This is where I’ll be on Tuesday for the POET Project LIBERTY Field Day. The action will take place at their biorefining facility in Emmetsburg, IA starting at 10 a.m.
Agriculture equipment manufacturers will soon put cob harvesting equipment on the market, and Iowa farmers will have a chance to see the latest prototypes in action at Project LIBERTY Field day at POET Biorefining – Emmetsburg (Iowa). Cobs will be the primary feedstock for POET’s commercial cellulosic ethanol plant in Emmetsburg. Also at the event, four-star General Wesley Clark and Iowa Lt. Governor Patty Judge will join POET CEO Jeff Broin in addressing the crowd about cellulosic ethanol and its importance to our energy future.
I hope to have some coverage online here and on Domestic Fuel late that morning. Last year it was cold and wet. This year we’re hoping to get a break in the weather. This time we’ll get to see equipment harvest demonstrations in the afternoon.
Harvest Reporting
There is still a lot of water in fields around the Midwest. Here’s one I walked past on the Katy Trail this afternoon. However, harvesting is happening. Finally we’re getting a break in the weather.
This week Cindy and I will be out and about conducting some Headline Harvest Reports for BASF. We’ll post them when we can. She’ll be in southern Missouri tomorrow and I’ll be in northern Missouri on Wednesday.
Here’s what the action looked like this afternoon courtesy of my iPhone.
Mini Milk Maids on the Mooove
If you’re looking for a Christmas present for your kids then how about one that showcases the dairy industry?
Rebecca Long Chaney is proud to announce the release of her daughters’ second children’s book, “Mini Milk Maids on the Mooove.” This book is the second book in a children’s agricultural education book series by five-year-old twin sisters Rianna and Sheridan Chaney and focuses on the dairy industry.
The book highlights the twins personal experiences in the dairy industry including time with their grandfather, a retired dairy farmer; learning about what happens at a dairy farm from birth to milk production; participating in the Pee Wee division of the pretty cow contest at the county fair; joining the 4-H Cloverbuds club; and helping to make ice cream at South Mountain Creamery.
Horse Radio Network
At the recent BlogWorld and New Media Expo I met Glenn, Chief Geek, for the Horse Radio Network. It looks like they’ve really got the podcasting thing down pat. I’m betting they’re even making a living at it. Must be something to it (he said tongue in cheek).
The Horse Radio Network is your home for equine related online horse radio. Over the next couple of months we will be providing you some fantastic shows and content all about horses.
From the serious to the sublime, from Arabs to Welsh Ponies, from 9 handers to 19 handers we will cover it all. There is no prejudice here, its just about horses. Sure there will be some shows that emphasis one breed or another, but we will do our best to cover it all.
The key to the Horse Radio Network is fun! We believe that people own horses for fun and entertainment. Why else would you put up with the early morning feedings, stall cleaning, vet bills, long trips to shows, empty bank accounts and everything else that goes with being a horse owner.
You can follow them on Twitter too – @horseradio.
LPC Royal Gala Tonight
The 2009 Livestock Publications Council Heritage Center Royal Gala preparations are underway. The event is this evening. Wish I could be there.
As you can see in this photo by Diane Johnson, they’re working really hard.
Here’s the details if you can still make it out:
Friday, October 30, 2009
American Royal Headquarters
Kansas City, Missouri
6 – 10 PM Social Hour, Dinner, Dancing
Unveiling of the 2009 Honoree Temple Grandin
2009 Headliner Award Winner
Announcement of the 2010 Honoree
Silent and Live Auction
Ticket Cost $50/Person
You can find silent auction items here.
Zimfo Bytes
- Boehringer Ingelheim announced that it has closed its deal with Pfizer to acquire a significant portion of the Fort Dodge Animal Health business.
- Syngenta announced a partnership with the California Department of Water Resources to improve irrigation and water management in the Gilroy, Calif. area. A new California Irrigation Management Information System station Syngenta provided is active and providing weather data to the public via the CIMIS Web site.
- On Oct. 28, Syngenta held a grand opening for a new vegetable seed processing plant in Pasco, Wash.
- Raven Industries, Inc. announced that the company entered into a purchase agreement to buy substantially all of the assets of Ranchview, Inc.

