Corn Crib is Illinois Field of Dreams

Cindy Zimmerman

corn cribIt’s definitely a field of dreams, but instead of building a ball field in a corn field, Illinois corn farmers are growing corn in a ball field.

As part of the landscaping at the new home for the Normal CornBelters, the Corn Crib has small plots of corn planted under the scoreboard. “We wanted to show as much as we could actually what corn is,” said Illinois Corn Growers Field Services Director Jim Tarmann. “So, we’ve got six different mini-plots of field corn that are already coming up and we planted that ourselves.” Local FFA chapters are growing specialty corn, including popcorn and sweet corn, that will be worked into the as-yet-unfinished landscape in and around the ball park. Pioneer and Syngenta are also part of that project as co-sponsors of the new team and stadium.

corn cribJim says the Illinois beef and pork producers and Prairie Farms are sponsors as well. “We’re all very excited about this new venue to talk about modern production agriculture,” he said during an interview we did in the Illinois Corn office this morning.

Nearly 6,000 fans attended the opening home game Tuesday night against the Windy City Thunderbolts, and even though the Cornbelters lost the game 3-2, it was an exciting game in the end and everyone had a great time. Listen to or download my interview with Jim in the player below and check out the rest of the photos from the event.

Normal CornBelters Corn Crib Opener Photo Album

Audio, Corn, Uncategorized

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

    ICMB Chairman Throws Opening Pitch at Corn Crib

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Interviewing Jim RappThrowing out one of the opening pitches for the Normal CornBelters baseball home game at the Corn Crib was Jim Rapp, Illinois Corn Marketing Board. Cindy took a photo of me interviewing him as we came off the mound and you can find more photos in the photo album.

    I talked to Jim about the ICMB support for this stadium and team. He thinks it’s great and says he wishes he had a chance to do some practice pitches before getting on the mound in front of the crowd.

    Normal CornBelters Corn Crib Opener Photo Album

    You can listen to my interview with Jim here.

    Ag Groups, Audio, Corn

    Illinois Corn Growers Present the Corn Crib

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Normal CornBeltersIt’s opening night for the Normal CornBelters baseball team at the brand new Corn Crib stadium. The Corn Crib is presented by Illinois Corn Farmers and the AgWired team is set up in their suite getting ready for the first pitch.

    We’ll be here taking photos and getting some interviews throughout the evening. Of course we’ve already got a photo album started. You can find it here: Normal CornBelters Corn Crib Opener

    We’ll be tweeting @AgriBlogger and @FarmPodcaster so you may want to keep an eye there for photos and other notes while we obtain more content to load here.

    Rod WeinzierlTo get things started Cindy interviewed Rod Weinzierl, Executive Director, Illinois Corn Growers and Illinois Corn Marketing Board. Rod says that the fans in the area selecting the team name and that caught the attention of the Association. They worked out an agreement to name the stadium the Corn Crib.

    You can listen to Cindy’s interview with Rod here.

    Ag Groups, Audio, Corn

    BASF Looks to Register Three New Products

    Cindy Zimmerman

    BASF Crop Protection has filed for registration of three new active ingredients that are expected to influence crop management worldwide.

    basfBASF announced today that it has made multi-lateral, worldwide regulatory submissions for new products — Xemium™ fungicide, and Initium™ fungicide. Both were filed with regulatory authorities in the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. BASF also submitted Alpha-cypermethrin™ insecticide to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for review.

    “Ongoing laboratory and in-field research shows these three products will help growers in ways they’ve never been helped before,” said Nevin McDougall, Senior Vice President, BASF Agricultural Solutions, North America. “Xemium and Initium fungicides are the result of the BASF research and discovery process. We are committed to bringing innovative solutions to the market to help growers get the most out of every acre.”

    Xemium, a new mode of action in disease protection, is being studied in a wide range of crops including fruits, vegetables and row crops. Initium fungicide is being researched on a number of specialty crops and will bring growers added disease protection. Alpha-cypermethrin insecticide is being tested globally in several row and specialty crops.

    I did interviews with Paul Rea, Director of BASF US Crop Protection Division, and BASF Technical Service Manager Rick Chamblee at this year’s Commodity Classic where they talked about BASF’s plans to introduce nine active ingredients in the next four years and 28 new products. Listen to those interviews here.

    BASF

    AgChat Foundation Receives Seed To Succeed Grant

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Harvest PR & Marketing has just announced the recipient of its second annual Seed To Succeed nonprofit PR Grant. It’s the AgChat Foundation! The grant is valued at $20,000.

    Harvest PR’s grant will help the start-up nonprofit spread its “agvocacy” message and share news of its core program areas, including Agvocacy Training and Technology Scholarships.

