Sunbelt Ag Expo Executive Director Chip Blalock

Chuck Zimmerman

Chip BlalockThe Executive Director of the Sunbelt Ag Expo is Chip Blalock, seen here at the Southeastern Farmer of the Year luncheon. When I spoke to him he said, “We’ve had truly Chamber of Commerce type weather this week.” I echo that since it was sunny with a nice breeze all the time I was there.

I asked him to tell us a little about the history of the show, especially this unique location on an ex-military airfield. One of the things that has become increasingly important is the relationship with companies that are providing products and services to people who want to live the country life. He says that the rural lifestyle market is well served now at the show.

When it comes to marketing Chip says they depend heavily on their relationship with the media and all farm media. For example, when it comes to radio he says, “On the radio side, we work closely with Southeast AgNet. They cut a wide swath through Georgia, Florida and Alabama, what we call the deep southeast.” He mentions lots of specific media outlets and says there’s just too many to mention them all.

Listen to my interview with Chip here: sunbelt-08-blalock.mp3

Or you can download the interview with this link: Chip Blalock Interview (mp3)

Sunbelt Ag Expo Photo Album

AgWired coverage of Sunbelt Ag Expo is sponsored by the Propane Education and Research Council.

Audio, Farm Shows, Sunbelt Ag Expo

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • National Agri-Marketing Association reports the 2008 Awards of Excellence recipients are as follows: Marketing Communications — Paul Redhage, FMC Communications Manager, FMC Agricultural Products; Public Relations — Beth Andersen, Senior Vice President, Managing Partner, Charleston Orwig, Inc.; and Sales — Vernon Benes, Director of Business Development, Beck Ag, Inc.
  • Dow AgroSciences LLC is acquiring the assets of Sudwestsaat GbR (SWS), a hybrid maize company with its headquarters near Rastatt, Baden-Wurttemberg, in Germany.
  • Farmers now have available a tool to assess the value of corn yields combined with grain moisture at the time of harvest with a new online calculator offered by DEKALB. The online harvest moisture calculator allows farmers to input the value of each bushel of corn (or the current commodity price), their drying cost per bushel, the number of acres they plant per bag and their average yield per acre. Then the free tool automatically calculates the value in each bag of DEKALB seed based on both the DEKALB yield advantage and harvest moisture advantage.
  • Raven Industries has introduced Switch Pro: a simple-to-use product controller with advanced technology. Switch Pro provides a state-of-the-art control system when teamed up with the superior technology of Envizio Pro or Viper Pro field computers. Switch Pro eliminates consoles from the cab providing more room with less clutter by combining the technology of several devices into one easy-to-use console including: single product control (liquid or NH3), 10 boom section control, a speed sense control and AccuBoom boom section control.
    Zimfo Bytes

    The Food and Fuel Story of Soy

    Cindy Zimmerman

    World Food Prize soybeans Victoria Carver and Linda FunkHere are a couple of ladies who are World Food Prize winners in my book. They are Victoria Carver (left) with the Iowa Soybean Association who serves on the recently created National Biodiesel Board Sustainability Task Force and Linda Funk with the Soyfoods Council and Soy For Life.

    I had a chance to visit with both of these lovely ladies to talk about the role of soybeans in health and nutrition, as well as biofuels and sustainability. Linda told me that Soy For Life was formed last year to do more work in soyfoods research to further the many health benefits of soy. The foundation also funds programs to reach malnourished, under-served and hungry populations in the United States, as well as developing programs to further educate consumer, food industry professionals and the media on soy protein usage. More information about that and how do donate can be found here.

    Listen to my interview with Linda here:
    wfp-08-funk.mp3

    Victoria told me that the NBB sustainability task force is charged with developing goals for the industry to make biodiesel production even more sustainable. They are developing an advisory committee of experts and will be holding a symposium next month on the issue. She also told me about how she challenged one of the speakers at a session during the WFP symposium who blamed biofuels for increased food prices.

    Listen to my interview with Victoria here:
    wfp-08-victoria.mp3

    You can also download the audio with this link:
    Linda Funk interview (mp3)
    Victoria Carter interview (mp3)

    See photos of the World Food Prize event here.

