Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Syngenta Seed Care was notified that the Arkansas State Plant Board issued a Section 18 Crisis Exemption for the use of Cruiser 5FS seed treatment insecticide for protection against grape colaspis in rice.
  • The Pork Checkoff is offering the 2009 Pork Management Conference, Your Pork Industry Investment, May 6-8, in Fort Myers, Fla.
  • New Holland’s 40-50 hp Boomer compact cab tractors with EasyDrive Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) usher in a new level of ease and control.
  • Hugh Grant, chief executive of the Creve Coeur agricultural biotech giant Monsanto Co., has been named among the world’s best CEOs on Barron’s annual list.
    Zimfo Bytes

    Green Field Work

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Green Field WorkI saw about 8 farm machines working in the field during a 400+ mile drive today through Missouri/Illinois/Indiana and Kentucky. Of those, 6 were green. Just in case you were wondering.

    I’d say that when it comes to being green (I just got another email release from another company proclaiming their green-ness) farmers and companies like John Deere have been there, done that and are still doing it.

    How about you? Are you kind of tired of hearing about the whole green thing? I mean, really. Let’s all practice good stewardship of our resources and stop using it as a public relations ploy. I wonder how many consumers are buying more from a company just because they proclaim to be green.

    Farming

    Farm Foundation Facilitates Transition to a Bioeconomy Conversation

    John Davis

    ff-transitiontobio1AgWired.com will be there as the Farm Foundation hosts the next in its series of meetings to talk about what needs to be done for this country… and the world, for that matter… transition to a bioeconomy.

    In the fourth in the series of “Transition to a Bioeconomy” conferences, our friends at Farm Foundation will facilitate conversation focusing on global trade and policy issues, March 30-31 at the Westin Washington D.C. City Center Hotel:

    “The developing bioeconomy is creating diverse and complex issues for public and private decision makers, particularly in the area of policy and trade issues,” says Farm Foundation President Neil Conklin. “This conference is an opportunity for conference participants to gain broader understanding, as well as new perspectives, of the issues and challenges.”

    Conference speakers include:
    · Michael Schall, Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of Energy
    · Laurent Javaudin, Delegation of the European Commission to the United States
    · Al Mussell of the George Morris Centre
    · Seth Meyer of the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute
    · Joel Velasco of the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association
    · Paul Willems of BP Energy Biosciences Institute
    · Mark Willers of Minwind Inc.
    · Mark Dietzen of INEOS Bio
    · Thomas Alfstad of Brookhaven National Laboratory

    The Farm Foundation has teamed up with the USDA’s Office of Energy Policy and New Uses and the farm agency’s Economic Research Service. Like the previous three Transition to a Bioeconomy conferences, organizers promise this one will “provide public and private leaders with objective information and analyses they can use to make more informed decisions as they address these issues.”

    I’ve been lucky enough to make it to a couple of these, and they are really well worth the trip. I strongly suggest you make plans to attend this conference March 30-31 at the Westin Washington D.C. City Center Hotel. Registration information is available here.

    But if you can’t be there in person, let AgWired.com and energy.agwired.com give you the next best thing. We’ll be covering the events as they happen on both of our ZimmComm New Media Web sites. Either way, don’t miss it!

    Farm Foundation

    Deere Landscapes

    Chuck Zimmerman

    I’ll bet you didn’t know John Deere is into landscaping did you? I didn’t until I was out on a Drive Green Utility Tractor Show stop. It’s called John Deere Landscapes.

    John Deere Landscapes approaches the Industry from a whole new vantage point. Like you, we face the future with a healthy respect for the past. Our heritage is one of true value-added customer service, and our combined companies offer over 30 years of success in the industry, based on that same outstanding level of customer service. This story continues as we grow, expanding our branch network. At John Deere Landscapes, we want to be where you need us. So come on in… find out what we do, and how we strive every day to support the Industry’s top professionals.

    When I was on location at our Houston stop I met Ronnie Borel who is an outside sales representative for John Deere Landscapes. He gave me an overview of the products offered by this division of the company. He says they offer about 95% of what the landscape contractor needs.

