Social Media Dilemma

Chuck Zimmerman

I joined Twitter as AgriBlogger in 2007, just a year after it was introduced, although it was another year before I started tweeting. I have over 19,500 followers. As new media pioneers, we were among the first to start using this innovative way to communicate with people around the world in 140 characters or less. Remember AgChat? That started back in 2009. Remember TweetUps? Once upon a time, Twitter was fun and exciting and a great way to connect and network with people of different backgrounds to exchange ideas and opinions. For farmers it was all about telling their story to help consumers better understand where their food came from.

I also joined Facebook in 2007 and I have almost 1700 friends from all over the world and many of them, if not most, are business acquaintances. I have always loved having that personal connection with family and friends, sharing photos and funny memes, getting back in touch with old friends and making new ones.

The problem is that these platforms, and YouTube as well, have become political weapons. When Twitter and Facebook started censoring people and opinions last year related to the pandemic, it was concerning. When Twitter actually banned the New York Post for a news story about Hunter Biden, that was incredible. Since the election, the level of censorship on all of the major social media platforms has just skyrocketed. Never in our wildest dreams did we ever think that freedom of speech and of the press might be endangered in this country, but we do believe it is right now. Fact checking should not apply to opinions.

Facebook and Twitter started out as enjoyable ways for individuals to keep in touch with people or share opinions, but quickly became places for companies to put on a public face and connect with customers. Now they are both essentially business platforms, but analytics have become almost impossible to collect in any meaningful way, making it very difficult to measure results. So, besides the fact that these social platforms are engaging in political censorship, they are becoming less useful for businesses. Ask any Facebook publisher what percentage of their followers actually get to see their content. The algorithms are making it impossible to reach an audience without buying advertising, and even advertising is getting rejected now.

The dilemma is what to do now? We have Facebook and Twitter accounts for ZimmComm, AgWired, Energy AgWired, and AgNewsWire, as well as personal accounts. It appears that at the moment, LinkedIn is still a safe space, so we are expanding our use of that platform. We have also looked into some of the alternative social media platforms but really don’t relish the idea of starting all over again with new accounts.

Because we believe Facebook is basically not helpful for our business at this point, not to mention just a pain to deal with on a day to day basis, we have made the decision to put a temporary hold on our business Facebook accounts. They will remain open for now but we will not be posting on them. We will also be less active on our personal accounts. For now we will keep using Twitter for business, but Cindy has deleted her personal account @farmpodcaster.

We know we are not the only ones struggling with this dilemma, on both an ethical and a business level, but it is a good time for everyone to look at how many platforms you are using now and whether they are still useful to you as a business – or healthy for you as an individual. Feel free to leave a comment or send an email with your thoughts to chuck@zimmcomm.biz.

Also, we invite you to subscribe to our weekly newsletters, follow us on LinkedIn, or just visit AgWired or our AgNewsWire service.

Social Media, ZimmComm Announcement

National Cotton Council Concludes Annual Meeting

Cindy Zimmerman

The National Cotton Council held its annual meeting this week in a virtual format.

Kent Fountain, a Surrency, Ga., ginner, was re-elected National Cotton Council (NCC) chairman for 2021 during the organization’s virtual annual meeting today. Ted Schneider, a Lake Providence, La., producer, was re-elected to the position of vice chairman for 2021.

U.S. cotton producers intend to plant 13.0 million cotton acres this spring, down 5.5 percent from 2019 (based on USDA’s February 2020 estimate), according to the National Cotton Council’s 39th Annual Early Season Planting Intentions Survey. Upland cotton intentions are 12.8 million acres, down 5.6 percent from 2019, while extra-long staple (ELS) intentions of 224,000 acres represent a 2.7 percent decline.

Cotton

ZimmCast 665 – All About AgWiki

Chuck Zimmerman

Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast.

