BASF Launches Headline Training Module

Cindy Zimmerman

basfBASF Corporation has just launched a new online training program – www.planthealtheducation.com – to educate growers on how Headline® fungicide for maximum benefit.

The training program examines the three pillars of Plant Health—disease control, stress tolerance and growth efficiency—and how Headline fungicide can best affect the most important aspects of growing a healthy plant.

The audio-visual presentation also examines the science behind Headline fungicide and includes trivia questions, statistical information, visual evidence and user testimonials.

I’m sure we will find out more about this new program for growers at the upcoming Commodity Classic in Anaheim, March 4-6. Coverage of Classic on Agwired will be once again sponsored in part by BASF.

BASF, Commodity Classic, Corn, Soybean

Dealing With Issues Management

Chuck Zimmerman

Issues Management MeetingMuch of the work done at the Cattle Industry Convention is in committees. These meetings are open and as I’ve found over the years, a great learning experience to attend. I did a walk around during the main committee time as part of my work for the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and stopped in just as the Joint Issues Management Committee was concluding. As you can imagine, this committee is dealing with some real challenges, especially from activist groups like HSUS and others that are spreading misinformation about the industry.

I spoke with committee chair, Mike Stahly. Mike says that the checkoff does many surveys of consumers to learn what they think about the industry and the product. This information is then used to craft strategies for how to deal with issues like the whole animal welfare one.

All committees of the Beef Board have their own web page and archived copies of agendas and minutes. You can find the Joint Issues Management Committee page here. This has been a key feature of the website we built for the CBB and it has proven to be a simple tool to make checkoff information available and easy to find.

You can listen to and download my interview with Mike below.

Cattle Industry Convention Photo Album

Ag Groups, Animal Activists, Audio, Cattle Industry Conference, Wackos

Linda Brake CattleWoman of the Year

Chuck Zimmerman

Linda BrakeYou get to meet a lot of wonderful people in a media room, including the media. At the Cattle Industry Convention one of the interesting people I met was Linda Brake. She was named the 2009 Outstanding CattleWoman of the Year by the American National CattleWomen. Linda is from Arizona and seemed a little overwhelmed by the honor. The award is sponsored by Land O’ Lakes Purina Mills LLC.

Linda says she feels very “special.” She says it’s an honor to have been selected. In my interview with her you can listen to her describe her feelings and talk about the work she’s done.

Linda has been an active CattleWoman for 20 years. As an ANCW member, she has served on various committees and as the vice-chair and chairman of the National Beef Cook-Off (NBCO) Committee and co-chair of the 2001 NBCO. She has served as Secretary and President in the Santa Cruz CattleWomen and numerous positions at the state level including Arizona CattleWomen President in 1998. Linda has also served on a joint NCBA committee, is a member of the Arizona Beef Council and producer member of the Western Center for Risk Management Education.

“Linda is a role model for all who work to sell beef,” said Vicki Wilkinson, of Chino Valley, Ariz. and past ANCW president. “She has always been there to lend a hand, give sage advice and do whatever was necessary to promote and educate the public or her peers about our product, beef.” Linda Vensel, Ariz. past president, credits her ability to work well with others and leadership skills for the success of the first destination city National Beef Cook-Off in Chicago that earned over 400 million beef impressions.”

Linda is also a wife, mother, grandmother and has served as a volunteer at her church and for the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Posse for over 20 years.

The Outstanding CattleWoman of the Year Award is given to one cattlewoman each year that has excelled at continued beef promotion on the local, state, and national level, while contributing dedication, commitment and support to the American National CattleWomen, Inc.

Cattle Industry Convention Photo Album

Ag Groups, Audio, Cattle Industry Conference

Novus Sponsors World Ag Forum Regional Roundtables

Cindy Zimmerman

novusDuring the International Poultry Expo/International Feed Expo in Atlanta last week, Novus International was promoting some World Agricultural Forum (WAF) regional roundtables that will be held during this off year for the World Ag Congress. I talked with Novus president and CEO Thad Simons and World Ag Forum president and CEO Kathy Moldthan about how they are working together on these events.

“The World Agricultural Forum is a not-for-profit organization, headquartered in St. Louis, that brings together world leaders to address issues of the agricultural sector and agribusiness to feed the world’s growing population,” Kathy told me. To that end, WAF holds a World Congress every other year in St. Louis, but they also saw a need to take those discussions on the road to other regions of the world, including Latin America, China and Africa.

Thad says Novus has been a long time supporter of the World Ag Forum and is sponsoring these regional roundtables, which fits in with the mission of the company to help feed the world affordable, wholesome food and achieve a higher quality of life. “If we’re going to be helping to feed the world wholesome and affordable world, then it’s important that we reach out to all the different stakeholders to complete that vision,” Thad says.

WAF events planned for 2010 include a regional roundtable for Latin America in Brazil May 12-13; a world congress in China July 1-2; and a regional forum focusing on east Africa in Uganda October 6-7. More information is available on the WAF website.

Listen to or download my interview with Thad and Kathy in the player below:

2010 International Poultry Expo photo album

AgWired coverage of International Poultry Expo is sponsored by:
Novus

Novus International, Poultry, Poultry Expo

New NAFB Leadership

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCast 248Starting March 1, the National Association of Farm Broadcasting will have a new Executive Director. He’s Mark Vail and many of you know him from his career in farm broadcasting both on the microphone and in management. In fact, Mark was just serving again on the NAFB board! So they’ve got a new staff leader with strong roots in the business and experience at all levels. Makes sense to me.

