2007 Census of Agriculture Release Day

Chuck Zimmerman

2007 Census of AgricultureThis is the big day for all you agriculture statistics fanatics. USDA will be releasing the 2007 Census of Agriculture. Yep. Old data.

The Census of Agriculture, taken every five years, is a complete count of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them. The Census looks at land use and ownership, operator characteristics, production practices, income and expenditures and many other areas. For America’s farmers and ranchers, the Census of Agriculture is their voice, their future and their responsibility.

Now I’m just wondering about this in today’s information technology world. How has this data already changed? Can you really use it to make good business decisions? What do you think it’s most useful for?

Post Update: The 2007 Census of Agriculture has been released. Here’s an excerpt from the release:

The number of farms in the United States has grown 4 percent and the operators of those farms have become more diverse in the past five years, according to results of the 2007 Census of Agriculture released today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS).

The 2007 Census counted 2,204,792 farms in the United States, a net increase of 75,810 farms. Nearly 300,000 new farms have begun operation since the last census in 2002. Compared to all farms nationwide, these new farms tend to have more diversified production, fewer acres, lower sales and younger operators who also work off-farm.

USDA

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

    Do you iGoogle? I do!

    Amanda Nolz

    When I was working as an intern in Minneapolis this past summer, one of my co-workers would always stop by my office to share her latest techno-gadget love. I will admit that I’m not often at the front of the pack when it comes to technology, and I often avoid trying something new if I’m not sure of the benefits. However, when my co-worker introduced me to iGoogle, I’m sure glad I jumped on the bandwagon!

    You can easily make your own page in 30 seconds. You can add different tabs for the areas that you are interested in. For example, my iGoogle account holds tabs for my favorite blogs, politics, news headlines, cooking, photography, international publications and more! My homepage offers Map Quest, YouTube, weather updates, quotes of the day and a space for taking notes. I have RSS feeds for everything that I like to read and see on a normal basis, and it all lands in one location. The best part is decorating your iGoogle account. I feature different artists on every tab, and it really perks up my day.

    Want a way to simplify your life? Try out iGoogle. You will thank me for it! Oh and by the way, don’t forget to feed AgWired into your favorites!

    Technology

    Register Now For Farmland Investment Fair

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Chicago FarmersI just spoke with Jeff Martin, Co-Chair for the Chicago Farmers Farmland Investment Fair and he encourages everyone interested in how to use social media marketing to attend. Speaking at one of the seminars will be Jeff Korhan, green industry speaker, video blogger, Internet marketer, and the founder of True Nature.

    Jeff gave me background on the organization and fair and this year’s program which includes seminar topics on:

    1031 Exchanges
    Farmland Values
    Wind Energy
    Farm Bill Update
    Small Acreage Farming – Is This the Future?
    Recreational Ground – How to Make it Pay
    Green Farming – Options for Putting Some Green in Your Farm Portfolio
    Organic Farming: What Landlords Should Know
    Genetics – Present & Future Goals
    International Investing in Farmland – Legal Points, Pitfalls & Possibilities

    The Fair will be held from 8:00 am to 2:30 pm. The registration fee of $50.00 includes access to the hall, all breakout sessions, continental breakfast and lunch. To register for the Farmland Investment Fair call 312-388-FARM (3276) or register online with a credit card at www.chicagofarmers.org Registrations received after February 5th will be $75.00 per person.

    You can listen to my interview with Jeff (by Skype from Ft. Worth Stock Show) here: chicago-farmers-fair-martin-09.mp3

    Ag Groups, Audio

    Ft. Worth Stock Show & Rodeo President Bob Watt

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Bob WattThe President of the Ft. Worth Stock Show & Rodeo is Bob Watt. He also used to be the General Manager but that position is now being done by Brad Barnes who I hope to meet while I’m here.

    I sat down with Bob in his office this morning to learn all about him and this big show. Bob has been connected with the show for over 40 years.

    He says that total attendance is getting near the million mark and expects this year to be a record. Weather plays a big factor and it has been cooperating. The show runs for 24 days now which is over twice the original show in 1896. The show now has over 22,000 animals that will be exhibited. He says it’s the oldest livestock show of its kind in the country. Today is also going to be the biggest day of animals on site and the line of trucks/trailers has been backed up since before I got here this morning.

    I think you’ll enjoy listening to Bob and you can do so here: fwss-09-watt.mp3

    I’m here for the John Deere Drive Green Utility Tractor Show stop and am updating the show blog and of course there’s an event photo album.

    Audio, Farm Shows, Livestock

    We’re Supporting Downloadable Media Standards

    Chuck Zimmerman

    The Association for Downloadable Media has released a list of members who are in voluntary support of the preliminary standards and guidelines that have been created as a step toward helping companies become more comfortable utilitizing web-delivered programming. ZimmComm New Media is a charter member and on the list! We hope that this will continue to grow a major segment of the new media channels that companies have available now to target their customers and members.

