Missouri Thanks Farmers and Ranchers

Cindy Zimmerman

Today is officially Thank a Farmer day in Missouri.

mbicMissouri Director of Agriculture Dr. Jon Hagler (right) visited Forck Farms near Jefferson City to present the official proclamation to Kelly Forck, a diversified crop and livestock producer who is president of the Missouri Soybean Association.

“It’s an appropriate tribute to the farmers and ranchers across Missouri and across this country who put a reliable, safe food supply on our families’ tables at Thanksgiving,” Hagler said. “In America, we have the highest quality, most affordable food in the world because of the hard work of farm families across this nation.”

Dr. Hagler says his favorite statistic at the Department of Agriculture is that “four out of four people eat” which is why we should all be grateful on Thanksgiving and every other day of the year that we enjoy affordable and abundant food.

Kelly pointed out that farmers are consumers too and are thankful for other farmers who produce the food they eat. “As farmers we have a lot of things to be thankful for – we even have the consumers to be thankful for,” he added.

Check out some photos from the event here.

The Missouri Beef Industry Council and other state commodity groups were involved in the proclamation made this morning. Listen here to our weekly Missouri Beef Checkoff Chat that includes comments from Kelly and Dr. Hagler.

Audio, Beef, Farming, Soybean

Getting Ready For A Corn Mission

Chuck Zimmerman

The Grain BoardThe Grain Board will be one of the locations you can follow the upcoming U.S. Grains Council Corn Mission. What’s that? It’s going to be me traveling along with growers and organizational representatives from Virginia, Kansas, North Carolina, Kentucky, Wisconsin and Missouri to Morocco, Egypt and Jordan. We’ll be seeing the USGC in action and I’m along to help document it and present what we find.

I’ll be introducing you to the participants before we get started and we’ll find out what they learned when we’re done. Of course I’ll be posting here as well as the USGC blog and there will be photos, interviews and video clips. Let’s hope we get good internet access!

Ag Groups, Corn, International, USGC

John Deere and Chip Foose Big Buck

Chuck Zimmerman

John Deere 4020 Chip FooseThis is Chip Foose on a John Deere 4020 that he’s getting ready to customize. The tractor is the focal point of a new giveaway and purchase incentive program the company is offering in 2010. They’re calling it the Big Buck Sales Event.

I got a preview of what it’s all about at the recent NAFB Convention from Barry Nelson, Manager, Media Relations John Deere Ag and Turf Division. He explains that the company started building the 4020 in 1963 and stopped in 1972. 170,000 tractors were built. So, Deere partnered with Chip Foose to do his thing with the tractor and it will be given away next year.

Potential customers can register to win this vintage workhorse tractor from John Deere, or one of three John Deere Gators, by completing a registration form at their local John Deere dealership by June 30, 2010. No purchase or other obligation is required.

Barry says the finished custom tractor will be highlighted at several trade shows and John Deere events planned for the first half of 2010, including stops on the continuation of the Drive Green Utility Tractor Show. Winners of the tractor and Gators will be announced in July.

In addition to the giveaways he says John Deere is offering significant financial incentives on its 20-166 horsepower utility tractors from November 2, 2009, to February 1, 2010. “Customers can get cash discounts from $500 to $4,000, depending on the tractor and equipment packages they purchase, or zero percent financing,” Nelson explains.

You can listen to my interview with Barry below.

See more NAFB and NAMA Trends photos here.

Agribusiness, Audio, John Deere, NAFB, Tractor

BIVI Cares For Your Pet

Chuck Zimmerman

Matt MussellmanAs we’ve learned what the acquisition of a portion of Ft. Dodge Animal Health means to Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica we’ve heard about cattle, hogs, dairy but how about dogs and cats? You’ll find many of them at your average farm of course. But this is a huge area for the animal health business.

According to Matt Musselman, Executive Director, Pet Division, BIVI, they now have the great opportunity to combine the chronic care pharmaceuticals they had with the vaccines they’ve acquired. He says, “As we look at the combination of that portfolio we really like the ability to surround the veterinarian and the pet owner with a set of products and services that allows them to care for that dog and cat throughout their life.” Looking forward he says that the strong bond people have with their pets and the desire to keep their pet healthy is something BIVI can help with by providing “Value Through Innovation.”

The big product story he says is their launch of PROZINC for the treatment of feline diabetes. He points to it as an example of the type of novel chronic care products we’ll see from BIVI in the future.

You can listen to my interview with Matt below.

Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Media Day Photo Album

Agribusiness, Animal Health, Audio, Boehringer Ingelheim

Cruising to Commodity Classic

Cindy Zimmerman

Registration is officially open for the 2010 Commodity Classic in Anaheim, California and you better register soon because it will fill up fast.

classic 2010This will be the 15th annual Commodity Classic for soybean, corn, wheat and sorghum growers and their families, to be held March 4-6 right next to Disneyland. The theme for 2010 is “Cruising to Success.”

Growers who attend the 2010 Commodity Classic are sure to benefit from the value of attending a trade show with nearly 800 booths representing the equipment, technology, products and services of today’s leading agricultural businesses and organizations.

“As a grower, attending Commodity Classic is a smart business decision,” said Commodity Classic Co-Chair Dennis Bogaards. “Producers will find many opportunities to learn about new products and technologies, as well as methods for improving productivity on their farms.”

