2025 Tech Hub Live

Greener-Schnitzels

Chuck Zimmerman

“Man & Cow” Greener-Schnitzels – Episode #1 – Since the domestication of animals, man and cow have always enjoyed a special relationship. However, in this new era of increased environmental awareness, this special relationship has gotten a bit strained.

Put a man, a cow and some methane in a YouTube video and this is what you get:

Feel free to pass it forward.

Environment, Video

Ag Career Women

Chuck Zimmerman

Ag Career WomenAre you a woman working in agriculture? There’s a new social networking site created by Rhonda Werner called Ag Career Women. It’s “resource for Women in the Ag Industry to network with other women, gain valuable career information and share experiences.”

Follow Rhonda on Twitter or find her group on Facebook or LinkedIn.

It’s a good example of how you can use Ning. Don’t know what Ning is? Ning empowers people to create and discover new social experiences for the most important people and interests in their lives.

Farming, Social Networking

Getting to Know All Your Options

John Davis

westerhausenOK, you go to school, you get your degree and you’re locked into that career choice for the rest of your life, right? Well, today’s students don’t want to be locked into just one job. It’s not a matter of attention deficit. I think it has to do with their quest to keep learning. Well, during the recent Novus International Undergraduate Networking Day, the Missouri Colleges Fund scholars got the chance to see just what their options might be.

One such student was Alexis Westerhausen, a sophomore studying biological chemistry at Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Mo., who said she was impressed by how interested the companies’ were in the students, considering they were undergrads and many of them hadn’t even made definite career plans yet. And she said the tour gave her an education she didn’t get at school.

“Colleges don’t portray to us all the opportunities we have in the science field. So it’s kind of neat to see these local businesses that are interested in us.”

Westerhausen said she was also surprised how many other jobs you could move to within a company like Novus. As you might remember from earlier posts, many of the Novus staff either started out in a different part of the company or in a different career with another company altogether. That gave Westerhausen some solace that she doesn’t have to be locked into only one job her entire career.

“That does kind of comfort me, because, right now, I’m really interested in chemistry. But it’s nice to know that I’m not stuck there for the rest of my life.” She’s glad there are companies that are willing to help her expand into other areas… if that’s where her life carries her.

Listen to my whole conversation with Alexis here: Westerhausen.mp3

2009 Novus International Undergraduate Networking Day Photo Set

Novus International

John Deere Photo Library

Chuck Zimmerman

John Deere Photo LibraryDoing a story on farming or tractors? Need a good quality photo? John Deere has help in the mail.

I just got my John Deere Photo Library Volume Seven.

Here’s a new way to send out your photos. In the box was a folded up cut out tractor with tiny magnets holding different parts together. Inside was a John Deere USB memory stick containing the photos listed in the printed catalog. The memory stick contains programming to allow you to easily browse the photos by category in a browser too.

There are a lot of photos available including scenic shots in addition to pure product photos. Seems like a good way to provide journalist (yeah, that includes bloggers!) with complimentary content and in a useful format.

What do you think about this idea?

Agribusiness, John Deere, Public Relations

Podcasting Audience Grows

Chuck Zimmerman

Podcast Research Edison AbritronEdison Research and Arbitron have produced some very interesting new data (pdf) on media usage. Some tidbits that stood out for me include:

  • 43% of Americans are aware of podcasts and 20% have listened to them
  • Internet access from any location is now approaching 9 in 10 Americans
  • Dial-up is down to less than 1 in 6 homes with internet access
  • Growth of iPod/portable MP3 players continues in 35-64 age demo
  • Digital radio audience continues to listen to AM/FM radio


Americans are increasingly enhancing their use of traditional media with new ways to control how, when and where they consume information and entertainment

Use of online radio, online video, podcasting, and iPod/MP3 players are on the rise

Consumers say flexibility, control and variety drive their use of online and portable media options

Podcasts

Wear Soy Panties on Earth Day

Chuck Zimmerman

Uranus Soy ShortsAlthough I can’t say Earth Day gets me very excited the idea that a lot of people may be wearing some soybean underpants, well, you decide. These are soy shorts made by Uranus which has the slogan, “Help save planet earth starting with Uranus.”

Soy fabric is luxuriously soft and comfortable, often likened to silk or cashmere. Many of the product testers compared wearing soyshorts to “being totally naked.” Besides being softer than cotton, soy fabric is more durable and long-lasting (and it keeps getting softer the more times you wash it). It dries quicker than cotton and is extremely easy to care for, being machine-washable and dryer-safe (use low heat to prevent shrinkage). It is warmer than wool, but absorbant and breathable, making it the ideal fabric for warm or cool weather.

