WSSA/SWSS Meeting

Chuck Zimmerman

Posters at WSSA Annual MeetingWhile Cindy is looking at machinery, I’ll be talking weeds here in Orlando at the 49th meeting of the Weed Science Society of America and 69th meeting of the Southern Weed Science Society.

I just got registered and see that everyone is in one of the afternoon sessions. There are a lot of posters displayed here and I can see from the program that they’re experimenting with the format for providing opportunities to interact with the authors so there’s more time available to do so.

My session on communications will take place tomorrow morning and then I’ll also be part of tomorrow afternoon’s general session. I’ll be live blogging my own presentation since I think it’s one of the best ways to demonstrate these new media tools.

Ag Groups

John Deere Unveils Industry’s Largest Planter

Cindy Zimmerman

John Deere is generating buzz at the 2009 National Farm Machinery Show with the new DB120 – the largest planter in the industry.

Rob Rippchen, division marketing manager at John Deere seed in Moline, IL says this 120 foot planter is the next generation planter building off the DB90 introduced five years ago. “This planter will plant somewhere between 90 and 100 acres an hour,” Rob says. “Most growers will remember last spring when it was so wet and one of the easiest ways to improve productivity is to increase your working width.”

The huge machine was gathering a crowd early at the show on Wednesday. “There’s kind of a ‘wow’ factor,” said Rob. “It’s so wide it can’t even unfold all the way in our booth.” But he says the outer four row units fold over on each end so it is still the same transport width as the DB90 and just about six foot longer in transport length.

Rob says John Deere will have a limited number of the new planters running in the fields this spring and will start taking orders for the big boy this summer.

Listen to an interview with Rob here nfms09-jd-rob.mp3

You can also download the interview here: New John Deere Planter (mp3).

Watch Rob explain some of the DB120 features here:

Check out Precision Pays.com for more coverage of the show this week.

NFMS 09 Photo Album

AgWired coverage of the National Farm Machinery Show
is being sponsored by: John Deere

Audio, Farm Machinery, John Deere, National Farm Machinery Show, NFMS, Video

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

    National Farm Machinery Show Opens

    Cindy Zimmerman

    The weather is threatening here in Louisville, but that is not deterring people from arriving to the 2009 National Farm Machinery Show, which just opened its doors.

    If the economy is bad, you wouldn’t know it here. More than 800 exhibitors are expected in the 27 acres of exhibit space here. I am a “newbie” to the show, so I am looking forward to getting out there and seeing all the new stuff on the floor.

    Stay tuned here and at Precision Pays.com for complete coverage of the show this week – while Chuck is in Orlando for the Weed Science Society convention.

    Photo album is started here – check back regularly for new sights from the show!
    NFMS 09 Photo Album

    AgWired coverage of the National Farm Machinery Show
    is being sponsored by: John Deere

    Farm Machinery, John Deere, National Farm Machinery Show, NFMS

    Green Day at Farm Machinery Show

    Chuck Zimmerman

    While Cindy is getting ready to head on over to the National Farm Machinery Show this morning I thought I’d share my latest video for the Drive Green Utility Tractor Show. I’m starting to get used to the whole new YouTube HD thing and I love it. I thought this would be especially appropriate since John Deere is sponsoring Cindy’s coverage today at the show in Louisville.

    John Deere, National Farm Machinery Show, Video

    Connecting with Consumers

    Amanda Nolz

    Without a doubt, those of us in agriculture have science backing us up to defend our food production practices. We can spout off the latest studies, nutrition facts or university research to give credit to our feed rations, grazing methods, and the reasons to include meat and dairy in a healthy diet. However, these studies never seem to resonate with our consumers. I wonder why? Animal rights activists are effective because they use emotion to capture the hearts of their consumers. So, why don’t we do the same?

    I found an article on The Beef Site that talks about this subject. The article is titled, “Connecting with Consumers on an Emotional Level,” and it encourages livestock producers to start sharing their stories. Now, I read a lot of blogs, and I think blogging is one of the most simplistic ways to share our food production stories with others.

    thomasNeed an example of somebody that is doing a fantastic job? Check out the Elkton Farmer Blog, written by Thomas Peters. Although it is simple and the entries are never longer than a few sentences, Thomas does an incredible job of telling a story with photos. He highlights his neighbors, friends and area activities to tell the story of the American farmer.