Commodity Classic Gets Nitty Gritty
Getting down to the nitty gritty is part of what Commodity Classic is all about. It’s also about people who make their living off of the dirt. So, it’s fitting that the Grammy Award-winning Nitty Gritty Dirt Band will be on the Evening of Entertainment stage at the 2010 Commodity Classic convention and trade show in Anaheim, California.
Members of the American Soybean Association, the National Corn Growers Association, the National Association of Wheat Growers and the National Sorghum Producers will enjoy the band’s best known folk rock songs like “Mr. Bojangles” and “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” as well as music from their recently released CD Speed of Life. Nitty Gritty Dirt Band has been making music and entertaining audiences for more than four decades.
The theme of the 2010 Commodity Classic is “Cruising to Success” and it will be held in Anaheim March 4-6, 2010.
Twitter DM Attack
Spammers, those who are lower than pond scum, are really hitting Twitter hard right now. I’ve received over 30 spam Direct Messages (DM’s) from people I follow this morning and I know my followers have received one from me. You can read an article on PC World about it. It’s a phishing attack to try to get you to click through to who knows what. If you get a DM that starts out with “this youz??” then just ignore it.
Apparently the only thing you can do is change your password (to a better one) in the hopes that will prevent it from happening to your account again. However, I did so this morning and when I tried to log back in I’m getting a message that I’m locked out. So I’ve got a Twitter support ticket going. We’ll see how long this takes. In the meantime I’ll just use our @AgWiredLive team account so please follow me there until we can get @AgriBlogger back in shape. Thanks.
Give Up Meat To Save the Planet?
A group called the Vegetarian Society is standing up once again attribute global warming and the end to the universe to meat eaters. The article, Climate chief Lord Stern: give up meat to save the planet, published in Times Online, urged folks to turn vegetarian in order for the world to conquer climate change.
In an interview with The Times, Lord Stern of Brentford said: “Meat is a wasteful use of water and creates a lot of greenhouse gases. It puts enormous pressure on the world’s resources. A vegetarian diet is better.”
He predicted that people’s attitudes would evolve until meat eating became unacceptable. “I think it’s important that people think about what they are doing and that includes what they are eating,” he said. “I am 61 now and attitudes towards drinking and driving have changed radically since I was a student. People change their notion of what is responsible. They will increasingly ask about the carbon content of their food.”
This is absolute bogus and total hypocrisy. I recently compiled a top ten list of ways that meat production is beneficial to the environment, and I firmly believe that agriculturalists are the original environmentalists, serving as stewards of the land and care givers to the livestock. And, more importantly consumers should feel confident in serving a well-balanced, wholesome meal (that includes animal protein) to their families. It’s amazing how a few animal rights activists and trendy green advocates can create a buzz so big with their banter that they can actually change mainstream public perceptions on the good, wholesome food we eat. Thanks for the soap box. Now, here is a few statistics from my list…
1. American agriculture is sustainable for the future. In the United States, 98 percent of farms are family farms. Today’s American farmer feeds about 144 people worldwide. 2009 versus 1960: 1.8 million less farms are feeding a U.S. population that has increased 61 percent. (Explore Beef)
2. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the entire U.S. agriculture sector accounts for only 6 percent of annual U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Of this, livestock production is estimated to account for 2.8 percent of total U.S. emissions. (EPA Climate Change Report)
3. If livestock production disappeared tomorrow, wouldn’t we just be transporting more tofu around? And wouldn’t we just be plowing and fertilizing the land to supply PETA’s vegetarian utopia? (Center for Consumer Freedom)
4. Grazing animals on land not suitable for producing crops more than doubles the land area that can be used to produce food. If 1955 technology were used to produce the amount of beef raised today, 165 million more acres of land would be needed – that’s about the size of Texas! (Explore Beef)
Contact Janice For NAFB Job
If you’re interested in becoming the next Executive Director of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting then contact Janice Dahl, Anchor Management Group.
NAFB will post the position on its website at www.nafb.com by November 1 and expects to be interviewing for the position in December, said President Pam Jahnke.
All queries regarding the position should be directed to Anchor Management Group at 314-503-7580 or jdahl@anchormanagement.net. Candidates are asked to hold their resumes until the job is posted and to reply directly as requested.
No inquiries should be made to the NAFB Board, members of the Search & Select Committee, or to the NAFB office.