To get a better feel for what it’s like to wear these they even have video:

Via Steve Fairchild.

Soybean, Video

Novus New at NAMA

Cindy Zimmerman

NAMA 09 NovusThe definition of the word “Novus” is new – and that describes Novus International‘s cutting edge approach to animal health as well as the company’s involvement with NAMA this year.

Novus was one of our two NAMA coverage sponsors this year and we were happy to see Stephanie Gable and Jeremy Lutgen when they stopped by our trade show booth. Stephanie is no stranger to NAMA, having served as 2007 national president. She joined the Novus team in September and was excited to tell us all about the company and what else they do. “Novus is new working with NAMA but they already have a great commitment level to other associations and activities,” Steph says. That includes a commitment to sustainability and supporting future leaders in the industry – which you can see by the posts John has done on the student undergraduate working day that Novus helped sponsor last week.

Listen to my interview with Stephanie here: nama09-stephanie.mp3

Novus has become a regular sponsor of event coverage here on AgWired, especially events that have an international flavor – like World Pork Expo and the International Poultry Expo. Jeremy says because they are a technology-based company they think we are a good fit for their promotional efforts. “It’s a good way to communicate around the world, because we are an international organization, so it’s a good way to get our message out and to support the industry at the same time,” Jeremy said.

He also told us about the upcoming ribbon-cutting of their new building in St. Louis, scheduled for early June.

Listen to Jeremy’s interview here: nama09-jeremy.mp3

NAMA Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the Agri-Marketing Conference is sponsored by:
Novus and Successful Farming.

Audio, NAMA, Novus International

Guess Whose Boots

Chuck Zimmerman

Guess Whose BootsIt is time for another edition of “Guess Whose Boots.”

It has been a while since I’ve seen boots that just cried out for an AgWired post. However, at the NAMA convention, there they were.

So, the first person to guess correctly via posting to the comments wins a ZimmComm mini iPod speaker. Good luck and I’ll be moderating.

NAMA Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the Agri-Marketing Conference is sponsored by:
Novus and Successful Farming.

NAMA

Farmers Using Media Successfully

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCast-216 - Successful Farmer Media UseCindy and I are in post-NAMA recovery. However, we may be physically tired but we’re emotionally charged. Those of you in agricultural marketing and communications will be too once you hear this week’s program which features an interview with Curt Blades, Successful Farming. They just finished the 2009 Farmer Use of Media Study and Curt shares some of their findings. To get the full story you’ll need to contact him. He’s pictured here speaking to the student luncheon at the NAMA convention.

Curt BladesAs you would expect, farmer use of the internet as a source of news and information has skyrocketed and this study provides further documentation of that fact. Curt says the study is projectable and provides breakouts for age and income demographics. Once again it shows that the higher the farm income level, the higher the use of the internet. He says they also found that high speed internet access is much more widespread than many think. I think you’ll enjoy hearing about this new study of farmer media use habits.

This week’s program ends with music from the Podsafe Music Network. It’s a song titled, “Surgery Successful Oh Yeah”, by Scott Clous. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

You can download and listen to the ZimmCast here: Listen To ZimmCastZimmCast 216 (20 min MP3)

Or listen to this week’s ZimmCast right now:Interview with Curt Blades - ZimmCast 216

The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired which you can subscribe to using the link in our sidebar. You can also subscribe in iTunes

AgWired coverage of the Agri-Marketing Conference is sponsored by:
Novus and Successful Farming.

Audio, Farming, Internet, Media, NAMA, ZimmCast

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • AphidAlert.com is one way growers can keep up with the latest information on aphids and other insects. In addition, growers can sign up to receive free localized alerts when aphids hit in their area.
  • Growers wanting to learn more about precision agriculture technology and how it affects them have a new online resource, www.precisionagworks.com.
  • The stars were out as the National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) presented its annual Best of NAMA awards for excellence in agri-marketing at its annual convention being held in Atlanta, GA. Click here for a complete listing of the awards and to view the winners.
  • Through a 1.4 million dollar grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs will work to build grass roots support in five key states to combat the exploitation of U.S farmworker children. It is estimated that as many as 400,000 work on U.S. farms each year to help support their struggling families.
    Zimfo Bytes