Missourians For Animal Care Launched

Chuck Zimmerman

A new coalition has been formed to protect the rights of animal owners in Missouri. It’s called Missourians for Animal Care. Here are representatives of some of the organizations that support the coalition who were meeting today in the Missouri State Capitol. The group is supporting a bill titled HCS/HJR 86 that would protect the right to raise animals in Missouri. Why? Because there are animal rights extremist groups like the Humane Society of the United States trying to get a ballot initiative going on that would put severe limitations on the ability of anyone to own and raise animals.

It’s great to see a diverse group of agricultural groups coming together on an issue but this is one that would affect all of them. It’s also sad that they have to fight a completely unnecessary ballot initiative. Dog breeders in Missouri are licensed and regulated and are great caretakers for their animals but wacko groups like HSUS are using a very derogatory and emotional term to try to gain support which would supply them with money and a foothold for future legislative actions. Their initiative is called The Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act and you need to be aware of it.

To learn more about what’s going on I spoke with Karen Strange, President, Missouri Federation of Animal Owners. Her group has filed a lawsuit challenging the ballot initiative summary which they believed is inadequate to describe what is in the measure itself. They’re challenging the use of the term “puppy mill” which they do not use and is very prejudicial against anyone who breeds dogs. She says, “It’s very, very offensive to the good breeders of Missouri.” They have formed a PAC to raise funds to fight the ballot initiative.

Karen says they see this ballot initiative as just a “first step” to them coming after other agriculture interests. She says they want to help educate the public about this issue so they don’t unknowingly pass something they don’t understand the detrimental effects of. She says this is “nothing but a money making venture by an animal rights organization.” She says we need to just enforce the rules we already have.

If you’d like to have a good resource to use for good information about what the H$U$ is doing then I recommend HumaneWatch.org. You’ll find links to information about this issue there already.

You can listen to my interview with Karen here:

Ag Groups, Animal Activists, Wackos

NAMA Marketer & Agribusiness Leader Announced

Chuck Zimmerman

The National Agri-Marketing Association has announced major award winners who will receive their awards at the convention in April.

The National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) has named Dave Seehusen, Executive Vice President, Ag Business Development for Land O’Lakes, Inc., as the 2010 Agribusiness Leader of the Year. This award, which is NAMA’s highest honor, will be presented at the Opening General Session of the 2010 Agri-Marketing Conference, “From America’s Heartland to the Rest of the World,” April 22, 2010, in Kansas City, Missouri. The award honors outstanding leaders in agribusiness, education, government service or other agribusiness related areas who exemplify excellence in agribusiness by their significant contributions to the industry.

Dave Seehusen is known for his unique approach to individual and organizational leadership. He is a hands-on motivator on an individual level, while at the same time adept at building multi-functional teams and effective, often innovative, partnerships.

The National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) has honored Stephanie Liska, CEO of Beck Ag, Inc., with the NAMA Marketer of the Year award. The award will be presented during the Second General Session of the 2010 Agri-Marketing Conference, “From America’s Heartland to the Rest of the World” on Thursday, April 22 at 11:00 a.m. in Kansas City, Missouri and is sponsored by Agri Marketing magazine.

NAMA recognizes its active members with senior management of marketing and/or sales responsibilities with the NAMA Marketer of the Year award. This award is NAMA’s most prestigious honor awarded to active members of the association and honors outstanding accomplishments in the field of agri-marketing

Stephanie Liska is a marketing pioneer who was instrumental in the refinement and widespread use of Word of Mouth Marketing in the ag industry. She has led ag marketers to leverage positive customer experiences into market share gains. Liska joined Beck Ag in 1998, shortly after the company’s 1997 formation and grew to become the organization’s leader. Liska has been instrumental in guiding Beck Ag to become a company focused solely on agriculture and committed to helping ag professionals succeed. She was raised on a family farm and has close to 25 years of successful experience in ag sales and marketing.

