NAMA Turns 50

Chuck Zimmerman

NAMA 50I guess NAMA is now 50. That’s the National Agri-Marketing Association for those of you outside the United States who haven’t been reading AgWired for long.

As the Agri-Marketing Conference & Trade Show gets nearer I’m sure we’ll hear more about this. I just happened to be on the NAMA website today and noticed the milestone logo.

If you haven’t registered for the NAMA convention yet, what are you waiting for. Here’s why you should get a move on.

The early registration deadline and hotel cut-off date for the 2007 Agri-Marketing Conference, “Think Big!”, is March 21.

Make your reservations before March 21 to ensure the early registration rate and secure a hotel room. Registration rates will increase after March 21 and hotel reservations made after that same date are subject to higher rates and potential unavailability.

Register now for the agri-marketing event of the year at http://www.nama.org/amc/register.html or call the NAMA office to register at 913-491-6500.

Do not forget to stop by the ZimmComm/Truffle booth for some good stuff!

NAMA

Meet The Cenex Guy

Chuck Zimmerman

Cenex GuyHe’s a super hero. He’s Cenex Guy.

Just in case you’ve missed him he’s got several tv commercials running and you can make him your desktop background calendar too.

The man with the red shirt, black cap and thousand-acre stare can now be seen on a number of markets across the country.

The Cenex Guy is a proud symbol of the hardworking energy products marketed under the Cenex brand.

Advertising, Agribusiness

Zimfo Bites

Chuck Zimmerman

  • FMC Corporation announces today that Brigade 2EC insecticide/miticide has received approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for uses on additional crops to control a wide range of insect pests. Brigade 2EC initially received a label in 2006 for use in cotton; the product now has an approved FIFRA Section 3 federal label to include all former Capture 2EC uses. Additionally, new crops have been added, including dry beans & peas, leafy brassicas, tobacco and tuberous & corm vegetables including potatoes and sweet potatoes.
  • Metro KC Kids Get a New Perspective on Their Food: More than 600 kids from across the KC Metro will learn that food doesn’t come from the grocery store. They’ll learn the origin of everything from crust to cheese to tomato sauce at an agricultural pizza party. On Tuesday, March 27, the students and a number of educators will get the hands-on lesson as part of the 2007 bi-state observance of National agriculture Day (Ag Day) at the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame in Bonner Springs, Kan.
  • Land O’Lakes board elections complete; officers, committee chairs selected: Delegates elected a slate of six nominees to the corporate board of directors during the Land O’Lakes Annual Meeting, Feb. 21-22 in Minneapolis. The recently elected directors included two new board members and four incumbent board members.
  • The Appaloosa Horse Club kicks off its trail riding season with the annual Apache Land Trail Ride May 6 –12, 2007 at Chihenne Ranch near the historic mining town of Winston, N.M. The Apache Land Trail Ride is a trail ride conducted in a wagon-wheel fashion. Every morning riders will wake in base camp at Chihenne Ranch nestled in the beautiful foothills of Black Range, and spend the day experiencing new and exciting trails. The paths wind through the once ideal hunting grounds of Apache and Pueblo Indians, climbing to elevations of more than 8,500 feet! All breeds of horses are welcome to take part in this exciting adventure!
Zimfo Bytes

Swiss Farmers Welcome You (and Celebrities)

Chuck Zimmerman

Michael Schumacher For Swiss AgricultureThose Swiss are at it again this year with another campaign to promote agriculture within their country. They just kicked it off with people like Formula 1 racing champion, Michael Schumacher (pictured) dressing up for posters and ads. I guess they’re supposed to be wearing farmer shirts (edelweiss style) since all of them have the same ones on. Other stars appearing in the campaign include: Stéphane Lambiel – champion ice skater, Stephanie Glaser – stage and film actress, Stephan Eicher – rock n’ roll musician, as well as Noemi Nadelmann – the famous Swiss opera singer.

Once again, well-known personalities could be engaged to declare their faith in native soil, in keeping with the “Swiss farmers welcome you” slogan. Among them is formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher. At the photo-shooting he emphasized that the quality of the food he consumes is close to his heart. He is convinced that the farm families, thanks to their determination to progress, will grab the future or – as he said it – “give gas”.

The image campaign is intended to instill empathy for the farm families, encourage the purchase of local products and underline the importance of farming for our country. With the participation of these prominent individuals, the Swiss agricultural industry wants to strengthen the dialogue with society. The poster and advertising campaign that has now begun will be complemented by a whole series of further activities: 1st of August brunches on farms, exhibition stands, visits to animal stalls, signposts that attract attention, and school classes on the farms. Also part of this campaign is the Internet website at www.landwirtschaft.ch where one can now see how good one is at designing textiles with edelweiss writing or patterns.

You can see the rest of the posters here.

Ag Groups, International

Getting Ready to Race at the XM Indy 300

Chuck Zimmerman

Homestead Miami SpeedwayIt’s almost race time for the Indy Racing League. The first one is this Saturday at the Homestead Miami Speedway and I’ll be blogging from there both here and on our Domestic Fuel site courtesy of the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council. It’s the XM Satellite Radio Indy 300.

This is a historic race since it’ll be the first one with all the cars running on 100% ethanol. I think they proved last year that these high performance engines run just fine on renewable fuel.

XM Indy 300I’ll probably have some information starting on Friday afternoon. The race isn’t until Sunday evening at 8pm on ESPN2. If you’re watching I’ll wave at you.

It’s the first time the IRL has had the opening race start at night under lights. This ought to be interesting.

