Transition to a Bioeconomy About to Begin

John Davis October 15, 2008

The latest in a series of Farm Foundation-sponsored meetings on how to transition the country to a bioeconomy is about to get underway this morning in St. Louis, Mo.

Transition to a Bio Economy: Environmental and Rural Development Impacts is taking place at the Hyatt Regency-Union Station today and tomorrow, and your intrepid blogger will be here to update you as the various sessions progress.

Today’s, we’ll start with a session entitled: The Bioeconomy & the Environment, and it really should be a good one with speakers from the USDA, EPA, academic and private industry fields getting together to come up with solutions for the environmental challenges a bioeconomy presents.

I snapped a quick picture of this morning’s conference room as people were still out grabing a quick bite of breakfast before they jump into the activities of the day:

I’ll be stationed at the back of the room, online… and ready to bring you into the activities of the day.

Biodiesel, Environment, Ethanol, Farm Foundation

New T4000 Orchard Tractors From New Holland

Chuck Zimmerman October 15, 2008

Peach and blueberry growers just got a new tractor option from New Holland. I met with Andy Reinert, Mid-Range Tractor Marketing Manager, and learned all about it. He says the Sunbelt Ag Expo is the first place they’ve displayed the new tractor in the U. S. It’s got more power (comes in 62 to 82HP) and he says growers will be happy with the lower emissions obtained by the new engines.

Producers can put big power to work in tight quarters with the new T4000F orchard tractors from New Holland. Built on the legendary performance and reliability of their predecessors the TNF/TNF-A Series, these tractors meet Tier III emissions standards with 4-cylinder engines that are turbocharged and intercooled for maximum performance, low emissions, and fuel efficiency.

T4000F Series tractors combine outstanding power and maneuverability with the narrow width and low cab height needed to work under tree canopies and in close quarters where clearance can be a problem. Overall cab height on the T4000F Series has been reduced by 5.2 inches to 85.5 inches for easier travel under branches. The exceptionally long wheelbase provides stability, better traction and a smoother, more comfortable ride.

Listen to my interview with Andy here: sunbelt-08-reinert.mp3

Or you can download the interview with this link: Andy Reinert Interview (mp3)

Sunbelt Ag Expo Photo Album

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

Audio, New Holland, Sunbelt Ag Expo, Tractor

Tyron Spearman is Sunbelt Media Mogul

Chuck Zimmerman October 15, 2008

When you come to the Sunbelt Ag Expo media room you experience Tyronny. At least that’s what I’m calling it when Tyron Spearman is in charge.

I’ve known Tyron for a long time but hadn’t seen him in years since I haven’t been in the southeast much. He’s been involved with every Sunbelt Ag Expo (31 years). When I spoke with him we reminisced about the old wooden ex-military building that housed the media room. Now we’ve got a new air-conditioned 2-story building to work out of.

Tyron works with a number of clients, mainly in the peanut industry. He also produces reports for Southeast AgNet. I asked him about the peanut crop and he says they’re expecting a record crop this year due to good rains during the season.

You can listen to my interview with Tyron here: sunbelt-08-spearman.mp3

Sunbelt Ag Expo Photo Album

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

Audio, Media, Sunbelt Ag Expo

Flame Your Pests Away

Chuck Zimmerman October 14, 2008

One of the companies exhibiting products in the Georgia Propane Gas Association building here at Sunbelt Ag Expo is Flame Engineering. They’ve got a full line of Red Dragon agricultural products.

Red Dragon Agricultural Flamers kill unwanted weeds and grasses, break down old growth to make room for new, destroy insect habitat and provide safe & effective control without the use of pesticides. Prior to herbicides and insecticides, flaming was fast becoming a popular control method in many crops. With so many growers seeking alternatives to pesticides, flaming is making a very successful comeback.

I spoke with their Director of the Agriculture Division, Steve Koch, about what they’ve got to offer farmers. One product that’s impressive to watch is their Poultry House Sanitizer. He says they have a similar product coming out for use in dairies. Benefits include savings in fuel and in poultry they’re finding that the birds are larger and have a lower mortality rate.

Listen to my interview with Steve here: sunbelt-08-koch.mp3

Or you can download the interview with this link: Steve Koch Interview (mp3)

Sunbelt Ag Expo Photo Album

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

Audio, Poultry, Propane, Sunbelt Ag Expo, Video

Ag Cash Income At All Time High

Chuck Zimmerman October 14, 2008

One of our distinguished guests at today’s Sunbelt Ag Expo Southeast Farmer of the Year luncheon was Mark E. Keenum, USDA Under Secretary, Farm and Foreign Agricultural Service. If you’re interested in hearing about the economics of what’s going on in agriculture then you may want to listen to him. His full comments are only about 12 minutes.

