Post Your Comments on IFAJ Congress

Chuck Zimmerman

IFAJ Gift BinderAll registrants to the IFAJ Congress 2009 received a great wild west souvenir to take home with them. These leather note pad holders were all printed with our names. I was registered although I did not get to attend.

Cindy brought mine home. She actually just got home yesterday after attending the APS meeting in Portland, OR right after IFAJ/AMS. She’s starting to know what it feels like to be me when I’m healthy!

IFAJ Gift BinderIf you attended this year’s IFAJ Congress for your first time I’d love to know your thoughts on meeting with fellow ag journalists from other countries. Did you find it helpful? What did you get out of the relationships you made?

Conversely, if you’re an IFAJ member outside the U.S. who attended, what are your thoughts? Was it a good Congress? What do you think about these crazy Americans? Feel free to post comments.

IFAJ/AMS 2009 Photo Album

AgWired coverage of IFAJ 2009/Ag Media Summit is sponsored by:
Pioneer-HiBred Successful Farming and Novus International

Ag Media Summit, IFAJ

Two Lunches, Two Authors, Two Great Speakers

Joanna Schroeder

41C5Rm2RlwL._SL500_AA240_Now that everyone is home safe and sound from Ft. Worth, you’ll have a little time to read the new books by the IFAJ/AMS lunch speakers. Participants were first treated to a presentation by Julie Wainwright, who is the owner of Smartnow.com. She worked her way up to found Pets.com (how can you forget the sock puppet) and then undergo a very public bankruptcy right as the Internet bubble burst.

But after a few false starts and five big mistakes, she is now back on her feet and spreading encouragement to others. I can’t speak for everyone who attended, but her message definitely resonated with me which is why I’m looking forward to reading her new self-published book, ReBoot My Five Life Changing Mistakes and How I Have Moved On, available on Amazon.com.

coverartWhile Wainwright’s presentation was fairly serious, on Tuesday we were thoroughly entertained by Scott McKain, who is the vice president of Obsidian Enterprises and the co-founder and principal of The Value Added Institute, a think tank that explores client loyalty. Speaking of which, how do you maintain client loyalty? Through being distinct. McKain has written exhaustively about this topic and is a best selling author.

There are Four Cornerstones of Distinction according to McKain including clarity, creativity, communication and customer experience focus. I don’t have time to go into details but his presentation was not only extremely funny, it was even more insightful. McKain very much believes in the mission of ag journalists, so much so that he has done two things. First, he has made his presentation available; and second, he has made the audio and e-versions of his new book, Collapse of Distinction: stand out and move up while your competition fails, available for free.

You can see pictures from the presentations in our IFAJ/AMS 2009 Photo Album.

AgWired coverage of IFAJ 2009 is sponsored by:
Pioneer-HiBred Successful Farming and Novus International

Ag Media Summit, IFAJ, Novus International, Pioneer

Smokey Bear Is Tweeting

Chuck Zimmerman

Smokey BearIt’s birthday time for Smokey Bear (not “The Bear”).

The USDA Forest Service is preparing to celebrate the 65th birthday of an American icon – Smokey Bear – on Monday, August 10. The celebration will take place at the Whitten Building USDA headquarters in Washington D.C. The birthday party will also include the release of the new Smokey Bear Story “big book.” This bilingual (English and Spanish) illustrated educational book introduces Smokey Bear and fire prevention messages to a new generation of American children. Smokey Bear’s trademark message, “only you can prevent wildfires,” is one of the longest running PSA campaigns in U.S. history.

“Smokey Bear is one of the most beloved symbols in American history and his important message has been communicated to generations of Americans during the past sixty five years,” said U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell. “This new book will help mentor a new generation in carrying on Smokey’s message.”

Of course Smokey is tweeting. I’m just wondering how he does it with those big old paws of his.

USDA

Making Phones From Corn is Smart

Chuck Zimmerman

sprint phoneA phone made from corn? Apparently.

This morning Sprint CEO Dan Hesse announced the August 16th release of the Samsung Reclaim™. Speaking with the media from the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in New York City where the Nature Conservancy’s Design for a Living World exhibit is on display, Hesse introduced the new device – a messaging phone that offers environmentally conscious consumers a perfect blend of responsibility without sacrificing speed, style or must-have features.

The Reclaim is constructed from bio-plastic material (40 percent of the Reclaim’s outer casing is derived from corn). It’s RoHS compliant and free of potentially hazardous materials like polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and phthalates, and nearly free of brominated flame retardants (BFR).

It comes with an ENERGY STAR-approved charger that uses 12 times less power than the standard for standby power consumption. The typical thick paper user manual has been replaced by a virtual user manual. The packaging is 100% recyclable material, made with a high percentage of post-consumer waste content, and printed using soy inks.

via Mark on Corn Commentary

Corn

The Night Shift

Amanda Nolz

n1500180011_30097968_3801 I spent last night as the watchman, I mean watchwoman, over the county fair grounds during the Davison County 4-H Achievement Days being held this week in Mitchell, S.D. This job meant I had to keep the cattle, pigs, sheep and goats in their proper place, which is sometimes no easy task. Over the night, I tied up 15 calves, and I’m going to be sure to show a few unknowing 4-H members how to tie a rope halter today!

Anyway, in my overnight duties of watching over the 4-H livestock, I spent a lot of time doing several things: drinking coffee and catching up on blogging (two thumbs up for internet access in the barn!) It must have been the caffeine overdose, or the fact that it stormed, or that I was all alone in the dark, but I had a lot of time to reflect on life and write out some goals for the future.