    You can listen to my interview with Ronnie here: drive-green-houston-landscape.mp3

    In Raleigh, while I was at the Dixie Deer Classic stop, I met the Nobles who have their own landscaping business. Although they own a John Deere tractor, they’re in the market for one with a little more horsepower. The Drive Green Utility Tractor Show is certainly the place to do that.

    You can listen to my interview with the Nobles here or watch them in the video: drive-green-raleigh-landscaping.mp3

    I’ll be on the Drive Green highway once again this week in Danville, KY where the show stops at the Boyle County Fairgrounds.

    Audio, John Deere, Video

    Agencies Behind Consumers Online

    Chuck Zimmerman

    This story got me fired up on a Monday morning.

    It’s nice to be ahead of the curve don’t you think? Hopefully, a growing number of you agrimarketers out there are jumping onto the online bandwagon. Your customers are already there. Yes, farmers too. But how many of you still can’t grasp the concept of what a blog is or Twitter? Agencies, how are you really serving your client’s needs when you don’t understand the concepts much less the technology? Is pasting a paragraph of text on a web page a blog? No. But I still see some of these weak attempts to “get with it.”

    I know that there are many of you who get it. But there are still a lot who don’t. Take a look at this excerpt from a story on AdWeek about an IBM consumer research project.

    NEW YORK Ad agencies are years behind in catching up to digitally savvy consumers who are moving their media habits online more quickly than expected, according to new global research from the IBM Institute for Business Value.

    The first thing that popped into my mind was, “than who expected?” It has seemed obvious for years that consumers (farmers) were moving media habits online. Even ag industry research like the USDA NASS surveys and NAFB has shown this.

    IBM found that between 2007 and 2008, the proportion of consumers saying they used social-networking tools soared to 60 percent from 33 percent; for online and portable music services it more than doubled to 46 percent; mobile Internet nearly tripled to 41 percent; and access to mobile music and video quadrupled to 35 percent.

    In contrast, 80 percent of the ad executives interviewed expect the industry to be at least five years away from being able to deliver cross-platform advertising, encompassing sales, delivery, measurement and analysis.

    Five years away from being able to effectively place your client advertising dollars? I’m not sure I get that. I think what it means is that social networking and new media channels of communication don’t fit into nice little computer programs with pretty charts and graphs. It would be nice if it did but while we wait for people who are way geekier than me to come up with all that, how about getting started and investing your media dollars where your customers are? Spend a portion of it at least and start to figure it out before someone else does and you’re wondering where all your business went.

    Most new media advertising is less expensive than traditional media. Is it possible that the fear that “we won’t make as much money” is keeping some back from investing in it?

    You might want to take a look at the IBM research which is available online:

    Beyond advertising: Choosing a strategic path to the digital consumer (pdf)
    By Saul Berman, Bill Battino and Karen Feldman

    Succeeding in the new economic environment: Focus on value, opportunity, speed (pdf)
    By Saul Berman, Steven Davidson, Sara Longworth and Amy Blitz

    via Steve Rubel (his Twitter feed btw)

    Advertising

    Zimfo Bytes

    Melissa Sandfort

      Zimfo Bytes

    • Previously labeled for use on pigs three weeks of age or older only, pork producers can now vaccinate piglets against salmonellosis at one day and older orally or intranasally with Salmo Shield Live.
    • Important communications lessons learned from the biofuels industry’s fall from grace will be presented at the upcoming Communicating Renewables Summit, April 21-23, 2009 in Minneapolis, MN. Click here for the full conference program and registration information.
    • Purina introduces seven new horse feeds, designed to help horses obtain a shinier coat, healthier hooves, better body and muscle condition and overall better nutrition in 60 days. Six of the seven horse feeds contain Purina’s new, patented Amplify Nugget, a palatable and nutrient-rich extruded particle that is easy for horses to digest.
    • AG CONNECT Expo 2010 announces additional industry support for the show – a new International Fluid Power Exposition (IFPE) exhibit pavilion, sponsored by the National Fluid Power Association.
      Zimfo Bytes

      Essential Skills for the Digital Journalist

      Amanda Nolz

      Don’t miss your opportunity to sign up for Poynter’s upcoming seminar, Essential Skills for the Digital Journalist. The deadline is Monday, March 23, 2009, and the tuition is $895.00. It’s a little steep for my budget, but I think this is a great investment for any print journalists at every experience level who want to ensure they have the skills they need to weather the digital transition. In every one of my journalism courses at South Dakota State University, my professors preach about the challenges of anyone in the print journalism field. I think it’s going to be increasingly important to stay ahead of the curve and be able to use online media tools with ease. If you agree, and if this seminar sounds interesting to you, here is what Poynter has to say about this seminar.

