New Specialty Tractors From John Deere

Chuck Zimmerman

New John Deere Specialty TractorsJohn Deere has announced a new line of specialty tractors. Interesting, because I just recently was talking to a tractor dealer who was saying that he sees a real need for more attention to specialty crop producers from the manufacturers.

To better meet the needs of orchards, vineyards, nurseries and greenhouse operations, John Deere introduces a new line of specialty tractors: the F-Series Orchard/Vineyard Tractors and the A-Series Nursery/Greenhouse Tractors. These machines are specifically designed to operate and maneuver in the confined work environments and field conditions of specialty crops and plants.

“This is the most significant lineup of new specialty tractors John Deere has introduced in a number of years,” explains Owen Frederic, product marketing manager, John Deere Commercial Products. “For the orchard and vineyard market, we have three models: the 76F rated at 76 horsepower, the 85F rated at 83 horsepower, and the 100F rated at 96 engine horsepower. All tractors are powered by turbocharged VM Detroit Diesel engines.”

These tractors feature a durable transmission with 24 forward and 16 reverse speeds. This easy-shifting transmission allows the operator to work at speeds from under 1 mph and up to 20 mph in transport – an excellent range for the many jobs required in orchards and vineyards.

Agribusiness, Equipment, John Deere, Tractor

Ag Media at Biodiesel Conference

Cindy Zimmerman

NBB AgritalkThere are actually a good number of ag journalists here at the National Biodiesel Conference this year – more than usual.

Of course, we had our good friends from AgriTalk, seen here interviewing NBB CEO Joe Jobe for Monday’s show. They did a show Tuesday also and then took off to head for Reno for the Cattlemen’s meeting.

Other farm broadcasters included Tom Steever from Brownfield Network and Dale Minyo with Ohio Ag Net.

NBB GregOn the print side, we had lots of hard working folks like Greg Lamp with Corn and Soybean Digest, seen here on a conference call with Diane Johnson planning the 2009 IFAJ meeting in Dallas. Yes, he is working harder than it might appear!

Others on hand were Mike Wilson with Farm Futures, our former intern Margy Fischer with Farm Journal, and an old friend of ours from the Florida days, Jerry Jackson with the Orlando Sentinel. It was great to see Jerry again. He has been covering the ag beat for the Sentinel for as long as I can remember.

Biodiesel, Media

Cattle Industry Convention Preview

Chuck Zimmerman

Tom, Cheri and LynnThings were very relaxed here in Reno last night so I sat down with Beef Board CEO, Tom Ramey (l), Cheri Delgado, Senior Executive Assistant and Executive Dir. of Communications, Lynn Heinze to get a preview of what will be going on.

Tom says that this is the beginning of the annual planning cycle for the Beef Board. He says they examine what the priorities are for the coming FY ’09 or as they call them, “planning factors,” which are those items they think will impact the ability to increase demand for beef. He says that one of the things that the producer communications committee will be doing is reviewing agency proposals since the Board brought this important element of the Checkoff in-house.

Lynn has been on board for about 2 months and he says that his first priority was to make the taking of producers communications in-house a smooth transition, something that I have personally found to be the case. He says they’ve added new staff to assist with this effort and that their first paid advertising will start this month in national publications, with some regional inserts starting shortly after that and some radio and tv advertising later in the spring. He says they hope to have the process of selecting an agency to work with complete by mid-March.

You can listen to my conversation with Tom and Lynn here:cic-08-tom-lynn.mp3

Audio, Beef

Cattle Convention News Center

Chuck Zimmerman

Joe and GraceJoe Schuele and Grace Webb, NCBA, say hello from the news center at the Reno/Sparks Convention Center where the Cattle Industry Convention is getting kicked off.

I really didn’t expect anyone to be there working early this morning but there they were with the media room all set up and hot food and coffee. It did start out at a chilly 17 degrees here this morning. Most of the activities will take place at the convention center but some of the Beef Board meetings I’m covering are at the Grand Sierra Resort where I’m staying.

I did a short interview with Joe and Grace to find out what the main issues are and what ag journalists can expect when they attend this year’s convention. For one thing Joe says our new U. S. Secretary of Ag Ed Schafer will be speaking on Friday.

Video

Blogging With Daryl in Orlando

Chuck Zimmerman

NBB conference 08This is the first time since we’ve been biodiesel blogging that I can’t be at the National Biodiesel Conference but Cindy and John are there and boy have they been posting some content. You can see posts like this one on the National Biodiesel Conference Blog.

Green actress and “sustainable summiteer” Daryl Hannah has been a part of every National Biodiesel Conference since the beginning and this year was no different.

“We need to educate ourselves in sustainable feedstocks, production and distribution models,” said Daryl. “We need to take the lead and rebuild the faith and the promise of biodiesel. We need to support the still endangered smaller scale family farmers that are the heart of America, show that garbage can be turned into gold and that we can create a homegrown fuel that reduces emissions and helps preserve the health of future generations.”

Listen to Daryl’s remarks here: nbb-08-daryl.mp3

Check out the Flicker Photo Album of images from the 2008 National Biodiesel Conference by clicking here.

Posted by Cindy earlier today.

Ag Groups, Biodiesel

Arriving In Reno

Chuck Zimmerman

Oakland AirportOn the road again. Here’s Oakland Airport on the way to Reno. It was a beautiful day for flying. On the way out there were plenty of cowboy hats on the plane.

The Cattle Industry Convention is a multi-organizational meeting and I’m not even going to try to cover all of it.

