NAFB To Honor Lee McCoy and Evan Slack

Chuck Zimmerman

Lee McCoyThe National Association of Farm Broadcasting will honor two of its finest during this year’s convention on Thursday, November 12. The honor will be presented during the Night of Honors Celebration Banquet.

Lee McCoy and Evan Slack have been voted into the NAFB Hall of Fame by the Hall of Fame Committee — a working group of five individuals composed of current Hall of Fame members and past and current Presidents.

Lee McCoy was called “The Real McCoy” by his farm broadcasting family. He had a cowboy style that allowed him to communicate with people from all regions and all walks of life. He spent 10 years with the Southeast AgNet in Alabama and Georgia. An avid bicyclist and fund-raiser, he passed away in 2008 after battling cancer for more than two years.

Evan SlackEvan Slack is founder and owner of the Evan Slack Network, Denver, CO. As a young farm boy, he had two dreams: to become a farm broadcaster and fly his own plane. Both of those came true for Evan, and his travels have taken him many exciting places. His rewards and recognitions are many, including NAFB’s Pioneer in Farm Broadcasting recognition for his 50 years in the Association.

Lee was a very good friend over the years and we miss him. I can say the same about Evan but I don’t miss him since he uses his iPhone to call my iPhone very often!

Media, NAFB

The Battle For Milkquarious

Chuck Zimmerman

MilkquariousThe Got Milk folks and milk loving rock star White Gold are about to introduce “The Battle for Milkquarious” which debuts on October 5.

Here’s a YouTube video which features “White Gold and Strawberry Summers make some sweet, sweet music… until the milk runs out.”

Ag Groups, Dairy, Video

Farm Bureau Opposes New Climate Bill

Cindy Zimmerman

This week, Senators Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.) debuted the “Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act,” an 821-page bill designed to “create clean energy jobs, reduce pollution, and protect American security by enhancing domestic energy production and combating global climate change,” as well as creating millions of green energy jobs. Part of that includes reducing carbon emissions by 20 percent by the year 2020 and 80 percent by 2050 compared to 2005 levels.

The American Farm Bureau Federation isn’t buying it.

afbf“America’s farmers and ranchers did not fare that well in the House-passed climate change bill and they fare even worse in the Senate bill,” said American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman. “There are few benefits and even greater costs to agriculture and the American public.”

Stallman says the 20 percent target, which is higher than the House bill by three percent, is unrealistic and will lead to higher energy bills for all consumers. “The Waxman-Markey bill, passed narrowly by the House this summer, did at least include credits to farmers for carbon-storing or carbon management practices. The Senate bill does not guarantee any benefits to agriculture for carbon sequestration,” Stallman said.

Another major concern for Farm Bureau is that the Boxer-Kerry bill would not prevent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from continuing to move forward to fully regulate all greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. The bill also does nothing to provide alternative sources of energy to fill the energy deficit left by the reduction in fossil fuels, nor does it prevent the EPA from using controversial indirect land use principles that penalize ethanol, according to Stallman.

“Both the Senate and House bills would bring higher fuel and fertilizer costs to American farmers and ranchers, which puts us at a competitive disadvantage in international markets with other countries that do not have similar carbon emission restrictions,” Stallman said. “For the future prosperity of the U.S. economy and American agriculture, climate change legislation must be defeated by Congress.”

Energy

Ag Retailers Association Names Coppock CEO

Cindy Zimmerman

ARAThe Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) has named Daren Coppock as the organization’s new President and CEO, replacing Jack Eberspacher who passed away in July after a brief battle with cancer.

Coppock is an experienced association leader with deep ties to the agricultural community having been raised on a farm in Oregon and serving as an advocate for production agriculture for the past decade. He joins ARA from the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) where he served as the organization’s CEO since July of 2001.

“I look forward to joining the team at ARA as we tackle some important agricultural challenges on behalf of agricultural retailers,” said Coppock. “I’m impressed by the leadership of the organization and eager to get out and meet some of the members in the coming months.”

Beginning on November 1, Daren Coppock will begin transitioning from his current position with NAWG to ARA and will be working full time for ARA by January 1, 2010.

Ag Groups, Wheat

2009 Chevron Delo Tractor Competition

Chuck Zimmerman

Chevron Delo CompetitionTractor restoration is a competitive sport and the “Super Bowl” of the competition is the 2009 Delo Tractor Competition by Chevron. The event will take place during the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis with 12 competitors.

Since 1995, the Delo Tractor Restoration Competition has rewarded the determination, mechanical skills and business savvy of high school aged FFA members from around the country. Through the restoration of an antique tractor, participants develop skills applicable to the modern business world. The skills needed for success in the program – equipment maintenance, teamwork, project management, budgeting, planning and marketing – help develop the participants into future leaders in the agriculture community.