In this week’s program we’re going to learn a lot about AgWiki from CEO, Randy Krotz. AgWiki is a community of farmers, researchers, nutritionists, and consultants seeking to discover solutions to sustainability and world hunger…socially.

AgWikiRandy will talk about the startup venture and what the mission is as well as how you can get involved and even help with the development of AgWiki through participation on the platform and through investment. I have already created my account on AgWiki. It is simple and quick to do.

If you like what you hear in the ZimmCast please subscribe in any of the major platforms. And you can also search for the ZimmComm Golden Mic Podcast too, which includes all the audio we produce.

If you would like to advertise in the ZimmCast or become an on-going sponsor please let me know and we’ll work out a plan just for you.

So, that’s the ZimmCast for this week. I hope you enjoyed it and thank you for listening.

Listen to the ZimmCast here: ZimmCast 665 - All About AgWiki (26:13)

Subscribe to the ZimmCast in:

Agribusiness, Audio, Farming, Food, Nutrition, Social Media, Social Networking, ZimmCast

Field Notes From Koch Agronomic Services – Episode 10

Chuck Zimmerman

The Field Notes podcast series from Koch Agronomic Services (Koch) breaks down the science and technology behind agronomy to help growers do more with less.

The experts we’ve heard from on our previous episodes have covered topics ranging from how different crops use nitrogen to the 4R’s of Nutrient Stewardship and how growers and retailers work together to choose the best input for an operation. If you haven’t checked out the previous prior nine episodes, you can find them on your favorite podcast platform.

Nitrogen Loss and Nitrogen Stabilizers

In this episode, we look at nitrogen loss and weigh the cost of nitrogen stabilizers with the value they bring to your operation. You’ll hear from two representatives from Koch Agronomic Services: Derek Rapp, technical agronomist, and Kate Koehler, director of product management and communications. They’ll provide an overview of nitrogen loss solutions and the many tools available to growers through their online Knowledge Center.

You can listen to the program here: Nitrogen Loss and Nitrogen Stabilizers

And to make sure you don’t miss an episode, choose an option to subscribe

For Spotify on your computer download the desktop app.

Agribusiness, Audio, Fertilizer, Koch Agronomic Services, Soil

Precision Ag News 2/10

Carrie Muehling

  • The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) recognized winners of its national service awards at the organization’s virtual 2021 Annual Meeting. For more information on NACD’s annual awards, visit the NACD Awards webpage.
  • The first-ever CoAXium ® soft white winter wheat varieties are coming to the Pacific Northwest. Limagrain Cereal Seeds will have Certified seed available at the grower level in 2022. Visit GiveWeedsTheAX.com for more information.
  • MiCropTM Fungicide Powered by F ValueTM Technology will be launched across the United States this spring, targeting corn, soybeans, cereals and rice. MiCropTM fungicide is an optimized formulation developed specifically for azoxystrobin and propiconazole that delivers enhanced performance and value. Albaugh’s MiCrop fungicide is powered by F Value Technology, which helps deliver micronized active ingredients to help enhance uptake, targeting disease control and leading to healthier plants to help maximize fungicide return on investment.
  • AgGateway has completed version one of an API (Application Programming Interface) definition for the management of product catalog data, which assists cooperatives and companies in creating catalogs to offer branded online store services to their retail members and customers.
  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is extending the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) General Signup period, which had previously been announced as ending on Feb. 12, 2021. USDA will continue to accept offers as it takes this opportunity for the incoming Administration to evaluate ways to increase enrollment.
  • The Nature Conservancy, Soil and Water Conservation Society, and Meridian Institute launched a Roadmap to accelerate the adoption of edge of field practices on U.S. farmlands. Edge of field practices—like saturated buffers and prairie strips—can help farmers improve water quality, store more carbon in the soil, reduce flooding, support pollinators, and enhance wildlife habitat in working landscapes.
AgWired Precision, Precision Ag Bytes, Precision Agriculture

FarmlandFinder Launches Online Farm Sale-Leaseback Program

Cindy Zimmerman

FarmlandFinder is launching a sale-leaseback program as a part of its online marketplace for farmland.

