Farm High Speed Internet Access Doubles

Chuck Zimmerman

National Agricultural Statistics ServiceThe latest Farm Computer Usage and Ownership report from USDA’s NASS was posted today with very little fanfare but I think it is very important to agricultural marketers! Following is the main summary of the report but there’s lots of data in there if you want to study and use it. I’m highlighting some key points in it for you.

High-speed Internet access methods, such as DSL, cable, satellite, and wireless, have become much more available to Internet users in the farm sector since 2005. The proportion of operators using DSL doubled in 2007, at 27 percent, compared with the 2005 level of 13 percent. Cable, satellite, and wireless were each reported as the primary access methods on 7 percent of those U.S. farms with Internet access; with satellite and wireless methods both at virtually double their 2005 levels. Dialup was again the most common method of accessing the Internet, with nearly half (47 percent) of U.S. farms still using it, down from 69 percent in 2005.

A total of 55 percent of U.S. farms now have Internet access, compared with 51 percent in 2005. Sixty-three percent of farms have access to a computer in 2007, compared with the 2005 level of 59 percent. The proportion of U.S. farms owning or leasing a computer in 2007, at 59 percent, is up slightly from 55 percent in 2005. Farms using computers for their farm business increased 3 percentage points from 2005 to 35 percent in 2007.

In 2007, 80 percent of U.S. farms with sales and government payments of $250,000 or more have access to a computer, 78 percent own or lease a computer, 66 percent are using a computer for their farm business, and 75 percent have Internet access. For farms with sales and government payments between $100,000 and $249,999, the figures are: 70 percent have access to a computer, 66 percent own or lease a computer, 51 percent are using a computer for their farm business, and 61 percent have Internet access. For farms with sales and government payments between $10,000 and $99,999, 62 percent reported having computer access, 57 percent own or lease a computer, 36 percent use a computer for their farm business, and 53 percent have Internet access.

For crop farms, 64 percent have computer access and 37 percent use a computer for their farm business in 2007, up 4 and 3 percentage points from 2005, respectively. Internet access for crop farms has increased to 56 percent in 2007, compared to 52 percent in 2005. For livestock farms, 62 percent have computer access and 55 percent have Internet access. The use of a computer for farm business has increased to 33 percent for livestock farms, up 3 points from 2005.

Internet, USDA

Ag Institute of Florida Knows New Media

Chuck Zimmerman

Ag InstituteI love it when I see a group “get it.” I mean get this new media thing.

The Agriculture Institute of Florida is having Josh Hallett as a speaker for their upcoming annual meeting. You do know who Josh is don’t you?

Downloading podcasts and checking blogs may not be standard practices for farmers, but that may soon change. As more people rely on the internet to gather information, receive news and express opinions, internet-based “social media” technologies offer unique opportunities for agricultural organizations to connect with an increasingly non-farm public, both as customers and to convey key messages about the industry.

These technologies will be the focus of the Agriculture Institute of Florida’s 2007 Annual Meeting, set for Wednesday, Oct. 10 at the Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort in Daytona Beach. Josh Hallett of hyku, LLC, an internationally recognized expert on new media communication technologies, will serve as this year’s keynote speaker. For over 10 years, Hallett has worked with public relations practitioners and corporate communicators worldwide on integrating these tools into their organization’s public and media relations strategies.

“So much of what we do in our business depends on how information is shared,” explained AIF president Heather Nedley, who also serves as the director of the Polk County Farm Bureau. “Those methods of communication seem to change daily, so we look forward to Josh sharing his expertise on emerging media trends.”

Ag Groups

Lots of Corn in Latest USDA Forecast

Chuck Zimmerman

USDASince I know how much this kind of information affects so many of you (me too) I thought you might want to see the latest USDA crop forecast information. Remember that you can hear an analysis of it each month from the Minneapolis Grain Exchange podcast. Of course if you subscribe to the USDA NASS news feed you might already know this.

U.S. farmers are expected to produce the largest corn crop in history in 2007, according to the Crop Production report released today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). Corn production is forecast at 13.1 billion bushels, 10.6 percent above the previous record of 11.8 billion bushels set in 2004.

Based on conditions as of August 1, corn yields are expected to average 152.8 bushels per acre, up 3.7 bushels from last year. This would be second highest corn yield on record, behind the 160.4 bushels per acre produced in 2004. Growers are expected to harvest 85.4 million acres of corn for grain, the most since 1933 and 14.8 million more acres than last year.

