New NCGA Director of Communications

Chuck Zimmerman

Nancy KoesterI’m sure I’m waiting in line to meet the new Director of Communications for the National Corn Growers Association. She’s Nancy L. Bunker Koester and she started on Monday.

In this position, Nancy will lead NCGA’s communications team and direct public relations and media relations for the organization.

Nancy is an Accredited Business Communicator (ABC) with more than 20 years of experience in organizational and marketing communications, public relations, research, event planning, and education. For the past 11 years, she served as owner and principal of Bunker Koester & Associates, an organizational and marketing communications and market research company.

Prior to starting her own firm, Nancy held positions at Monsanto, Brown Shoe Company, Emerson Electric, Jefferson Smurfit and United Technologies Communications. She also taught undergraduate and graduate-level courses at Webster University and St. Louis Community College.

Ag Groups, NCGA

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Massey Ferguson® 6400 and 7400 Series high horsepower tractors with new generation Tier III engines burn cleaner and smarter for greater fuel efficiency. Both the Dyna-VT™ CVT transmission on the 7400 Series, ranging from 100-155 PTO HP, and Dyna-6™ transmission, from 100 to 180 PTO HP, on the 6400 Series deliver power and torque more efficiently and effectively in the field and in transit.
  • Katherine DiMatteo, who served as executive director of the Organic Trade Association (OTA) from 1990 to 2006, was named President of the World Board of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements at their General Assembly held in Vignola, Italy.
  • RFD-TV, LLC announced a multi-year affiliation and distribution agreement with Verizon that set forth the terms and conditions for carriage of RFD-TV on Verizon’s FiOS TV service nationwide. Beginning this summer, RFD-TV will be rolling out carriage and will become available to customers in all FiOS TV service areas over the following months.
  • The message Chuck Leavell, Rolling Stones keyboardist, shared during his keynote address at the Ag in the Classroom conference in Costa Mesa, Calif., was “today’s children are increasingly disconnected from the natural world and schools can play a big role in fixing this.” Leavell addressed the teachers present not as a musician but as a Georgia tree farmer and the author of the 2007 American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture Book of the Year The Tree Farmer.
    Zimfo Bytes

    Interested in Podcasting

    Chuck Zimmerman

    If you’re a regular reader of AgWired then you know we’re new media evangelists (blogs, podcasts, and all sorts of online social networking). So when I see a pretty mainstream media outlet do a story on this I like to pass it along. This time it’s about podcasting and it’s in Investors.com.

    Podcast audiences have branched out far beyond just geeks. And advertisers are starting to like them, too.

    After having placed ads with Web sites and search engines, more advertisers are starting to spread their ad dollars to audio and video podcasts in an attempt to reach certain consumers.

    Podango Productions President is quoted in the article as saying:

    “With podcasting, the audiences tend to be very specific, very targeted,” he said. “That takes care of your challenge as a brand marketer.”

    That’s what podcasting is about in a nutshell. I’d call agriculture a pretty niche topic in terms of the media world today.

    Via Podcasting News.

    Podcasts

    New Holland Gets 3 ASABE AE50’s

    Chuck Zimmerman

    New Holland Forage HarvesterNew Holland has racked up some awards from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. They got three AE50 Awards.

    The AE50 Awards are based on new technology or the advancement of existing technology intended principally for producing, processing, storing, packaging or transporting agricultural, food and other biological products. To be nominated, a product must have the potential for broad impact on its area or industries. Only 50 products are chosen for the award each year.

    The company received awards for the following products:

    FR9000 Series self-propelled forage harvesters (pictured)

    BR7090 round balers

    The T9050 4WD tractor

    Agribusiness, Tractor

    Meyocks Group Goes Independent

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Meyocks GroupThe Meyocks Group is brave enough to be independent.

    Doug Jeske, chief operating officer of The Meyocks Group advertising agency, has acquired the firm from Hy-Vee, the two parties announced today. The Meyocks Group will continue to be advertising agency of record for Hy-Vee.

    “This change in ownership gives The Meyocks Group the opportunity to operate and grow as an independent firm,” says Jeske, who joined the firm in 1993 and was elected to its management team in 1996. Jeske was named chief operating officer in 2006 and has been running the day-to-day operations of the agency since last December. “This transition will be seamless for our clients and our team members,” he says.

    Hy-Vee purchased The Meyocks Group in 1994 when it was known as Meyocks Benkstein Associates. The agency later operated as Meyocks & Priebe Advertising. Richard “Dick” Meyocks retired in 1995 and passed away in 1996. Co-founder Ken Benkstein remains a senior counselor with the firm.

    Agencies

    Horse Traveling

    Chuck Zimmerman

    ZimmCast-177 - Horse Travel NetworkIf you’re planning on traveling with a horse then you might want to check into the advice and help of some experts. The experts at Horse Travel Network. This is a new venture which was just announced at the National Appaloosa Show. They’re not tied to just one breed either by the way.

