While I was doing some media production training today we did another test of my Ustream.tv account and recorded the following video clip. One thing’s for sure, I need to get in some better light if this is going to work well. There’s something to keep in mind.
NAFB Leaders Watching Washington
The National Association of Farm Broadcasting leadership took a few minutes after the opening meeting of their annual Washington Watch program to talk with me about the event. Pictured here (l-r) are Randy Koenen, Red River Farm Network, Pam Jahnke, Fabulous Farm Babe and Greg Akagi, Kansas Ag Network.
Randy explains what happens at a Washington Watch, which includes a meeting with the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and various representatives of commodity groups. They all agree that this meeting is like professional development on the job since NAFB members attending get to personally interact with legislators and others involved in farm legislation. They conduct interviews and learn more about what’s going on in the nation’s Capitol which helps them do a better and more up to date job reporting back to their listeners.
Up later this afternoon is an Issues Forum session where commodity group reps come in to be available to talk about issues. I’m guessing the Farm Bill is going to be discussed a lot this afternoon.
Listen to my interview with the three amigos here:ww-08-nafb-leaders.mp3
Earlier today the NAFB Board met and then this afternoon the held a business meeting to bring members up to date on Association activities.
I’ve got a photo album from the event started: NAFB Washington Watch Photo Album
Schwarzenegger to Speak at BIO International Summer Convention
The state of sustainable agriculture in developing countries will be one of the main issues addressed at the BIO International Convention this summer. The Biotechnology Industry Organization is hosting the convention in San Diego from Tuesday, June 17 through Friday, June 20.
Biotechnology leaders from around the globe will be descending upon San Diego, one of the leading biotech hubs in the world, to discuss the most pressing issues and share their unique perspectives. In addition, there will be a total of 36 regional and country pavilions within the BIO Exhibition with several new pavilions, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Dubai, and South Africa.
This years convention will focus on the promise of biotech innovation to heal, fuel and feed the world. International case studies on biofuels, biomanufacturing, research funding, and international collaborations will focus on examples from Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Korea, North America, Singapore, and Sweden. Two additional breakout session tracks will focus on doing business globally and global health. A session entitled, The Dynamics of a Globalized World and the Future of the Biotechnology Industry, will feature international public officials sharing insights on the evolving business landscape.
This years keynote speakers include Gen. Colin Powell, J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.Read More
Trusting in Farmland
This week I’m attending the National Association of Farm Broadcasting, Washington Watch program. It will kick off this afternoon as will my coverage here on AgWired.
This morning I’m doing some media production training with American Farmland Trust. We’ve been talking about editing audio and video since they’re in a podcasting mode. In this week’s program you’ll hear from one of the people in our session, Gretchen Hoffman, AFT intern. Gretchen explains the work that AFT does and says that she’s an art major and very interested in the production side of web-delivered information. So besides learning how to edit a file and upload it we’re also talking about story development for a video clip as well as an audio file that may accompany text on a web page. She says they’ve got their own YouTube account now and have found the number of views compared to a video clip posted to their own webpage has increased fourfold.
I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.
You can download and listen to the ZimmCast here: 
ZimmCast 168 (8 min MP3)
Or listen to this week’s ZimmCast right now:zimmcast168-4-27-08.mp3
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
Zimfo Bytes
- Nominations are open for the Grower Achievement Award and those interested in nominating a deserving grower can do so here. The deadline for nominations is May 30. The Grower Achievement Award honors vegetable growers for excellence in marketing efforts, innovative food quality and safety procedures, industry leadership, and community outreach. The award is sponsored by Syngenta and is presented by American Vegetable Grower® magazine.
- Trans Ova Genetics has announced the hiring of Scott Metzger as area sales manager, working with dairy clients across the U.S. In his new position, Metzger will work with elite dairy breeders, helping them utilize advanced reproductive technologies such as embryo transfer and in vitro fertilization to create desirable offspring from top cow families.
- Angus enthusiasts should mark their calendars for the 2008 National Angus Conference & Tour, set for Oct. 7-9 in Oklahoma City, Okla. The conference headquarters is the Clarion Meridian Hotel & Convention Center, where the conference, “125 Years-the Challenges of the Next Decade” will focus on production, marketing and performance. The Oklahoma Angus Association will host “An Angus Gathering,” a two-day tour of Angus operations, along with a museum and reining horse training facility.
