We Really Do Love Farmers

Cindy Zimmerman

According to a new poll, we really do love farmers.

I Love FarmersA nationwide survey conducted for the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) found broad public respect and trust for family farmers and support for corn as food, feed and fuel. Ninety-five percent of those polled find farmers to be trusted messengers on issues such as agriculture, corn products and ethanol – and ethanol itself was supported or strongly supported as a good fuel alternative by 65 percent.

That’s 95 percent said they trusted farmers. Even the corn growers were surprised by the results. “We expected to see some pretty solid results in this polling, but the final numbers were beyond what we imagined,” said NCGA President Darrin Ihnen, a farmer in Hurley, S.D. “This high level of support is gratifying, and it is also a challenge for us to work hard to maintain the trust consumers have placed in us.”

NCGA“Farming is under attack in the mainstream media because some reporters seem to have the wrong idea about modern American agriculture,” Ihnen said. “One of our goals at NCGA is to help educate the media and the public about how current technology has helped family farmers do their traditional jobs more efficiently, more effectively and more affordably.”

The survey of 1,000 U.S. voters nationwide was conducted in mid-September by David Binder Research and has a margin of error of 3.1 percent. For more information on the survey, please visit NCGA Web site www.ncga.com.

If you have not done it yet – join the “I Love Farmers” fan club started by some Cal-Poly students earlier this year. You can donate, buy cool stuff like hats and shirts, or just support them. The group is working to help young people understand the importance of knowing where our food comes from and who produced it – a very noble goal.

Corn, Farming, NCGA

Baling Hay at Sunbelt Ag Expo

Chuck Zimmerman

I got out in the field on Wednesday at Sunbelt Ag Expo and the most active area was hay baling. As you’ll see in the video clip, there were a lot of machines being demonstrated. I also stopped at the precision ag demonstrations and will have an interview from there to post later as well as getting to learn about switchgrass at a plot that was grown here for the first time this year.

Sunbelt Ag Expo 2009 Photo Album

AgWired coverage of Sunbelt Ag Expo is sponsored by Growth Energy.

Hay, Sunbelt Ag Expo, Video

Sunbelt Update From Mr. Peanut

Chuck Zimmerman

Tyron SpearmanHe says he’s been the media director for Sunbelt Ag Expo for 32 years and he’s Mr. Peanut. Actually he’s Tyron Spearman, Spearman Marketing. Tyron also reports for Southeast AgNet.

At Expo Tyron coordinates all the requests of the media here covering the event. In the photo he’s giving us an overview of the show during our media breakfast. Tyron says the show is “excellent.” The weather has cleared up from the rain of last week and he thought the setup went a lot easier than normal. He says the first day crowd was estimated between 40 – 50,000 which was very good for an opening day. The challenge now is the good weather which has farmers out in their own fields. I asked him about the peanut crop and he says that after the largest crop in history last year the crop was reduced this year. Challenges during the planting season meant that there are actually 3 separate crops being harvested this year with the last one coming in later in November.

You can listen to my interview with Tyron below:

Sunbelt Ag Expo 2009 Photo Album

AgWired coverage of Sunbelt Ag Expo is sponsored by Growth Energy.

Audio, Sunbelt Ag Expo

Vermeer Rolls Out the Rancher

Cindy Zimmerman

Vermeer had cow-calf producers in mind when they designed the new Rancher 665 round baler.

vermeerAccording to Vermeer Forage Marketing Manager Dan Belzer, the new Rancher 665 baler design fills a niche many cow-calf producers have been asking for – basically, the ability to produce bigger bales with a “right-sized” baler that requires less horsepower. “Now, with a minimum 60 hp tractor, every day cow-calf producers can roll up large-diameter bales, which they can easily move around with their medium-sized loaders. Also, because the Rancher 665 baler is ‘right-priced’, it’s very competitive with used late-model balers in the same class, which gives Rancher 665 baler owners the extra peace of mind of having new product warranty.”

Belzer adds, “the name depicts a no nonsense, tight-fisted, independent, rugged, individual” – kinda like the guy in the promo photo. Looks a bit like a young Baxter Black to me – is he for real?

Equipment, Hay, Livestock

Sunbelt Ag Expo Field Demos

Chuck Zimmerman

Sunbelt Ag ExpoField demonstrations are in full swing at Sunbelt Ag Expo. I’ve updated the photo album for you and am taking off but have a lot more to post.

I’ll continue posting over the next day or so. Stay tuned.

Sunbelt Ag Expo 2009 Photo Album

AgWired coverage of Sunbelt Ag Expo is sponsored by Growth Energy.

