AGMasters Conference Coverage

Cindy Zimmerman

AgmastersAs Chuck heads out of the country, I am heading out to Champaign, Illinois today to cover the inaugural AGMasters Conference at the University of Illinois. I will be providing coverage here on Agwired and other ZimmComm sites, as well as on the AGMasters Conference blog – with the help of several ag comm and crop science students from the university whose profiles you can read on the blog now.

According to the organizers, “this year’s conference represents a significant transition from a rich history of conferences conducted over a 60 year-span to a new era. Those conferences included the Custom Spray Operators’ Training School, Illinois Agricultural Pesticides Conference, and the Crop Protection Technology Conference. Each of these conferences continues to leave us a lasting legacy of the commitment of the University of Illinois to our agricultural stakeholders and clientele.”

The two-day program is jam-packed with an array of presenters and session covering a variety topics important to agriculture, from the global perspective, to increasing yields, biotechnology, fertilizers and glyphosate resistance.

On-site registration for the event is still possible, and I would definitely encourage you to attend if you can. This conference promises to be a great one. But, if you can’t be there in person, we will be providing wall-to-wall coverage with photos, audio and more. Stay tuned!

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Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Dow AgroSciences Canada announced it is acquiring the assets of Hyland Seeds, a division of Thompsons Limited of Blenheim, Ontario.
  • The AutoFarm ParaDyme System, launched Nov. 3, 2009, is being called the most innovative and advanced precision farming system ever.
  • Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey announced that Steven and Jan Carlson of Stratford are the winners of the December “Gary Wergin Good Farm Neighbor Award.” Northey will present the award to the Carlson family on Friday, Dec 4th. WHO Radio’s Big Show will broadcast live from the awards presentation.
  • Mike Kostrzewa has joined The Context Network and will serve the firm’s clients as a senior associate.
    Zimfo Bytes

    Speaking For Agriculture

    Chuck Zimmerman

    ZimmCast 241Speaking For Agriculture was the title of a joint panel discussion at the NAMA Trends In Agriculture Conference and NAFB Convention.

    nafb-nama-lindsayThe moderator was Lindsay Hill, ABN Radio. The session focused on how consumers perceive farmers and agriculture and what can be done and is being done to communicate a positive message about agriculture in a society that is increasingly removed from the farm, even in light of more people moving to the country for a rural lifestyle. In this week’s program you can hear an interview Cindy did with Lindsay about the session and what the panelists had to say.

    Thanks to AgWired Sponsor, Fluidigm, for their support of the ZimmCast.

    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, ZimmCast

    Blog – Twitter – Not Versus But And

    Chuck Zimmerman

    It’s just natural for people to look for the next big thing and in media it’s no different. I’ve been asked a number of times by clients and friends “Is blogging still relevant?” or “With Twitter, do I still need my blog?” My answer is that a good blog is as much or more relevant than ever. Here’s one reason IMHO. Ideally, you are trying to create a community of followers/friends/customers/members. For the AgWired community I believe that revolves around the blog AgWired.com. This is my online publishing platform. I can’t say this much in 140 characters. I think Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, Facebook and all the others enhance the center of the community – AgWired.com. They’re like spokes on the wheel. They help me promote the blog and have side conversations with specific community members who favor one mechanism over another.

    Matt Mullenweg, creator of WordPress, our blog platform, agrees and says, “new forms of social media, including micro-blogging, are complementary to blogging”

    One of the many uses of Twitter is to link to and promote your blog posts. (And other people’s blog posts.) As we grow, so do they, and vice versa. I blog when I have something longer to say, like this. I tweet when it’s the lowest friction way to talk to my friends, or get distribution for something longer I did somewhere else.

    It’s not really a “versus,” it’s an “and.”

    Via Podcasting News

    Would you agree or disagree? Feel free to post how you think your blog fits into today’s communications plans.

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    Following The USGC With New Media

    Chuck Zimmerman

    U.S. Grains Council 1998 Pioneer MissionThis is the U.S. Grains Council Pioneer Mission group I traveled with back in 1998. Our fearless leader then was Rick Tolman (pictured in the center), now CEO of the National Corn Growers Association. We toured Brazil, Columbia and Mexico. It’s hard to believe that just eleven years ago I didn’t have a digital camera and website to post onto. I had to scan this photo from my photo album that sits on a shelf in my office. I did have a Sony recorder though as I recall that let me record onto a disk and I could send audio reports back via phone line. That was when I managed the Brownfield Network.