I spoke with Mark about his career move this morning and you can listen in to our conversation in this week’s program. Mark says he really looks forward to continuing to work on behalf of two of his favorite industries, agriculture and broadcasting. He’s going to walk the talk, at least that’s his goal. Mark says that the changes in communications technology along with the globalization of agriculture present some challenges for NAFB but he wants the relationship between farm broadcasting and agriculture, especially in the area of marketing to remain strong.

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.

Audio, Media, NAFB

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Elanco Food Solutions has introduced its first food-safety product for the poultry industry. AviBrom is a post-harvest carcass rinse that reduces Salmonella pathogens during processing.
  • The National Association of Farm Broadcasting announces that Nov. 10-12, 2010, will be the annual convention at the Westin Crown Center in Kansas City, Mo.
  • In preparation for key battles it foresees for the beef industry in coming years, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Board of Directors voted to adopt a report and governance structure concept by a Governance Task Force that would lead to significant structural changes to the organization.
  • Linder Farm Network announces its annual Marketing and Management Seminars, held Feb. 15-19, 2010. Registration begins at 8 a.m. each day. Cost is $30 per person.
    Zimfo Bytes

    Animal Ag Sustainability Summit at Poultry Expo

    Cindy Zimmerman

    The sustainability of animal agriculture was the topic of a well-attended summit at the 2010 International Poultry Expo/International Feed Expo in Atlanta.

    poultryC. Larry Pope, president and CEO of Smithfield Foods Inc., was keynote speaker for the two day summit and his main message was that the animal agriculture industry, both processors and farmers, need to listen to and engage the people and groups who are attacking them. He said that it is important to talk with these individuals and groups to show them the industry’s side of the story. “We need to educate all of the groups that challenge our practices,” Pope said.

    Because the public has developed misconceptions about animal agriculture practices, Pope issued a challenge to those involved in the animal agriculture industry “to make two visits to a community group or school to educate the public on industry practices and to dispel the myths about industry practices that exist now.”

    poultryAlso on the program was Christian Richter of The Policy Group, who discussed the regulatory mood in Washington when it comes to animal agriculture. “Hyper command and control mode is coming back at EPA,” said Richter. “The current administration is shifting personnel from cooperative voluntary programs to enforcement programs.” He notes this represents a major shift in focus from the Bush administration which advocated the role of non-government drivers in prompting more voluntary action on the part of corporations towards sustainable practices.

    2010 International Poultry Expo photo album

    AgWired coverage of International Poultry Expo is sponsored by:
    Novus

    Novus International, Poultry, Poultry Expo, Sustainability

    NOVUS Wants To Maximize Beef

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Dan MeagherWhen it comes to communicating NOVUS International’s commitment to the beef industry Dan is the man. He’s Dan Meagher, VIce President, Sales, Americas. He was on hand at the Cattle Industry Convention to help spread the word about the company name and products for the beef industry.

    Dan says that NOVUS is investing in people and products. A lot of the research the company has done has been on beef. He thinks they have an opportunity right now in this segment of the industry. He says they’ve moved into the dairy and pork sectors and this is just part of their diversification strategy. Their products are designed to maximize the nutrition capabilities of the animal so it reaches its full potential while reducing costs.

    Cattle Industry Convention Photo Album

    AgWired coverage of the Cattle Industry Convention is sponsored by:
    Novus

    Agribusiness, Animal Health, Audio, Cattle Industry Conference, Novus International, Uncategorized

    Late Harvest Raises Mycotoxin Concerns for Poultry

    Cindy Zimmerman

    novusMycotoxins can be an issue in feed anytime, but with the late, wet harvest in 2009 there is an extra level of concern this year and it was a topic of discussion for poultry producers and industry representatives meeting at the International Poultry Expo/Feed Expo in Atlanta this past week.

    “This is a year when we should be extra sensitive, not only testing to make sure we know what we have on our grain coming in, but also considering proactive choices to treat symptoms for the low thresholds of mycotoxins that are always present in some of the grains each year,” says Wendell Knehans with Novus International. Novus recently conducted a study on the effects of their product Solis Mos on the presence of both aflatoxin and ochratoxin in poultry feed. “What we found at both a moderate level (400 mg) of ochratoxin infestation and 800, a very high challenge, is that the birds maintain their performance in the presence of that toxin challenge,” Wendell said.

    Listen to or download my interview with Wendell in the player below:

    2010 International Poultry Expo photo album

    AgWired coverage of International Poultry Expo is sponsored by:
    Novus

    Animal Health, Novus International, Poultry, Poultry Expo

    Poultry Association Elects New Officers

    Cindy Zimmerman

    The U.S. Poultry & Egg Association elected the 2010 slate of officers and directors during the International Poultry Expo.

    poultryThe new chairman of the organization is Steve Willardsen (left) of Cargill Value Added Meats, Wichita, KS. He was presented with the traditional “working man’s gavel” by 2009 chairman Monty Henderson, George’s, Inc., Springdale, AR. Thanks to USPOULTRY communications director Larry Brown for providing the photo.

    Other officers include Mark Waller of Ingram Farms, Cullman, AL, Treasurer; Gary Cooper, Cooper Farms, Oakwood, OH, Vice Chairman; and James Adams, Wenger’s Feed Mill, Rheems, PA, Secretary.

    The U.S. Poultry & Egg Association is the world’s largest and most active poultry organization, representing the entire industry as an “All Feather” association. Membership includes producers and processors of broilers, turkeys, ducks, eggs, and breeding stock, as well as allied companies. Formed in 1947, the association has affiliations in 27 states and member companies worldwide. USPOULTRY also sponsors the International Poultry Expo.

    2010 International Poultry Expo photo album

    AgWired coverage of International Poultry Expo is sponsored by:
    Novus

    Novus International, Poultry, Poultry Expo