Back to the Ag

Laura McNamara

After five months abroad, to the day, I am back in the USA! I arrived in Kansas City late last night and what a trip it’s been! I’ve had all kinds of adventures: from learning about the latest innovations with John Deere at Agritechnica in Germany, to strange Vietnamese cuisine, to jumping off cliffs and swinging off of bamboo swings in Laos and, literally, almost everything else you could imagine in between.

I must say, I’ve had an adventure of a lifetime… and I have Chuck and Cindy largely to thank. The ZimmComm team sent me to Germany to cover Agritechnica; the event which proved to offer me the amazing opportunity to take off on my 5-month international excursion.

I’m excited and eager to get back into the ag action here in the U.S. though! Chuck, Cindy and I are planning to work together during the upcoming NAMA event being held in Kansas City: The Leading the Charge Conference & Trade Show April 16-18. All of us will be busy little bloggers, learning about the latest trends, technology and issues of the ag industry. If you’re planning on attending the event, be sure to stop by the ZimmComm both to say hello… and to learn more about the agriblogging authority that ZimmComm has become!

In the meantime, you can check out some videos of my adventures below:

Swinging off bamboo swings in Vang Vieng, Laos

Training in Muay Thai (Thai boxing) in Phuket, Thailand

International, John Deere, Media, NAMA

NCGA Starts Podcast

Chuck Zimmerman

NCGA PodcastThe National Corn Growers Association is Gettin’ Jiggy wit It. They’re doing RSS Feeds of their news, they’re blogging and now they’re podcasting. Here’s the file you need in order to subscribe.

Now Hear This: A Better Way to Get Top NCGA News (4-8-08)

The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), which has been making audio files of its top news stories available for some time, is now providing another convenient way for listeners to get them – through podcast subscription.

“We’re always on the lookout for ways to improve service and make it more convenient for our key audiences to get our information,” said Fred Stemme, NCGA vice president of marketing. “More and more, people prefer to listen to the news while they are doing something else – rather than having to sit down and read it – and podcasting is a good tool for getting the word out about what we do.”

In the interests of being completely transparent, ZimmComm New Media has provided technical assistance to NCGA in helping them get their podcast started and we can do the same for your company or organization.

Ag Groups, Corn, NCGA, Podcasts

Quality Ingredients Sampling at Budweiser Brewery

Chuck Zimmerman

Busweiser ToursI don’t know about you but a tour of the Budweiser Brewery in St. Louis, MO is a good thing. That’s what the Gateway NAMA and St. Louis Ag Club will be doing tomorrow April 15th after our lunch program.

They’re going to be talking about “Quality Products Start With Quality Ingredients.” There will be product sampling which may have something to do with good advance reservations!

The speaker will be Steve Malin, Vice President, Anheuser Busch Raw Materials.

Thanks to Ken for correcting my mistake on the date!

Ag Groups, NAMA

Brownfield Howling At The Moon

Chuck Zimmerman

Brownfield Okay NAMA fans. There’s lots of places/reasons to party hardy in Kansas City next week.

For example Brownfield will be Takin’ Care of Business at Howl At The Moon. As some I know who have been to AMS have said, “What’s happens at Howl At The Moon, stays at Howl At The Moon.”

Brownfield will be taking the lucky invitees to the venue via H2 Hummer limos. Now that’s cool.

Media, NAMA

Play i Got It! With Farm Progress

Chuck Zimmerman

Farm Progress CompaniesSpeaking of NAMA invites. You’ll be able to play i Got It! with Farm Progress Companies.

Can you tell the NAMA Convention is getting close?

i Got It! is a “popular, fast-paced Q&A game punctuated with ag history and facts.” You need to visit them at their booth (200and 202). You have to play to win and they’re having a drawing for an ipod touch (just like us).

So you’ll have more than one chance to upgrade your iPod hardware (you do have iPod hardware don’t you?).

The game’s questions are pretty difficult like this one:

Q. Who is your favorite Farm Progress sales representative?
(A. There’s no wrong answer.)

NAMA, Publication

The Colle+McVoy PheNAMAnon

Chuck Zimmerman

Colle McVoy PhenamanonNAMA invites are coming in.

This one’s from Colle+McVoy promoting their 6th Annual Agri-Rock Fest called Phenamanon.

There’s a game involved along with some animal sounds and some rock and roll of course. I’ve got the t-shirt, tats and ear ring and have put it on the calendar.

Want your NAMA event promoted here on AgWired?

You know who to call (or email).

