Blog Action Day

Chuck Zimmerman

Blog Action DaySpeaking of blogs. It’s Blog Action Day. I guess someone who has a lot of time on their hands wants to make sure we have something to write about. It’s supposed to be the “Environment.” Well, since I think farmers are the original and best environmentalists here’s my contribution. They’ve got a nice little YouTube promo in case you’re interested.

Trying to stay on topic I can’t say I support any of the “charitable organizations” they suggest if you’d like to make a donation. Pretty much your standard whackos if you ask me. Speaking of whackos and the environment. Al Gore getting a Nobel prize pretty well confirms that it’s no longer a credible award. One of the best editorials I’ve read about this appears on TCS Daily. Dr. Henry Miller has hit the nail on the head. Al Gore a credible and peaceful environmentalist? Right.

Let’s give America’s farmers and ranchers a Nobel prize.

Wackos

Those Trustworthy Blogs

Chuck Zimmerman

A little blurb over on WebProNews quotes some information from a bi-annual Nielsen survey of internet users that shows the trust people place in blogs. “Consumer-generated content is by far a more trusted form of advertising worldwide than search engine ads, banner ads, or text ads, according to Nielsen, and is trusted almost as much as physical word-of-mouth.”

The survey also found that, “Television, radio, and magazines are virtually tied, with radio being slightly less trusted than the other two.” Interesting information.

It also makes a point about consumer recommendations being considered very trustworthy. Hey, who would you trust when it comes to a recommendation? Someone you know and respect right? I research everything I purchase online and the thing I’m most interested in are the experiences of other people who have used the product. I don’t care what the company says it will do. I want to know how well it’s doing it.

Via Smays.com.

Advertising

Zimfo Bites

Melissa Sandfort

  • Syngenta has expanded its AgriEdge® Corn Program for 2008 to include applications of Quilt® fungicide and Warrior® Brand insecticide. The 2008 program will also include hybrids stacked with Agrisure® RW and CB/LL corn traits for rootworm and corn borer protection with LIBERTY® herbicide tolerance, plus GT trait for tolerance to glyphosate. The addition of the Quilt and Warrior Brand to the AgriEdge Corn Program gives growers a solution for gray leaf spot and in-season insect control. It also addresses the particular needs of continuous corn, where more residue cover encourages more disease activity. The 2008 program also includes incentives for managing insect resistance. Growers can receive up to $8 per unit of seed for purchasing and using Force® CS or Force 3G insecticide on rootworm refuge acres.
  • A new large capacity, hydraulically-operated wheel rake, designed with a flexible frame for excellent contour hugging capabilities, plus extra wheels on the ground for better handling and reduced scuffing, has just recently been introduced by Vermeer Manufacturing Co., Pella, Iowa. The Vermeer® WRX14 Flex Frame Wheel Rake sweeps up to 28 feet wide; it folds for transport in seconds at just 8′-2″; is constructed with a rugged 6″ x 8″ cross frame and 5″ x 5″ articulated toolbars; is equipped with 14 crop-driven rake wheels; has a rake wheel clearance of 17″ and rear frame transport height is 4′ 2″ and length is 30′-2″.
  • More from Vermeer: A unique “Powered Splitter” option that helps Vermeer TwinRake operators improve forage quality by promoting cleaner pickup, fast uniform dry-down and fluffy windrows is now available on all R2800 and R2300 TwinRakes. The Powered Splitter is particularly helpful in tedded, swathed or windrowed hay that has been rained upon, or in situations where three windrows are being raked together; because it allows the center swath to be lifted, spread and combined with the rest of the crop before it’s ultimately raked into a windrow. For more information, visit the Vermeer Web site.
    Zimfo Bytes

    A Country Living Conversation

    Chuck Zimmerman

    ZimmCast-141 - Courtney YuskisI like living the country life. That’s why the ZimmComm office compound sits on a couple acres outside Jefferson City, MO. It’s nice to watch the birds, squirrels, deer, etc. and not have a neighbor’s house right on top of you. A lot of people feel the same way and that’s why there’s a Country Living Association.

    This week on the program you get to learn all about it from Director, Courtney Yuskis. Courtney describes their mission and hope that they’ll be the source country living people go to when they have questions. She says they’ve got about 11,000 members already! Later this week they’ll be holding their Country Living Outlook Conference in Kansas City and I’ll be there blogging it here. I’ll also be there for the Country Living Olympics the next day.

