NAFB To Study Farmer Internet Usage

Chuck Zimmerman

National Association of Farm BroadcastingYou know how much farmers like to be studied don’t you? Yeah. You’ve got that right. Well now the National Association of Farm Broadcasting is conducting a new survey of how farmers use the internet and what types of information they get from it and how. Most recently we saw results of a similar study by Nicholson Kovac and of course there’s lots of data in the USDA NASS survey. And if you contact your Successful Farming representative they’ll share data from their study that was available earlier this year.

More information is always better and with a lot of information circulating about how marketers are moving their budgets online, this should be good information for ag media planners to have. I do hope questions are asked about social networking mechanisms like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc. We know from other studies that farmers are reading blogs and listening to podcasts while even producing their own. The social networking phenomenon is taking place in ag and I have no doubts we’ll see that verified by this new study.

NAFB is initiating its third major national research study in four years, with the Internet Ag Information Usage Study commissioned with Ag Media Research, Sioux Falls, S.D.

Building on the National Producer Media-Use Wave Study of 2008, the new project is asking large farmers and ranchers about their Internet access practices and preferences for agribusiness information, including use of the mobile Web. The survey, to query 1,200 national producers, also asks about the relative value of different types of agribusiness information as delivered via the Web.

Media veteran Ted Haller has consulted on the project, including seeking input toward the questionnaire from leading industry marketers and agencies. With most industry research closely held or proprietary, NAFB again will make public the outcomes of this new survey.

Results are to be introduced during the November Annual Convention, Nov. 11-13 in Kansas City.

Internet, NAFB

Farm Podcaster Tool From Apple

Chuck Zimmerman

iPod Nano VideoThe iPod Nano just became a farm podcaster tool. Now you can not only record audio with a built in microphone but video as well. It also has a built in speaker so you can listen to your recording right away.

If you still listen to terrestrial radio the new Nano now does FM.

Say you need to take a quick break from listening to your favorite radio station. iPod nano lets you pause it with a click. Another click and you’re listening to your station again. You can even rewind as far back as 15 minutes, then fast-forward to catch up to the live broadcast.

Equipment

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • DuPont has received full Canadian regulatory approval of its proprietary herbicide tolerance trait, Optimum GAT, in corn and soybeans for cultivation, feed, and food.
  • Monsanto Company announced a non-exclusive research and commercial license agreement with France-based Cellectis S.A. for broad use of its meganuclease technology in plants.
  • Larry A. Quinn, assistant director of the USDA Office of Communications, will retire Sept. 30 after more than 35 years at USDA and 42 years in federal service including time at Texas A&M extension.
  • Agricultural retailers and distributors can sharpen their management, leadership and decision-making skills at the 2010 Agricultural Retailers Association Management Academy, set for Feb. 2-4 at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind.
    Zimfo Bytes

    Crops Keep Growing

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Edging closer to the number one record crop, USDA boosted the corn production forecast by two percent in the report out this morning – to an even 13 billion bushels. Still expected to be just the second largest on record, it is a mere 100 million bushels short of the 2007 record crop.

    NASSUSDA is now saying yields are expected to average 161.9 bushels per acre, up 2.4 bushels from August and 8.0 bushels above last year. Yield forecasts increased from last month across the western Corn Belt and the northern half of the Great Plains as mild temperatures and adequate soil moisture supplies provided favorable growing conditions. Yield prospects were unchanged in the eastern Corn Belt where dry conditions during August depleted soil moisture supplies.

    USDA also increased the soybean forecast in the new report, a record high 3.25 billion bushels, up 1 percent from the August forecast and up 10 percent from last year. Yields are expected to average 42.3 bushels per acre, with record high yields forecast for Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi.

    Even though both crops remain far behind normal in development, the forecast is calling for generally warm, mostly dry weather stretching into next week or so, which is great news for producers.

    Corn, Soybean

    Get it Right – Call it H1N1

    Cindy Zimmerman

    U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack yesterday urged reporters to “get it right” and call it H1N1.

    “The job of the media is to get it right and not necessarily to get it convenient,” said Vilsack. “Some media outlets have been responsive and sensitive to this, but there’s really not been a concerted effort by the media to do a good job, a correct job of making sure this is characterized properly.”

    H1N1 FacebookVilsack made his case on behalf of struggling pork producers who have been adversely affected by the connection to the virus. “I want folks who are in this business of conveying messages“to understand that behind that message there is a family today … wondering how they’re going to be able to pay the bills when they continually sell pork for less than what it costs to produce, and they continue to get hammered for something that they have absolutely nothing to do with.”

    Illinois Farm Bureau is taking the case to Facebook by urging us to participate in online H1N1 online activism today. Join the protest here.

    Stop the hogwash! Call it H1N1, not “swine flu.” You cannot get H1N1 from eating pork, and the misnomer is hurting pork producers financially.