    Audio, Biodiesel, Soybean, World Food Prize

    World Food Prize Winners Meet the Press

    Cindy Zimmerman

    World Food Prize Press WinnersThe 2008 World Food Prize winners met the press on Thursday, which was also World Food Day.

    Former Senators Bob Dole and George McGovern took questions from the media on a variety of topics ranging from funding for the school lunch program, to biofuels, to the world financial situation. The two are splitting the $250,000 World Food Prize for their work in creating the McGovern-Dole international school-feeding program. Sen. Dole quipped during their conversation on Wednesday night that “two losers finally won something” referring to the fact that both ran unsuccessful bids for the White House. Someone noted that he should win some prize for the most one-liners by a World Food Prize winner!

    Listen to that press conference here:
    wfp-08-press.mp3

    You can also download the audio with this link: World Food Prize Winners Press Conference (mp3)

    See photos of the World Food Prize event here.

    Audio, Media, World Food Prize

    Soy Sponsored World Food Prize Luncheon

    Cindy Zimmerman

    World Food Prize LunchSeveral soybean groups – including the United Soybean Board, Iowa Soybean Association, Soy Foods Council, WISHH, and World Soy Foundation – jointly sponsored the luncheon today at the World Food Prize symposium. There was a record crowd of more than 750 in attendance, including over 100 students participating in the WFP Youth Institute.

    World Food PrizeAppropriately, the event today is held on World Food Day, and the World Soy Foundation was able to announce a new donation by Silk soy milk, a WhiteWave Foods brand, according to foundation director Jim Hershey. “Silk WhiteWave – one of the major processors of soy dairy products here in the US – has committed $75,000 over three years to the World Soy Foundation to continue its work in Ghana which is building its own school feeding program.”

    Hershey says the project will feed 200-300 children per day for a school year, and he encourages other individuals and companies to join the efforts of the foundation – you can find out more at worldsoyfoundation.org.

    I talked to Jim about the foundation, as well as the World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (WISHH) Program, which he also directs – and about how producing soy biodiesel also produces protein to feed the world.

    Listen to that interview here:
    wfp-08-hershey.mp3

    You can also download the audio with this link: Jim Hershey at World Food Prize (mp3)

    See photos of the World Food Prize event here.

    Audio, Soybean, USB, World Food Prize

    Picking Cotton at Sunbelt Ag Expo

    Chuck Zimmerman

    John Deere 7760 Cotton PickerI only got to go out in the field for the cotton picking demonstration at Sunbelt Ag Expo but it was great. The weather was beautiful and the cotton looked awesome. I’ve got a number of pictures in the photo album.

    One of the main machines involved was the new John Deere 7760 Self Propelled Cotton Picker. This bad boy will be ready for sales next year but growers can call their local dealer to get an on-farm demonstration.

    I liked the American flag touch. It was waving in the nice breeze we had all day.

    There were also field demonstrations with corn, soybeans, hay and peanuts.

    Sunbelt Ag Expo Photo Album

    AgWired coverage of Sunbelt Ag Expo is sponsored by the Propane Education and Research Council.

    Cotton, Equipment, John Deere, Sunbelt Ag Expo, Video

    Grilling With Propane at Sunbelt Ag Expo

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Joel GarrettThere’s no question that if you grill food you’re going to attract a crowd. That’s what Joel Garrett, Garrett Grills, is doing for his second year at the Georgia Propane Gas Association building at the Sunbelt Ag Expo. I don’t think he, or the other members of the cooking crew, could cook fast enough to feed everyone but they were trying. They were cooking pork roasts, sausage, boiled peanuts, cookies, and more. I’ve been a regular sampler.

    Joel says that you have a lot more control over temperature when you’re grilling with propane and it’s more efficient. In this interview he’ll give us a look inside this 250 gallon, converted propane tank, cooker and you’ll wish you were there! There were a lot of farmers looking at this cooker with envy.

    Listen to my interview with Joel here: sunbelt-08-garrett.mp3

    Or you can download the interview with this link: Joel Garrett Interview (mp3)

    Sunbelt Ag Expo Photo Album

    AgWired coverage of Sunbelt Ag Expo is sponsored by the Propane Education and Research Council.