“Talking with farmers, there is a contagious curiosity to find ways to unlock equity that’s tied up in their land without giving up control of the property or taking on additional debt,” says Steven Brockshus, Founder and CEO of FarmlandFinder. “Through our private investment platform, a farmer can apply for a sale-leaseback and if they qualify, they’ll get connected with a qualified investor who partners with them to help unlock equity.”

The way a farm sale-leaseback works is that an investor acquires the land from the farm owner-operator and then leases it back to them on a long-term basis. This program can provide value to farmers seeking an alternative financing solution by providing liquidity while helping them maintain on-going operational control of the land. By pairing an owner-operator with a qualified investor through the FarmlandFinder platform, a sale-leaseback can be done in a few simple steps.

Sale-leasebacks in farmland aren’t new, however – FarmlandFinder makes them readily accessible to farmers who find themselves in a variety of different situations. “It could be a good program for a retiring farmer whose equity is tied up in the land, but they’d like to keep farming for a few years,” says Peter Jaques, Head of Real Estate at FarmlandFinder. “Or a progressive farmer who wants to take the equity from one property and use it to buy another piece of land or invest elsewhere in their operation. The other time a program like this could be useful is when a farmer has fallen on hard-times and they need to free up some cash to keep the farm going. It may not be ideal, but at least there’s an option.”

To see if you qualify for a farm sale-leaseback, visit www.farmlandfinder.com/sale-leaseback.

Farming, land

Crop Insurers Hear from Senate Ag Committee Leaders

Cindy Zimmerman

Organizations representing crop insurance companies held a virtual joint 2021 Crop Insurance Convention this morning where they heard from the leadership of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Ranking Member John Boozman (R-AR).

American Association of Crop Insurers (AACI) executive director Scott Graves welcomed Sen. Boozman, while Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau (CIRB) executive vice president Michael Torrey hosted Sen. Stabenow.

Sen. Boozman and Scott Graves, AACI 19:47

Sen. Stabenow and Mike Torrey, CIRB 22:04

Audio, CIRB, Crop Insurance

Animal Ag News 2/8

Carrie Muehling

  • Despite significant disruptions in trade throughout 2020, the United States exported nearly 2.4 million metric tons of dairy goods last year–a record-setting mark, according to data released by USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service.
  • Following one of the most difficult years in the history of the American sheep industry, Susan Shultz of Ohio has been elected to lead the American Sheep Industry Association as its next president. Shultz was unanimously elected during the final day of the sheep industry’s 156th Annual Convention on Jan. 29.
  • The executive committee of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association approved the organization’s top 2021 policy priorities with a continued focus on advocating for a business climate that increases opportunities for producer profitability. For more detailed information about NCBA’s 2021 Policy Priorities, click here.
  • The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) concluded its virtual Winter Business Meeting with the election of Jerry Bohn, a cattle producer from Wichita, Kan., as NCBA president.
  • New analysis of independent data show that reported new COVID-19 infection rates among meat and poultry workers are 60% lower than in the general U.S. population and two-thirds lower than case rates in the sector in May 2020. According to data from the Food and Environment Reporting Network, the meat and poultry sector was reported to have an average of 32.64 new reported cases per 100,000 workers per day in January 2021, two-thirds lower than the average of 98.39 new reported cases per 100,000 workers per day in May 2020. Since the Meat Institute and the United Food & Commercial Workers, America’s largest food workers union, jointly urged state governors to follow federal guidance and prioritize frontline meat and poultry workers for COVID-19 vaccination, employers have taken concrete steps to educate workers about vaccination and facilitate access to vaccines. Find more on case rates and health and safety measures, including vaccination, here.
  • IPPE Marketplace Week brought the animal food, meat and poultry industries together with more than 1,100 exhibitors providing information on a variety of feed and animal protein technologies and services. The IPPE Marketplace had visitor participation from 131 countries, and there were more than 81,000 Personal Guide page views. There were also more than 27 hours of TECHTalks presentations, 3 hours of Innovation Station/New Product Showcase videos and 34.5 hours of education programs available. This year’s digital event saw the most exhibitor TECHTalks presentations and Innovation Station/New Product Showcase videos ever, with a combined 200-plus submissions.
  • The National Institute for Animal Agriculture has announced a rebrand to reflect the organization’s new strategic vision to be the leading resource for the animal agriculture industry and provides value to all stakeholders involved in providing safe and healthy food for the world.
AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Animal Bites

