USDA Under Secretary Dorr on Rural Broadband Proposal

Chuck Zimmerman

USDA Under Secretary Tom DorrLast week I mentioned that USDA was proposing new rules for rural broadband development. That’s high speed internet access for those of you who aren’t fully AgWired yet.

USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development, Tom Dorr, spoke at yesterday’s CBOT Greening of Racing event and I got to ask him to explain more about that. Secretary Dorr says that research has shown how important it is to rural communities to have good quality broadband from an economic standpoint.

Listen to my interview with Sec. Dorr here:

dorr-rural-broadband.mp3
Audio, Internet, USDA

Beef Quality Counts

Cindy Zimmerman

Elanco“In today’s consumer-driven environment, just one bad beef-eating experience has the potential for long-term impact for all segments of the food chain,” says Dr. Ken Prusa of Iowa State University.

I will be hearing about that from Dr. Prusa and colleagues Dr. Floyd McKeith, University of Illinois, and Dr. Keith Belk, Colorado State University, at a sensory briefing and wet lab for the media in Ames, Iowa, on Wednesday. FIT

The purpose of the event, sponsored by Elanco Animal Health, is to help us media folks learn about the importance of sensory research methods used to evaluate the potential impacts of FDA-approved products on beef, the questions it answers and the role it plays throughout the food chain. We are going to be participating in a real-life sensory panel training and evaluation as part of the experience.

Stay tuned for photos, audio interviews and even some video from this sensory experience! Read more on the Beef Quality Center website.

Beef, Elanco, Media

Posting From The Plane

Chuck Zimmerman

Storming at Denver AirportWell I’m sitting on a plane and going no where so why not post from my phone?

We’re in Denver and over an hour on the tarmac after over an hour delay to start with.

Hopefully I’ll have time to get some editing and posting done in the morning California time.

This is coming to you from my Treo.

Uncategorized

Ringing The Bell For Ethanol

Chuck Zimmerman

Ringing the Bell for EthanolHere’s Jeff Simmons (right) with CBOT Chairman Charlie Carey as they oversee the ringing of the bell to kick off trading this morning.

I guess the bell is an automated thing so it’s kind of a ceremonial deal to stand on the platform looking over the whole trading floor.

I’m on a Denver stopover with a flight delay so I at least got my photos from today’s event uploaded to Flickr for you to peruse. You can either use the Zimmages at the top right of this page or go to the CBOT Greening of Racing Photo Album.

Ethanol

CBOT Puts Ethanol Front & Center

Chuck Zimmerman

CBOT Ethanol Press Conference GroupThis is a quick post before I board a plane for Burbank out of O’Hare here in Chicago. This fine looking group is the speakers at this morning’s press conference at the Chicago Board of Trade. It was “tribute to the greening of racing morning.” The cars (Indy Cars) and speakers were set up on the plaza outside the CBOT building.

In the middle of the picture is Jeff Simmons, driver of the Team Ethanol car. He was here to ceremoniously ring the bell to begin trading on the CBOT floor. I’ve got lots of pictures and audio that I’ll be posting as soon as I can which may be tomorrow.

In the meantime I just wanted to let you know.

We had quite a few media in attendance and I think it was a very well-staged event.

Ethanol

Mac Conversion Update

Chuck Zimmerman

AppleIt’s been a while since I’ve given you a Mac update. This one got triggered because I’m writing an article on using a Mac for farm use for Country Guide.

It’s made me think through why I have a Mac and why I like it vs. my PC. I really think I can sum things up in these words, “The Mac is faster, simpler and easier to use.” It boots up faster. I was on my way to the airport last time and realized I didn’t know which airline I was flying on (symptom of frequent flyer disease). I reached over to my Mac which was off and within less than 60 seconds I had my answer. On my PC this would have taken about 3 minutes. I don’t know about you but every minute counts in my day.

Another thing I’ve got to say about the Mac has to do with antivirus software. I’m having lots of problems on my PC’s with Norton Internet Security 2007. It has cost me hours and I’ve even had to pay a tech to help get things resolved. On my Mac I’m not currently running any antivirus software. Here’s a big reason to have a Mac!

If you’ve been in an airport recently, look around. There’s more and more computers showing an Apple logo on them. I think I know why.

Uncategorized

Tonight on Tuesday

Chuck Zimmerman

Jay Leno's GarageSome busy travel days are coming up for ZimmComm. After tomorrow’s ethanol press conference at the Chicago Board of Trade I’ll be off to Burbank, CA for a little project involving this man, Jay Leno. I will have more on that for you by Tuesday afternoon or Wed. morning.

Cindy will be taking pictures in a Missouri soybean field tomorrow for an interesting project we’ll be involved in all summer. Then she’s off to Des Moines for a lab experience at Iowa State University that’s being put on by Elanco Animal Health.

