Alltech Fun Run

Chuck Zimmerman

Alltech SymposiumAt Alltech’s 26th International Animal Health and Nutrition Industry Symposium we got a break from the weather for an early morning Fun Run.

This is a very healthy component of the annual event and we had what looked like a near record number of participants this year.

I don’t know who won. I think we’re all winners! I was just glad to cross the finish line.

We’ve got the opening general session coming up soon. I’ll be there posting from the session so check back often.

2010 Alltech Symposium Photo Album

Here’s the start of the Fun Run.

Alltech, Video

Alltech Sings At International Dinner

Chuck Zimmerman

Alltech SymposiumThe Alltech 26th International Animal Health and Nutrition Industry Symposium got underway this evening with the International Dinner. This may be the 26th Symposium but it’s the celebration of 30 years since Alltech was founded by Dr. Pearse Lyons.

Once again this year Dr. Everett McCorvey, Professor of Voice at the University of Kentucky Opera Theatre, introduced some wonderful voices to sing for us. You can listen to one of the songs below.

The audience also got into the act on a couple of songs like “My Old Kentucky Home” and “Molly Malone.”

I’ve updated the photo album and we’ll get started at 9am with our first general session. So until then . . .

2010 Alltech Symposium Photo Album

Alltech, Audio, Uncategorized

131 Days Until Alltech World Equestrian Games

Chuck Zimmerman

Alltech SymposiumWe’re still counting down the days until the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. 131 to go as of today. We may be counting down to the games but the annual Alltech International Animal Health and Nutrition Symposium is underway in Lexington, KY.

I’m getting ready to go to the opening International Dinner in just a few minutes and will have more to report later this evening. This opening dinner is a great start to making new friends and getting re-acquainted with old ones from around the world.

I’ll be covering this year’s Symposium primarily on AgWired. For additional information please visit the Alltech Symposium blog. You can also find it in Spanish.

The photo album has already been started and you can find it here: 2010 Alltech Symposium Photo Album

Alltech

Can the Local Food Movement Feed the World?

Joanna Schroeder

I think that one, living in California, and two, living on a ranch, is causing me to obsess about food. Or maybe it is because publishers keep sending me books about food to review (come back next week for one of those very reviews). Regardless of the reason, I was in Whole Foods last week and the last few times I was there, I noticed that they are labeling all of their fruit and produce by country, and sometimes, city of origin (also known as food labeling a separate topic for discussion). The idea is to support local farmers first, and then to support American farmers second.

There are several driving factors for this change at Whole Foods one of which is that many people believe that as much as possible, they should eat local food. While the definition of local food varies, basically it is food that was produced within 250 miles of where you live. Second, people believe our food supply is not safe and knowing the country of origin of spinach will give them some sort of piece of mind, i.e. American food is safer.

Oftentimes, these same people are promoting that the local food movement will feed the world (and save Africa, yet another discussion you can read about here) but there are some serious problems with this way of thinking. Many people in our country do not live in areas that can even begin to produce food within 250 miles….Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada are just three states that could never produce enough food to feed their populations because they don’t have enough water and they would have to put land into production.

People are criticizing agriculture for the amount of land they use when in reality, farmers are producing MORE each year using LESS land. Hey enviros – are you prepared to put millions of acres of land back into production to ensure your local food supply?

People are also criticizing agriculture for the amount of irrigation needed to grow your food. Do you realize that the local food you eat is irrigated? No food grows without water. That being said, there are companies dedicated to creating hybrids that require less water but still have high yields. There I go again, it’s that less is more thing ag’s got going on.

Don’t get me wrong, I say this all the time and will continue to say it, I’m all for local food production and the support of small, family owned farms – I live on one. But we can not feed the world with local food production. However, production farmers can and will feed the world in a sustainable manner all while producing more from less. Now that’s something we need to get behind.

Farming, Food

Richard Knowlton in Meat Industry Hall of Fame

Chuck Zimmerman

The Meat Industry Hall of Fame is profiling their inaugural class members. Richard “Dick” Knowlton is the first one that I’ve received information on.

Meat and poultry production has been a primary component of the nation’s agricultural productivity—a bedrock of our security and economic might. Meat and poultry processing has responsibility for industry growth that has provided many communities with robust economic activity, millions of jobs and a legacy of accomplishment and progress.

The MEAT INDUSTRY HALL OF FAME®.was created to be a repository of that history and a shrine to the leaders and legends whose vision, skill and dedication shaped and sustained the meat industry as the leading sector of food production.

Richard L. “Dick” Knowlton, a member of the inaugural class of the Meat Industry Hall of Fame®, began his career at Hormel Foods in 1956 as a merchandising manager and eventually became president and chief operating officer in 1979 and chairman in 1981. He managed Hormel Foods to consistent profitability and propelled the once staid, old-line meat packing company into the future by spearheading a company-wide emphasis on development of value- added products.

Among his many business accomplishments, he managed the company through a massive re-invention of its product lines to become a modern retail powerhouse. He built a $100 million state-of-the-art processing plant in Austin, Minnesota that in 1982 was the most productive in the industry and featured robotic technology that was years ahead of the industry.