Yield forecasts are higher than last year across the Great Plains, central Corn Belt and Delta. Meanwhile, hot, dry conditions led to lower expected yields across much of the northern and eastern Corn Belt, Ohio Valley, Tennessee Valley, Southeast and Atlantic Coast. Read More

Uncategorized

Pfizer Suggest Paradigm Shift

Chuck Zimmerman

Dr. Gordon BrumbaughOne of the Pfizer Animal Health specialists we met this week at their media event in Kalamazoo was Dr. Gordon Brumbaugh. He’s an anti-infective specialist in their Cattle-Specialty Veterinary Operations.

The theme of his talk was a “Paradigm Shift.” Basically he wants to challenge producers to think in new ways now that there are products on the market that work very differently than even just a few short years ago. The examples used were products like Excede and Draxxin which stay in the animal’s tissue much longer offering longer protection for bovine respiratory disease. Instead of treating every 3 days producers now need to wait longer and let the animal recover without costly extra treatments that may be unnecessary.

He likened the change in animal health product technology to telephones saying we don’t use the same phones today we did 50 years ago and we should apply that same thinking to how we treat animals.

You can listen to my interview with Dr. Brumbaugh here: pfizer-vmrd-07-brumbaugh.mp3

Or if you’d like you can download it here: Download MP3 FileDr. Gordon Brumbaugh Interview

Animal Health, Audio

Growers Attend IFT Food Expo on ADM

Laura McNamara

NBC producer Meredith Reis with wheat field farmer Jay ElkinArcher Daniels Midland Company sponsored a growers delegation at the Institute of Food Technologisit Food Expo in Chicago. ADM says their sponsorship was meant to highlight the critical role grower-suppliers play in ensuring food quality and safety.

To recognize the critical role suppliers play in ensuring food quality and safety, Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) sponsored a visiting grower delegation on Monday, July 30, during the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) annual Food Expo in Chicago.

Growers from Illinois, Minnesota and North Dakota attended IFT as guests of ADM. While at the show, the growers attended a luncheon with executives from ADM and IFT, during which they received a food industry overview and learned more about ADM’s efforts to ensure food quality and safety. In addition, the growers attended a presentation at the ADM booth and learned more about products developed by ADM using their food crops. They also had an opportunity to walk the tradeshow floor and talk with other exhibitors. Read More

Ag Groups, Farming, Food

Beauty of North Dakota Gets National Spotlight

Laura McNamara

NBC producer Meredith Reis with wheat field farmer Jay ElkinYou can’t really argue that the waving wheat in the photo isn’t a beautiful amber color just like the national song talks about. That’s why North Dakota was featured on NBC’s Today Show, when the show ran a feature on the beauty of America.

Early this morning, North Dakota producer Jay Elkin was featured in a story produced by the New York based NBC Today Show. It was part of ‘America The Beautiful,’ a series highlighting areas that are unique and majestic throughout the fifty states. Read More

Farming

Zimfo Bites

Laura McNamara

  • California cucurbit growers can now rely on a new disease control option with the recent registration by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR) of Sovran™ fungicide from BASF for use in cucurbit vegetables. “Cucurbits are particularly susceptible to powdery mildew, and Sovran works well in controlling this disease,” said Reed Barrett, Marketing Associate for BASF. “Sovran provides complete coverage of the plant, protecting all leaf surfaces from disease infection at a great value to the grower.” Cucurbits—such as cantaloupe, chayote, Chinese waxgourd, citron melon, cucumber, gherkin, gourds, Momordica, muskmelon, pumpkin, summer squash, winter squash, watermelon and zucchini—now join grapes, pecans and pome fruits, such as apples and pears, on the Sovran label.
  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has signed a cooperative agreement with the American Angus AssociationSM. A ceremonial signing was held today to recognize the cooperative efforts of both groups in the education of the premise registration process and enrollments. Under the agreement, educational efforts will include on-site educational discussions through the Association’s Outreach Seminars and other educational programs, print advertising, direct mail as well as e-mail communications. In addition, with the assistance of ABG, Inc., online training programs will be available to cattle producers across the nation. The online program will describe the value and benefits of registering premises and the steps necessary to complete an enrollment.
  • Vistive St. Louis, Mo., has issued a challenge grant in support of the Progressive Agriculture Safety Day program. Funds generated through the Vistive£ grant will be used to develop family health and wellness lessons (obesity prevention) to supplement the existing farm safety programs. The grant will match contributions from other corporations and organizations dollar-for-dollar (up to $25,000) when those contributions are ear-marked for health and wellness lessons. “The funding received through the Vistive£ challenge grant will help the Progressive Agriculture Foundation create a family-based program which will help parents teach their children about health and wellness and also help the parents understand how to be healthier at the same time,” says Randy J. Bernhardt, executive director of development, Progressive Agriculture Foundation. “This family-oriented program will supplement the existing programs directed specifically toward children, and we plan to have the curriculum finalized by fall 2008.
Zimfo Bytes