At the end of the week I’ll be heading to Louisville, KY for the Alltech International Symposium and IFAJ Board meeting. So as I said, we are going to have a lot to post about here this week!

Uncategorized

National Poultry Judging Contest Winners

Chuck Zimmerman

TAMU Poultry Judging TeamPictured here is the Texas A&M University winning team in the National Poultry Judging Contest. You can find a complete list of winners here.

The U.S. Poultry & Egg Association sponsored the 60th National Poultry Judging Contest held at Louisiana State University April 11-13. The contest works to increase student enrollment in poultry science. Collegiate teams from across the nation competed in three categories: production judging, breed selection, and market products judging. The competition allows students the opportunity to demonstrate how well they have mastered the U.S. Department of Agriculture rules and regulations governing the grading of eggs and poultry carcasses.

Team Market Products Finalists
Rank- University
1- Texas A&M University
2- Penn State University
3- Kansas State University
4- University of Arkansas
5- Louisiana State University

Ag Groups, Poultry, University

World Trade Organization Podcasting

Chuck Zimmerman

World Trade OrganizationIt looks like the World Trade Organization is podcasting. Here’s a notice I received that pointed to it with this episode being a 17 minute press conference on the following.

FARM TALKS CHAIR SEES REAL NEGOTIATION IN COMMENTS ON TEXT – Members’ comments on his “challenges paper” showed they were starting to negotiate the content rather than rejecting it, Ambassador Crawford Falconer, chairperson of the WTO agriculture negotiations, told journalists on 7 May 2007. The negotiations are likely to intensify towards the end of May after he has circulated his second instalment of the paper, he said. He was speaking in a press conference during a break in an informal meeting for members to make their first comments on the paper he circulated on 30 April.

You can download the mp3 file here or subscribe to the podcast with this link.

Audio, International, Podcasts

Zimfo Bites

Chuck Zimmerman

  • The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently approved a label change for Prowl H2O herbicide from BASF that allows growers to make applications to their citrus crops up to one day before harvest. The label change currently applies to all citrus-growing states except for California. The previous label prohibited application within 60 days of harvest. The Prowl H2O label now specifies a one-day pre-harvest interval (PHI), which means that citrus growers will have an even greater window in which to make weed control applications.
  • FCS Financial is pleased to announce the recipients of their 2007 Scholarship Program. Those receiving a $1,000 scholarship are Wesley Moore, Belle, Mo., Melinda Breshears, Bolivar, Mo., Jason Reichert, Brunswick, Mo., Robert Benoit, Centralia, Mo., Austin Baker, Chillicothe, Mo., Nathan Bunse, Cosby, Mo., Jordan Stevener, Defiance, Mo., Slade Rousan, Dittmer, Mo., Brenda Arnold, Drexel, Mo., Emily Shaw, Frankford, Mo., Cassie Gilland, Grant City, Mo., Emily Snyder, Hamilton, Mo., Devin Heid, Harrisonville, Mo., Cody Johnson, Jasper, Mo., Justine Manson, Keytesville, Mo., Ashley Clarkson, La Plata, Mo., Michelle Noriega, Monett, Mo., William Gorrell, Napton, Mo., Kevin Lee, Nevada, Mo., Heidi Varner, Odessa, Mo., Daniel Wisner, Osceola, Mo., Robert Williams, Richmond, Mo., Shannon Weber, St. Charles, Mo., Katlyn Logan, Sheldon, Mo., Curt White, Stella, Mo., Rebecca Stephen, Stewartsville, Mo., Desirae Bauer, Stover, Mo., Justin Cron, Strafford, Mo., Jacqueline Gittemeier, Troy, Mo., and Charles Thompson, Walker, Mo.
  • A new feature on the Pioneer GrowingPoint website offers growers a chance to review tips and suggestions from their fellow farmers. “Growing Perspective” serves as a forum for Pioneer customers and growers to read helpful hints and insights from their peers. “Growing Perspective” showcases knowledge from Kip Cullers, Purdy, Mo., the 2006 world record holder for soybean production. Users who log on to the GrowingPoint website will find a section to submit questions to Cullers. He will answer the most popular inquiries and post the responses on the site on a regular basis throughout the growing season. This section also includes a video on Cullers; pictures show Cullers’ management practices. Users can access this new forum by logging on to the site at www.pioneer.com/growingpoint, typing “forum” in the search box, then clicking the “Growing Perspective” link.
  • PigCHAMP has been granted an exclusive world-wide license to distribute the Feed Allocation System (FAS) web-based software program developed by PrairiE Systems LLC. PigCHAMP and PrairiE Systems LLC are working together to develop a suite of products for the swine industry that combines the practical feed and budget management capabilities of FAS with the analytical and reporting power for which PigCHAMP is known.
Zimfo Bytes