    The program concludes this week with music from the Podsafe Music Network. This week’s song is “Capitol Offense” by the Nashville Session Players. I hope you like it.

    You can download and listen to the ZimmCast here: Listen To ZimmCastZimmCast 141 (15 min MP3)

    Or listen to this week’s ZimmCast right now:zimmcast141-10-14-07.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, ZimmCast

    Philly is CheeseSteakTown.com

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Miss CheesesteakNow that’s what I’m talking about. Just read the description of the perfect cheese steak sandwich. You’ll find that and a lot more on the new CheeseSteakTown website.

    Most Americans live in normal cities and towns and lead normal lives — they go to work, they pay bills, they watch TV. But here in the City of Brotherly Love, every day is an adventure — a passionate and never-ending quest to find the perfect cheese steak, a foot-long sandwich packed with steaming grilled beef, smothered in fried onions and dripping with golden Cheez Whiz.

    Mr Cheesesteak“New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris and Rome? Been there, done that. Just give me a cheese steak and I’ll take Philly over all of them. This is the most fun, most colorful, most user-friendly, most amazing city anywhere.” So says the man known as Big Cheese, a native Philadelphian and former touring rock musician who, along with two Philadelphia-born friends — a published cartoonist (Ozzard of Whiz) and a national talent agent (Fried Onion) — has launched www.CheeseSteakTown.com, the first-ever website to celebrate Philadelphia’s famous sandwich and its unique “Cheese Steak Culture.”

    “If you want the insider’s run-down on every great cheese steak place in Philly, it’s all here,” Ozzard of Whiz explains. “We have a full-page article about each one, complete with photos — and a monthly Top Ten list as voted by visitors to www.CheeseSteakTown.com.”

    Get your entries in for the Mr. and Miss Cheesesteak contest too.

    Food

    Food Waste Fuels Cheese Production

    Laura McNamara

    I blogged about food fighting cancer. Now, I’ve found out about one plant that’s using food to create more food. The Fairview Swiss Cheese Plant in Mercer County, Pennsylvania is using biogas from food waste to produce steam that will help process milk into cheese.

    The Fairview Swiss Cheese Plant soon will be partially powered with biogas made from its own waste products.

    The plant, owned by John Koller & Son Inc. in Mercer County, broke ground Thursday on the renewable energy project, which converts food waste into gas, said Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff.

    The $2.2 million project involves constructing an anaerobic digester that will use cheese whey from the plant and cone batter waste from the Joy Cone Co. to make 40 million cubic feet of biogas annually — the equivalent of 28 million cubic feet of natural gas.

    The biogas will be used in a boiler to produce steam and electricity for processing milk into cheese that in turn will offset the purchase of fuel oil and electricity produced from fossil fuels. The wastewater from the digester will flow to a treatment facility where the solids will be removed and clean water discharged.

    The project is a collaborative effort between the local county government, Fairview Swiss Cheese Plant, Joy Cone Co., and Penn State Cooperative Extension of Mercer County.

    Food, Technology

    Eat for the Cure

    Laura McNamara

    Eat for the CureMembers of the Missouri Farm Bureau like to say “If you eat, you’re involved in agriculture.” With that in mind, it seems the latest campaign to fight breast cancer is very much involved in agriculture.

    When running was no longer enough, this weight-loss support group turned relay team, wondered what their next way to raise funds for breast cancer research would be. Maria Fernandez and the members of TeamGDT thought not everyone runs, but everyone eats; their new cookbook, “Eat for the Cure”, was a great answer to not only raise awareness but to touch the lives of those that have been affected by breast cancer.

    While training for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure the team, now 60 members strong, collected the recipes they traded when they were trying to help each other lose weight. It wasn’t until one of the support group’s members announced that she’d been diagnosed with breast cancer that finding another way to fundraise and educate those about research became a top priority. “When you’re trying to lose weight, food is a major topic of conversation. As we began our mission to help the Komen Foundation, turning the many recipes we shared throughout the years on our message board, it just seemed natural for this to be our next project to honor those in the group and in our lives,” says author and charter team member Maria Fernandez.

    “Eat for the Cure” is available for download or purchase. All proceeds go to the Komen Foundation, and Fernandez says of the cookbook, “This is our way of giving back.”

