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

Ethanol Tweeter Recognized for Use of Social Media

Cindy Zimmerman

afviThe Alternative Fuel Vehicle Institute (AFVi) recognized outstanding use of social media in the alternative fuels industry as part of their 16th annual conference held this week in Las Vegas.

afvi robert white rfa awardRobert White, Director of Market Development for the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), who tweets under the name @fuelinggood, was awarded the 24/7 Blend Award for “his leadership in industry-wide education about social media.” Robert helped RFA and other fuel advocacy groups get a $1.6 million U.S. Department of Energy grant to provide social media training for clean energy stakeholders.

Robert was also recognized by Biofuels Digest as one of the top 20 “biofuels observers who are shaping opinion via Twitter.” He came in third on the list with nearly 4500 followers. Here is the whole list, which includes a few names you might recognize:

1. Vinod Khosla – writing as vkhosla – 31454 followers – 65 tweets
2. Solazyme – writing as SOlazyme – 8968 followers – 785 tweets
3. Robert White (RFA) – writing as fuelinggood – 4490 followers – 5421 tweets
4. Green Portland Info – writing as Green Posting – 4170 followers – 972 tweets
5. Renewable Energy World – writing as REWorld – 3619 followers – 2355 tweets
6. Missy Ruff – writing as renewablefuel – 2,839 followers – 4,063 tweets
7. Chuck Zimerman & AgWired – writing as AgriBlogger – 2,135 followers – 6,847 tweets
8. Sean O’Hanlon – writing as Sean_OHanlon – 1244 followers – 1761 tweets
9. Ashley Morrison – writing as EthanolFuel from Omaha, NE – 1,034 followers
10. RFA – 1,134 followers – 1709 tweets
11. AlgaeBiofuels – 863 followers – 16,374 tweets
12. Peter Went – writing as Energy_Risk – 719 followers – 11,855 tweets
13. Todd Neeley – writing as ethreporter – 688 followers 1129 tweets
14. Domestic Fuel – writing as DomesticFuel – 500 followers – 2078 tweets
15. Bob Dinneen (RFA) writing as ethanolbob – 421 followers -571 tweets
16. ACE – writing as blend_ethanol from Sioux Falls, SD 388 followers
17. Meghan Sapp – writing as SugarcaneBlog – 379 followers – 1150 tweets
18. POET Ethanol – Writing as ethanolbyPOET – 336 followers – 487 tweets
19. Matt Hartwig (RFA) – writing as matthartwig – 246 followers – 401 tweets
20. Todd Taylor – writing as cleamtechczar – 216 followers – 624 tweets

RFA, Social Networking

Dairy Price Stabilization Act

Chuck Zimmerman

You’ve got to love YouTube. I think it’s getting to where you can find just about anything on YouTube. Wonder about dairy legislation? Then let California Congressman Jim Costa tell you direct from the floor.

Congressman Jim Costa (D-Fresno) today introduced legislation to protect American jobs and strengthen our nation’s dairy industry. The Dairy Price Stabilization Act promotes market stability and individual dairy farmers’ ability to grow their own business.

“While periods of boom and bust are not new to the dairy industry, our dairy families cannot afford another year of low milk checks that don’t even cover the cost of production,” said Costa. “The dairy price crisis is devastating our local economy and ability to create and sustain jobs. This bill will help the dairy industry get back on track and curb the milk price volatility that is driving dairy farmers in the Valley and our nation out of business”

Video

Plugrá Will Inspire You With Butter

Chuck Zimmerman

Maybe I’m just hungry right now but when I saw information about the Plugrá Culinary Institute and European style butter I thought this should be shared. It’s all about creating great food ideas for your spring soiree. The photo is herbed pretzels.

Plan a chic shower for a special bride-to-be or mother-to-be with sophisticated ideas and complementary menu from Plugrá European-Style Butter at www.plugra.com.

Welcome guests with a fresh menu that celebrates the sunshine of spring and summer, courtesy of the Plugrá Culinary Institute. Start with the mouthwatering masterpieces on www.plugra.com , such as Lemon Cucumber Canapes, Butter-Rich Salmon Pate, and Mango Cake with Raspberry Mango Italian Butter Cream Frosting. Personalize your menu by adding one or two favorites of the guest of honor. Perfect beverage pairings from Plugrá complete the culinary experience.

Plugrá is marketed by Global Dairy Products Group, a division of Dairy Farmers of America, Inc. To be inspired, visit www.plugra.com.

Ag Groups, Food

Till, Baby, Till

Cindy Zimmerman

It may not be very conservation-minded, but it’s still a clever slogan that makes a great t-shirt.

The credit for “Till, Baby, Till” goes to SynGest, Inc, the company behind the t-shirt and the website where you can buy it. SynGest CEO Jack Oswald a “Till Baby Till” chant as he delivered the keynote address at the 2010 International Biomass Conference in Minneapolis last week where he introduced his new “cornucopia biorefinery” model to produce food, fertilizer and fuel from corn,

“Our integrated biorefinery model will put an end to the ‘food versus fuel’ debate,” Oswald said. “Now you can have your fuel and eat it too.” According to Oswald, the Cornucopia process can yield an impressive slate of end products, including anhydrous ammonia, food grade corn oil, high protein food for human consumption, stillage for animal feed, butanol for liquid transportation fuel, and biochar for conditioning and maintaining soil.

“We intend to use each and every component in an ear of corn,” said Oswald. “The cob and bran are gasified into hydrogen for ammonia synthesis, while leaving biochar as residue. The germ is separated into food grade oil and protein, and the endosperm/starch is converted into butanol and animal feed.” Oswald notes that his integrated biorefinery concept “represents a true intersection between agriculture and energy interests, a formula that sets SynGest apart from others who are just making fuel, power or singular bioproducts.”

The concept has already yielded at least one new product – “Till, Baby, Till” t-shirts are available for $19.99 in short sleeve or $24.99 in long sleeve models.

Biofuels, Corn, Farming