You can expect to get one from ZimmComm in the near future too.

Agencies, NAMA

PR Open Mic For You PR Practitioners and Students

Chuck Zimmerman

PROpenMicSince a lot of you AgWired fans are involved in public relations I thought you’d want to know about PROpenMic. It’s a social networking site started by Robert French, one of the people who inspired me to move forward in this whole new media world.

He used Ning to create the site. Ning? What’s Ning you may ask. Ning is the only online service where you can create, customize, and share your own Social Network for free in seconds. It’s the software equivalent of Home Depot. Unlike other services that offer a “one-size-fits-all” offering, your social network on Ning runs on a programmable platform.”

Now that sounds interesting. But let’s get back to PROpenMic.

PROpenMic? A metaphor. Step up and speak your mind. Our goal is to be the social network for PR students and faculty worldwide. We have common interests, goals and certainly can learn from one another. We welcome PR pros, too. Hey, you can find your next great intern or new hire right here. Also, faculty always love to interact with practitioners.

PROpenMic isn’t a podcasting network, although we’d love to see those here, too. Think of it as a digital place to step up to the microphone and share your views. Please tell your friends. Once you sign up, there is an easy “Invite More” link in the top right hand corner of the page.

I know I don’t have very many network connections online (yeah, right) but I did create a page of my own on the new PR network.

Public Relations

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • Farms.com has launched the enhanced web 2.0 version of the Web site portal. Among the many new features, the new Farms.com portal enables visitors to fully customize and personalize the Web site. This means they will be able to see — at one glance — all of the information they need and want on one home webpage. It also provides advertisers with the opportunity to build a deeper relationship with both existing and potential customers.
  • Charter Communications, Inc. and RFD-TV announced that Charter launched RFD-TV on April 1, 2008 in Clarksville, TN; Jackson, TN; Savannah, TN; and other surrounding areas.
  • Israel Chemicals Ltd. (ICL), a multinational fertilizer and specialty chemicals company, announced today its plans to continue its strategy of expanding production and capacity of key ICL Fertilizers products as a result of increased demand and a rise in their profitability.
  • Stefan Nilsson has been named president of DMI Industries, a leading North American manufacturer of wind towers, effective April 1. Prior to accepting the DMI role, Nilsson was a vice president in the U.S. Robotics Division of ABB Inc.
Zimfo Bytes

Osborn & Barr Re-locating Headquarters

Chuck Zimmerman

Osborn & BarrI thought that Osborn & Barr had some pretty nice digs in Clayton, MO but from the sound of it they’re going to get even nicer. Of course there is that downtown traffic to contend with but then it wasn’t great out in the Clayton area either at times. Last week they announced that the agency will be re-locating its headquarters to downtown St. Louis.

The move completes plans to renovate the Ballpark Lofts I, Cupples 9 Building, placing the agency in the heart of St. Louis’ rich, agricultural heritage. The renovation also brings more dining, office and living space to the historic area.

“For decades, the Cupples Building complex was the major river/rail shipping center in the country, specifically helping America’s farmers ship their goods throughout the country,” says Steve Barr, CEO of Osborn & Barr. “As an agricultural agency based in St. Louis that is an extremely important and emotional connection for us, particularly given all of the clients we work with in Missouri. The building is on the National Historic Register, so our space will strongly feature that history as we transform it to be a creative destination that our clients will enjoy.”

Uncategorized

NAMA Virtual Trade Show

Chuck Zimmerman

NAMA Virtual Trade ShowThe NAMA Virtual Trade Show is up for your viewing pleasure. ZimmComm will once again be exhibiting and you can find us at booth #219.

Just come in the trade show entrance, go straight to the back and we’re on the right. Easy.

We’ll be having a drawing for those of you who are attending and also for those of you who aren’t. More on that next week.

The Connection Point will be open with the following schedule. I better see you there.

Wednesday, April 16
6:00-7:30 p.m. – Best of NAMA Celebration Reception courtesy of DTN/The Progressive Farmer

Thursday, April 17
12:30-2:00 p.m.-Trade Show Luncheon courtesy of Truffle Media Networks
12:30-1:30 p.m.-Student Mentor Luncheon courtesy of Technekes and MoKan NAMA
3:00-4:00 p.m. – Break courtesy of Gibbs & Soell, Ice Cream courtesy of Hoard’s Dairyman magazine
5:00-7:00 p.m. – Trade Show Closing/ABEF Silent Auction courtesy of NAFB

NAMA