Grains Council China Corn Tour

Cindy Zimmerman

USGC China TourThe U.S. Grains Council (USGC) is blogging and Flickring through this year’s China Corn Tour, taking place right now.

These great photos and many more have been posted on the USGC Flickr account by Erick Erickson, special assistant to the president, who has also been blogging about the trip on The Grain Board. In one post Erick wrote about the harvest, which is all done by hand and takes a typical farmer about ten days.

USGC China TourWe met several farm families at work in the fields. One man told us he has a 3.7 acre allotment and rents an additional 21 acres. He does not like to use machines for planting or harvesting because labor is less expensive and more efficient – for instance in collecting corn stalks that may have fallen over. Twelve acres of the rented land is controlled by the local government, so it is not counted on the records and he receives no government subsidy. He said it takes 10 laborer-days to harvest 2.5 acres of corn. That means a husband-wife team can harvest their 3.7 acres in about eight days.

We met such a team working in their field: 21 rows wide by 400 meters long. They stopped to talk to us when we approached and showed us the size of ears they were harvesting, indicating that they should be at least a third bigger. They had been working steadily and now they stopped and visited with us – animated, smiling, filled with life. After our visit, we walked away and they returned to their work, cutting corn stalks one at a time and laying them in neat rows, bottom end to the wind.

Pretty interesting stuff – check it out.

Corn, International, USGC

NAMA Providing Chance To Win GPS

Chuck Zimmerman

The National Agri-Marketing Association has a YouTube channel now with a few videos in it like the following featuring members explaining the value of NAMA to them.



If you are a member of NAMA, the organization is providing you with a chance to win a GPS. Just recruit a new member prior to November 5 and both of you will be entered in a drawing.

Tell your friends, peers, and business associates how you benefit from being a member of NAMA – the learning and networking opportunities, skill development, access to agribusiness solutions, etc. They can hear what other members think about NAMA at http://www.youtube.com/ExploreNAMA.

Every NAMA member who recruits a new member between now and November 5 will be included in a drawing for a new GPS. The more new members you recruit – the better your chances. New members will have their names entered, too.

Simply tell your recruit to join on-line at http://www.nama.org/register.aspx. Tell them to note “Referred by” and add your name and company in the box titled “Submitter’s Name.” They can also call the NAMA office at 913-491-6500 to join; remind them to say they were referred by you! Be sure to tell them they’ll be included in the drawing.

When will the drawing take place? During Trends in Agriculture, which takes place November 10 and 11 at the Hyatt Regency in Kansas City. We’d love to have you there, but you don’t have to be present to win!

NAMA

Ohioans For Livestock Care Launch Campaign

Chuck Zimmerman

OLC websiteIt looks like the battle is on in Ohio and hopefully we won’t see another fiasco like Prop 2 in California.

Advocating for an ample supply of safe, affordable, Ohio-raised food and excellent care of the state’s livestock and poultry, leaders of Ohioans for Livestock Care today announced the first phase of the statewide outreach campaign in support of passage of State Issue 2. Issue 2 calls for the creation of the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board (the Board) – a board of Ohio experts in animal care, veterinary medicine, food safety and farm management, as well as consumer and humane society members.

The campaign committee has purchased television advertising in media markets across Ohio, which is complemented with online advertising and the addition of a new campaign Web site, www.safelocalohiofood.org.

Here’s the ad. It’s the smallest player choice available or I would have made it smaller.

Ag Groups, Animal Health

New NAFB Website Live Now

Chuck Zimmerman

NAFB websiteThe National Association of Farm Broadcasting website has been “made over” and it’s live now. So check it out and see what you think. I’m glad I can visit it now on my Mac with Firefox. The previous version caused havoc with the browser. So I guess you could call it a much more “friendly” website.

And doesn’t it just make sense to put member audio news right there on the home page? That’s what I’m talking about. I would make a recommendation to change the video player they’re using though. At least in my browser I can start the video clips but I can’t stop or pause them. But I like the concept!

All in all this seems like a major improvement. What do you think?

NAFB

Beef Cook-Off Winner

Chuck Zimmerman

Beef RecipeNow here’s a winning recipe for you meat lovers. Sonoma Steaks with Vegetables Bocconcini. Mmm. Mmm. That’s the winning recipe in this year’s National Beef Cook-Off. Prepared by Mary Hawkes of Prescott, AZ, she wins the top prize of $25,000.

This year’s Cook-Off “Sonoma Style” theme focused on fresh, flavorful ingredients paired with nutrient-rich beef cuts. The winning Sonoma Steaks with Vegetables Bocconcini recipe featured grilled beef top loin steaks, zucchini, yellow bell pepper and red grape tomatoes tossed with herb-marinated fresh mozzarella balls. In addition, the dish is an excellent source of protein, niacin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, selenium and zinc; and a good source of iron.

Ag Groups, Beef

Getting Renewed With RFA

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCast 232 - What's New With RFAIt may be dairy week for ZimmComm but that doesn’t mean it’s the only segment of the industry we’re working on. I’ll be introducing you to a new client later this week for example that is also new to agribusiness. In the meantime, this week’s program is about an old client. And I don’t mean old as in “they’re old.” I mean one of our long time clients, the Renewable Fuels Association.

