Get Ready for AgConnect Expo

Cindy Zimmerman

Charlie O'BrienNAFB Trade Talk is a great way to get new information out to farm broadcasters and that is what the Association of Equipment Manufacturers did this year at the event, talking about the new AG CONNECT 2010 expo.

Charlie O’Brien, vice president of agricultural services for AEM, had the chance to talk about the progress being made on the new show, which will debut in Orlando January 13-15. Charlie says they are working with a number of groups now who want to be involved in the show and hold their annual meetings as part of the event. He is especially excited about the global aspect of the expo. “We have more and more products being exported around the world,” he says. “So it’s a sharing of information back and forth from around the world.”

Listen to my interview with Charlie here: nafb-08-aem.mp3

AEM, NAFB

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Pro-Act Microbial announces a company name change to Pro-Act Biotech. Pro-Act Biotech is still focused on providing microbial treatment systems for CAFOs and already supplies other products and services, such as manure solids separators, digester technology and more.
  • The Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin (PDPW) Annual Business Conference, “Adding Passion, Multiplying Profits”, March 17-18, 2009 at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wisc., will include speakers Ron “Gus” Gustafson and Adam Timmerman, NFL star.
  • Caterpillar and Rhea + Kaiser Marketing Communications were recognized during the eighth annual Marketing Communications Awards, conducted by the Construction Writer’s Association (CWA) in October. Rhea + Kaiser received a first place award in the Advertising category for its Cat Compact Equipment “Reflections” campaign for Caterpillar. The agency also received an honorable mention in the Public Relations category for the Cat Chopper Auction campaign.
  • The Christmas Spirit Foundation has tracked consumer moods over a four-year period, and now presents the data in comparison to the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Zimfo Bytes

A Loos Thanksgiving Parade

Chuck Zimmerman

Loos Tales on ParadeTrent Loos will do a lot to get attention. Like drive his FoodLink Chuck Wagon (a wagon named after me!) in a parade that’s being televised nationally. I wonder if they’ll put him in his sponsoring museum someday.

The Loos Tales FoodLink Chuck Wagon took to the streets of Chicago on Thanksgiving morning using history to bring attention to the modern food production system and the progress made over the past century as a result of the application of science and technology.

“As a first-time participant in the McDonald’s Thanksgiving Parade, the Loos Tales FoodLink Chuck Wagon represented the vital role that today’s U.S. food producers play in providing nutrients and assuring national food security,” said Sarah Muirhead, editor and publisher of Feedstuffs.

The Loos Tales FoodLink Chuck Wagon was presented in the parade by the Museum of Science & Industry of Chicago.

At the helm of the century-old chuck wagon was Loup City, Neb., rancher and broadcast personality Trent Loos. A native of Quincy, Ill., Loos can be heard daily on more than 100 radio stations across the nation and is a regular columnist in Feedstuffs and a partner on Feedstuffs FoodLink, an initiative aimed at telling the story of America’s food production.

Joining Loos on the buckboard was Korean War veteran Tony Gallagher, a former Chicago resident whose eight years of military service and 23 years with the CIA earned him eight purple hearts.

“Like the American soldier, the American farmer/rancher is a critical link to our nation’s security. For only through continued domestic food production can food security and independence be maintained for American consumers,” said Loos.

Media

New Agriblogging Tool

Chuck Zimmerman

My iPhoneOkay, so I can post today. But we’re still moving to a new server. In the meantime I’ve acquired a new agriblogging tool.

The ZimmComm iPhone has landed. It’s a white 16GB monster that’s ready to rock this week on the road. I also got a new bluetooth headset since I guess I just wore out the old one which was about 2 years old. I like being hands free when I can.

I hope you’ve all had a very happy Thanksgiving weekend. It’s back to work tomorrow.

Equipment

ZimmComm Server Upgrade

Chuck Zimmerman

This weekend we’re moving to a new server. Doesn’t that sound like fun? It does mean that I won’t have any posts up after later on today until tomorrow night though.

So why are we doing it? Because we’ve continued to grow and are now hosting 26 different websites! Of course that doesn’t count others we manage on client servers.

So, basically we’re doubling our capacity and upgrading to some fantastic new server software which means our sites will perform even more reliably and faster. You shouldn’t notice anything during this move since we’ll have all sites up and running on both servers. I just thought you should know.

