Top Producer magazine has published it’s annual Top 25 list of people, issues and trends. “A Top Producer Staff Report…It’s difficult to predict who or what will shake out as agriculture’s biggest influences and influencers in the coming years, but we identify some that will surely have an impact on your business.” Yours truly is mentioned in the item titled, “Internet pundits and critics.” Here’s an excerpt:
“The conversation is taking place already, and agriculture needs to join it,” says Zimmerman, who runs several Web sites for a variety of clients, including his own AgWired. “There is no question public opinion about agriculture is swayed by people who are not directly involved in the industry. And it’s not just bloggers, either. I think you’re seeing a lot of reporting from more of the traditional media today that is opinionated reporting. I think that’s being driven by how blogging has changed the industry.”
Basically this is about people in agriculture getting involved in the online conversation that’s going to take place with our without us. This goes for companies and member organizations. You have no control over the message anymore. However, you can make sure that your side is told!
Stoller’s Cybercoffeeshop
I guess that StollerUSA has started blogging with Cybercoffeeshop. They just started posting from their US Ag Associates Conference that is taking place in Houston, TX.
Join the insightful online chat between farmers, researchers, and crop consultants. Find out what others are doing to cope with the changes in today’s farming environment.
It looks like they’re asking questions in an attempt to engage visiting farmers in a conversation. That is a good tactic. I would also suggest posting more information on the actual activities, products, etc. being presented to provide them with more to “chew on.”
Lessing-Flynn Adds Two To Team
Lessing-Flynn has some company news.
Lessing-Flynn, a marketing communications firm based in Des Moines, Iowa, has named Jessica Held Executive Vice President of Client Services. Held was previously the Marketing Communications Manager at Vermeer Corporation in Pella, Iowa. A graduate from Central College, she also founded Studio 104, a design and advertising firm located in Pella.
Lessing-Flynn, a marketing communications firm based in Des Moines, Iowa, has added Jordan Bloodsworth to its creative/client service team. Bloodsworth is a recent graduate from Central College in Pella, Iowa. Prior to graduating from Central, Bloodsworth worked as an intern at Vermeer Corporation. She also served as a creative intern at Hatch Creative in London, England. In her new position, Bloodsworth will work with Lessing-Flynn clients in a newly created dual “hybrid” role as account coordinator and graphic designer.
WATT Virtual Animal Health Forum
Here’s a sign of the viability of online communications in agriculture. I think we’re going to see more of this at time goes on and travel budgets get tighter.
WATT, a global custom marketing solutions company, announces the launch of the agribusiness industry’s first-ever virtual tradeshow: WATT Online Animal Nutrition & Health Forum, to be held on 29 April, 2009 from 08.00 hrs. – 17.00 hrs. CST. The educational event offers live presentations and Q&A sessions, on-demand content, virtual sponsor booths and networking events – all the components of a live tradeshow, and more – in a format that is held 100% on the Internet.
The WATT Online Animal Nutrition & Health Forum will be available through our virtual event partner, InExpo. During the virtual event, attendees can:
Attend the live, feature presentation; Antibiotics in Animal Feeds: World Perspectives moderated by Dr. Peter Ferket with Lis Alban, DVM, Dr. Hector Cervantes and Dr. Spangler Klopp.
Listen to live and prerecorded presentations and participate in live Q&A with session presenters.
Explore sponsor booths and chat, e-mail and exchange Vcards (virtual business cards) with solutions providers.
Connect with peers from around the world through blogs, e-mails, Vcards and networking opportunities at the “virtual networking lounge.”
Download educational content such as product PDF’s, videos, pre-recorded webinars and white papers in their “virtual briefcase.”
Have a chance to win prizes just for attending the Forum.
Best of all, the Forum is FREE to attend and no travel is required!
Zimfo Bytes
- IRON Solutions add to their joint venture rollout with the IRON Search tool launch on all Farm Progress state and regional publications’ Web sites.
- Ag Leader Technology, Inc., announced the release of new features for their popular SeedCommand planter control system: Additional Sections of Clutch Control, Expanded Planter Monitoring and Hydraulic Drive Control.
- AgriLabs introduces First Arrival with Encrypt, a paste that enhances the natural immunity of kids and lambs, bolstering their immune protection and helping them cope with scours.
- High school and two-year college students are invited to apply for a $1,000 scholarship from the CHS Foundation. The application deadline for scholarships is April 1, 2009.
- SFP will be the primary 10-race sponsor for racecar driver Peyton Sellers and Cardinal Motorsports in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2009.
Rural Fiber Fund
Thanks to Twitterer Rural_Broadband (who is?) for pointing me to some posts by Geoff Daily at AppRising.com who is supporting rural fiber as the method to bring high speed internet access to rural America. He writes:
Fiber is our future. It’s the only broadband that’s considered true 21st century infrastructure, and only full fiber networks equal world-class broadband.
