Corporation headquarters was that of Scott Mortimer (left). Visiting with us were my guide for the day, Curt Blades and Successful Farming Editor In Chief, Loren Kruse (right).

    We had a conversation about why they rebuilt Agriculture.com, the online home of Successful Farming magazine. Scott says it had been about 6 years since a major change of this magnitude had been conducted and the current effort actually started 2 years ago. I agreed with Loren that content is still king and even though the new website is employing some interesting new technology, farmers and ranchers will still find the same level of agricultural news and information they’ve always expected from Successful Farming. Interview with Scott Mortimer and Loren Kruse

    I’ve been shooting photos here at the Successful Farming headquarters and will be adding to them during the day: Agriculture.com Public Launch Photo Album

    Audio, Media

    How Do You Like Agriculture.com

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Yes, one website can promote another! Today AgWired is promoting Agriculture.com.

    Of course a little screen shot is nice but you need to visit Agriculture.com and start clicking away to get the full effect. I’ll be doing it myself while talking with members of the design team today to learn what they’ve put together and why.

    Please feel free to post your comments. What do you think? New and improved? Like it?

    Media