Farm Journal Adds New Positions to Fuel Growth

Cindy Zimmerman

Farm Journal has just announced a whole crop of talented new professionals from a wide range of backgrounds.

Rebecca Bartels, Director of Business Development, Trust In Food — Bartels leads overall revenue strategy and execution for the initiative, including creating differentiated value propositions for Trust In Food’s diverse set of clients from the agribusiness, food, non-government, government and academic sectors. She was previously with Meister Media Worldwide as business director for their international upstream value chain crop input and technology trade brand, AgriBusiness Global.

Emma Bruno, Digital & Data Marketing Specialist — Bruno joins Farm Journal’s audience development team to lead circulation and digital marketing efforts to engage America’s farmers, ranchers and growers with a wide range of brands. She was previously with American Marketing and Publishing with a background in website creation and social media.

Jason Hill, Senior Ad Operations Specialist — Hill joins Farm Journal’s industry-leading digital ad operations team, bringing more than 20 years of experience in digital media and advertising to this role. His extensive multi-platform experience contributes to improved transparency and accountability for clients.

Dustin Johansen, Director of Business Development, DDMS — Johansen will work with Farm Journal’s national livestock and crop sales teams to help clients integrate data, research and activation capabilities into marketing strategies. He was previously vice president, ag business development at Osborn Barr Paramore and serves as board co-chair for the Agriculture Business Council of Kansas City and vice chair of the MoKan NAMA chapter.

Todd Rowan, Sales Representative — Rowan will work with clients in both crop and livestock sectors to maximize customer reach and engagement across Farm Journal brands. He previously served as national business development director at Broadcast Management Services and in other roles in the broadcast and automobile industries.

Nicole Starr, National Accounts Manager, Livestock — Starr is responsible for sales across Farm Journal’s industry-leading content brands in the company’s beef, dairy, pork and influencer portfolios. She was formerly a senior public relations and communications specialist at Greenheck Group and Bader Rutter.

Danny White, Sales Representative, Machinery Pete — White will work with clients to target audiences and create sales leads on Farm Journal’s Machinery Pete platform. His 30-year marketing career includes serving as territory manager at Fastline Media Group and operating his own digital marketing business.

Farm Journal, Media

CIRB Annual Meeting was Virtual Success

Cindy Zimmerman

The 57th Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau (CIRB) Annual Meeting was a virtual success.

Michael Torrey, CIRB Executive Vice President, said they were pleasantly surprised to have a record turnout for their first ever virtual meeting, which gave many more a chance to participate. “Allowing several individuals within companies, and participants from overseas, and even a lot of non-members, to be exposed to the CIRB program,” said Torrey.

The program featured an agricultural economic outlook, policy forecast, and a timely panel on the role of crop insurance in climate change policy. Audio recordings of the meeting presentations and interviews are available on the CIRB Annual Meeting virtual newsroom.

CIRB is co-hosting a virtual 2021 Crop Insurance Convention tomorrow, along with National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS) and American Association of Crop Insurers (AACI). The virtual joint convention will be held February 9 from 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM CST.

In this interview, Torrey talks about the CIRB annual meeting and the state of the crop insurance industry.
Interview with Michael Torrey, CIRB 11:06

Audio, CIRB, Crop Insurance