AgWired

We get very few visitors to ZimmComm World Headquarters here in mid Missouri, but newlyweds Tom and Leah (Guffey) Banister stopped by Saturday night after visiting Chuck in the hospital. They were in Columbia, MO for the weekend and drove down to visit – thanks! They feel bad because it was at their wedding in Springfield, IL on July 4th that Chuck first came down with the pneumonia. Of course, it was not their fault. We have not fully determined just what really caused this yet, and probably never will.

Anyway, here is a picture of me and Leah and one of our dogs, CJ. Chelsea took a couple of photos with Tom in them too, but this was the best one – sorry, Tom!

Thanks so much to everyone who has sent prayers and well-wishes our way. Chuck is doing better, although still in the hospital (St. Marys in Jefferson City). He just has to take it very easy for several more weeks to recuperate totally.

Top ten things the student correspondents learned at the International Farm Management Congress last week:

10. Make sure the microphone is plugged in all the way when recording an audio interview.
9. When the British woman says she does not want her picture taken, she really means it!
8. Always be a half an hour early when waiting to on a tour, they may leave without you.
7. Do not bring any outside food such as Krispy Kreme or Panera inside teh Bone Student Center, they do not like it.
6. Do not let people print from your computer when they say their computer crashed at home.
5. Australian’s are from Australia and New Zealander’s are from New Zealand, never mix the two up.
4. Never say you like to eat kiwis in front of a New Zealander.
3. World Scholars know how to cut a rug on the dance floor!
2. Do not hit people on bicycles with your car on your way to the newsroom, to could potentially be dangerous, you could go to jail.
1. Thank you to Colleen and Carroll for giving us the opportunity to work in the press room and cover the IFMA 17! We had a great experience!

Bonus: Thank you to Chuck, Cindy and the staff at AgWired that helped us make IFMA 17 a success! Chuck, we hope you feel better soon!

Sincerely,
The IFMA Congress Correspondents
DeAnna J. Schertz – University of Illinois
Matt L. Spialek – Illinois State University
Joe Genzel – Alum – Illinois State University
Erin Yancey – Illinois State University
Ross Albert – Illinois State University
Jacquie Holland – Illinois State University
Savanna Anderson – Illinois State University

Colleen Callahan – Alumna – University of Illinois – Advisor

AgWired coverage of the IFMA 17 has been made possible by

Since my bout with pneumonia was “outed” last week I thought I’d start out this week with an update for y’all. To start with, I’m feeling a lot better. Thank you to all who have expressed their well wishes and offered their prayers. It has been rough and I won’t deny it. But I should be home this week and on the mend for a while longer before back to “normal.” Yes, we’re all normal in one way or the other.

Cindy will be on the road a little more this next month along with some of our awesome free lance helpers so ZimmComm is going to have a busy schedule through the end of August. She’ll get things kicked off at the end of this week with the combined IFAJ/Ag Media Summit mtg. in Ft. Worth. I wish I could be there but I’ll be following along online. For all you tweeters who will be attending or want to follow the conversation on Twitter please use the hashtag, #AgMS, in your tweets.

The 17th annual International Farm Management Congress (IFMA17) drew to a close Friday at The Bone Student Center on the campus of Illinois State University.

During the conference, IMFA17 members were privy to a slew of academic presentations from students and professors from the 30 countries that were represented. IMFA17 also took to the road with stops at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, John Deere, Monsanto, Twin Groves Wind Farm, an ethanol plant, hog farm and countless other agricultural destinations.

The theme of IMFA17 was food, fiber and energy, and patrons certainly were educated on all three, whether they were touring an agricultural high school in Chicago or riding on the Peoria Charter Coach buses that have been running on more efficient bio-fuels since 2004.

This year’s conference was one of the most diverse, and allowed for a free exchange of ideas between academics, administrators and farmers. IFMA prides itself on its ability to create an environment where agricultural concepts can thrive, and this years congress certainly allowed for that.

AgWired coverage of the IFMA 17 is made possible by

Bob Swires, President of the Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, presented the association’s mid-year survey Friday at the 17th annual International Farm Management Congress Friday. Here are the findings for the first half of 2009:

1. Illinois Society members indicated that land values fell slightly during the first half of 2009. For excellent quality farmland, land prices declined by $171 per acre, or 2.3%. For fair quality farmland, the decline was $225 per acre, or 5.4%.

2. On July 1, 2009, farmland prices averaged $7,200 for excellent quality farmland, $6,300 for good quality farmland, $4,900 for average quality farmland, and $4,000 for fair quality farmland.

3. Volume of sales declined during the first half of 2009 compared to the first half of 2008. Eighty-eight percent of respondents indicated that volume of sales were less during the first half of 2009.

4. Fifty-six percent of the respondents expected sales to be less during the last half of 2009 as compared to the last half of 2008.

5. Half of the survey respondents expected declines in farmland prices over the next twelve months. Thirty-two percent expected stable prices.

6. Interest rates are expected to increase by 53% of survey respondents over the next year. Forty-seven percent expect stable interest rates. No respondents expect declines in interest rate
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