Now, this may not be the direction you thought my ramblings were going to go, but I have some thoughts I wanted to run by you this morning. I need a website asap. Why? Because I want to promote my work as an agriculture speaker. I’m getting new jobs all the time, but I’m hoping to do more than word-of-mouth advertising. I would like a place to showcase my speech topics, workshops and writing highlights to help launch my speaking career.

So, this is where you come in. What makes a good website? What features keep visitors coming back for more? How extensive does a promotional website need to be? Should it tie in with my current blogging somehow? What should the website be called? How often does it need to be updated? Should it include a newsletter? It’s your turn to weigh in; I can’t wait to hear your thoughts! In the meantime, I’m off to catch a catnap between shows. I’ve still got another dose of night duty tomorrow, and I NEED to catch some shuteye!

Advertising, Technology

The 811 Sponsored By John Deere

Chuck Zimmerman

John DeereJohn Deere is bringing you the 811.

John Deere is a major sponsor of National 811 Day in the United States, August 11, a day set aside by the Common Ground Alliance (CGA) to promote homeowner, farmer and contractor awareness of underground utilities through the use of the national 811 call-before-you-dig phone number.

“Our customers are individuals who work the land and their safety is a high priority for John Deere,” said Samuel R. Allen, chief executive officer of Deere & Company. “It’s vital to call attention to homeowners, farmers and contractors that one simple call to 811 before they dig to prevent injuries, property damage and inconvenient outages of important services.”

The FCC-designated 811 number was launched in 2007 by the CGA to eliminate the confusion of multiple call-before-you-dig numbers that were being used across the country. As a result, homeowners, farmers and contractors can call one easy-to-remember number to have crews mark a requested site for underground lines prior to any excavation.

Agribusiness, John Deere

Reach Teach Learn

Chuck Zimmerman

AlpharmaAlpharma is continuing to reach, teach and learn with students after just announcing a fall essay contest.

Alpharma Animal Health will launch its inaugural student essay contest in select locations across the United States, the company announced today at Ag Media Summit in Fort Worth, Texas.

The essay contest is the latest initiative in Alpharma’s Reach Teach Learn (RTL) educational stewardship program. RTL also features an ag video contest for college and university students.

“We are excited to add another plank to our Reach Teach Learn platform,” says Jeff Mellinger, Global Leader, Sales & Marketing for Alpharma. “Supporting and promoting education makes communities stronger and fosters an environment that provides opportunities for our customers, employees and business in general to be more successful. Our essay contest is simply another step in that direction.”

The contest is a partnership between Alpharma, the Agriculture In The Classroom program and the American Farm Bureau.

Agribusiness, Education

Bumper Crops Still Possible

Chuck Zimmerman

Farm FuturesWith a little cooperation from the weather we might see some interesting corn and soybean crop results this year. Can you say feed and fuel in the same breath?

Bumper corn and soybean crops are still possible in 2009, despite a very unusual growing season, according to the latest Farm Futures survey of U.S. farmers.

Corn production could reach 12.545 billion, the second biggest crop in history, with soybeans setting an all-time high at 3.275 billion.

USDA reports 2009 production Aug. 12, in a widely anticipated release that features the agency’s first estimates based on in-field surveys, not statistical guesses. The government also will update acreage for corn in seven states where planting delays made its June 30 estimates uncertain.

Farm Futures found a 2 million acre drop in corn plantings from USDA’s June survey, with the total falling to 85.04 million. But farmers also reported above average yields of 160.3 bpa, compared to the current USDA statistical guess of 153.4. Farm Futures production estimate is 255 million above the July government forecast.

Farm Futures put the average U.S. soybean yield at 42.8 bpa, slightly higher than USDA’s trend forecast.

Media

America Needs Agriculture

Amanda Nolz

It’s going to cost WHAT to raise a child today? $221,190, you say? No kidding? With the rising cost of living, including raising children, it’s more important now than ever before for American families to have safe, inexpensive food for their dinner plates. With ballot initiatives sponsored by groups such as the Humane Society of the United States working to make production agriculture a volatile career, I fear much of our food with be imported from unsafe locations around the globe in the future. I don’t know about you, but I want safe, wholesome American food for future generations. Check out this interesting read and spread the word!

800px-USDA_logo USDA RELEASES ANNUAL STUDY WHICH NOTES THAT CHILD BORN IN 2008 WILL COST $221,190 TO RAISE

WASHINGTON, Aug. 4, 2009 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture today released a new report, Expenditures on Children by Families, finding that a middle-income family with a child born in 2008 can expect to spend about $221,190 ($291,570 when adjusted for inflation) for food, shelter, and other necessities to raise that child over the next seventeen years.

Food

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Mycogen Seeds is pleased to announce the addition of 29 new grain corn hybrids to its robust 2010 lineup.
  • Internet Radio has been taken to the next level with the launch of iBizRadio.com’s personalized business talk Internet radio station. This free Internet radio station allows listeners to schedule their own programming and learn from some of the best minds in business and technology.
  • Nufarm Ltd has strengthened and expanded its seed business by acquiring two U.S. based sorghum companies: Richardson Seeds Ltd and MMR Genetics Ltd.
  • Robin Winters has moved from sales and on-air production to farm director at WOWO in Fort Wayne, IN. He began his new position on June 1.
Zimfo Bytes