Uncategorized

IFAJ Has New Website

Chuck Zimmerman

IFAJThe International Federation of Agricultural Journalists’ new website kind of snuck up on me but it’s now live.

The IFAJ has a new website. The site carries many of the same features as before, but with a fresh new look, and in a format that is much easier to nativigate. Work is still being done on expanding and refining the content. In the meantime, we would be pleased to hear your thoughts and suggestions.

But that’s what the IFAJ newsletter is for. To let us know what’s going on. You can find the latest edition here. In it is a link to new IFAJ President, Mike Wilson’s first column.

I’m deeply honored and humbled to be taking on the leadership reins of the IFAJ following the successful terms of our past president David Markey. I plan to give this challenge my best effort and I know I can count on the support of my colleagues here at home as well as overseas. I’m really looking forward to working with the new IFAJ presidium, as well as the new executive committee. Read More

IFAJ

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Lindsay Hill, of the Buckeye Ag Radio Network/ABN Radio, was elected NAFB National Vice President. She will be part of the 2009 Officer team that includes President Pam Jahnke, of WTDY/Q106 Radio, and President-Elect Greg Akagi, of WIBW/Kansas Ag Network. Click here for a complete list of officers and directors.
  • Bader Rutter has been selected by Ball Horticultural Company, based in West Chicago, Ill., to provide integrated brand communications services.
  • A new international Agricultural industry Electronics Foundation (AEF) is the result of cooperation between the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) and the North American-based Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) in support of agricultural equipment manufacturers worldwide. The foundation is a manufacturer-led effort to advance global adoption of ISOBUS and electronics standards. The initial focus is data communications between tractors and implements.
  • The Kuhn farm equipment group announced that Kuhn Farm Machinery Inc., the North American marketing and distribution arm of Kuhn Group, and Kuhn Knight Inc. will legally merge as one business called Kuhn North America Inc.
    Zimfo Bytes

    Happy Thanksgiving

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Happy Thanksgiving From ZimmComm New MediaI’m just guessing that most of you are either on vacation or thinking so much about being on vacation that you might as well be on vacation.

    I’m kind of in that mood myself. So . . .

    Have a Happy Thanksgiving from ZimmComm New Media.

    And just in case you want to know more, here’s what Wikipedia says about it:

    Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a harvest festival. Traditionally, it’s a time to give thanks for the harvest and express gratitude in general. Thanksgiving is a North American holiday with the dates and whereabouts of the first Thanksgiving celebration a topic of modest contention. It has generally become a national secular holiday with religious origins. Though the earliest attested Thanksgiving celebration was on September 8, 1565 in what is now Saint Augustine, Florida[1][2], the traditional “first Thanksgiving” is venerated as having occurred at the site of Plymouth Plantation, in 1621.

    Today, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. Thanksgiving dinner is held on this day, usually as a gathering of family members.

    Uncategorized

    Texting Turkey

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Butterball TextWhat turkey week would be complete without a turkey post? Cindy and I watched the History Channel’s Modern Marvels – Turkey and since Butterball was mentioned so prominently I visited them this morning.

    You can find some recipes for turkey for dinner here. If you’ve got questions you can call their Turkey Talk-Line – 1-800-Butterball.

    Another option is to have turkey cooking information texted to you phone. I’m signed as you can see in the picture. So here’s what I’ll be getting:

    Once you’ve signed up, you will receive text messages from November 3 to December 31, 2008.* Each message will include:

    * Tips on how to prep and cook a turkey.
    * Reminders on when to buy and start thawing your turkey.
    * Shopping list alerts for new recipes.
    * Features to instantly connect to the Butterball Experts
    o Click to call 1-800-BUTTERBALL∗ directly from within the text message to speak with an expert.
    o Or, click through to the mobile site to quickly get more information.

    Food

    Drive Green Widget

    Chuck Zimmerman

    We haven’t even kicked off the first event in the John Deere Drive Green Utility Tractor Show and I’m already so excited I can hardly wait. It all starts next week in Middleburg, FL. I’m also very proud of our web guru, Robert, who built the blog for this project. We’re trying to incorporate a number of social media mechanisms into it and the latest is the Show Widget. Perhaps you’ll want to use it, perhaps not, but here it is anyway.

    So, you know where I’ll be next week. BTW. I think it’s cool that the first two video clips I uploaded to the Show’s YouTube account have already been viewed over 150 times and we’re just getting started!

    John Deere