Cookbook Targets Nutrition for Children

Laura McNamara

The Wheat Food Council is celebrating its 35th anniversary and wants to use the milestone to help promote nutrition for children. That’s why the council is releasing a cookbook that’s meant to benefit a non-profit organization dedicated to influencing children’s eating habits through education.

In celebration of its 35th anniversary, the Wheat Foods Council today unveiled Food for Thought from Parents to Children, an educational cookbook featuring recipes from celebrity chef and mother of three, Chef Gale Gand, and parents across America. The cookbook showcases wheat-based recipes and addresses the importance of nutrition education for children, emphasizing a parent’s role in a child’s healthy diet.

A portion of cookbook proceeds benefits Spoons Across America, a not-for-profit organization that works to positively influence the eating habits of children through hands-on education. The cookbook is available for $3.50 and can be purchased online.

Food for Thought from Parents to Children features 30 recipes developed by parents throughout America and five exclusive creations from Chef Gand, award-winning pastry chef, cookbook author and Food Network personality. Nutritious, wheat-based recipes, in the categories of breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and desserts, are accompanied by educational facts about the featured foods including nutritional content, portion sizes and food origin. Also included is a guide that parents can use to ensure time spent in the kitchen with their kids is a fun, educational experience.

Ag Groups, Food, International, Podcasts, Wheat

EPIC Says Scaling Back Renewable Fuels Won’t Help Food Prices

Laura McNamara

e.pngThe Ethanol Promotion and Information Council has gathered data from multiple sources that debunk claims that America’s renewable fuels are a large player in soaring food prices. Toni Nuernberg, the Executive Director of EPIC wants to spread the word that changing the nation’s renewable fuels standard is not the answer to driving down global food costs.

Recent calls to reduce the renewable fuels standard (RFS) seem like an easy and immediate fix to world food shortages. However, the factors influencing global food prices and supplies are a result of converging global production and demand issues that go far beyond corn-based ethanol. Changing U.S. energy policy will not provide short-term relief on the food supply and decrease food prices as many expect. In fact, relaxing the renewable fuels standard mandate actually may escalate food prices now and in the future by driving fuel prices even higher.

Across the country, including 10 percent ethanol in gasoline has held the price per gallon down by $.15 to $.45 depending on the region of the country, as highlighted in recent studies in Missouri. Reducing ethanol requirements by 50 percent removes 4.5 billion gallons of ethanol from the fuel supply. This will reduce the total fuel supply, causing transportation, fertilizer, fuel, packaging and other food production costs to continue to increase, further inflating the price of food.

Long-term, repealing or suspending the 2007 Energy Policy Act is unnecessary, as technologies in use today and on the horizon will enable American farmers to increase productivity per acre to meet demands for food and this mandate, potentially with the same or fewer inputs than used today.

For many, it is easy to look past the primary factor wreaking havoc with the global economy — namely exorbitant oil prices which have increased from $35 in 2005 to more than $110 today — nearly 300 percent.

Globally, today’s energy prices are a disincentive to food production, as third world countries simply can’t afford to develop agriculture systems and, therefore, their ability to feed themselves.

Corn-based ethanol, while not a silver bullet, is the foundation upon which the next generation of “advanced biofuels” is being built.

The industry is fueling research into cellulosic ethanol produced from feedstocks such as switch grass and other non-edible renewable biomass. Corn-based ethanol is a solution that is here now, available in our current infrastructure and making a difference in the price of fuel.

Uncategorized

New Got Milk.com Website

Chuck Zimmerman

Got Milk.comWe love the commercials and now the website is more fun too.

GOT MILK?, known for its quirky, yet memorable TV commercials, has given its Web site a face lift, providing it with an online presence to match its onscreen reputation. The new www.gotmilk.com, produced by the California Milk Processor Board (CMPB), the creators of GOT MILK?, showcases an entertaining, integrated online health resource for consumers. The interactive Web site features eye-catching flash animations graphics and better navigational tools to make it easier for visitors to surf the site. Besides its visually captivating appeal, the site delivers the positive message of milk as a super drink: strengthening bones, muscles, hair, nails and teeth and even reducing some of the symptoms of PMS.

