BIVI Sees Big Jump In Cattle Business

Chuck Zimmerman

Colin MeyersThe head of the U.S. cattle business for Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica is Colin Meyers. Colin says the main thing the acquisition of Ft. Dodge Animal Health means to the company is that they now have a much broader range of products to offer. One product in particular, Cydectin, moves them into the anti-parasitic market with a very well recognized name.

When it comes to the cattle market he says that in the vaccine area they’ll have about 20 percent of the market and increases in other areas as well. They’ll have a larger sales and veterinarian force to reach out to customers and a bigger distribution network. They’ve spent the last three weeks bringing in new staff, distributors and others to help enable a smooth transition for customers.

You can listen to my interview with Colin below.

Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Media Day Photo Album

Agribusiness, Animal Health, Audio, Boehringer Ingelheim

You’ve Got To Love Farmers

Chuck Zimmerman

Annalisa ClarkeAnnalisa Clarke manages I Love Farmers, They Feed My Soul. In the AEM AGCONNECT Expo booth at the NAFB Trade Talk I spoke with her about the campaign. She says they’ve started a new media campaign they’ve started to promote agriculture. It’s targeted to individuals 14-24 years old who she calls “digital natives.” She says they’re allowing them to communicate where their food comes from, how it’s produced and who produces it via social media platforms like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, text messaging as well as their website.

Annalisa says progress has been tremendous in the 6 months since the campaign started. They’ve got over 19,000 Facebook page members for example. Support I Love Farmers with some of their great stuff. You can listen to my interview with Annalisa below.

See more NAFB and NAMA Trends photos here.

Ag Groups, Audio, NAFB

Harvest Photos From U.S. Grains Council

Chuck Zimmerman

USGC Harvest of PhotosIf you’re looking for some photos of the harvest then look to the U.S. Grains Council Flickr set of 2009 Harvest Photos.

The USGC is collecting photos from U.S. farmers all over the country. Thanks to all of you that submitted photos. Remember that we are still accepting photos until Dec. 1, 2009.

This photo is of Dave and Sue Roehm who make farming a family affair in Leesburg, Ohio.

Photography, USGC

Soybean Growers Can Ask Questions of USB Experts

Chuck Zimmerman

Marc Curtis United Soybean BoardThis is the next installment in our series about Expert Advice from the United Soybean Board. While attending the National Association of Farm Broadcasting Convention I spoke with USB Treasurer Marc Curtis who farms in Mississippi.

Marc serves on the USB Production Committee so he’s especially happy that the organization can offer Expert Advice to soybean growers via a regular column on their website which allows registered growers to read, comment and ask questions and get answers. There are several regular Expert Advice columnists who Marc says are covering various topics like diseases, rust, insects, agronomics and just about anything that a grower will have to deal with. He says that one of the issues Southeast growers have right now during harvest is what to do with a crop that is still in the ground due to wet weather. He says they can find answers by posing questions on the Expert Advice section of the website since USB has a research project in progress on this very topic.

You can listen to my interview with Marc below.

Ag Groups, Audio, NAFB, Soybean, USB

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Syngenta announced that its genetically modified corn traits MIR162 and Bt11xGA21 are now fully approved for cultivation in Brazil.
  • Van Beek Natural Science, L.L.C. has hired Steve Schumacher as a Territory Sales Manager for Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, New York, and western Pennsylvania.
  • When faced with the challenge of preparing for next year’s crop, weed control planning done now can help growers get the most out of next year’s acre. New solutions, like Kixor herbicide technology from BASF, are designed to control the toughest broadleaf weed control challenges facing growers today.
  • Pfister Seeds and Dow AgroSciences are pleased to introduce a new cash rebate program for the 2010 production season. Growers can earn cash rebates from 2 to 10 percent for qualifying purchases invoiced between Sept. 1, 2009, and Aug. 31, 2010.
Zimfo Bytes

BIVI Vision is Value Through Innovation

Chuck Zimmerman

Boehringer Ingelheim Media DayThe President of Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, George Heidgerken (pictured on left), attended today’s media event and spoke with reporters about changes in the company after the acquisition of Ft. Dodge Animal Health. He says the purchase is a big deal for BIVI here in the United States and globally since it essentially doubles their business including their ability to innovate in the future. While merging the two company cultures he says they will maintain the BI vision and mission and how they achieve them.