The meeting will feature joint and individual meetings by five industry organizations:

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association
Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion & Research Board
American National CattleWomen, Inc.
Cattle-Fax
National Cattlemen’s Foundation

Reno AirportAt the NCBA Trade Show, over 250 companies will offer attendees a chance to see the latest products and services while networking with other cattle producers. In addition, many booths will feature giveaways, games and prize drawings. Whether you are looking for farm vehicles, fencing, feed supplies, animal health products or the latest in technology, you’ll find it right here under one roof.

Once we got to Reno we were welcomed in the airport. Things are kind of quiet here tonight since the main portion of the meeting doesn’t really get kicked off until Wednesday.

You’ll be able to keep track of all the fun and excitement I can find in an online photo album of course. The challenging part of this meeting is moving back and forth from the convention center and the Grand Sierra Resort that I’m staying in which is where the CBB is having a lot of their meetings.

Beef, Cattle Industry Conference

Podcast Audience Growing

Chuck Zimmerman

Podcast NumbersThere’s a new report out from eMarketer that shows a growing podcast audience. You can purchase the complete report from this link. Hopefully those of you who are podcasting or thinking about it will find this helpful. They don’t measure farmers (who does?) but you can pretty much expect that farmers track along with the general public – my opinion of course.

eMarketer estimates that the total US podcast audience reached 18.5 million in 2007. Furthermore, that audience will increase by 251% to 65 million in 2012. And of those listeners, 25 million will be “active” users who tune in at least once a week.

”As the US podcasting industry matures it is unquestionably creating a listening audience,” says Paul Verna, eMarketer Senior Analyst and author of the new report, Podcast Audience: Seeking Riches in Niches, “And along with a larger audience comes increases in advertising spending tied to podcasts.”

A number of factors are driving the growth of the podcast-user base:

* Greater ease of consumption for podcast content
* Growing awareness of podcasting
* Terrestrial radio’s use and promotion of podcasting
* Increased penetration of portable players
* The evolution of smart phones and proliferation of affordable mobile data plans

Podcasts

Zimfo Bytes

Melissa Sandfort

    Zimfo Bytes

  • PureSense, recently named a Top 10 New Product by World Ag Expo, has unveiled an upgrade to its Irrigation Manager software. The upgraded Irrigation Manager software takes a cost-saving and money-making product one step further by making the system even easier to use with more powerful analysis in the background. Improvements include access to information simply by dragging the pointer over an icon; easier-to-read trend charts so growers can assess changing conditions quickly and respond more rapidly; and giving different users within one farming operation the ability to tailor the information to fit their personal work style. The PureSense system will be on display in the New Product Pavilion and Pavilion B, in the water and irrigation exhibit area, at World Ag Expo, Feb. 12-14, in Tulare.
  • On June 25 & 26, the 2008 Farm Progress Hay Expo will present the nation’s largest two-day hay event near Ossian, Iowa, on the Knutson and Winkler farms. The Winklers farm 240 acres, milk 60 registered Holsteins and maintain a small beef herd. The Knutsons milk 220 cows, farm 1,400 acres of row crops and feed 500 calves. The Knutsons also operate a custom forage harvesting business, harvesting around 5,000 acres in northeast Iowa each year. 2008 Farm Progress Hay Expo, its 22nd annual show, will be held June 25 and 26 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free; parking is $7 per vehicle. Click here for more information.
  • Exhibitor reservations for the 17th annual Citrus Expo Aug. 20 & 21, 2008 at Lee Civic Center Ft. Myers are well ahead of schedule. More than half of the available exhibit spaces have been reserved months earlier than at anytime in history. Last year’s trade show sold out with more than 150 exhibitors, hosting more than 2,200 attendees for the two day event. The 2008 Citrus Expo is expected to host the largest grower attendance ever. A large portion of Expo proceeds are donated annually to support citrus research at University of Florida’s Citrus Research and Education Center and regional grower association programs.
Zimfo Bytes

Commenting On Corn

Chuck Zimmerman

ZimmCast-157 - Commenting On CornHello on Super Bowl Sunday. I’m trying to get ready to hit the road to Reno early in the morning but am planning on cooking some brats and watching the annual big game in high def.

This week you can listen in on a discussion I had last week with Mimi Ricketts, Communications Director for the National Corn Growers Association. We talk about Corn Commentary, the blog about corn farming and American agriculture. It’s a project we developed with NCGA and we continue to write and produce content for the site although Mimi and others also write.

Mimi says they started Corn Commentary as an experiment 6 months ago but now she’s convinced that the website is helping the organization reach a new and different audience than they do with NCGA.com. She also likes the “freedom” of writing on the blog.

This week’s program ends with music from the Podsafe Music Network. It’s called “Thank God For The Super Bowl” by the mydols. I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

You can download and listen to the ZimmCast here: Listen To ZimmCastZimmCast 157 (15 min MP3)

Or listen to this week’s ZimmCast right now:zimmcast157-2-3-08.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

Ag Groups, Audio, Corn, ZimmCast

Bayer’s Laudis receives EPA Registration For Corn

Chuck Zimmerman

Laudis HerbicideIt’s been a while since I’ve received an old fashioned printed media kit in the mail without some kind of CD or link to more web information. That’s why I was interested to see the announcement about Laudis herbicide for corn receiving it’s EPA registration via snail mail.

Laudis™ Herbicide is a new systemic herbicide that provides postemergence control of grass and broadleaf weeds in all corn including weeds resistant to glyphosate and other chemical classes. Laudis delivers crop safety and rotation flexibility to soybeans and many other common rotation crops.

Agribusiness, Corn