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

    Meet Paulsen Marketing

    Chuck Zimmerman

    ZimmCast 240Our sponsor for AgWired coverage of the NAMA Trends In Agriculture conference again this year was Paulsen Marketing. Perhaps you’re not familiar with this agribranding agency located in Sioux Falls, SD. Well, it’s time to get acquainted in this week’s program.

    I spoke with Greg Guse and Bryan Bjerke and we had a great conversation about the agency and their thoughts on digital marketing in this new media world we now live in. One of the things that caught my attention the first time I visited their website was their own use of new and social media. They get it and show it. Kind of gives you confidence that they’ll do a good job for your company, eh? You can read Greg’s “On The Road” blog or follow them on Twitter or Facebook or YouTube or Flickr. I’m sure there’s more but you can see they have the bases covered.

    Paulsen MarketingBesides talking about how the agency was started in 1951 and how it has evolved I thought it very interesting to hear how they’re working with clients on new communications channels. For example, they say that clients are surprised at how low the costs are to get started with social media. They also offer some good advice for implementing it into a communications plan like making a commitment to it and staying engaged. They also acknowledge the difficulty with measuring ROI for digital marketing campaigns but with a little effort there are ways to judge how well it’s working for you.

    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.

    Agencies, Audio, ZimmCast

    Rulon Gardner Speaks At Illinois Commodity Conference

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Rulon Gardner at Illinois Commodity ConferenceThe Illinois Commodity Conference is taking place today in Bloomington, IL. Currently presenting is Rulon Gardner – Dairy Farmer and Olympic Gold Medal Wrestler – on the topic of “Never Give Up, Never Stop Trying: 7 Steps to Success.”

    How appropriate since their theme this year is, “Wrestling with Change.”

    Thanks to @AgChick for tweeting the photo. I’ve heard Rulon speak and he is great. He’s also someone I would want watching my back anywhere!

    Ag Groups

    Genotyping With Fluidigm

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Fluidigm Ramesh RamakrishnaWith a title like Director of Molecular Biology you might think that it would be hard for a non-technical person to carry on a conversation with Ramesh Ramakrishna. Not so. Ramesh works for Fluidigm Corporation and is my latest interview in the series we’re doing to introduce the agribusiness world to their break through research technology.

    In our interview you’ll learn about SNP genotyping and microsats. What are they you ask? Watch or listen to the interview and learn. Ramesh says his team is responsible for developing applications where the Fluidigm System can be used and one of those areas is genotyping. You can learn more about genotyping in this Science magazine article. If this sounds very technical, don’t worry. Ramesh defines genotyping, SNP’s and microsats for you.

    He offers as an example of why this is important in today’s agricultural biotechnology the fact that a farmer or researcher really needs to be sure that something they are planting or working on (plant or animal) is really what it is represented to be. This type of genetic analysis allows for that surety. You can be sure this is important with so many new seed varieties and the desire to be able to track the source for a certain product. The Fluidigm System, unlike other methods to accomplish the above, is extremely flexible and allows for very small volumes and costs.

    You can watch or listen to my interview with Ramesh below:

    Agribusiness, Audio, Biotech, Research, Video

    Farm Foundation Focuses on Future

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Farm Foundation is a 76 year old organization for agriculture that never stops looking ahead.

    nafbLast month’s Farm Foundation “30-Year Policy Conference” drew agribusiness leaders, government officials, and other interested parties. “Because 30 years from now, we’re going to be looking at over 9 billion people on the planet and with rising incomes, people begin to eat more meat and a more varied diet and that means that agriculture has to deliver more,” says Farm Foundation President Neil Conklin. “As we deal with how to make the best use of our increasingly scarce natural resources to produce food, feed fiber, fuel – and even flowers – we need to be sure that we are thinking about policies that will help us in that environment, not the environment we have lived in for the last 30 years.”

    Farm Foundation sponsors regular forums on timely policy issues important to agriculture, normally held at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. This month, the topic was “Research Perspectives on Carbon and Climate Change Issues.” Coming up on December 8, they will discuss “The Economics of Structural Change and Competition in the Food System.” Find out more about past and upcoming forums here on the Farm Foundation website.

    Neil is pictured here at the recent NAFB Trade Talk with ag economist Barry Flinchbaugh who serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees of Farm Foundation. Listen to my interview with Neil here:

    Audio, Farm Foundation, NAFB