    “The AgChat mission really resonated with our team, as it clearly has with thousands of grassroots supporters across North America that make up the backbone of this farmer-led organization,” said Heidi Nelson, founder and principal of the boutique public relations and marketing firm. “We’re honored to lend our public relations support to the AgChat Foundation through our second annual grant offering.”

    Here at ZimmComm we’re also committed to assisting the AgChat Foundation and have committed an in-kind contribution of our own that totals nearly $10,000 for advertising and promotional services. That’s outside of my own volunteer efforts as one of the current board members.

    If your company or organization can provide some assistance to the AgChat Foundation don’t hesitate to call me or any of the members of the board.

    Ag Groups, Agencies, Public Relations

    Wisconsin Is All About Dairy In June

    Chuck Zimmerman

    ZimmCast 261Since it’s Dairy Month this week’s program is all about dairy with an interview I conducted bright and early this morning. I called up Matt Joyce, Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, and we talked about Dairy Month.

    The WMMB has a lot of online resources for consumers and anyone who wants to know more about dairy and the role it plays in a nutritional well-balanced diet. Some examples I would point you to include, Wake Up With Dairy, which all about good recipes and where you can find the closest dairy breakfast. Another one is Dairy Doing More, where you can meet dairy farmers and learn more about dairy farming. One more I’ll point you to is Eat Wisconsin Cheese, which I do btw. And for you media types they’ve got a whole section of resources which includes information about the impact of the dairy industry.

    So listen to this week’s program and pour yourself a glass of ice cold milk to celebrate!

    Since we’re talking dairy the program ends with a song titled, “Got Milk” by Kingbastard from Music Alley.

    Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsors, Novus International, and Leica Geosytems for their support.

    You can listen to this week’s ZimmCast below.

    The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired. Subscribe so you can listen when and where you want. Just go to our a Subscribe page.

    Ag Groups, Audio, Dairy, ZimmCast

    June Is Dairy Month

    Chuck Zimmerman

    We’re leaving beef month behind to enter into dairy month. Midwest Dairy Association invites you to celebrate and learn how dairy can make sense for you.

    June Dairy Month started out as a promotion to help distribute extra milk when cows started on pasture in the warm summer months. Today, its rich history continues, with communities, companies and people from all over the country observing June Dairy Month in a variety of ways. In the Midwest, dairy farms and families often open their gates to visitors at breakfasts and tours, while stores and other business feature dairy products. We’re excited to share facts and information about June Dairy Month, ones we hope you can use for your own recognition of the observance.

    Ag Groups, Dairy

    Hidden Valley Brings You The Farmhouse

    Chuck Zimmerman

    With a name like Farmhouse it was a natural for a post on AgWired.

    The makers of Hidden Valley® Salad Dressings are pleased to announce the introduction of Hidden Valley® Farmhouse Originals Dressings. These four new flavors step beyond ranch to add fresh from the farm tasting flavors and robust taste to even the simplest of dishes and make vegetables delectable for the entire family.

    “Hidden Valley has always aimed to bring farm-fresh tasting flavors to the table,” said Priscilla Tuan, Hidden Valley Marketing Manager. “We’re thrilled to extend the brand to include flavors that go beyond ranch and help families enjoy more vegetables and wholesome meals together.”

    Farmhouse Originals Roasted Onion Parmesan – Try this dressing on your green salads as well as in these other delicious dishes: pasta salad, potato salad and panini sandwiches.

    Farmhouse Originals Hickory Bacon and Onion – Enjoy the tongue-tingling taste of hickory smoked bacon with a hint of roasted onion. From slaws to your favorite greens, it brings home the flavors you love.

    Farmhouse Originals Garden Tomato & Bacon – Sweet, smoky and pleasingly tangy, this delectable dressing has a rustic twist. Try it on wedges of iceberg lettuce, as a dip for your favorite veggies, or in a delicious three bean salad.

    Farmhouse Originals Creamy Parmesan – Mouth-watering Parmesan blends perfectly with tangy buttermilk for a simply delicious homestyle topping for salads and veggies.

    Food

    Zimfo Bytes

    Melissa Sandfort

      Zimfo Bytes

    • Carbon Credited Farming has named Brian Sullivan as the new CEO of the Green Oil and Agroforestry Division, and Barry McWilliams as the new CEO of Commercial and Operational Activities.
    • Former United Soybean Board farmer-leader Sander “Sandy” Ludeman will be receiving the Siehl Prize for Excellence in Agriculture in the category of production agriculture from the University of Minnesota.
    • BASF announced that Stamina fungicide seed treatment use has been expanded to include a number of crops, including cotton, dried peas and beans, shelled peas and beans, sorghum, edible legumes, oats, sugar beets and sunflower contained in supplemental labeling.
    • Producer leaders of Dairy Management Inc. (DMI), the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board (NDB) and the United Dairy Industry Association (UDIA) announced their officers. Click here for the complete list.
      Zimfo Bytes