Novus Growing to Help Pork Producers

Cindy Zimmerman

Bruce KingSustainability is the buzz word in the livestock industry and Novus International is talking with producers at World Pork Expo about helping them make even more progress in that area.

“Those are the type of producers that we can really help with antibiotic-free solutions and products that help toward sustainable, natural production and at the end of the day it helps them capture more margin at the farm level,” says Bruce King, Director of Biologic Markets at Novus.

Bruce started with Novus in February and he says he is excited about the way the company is growing to serve the needs of all livestock producers and solve the problems that they are facing.

You can listen to my interview with Bruce here: wpx09-bruce.mp3

Download the audio here: Bruce King with Novus International


World Pork Expo 09 Photo Album

AgWired coverage of World Pork Expo made possible by Novus International
Novus

Audio, Novus International, Podcasts, Swine, World Pork Expo

Build Your Facebook Fan Base‏

Amanda Nolz

logo_facebook Do you have a Facebook Page? This is a popular way to connect with fans of your business or cause. Now, Facebook Ads for your Page will now get you even more Fans. You are now able to create ads that will allow users to become a Fan of your Page directly from the ad. Users can also click anywhere on your ad to access your Page. I haven’t tried creating these ads, but it looks pretty simple. Now, the question is whether your readers will appreciate ads on their profiles or not. Have you noticed the growing number of ads on this social networking site? What do you think about these targeted marketing tools?

According to Facebook, there are several benefits of using Ads for Pages including:

1. Without leaving the page they are viewing, users can become a Fan directly from the ad
2. When a user becomes a Fan of your Page from the ad, a story is published in the user’s Wall
3. This story is eligible to show in Highlights- creating free distribution in the social graph
4. Users will see friends who have become a Fan of your Page in their version of the ad – increasing the relevancy of your ad.

Unfortunately, this application is not free. You will never pay more than your max bid per click (CPC). Cost-per-click includes clicks on your title, image, body and clicks on the “Become a Fan” link. It does not include clicks on the friend actions.

To create a Facebook ad for your page, link here. For more information, link here.

Advertising, Social Networking

Pork Expo Going Strong

Cindy Zimmerman

The hog industry is hurting, but optimism still exists here at the World Pork Expo 2009.

john wrigleyDespite a year of plunging profits and flu fears, attendance is still expected to be pretty strong at the expo this year, according to general manager John Wrigley, who stopped by the Novus International tent for an interview. “We’re probably going to be down on international, the H1N1 virus caused some Asian groups not to come, but as far as regular attendance, it’s exactly what we would expect,” he said. “I’m pretty pleased right now.”

John says there are about 450 exhibitors at the expo this year, just about the same as last year, and that is what will motivates producers to attend. “The reason they come is to talk to the exhibitors, they want to know what products and services they have that will help them do a better job,” he said.

The big change this year is the days for the show. “We went to a Wednesday, Thursday, Friday instead of Thursday, Friday and Saturday,” said John. That was motivated by input from producers and exhibitors who said they would rather have the expo during the week instead of spilling into the weekend.

John notes that the World Pork Expo is totally a producer event, sponsored by the National Pork Producers Council. “Everything we do is for the producer,” John said. The National Pork Board does sponsor the Great Pork BarbeQlossal, which will be held here at the fairground on Friday and Saturday.

You can listen to my interview with John here: wpx09-wrigley.mp3

Download the audio here: WPX GM John Wrigley

BTW – Carly took the photo. Her first photo published on Agwired!


World Pork Expo 09 Photo Album

AgWired coverage of World Pork Expo made possible by Novus International
Novus

ARC, Novus International, Swine, World Pork Expo

Welcome to WPX 09

Cindy Zimmerman

bannerWorld Pork Expo 2009 is underway here in sunny Des Moines. Agwired is set up in the Novus International tent on the main drag of the Iowa State Fairgrounds. We do have wireless internet access this year at the tent – yeah! – but are waiting for a power strip so I can plug in.

Got the Flickr photo album set up here. It will be updated a couple times a day with more photos, so keep checking back.

AgWired coverage of World Pork Expo made possible by Novus International
Novus

Novus International, Pork, World Pork Expo

“GOOD FOOD GARDEN” at Southeast Washington, DC School

Amanda Nolz

usda Having planted my own garden for the first time this year, I can relate to the promise this “GOOD FOOD GARDEN” has in the eyes of Washington D.C. students. This press release was provided by USDA. Here’s a feel good story for your Wednesday morning…

At a “ribbon planting” ceremony today, Share Our Strength(r), the leading national organization working to end childhood hunger in America, Food Network and Comcast, were joined by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to create and unveil an edible “Good Food Garden” that will bring healthy, fresh and nutritious food to children from underserved communities in the nation’s capital. The self-contained garden was planted at The SEED School in southeast Washington, DC (4300 C Street SE) and will remain there permanently as a working garden for the school children who will integrate the garden into the 7th grade civics and life science curricula.

Secretary Vilsack stated, “The USDA is committed to making healthy food accessible to children in need, and to improving the dietary habits of today’s youth. This garden stands as an example of what the USDA would like to see across the country. We believe children in underserved communities deserve a hands-on experience growing delicious, fresh fruits and vegetables.”