NAMA

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Dow AgroSciences recently donated $10,000 to the Citrus Research and Development Foundation to help fund research for the control of citrus greening.
  • Cermetek Microelectronics presented a preview of its AquaMon wireless soil monitoring system at the World Ag Expo.
  • Livestock and poultry groups hosted educational briefings on Capitol Hill to share the facts about the importance of tools like antibiotics in raising healthy food animals.
  • MANA Crop Protection introduces Ironclad nicosulfuron plus rimsulfuron herbicide and Adapt nicosulfuron herbicide for control of many tough broadleaf and grass weeds in corn.
    Zimfo Bytes

    Exposing HSUS

    Chuck Zimmerman

    ZimmCast 251In this week’s ZimmCast you’ll hear my conversation with David Martosko about HumaneWatch.org. This awesome and growing compilation of information about the Humane Society of The United States is a great resource for everyone involved in agriculture. H$U$ may be targeting animal agriculture for extinction but if successful consider the impact on all areas of agriculture, most especially in row crop production. I’m going to write my elected officials and point them to HumaneWatch.org since Missouri is currently one of the states these wackos at H$U$ are targeting with their completely misguided attack on dog breeders. Of course if you believe dog breeders are their only target then I might have some (swamp) land in south Florida to sell you.

    hsus watchdogIn my conversation with David you’ll learn more about him and why he’s become so passionate and involved on this issue. His background includes working with the Center For Consumer Freedom. David and I have a great conversation and I hope you enjoy listening.

    Almost a year ago I met Wayne Pacelle, CEO of HSUS. He was speaking at the NAFB Washington Watch (I still don’t understand why they even let him in the door) and in my opinion issued a challenge to American farmers. You can still read that post or listen to his remarks (mp3).

    Since the H$U$ says it’s all about dogs and cats (er, make that money) the program ends with some music from Music Alley. It’s a song called, “Dogs and Cats” by Colie Brice.

    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.

    Animal Activists, Audio, Wackos, ZimmCast

    New Holland’s Rustler is a Workhorse

    Cindy Zimmerman

    New Holland debuted the new Rustler utility vehicle at the 2009 Farm Progress Show, but the 2010 National Farm Machinery Show was really this baby’s “coming out” party, since commercial production of the Rustler just started in January and they are really just hitting dealer lots this quarter. I talked with Jared Godfrey of New Holland at the NFMS about the Rustler and what makes it different from other UVs on the market.

    “What really makes it different is that our models are really more of a utility workhorse versus other brands that are more of a sporting kind of use, where ours are more on the farm, kind of weekend warriors,” said Jared.

    The Rustler also has so many options it can be customized for just about any taste. “We have three models, the smallest one is the 115 which is a gas, 2 wheel drive option. Then we bump up to the 120 diesel option,” Jared said. The biggest model is the 23-hp 125 gas option. There are 2 passenger or 4 passenger options, cabs, aluminum wheels, all terrain tires and more.

    Jared says they believe New Holland’s strong brand identity will attract farmers and rancher who buy blue to the Rustler.

    Listen to my interview about the Rustler from NFMS here:

    Audio, National Farm Machinery Show, New Holland

    More AgriBlogging Tools

    Chuck Zimmerman

    There are times when my Big Mac is busy or I just don’t want to pull it out of my Mojo (mobile journalism kit). That’s when I’ll be using my new HP Mini 311. I figure that I can still do email and web app functions without having to get all kinds of new software since I just don’t want/need PC stuff. This box has Windows 7 but I’m using Firefox. I don’t recommend IE in any version on my worst enemy.

    The photo was edited with Photoshop.com. It’s an online version of the only software currently worth using to edit photos. You can get a free account with 2GB of online storage, download the Photoshop.com Uploader and keep online folders/albums in sync with your desktop. Now how cool is that? One thing I would suggest you keep in mind regarding netbooks like this one. They don’t replace your notebook. Think of them as a convenient, small gadget that can enhance your mobile work experience.

    I’ve been asked about some gadgets a number of times lately and am getting ready to do an updated version of my mobile ag journalism kit post from May of 2008. It’s going to be interesting to see the changes (and there are changes).

    Equipment

    Record Breaking “Harvest for All”

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Farm Bureau families helped to feed more of the nation’s hungry than ever in 2009.