George says they can take the best of both companies, put them together and get excited about what they can achieve. They’re calling it the “new BIVI.” He says that full integration may take a couple years although they hope to achieve that sooner. The products they’ve acquired fit in perfectly with their existing portfolio and expand their cattle, dairy and pet business. The vision for the future of the company he says, is “value through innovation.”

You can listen to my interview with George below.

Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Media Day Photo Album

Agribusiness, Animal Health, Audio, Boehringer Ingelheim

Ag Secretary at NAFB

Cindy Zimmerman

nafbSomehow I neglected to do a post on Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack being at NAFB last week. He did a press conference and attended the NAFB Foundation luncheon where he spoke and helped to honor this year’s scholarship winners.

Not a whole lot of newsy information out of the Secretary’s visit, but it was nice to have him there. He had nice things to say about farm broadcasters and their service to agriculture and talked a lot about Veteran’s Day. Here is his opening statement from the news conference, introduced by president Pam Jahnke.

Audio, NAFB, USDA

Record Breaking NAFB Foundation Auction

Cindy Zimmerman

nafbThe traditional Thursday night auction to benefit the NAFB Foundation was a record breaker at the convention last week at $15,100. Orion Samuelson once again served as Master of Ceremonies while the legendary Cliff Mitchell did a cameo guest appearance as auctioneer. The almost-legendary Dave Schumacher of KTRS Radio was the main auctioneer for the event.

Among the 56 treasures and trips that were donated for the auction was a weekend at Sara Wyant and Al Johnson’s place at Lake Ozark, which was won by a group of NAFB ladies who are finally going to have that “Girls’ Weekend” we have been talking about for decades! That will include myself, Cyndi Young, Cindy Cunningham, Sally Behringer, Janet Adkinson, Robin Loftin, and Anita Vanderwert.

nafbThree students actively seeking a career in agricultural journalism and communication were awarded NAFB scholarships funded by the Foundation. Receiving the Glenn Kummerow Memorial Scholarship of $5,000 was DeAnna Schertz of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The two winners of $4,000 NAFB Foundation scholarships were Mattie Nutley, a junior at Oklahoma State University and Iowa State University junior Chet Hollingshead. I’m sure they all hope to follow in the footsteps of outgoing NAFB president Pam Jahnke, who was one of the early recipients of the NAFB Foundation scholarship program.

If you have not donated yet this year to the NAFB Foundation, they will be happy to accept your tax-deductible contribution. Find out how to become a Foundation Booster here.

See more NAFB and NAMA Trends photos here.

NAFB

Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Media Day

Chuck Zimmerman

Betsy Freese Modeling at Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica media dayI’ve now got a photo album started for today’s Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica ag media day. Here’s Betsy Freese, Living The Country Life, posing in her lab coat before our R&D tour.

I will have interviews to post later since I neglected to bring along the right cable for my audio recorder. I just interviewed George Heidgerken, President of BIVI. He says that the Ft. Dodge Animal Health acquisition is the largest purchase the company has ever made. The two companies becoming one is a process that will take a couple of years. He says the products acquired by BIVI perfectly complements their existing portfolio and really helps them with a complete offering in cattle, dairy and companion animals.

Here’s the photos so far: Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Media Day Photo Album

Animal Health, Boehringer Ingelheim

What’s New With Boehringer Ingelheim

Chuck Zimmerman

Boehringer Ingelheim Media DayBoehringer Ingelheim is holding an ag media day to provide an overview of changes in the company and its product line due to the recent acquisition of a portion of the Ft. Dodge Animal Health products.

As an example, in the opening presentation on cattle products, Colin Meyers told us that the new products “complete their cattle vaccine and pharmaceutical portfolio.”

I’ll be conducting interviews and taking photos so you can count on more to come as we learn about the changes at BIVI.

Agribusiness, Animal Health, Boehringer Ingelheim