In case you’ve never seen a tobacco flower they are very pretty.
I’m not sure if they have any use and I didn’t ask.
If you’d like to learn a little bit about tobacco then watch this video clip from our farm tour stop.
In it our host shows us the difference in tobacco quality that you get from leaves on different parts of the plant. He also talks about how important immigration reform is to farmers like himself.
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One of our stops on the Saturday tour was a tobacco farm. I’m no expert but his crop looked to be in great shape and you can see pictures of it in the photo album. Here’s Harlan Persinger sniffing some dried tobacco that was on display. We didn’t get to chew or smoke any though.
The farmer gave the group a talk about growing tobacco and had several representatives on hand who also provided comments about farming in Kentucky.
Our bus driver, affectionately know as Beanie, did a great job taking care of us as we made our way around the beautiful countryside. I interviewed him during our last leg back to the hotel and he talks about the horse business in particular. He says that people come from all over the world to buy horses just based on their blood lines and before they’ve even been proven on the track: ams-07-beanie.mp3
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Attending the Ag Media Summit is a group of communications professionals from Mali. They’ve been attending Oklahoma State University as part of an international exchange program and have been doing internships and all kinds of things.
I had a chance to speak with one of the group who is actually a student in Utah right now. I’ll have to add his name here later since I neglected to write it down. He does say it in the interview.
This is the whole group after lunch at Alltech. Here’s the interview: ams-07-mali.mp3
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Our next stop on today’s tour is Alltech. The tour is going on right now but I was here earlier this year for the Alltech Symposium. I’m borrowing Billy Frey’s office for a few minutes before lunch.
Dr. Pearse Lyons greeted us at the door and welcomed us to Alltech headquarters. Then it was off to the tour which is where I’m headed to now. More after lunch.
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Once bourbon is barreled here at Woodford Reserve it “goes to sleep” for approximately 7 years. During that time the very clear distilled fresh product gains its color and flavor from the wood barrels.
The room in which they sit for this time smells wonderful. Actually up to 30% of the product will evaporate which they calls “angel’s share” before it’s ready to bottle. We weren’t allowed to use a flash inside these buildings due to safety concerns btw.
The master distiller will take samples during the process to make sure everything is going okay in the barrel. That sounds like an interesting job.
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The tour of Woodford Reserve Distillery was really good. It’s my first whiskey distillery tour and I learned a lot. Like that Kentucky Bourbon and Tennessee Whiskey are similar but not the same.
Our tour guide, Jim, led us through the whole process from start to finish including a tasting back in the main room next to the shop where many of us damaged our credit cards. You can learn a little bit about Woodford Reserve in my interview with him: ams-07-woodford.mp3
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Here’s the happy crowd full of Starbuck’s coffee and McDonalds sausage biscuits and hash browns. Our bus guide is Carey Brown, Kentucky Cattlemen’s Association.
We’ve got about an hour to go to the first stop so I brought the Mac along to keep up to date during the day, battery willing.
I’ve already got a photo album started for the Summit which you can find here: 2007 Ag Media Summit Photo Album
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We’re on the pre-Ag Media Summit tour here on Saturday morning. Most of us thought is was a farm tour until we saw Diane’s place next door.
Actually, our bus was across the street so we didn’t go in. In reality we’re on the bus right now heading to our first stop which is the Woodford Reserve Distillery. Nothing like a little bourbon sampling early on Saturday morning.
From there we head to Alltech headquarters and then Kentucky Horse Park and a tobacco farm.
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I’m here in Louisville now and some of the first people I got to meet were the officers of the National Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow. They are a very fun loving bunch as you can see here.
We gathered together for a little relaxation. Me, from driving all day. Them, from working on helping set things up for AMS since Wednesday.
A lot of people are filtering in this evening and some of us will be going on a tour tomorrow. I’ll let you know all about it.
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Just in case you’re not yet on the list, the latest issue of ZimmNews is now out. Feel free to download the full Word doc. Here’s an excerpt:
New Media Tip: One of the things we get asked about most is the comment feature on blogs. It can be very scary to some and disappointing to others. What if someone writes something negative? What if I don’t get many comments? The list goes on and on. If you’re not writing in a confrontational style or about a controversial subject then you may not receive many comments. Most people don’t take the time to write. It’s kind of like people calling a talk show on the radio. The percentage of those listening who do is miniscule. Keep in mind that one of the benefits of business blogging is that you’re putting a more personal face on your business and your customers or members will appreciate that. You also need to know that with a blog you have complete control over commenting. You can set your blog up so that the only comments that are made public are approved by you. You can even edit them before approving them! And of course you can delete them. By allowing people to post comments you’re inviting them into “the conversation.” That’s part of what this is all about. If you’d like to know more about this aspect of blogging just give Chuck a call. Here’s a real helpful link to Lifehacker with suggestions for posting blog comments.
I’m off to Louisville today with stops along the way. I talked to Diane Johnson who’s there already and just waiting for us to show up. If you see or talk to her let her know how much you appreciate all that she does to make the AMS happen. I know there’s a lot of us who work on it but she does the heavy lifting. See you there (or here on AgWired).