Ethanol

Alpha Zeta Conclave 2007

Chuck Zimmerman

Alpha Zeta Conclave St. LouisAlpha Zeta will be having a special 50th Biennial Conclave in St. Louis next week. It’s their 2007 National Agricultural Leadership Conference where students and alumni from all across the country get together.

The NALC features workshops focused on ethics in agribusiness, shaping the image of agriculture and developing sound public policy. AgTours will highlight St. Louis’ position as an agricultural industry leader and logistical hub. We will tour Anheuser Busch Brewery, Monsanto World Headquarters and reseach facilities, the Missouri Botanical Gardens, Melvin Prince Lock and Dam and others. A Chapter Development Pre-Conference Workshop has been added beginning Wednesday night, March 28. There is an additional fee, but it includes lodging and food for the additional night. Also returning to the NALC — bigger and better — is the Career/Internship Fair. Approximately 20 employers are expected along with several midwestern universities who will be on hand to discuss graduate and professional programs.

Ag Groups

Journey Along With Andrew

Chuck Zimmerman

The Journey of Lewis and ClarkThe award winning farm broadcasting farmer from Northwest Missouri, Andrew McCrea has a new CD out. It’s called “The Journey of Lewis and Clark, A guide to the Lewis and Clark expedition.” He’s also a story teller.

History comes to life! Captivating and insightful, The Journey of Lewis and Clark goes on the trail, taking the route of the expedition. Award-winning journalist Andrew McCrea masterfully intertwines the present and the past, allowing listeners to hear from a variety of voices, including the captains themselves through their journals. What results is a story that captures spirit of all ages.

The Journey provides insights into how the events of 1804-1806 shaped not only the expedition, but affords glimpses of their impact two centuries later. A mix of the well-known and little-known, each of the features brings new information to listeners, no matter how much or little they may know of the Lewis and Clark story.

You can purchase the 2 CD set on his website along with other CD’s that contain episodes of his American Countryside series.

Media

Mac Conversion Update

Chuck Zimmerman

AppleHere’s a little “move to Mac” update. After a week or so of using my new Macbook Pro I’m starting to feel comfortable with it. I can’t say that I’ve mastered it quite like my PC but then what’s a week compared to my whole computer life so far?

With only a few exceptions I’ve found the Mac to run faster and all of the setups and installations have been easier and more intuitive. I did download Adobe Photoshop Elements for Mac though since the one thing that iPhoto doesn’t do is optimize a photo for the web as small as I’d like. When you load as many photos to a server as I do that becomes an issue. I’m also thinking about putting Windows on the Mac so I can use Adobe Audition to edit audio with. Garage Band is fine but it doesn’t convert audio types and maybe I just haven’t mastered it yet so I’m thinking about this option.

I’m using Microsoft Office for Mac so when it comes to documents I’ve got PowerPoint, Excel and Word and for email I’m using Entourage which runs very much like Outlook.

One of the interesting things that I like is how easy it is to connect to a wireless internet connection. I’ve done this in two locations now and the Mac Airport card just finds the right local signal and boom, I’m on. Very simple and easy.

I pulled all my Outlook email data over with the use of a very simple little program called O2M. If you decide to make this move you have to have that.

I haven’t had the computer lock up on me which is something that I had happen periodically with my PC. So, I guess you could say I’m a happy camper so far.

Uncategorized

Happy Biodiesel Day To You

Chuck Zimmerman

Rudolph DieselAs if you needed a reason to celebrate today it’s National Biodiesel Day. It is also the birthday of Rudolph Diesel, the inventor of the diesel engine.

His early engines in the late 1800’s ran on peanut oil, and in 1912, he said “the use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant today, but such oils may become, in the course of time, as important as petroleum and the coal tar products of the present time.”

NBB logo The National Biodiesel Board points out the increased demand for biodiesel today as the fruition of Diesel’s vision:


* In 2006, biodiesel production reached 225 million gallons – nearly three times the 75 million gallons produced just one year earlier. There are 105 plants operating today, each one adding sorely needed fuel refining capacity in America.
* 62% of U.S. consumers are willing to pay more per gallon for biodiesel than regular fuel, with most consumers willing to pay 1 to 10 cents more.
* More than four-in-five consumers continue to support a tax incentive that would make biodiesel cost approximately the same as regular diesel.
* While only 3% of consumers surveyed own a diesel vehicle today, 61% say they would consider buying a diesel car because of the benefits of biodiesel.

Biodiesel

40 Year Old Ding Dongs

Chuck Zimmerman

Hostess Ding DongsIt’s hard to believe Ding Dongs are 40 years old. If I wasn’t just about to cook supper I’d be tempted to go get a box right now.

Ding Dongs — named for chiming bells used in vintage Hostess television commercials — are ringing 40 sweet years as one of America’s all time favorite snack cakes. Just one bite of the iconic chocolate cake enrobed with chocolate icing and Hostess’ signature rich creamy filling leaves little doubt as to the source of Ding Dongs’ enduring appeal.

Some Ding Dong facts:

  • Ding Dongs were launched on March 18, 1967.
  • Over the years, Ding Dongs have had brushes with Hollywood fame, with reports indicating that chocolate lover and singing sensation Kelly Clarkson is a fan of Ding Dongs as well as the lead character in TNT’s award-winning crime drama, The Closer.
  • Hostess must have known that you’ll feel like royalty when you bite into a Ding Dong — when Ding Dongs were first introduced, they were actually called King Dongs.
  • In the Northeast, Ding Dongs were originally known as Big Wheels.

Food