Sunbelt Ag Expo

Ag Students Key to Correcting Food Critics on Campus

Cindy Zimmerman

College students with agriculture backgrounds are finding the need to defend modern agriculture and correct misinformation about food production that is being worked into class curriculums.

mbic sarahSome classes are now requiring students to read books like “Omnivore’s Dilemma,” watch movies like “Food, Inc.” and see presentations by critics of modern agriculture like Michael Pollan. Sarah Downing, a junior at the University of Missouri and education chairman of the Mizzou Collegiate Cattlewomen, says she has to read Omnivore’s Dilemma for her Agriculture Marketing Systems class this semester. “The class is about 90 students,” Sarah says. “We haven’t started discussing it yet, I’m kind of looking forward to it.”

Sarah was happy to be able to get information on how to deal with questions raised by her fellow students about food production from a webinar that was given last week by the beef industry. They discussed ways that ag students and the industry can be pro-active on college campuses, especially when activists like Michael Pollan come to call – as he did last week at Cal-Poly.

“The best thing we can do is just tell our story,” she says. She suggests that other students and anyone in the beef industry get their “MBA” – Masters in Beef Advocacy. “It’s a great program to get the good word about agriculture and the beef industry out to consumers who may have misconceptions.”

Find out more about the MBA program from the Cattlemen’s Beef Board here. You can also check out the Mizzou Collegiate Cattlewomen – Cowgirls With Class – on Facebook. And – it would be a good idea for everyone in the beef industry or agriculture in general to read Omnivore’s Dilemma, at least to know your enemy!

Listen to my interview with Sarah here.

Audio, Beef, Livestock

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Jim McCarthy, Iowa, has been selected as the newest winner of the Kleckner Trade and Technology Advancement Award.
  • New Holland has further extended its range of specialized tractors with the introduction of the new TDF Series, designed for customers with specialized needs such as orchards, olive groves, wide vineyards and full-field horticulture farms.
  • The Monsanto Beachell-Borlaug International Scholars Program announced 12 recipients of the program’s 2009 fellowships. Find out more information here.
  • The Resistance Fighter of the Year program recognizes those who serve as role models and provide growers with guidance they need to manage weeds successfully in their operations.
Zimfo Bytes

Water Tower View of Sunbelt Ag Expo

Chuck Zimmerman

Sunbelt Ag ExpoThe old water tower on the grounds of the Sunbelt Ag Expo makes a good platform to look out over the show. I climbed it last year for the first time and again this year.

I’ll be out on the grounds today finding more stories and taking more photos. So keep an eye on my photo album as I add to it.

Sunbelt Ag Expo 2009 Photo Album

AgWired coverage of Sunbelt Ag Expo is sponsored by Growth Energy.

Sunbelt Ag Expo

Swisher Sweets Sponsors Sunbelt Award

Chuck Zimmerman

J. Thomas RyanThe main sponsor of the Southeastern Farmer of the Year program is Swisher Sweets. Representing them here at Sunbelt Ag Expo is Mr. J. Thomas Ryan, Swisher International. I talked with him prior to the Willie B. Withers luncheon.

He says it’s the 20th year that the company has sponsored the awards program. He says business is good for his company which makes cigars and smokeless tobacco products. The bulk of their business is domestic but they also sell products in 80 other countries.

You can listen to my interview with Mr. Ryan below:

Sunbelt Ag Expo 2009 Photo Album

AgWired coverage of Sunbelt Ag Expo is sponsored by Growth Energy.

Agribusiness, Audio, Sunbelt Ag Expo

Georgia Agri-Leaders Forum Foundation

Chuck Zimmerman

Jimmy HillThe emcee for the Willie B. Withers luncheon at Sunbelt Ag Expo was Mr. Jimmy Hill, President/CEO, Georgia Agri-Leaders Forum Foundation. Jimmy says they develop leaders in agribusiness and forestry with a 12 month program. He says they have 18 people involved in this year’s program. The goal is to develop leaders who will get involved and help solve challenges faced by the industry.

The Study Institute Program of the Georgia Agri-Leaders Forum is an intensive exposure to a wide range of issues and policy discussion. These range from the economy to governmental process, as well as, a liberal opportunity to broaden leadership skills. The one-year program consists of six Study Institutes covering issues affecting those committed to agriculture, agribusiness, forestry and leadership in rural Georgia. Four In-State Institutes are structured in a three-day/two night format; A Government-in-Session (Atlanta/Washington DC) Institute covers eight days; and a National Travel Experience Institute in another state covers six days. Each Institute stresses leadership skills and generates sensitivity to pertinent issues, giving the participants an in-depth understanding of what it takes to get involved in bringing about solutions to political, economical, cultural, social, agricultural, agribusiness, forestry and leadership issues in rural Georgia.

You can listen to my interview with Jimmy below:

Sunbelt Ag Expo 2009 Photo Album

AgWired coverage of Sunbelt Ag Expo is sponsored by Growth Energy.

Ag Groups, Audio, Sunbelt Ag Expo