      Get the skills you need to thrive in journalism’s digital age: Master the basics of audio, video and other multimedia tools. We’ll teach you the key skills, as well as how to navigate ethical pressure points in emerging platforms. Most importantly, we’ll explore how to change the way you think about storytelling and the role of independent journalism in the service of democracy.

      You’ll learn: Key multimedia skills, including audio and video. How to recognize and negotiate the ethical issues specific to multimedia. What it takes to survive and thrive in a constantly changing landscape. How and why you need to build your brand as a journalist. The leadership skills and knowledge you need to chart your own career path.

      Education

      Become a Master of Beef Advocacy

      Amanda Nolz

      beef20check20color Last October, a new checkoff-funded program was released called Master of Beef Advocacy (MBA). The program consists of six, 1-hour core courses for the 2009 fiscal year: beef safety, beef nutrition, animal care, environmental stewardship, modern beef production and the beef checkoff. This self-guided, online program is a way to equip producers with the tools needed to represent the beef industry with consumers and the media.

      I recently spoke with MBA contact person Daren Williams about the success of the program, and he says that MBA is off to a great start! To date, 250 individuals have applied to participate in the program. Participants are moving quickly through the courses, and the program continues to grow. Daren also asked why my name was missing from the participant list, and I told him I had to pass my final semester of classes at SDSU before I started tackling my Master of Beef Advocacy degree.

      I think this program is an excellent marketing strategy on a grassroots level. Cattle producers will improve their ability to communicate their knowledge in this industry to those that need to hear it most. This is in an outstanding way to start spreading a positive message about food production and animal agriculture. I think this is a good case study to observe, and this concept could be used in other ways in this industry. As for now, I better get to studying. Graduation is only a couple months away, and I’m excited to start my Master of Beef Advocacy course!

      To learn more about the Master of Beef Advocacy program, link to the press release here, contact Daren Williams at dwilliams@beef.org, 303-850-3346 or contact their state beef council.

      Education

      Adelstein Nominated To USDA RUS Admin

      Chuck Zimmerman

      USDA Rural DevelopmentI just noticed in Broadcasting & Cable magazine that Jonathan Adelstein has been nominated by the Prez to head up USDA’s Rural Utilities Service. He’s an FCC Commissioner currently.

      Adelstein would be administrator of the RUS program. The White House gave Adelstein props for “efforts to improve rural telecommunication s and broadband” while at the commission.

      The story says RUS has $2.5 billion in broadband stimulus grants to hand out.

      Internet, USDA

      JIF Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich

      Chuck Zimmerman

      A lot of people might have stopped eating peanut butter recently but I’m sure not one of them. I’m glad to see that Smuckers continued it’s annual Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest. Somehow in all the excitement of Ag Day and spring I missed the fact that they announced the winner of this year’s contest. This sounds like a recipe worth trying.

      Today, the makers of Jif(R) peanut butter announced Jordyn Boyer, 10, of Lebanon, PA, as the winner of the Seventh Annual “Jif(R) Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest(TM).” Jordyn was inspired by an authentic Louisiana sandwich to create her Po’ Boy Peanut Butter Chicken Cheesesteak Sandwich. Her sandwich is made with Jif Creamy Peanut Butter, chicken, peppers, onions and mozzarella cheese. For added flavor, she created a dipping sauce of Jif peanut butter, Worcestershire sauce, honey and honey mustard. Jif, the trusted pantry staple for more than 50 years, awarded Jordyn with a $25,000 scholarship fund, a Jif gift basket and the title of the nation’s most creative peanut butter sandwich.

      Food, Peanuts