NCBA on HSUS Agenda

Amanda Nolz

forrest-roberts It’s no longer a secret that the Humane Society of the United States is dedicated to their main agenda of abolishing food animal agriculture in this country. It’s also no secret that HSUS has spending power and an active lobbying core that has taken part in 25 ballot initiatives, including the most notable, Proposition 2. For years, there have been those of us that have watched HSUS and told others about their dangers to our nation’s food supply, and now, the industry is finally taking note. It seems like every agriculture meeting discusses the HSUS agenda, and it’s time agriculture comes up with an action plan against these huge lobbyists.

NCBA CEO Forrest Roberts spoke this morning at the general session at the 2009 Cattle Industry Summer Conference in Denver, Colo. where producers from across the country have gathered to discuss the hot topics in agriculture today. Listen to Forrest’s speech on the state of the industry and his thoughts on HSUS.

Cattle Industry Conference

AdFarm/AGROTAIN Mount Ranier Relay Team

Chuck Zimmerman

Mt. Ranier Relay RaceThe folks at AdFarm are rooting for their team which is competing today in the Mount Rainier to Pacific Relay.

Hello AdFarmers! Runners and non-runners alike, tune your monitors to Twitter updates courtesy of our own Dan Danford at http://twitter.com/DanDan4D . He is one of the 11 member AGROTAIN client/agency team to run the Mount Rainier to Pacific Relay – 11 people. 152 miles. 22 hours. 33 “legs” to run down an honest-to-God mountain. From AdFarm, Les Kahl, Marisa Meyer and Hilary Winn will join Dan on this trek, along with Jeff Whetstine, Mike Stegmann and others with AGROTAIN. The Race begins Friday, July 17th at 2:00pm Pacific Time.

This run is famous for its low-key and racer-friendly atmosphere but it’s more than just a day in the park, so follow our team and wish them luck! Mount Rainier is part of the Cascade Mountains and overlooks the beautiful Olympic Penninsula, Seattle and the Pacific Ocean. See how craggy this run could be here. You can also make Dan a friend on Facebook and follow his updates there as well.

Stay tuned and … GOOD LUCK, TEAM!!

Agencies

5 Years After Global PR Blog Week

Chuck Zimmerman

It was in January of 2005 that I mentioned Global PR Week 1.0 here on AgWired. The conference was over at that point of course but it was one of those learning tools for me that let me see the power and effectiveness of new media. There was a Global PR Week 2.0 later that year but we haven’t had any since.

I was reminded of this from Steve Rubel’s Lifestream when he pointed us to an article about where we are in media and public relations 5 years after that first event. The article is on Bastien Beauchamp’s Blog. Here’s an excerpt from his conclusion:

The shift from advertising to PR will simultaneously mean a shift from PR to human resources.

The last word goes to Alice Marshall reflecting afterward on the Global PR Blog Week:

“Our single most important contribution (during that event) may have been to shift our industry from the idea of controlling the message and manipulating public opinion to that of presenting the message and cultivating public opinion. This change of metaphor is crucial to successful public relations in a world of increasing transparency. Those who fail to make transparency their friend will find it a formidable enemy. We offer(ed) readers many ideas on how to make transparency their friend.”

You can find Global PR Week 1.0 archived here.
You can find Global PR Week 2.0 archived here.

Uncategorized

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • GreenStone Farm Credit Services has broken ground on a new corporate headquarters in East Lansing, Mich.
  • Farmers, ranchers and rural business owners have until July 31, 2009 to apply for the USDA Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) grants.
  • Syngenta Seed Care announced that the first seed treatment insecticide for small-seeded vegetables has been approved by the EPA for use on leafy vegetables. This superior new tool offers unparalleled protection against early-season sucking and chewing insects and will be available as a component of the FarMore Technology platform.
  • Cooperatives Working Together announced that it will conduct its second herd retirement of 2009. CWT will consider bids up to, but not to exceed $5.25 per hundredweight.
    Zimfo Bytes

    Active, Online Beef Ambassadors

    Amanda Nolz

    img_2047 Today I met with the National Beef Ambassador Team to conduct a workshop on social networking: using blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Google and YouTube to help share the beef cattle production story. The ambassadors have a brand new blog to share information about the beef industry with consumers. Show your support and stop by to leave a comment. These are the next leaders of the future beef industry, and these young people are dedicated to working on behalf of farmers and ranchers.

    At the conclusion of the workshop, I caught an interview with the ambassadors on their favorite memories and their upcoming projects online. Catch my interview here:

    Audio, Cattle Industry Conference

    Cattle Industry Summer Conference Kicks Off

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Lynn HeinzIt’s Cattle Industry Summer Conference week in Denver and Amanda Nolz is on the ground doing some Beef Board blogging for us. Cindy just arrived at the airport from the Southern Peanut Growers Conference and yours truly is getting better from pneumonia or he’d be in Mexico with the United Soybean Board. Busy week. Here’s Amanda’s first interview from the CISC.

    The Cattlemen’s Beef Board met for the first time this week at the Administration Subcommittee Meeting tonight. The discussions from tonight’s meeting will be introduced and rehashed at the executive meeting bright and early tomorrow morning. During a break in the meeting, I had the opportunity to catch up with CBB Producer Communications Staff Member Lynn Heinze to talk about the outreach programs the CBB uses to educate producers about the checkoff.