When visitors log on to www.gotmilk.com, they are welcomed by a “milk contraption” where a steady stream of the super drink flows. On the home page, consumers can navigate through a series of interactive games highlighting the health benefits of milk. These games feature a beaver, for example, who teaches visitors about milk’s teeth strengthening qualities, or an owl who informs consumers that drinking milk before sleep could help them get extra z’s at night. A drop down “related content” menu would also pop-out, giving consumers access to milk-related studies, articles and delicious low-fat recipes.

Find out how to win a MacBook Air.

Ag Groups, Dairy, Internet

My Mobile Ag Journalism Kit

Chuck Zimmerman

My PackLots of people wonder about all those gadgets I’ve got in my backpack, so after inspiration from a post on Teaching Online Journalism I thought I’d share. Not everything that I travel with is pictured here but these are the basics. You can click on the photo for a larger one.

Backpack: Lowepro CompuTrekker AW

Phone: AT&T Blackberry Curve – Best phone I’ve ever used. Takes good pics and lets me communicate, including updating this site via Twitter.

Audio: Marantz PMD620 – You won’t get any better audio recorder in this small size. Of course you can see the Golden ZimmComm Microphone (Hiel PR20).

Computer: MacBook Pro – Don’t waste your time with a PC when life can be fun and productive on a Mac. Also included is my AT&T Data Card. I use it all the time. The monthly unlimited data plan saves me money every month.

Still Camera: Nikon D200 (I’m planning on adding a D300 soon). This is the best and easiest to use camera I’ve ever owned and I’ve shot probably 30,000 pics with it so far. I’ve got 3 lenses: 70-200mm f2.8, 18-200mm (both VR) and a 10-20mm. Not seen inside the pack is a 1.4x teleconverter for the 70-200. Nikon SB800 flash. Casio Exilim which is always with me for times when I’m not carrying my Nikon. It also takes great video which I’ve uploaded to YouTube many times.

Video Camcorder: JVC Everio with 30GB hard drive. Small, great video with external audio input. I added long life battery and wide angle lens. Video has to be converted to edit and won’t live stream as a webcam. Currently looking at some other options but I love this camera.

ipod: Not shown is my Video iPod or iPod touch. I use the Video iPod as a backup audio recorder with the Griffin iTalk Pro microphone. I also listen to the podcasts we produce as well as music, duh.

Not shown: My Manfrotto monopod and tripod, various battery chargers (I use Energizer rechargeable AA’s), multiple flash card reader, multiple outlet stip with extended cord, external hard drive for backups on the road (Firelight), Ultimate Ears ear buds which I use when editing audio in newsrooms as well as listen to my iPod and finally various connecting cables and Compact Flash and SD memory cards.

Uncategorized

USAIN Completes Annual Conference

Chuck Zimmerman

USAINIt’s a sign to me of how much information is online when I keep finding organizations and websites I’ve never even heard of. I dare say I do spend a little bit of time in the Google world. Here’s one called the United States Agricultural Information Network (USAIN).

They just finished up their annual meeting which this year had the theme of “Tradition in Transition – Information Fueling the Future of AgroBiosciences.” Here’s what USAIN is:

The United States Agricultural Information Network is an organization for information professionals that provides a forum for discussion of agricultural issues, takes a leadership role in the formation of a national information policy as related to agriculture, makes recommendations to the National Agricultural Library on agricultural information matters, and promotes cooperation and communication among its members.

Via InfoFarm

Uncategorized

Journalism’s Future and A New Term For You

Chuck Zimmerman

Me RelaxingEvery once in a while the agriblogger gets caught relaxing. This time it was WFMB farm broadcaster, Leah Guffey who got the picture. I received it via MMS this morning.

So you may be wondering, what is MMS? Here’s the definition.

Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) is a new standard in mobile messaging. Like SMS (Short Messaging Service), MMS is a way to send a message from one mobile to another. The difference is that MMS can include not just text, but also sound, images and video. It is also possible to send MMS messages from a mobile phone to an email address.

Formats that can be embedded within MMS include:

* Text (formatted with fonts, colours, etc)
* Images (JPEG, GIF format)
* Audio (MP3, MIDI)
* Video (MPEG)

Just when you thought you had text messaging figured out.

While I’m on the subject of “new” you should check out this post on “From the X Degree.” via Teaching Online Journalism This is about how you/me/your customer is and will be consuming news or perhaps your own company’s information.