Whatever broadband we subsidize today rural communities will be left with for decades.
We should do this right the first time and make sure they’re not left behind again.
The Rural Fiber Fund uses government guarantees to unclog billions from the capital markets to shovel-ready rural fiber projects, and sets communities on the path to a connected future.
I’m all for any method that gets us connected!
Post Update: Rural_Broadband contacted me and he’s a rural resident of Southwest Virginia. Here’s part of his message: “So I really want to be sure rural communities have access to broadband as the culture shifts so dramatically to digital media.”
Argentina Trip Broadens Ag Horizons
This past June, I traveled with the SDSU Spanish Department to Buenos Aires, Argentina. For an entire month, we attended classes, lived with host families, explored the big city, traveled to vineyards, the Andes Mountains, the rainforest and Iguazu Falls, and learned a lot of Spanish along the way. The month was truly an experience of a lifetime, and I had the opportunity to share that experience at the Kingsbury Co. Cattlemen’s Association’s Annual Meeting in Lake Preston, S.D. this past Saturday.
Although most of my time in Argentina wasn’t directly related to agriculture, I was submerged in a country that is crazy about beef and wine production. With Argentina’s FMD free status, mandatory animal identification program and grass-fed beef, Argentina can access Japanese and South Korean markets, with ease. Also worth noting: Argentina is number one in the world’s soybean production and number two in world corn production. This global agricultural powerhouse is definitely worth watching in the future, and while I have tons of stories to share from my time spent in South America, this blog post will highlight the most interesting points about this amazing country.
-Argentines eat three times more meat in a given year than Americans, nearly 150 lbs./year.
-Due to an extreme economic recession, the government taxes farmers’ products entering the export market by 50% in order to keep domestic prices low.
-Of the millions of cattle that roam La Pampa (the plains of Argentina), only 10% enter the export market
-The world weather pattern La Nina, has killed 300,000 head of cattle in a terrible drought in Argentina this year.
-During my time spent in Argentina, the farmers were on a 4 month strike against the government.
-Feedyards are a new concept in Argentina, and grass-fed beef is the norm.
Stay tuned for more tales of my Argentine adventures. They range from protests, road blocks, theft, drug lords, wine tasting, rock propelling and more… Don’t miss a beat!
NAMA Convention In Kansas City Next Four Years
I smiled big when I saw that NAMA will be holding it’s convention in KC, MO the next 4 years. Makes sense to me, how about you? It does seem like we get better participation when it’s held in a central location that is easy for members to get to.
After careful review, the NAMA Executive Committee has announced that the annual Agri-Marketing Conference will be held in Kansas City the next four years. The committee cited two primary reasons: member satisfaction and cost control.
Historically, member participation has been stronger at Kansas City conferences, both in terms of delegate registrations and student competition. This is due in part because its central location makes the city a convenient and affordable travel destination from virtually anywhere in the country.
This year’s convention will be held in Atlanta and I hope to see you there. ZimmComm will be exhibiting once again and it will be in celebration of 5 years in business!
Fabulous Farm Babe Interview
In case you don’t know the sweet, demure and charming Fabulous Farm Babe, Pam Jahnke, you can read an interview with her in the Wisconsin State Journal. Here’s an excerpt:
Melanie Conklin: I can guess how farming got into your blood, growing up on a farm. But why journalism?
Pam Jahnke: I went to school at UW-River Falls to be an ag lawyer. I went in to my adviser to figure out my classes and he said, “Jahnke, why don’t you wake up and smell the coffee? You never shut up, you’re always talking to everybody, you’re always a catalyst on things. Why don’t you walk across the street and see if journalism has got something that fits you?” I never looked back because this is such a natural fit for me — I don’t know what else I’d do.
Yep. Talking into a microphone is a “natural fit.”
Ubiquitous Broadband
With the new leadership in Washington, DC getting ready to take over I’d love to see the list of who wants a handout, bailout or whatever you want to call it. It seems like every group or industry is positioning themselves to get something out of whatever economic stimulus package we get. I just wonder where all this money is supposed to come from when we’re also seeing stories of record government debt at the state and national level. Can you say, “print me the money?”
A story in Business Week talks about those who aren’t happy with the $6 billion in the House Democrats bill slated for broadband development.
“I was incredibly impressed how quickly the House moved,” says Shirley Bloomfield, senior vice-president for federal relations at Qwest Communications (Q), a Denver-based communications provider that serves 14 Western states. “They’ve got some good concepts. But $6 billion is not going to get you to ubiquitous broadband.”
It seems like almost 8 times that is “required.” How about just getting started with what you get and see how it goes? One thing seems to be certain though and that is that we’re going to see continued efforts to develop rural broadband.