    Audio, Food, Propane, Sunbelt Ag Expo, Video

    Schafer Addresses Farm Foundation Conference

    John Davis

    U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer has just finished addressing the folks attending the latest Farm Foundation’s Transition to a Bioeconomy Conference going on in St. Louis, Mo.

    Schafer reminded the crowd how hard the current administration has worked to promote the biofuels field in this country, and thus, how hard it had worked to help the farmers who are either directly or indirectly tied to this change to a bioeconomy.

    He said that now, more than ever, we need to keep exploring new technologies and new ideas to secure our energy independence and in turn, our national security.  Schafer added that ethanol and biodiesel, as well as other renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, will be key to that energy security and independence.

    I’ll have some more audio from Schafer’s address to the Farm Foundation, but for now, let me give you a little bit of what he told reporters who caught him for just a few minutes before he had to head out.

    I asked him about the importance of a meeting such as this, where diverse opinions are brought together to come up with a consensus as to what might be the best direction to go.

    “These conferences are very important because what you get is that diverse viewpoint.  And when you’re challenging one another, you end up picking up the good pieces and forging good public policy and direction.”

    He added that this isn’t solely a price issue or an environmental issue or an economics issue… all must be looked at for a biofuel policy for America.

    Listen to Schafer’s comment here: Schafer1.mp3

    Audio, Biodiesel, Ethanol, Farm Foundation

    Georgia Propane Gas Association President

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Lynda HummThe President of the Georgia Propane Gas Association is Lynda Humm. She was behind the registration table for their Sunbelt Ag Expo drawings every time I came by their building. You won’t find a friendlier person in the propane industry. I thought it was interesting that her company primarily supplies propane to fork lift operators. However, she knows the value of propane out on the farm.

    I spoke to her about the mission of the GPGA which she says is to bring together the marketers and suppliers of propane to promote the use of the environmentally friendly fuel. That’s why they’ve built the big display building on the grounds of the show. She says it allows them a great opportunity to show farmers and others who want to live the country life all the options they have for using propane on their farm.

    Listen to my interview with Lynda here: sunbelt-08-humm.mp3

    Or you can download the interview with this link: Lynda Humm Interview (mp3)

    Sunbelt Ag Expo Photo Album

    AgWired coverage of Sunbelt Ag Expo is sponsored by the Propane Education and Research Council.

    Audio, Propane, Sunbelt Ag Expo, Video

    Participating in World Food Prize Events

    Cindy Zimmerman

    Gale BuchananOne of the participants in the 2008 World Food Prize symposium who caught my eye yesterday was Dr. Gale Buchanan, USDA Under Secretary for Research Education and Economics. I saw him sitting in on every session I attended, so I caught up with him for an interview about the event and what he thought.

    World Food PrizeThis year’s World Food Prize winners are former Senators Bob Dole and George McGovern, who are being honored for their work to expand USDA’s school feeding program. Dr. Buchanan says it is nice to see USDA’s program recognized for its world feeding efforts. “The department has a vital role to play in addressing these issues,” Buchanan said. “The focus of this conference is not looking inward but looking outward to every country around the world.”

    Regarding the issue of being able to produce both food and fuel on a global basis, Buchanan says, “Food is important, it’s what sustains us and it’s got to be at the top of the list, but energy is at the top of the list too. We have to continue working to find ways to ensure we have the amount of food, feed and fiber that we need, but also the energy that it takes to sustain us. Using agricultural products as part of that solution is very important.”

    I last saw Dr. Buchanan at the Southern Peanut Growers Meeting earlier this year and, being a southerner, he sees value in the potential for using peanuts to produce biodiesel, for example. “When Rudolf Diesel invented the diesel engine he proposed that his new engine should be run on peanut oil,” Buchanan told me. “And certainly I think peanuts and other oilseed crops have great potential to address energy concerns in the future.”

    Listen to Dr. Buchanan’s interview here:
    wfp-08-buchanan.mp3

    You can also download the audio with this link: Dr. Gale Buchanan at World Food Prize (mp3)

    See photos of the World Food Prize event here.

    Audio, Biodiesel, International, Peanuts, World Food Prize