    Times have changed. Beginning tomorrow I’ll be leaving on a USGC Corn Mission to Morocco, Egypt and Jordan and hope to document it digitally. In doing so, I’ll be sharing information with an international audience via the web. Let’s just say I’m hoping for good internet access opportunities and the time to use it. As I recall, we keep up a pretty brisk pace during these trips.

    I just did a little bit of online searching and found very little about that trip back in 1998. I’m just guessing that won’t be the case for this trip by the time we’re finished!

    USGC

    Mapping The Swine Genome

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Gene NemecheckThe Vice President of the National Pork Board is Gene Nemecheck. I met him at the NAFB Trade Talk session in Kansas City, MO. Gene is a veterinarian with Tyson.

    I asked him “What’s new with the Pork Board?” and he says that the swine genomic project just recently reached completion. He says that after years of work by a team of international researchers, the genetic code for domestic swine was uncovered. That should lead to a host of new insights in agriculture, medicine, conservation and evolution.

    Or course I had to ask about the impact of H1N1. He says he just wants people to know that pork products are safe to eat and they’re nutritious. Looking forward he says the Pork Checkoff has benefited producers greatly and points to the Pork Quality Assurance Program in particular.

    You can listen to my interview with Gene below:

    See more NAFB and NAMA Trends photos here.

    Ag Groups, Audio, NAFB, Pork

    Overview of Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Steve PetersonTo get a complete overview of Boehringer Inghelheim Vetmedica Dr. Steve Peterson, DVM, Senior Manager, spoke to the media gathered in St. Joseph, MO recently.

    Steve started out his presentation showing us a Flomax commercial as an example of how diverse the parent company is. BI is a family owned company that was started in 1885 and he calls the animal health side of the business “the tip of the dog’s tail.” It is the largest family owned pharmaceutical company in the world with sales last year of $17 Billion. On the human side of the business you might also recognize OTC products like Dulcolax and Zyrtec. With the acquisition of the Ft. Dodge Animal Health products he expects the animal health annual sales in the range of $1 Billion.

    When it comes to the BI commitment to animal health Steve says the family owns animals and is very committed to this side of their business. He says that although the past year has been tough economically in some industries, BIVI has seen increases in its business and that “products have continued to grow beyond budget.”

    You can listen to my interview with Steve below.

    Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Media Day Photo Album

    Agribusiness, Animal Health, Audio, Boehringer Ingelheim

    What’s New From CaseIH

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Tom DeanTom Dean is the Marketing Manager for high horsepower tractors at Case IH (seen here in his NAFB Trade Talk booth). He says those are classified as 100+ horsepower. He says what’s new is the Magnum CVT Line. CVT stands for Continuously Variable Transmission. He says the tractors are just now shipping this month.

    They’re very simple to operate for any hired hand and very efficient. He says there are several models available in time for spring planting.

    You can listen to my interview with Tom below:

    See more NAFB and NAMA Trends photos here.

    Agribusiness, Audio, Equipment, NAFB, Tractor

    More Cattle Market For Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Tim BettingtonIt sure sounds like Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica did very well in the cattle market with their acquisition of a portion of Ft. Dodge Animal Health. To tell us about is Tim Bettington, Director Livestock Marketing. He says that although BIVI has been a long standing player in the cattle business it has only been in certain segments like the stocker and feedlot sector. But now he says they have great opportunities in the cow/calf and dairy sectors.

    According to Tim, the stand out products will be Cydectin, Today and Tomorrow Mastitis Tubes and newer vaccines like Triangle. He says that although there is an integration of staff, customers will see the same look and feel of the products and deal with the same representatives they were dealing with.

    You can listen to my interview with Tim below.

    Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Media Day Photo Album

    Agribusiness, Animal Health, Audio, Boehringer Ingelheim

    Happy Thanksgiving

    Chuck Zimmerman

    California Poultry Federation ThanksgivingAfter receiving several Thanksgiving cards I thought I’d just go along with the California Poultry Federation, Bill, Monica, Sandy and Cody and post theirs.

    I agree with their message,

    ” . . . The California Poultry Federation wishes you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving! We have much to be thankful for this year and are especially grateful for the friends, families and business associates we come in contact with over the year.

    Have a Happy Thanksgiving!”

    Ag Groups