AFBF President Meets the Press

Cindy Zimmerman

afbfIn his annual press conference, American Farm Bureau Federation president Bob Stallman answered questions from reporters about every thing from climate change and animal rights to crop insurance and estate taxes.

With opposition to cap and trade legislation in Congress a major focus at the meeting, Stallman was asked what kind of climate change legislation he would support. “A lot of people say the only thing you can have is a carbon tax or a mandatory cap and trade program, we disagree,” said Stallman. “We think we can move forward with the renewable electricity standard, more incentives for solar and wind energy, continue with the Renewable Fuel Standard, create more supplies of natural gas, research and development of carbon capture and storage” and nuclear power.

Listen or download Stallman’s press conference here:

AFBF, Audio

Farm Bureau Petition: “Don’t CAP Our Future”

Cindy Zimmerman

afbfHundreds of Farm Bureau members were signing their names to a banner telling Congress “Don’t CAP Our Future” at the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) annual meeting in Seattle Sunday on the trade show floor.

American Farm Bureau has been collecting signatures on a petition opposing the Climate Change bill being considered by Congress that they believe will create an energy shortage, reduce food production and hit families the hardest.

afbf AFBF president Bob Stallman says Farm Bureau has become a strong voice for agriculture. “I think the strength of the organization, the breadth of the organization and the influence we have, I think we have expanded that over the last ten years and we can continue to expand it.

Even after 91 years, AFBF membership continues to increase with a new total of 6,277,664 and 49 years of continuous growth.

American Farm Bureau Federation 91st Annual Meeting Photo Album

AFBF

#afbf10 Tweetup Number One

Cindy Zimmerman

AFBF Tweetup The first of two American Farm Bureau Federation “tweetups” was held at 3 pm in the #afbf10 annual meeting trade show. More that a dozen regular Twitter posters in the ag industry showed up at the Monsanto booth at 3 pm to meet each other in person and exchange tweeting tips.

For those of you on the Twitter fringe, tweetups are gatherings where people who tweet about a certain topic or industry meet up. Most of those who showed up for the tweetup are also very involved with #agchat , an agricultural industry Twitter conversation. The hash tag thing is a way to connect posts made on the same topic or from the same event.

Click on the photo for a bigger version and see some of the folks who are tweeting ag’s horn, including farm media, organization representatives like several in AFBF, company public relations like Monsanto, and real farmers and ranchers.

The Flickr photo album is now on-line with downloadable photos from the American Farm Bureau 91st Annual Meeting.

AFBF

An Ag Show For The Ag Industry

Chuck Zimmerman

Russell Fowler CEO Krone NAThe first person I spoke with on the show floor at AG CONNECT Expo was Russell Fowler, President/CEO, Krone NA. Of course it’s still setup time so there was a lot of construction going on.

However, Russ took a few moments to talk about the company’s decision to become involved in the first ever show and share some of the new things visitors will see in their exhibit. He says the idea for this show goes back many years stemming from a desire “to have a show that was put together by the ag industry, for the ag industry.” That’s what he says AG CONNECT is all about. He says AEM has done so much work to put the show together that it “makes me tired.” Russ says Krone is taking the opportunity to put their best foot forward and will be showcasing among other things their new folding 12 row corn head for the Krone Big X self propelled forage harvester.

AG CONNECT Expo Photo Album

You can listen to my interview with Russ below:

Agribusiness, Audio, Equipment

On Location at AG CONNECT Expo

Chuck Zimmerman

Chuck at AG CONNECT ExpoWhile Cindy is covering the American Farm Bureau Federation convention in Seattle I’m in Orlando for AG CONNECT Expo. The show doesn’t officially start until Tuesday afternoon but there are a number of co-located events going on starting with tomorrow’s Agrievolution program. I’ll be there as well as other locations but got myself all comfortable here in the news media center at the Orange County Convention Center.

Of course I have a photo album started which you can find here: AG CONNECT Expo Photo Album

You can also see photos in the official AG CONNECT Expo photo album as well and are encourage to join their Flickr group and add your own.

Uncategorized

AFBF President Gives Annual Address

Cindy Zimmerman

afbfAmerican Farm Bureau Federation president Bob Stallman gave a rousing “rally the troops” address to thousands meeting in Seattle for the AFBF 91st Annual Meeting Sunday morning.

“We gather in Seattle this week to measure progress along our own Passage to Success,” Stallman began, continuing on to talk about the many challenges currently impacting the industry – from critics to carbon credits.

Stallman was especially critical of the climate change legislation, or “cap and trade,” being considered by Congress, and he called on members to tell lawmakers – “Don’t CAP Our Future!” – by stopping by the trade show booth and signing a petition.