Ag Day

Alltech’s United Nations of Agriculture

Chuck Zimmerman

Billy Frey calls the Alltech Symposium the “U.N. of agriculture.” I got a preview of the year’s event from him this morning that I thought I’d share. I’ll get in to Lexington, KY Sunday afternoon prior to the opening International Dinner. He says they’ll have over 1.500 in attendance this year with over half of them coming from outside the United States. They’ll be coming to learn more about animal nutrition for all species (beef, dairy, swine, aqua, poultry, equine and pets). Besides all the Symposium programs there’s also a lot of sharing of ideas which has been a real benefit seen by attendees year after year.

This year their will be live streams from the Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning sessions which you’ll find on their website.

You can listen to my interview with Billy below.

Alltech, Animal Health, Audio, Uncategorized

Gadgets For Communications

Chuck Zimmerman

This summer I will be conducting several presentations for ag communications groups and the use of new technology (gadgets) will be a central theme. I’m looking for some feedback here on what you would most like to know on this subject. Feel free to leave comments or email me. I’m thinking of doing a series of posts on the subject too.

Questions I would like some feedback on include:

How important is technology to your job?
Does your company organization provide sufficient technology support? Do you have a gadget budget?
What type of gadgets are you most interested in learning more about: computers, netbooks, tablets, cameras, audio recorders, video recorders, software, methods of internet access, memory cards/readers, cloud services for web apps/data storage, hard drives, archive solutions. Feel free to mention specific brands or items.
How do you currently use gadgets in your job?
Do you need training? What method of training would be most useful?
What gadgets do you currently own and use in your job?
What gadgets do you want the most?

And speaking of gadgets. Here’s an ad for one of my most recent ones that I use a lot.

Equipment, Technology

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

Zimfo Bytes

MO Commodity Groups Step Up To Plate

Chuck Zimmerman

Actually St. Louis Cardinals left-fielder, Matt Holliday, is “Stepping Up To The Plate.”

A coalition of Missouri agriculture organizations has launched a summer education campaign with the St. Louis Cardinals. Themed “Stepping Up to the Plate,” the goal of this initiative is to increase consumer understanding of how today’s farmers are using the latest technology to provide safe, affordable, nutritious food. And the agriculture coalition is bringing in a heavy hitter.

St. Louis Cardinals left-fielder Matt Holliday is teaming up with Missouri corn, soybean, beef, pork, poultry and dairy producers to highlight the great strides farmers are making in meeting the nation’s growing nutritional needs while improving the environment. A native of Oklahoma, the nation’s number two producer of beef cattle, Holliday is partnering with Missouri farmers on an advertising campaign featuring radio ads, grocery store promotions and print advertising.

(Pictured from left): Kevin Hurst, corn farmer from Tarkio; Archie “Rusty” Mulford, poultry farmer from Aurora.; Donna Telle, dairy farmer from Uniontown; Matt Holliday, left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals; John Ridder, beef farmer from Marthasville; Rick Rehmeier, hog farmer from Augusta; Warren Stemme, soybean farmer from Chesterfield.

Cindy interviewed the Missouri Beef Industry Council’s (MBIC) representative on the MO Ag Team, John Ridder, who is now going by the name “Mr. Baseball” in the Missouri beef community. John kind of likes the name and is really excited about the promotion and working with all the state commodity groups. “We all kind of got together and shared some advertising dollars to help put a positive spin on agriculture with all the negative reports that are in the media,” John says. “We just want to have a good image in the public.”

The radio spots are already airing during the Cardinals games and they are also doing a tie-in promotion with Schnuck’s grocery stores and John says they are even getting their own baseball cards. During Friday night home games they will also be having a tailgate party to get out and actually meet the public.

Listen to or download Cindy’s interview with John here that will be featured as an upcoming MBIC weekly radio report:

Ag Groups, Audio, Beef, Corn, Dairy, Pork, Poultry, Soybean

Sorghum Offering Alternative To Celiac Diet

Chuck Zimmerman

United Sorghum Checkoff ProgramI was interested to see that the Sorghum Checkoff is holding a food workshop since I’ve got a brother and sister who have Celiac disease. It made a major impact on their lives since so much of food today contains gluten. However, sorghum is providing an alternative.

The Sorghum Checkoff, in conjunction with USDA/ARS, is sponsoring a sorghum food workshop for food industry leaders on how to use sorghum in whole grain and gluten-free applications. The workshop will be held June 2-3, 2010 in Manhattan, Kan., in recognition of the Whole Grains Council’s “Sorghum Month”.

“Sorghum has been a staple food in countries around the world for years and has just begun to increase in popularity as a human food source in the U.S.,” said James Vorderstrasse, sorghum producer and Sorghum Checkoff board member from Hebron, Neb. “It is a gluten-free grain so it is an excellent choice for those with Celiac disease and for diabetics because of its low glycemic index. This conference will educate many of the major players in food processing about sorghum’s benefits and potential in the human food industry.”

For more information about the sorghum food workshop, please see the seminar notice on our website at www.sorghumcheckoff.com or contact Executive Director Virgil Smail at virgil@sorghumcheckoff.com.

Ag Groups, Food, sorghum