    The American Farm Bureau reports that their member families around the country raised more than $213,000 and donated more than 4.8 million pounds of food to hungry Americans as part of Farm Bureau’s “Harvest for All” program. Combined, the monetary and food donations provided the equivalent of nearly 5.3 million meals through Feeding America food banks.

    The money raised last year broke the prior record of $160,000 in 2008. Farm Bureau’s Harvest for All program started in 2004, and is a joint effort between Farm Bureau and Feeding America through which agricultural producers can help all Americans enjoy the bounty produced by the nation’s farm and ranch families.

    Read more here.

    AFBF

    Tracy Mader Promoted At Syngenta Seeds

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Congrats to Tracy Mader who was just promoted to head of Product Marketing for Syngenta Seeds corn and soybean products.

    In this new role, Mader will be responsible for the corn, soybean and other field crops portfolio, including traits, genetics, seed care and other relevant technology, and will oversee late stage product development, product launches and product lifecycle management.

    Mader most recently served as the Agrisure marketing manager, responsible for branding, launching and marketing of Agrisure® corn traits. Mader joined Syngenta in 1995 as an employee of predecessor company Ciba. He brings a wealth of marketing experience and knowledge to the product marketing role, having had various positions within Syngenta throughout the U.S. He has an agricultural economics degree from Kansas State University.

    Agribusiness, Seed, Syngenta

    Getting in the Mood for Corn

    Cindy Zimmerman

    We are getting ready to head out to Anaheim next week for the 2010 Commodity Classic and I got in the mood this week by attending the Missouri Corn Growers Association annual meeting in Jefferson City where I interviewed two of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) leaders. On the left is Mike Geske, former president of the Missouri Corn Growers now serving on the 15-member National Corn Board, and on the right is NCGA president Darrin Ihnen of South Dakota. Darrin was guest speaker at the Missouri Corn Growers luncheon and he helped to get the farmers fired up to go and talk to their lawmakers at the state capitol about important issues that could ultimately threaten their livelihood.

    One of those issues is a threat posed by the Humane Society of the United States. Our buddies at HSUS are working up a petition drive in Missouri directed at dog breeders – lumping them all in the unsavory category of “puppy mills” – kind of like they lump all of agriculture under “factory farming.” Mike says that is why all agriculture groups in the state are working to keep legislators informed about how food is produced and the importance of the industry to Missouri. “We feel that once they get past the dog breeders they are going to be headed for commercial agriculture,” he told me.

    Darrin says the threat posed to animal agriculture in individual states by groups like HSUS ultimately impacts all of agriculture across the country. “It’s very important that we help defend them,” Darrin says. “We can’t be separated when it comes to agriculture. We need to work together.”

    This is just one of many important policy issues that corn growers will discuss at Classic next week, the annual meeting that also includes soybean, wheat and sorghum producers. Others include the indirect land use issue, climate legislation, increasing the ethanol blend rate and extending the blender’s tax credit for ethanol. Watch for our coverage from Commodity Classic next week sponsored by BASF and New Holland.

    Listen to or download back to back interviews with Darrin and Mike here:

    Audio, Corn, NCGA

    Consumer Messaging Via Agricenter International

    Chuck Zimmerman

    John Charles WilsonThe first presentation at the Agricultural Relations Council annual meeting in Memphis was on consumer messaging. Our presenter was John Charles Wilson, Agricenter International.

    Agricenter International is a self-sustaining, non profit that provides economic development by facilitating agricultural research, educational programs, environmental conservation, natural area preservation and recreational opportunities.

    John’s presentation focused on their efforts to better inform and educate consumers on the importance of agribusiness to the U.S. economy and the impact of ag exports to the world. He also gave us an overview of the status of what is considered to be the world’s largest urban farm and research test facility.

    His presentation will give you another idea of what you miss when you don’t attend an ARC meeting. Think about putting it on your calendar next year!

    Photos are already available in the Agricultural Relations Council Meeting Photo Album.

    You can listen to the presentation below.

    Ag Groups, ARC, Audio