    Lynn directs the checkoff’s national producer communications efforts, including paid media, dairy and beef trade media, surveys of producers, direct producer communications and CBB’s coordination with state beef councils. He has 20-plus years of experience in the meat industry, where he has managed a number of checkoff-funded programs for the National Live Stock and Meat Board, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the U.S. Meat Export Federation.

    Audio, Beef, Cattle Industry Conference

    AgChat Summary

    Chuck Zimmerman

    AgChatAnother AgChat session is in the can. This time the focus was on food safety. You can follow back through the conversation via Twitter. Here’s the questions that were posed.

    Q1 via @agriblogger Is it reasonable to expect that government can guarantee #food safety? #farm #agchat

    Q2 Via @TruffleMedia What will Food Safety Modernization Act ’09 do for consumers and producers, if passed? http://bit.ly/117Y44 #agchat

    Q3 via @KateOnline What are some of the biggest misconceptions about the way food is produced/grown/raised & safety of that food? #agchat

    Q4 What are key resources for the consumer to learn about food safety? #agchat http://twubs.com/agchat

    Q5 via @KateOnline Do you feel consumers perceive certain products as safer? Organic/Local/Conventional? #agchat

    Q6 via @KateOnline What #ag and #farm practices do you see or use that improve #food safety? #agchat

    Q7 – the grand finale: What is the one executable idea you can take away from this evening’s fiery #food convo? #agchat

    The online session was fast paced at times as comments and ideas were proposed from a wide array of people. According to our moderator we had 1200 tweets in less than2 hours with 150+ different contributors. Over the last 3 months we’ve had over 400 unique contributors.

    Thanks again to Michele Payn-Knoper for moderating. Also feel free to check out AgChat on Facebook.

    Uncategorized

    From Rainy Plains to Dry Mountains

    Amanda Nolz

    img_1931 Well, I’m finally here for an exciting week at the 2009 Cattle Industry Summer Convention. I’m writing to you from the News Room at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Denver. I’ve ditched the rainy plains of South Dakota for a much more summery mountain climate of Colorado. Before the week kicks off, I thought I would give an agricultural update about my home state.

    While I’ve been gone, my mom reported to me that we received another 1.5 inches of rain last night. Now, for Texans, I know that must sound like heavenly music. However, since May 31, we have had over 17 inches of rain, and a lot of hail, too. Average rain fall for an entire YEAR in South Dakota is 20 inches, and we have had over six inches in the last week! Of course, I hate to complain, our grass is thicker and taller than ever. We need more pairs to run on the pastures this year! However, our oats have flooded out and haying has been nearly impossible. Last night, my grandpa’s pastures were hit with grapefruit-size hail, killing livestock, deer and pheasants during the storm. It’s certainly been an interesting “summer,” to say the least. I can honestly say this is one of the first summers to my recollection where we aren’t praying for rain at this time of year.

    So, how about all of you? How is the weather at home? How are the crops and livestock doing this summer? Are you overcoming Mother Nature’s challenges, whether it be drought or flood? I want to hear from you.

    Oh, and be sure to tune in tonight as I will be reporting updates on Cattlemen’s Beef Board activities. Check out more blog entries at the Beef Board Meeting Blog.

    Signing off from my Denver vacation from the rainy plains!

    Amanda

    Cattle Industry Conference, Farming, Livestock

    Dow AgroSciences Acquires Pfister Hybrids

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Pfister HybridsHere’s the latest change in the seed business and it’s a big one.

    Dow AgroSciences LLC announced today it is acquiring the majority of assets of Illinois based corn company Pfister Hybrids. The addition of Pfister Hybrids will further expand Dow AgroSciences’ current U.S. seeds business as the company anticipates the introduction of SmartStax(TM) in 2010 and Dow AgroSciences Herbicide Tolerance (DHT) technology in corn in 2012. The transactional close is expected in the near future.

    “Pfister was one of the founding seed corn companies in the Midwest, and we are proud to continue the legacy started more than seven decades ago by one of the nation’s original seedsmen Lester Pfister,” said Stan Howell, vice president, North America Regional Commercial Unit for Dow AgroSciences. “Pfister Seeds is a welcomed addition to our U.S. seed business. At Dow AgroSciences investing in innovation is the key to our future, and we look forward to building upon the Pfister tradition.”

    Under the terms of the agreement, Dow AgroSciences will acquire the Pfister brand and the sales and marketing areas, as well as the warehousing and administrative services of the business. Dow AgroSciences will continue to independently market seeds under the Pfister Seeds brand, and Pfister Seeds will continue to be headquartered at its existing location in El Paso.

    Linda Brown, president for Pfister, will remain with Pfister Seeds LLC as general manager. Dale Brown will continue with Pfister as the business and brand development lead and Bill Salmi will remain as the company controller.

    Agribusiness, Seed

    Redfish Seminar at Peanut Conference

    carly

    Redfish Riviera OutfittersA new addition this year to the Southern Peanut Growers Conference first day fun was a Redfish Sport Fishing Seminar, presented by Redfish Riviera Outfitters.

    Steve Bailey with Redfish Riviera and Captain Daniel Snapp with Grassy Flats Charters, in colorful shirts promoting peanuts, presented tips and tricks of the fishing trade to peanut growers and their families.

    Listen to an interview with Steve and Captain Daniel here:

    Audio, Peanuts