Emcee of Commodity Classic’s General Session, Mark Mayfield, better known as “The Corporate Comedian,” will intrigue and entertain attendees with his hilarious presentation style. They will also hear what is on the minds of commodity group presidents and learn more about the facts and fiction facing today’s farmers from economist and futurist Dr. Jay Lehr. Because Lehr’s forecasts are based on in-depth knowledge of U.S. farm, energy and environmental legislation, as well as international farm support programs, he brings informed insight to identifying future risks and opportunities facing American agriculture.

Commodity Classic, Corn, sorghum, Soybean, Wheat

#ThankaFarmer Day

Cindy Zimmerman

If you like to eat – thank a farmer on Twitter today.

On Twitter, many agriculture advocates are taking part in tweeting the hashtag #thankafarmer, and are planning to tweet today from 10 am through 12 pm CST. Twitter users are beginning to express Chuck Thank A Farmer Twitter Pictheir gratitude with a #thankafarmer twibbon. Here you can see Chuck’s Twitter pic proudly displaying his twibbon.

The twitter efforts are just a small way to recognize and thank farmers for the abundant food they provide that is both safe and affordable. They are also completely committed to the land on which they farm and care very deeply about their communities, environment, land and animals, something that is often overlooked.

If you are a Twitter user and unable to tweet because of previous commitments, please sign yourself into Twuffer, a twitter service where you can time your tweets. This document contains links to different websites that are advocating for US Farmers and some tweets to get you started.

Social Networking

Farm Bureau Pleased at Delay of Climate Bill

Cindy Zimmerman

nafbThe American Farm Bureau Federation is pleased with a decision by Senate leadership last week to delay consideration of climate change legislation until the spring of 2010.

I talked with AFBF president Bob Stallman about that legislation and a number of other issues affecting agriculture during the recent National Association of Farm Broadcasting annual meeting. Stallman says they opposed the climate change bill that was passed by the House, despite provisions included that were beneficial to agriculture. “That bill we believe will downsize American agriculture by at least 20 percent,” he said. “Long term it reduces our ability to produce food.” Stallman says they disagree with USDA’s projections that climate change legislation will help agriculture. “We’re still asking USDA to explain how they come up with those numbers and we’re not getting an answer to that yet.” Stallman also comments on indirect land use change and health care, all issues that will likely be topics of discussion at the AFBF 91st annual meeting coming up January 10-13 in Seattle.

Stallman also comments on the importance of social media use for Farm Bureau and farmers in general. “These are new communications tools that are being rapidly adopted by society and we have to communicate with society. Even I have a Facebook page now!”

Listen to my interview with Bob here.

AFBF, NAFB

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • A majority of agribusiness leaders polled by AgriMarketing magazine and AdFarm reported they are optimistic about their own agribusiness in 2010 compared to 2009, with some asserting that they were “very optimistic” about the near future.
  • Outstanding leaders from across the international dairy industry are being sought for World Dairy Expo’s annual recognition awards. Individuals will be honored at the Dinner with the Stars during World Dairy Expo, Sept. 28 – Oct. 2, 2010. Nominations are due Monday, February 1, 2010. Official applications are available here.
  • Novus International has been recognized by the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association and RubinBrown LLP as a recipient of the 2009 Top 50 Award.
  • Trimble introduced the AgGPS EZ-Office 2010 software suite of products designed to help farmers easily map and manage field data, providing seamless field-to-office information management.
    Zimfo Bytes

    American Soybean Association Seeks Assistance for Farmers

    Amanda Nolz

    IMG_4490 In a release by the American Soybean Association and published in the Delta Farm Press, the organization is hoping to assist farmers during this year’s difficult harvest. With floods, hurricanes, natural disasters and excessive rains, there are far too many fields these days with ruts in them as farmers try to harvest despite the moisture. My thoughts and prayers are with all of the crop farmers who are trying to get harvest done.

    The American Soybean Association is urging Congress to provide funding to deliver much-needed financial assistance to farmers and rural communities to assist them in recovering from devastating losses caused by hurricanes, excessive rain during harvest and other natural disasters across the country, including catastrophic weather-related losses in the Mid-South and neighboring states.

    “Soybeans, rice, cotton, peanuts, sweet potatoes and other crops and segments of the agricultural economy currently are experiencing devastating weather-related losses,” said Johnny Dodson, ASA president and soybean producer from Halls, Tenn. “In some cases, the 2009 losses follow on the heels of similar losses in 2008.”

    Although loss estimates are preliminary, they have already reached the hundreds of millions of dollars. Many producers need assistance within weeks to repay loans and secure new financing in time for spring planting, so prompt action on this measure is vitally important. Alternative means of providing assistance cannot be delivered before late 2010 or early 2011.

    Source: Delta Farm Press

    Corn, Soybean

    Farmland Report Blog

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Farmland ReportAmerican Farmland Trust has launched a new blog called Farmland Report. Here’s an opening statement from President Jon Scholl.

    As President of American Farmland Trust (AFT), it is my pleasure to launch the Farmland Report, our new blog. We are excited to continue our role as a vital link among farmers, conservationists, policy-makers and consumers, via the Farmland Report.

    Ag Groups