“At the very time that we need to increase our food production, Climate Change legislation threatens to slash our ability to do so,” Stallman said, noting that USDA estimates it could take as much as 59 million acres out of production. “That’s like setting aside every acre of land used for crop and food production in California, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Tennessee…that means eliminating about 130,000 farms and ranchers that grow food and crops.”

Listen to or download Stallman’s 2010 AFBF annual meeting address here:

AFBF, Audio

Farm Bureau Annual Meeting Coverage Starts Here

Cindy Zimmerman

afbf“Passage to Success” is the theme of the 91st annual American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting that officially starts today in Seattle.

Today’s events include the opening general session with President Bob Stallman’s address to the farmers and ranchers gathered from around the country followed shortly by his annual press conference with the agricultural media. State Farm Bureau awards will be presented, the trade show will open and seminars will be held, as well as the Young Farmer and Rancher discussion meet.

I spent the first day of my first trip to Seattle visiting with an old high school friend who lives in Tacoma, which was very nice, but I am ready to get to work bringing the sights and sounds of AFBF in Seattle to Agwired readers.

AFBF

Sculpture With 1,000 Pounds of Butter

Chuck Zimmerman

2010 Butter SculptureI thought you’d enjoy this story from over on World Dairy Diary yesterday.

What better way to kick-off the Pennsylvania Farm Show than a butter sculpture made of 1,000 pounds of butter! Unveiled today, the sculpture is sponsored by the Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association and the Pennsylvania Dairy Promotion Program, from butter donated by Land O’ Lakes in Carlisle, Pa.

The sculpture pays tribute to dairy farm families and depicts a dairy cow, as well as a dairy farmer pouring a glass of milk at the breakfast table with family members.

“Pennsylvania’s dairy industry is the largest sector of our state’s number one economic enterprise – agriculture,” said Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding. “With more than 98 percent of our dairy farms being family-owned, dairy producers are truly committed to providing high-quality milk for consumers while playing an integral role in supporting our local communities, the environment and economy.” Read More

Ag Groups, Dairy

Charlene Finck Promoted to Senior VP, Farm Journal Media

Chuck Zimmerman

charlene-finckCongratulations to Charlene Finck who has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Editorial & Content Development, at Farm Journal Media.

“Charlene has been very visible in all four corners of our company in not only integrating our content efforts into a much more cohesive and impactful offering for the hundreds of thousands of farmers and ranchers we serve, but as importantly, in contributing significantly to the growth of the company by forwarding new content platforms,” said Andy Weber, Farm Journal Media President/CEO.

Finck founded the Farm Journal Test Plots program in 1992 with Farm Journal Field Agronomist Ken Ferrie. Since then, the program has provided independent testing of equipment, production practices and technology. Under her leadership, Farm Journal Media launched its popular Corn College events, the Farm Journal Legacy Project and the new Market Rally event.

An agricultural journalism graduate of the University of Missouri, Finck grew up on a Missouri crop and livestock farm near where she and her family live today. In 2009, she was honored with the prestigious Citation of Merit from the University of Missouri Alumni Association. Under her leadership, FARM JOURNAL was named one of min’s 14 Most Engaged Magazine Brands in 2009. She has won numerous writing awards throughout her career, including the American Agricultural Editors’ Association “Writer of the Year” award, and is a frequent speaker at industry events.

Media

Final Preview of AG CONNECT Expo

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCast 245The floor of the upcoming AG CONNECT Expo is very busy right now. This morning I spoke with Show Director, Sara Mooney, who was on-location. In this week’s ZimmCast she provides a last preview and let’s us know how the final preparations are going. I’ll be there by the end of the weekend for the pre-show activities that take place on Monday and Tuesday.

Sara says ACE is meeting or exceeding its goals because of things like the co-located industry events and many educational opportunities in addition to a great trade show. She says they’ve seen a major push in registration in the last couple weeks and the average number of acres farmer registrants have is currently at 3,400. There are registrants from 46 states in the U.S. and from 45 countries.

The 2010 show will feature more than 30 education sessions with top industry experts. More than a dozen events are co-located with AG CONNECT Expo 2010, including Agrievolution, the Second World Summit on Agricultural Machinery. AG CONNECT Expo 2010 has the support of more than 40 leading industry groups worldwide, including as strategic partners Agritechnica, the world’s largest agriculture machinery show, and its organizer, DLG (the German Agricultural Society).

Sara is going wild with her new Flip camera too. Here’s one her latest YouTube videos with one of the exhibitors (Krone).

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