Meyocks Group Adds Brower and Liljegren

Chuck Zimmerman

Liz BrowerIt’s nice to see companies adding staff these days. I guess that means they’re “Brave Enough.”

Liz Brower has joined The Meyocks Group as a public relations account executive. Brower had worked at ITAGroup as a marketing strategist. Other experience includes a position as a public relations account manager at Hanser & Associates. Brower earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communications/public relations at Grand View College. During her college career she interned at the Iowa Events Center and Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield. She is a native of Red Oak, Iowa.

Katherine LiljegrenKatherine Liljegren has been hired as a creative generalist after completing a graduate internship with the agency. Liljegren earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication at Drake University in 2008, where she served on the Board of Student Communications and the Student Activities Board. She is a native of Kansas City.

“During what has become a severe economic downturn for most of the U.S., we are fortunate to be adding talented and energetic people like Liz and Katherine to our team,” said agency President Doug Jeske. “We continue to build our talent pool so we can help our clients build their brands.”

Agencies

Wesley Clark Speaks For Ethanol

Chuck Zimmerman

Wesley ClarkLong time AgWired fans know that we worked very closely with the former Ethanol Promotion and Information Council. The organization has now been remade into Growth Energy with a completely different mission as it goes through a major transition. Today a Co-Chairman was announced and retired General Wesley Clark embraced his new role as a leader in the growth of renewable energy. Cindy was on a conference call and reported on our Domestic Fuel site:

Clark was named co-chairman of Growth Energy during a Thursday morning press conference in Washington DC. “Every gallon of ethanol that we put in our fuel system today is a gallon of imported gasoline that we avoid,” Clark said. “This country is importing 15 billion gallons of gasoline, refined product, a year. We don’t need to do that.”

Clark talked about some of the challenges facing the ethanol industry, such as the indirect land use issue. He said that the land use issue is being based on the GREET (Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Transportation) model, which he says is based on outdated assumptions about the ethanol industry and agriculture. “I think if you look at the fundamental issues you can see that our best environmentalists are the American farmers and what they have done is pretty remarkable in terms of strengthening the environment, protecting the land and being able to bring in crops more efficiently.” He thinks that when the model is updated it will show a much more favorable picture relating to land use.

Listen to some of General Clark’s comments from this morning’s press conference here:wesley-clark.MP3

Ag Groups, Audio, Energy, Ethanol

Ervin Group Hires Francesca Faber

Chuck Zimmerman

Francesca FaberThe Ervin Group is getting more creative.


Ervin Group, an Omaha-based agency focusing on advertising, branding and public relations, announces the addition of Francesca Faber as Graphic Designer.

Faber is responsible for producing creative concepts and graphic execution for Ervin Group’s growing list of agricultural, health care and financial services clients.

A native of Dubuque, IA, she graduated magna cum laude from Creighton University in Omaha with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Graphic Design and a minor in Spanish.

Agencies

New BASF Leadership

Cindy Zimmerman

BASF leadershipBASF Corporation this week announced the appointment of Markus Heldt as President, Crop Protection, BASF. Heldt, who held the position of Group Vice President, North America for the past three years, will relocate to the company’s global headquarters in Limburgerhof, Germany.

Heldt is pictured here (right) with Michael Heinz, the man he is succeeding as president of crop protection, during a 2007 BASF media tour to Germany. Heinz has been promoted higher up on the BASF corporate ladder.

BASF leadershipIn turn, taking Markus’ previous role as BASF group VP for crop protection is Nevin McDougall. Most recently, McDougall was Vice President, US Business Operations, Crop Protection. McDougall has spent the last 16 years with BASF and its legacy company (American Cyanamid) working in Canada, Asia and the United States, where he has served in a variety of sales, marketing and management roles. McDougall has also led BASF operations in the Asia Pacific region as Group Vice President for Agricultural Products.

We look forward to working with Nevin and hopefully seeing him at Commodity Classic in a few weeks. Congratulations to all!

BASF

Weed Sciences Going Web

Chuck Zimmerman

Weed Science Society of AmericaThe agriblogging highway runs to Orlando, FL next week and the Weed Science Society of America annual meeting. I’ll be speaking on the subject of “Agricultural Communications in a New Media World.” Here’s part of my program abstract:

What do today’s web savvy growers do when in need of information? Just like most anyone else they go online and search for it with services like Google. So how do you join the online conversation so your message gets through the clutter? One of the best ways is with frequently updated topical blogs and podcasts and participating in online social networks. The investment in creating your own blog or podcast is minimal other than your time. If you’re passionate about your subject and like to write or talk then let your inner voice out through new media tools.

Yes, we’ll be letting our inner voices out in the Sunshine State.

Ag Groups

AgWired Live TV Brings You Drive Green Show

Chuck Zimmerman

AgWired Live TV On LocationWe were broadcasting live earlier this evening from the Ft. Worth Stock Show & Rodeo in Watt Arena. Here’s the setup. I really didn’t know we’d have fairly good internet access but thought I’d give it a try.

So, while my Mac was broadcasting live, I was recording the show with a video camera and also an audio recorder. I also shot about 150 still photos too. I guess I should count the 7 interviews I did, mostly after the show.

I’m just finishing uploading photos to the show photo album and then it’s time to call it a night before traveling back to ZimmComm World Headquarters early in the morning.

John Deere

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