Me WorkingYou might want to say that we’re just “early adopters” and that somehow this means that since not everyone in America is doing this or consuming this then perhaps it’s not something your company or news organization should be doing. Tempting if you’re afraid of the future I guess. However, it is the future of journalism and how people will be and are consuming information.

This second picture is thanks to NAFB Executive Director, Bill O’Neill, who caught me Tuesday right before Sec. Schafer showed up for our Washington Watch meeting.

Uncategorized

CNBC Special with Corn & Soybean Digest Columnist

Chuck Zimmerman

Tyler BruchWhile I was attending the Commodity Classic I met the crew from CNBC that’s been following Tyler Bruch who’s a farmer and columnist for Corn and Soybean Digest. I guess their production is complete and they’ve been promoting it with a series of video clips. You can find one of them here.

Corn & Soybean Digest’s Brazil columnist, Tyler Bruch, 28, will be featured in a special CNBC business news program this Sunday, May 4 at 9 p.m. central time. His company, Global Ag Investments, will be profiled. Also, Bruch will explain how he transitioned from being a young, Emmetsburg, IA, farmer to a 50,000-acre farmer in Bahia, Brazil. Click below to link to three promotional pieces about the full program. The program will also be featured, in part, on NBC’s TODAY show Monday, May 5.

Farming, Publication, Video

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer appointed one producer alternate member to serve on the Hass Avocado Board. Kay S. Wild, from Vista, Calif., has been immediately appointed to complete the term that ends on Oct. 31, 2008.
  • Hero insecticide from FMC Corporation recently received an expanded label and now can be used to control tough foliar pests that can impede plant health and overall plant quality and yields. Hero is now the standard for fast knockdown and longer-lasting residual control of tough foliar pests in soybeans and other crops.
  • Syngenta Crop Protection announced that the U.S. EPA has approved Warrior II with Zeon Technology® for broad-spectrum insect control in more than 23 crop groups. Warrior II is a more concentrated formulation of Warrior with Zeon Technology®, and will provide storage, handling and container disposal advantages.
  • The Andersons, Inc. announced it has acquired Douglass Fertilizer & Chemical, Inc. as an addition to its Plant Nutrient Group. Douglass Fertilizer, based in Maitland, Fla., is primarily a specialty liquid nutrient manufacturer, retailer and wholesaler serving a variety of agricultural and to a lesser degree industrial and turf markets primarily in Florida, the southeast U.S. and the Caribbean.
Zimfo Bytes

Biofuels Digest Finds Global Impact on Rising Food Costs

Laura McNamara

The media has been pointing fingers at biofuels, blaming them for rising food costs. But a study from The Biofuels Digest suggests rising food costs are the result of global pressures, such as China’s increasing demand for meat. Biofuels Digest says their study finds that for every bushel of grain used to make U.S. ethanol, six are used to support Chinese meat demand.

A change in Chinese meat consumption habits since 1995 is diverting eight billion bushels of grain per year to livestock feed and could empty global grain stocks by September 2010, according to a new study from Biofuels Digest.

The study, “Meat vs Fuel: Grain use in the U.S. and China, 1995-2008,” concluded that a complete shutdown of the U.S. ethanol industry would extend the deadline only until 2013.

“It’s not food, it’s not fuel, it’s China,” said Jim Lane, editor of Biofuels Digest and author of the report.

The study determined that China’s meat consumption since 1995 has increased by 112 percent to 53 kilograms per person per year.

“If the Chinese people had consumed the same amount of meat, per person, in 2007 as in 1995, there would have been enough grain left over to support 927 million people with food for an entire year,” said Lane.Read More

Agribusiness, Beef, Energy, Ethanol, Farming, Food

Rhea + Kaiser Turns 30

Chuck Zimmerman

Rhea & KaiserRhea + Kaiser are turning 30 today. Happy Anniversary Steve and Van.

Rhea + Kaiser Marketing Communications is celebrating its 30th anniversary today. Since Steve Rhea and Van Kaiser co-founded the company in 1978, the business has grown from a six-person advertising agency into a full-service, integrated marketing communications agency with more than 110 employees.

“Van and I saw the opportunity to create and manage an independent agency specializing in agriculture, but we had no idea where this business might take us,” said Rhea, president and CEO. “We’re proud of our accomplishments and grateful to our employees and clients who have become our allies along the way.” Read More

Agencies