Ohio Farmers Selling at the Pentagon

Chuck Zimmerman September 14, 2006

The United Soybean Board was the driving force behind this week’s biobased products event at the Pentagon. A couple of soybean growers were on hand to help out with their display. Pictured here are Tom Brown (l) who is a member of the USB and Dale Profit who is a member of the Ohio Soybean Council.

I got to interview each of these gentlemen while I was there. I asked them about what they had on display and why products made from soybeans are a good choice for governmental purchasing agents.

You can listen to my interview with Tom here: Tom Brown Interview (2 min MP3)

You can listen to my interview with Dale here: Dale Profit Interview (3 min MP3)

You can hear all the audio I recorded at the event here and see a selection of the pictures I too here.

Audio, USB

ZimmCast on a Zune? Very Zoon

Chuck Zimmerman September 14, 2006

I can’t wait to try one of these new digital content players. It’s the Zune from Microsoft which is now official although it’s been rumored and talked about for quite a while. You can see some more photos over on Engadget which has this to say about it.

Not a lot of surprises in the specs department, but they’ve confirmed the basics we’ve known for a while, like WiFi, 30GB of HDD, built-in FM, a 3-inch screen and the basic music, pictures and video playback. They also finally let slip the screen res — an unsurprising QVGA — and some better news on the codec front: the Zune supports h.264, MP3, AAC and WMA.

It sounds like we may see these available by the holidays. Keep it in mind for your gift giving. A new device to listen to the ZimmCast on!

Podcasts

Country People Have an Organization

Chuck Zimmerman September 13, 2006

An association for people who live in the country? It seems like we have a lot of those but maybe not one like this. It’ll be interesting to see how this turns out. The announcement says there will be an annual convention and trade show too. Hmmm . . . Member registration is $49.

A new association to address the needs of the ever-growing “country living” population will begin initial operation Sept. 15, 2006. The new entity is named Country Living Association and its membership is focused on individuals and families who reside in the country and marketers who supply these families with goods and services relating to country life. “Data proves there are millions of households made up of people who reside outside of cities on acreages ranging from one to 50. These people, as well as traditional farm operators, have unique needs and priorities, and they can benefit greatly from a collective voice, as well as networking opportunities and educational resources,” says Alan Krob, executive director of Country Living Association.

In addition to introducing the new association, Krob announced that Meredith Corporation’s Living the Country Life will serve as the organization’s official publication, and John Deere has committed to be a founding sponsor.

Ag Groups, Publication

Bayer Team Additions At R&K

Chuck Zimmerman September 13, 2006

It’s good to be home. Now I’ve got some catching up to do. I’ll have a few posts for you yet today but it’ll take a couple days to get everything posted I’d like to. So let’s get started with this announcement from Rhea & Kaiser about additions to their Bayer CropScience team. They’ve added 3 new staff members: Jennie Schutte, David Harding and Brooke Hepler.

“Dave, Jennie and Brooke bring a deep knowledge of agriculture and an impeccable client service ethic to the team,” said Kim Cooke, vice president and account management supervisor at Rhea & Kaiser. “We believe they will help make a strong Bayer team even better.” Schutte (top picture) joins the Bayer CropScience corn/soybean team as account supervisor, overseeing integrated communication campaigns for BALANCE PRO® and RADIUS™ herbicides, LAUDIS and the GROWING STRONG™ REWARDS PROGRAM/corn portfolio. Schutte, who joined Rhea & Kaiser in 2002 as account coordinator, is a graduate of Purdue University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural communications.

Harding joins the Bayer CropScience team as a public relations account supervisor, supporting the Bayer CropScience cotton/rice/peanuts portfolio. Since joining Rhea & Kaiser in 2000, Harding has won seven first-place National Agri-Marketing Association awards. Harding received a bachelor’s degree in radio-television-film from the University of Texas and a master’s degree in media communications from Webster University.

Hepler joins the Bayer CropScience Southern row crop products team as account executive. She joined Rhea & Kaiser in 2004 as an account coordinator. Hepler is a graduate of the University of Missouri–Columbia with a bachelor’s degree in agriculture business.

Agencies

The Bio-Toner People

Chuck Zimmerman September 12, 2006

One of the companies exhibiting at today’s biobased event at the Pentagon is Advanced Image Resources.