    Food fighting cancer. Now that’s an idea. It would be an interesting challenge to see what else the agriculture industry could play a part in. We already know how agirculture is impacting domestic fuels…

    Agribusiness, Food

    RFD-TV Dreaming of a Mulberry Christmas

    Laura McNamara

    RFD-TVWhy is it that Christmas hype always seems to come before Halloween hype? Well, I’m jumping on the bandwagon with this post about RFD-TV‘s exciting news about which group will be putting viewers in the Christmas spirit throughout the network’s programming in November and December.

    Mulberry Lane, the Midwest’s most popular sister group, will perform their 2007 Christmas show at RFD-TV The Theatre in Branson, Missouri with 20 performances scheduled during the months of November and December. The extended run will begin with three matinee performances at 3pm during Veteran’s Day weekend, November 9, 10, & 11, and then continue weekly with 7pm shows set on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings through December 5. In addition, a 3pm matinee show will be performed on Tuesdays.

    Mulberry Lane, a sister act who grew up singing and playing music together, is a heartland favorite. The songbird sisters have sold over 550,000 albums, including the critical and fan favorite CD, “A Very Merry Mulberry Christmas.”

    Mulberry Lane’s 2-hour Christmas show will anchor the extensive holiday lineup for the 2,000 soft-seat theatre opened by RFD-TV in March of this year. In addition, the theatre’s fall/Christmas bookings include individual appearances by Ronnie Milsap, Roy Clark, and Lorrie Morgan, along with the network’s Penny Gilley Show scheduled in the venue for the weekends.

    Media

    Zimfo Bites

    Melissa Sandfort

    • The National Pork Checkoff Board is accepting nominations to fill five, three-year terms as directors of the board. In addition, candidates are being sought for two open seats on the Board’s Nominating Committee to serve two-year terms starting in 2008. Nominees may be submitted by state pork producer associations, farm organizations and anyone who pays the Pork Checkoff, which includes pork producers and pork importers. Any person who is a producer and has paid all Checkoff assessments due, or is a representative of a producer/company that produces hogs/pigs, is eligible to serve on the National Pork Checkoff Board. The 15 positions on the Checkoff board are held by pork producers or importers who volunteer their time. Please direct application requests and questions to the National Pork Checkoff Board either by mail to 1776 NW 114th St, Clive, IA 50325, by telephone to Lorraine Garner at 515-223-2637, or e-mail LGarner@pork.org.
    • Jim Russell, Missouri Agribusiness Association (MO-AG) president for the last 25 years, has announced he is retiring from his presidency position in the upcoming year. The MO-AG Board, staff and members want to thank Jim for his years of service and dedication to the association. Jim’s leadership and experience will be greatly missed by Missouri ag retailers. Consequently, MO-AG is currently accepting résumés for President/Executive Officer. Resumés may be submitted to MO-AG’s legal counsel: Newman, Comley & Ruth, P.C., Attention: MO-AG Search Committee, P.O. Box 537, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0537. Deadline: Résumés must be received by Nov. 15, 2007.
    • Join the Secretary of Agriculture and distinguished guest speakers at USDA’s 84th Outlook Forum, “Energizing Rural America in the Global Marketplace”, an annual conference for industry and government leaders, farmers and ranchers, and other agricultural experts. The forum will be held Feb. 21-22, 2008 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel, Arlington, Va. Register and learn more here. Early registration is $300.
    Zimfo Bytes

    Getting Some Ethanol Truth

    Chuck Zimmerman

    Cellulosic SummitNext week I’ll be in Washington, DC for the Cellulosic Ethanol Summit. Thanks to the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council and the Renewable Fuels Association for sponsoring my coverage which will primarily be on Domestic Fuel. It’s going to be interesting to see how far along we really are towards having the cellulosic process commercially viable. If it is “here and now” then it should take the wind out of the sails of the whackos who still try to foster a food vs. fuel debate.

    Kernals of TruthSpeaking of food vs. fuel, the South Dakota Corn Utilization Council has started a program called “Kernals of Truth.” Here’s what it’s all about:

    Kernels of Truth: Learn more about the facts behind food, fuel and farming in South Dakota. Prices at the grocery store are higher. But the truth is, corn prices have little effect on the retail price of food. Find out more about the costs associated with food production and why our leadership in ethanol production and dried distillers grains is a major reason why livestock producers across the state have a plentiful and economical source of feed. That helps keep food prices lower, not higher. Really.

    The program got the attention of the Associated Press and their story was picked up by Forbes.com. Helping the SDCUC is Paulsen Agribranding. I know that because they wrote about it on their blog.

    Ethanol