    Join me in the fight against bad farm facts. Copy this entire message into your profile status and leave it there all day. Then click “like” on the Illinois Farm Bureau Fan Page status to show that you participated. Thank you for supporting U.S. agriculture.

    Media, Pork, Social Networking

    Catch Me in Pierre Tomorrow!

    Amanda Nolz

    ANCW_Logo Today, I’m hitting the road to attend an event with the South Dakota CattleWomen’s Association. I will be their keynote speaker at the Ramkota Inn in Pierre, S.D. during their noon luncheon. I will be speaking on my life since being the 2006 National Beef Ambassador and explaining the importance of getting involved in our agriculture industry. I’m excited to hit the road again with speaking gigs, and I will let you know my speaking schedule as it comes up. Hopefully, we can meet down the road somewhere.

    For now, here is a little teaser of my speech: I will be diving into the ins and outs of my involvement in the beef cattle industry. I’ll explain the successes and failures, the good ideas and the bad, the internships, the study abroad trips and my final year of college in making the decision to go back to the family cattle ranch and work as a self-employed speaker and writer. Finally, I will challenge the cattlewomen to stand up and get involved in their own agriculture advocacy. I’ll report back next week with how it turns out. Stay tune for updates on my upcoming adventures! Next on the list is a day at SDSU, speaking for the new Beef Leadership Experience Program!

    Uncategorized

    Energy Main Topic at Forum

    Amanda Nolz

    It was standing room only at the Town Hall Meeting featuring U.S. Senator John Thune at the 2009 South Dakota State Fair in Huron, S.D. last week. The senator was welcomed to a standing ovation after he was introduced, and from there, he presented a powerpoint detailing spending and deficit projections. However, it was the question-and-answer segment of the town hall meeting that drew the most interest.

    Energy was the major topic of discussion at the forum, with many asking Senator Thune about the Renewable Electricity Standard (RES). Thune said he was open to supporting the RES, but he would not vote in favor of a bill that included either cap-and-trade pollution regulations or a climate-change proposal, as he believes they would raise energy costs for South Dakotans. So, what’s your take on the Renewable Electricity Standard? Has it been discussed at your town hall meetings? What’s your take?

    Energy

    Georgia Peanut Industry Helps Feed Hungry

    Cindy Zimmerman

    The Georgia peanut industry helped to fill the coffers of the state’s food banks – and the stomachs of hungry children – with a hefty donation this week.

    GA Peanut DonationIn honor of Hunger Action Month, representatives from the Georgia Peanut Commission, National Peanut Buying Points Association, American Peanut Shellers Association and Georgia Farm Bureau along with fourteen other individuals, organizations and businesses donated 28,224 jars of peanut butter to the Food Bank of Southwest Georgia. That’s enough peanut butter to make 350,000 sandwiches!

    “Peanut butter is an excellent source of protein and an ideal item to have in our pantries because adults and kids alike can make a quick meal or snack out of it,” said Brett Kirkland, president of the Food Bank of Southwest Georgia. “Thanks to the peanut industry and the donors of this project, this large donation of peanut butter will help us and our 300 partner agencies continue to distribute high-quality, easy-to- prepare food to those in need of food assistance.”

    The Food Bank of Southwest Georgia serves 20 counties throughout Southwest Georgia and partners with over 300 agencies to serve approximately 30,000 people each year, including 10,000 children. In the 20 county service area, there are 100,000 people living in poverty and 200,000 people at risk of being food insecure at some point during the year.

    Read more from the Georgia Peanut Commission here.

    See more photos here.

    Peanuts

    Farm Progress Show Harvest Demo

    Cindy Zimmerman

    The corn was still green but that didn’t stop a rainbow of combines from demonstrating their skills at the 2009 Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Illinois last week.

    Watch this YouTube video of the New Holland CR9080 doing its thing:

    Farm Progress Show, New Holland, Video

    Novus International To Research at Green Acres

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Novus Media DayGreen Acres was the place to be yesterday. That’s the name of the Novus International research farm near Montgomery City, MO. Our media group piled into a van piloted by Captain Jeremy Lutgen and off we went to see how the project is coming along.

    Novus purchased the 15 acre farm and has been constructing new buildings while renovating existing one. Pictured on the left is Skip Hampton, Novus Manager, Product Research. He told us all about their plans and says they hope to have the initial construction finished by the end of this month. He says they’ll have a multi-functional facility that will allow for research on swine, poultry, ruminants and equine. Their headquarters building is Leed certified and the home on the site for the on-site manager will also be Leed certified. The whole farm will have sustainability in mind and in my interview you’ll hear Skip describe how they’ll utilize water resources and energy. He says they may be looking at a combination of a wind turbine with solar panels.

    Novus International Media Day Photo Album

    You can listen to my interview with Skip here:

    Animal Health, Audio, Novus International