    Mark HardyMark Hardy is the President of Horse Travel Network. This morning he and I sat down and wound up talking far longer than I think we planned but he’s an interesting guy and this new venture sounds like it’s got some great potential. One of the things I find most interesting is how they’re totally internet based and have already got over 700 people signed up and it’s brand new! Word of mouth is working for them big time. The site will include advice, forums, blogs and of course, listings. It’s going to take advantage of some social networking applications which are really popular today.

    The Horse Travel Network is a new sponsor of the Appaloosa Horse Club and offering their members a special deal right now of a free membership.

    The program this week ends with music from the Podsafe Music Network. In the spirit of traveling I chose “Travel Ditty Guitar” from Acoustic Rosh. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

    You can download and listen to the ZimmCast here: Listen To ZimmCastZimmCast 177 (13 min MP3)

    Or listen to this week’s ZimmCast right now:Interview With Mark Hardy - ZimmCast 177

    The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired which you can subscribe to using the link in our sidebar. You can also subscribe in iTunes

    Audio, Horses, ZimmCast

    Bader Rutter + Two

    Melissa Sandfort

    Bader Rutter, an integrated marketing services agency based in Milwaukee has added two associates to its public relations group.


    Allyssa Berry joins the agency as an assistant account executive. A native of Pattonsburg, Mo., Berry recently graduated from the University of Missouri with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural journalism. She will be working on the Dow AgroSciences account.

    Rick Stoner joins the agency as an account executive. A native of Milwaukee, Stoner most recently served as a public relations account executive at Alpaytac in Chicago. He will be working on the firm’s animal health account, Merial.

    Agencies

    Zimfo Bytes

    Melissa Sandfort

      Zimfo Bytes

    • Dow AgroSciences announces the European Union (EU) has included spinosad in its organic listing. This new regulatory action not only allows the use of spinosad containing products in organic agriculture within the EU, but also allows the organic certification of produce treated outside the EU. Organic crops treated with ENTRUST® and GF-120® NF insecticides may now be imported into the EU and sold under the EU organic logo, provided the crops meet the existing MRL requirements.
    • Ten high school students from northeastern and central Wisconsin were recognized as recipients of a $700 Agribusiness/Forestry Scholarship offered by Wisconsin Public Service Foundation, Inc. The winners are: Cariss Lavash, Ben Kinnard, Brandon Kruswick, David Altenhofen, Justin Englebert, Kristen Doster, Lindsay Dallmann, Vanna Herrmann, Lucas Leahy and Riley Ebert. More information about the scholarship program can be found in the “For Farms” section here.
    • The Ohio Agricultural Council will induct James Helt, Don Schriver, William Stalter and R. Craig Fendrick into the Ohio Agricultural Hall of Fame during a special breakfast ceremony held Friday, August 8 in the Rhodes Youth Center at the Ohio Expo Center during the Ohio State Fair. The 43rd annual event honors these four professionals for their lifetime of service and commitment to the agricultural industry.
      Zimfo Bytes

      “Down on the Farm” Down at the Lake

      Cindy Zimmerman

      Here’s a little video from the Wyant/Johnson Farm Foundation benefit concert of Michael Peterson singing part of the song that brought him and New Holland together – “Down on the Farm.”

      Farm Foundation, New Holland

      Scenes from the Lake Concert

      Cindy Zimmerman

      Michael Peterson Lake PartyIt’s hard to appreciate from this little thumbnail photo just what a cool venue the Sara Wyant/Allan Johnson lake house was for the Farm Foundation Michael Peterson concert Friday night. You have to go look at the photo album to get a bigger view.

      First of all, it is a beautiful house. And it has these three balcony levels so everyone had a perfect view of Michael set up lakeside and the acoustics were excellent.

      Michael Peterson Lake PartyThe event was made possible by our very good friend Gene Hemphill and New Holland. It was his idea two years ago to offer a private concert with Michael to the highest bidder at the NAFB Farm Foundation auction. In 2006, farm broadcaster Pam Jahnke of Madison, WI bought one package and used it for a Wisconsin FFA fundraiser, while the National Farmers Union matched her bid and bought another for their annual convention. Gene says they will offer it up again at the 2008 convention in November.

      Michael Peterson Lake PartyPeople from all over the country attended the concert, including some corn guys from Illinois and Kansas who might be familiar faces to AgWired readers. We also had the famous singer and National Biodiesel Board executive director Joe Jobe and his family, as well as some people from as far away as Washington DC, like Karen Coble Edwards who was visiting with Charlene Finck of Farm Journal down at the lake and they both came with their families.

      I did a little audio interview after the concert with Sara and Allan, Garry Niemeyer and Ken McCauley, Gene and Michael that you can listen to here.
      sara-party-audio.mp3

      Farm Foundation Michael Peterson Concert

      Farm Foundation, NAFB, New Holland