    Association for Downloadable Media Members

    The members endorsing this set of measurments and ad standards come from across the podcast and new media industry, and include marketers and ad agency people, podcast networks, individual content creators, and non profit organizations.

    Both the advertising standards and audience measurement guidelines were created by open committees, then offered for public comment and feedback, and finally edited and ratified by the organization. Many of the organization’s members had already been following these formats. Now the member organizations advocate that these standards be adopted more widely across the podcast/new media industry. They argue that this will ease the creation of an organized market for advertisers to launch campaigns and/or become sponsors of episodic podcasts and video series. Read More

    Podcasts

    Farm Equipment Legend Passes

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Gary VermeerThe founder of Vermeer Corporation passed away today in Pella, Iowa.

    Gary Vermeer started the business with a cousin in 1948, after inventing a wagon hoist five years earlier, which made it easier to unload corn. From that small operation, the company has grown over the past 60 years to an international organization that manufactures agricultural, construction, environmental, and industrial equipment. Today, Vermeer Corporation has industrial dealerships in over 60 countries and on every continent except Antarctica, in addition to hundreds of agricultural equipment dealers throughout the US. Vermeer’s business philosophy was, “Find a need. Fill that need with a product built to last. And simply build the best!”

    A website has been established in honor of Gary and his lifetime of contributions – www.garyvermeer.com – that includes more information, including funeral arrangements and memorials for this farm machinery legend.

    Farm Machinery

    More Global Warming Wacko-ism

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Let’s see, it seems like last year I heard that the greatest threat to the livestock industry wasn’t input costs, ethanol or market prices but wacko animal rights activists. Yeah. There are a lot of them and they sure seem to have lots of money behind them. The latest, besides the post I did this morning, is from LetsActNow.org. These people are seriously drinking some weird koolaid. Who are they? I dunno. All it says on their website is that they’re “a group of people.” That explains it.

    So here’s their new “national psa.” Should I leave it in the post or take it out?

    Their news release quotes some idiotic NASA scientist named Dr. James Hansen. Here’s an excerpt:

    “Because if you eat further down on the food chain rather than animals which have produced many greenhouse gases, and used much energy in the process of growing that meat, you can actually make a bigger contribution in that way than just about anything. So in terms of individual actions, it is the best thing you can do.”

    Animal agriculture, including “sustainable,” locally-raised animals, is a huge cause of global warming, creating nearly one-fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions. It also uses up most of our water, is responsible for the majority of rainforest destruction in the Amazon, and is a direct cause of global hunger. Changing our diet to a meat-free, dairy-free, egg-free vegan diet can significantly and rapidly reverse global warming, lower emissions, reduce deforestation, avoid drought, and help feed the hungry.

    Global warming? Yeah, right. Cows causing it? Okay . . . It’s time to get these folks some straight jackets and get them back on their medication.

    Environment, Livestock, Wackos

    A Texas Moon and Daryl Hannah

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Texas MoonHere’s one of the photos from this afternoon’s end of day photo shoot along the river bank near my hotel. I shot a lot of birds too (digital photos) and there’s a couple of them that came out okay. I really didn’t have all my gear here and I was shooting hand held too so it could have gone better.

    It’s a nice Texas moon and was shot when the sun was still above the horizon.

    I’ll do better tomorrow at the Stock Show so you can count on seeing more photos then. I just got off the phone with Cindy. She’s biodiesel blogging away and just posted this video with Daryl Hannah showing off her biodiesel powered El Camino.

    Video

    Super Bowl Ads

    Amanda Nolz

    evg_1218637303Whether or not you’re a fan of football, I’m sure that many of you took part in a Super Bowl party last night. I met up with some college friends to watch the game, laugh at the commercials and eat lots of food! Although I’m not an avid football guru (I always cheer for the underdog), I LOVE watching the commercials because I feel there is something to learn from corporate business that have millions of dollars to utilize their creativity and market their products. I heard that one commercial during the Super Bowl costs $3 million for 30 seconds! Amazingly, I heard that Budweiser had seven minutes of commercials.

    Fox Sports on MSN provided the Top 10 Best and Top 10 Worst commercials of the evening. If you missed the event, let me recap: Budlight, Doritos, Bridgestone, Monster, Career Builder, Coke Zero, Cash4Gold and Hulu took the top spots. Be sure to take some time to view these advertisements.

    When thinking about marketing, it’s important to remember brand enhancement. Some of the commercials were funny, creative and artistic, but I didn’t remember the brand name after it was over. Some of the best marketing strategies are simple and clean. You don’t need $3 million to be successful in your own marketing efforts, but you do have to be smart and creative. So what are your best and worst marketing experiences? Have you ever flopped? Did your product take off after a certain campaign? Curious minds want to know…

    Advertising