2010 National Beef Ambassadors Announced

Amanda Nolz

NBAP-Winners Last weekend, beef cattle industry enthusiasts flooded Fort Smith, Ark. to take part in one of the most prestigious youth agriculture programs in the nation, the National Beef Ambassador Program. I had the opportunity to be a keynote speaker, as well as a workshop presenter, and Cindy and I were both judges for the issues response portion of the contest. I’m proud to announce the winners of this year’s contest, the new 2010 National Beef Ambassador Team: Malorie Bankhead (California), Rebecca Vraspir (Wyoming), Ellen Hoffschneider (Nebraska), Jackson Alexander (Oklahoma), and Mandy-Jo Laurent (Texas). Let’s meet the team, shall we?

Malorie Bankhead is a freshman attending California Polytechnic University San Luis Obispo majoring in Agriculture Science Communications. She hopes to one day become an agricultural journalist or an agricultural public representative.

Rebecca Vraspir is a sophomore at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. She is studying Animal Science with an emphasis in Business and Production. She plans on joining the meats judging team during her time at the university.

Ellen Hoffschneider attends the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She grew up on an Angus cow/calf operation, and is actively involved in the Junior Angus Association on state, regional and national levels.

Jackson Alexander is a senior at Anadarko High School in Oklahoma. Jackson raises and shows Hereford cattle, and because of his dedication to the beef indusry, he was named the 2007 Oklahoma Cattlemen of the year.

Mandy-Jo Laurent attends Texas Tech and is majoring in Agriculture communications, with minors in Political Science and Animal Science. She plans to attend law school one day.

Beef

Sunbelt Ag Expo Coming Up

Chuck Zimmerman

Sunbelt Ag ExpoThe Sunbelt Ag Expo is just around the corner and yours truly will be there again this year thanks to Growth Energy. If you’re tweeting please use #SAE09 in your tweets. Then we can all follow along with the conversation.

A diverse array of labor-saving products, cutting edge technology and interactive educational exhibits awaits visitors who attend the 32nd anniversary Sunbelt Ag Expo, October 20-22, 2009, in Moultrie, Georgia. As North America’s Premier Farm Show™, the Expo attracts more than 1,200 exhibitors and 100,000 attendees. And in our current climate of economic uncertainty, a trip to this year’s Expo is a must for farmers, agribusinessmen, and rural homeowners.

Sunbelt Ag Expo

National Peanut Festival

Chuck Zimmerman

PeanutsIt’s just about time for the National Peanut Festival. Farmers can apply for a ticket to Farmer Day which is November 2. The Festival runs October 30 – November 8.

Approximately half of the peanuts grown in the United States are grown within a 100-mile radius of Dothan, Alabama.

The National Peanut Festival (NPF) — the nation’s largest peanut festival — is held each fall to honor peanut growers and to celebrate the harvest season

Katie AndrewsThe Miss National Peanut Festival winner is Katie Andrews -Miss Ozark.

Follow the NPF on Twitter.

As the peanut harvest arrives to the Alabama, Georgia, and Florida tri-states; people gear up for an enormous event that is held each year to celebrate the important role peanuts play in Southeast Alabama, known by locals as the “Wiregrass” area. During this time, residents also extend a salute to the actual peanut producers of this crop for their continued hard work and dedication in producing this healthy and tasty nut.

Known as the “Peanut Capital of the World,” Dothan, Alabama, is a prime location for producing peanuts. In fact, if you’re in Dothan, you’re in the heart of peanut country considering this area produces more than 65% of all the peanuts produced in the United States.

Ag Groups, Peanuts

Bret Cude New Leader of ISPFMRA

Chuck Zimmerman

Bret CudeBret Cude, Farmers National Company, has been elected President of the Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers.

Others elected at the meeting were President-Elect Mark Wetzel, AFM, with Busey Ag Services, Decatur, IL, and Vice President Richard Grever, AFM, with Hertz Farm Management, DeKalb, IL. Fred L. Hepler, AFM, AAC, Wexford Capital, PC becomes Immediate Past-President of the Society.

Gary Schnitkey, Ph. D., University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, was appointed to continue his term as Secretary/Treasurer of the group and Phil Eberle, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, was named Academic Vice President.

Ag Groups

Why Farmers Are Using Social Media

Chuck Zimmerman

There’s a good story about farmers using social media in the Fresno Bee titled, “Facebook draws a growing crop of farmers, Many in the ag industry are using Twitter and blogs to communicate, educate.” Cindy spoke with author Robert Rodriguez and pointed him to a few other folks to contact for the story. She is quoted in the article.

The story starts out with a description of how and why one dairy farmer (Barbara Martin) is using social media.

For Martin, using social media and blogging is a way to dispel some myths about farmers and encourage a greater understanding of the slumping dairy industry.

She’s blogged about everything from fixing the pricing structure for milk to sharing her childhood memories about growing up on a farm. Her most recent post is a video diary about her heifer Chica.

So do you think dairy farmers are ahead of the curve or what?