Ethanol Makes a Stand at Roadrunner Turbo Indy 300
Team Ethanol is at it again. This time at the Kansas Speedway. The Roadrunner Turbo Indy 300 is underway and, prior to the race, Team Ethanol Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay talked about wanting to make this “home” race a top finishing race.
Team Ethanol is hoping to make a big impact on and off the track though. The Ethanol Promotion and Information Council held a press conference earlier today and addressed mainstream media’s recent attention to negative criticism about ethanol. And, while Ryan wants to set a record this race, EPIC and other leading representatives in the ethanol business want to use this race as an opportunity to set the record straight on ethanol and ethanol-blended fuel. You can find coverage of the race and of EPIC’s response to mainstream criticism at energy.agwired.com. Click here to find audio of EPIC’s press conference.
Planning to be Live in DC
Hello from Washington, DC and the Holiday Inn Capitol. After a nice job around the Mall I tried out a new service I’m planning to use called Ustream.TV. It’s actually a live streaming service and if all goes well I’ll be doing some live video from here, which I’ll record as well.
Here’s an example of a short video that I just recorded. Keep in mind that I’m in a hotel room that doesn’t have a lot of light.
Beautiful Sunday Sunrise
The sun is shining and I’m at St. Louis airport waiting on a plane. If you do any flying today you know how unpleasant it’s becoming.
For example, I fly out of this airport pretty often. Today security took 25 minutes and I was about 10th in line, meaning that there was almost no line compared to normal. When my bags went through the machine they had to be checked. I sort of expect it but they’ve never been checked here, just breezed on through. Both the x-ray machine dude and the lady who wound up doing the check have passed me through so often I recognize them. Not today. She had to take every single item out of my camera bag and wipe it, analyze it (each wipe in the machine) and then re-run them in multiple plastic bins. When I questioned why she was taking everything out (very unnecessary) she got very huffy and then proceeded to slow down even more. I’d estimate that about 40 people went through in the time it took her to do this. That’s ridiculous.
But so it goes. There’s no way I’m going to check my camera gear which includes audio recorder, computer, etc. I think a visual check, couple of quick wipes ought to be sufficient.
Whatever, so now I’m waiting on my regional jet which doesn’t have sufficient overhead space to put my rolling brief case so that has to be gate checked. Of course that means taking the breakables out of it. Don’t ever watch them take your carry on and load it, it will make you angry since they throw these bags even though you would think they know they often contain sensitive items, which is why we’re trying to carry them on!
See you from Washington, DC.
Wild Violets
I’ve had these violets planted under my deck for several years and this is the first time I’ve seen them bloom like this. Kind of makes it worth transplanting them from the woods down the hill. I know they’re considered a weed to a lot of people but they work out perfectly where I have them.
It shows that I got out in the sun today and did a little yard work before hitting the road again.
Sunday will be a travel day to Washington, DC. I’ll be doing some media production (images/video/audio) with American Farmland Trust and covering the NAFB Washington Watch. So you’re going to see and hear lots of good stuff this week from the Capitol.
Mysterious, New Beef Could Vanish
An agricultural research facility in Florida fears the 10 percent reduction in ag research funding will close its doors… and abruptly abort research on a nameless, mixed breed of cattle. The St. Petersburg Times reports:
Indeed, few people have ever seen cattle like these. Unless you’re knowledgeable in bovine research, the cross-bred calves huddled in tall grass of the pastures near the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Subtropical Agricultural Research Station at Chinsegut Hill may appear rather strange.
The animals are so new, in fact, that they don’t even have an official name yet.
Rather, research scientists at the facility refer to them simply as an F1 composite breed, a catch-all name that indicates they are the mixed offspring of several beef cattle breeds in this case American Angus and Brahma cattle, plus the South American Romosinuanos that are a product of more than a decade of genetic research.
While Coleman praised the calves’ aesthetic virtues, his hope is that they will someday lead to a tastier, more profitable breed of beef cattle.
Though that result is a long way off, Coleman fears it may never happen at all…
With the Bush Administration calling for a 10 percent cut in agricultural research in its proposed USDA budget for 2009, Coleman said this agricultural research station is one of three targeted for closing.
Read More