However, I’m also posting an excerpt which I thought really was an eye opener and not something you’re going to hear on the evening news. To listen to the news you’d think we’re in such an economic mess that we’ll never get out of it. Interesting that this should come up just before an election, eh? But enough about that. The fact is that agriculture is doing very well economically and Mark has the facts to prove it. For example, he says that, “We’re looking at cash income for agriculture to be $313 billion this year. That’s an all time record high.” Now that’s what I call positive news.

Listen to an excerpt of Mark’s comments here: sunbelt-08-lunch-keenum-economics.mp3

Or you can download the excerpt with this link: Mark Keenum Excerpt (mp3)

Listen to Mark’s full comments here: sunbelt-08-lunch-keenum.mp3

Or you can download his comments with this link: Mark Keenum Comments (mp3)

Sunbelt Ag Expo Photo Album

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

Audio, Farming, Sunbelt Ag Expo, USDA

Everything Propane at Sunbelt Ag Expo

Chuck Zimmerman October 14, 2008

The Georgia Propane Gas Association has a very large building here at Sunbelt Ag Expo to display all the latest propane powered appliances and equipment. The gas fireplaces are very popular and they’ve even set up multiple rooms to provide ideas for how you can use them in your farm house.

I went on a tour of their building today with Association Executive Director, Jennifer McKeen. She walked me around and described what Expo visitors will find. You can go on the tour too via video:

Sunbelt Ag Expo Photo Album

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

Ag Groups, Propane, Sunbelt Ag Expo, Video

Brian Kirksey is Southeast Farmer of the Year

Chuck Zimmerman October 14, 2008

The big news of the day here at Sunbelt Ag Expo is the announcement of the Southeast Farmer of the Year.

After a number of speeches and suspense it was announced that Brian Kirksey, Arkansas, was chosen as this year’s winner. He receives a check for $14,000 and is seen here on stage with his wife, Nan.

Brian got to say a few words which I’ve got recorded for you. He was very excited and thankful. Listen to Brian here: sunbelt-08-kirksey.mp3

Sunbelt Ag Expo Photo Album

Audio, Farming, Sunbelt Ag Expo

World Food Prize Coverage

Cindy Zimmerman October 14, 2008

I am preparing to head up to Des Moines today to cover the 2008 World Food Prize festivities and Borlaug Dialogue. I have never been to this event, but I am looking forward to it.

The 2008 World Food Prize laureates are Bob Dole and George McGovern, who are being honored for their work in establishing the McGovern-Dole international school-feeding program which has provided meals to feed more than 22 million children in 41 countries.

One of the highlights of the event will be Thursday’s luncheon with the esteemed Dr. Norman Borlaug, Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of the World Food Prize.

I will also be seeing Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer again, who will be speaking at the event on Friday morning. Official coverage starts tomorrow with the 2008 Borlaug Dialogue Opening Ceremony, although I will probably have a post or two up before then.

USB, World Food Prize

Sunbelt Ag Expo

Chuck Zimmerman October 14, 2008

Hello from Sunbelt Ag Expo and the media center. I’m on location at least today and tomorrow. It’s early and I’m just getting my bearings.

We’ve got a Toyota-sponsored media breakfast in a few minutes and lunch today will include the announcing of the Southeast Farmer of the Year award. It’s been a few years since I’ve been to this Expo and boy has the media center changed. I remember the wooden building we used to be in. Apparently that’s been torn down and now we’re in a very nice admin building with air conditioning.

I’ll be conducting interviews with for the Propane Education and Research Council which is sponsoring my coverage of the show. So, look for posts from here over the next couple days mixed in with posts from Cindy and John who are on location at other events.

Sunbelt Ag Expo

Alpharma Student Video Contest

Chuck Zimmerman October 13, 2008

Alpharma is conducting a student video contest to help educate consumers about food and farming, especially animal agriculture. So, get out your FLIP’s, phones or whatever you shoot video with and get entered!

In an innovative step toward consumer education, agriculture students from the East Coast to California are invited to participate in a three-phase contest, the first of which is an open call for farm-related video clips. A variety of clip suggestions are listed on the contest Web site, www.meetwhatyoueat.com, ranging from cows being milked to combines harvesting crops in the heartland. Students can submit their choice of any number of video segments, whether recorded on a digital camera or high-power video recorder.

As the contest sponsor, Alpharma will award participants a $25 gift card for each usable clip submitted, up to 10 per person. These video segments will be available online for the next phase of the contest where participants will be able to compile their own video using segments chosen from the site. This will provide students with an opportunity to create their own version of the story of food production.

Completed videos will then be posted on the contest Web site, allowing those who view them to vote for their favorite in support of the friends, club or school who produced them. The contest culminates with the top video producers winning a $5,000 cash prize, courtesy of Alpharma.

“This is an exciting opportunity for students involved with and passionate about agriculture to educate consumers in an innovative way,” says Mellinger. “We look forward to seeing what students can come up with, and we enjoy supporting the student’s creativity and expression.”

The contest began September 8th and will run through the middle of December, with the winning video announced December 22, 2008.

Agribusiness

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