Foods Can Talk

Laura McNamara

Gourmet ImpressionsNow, when I say foods can talk, I don’t mean that an exquisitely prepared lobster is going to suddenly speak up and ask to be spared from a rumbling stomach. I’m talking about food with messages. Think of the corn fields in that sci-fi movie Signs… except, well, it’s not signs but words. And not fields of crops but food on your dinner plate.

If foods could talk, what would they say? What would you want them to say? The birth of talking foods is only a few months away. Gourmet Impressions, Inc. has officially awarded Practical Enterprises, Inc. the exclusive worldwide Licensing rights to bring their food embossing and impressing tools to life.

These babies called The Roller and The Stamper are the only gadgets in the world that can enable anyone, anywhere to make foods talk. Just about any message, saying, logo or picture of one’s desire can be personalized instantaneously as an embossment onto. or an impression into a vast variety of 40+ foods. Pizzas, ice creams, baked goods, deserts, fruits, vegetables, cookies, cheeses, and breads will be speaking, whispering, shouting, cooing, or even communicating in braille, depending upon one’s moods , desires and passions.

Eat my words! You will soon experience tasty smiles from edible messages, the likes of which you’ve never consumed. The Culinary and Food Advertising Industries are about to be revolutionized with a new excitement and vigor, creating a fun, memorable experience for all. Every child, adult; rich or poor, every restaurant, kitchen; every country, town, hamlet and in every language will soon have much food for thought. Signature dishes will be just that, and on everyone’s lips…literally.

Food

The State of ACE and Ethanol

Chuck Zimmerman

Brian JenningsThings are winding down here at the ACE Convention. Looking very relaxed this morning was the executive vice president of the American Coalition for Ethanol, Brian Jennings. He gave the state of the industry and organization speech yesterday.

I interviewed Brian this morning to find out what he thinks about how things are going in the ethanol industry and especially from the ACE perspective. He says the industry has reached a “pivotal point” in its development. He says that although significant growth has been achieved there are still some road blocks out there that have to be recognized and dealt with. One of those involves getting the truth about ethanol out to the public and combating the naysayers. He says the industry is about to launch a major public relations offensive and that ACE will be involved in that effort.

You can listen to my interview with Brian here: ace-07-jennings.mp3

2007 ACE Convention Photo Album

Audio, Ethanol

Zimfo Bites

Laura McNamara

  • The U.S. Poultry & Egg Association will sponsor the College Student Career Program at the 2008 International Poultry Expo and International Feed Expo in the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta from Jan. 23-25. The College Student Career Program provides a mutually beneficial experience for students and industry recruiters. The program gives employers the opportunity to interview qualified college students for employment or internship openings in one location over a three-day period. This program allows students to experience the largest annual gathering of poultry people, technology, and services. It affords them the opportunity, through exhibits and educational programs, to get the tools they need to successfully transition from academics to industry. The students eligible to participate are seniors or graduate students from a four-year program with various majors. Underclassmen seeking internships are also eligible to interview.
  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the American Angus Association held a signing ceremony this week to mark the awarding of a cooperative agreement to provide educational outreach and register premises as part of the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Bruce Knight and President of the American Angus Association Jot Hartley signed the agreement Wednesday at the American Angus Association in St. Joseph, Mo.
  • The 5th annual National Agriscience Teacher Ambassador Academy, held recently at DuPont Chesapeake Farms in Chestertown, Md., was sponsored by DuPont and supported by Lab-Aids as a special project of the national Future Farmers of America (FFA) Foundation. The Academy is a professional development program where agriculture teachers learn new inquiry-based teaching techniques to improve science learning which is reflected by improved performance in standardized science test scores of the students. Some 26 specially selected agricscience teachers from 21 states – including Alaska and Puerto Rico – learned how to further incorporate science into their existing curriculums and make learning fun and challenging for their students. Biofuels, alternative energy sources, water as a resource and toxicology issues were reviewed during the week-long session. Field trips to the DuPont Stine Haskell Laboratory, the Delaware Biotechnology Institute in Newark, Del., and bioresearch tours at the DuPont Experimental Station were included in the training.
Zimfo Bytes