These are the bio-toner people. They’ve even got a patent on their environmentally friendly toner which is made from both corn and soybeans. They had samples from an HP printer on hand to show how well it works.

I spoke with Tom Gandolfi who describes the product and the benefits it offers to customers.

You can listen to my interview here: Tom Ganfolfi Interview (3 min MP3)

Audio, USB

Promoting Ag Products To Government

Chuck Zimmerman September 12, 2006

It seems like I run into Secretary of Agriculture, Mike Johanns, everywhere these days. Today it was in the Pentagon at the Dept. of Defense, biobased products event that was put together with a lot of work by the United Soybean Board.

After his remarks (which you can hear on the USB site) I got to ask the Secretary a couple questions about promoting biobased products made from agricultural commodities. He says the market potential is in the billions just with our own government and that USDA is working to create awareness in all departments besides just the Dept. of Defense.

You can listen to my interview here: Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns Interview (3 min MP3)

Audio, USB, USDA

Dep. Sec. of Defense Promotes Biobased Products

Chuck Zimmerman September 12, 2006

The first speaker this morning at the Pentagon for the biobased event was The Honorable Gordon England, Deputy Secretary of Defense.

The Secretary says the Department of Defense is the largest buyer of products in the Federal Government and therefore they have a responsibility to be the leader and set the standards. He says biobased products are an essential element of the Department’s green strategy and are important to our national security. He says they often work better than the alternatives and are often less expensive.

You can listen to his remarks here: Dep. Sec. of Defense England Remarks (6 min MP3)

Audio

Encouraging Biobased Product Procurement

Chuck Zimmerman September 12, 2006

These were the speakers this morning at the Pentagon for the “Biobased Products – Enhancing DOD’s Mission; Protecting the Environment” event opening session. Pictured (l-r) are: Dep. Sec. of Defense, Gordon England; Sec. of Agriculture, Mike Johanns; Senator Richard Lugar; Representative Marcy Kaptur and Senator Thomas Harkin.

Each of them talked about how important it is to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, not only for fuel needs but for any products that depend on oil for their production. The Dept. of Defense is required by law now to give preference to biobased products when doing procurement and the companies displaying here today are showing what they have to offer.

DOD representatives will have all afternoon and tomorrow morning to see products and talk with company reps. I had to exit the Pentagon to upload the speeches and images of the speakers for the United Soybean Board which has a website location for them to appear by about 2pm this afternoon. That’s been done and I’ll be heading back inside shortly to do some exhibitor interviews.

USB

Ready To Visit The Pentagon

Chuck Zimmerman September 11, 2006

Hello from the Pentagon area. It was a long day of travel after getting in late yesterday from Chicago. That didn’t leave much time for posting but I’ll get caught up this week.

Tomorrow will be a light day too since I’ll be in the Pentagon most of the day doing some work at the “Biobased Products – Enhancing DOD’s Mission; Protecting the Environment” event. I’ll have more on this event when a release is distributed tomorrow. You can assume there are audio and image files involved! The tough thing though is we will not have mobile phone or internet access inside. Kind of makes it challenging for a blogger.

I’ve been so busy lately that I never thought of the significance of flying into Washinton, DC today and spending the day at the Pentagon tomorrow. However, when I checked in with the news drones over the last day or so all you hear is references to the September 11 tragedy of 5 years ago. I certainly join all Americans who remember the people who died that day and since then defending our country. I add my prayer to all the others I know are being said for peace between all countries and people.

So, I’m going to go get myself ready for tomorrow and you can rest assured I’ll let you know all about it.

Uncategorized

Golfing On The Food Island

Chuck Zimmerman September 10, 2006

I didn’t know that the Ryder Cup is being played in Ireland for the first time until I talked with some folks at the recent IFAJ Congress. They had me follow up with James O’Donnell, Irish Food Board, Director of the Chicago office.

James says the Irish Food Board is a sponsor of the Ryder Cup and will be showcasing Irish commodities in various ways. One way is by preparing a special menu for activities that will take place at the event. You can learn more about their sponsorship and activities surrounding the event on their website.

The Irish Food Board promotes Ireland under the name The Food Island. Sounds like an island I need to visit.

Learn more by listening to this week’s program: ZimmCast 84 (10 min MP3)

The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired which you can subscribe to using the link in our sidebar. You can also subscribe in iTunes.

Audio, Food, International

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