Follow Event Online

Social media will play a major role at the 2009 Delo Tractor Restoration Competition. The event will be supported through a number of social media channels, including YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. Regular video updates will be placed on the event’s YouTube channel. The Delo Tractor Restoration Competition Facebook page will be used to post status updates, pictures and video. Finally, Twitter will also be used to provide a regular stream of updates and will be the first place the results will be announced outside of the awards banquette. For those who can’t attend the event, these social media channels are the next best thing. To access Delo Tractor Restoration Competition updates online, go to:

YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/TRCAdmin
Twitter: http://twitter.com/delotrc
Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Delo-Tractor-Restoration-Competition/141932364292

Agribusiness

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Acclaimed television host, network news anchor, author and business entrepreneur Bill Kurtis has accepted an invitation to be the keynote speaker at the Inaugural MEAT INDUSTRY HALL OF FAME Induction Ceremony in Chicago on Oct. 27.
  • The American National CattleWomen Inc is excited to announce the launch of College Aggies Online, a new program aimed at helping today’s college students become confident advocates for the agriculture industry. Contact Krissa Thom at KThom@animalagalliance.org or (703) 562-1410 for more information.
  • Elanco announced that an independent expert panel of physicians, nutritionists, and animal scientists has completed a thorough review of the research and published a summary paper addressing scientific issues relevant to recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST).
  • United Fresh Produce Association President and CEO Tom Stenzel released a statement on the USDA’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, which will began national distribution of fruit and vegetable vouchers Oct. 1, 2009.
Zimfo Bytes

San Francisco City Critter

Chuck Zimmerman

Jack Rabbit RunningYou never know what you’re going to see traveling away from home.

I was amazed at the number of jack rabbits roaming around the street and parking lots of the office buildings right near my hotel in South San Francisco. I almost stepped on one when it jumped out from under a bush next to the sidewalk.

This one kind of wandered around long enough for me to get my camera out for a quick shot.

Uncategorized

Learning About Fluidigm IFC’s

Chuck Zimmerman

Fluidigm ChipHere’s a look at a Fluidigm integrated fluidic circuit (IFC). This is the core technology that the company produces. Holding the chip is Yong Yi, Product Manager, Fluidigm. He was one of the first people I interviewed here at the company headquarters in South San Francisco. I’ll be posting his interview later.

I just wanted you to see that we’re going to be talking about some pretty technical products that have a real application for agricultural biotechnology. We’re going to learn more about it in coming weeks since I’ll be posting regular stories about the work that Fluidigm does and its technology.

Uncategorized

Charleston Orwig is Legendary in the Dairy Business

Cindy Zimmerman

Charleston Orwig must have more dairy industry related clients than any other communications agency in the country, which makes sense since they are located literally in the heartland of the state synonymous with dairy production – Hartland, Wisconsin. At World Dairy Expo this year they are working with a number of clients – including Alpharma, Arm and Hammer animal nutrition, Novartis, Dairyland Seed and Hoard’s Dairyman.

World Dairy ExpoI talked to Lyle, the Orwig of Charleston Orwig, in the agency’s suite overlooking the expo arena about their commitment to agriculture and the dairy industry. “When we began with Charleston Orwig, agriculture was a focus for us, we didn’t just happen to get a couple of ag accounts and say – oh, let’s be an ag agency,” Lyle said. “Having grown up on a central Illinois dairy farm, it’s important for me personally, as well as the agency to maintain that connection to agriculture and so we have focused on that as we’ve grown the agency.” Lyle says about 85 percent of the agency staff have an agricultural background, either in agribusiness communications or growing up on a farm, or both.

One of Charleston Orwig’s specialties is reputation management, which is critical these days in the animal agriculture industry with critics such as PETA and HSUS becoming more aggressive in trying to sway public opinion against livestock producers. “Part of our mission is to help clients tell their story in a positive way and educate consumers on the need to grow crops and livestock for feeding the world as well as the U.S.,” Lyle says. Listen to my interview with Lyle below.

Charleston Orwig and two of their clients – Hoard’s and Alpharma – are sponsoring coverage of World Dairy Expo this week on our sister blog, World Dairy Diary, and be sure to check out the World Dairy Expo Flickr photo album for all the sights.

Agencies, Audio, Dairy, World Dairy Expo

Legendary Grilled Cheese at World Dairy Expo

carly

WDXThe theme of of World Dairy Expo this year is “Legendary” and the experience of having a Badger Dairy Club grilled cheese sandwich is a legendary expeirience. Today I took a moment to try one of their famous grilled cheeses and after just one bite you can tell they have grilled cheese sandwich making down to an art.

The Badger Dairy Club, a student organization on the UW-Madison campus, has become famous for their legendary grilled cheeses they bring to the World Dairy Expo. Every year members of the Badger Dairy Club come to the expo and prepare thousands of grilled cheeses to sell to hungry expo goers. This is one of the club’s biggest fundraisers. Members also put countless of hours before, during and after the expo making the sandwiches as well as setting up show ring displays, picking up milk, and cleaning up the barns.

Take a look at a video below of my experience.

World Dairy Expo Photo Album

Dairy, World Dairy Expo