The bottom line is that the use of social media by farmers continues to grow and grow and grow. And I just got an email today from someone in ag communications wondering “if Twitter is a passing fad.” Hmm. How would you answer that?

New communications technologies are developing faster than at any time in history. To choose not to participate is like deciding, “I don’t want to be part of your conversation.” Not a good strategy when they are your customers or members.

Social Networking

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Pioneer Hi-Bred announced the company’s Pioneer Premium Seed Treatment offering for the 2010 planting season.
  • The announcement by the Center for Science in the Public Interest naming potatoes to the list of the “Top 10 Riskiest Foods Regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration” requires some important clarification so as not to raise unnecessary alarm or confusion among consumers.
  • Consumers would be forced to pay 25 percent more for eggs soon if animal rights activists succeed in getting only non-cage eggs sold in the U.S., according to a new study.
  • The American Association of Bovine Practitioners announced its officers for the upcoming year. Click here for the new 2009-2010 officers.
    Zimfo Bytes

    Syngenta Seeds Striving for Control of Broad Leps

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Syngenta Seeds wormSyngenta Seeds calls them “broad leps” – farmers call them expensive – most people would just call them icky.

    They are a bunch of nasty wormy creatures – technically lepidopteran corn pests – that make up what Syngenta calls the “multi-pest complex” which costs growers over $1 billion each year in lost yield and grain quality. They include corn earworm, fall armyworm, Western bean cutworm, black cutworm, stalk borer and sugarcane borer.

    Syngenta Seeds Tracy MaderAgrisure Marketing Manager Tracy Mader says the pests are challenging because they affect all areas of the country and all growth stages of the plant. “The industry has done a very good job controlling corn borer root worm, but the next step is to control this group of broad lep pests, like black cutworm, that can attack the crop at the very early stages.”

    That is what they are striving for with the Agrisure Viptera™ trait for corn, which is still awaiting all necessary regulatory approvals and authorizations before it can be marketed. “We’re working really hard,” Tracy said. “What we do have is deregulation from the EPA and the FDA and we are working hard with USDA to receive deregulation for Agrisure Viptera™ and they’re also working in all the key export countries as well.”

    I interviewed Tracy about Agrisure Viptera™ during the recent grand opening of the Syngenta Seeds headquarters in Minnetonka, MN. Listen to or download that interview below. And if you want to find out more – and see a really creepy but impressive video – go to agrisuretraits.com.

    Sponsored by

    Audio, Corn, Farming, Seed, Syngenta

    Happy World Egg Day

    Chuck Zimmerman

    World Egg DayI’m only a little behind in saying Happy World Egg Day. Thanks to Novus International for bringing it to my attention. Of course the day is meant to raise awareness of the benefits of eggs and it was officially yesterday but better late than never. The photo below is from the Novus office cafeteria.

    Here’s part of the message from Novus:

    Over time, the egg industry has experienced quite a few changes. Today, an average hen will lay over 250 eggs in a given year. These numbers are attributed to genetics, animal welfare and feedstuffs.

    Novus World Egg BreakfastEmployees were educated on nutritional quality and the benefits of eggs during egg related activities which were held throughout the day. “The complimentary meals were fantastic,” stated Sherri Armstrong, Regulatory, Novus International. “Learning that eggs are the highest quality of protein available really surprised me.”

    In addition to educational presentations about the egg, employees enjoyed a complimentary breakfast and lunch which consisted of egg based dishes like: omelets, french toast, quiche, crepes and egg soup.

    “Eggs are an important part of our business at Novus,” stated Jared Hux, Product Manager, Novus International. “I really enjoyed educating my colleagues on the history, benefits and varieties of eggs on the market. I am already looking forward to next year’s celebration”.

    Ag Groups, Novus International, Poultry

    Big Interest in USDA Conservation Stewardship Program

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Lots of farmers are interested in USDA’s revamped Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) – formally known as the Conservation Security Program.

    usdaNatural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Chief Dave White announced this week that they received nearly 21,300 applications to participate in the CSP, covering more than 33 million acres nationwide.

    “NRCS has received enough applications to carry out conservation activities on more than twice the number of acres Congress authorized for CSP this year,” White said. “This incredible response shows that conservation-minded producers and landowners want to attain higher levels of conservation stewardship.”

    Congress capped the annual acreage enrollment nationally at 12,769,000 for each fiscal year. The final national and state-by-state numbers on acreage nationwide will be available in November 2009.

    Conservation, USDA

    Sustainability and Modern Farming

    Cindy Zimmerman

    The new president of the National Corn Growers Association, Darrin Ihnen of Hurley, S.D., is the star of a new video on the subject of increasing sustainability in agriculture that debuted Oct. 3 on the television program This Week in Agribusiness. The short video features Darrin and other family farmers telling the story of how better management and modern technology spells good news for both consumers and the environment.

    Darrin says, “The only thing as important as growing a crop and getting a fair price is doing so in a way that is socially responsible and assures opportunities for the next generation of farmers and consumers.”

    Take a look.

    Corn, Farming, NCGA, Sustainability