Renewable Fuels Association LogoAs I posted earlier, RFA has a new logo. That prompted me to call on CEO Bob Dinneen, the Reverend of Renewable Fuels, to find out what the new look signifies for the organization. To start with, Bob says that RFA has doubled in staff size in the last 18 months with new staff in the area of communications, research and lobbying. He sees a bright future for ethanol and RFA even in spite of continuing challenges like the proposed RFS2 that EPA is working on.

So, get up to date with RFA and listen to this week’s podcast. The program ends with some music from Music Alley (formerly Podsafe Music Network). It’s a song titled, “The Milk Mix” by The Mighty Blue Ford. I hope you enjoy it and thanks for listening.

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.

Audio, Energy, Ethanol, RFA, ZimmCast

Should Your Pet Be A Vegetarian?

Amanda Nolz

scope Coming from Texas A&M University, this article from the Veterinary Department, “Should Your Pet Be A Vegetarian?” kind of surprised me. It came out in their newsletter, and the article discussed planning a well-balanced vegetarian diet for pets. Why? What is this world coming to anyway? Since when do pets have to stand for a cause? Why can’t they just be our beloved companions? Here is an excerpt from the article…

There are so many human vegetarians that some of you may have wondered if your beloved four-legged friend is able to share the same passion and cause as you. If you have ever been interested in having your pet become a vegetarian it should be helpful to know the certain nutritional needs that your pet has, in order to make the right decision regarding vegetarianism. There is no scientific basis on the idea that a specific breed of cat or dog would fare better as a vegetarian, it is simply an issue between the species. In the Canine world, being a vegetarian has no negative effect on their nutritional needs.

“Dogs are opportunistic carnivores” said Dr. John Bauer, M.L. Professor of Clinical Nutrition at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, “which means they will eat meat when they have the chance or when no other type of food is available. For wild dogs, prey is not guaranteed, so especially in the colder seasons dogs will eat more plants and vegetables as meat is difficult to find. As for pet dogs, they can easily be converted to vegetarians, and if done properly, it is just as healthy as an omnivorous diet is for a dog.”

Dogs have the same types of protein balances in their bodies that humans have, therefore making it easy and safe for them to convert back and forth from a vegetarian diet to one of an omnivore.

“One problem with having your dog become a vegetarian” said Dr. Bauer “is that it is easier to feed him meat and vegetable based diets, without having to worry about protein types. There are commercial plant and vegetable based diets around for dogs, which seem to work well for the animal’s health and overall well-being.”

Animal Activists, Animal Health, Feed

Syngenta Soybeans Raising the Bar

Cindy Zimmerman

Syngenta Seeds Dan DyerSyngenta Seeds is launching the new NK-1 Class Soybeans for the 2010 planting season.

Dan Dyer, Syngenta Seeds Soybean Product Development Lead, told ag media during the grand opening of the company’s new headquarters that varieties like this prove how Syngenta Seeds is raising the bar. “Over the last couple of years, we’ve noticed in our own data and what we are hearing back from the field, about just how strong the performance is in our varieties,” Dan told me in an interview. “If you’re looking for top yields, these really are the top-yielding beans in the market.”

“It’s real simple for us, doesn’t sound too sophisticated, but we’re going to sell the highest yielding soybeans,” Dan said. “Our objective is to make the growers the most profitable they can be.”

Listen to or download my interview with Dan Dyer below.
Sponsored by

Audio, Seed, Soybean, Syngenta

New Logo For RFA

Chuck Zimmerman

Renewable Fuels Association LogoSometimes a new logo means there are big changes in a company. Not so with the Renewable Fuels Association, at least not in terms of the work they’re doing. They announced their new logo today but say the organization will supply the “same great service.”

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), long recognized as the voice of America’s ethanol industry, has gone through some changes in the past 24 months. New staff additions have bolstered the RFA’s already unparalleled expertise and expanded its activities beyond its traditional role as ethanol’s chief advocate in Washington.

Given the additions and expanded capabilities of the association, the RFA has refreshed its logo and color scheme. For more information on the logo, including how to use it in place of the old logo, please email Christina Martin at cmartin@ethanolrfa.org.

RFA President Bob Dinneen welcomed both the expanded capabilities of the association as well as the unveiling of the new logo:

“America’s ethanol producers are in a constant state of innovation, creating new processes and developing new technologies that will increase our ability to produce ethanol is an increasingly sustainable manner. As it is with the ethanol producers, so too is it with the trade association representing them. The Renewable Fuels Association has undergone a transformation over the past 24 months, adding expertise and capabilities to better serve America’s ethanol industry beyond its traditional role as the voice of the industry in Washington. Such expansion in the capabilities of the RFA required a refreshing of our logo and image. Thus, the new look – but same unparalleled expertise – of the Renewable Fuels Association. “

RFA

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • NPD Group Vice President Harry Balzer, a leading expert and spokesperson on the food, beverage and foodservice industries, will be one of the general session speakers at POTATO EXPO 2010.
  • TerraSphere System engineers have developed a solid state lighting system that is currently being used to support plant germination. The company is working to apply their advanced system to support the entire growing operation.
  • To better understand and proactively address farm animal welfare issues, the Department of Animal Sciences and the College of Veterinary Medicine are holding an Animal Welfare Symposium, “Building Partnerships to Address Animal Agriculture,” on Friday, Oct. 16 at the university’s Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center.
  • Novus International is partnering with Vitamin Angels on a new humanitarian program that supplies children with zinc in order to relieve severe diarrhea.
    Zimfo Bytes