    What do you think of this marketing idea? Is your company utilizing blogs to get a message across to your intended audience? Where do you see the era of blogs moving in the future?

    Uncategorized

    For Ag Journalists

    Amanda Nolz

    For Ag Journalists is a website published by Fred Meyers, a freelance writer who shares his expertise in the field with those wanting to enter into the wild field of ag journalism, too. As a student learning the ins and outs of this profession, I like to reference Fred’s columns from time to time. Fred shares articles, tips, a forum, quotes and more on his interactive website that is dedicated to helping others share the food production story. Fred’s insights into the future of agriculture are quite interesting, and his quotes on life will inspire you in your own. Here is an excerpt from his website…

    fredmyersmugsmiley“I have always been driven by the search for excellence in this profession. I seek the facts, encourage my imagination and often go where no one has gone before. A test a few years ago confirmed what I’ve long suspected. That is, I am a visionary. If you don’t already know this, visionaries are often obstructed in what they attempt to do and criticized for the way they view the future. In the end, however, I have no regrets. I have always firmly believed life should be an exciting trip, a time of doing only what is enjoyable and of supporting and promoting a chosen profession.” -Fred Meyers

    Take a look at Fred’s website. Whether you are a writer or not, he has quite a few tips on how to conquer the challenges we face in agriculture. Why don’t you head over there now? It may just perk up your Tuesday afternoon…

    ACN

    The National Farm Machinery Show Will Go On

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Cindy is on her way to cover the National Farm Machinery Show and will have reports here starting tomorrow. For anyone wondering if the recent weather problems might have affected it, Cindy offers the following:

    Despite the icy weather that recently affected parts of Kentucky, the 2009 National Farm Machinery Show and Championship Tractor Pull will proceed as scheduled.

    More than 150,000 Kentucky residents were still without power this week after ice storms the last week of January, prompting President Obama to declare more than 90 counties a major disaster area and order federal aid to supplement local recovery efforts.

    Still, the 44th National Farm Machinery Show will return as planned to the Kentucky Exposition Center February 11-14. The nation’s largest indoor farm show features the future of farming with row after row of the newest products and services, hands-on demonstrations of the latest technological advancements, and a variety of free seminars.

    National Farm Machinery Show

    BAGnewsNotes Dissects Photos

    Amanda Nolz

    Have you heard of BAGnewsNotes? It’s a website I recently discovered that dissects and unveils the hidden meanings behind photographs. Probably like many of you, I’m a photograhy junky, and I love to learn anything and everything about the art of taking quality, meaningful photos. I truly believe that a good photograph can take the place of an article if it includes key messages to tell the story. That’s why it’s so important that we focus on capturing the crucial elements on a given subject when the opportunity arises.

    OBAMA/STIMULUS EDUCATIONAnyway, I think you should check out BAGnewsNotes. This website focuses on accuracy in photojournalism through the analysis of political photos. It’s certainly an interesting change of pace for someone like me that looks at cattle photos all day long. Plus, the writer digs right in to try to understand why the photographer snapped the image at a particular angle to give the photograph more significance. There is definitely a trick or two to learn at this site. Check it out, and let me know what you think.

    Uncategorized

    Zimfo Bytes

    Melissa Sandfort

      Zimfo Bytes

    • Future Beef Partners Inc. is launching two game-changing products developed for leaders in Finance, Risk Management, Procurement, or Sales in the beef industry. BeefScout uses proprietary technology to provide market driven prices through a web-based tool to benchmark forward prices on cuts and trims of beef. Their second product, BasisGuard, writes forward contracts using the BeefScout benchmark prices.
    • Gary Vermeer, Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Vermeer Corporation in Pella, Iowa, died Feb. 2, 2009, at the Comfort House of Pella. He was 90 years of age.
    • Bader Rutter & Associates received a Customer Innovation award for best site design using the Pageflex platform.
    • Deere & Company announced an adjustment to the number of employees who will go on indefinite layoff later this month at the John Deere Davenport Works. Total number of employees impacted by this layoff is 200.
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