Food

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Producer’s Choice is pleased to announce that Doug Bastian has been appointed to the new position of general manager with the company effective March 30, 2009.
  • Farmers around the world utilizing biotechnology are growing more crops in a more environmentally sustainable manner, according to a report from the United Kingdom-based PG Economics. The PG Economics annual Global Impact Study quantifies the impact of agricultural biotechnology on the environment and on farmer incomes since biotech’s commercialization in 1996.
  • Ag lender Farm Credit Services of Mid-America (click on Community, then Scholarships) announced that thirty-five students from Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and Tennessee have been selected to receive scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $1,500.
  • Planalytics Inc., and Cash Grain Bids, Inc. have announced the formation of a strategic alliance to develop tools for farmers and agribusiness firms to use in making better, more profitable grain marketing and buying decisions.
    Zimfo Bytes

    AgChat Summary

    Chuck Zimmerman

    AgChatAfter missing it the last couple weeks I got to participate in tonight’s AgChat session on animal ag via Twitter. Here’s the questions posed.

    Q1: Should we have a #farmfact and/or #foodfact day each week? Which day & which tag best for educating non-ag?
    Q2: Should NAIS be voluntary or mandatory? Why?
    Q3: Is it possible to be for MCOOL but opposed to mandatory NAIS? Why?
    Q4: What are the existing humane standards for animal care and transport?
    Q5: How has Prop 2 impacted animal ag in California?
    Q6: What are the top technologies that have positively impacted the dairy and beef cattle industries?

    It was another great session. You can read back through it via Twitter Search.

    We need to thank Michele Payn-Knoper for once again being the “chat herder” for #AgChat. You can follow her on Twitter at @mpaynknoper. This week we had a co-host, Kathy Swift.

    As you can imagine, our questions were sure to generate some discussion and show how many different opinions there are on this subject while also giving any non-ag folks watching some new perspective on issues they have no personal experience with.

    If you participated or have read back through the discussion what do you think? Also feel free to check out AgChat on Facebook.

    Uncategorized

    Farm Foundation to Sponsor Commodity Markets Workshop

    John Davis

    farmfoundationlogo3Our friends at Farm Foundation have teamed up with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) to put together a workshop on contract design in commodity markets.

    The workshop, scheduled to run June 9-10, will bring together leading professionals and academic researchers, looking at the effects of futures contracts and how they affect futures prices and markets:

    Topics to be covered in presentations and panel discussions include electronic versus open outcry trading in agricultural commodities futures markets, and the success of the U.S. ethanol futures contract. Review the workshop agenda on the Farm Foundation’s Web site.

    Open to the public, the workshop will take place 1 to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 9, 2009, and 8 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, June 10, 2009, at the Waugh Auditorium, ERS, 1800 M St. NW, in Washington, D.C. There is no charge for the workshop but preregistration by Monday, June 8, is encouraged as seating is limited. Interested individuals may preregister via e-mail, providing name and affiliation to akirilenko@cftc.gov.

    The Director of the ERS Market and Trade Economics Division, Sarahelen (Sally) Thompson, Jeffrey Harris, the Cheif Economist at the CFTC and Farm Foundation President Neil Conklin will address the workshop.

    Farm Foundation

    Off to World Pork Expo

    Cindy Zimmerman

    bannerI am packing my bags and getting ready to head off to Des Moines for World Pork Expo 2009.

    Once again this year, Novus International will be our primary sponsor for coverage of WPX on Agwired. We are also pleased to have the support of Boehringer-Ingelheim for part of our coverage as well. We sincerely appreciate our sponsors and hope you do to, because without them we would not be able to bring you the sights and sounds of big agricultural events like this.

    WPX 09This year is the 21st annual World Pork Expo, which is the largest pork-industry trade show and exhibition in the world, drawing tens of thousands of pork producers, exhibitors and visitors from across the country and around the globe. New this year are the dates for the event, moving from a late-week event to mid-week event, as requested by many of the producers and exhibitors that attend the show each year.

    CarlyAlso new this year at World Pork Expo will be our middle daughter, Carly, who will be attending with me as my assistant. She just graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in general studies and as she spends the next year figuring out if she really wants to be a physical therapist, we will be introducing her to the exciting world of agricultural new media! Dad is going over the new programs he installed on her Mac and introducing her to the sweet new Canon Power Shot G10 we got for her to start as a semi-pro photographer. Carly is very artistically inclined and very people-oriented, so we hope this will be a great experience for her. Just look for this beautiful face at WPX and say hi!

    AgWired coverage of World Pork Expo made possible by Novus International
    Novus

    Boehringer Ingelheim, Novus International, Swine, World Pork Expo

    The Hand That Feeds U.S.

    Amanda Nolz

    header3 Have you heard of The Hand That Feeds U.S. program? This is an educational resource for urban media on the importance of U.S. agriculture to the security and future of our country. The project provides information relevant to our nation’s farming industry, while also seeking to combat the current misinformation campaigns about food prices and renewable fuels.

    Columnist Jerry Lackey at GO San Angelo wrote an article, Farmers’ contribution to U.S. topic of awareness campaign, that discusses the benefits of The Hand That Feeds U.S. and how it can help politicians understand the impact regulations have on the agriculture industry and ultimately, our nation’s food supply.

    In an open letter to U.S. media outlets, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D.; and ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., urged reporters to take the time to learn more about U.S. farm policy and the farm and ranch families that keep America fed.

    Unbiased information is needed now more than ever because at no time in our history has the general population been less connected to the farm, the senators said as they endorsed newly launched educational efforts dubbed “The Hand That Feeds U.S.”

    Based on the recently published U.S. Census of Agriculture, just more than 2 million people in our nation of about 300 million are classified as farmers, with far fewer still making a living off of the land and meeting the lion’s share of the food and fiber needs of our country.

    Food